7MoH 1.13

AP History class began with its usual quiet atmosphere. Just as Jeong-in was about to take out his textbook, the teacher raised his voice while holding up a pink paper. It was an attendance request form that gave permission to leave class.

“Jay Lim? Please go to the principal’s office.”

Caught off guard by hearing his name, Jeong-in looked up with a confused expression.

“Me? What’s this about?”

“I don’t know. You’ll find out when you get there.”

At the teacher’s indifferent response, the classroom momentarily buzzed with whispers, and Jeong-in quietly packed his bag and left.

As he walked down the long corridor toward the principal’s office, all sorts of speculations ran through his mind. Did I do something wrong? Or did something happen to Mom? But his phone had been silent.

When he arrived at the principal’s office door, he discovered another student sitting in the waiting chair. It was Darius Thompson, one of Chase’s fellow teammates, sitting there with a dejected look.

Jeong-in hesitated for a moment before sitting next to him. Darius nodded his chin slightly in a casual greeting.

“Hey.”

His attitude was quite friendly, probably because they had run into each other a few times. Jeong-in responded with an awkward smile and asked in a small voice.

“Were you also called here by Principal Smith?”

Darius nodded his head instead of answering.

“Do you know why we were called?”

Darius shook his head with a blank expression.

Just then, the principal’s office door opened. Principal Smith, who had apparently been showing a parent out, spotted the two students sitting in the waiting chairs and gestured to them.

“You two, come in.”

Jeong-in and Darius moved to sit side by side in the principal’s office. Principal Smith, seated across from them, introduced them to each other.

“Do you two know each other? This is Darius Thompson, our school’s varsity team offensive tackle and a future NFL superstar, and this is Jay Lim, our school’s top scholar.”

Darius nodded his chin and said, “We know each other.”

“Really? Well, that’s good news.”

Principal Smith’s business was as follows: Darius Thompson, a promising athlete, had arrangements to attend USC on a full scholarship, a prestigious football university. USC is not only an elite university located in California but also one of the universities that produced the most players in the NFL draft. Going there could give Darius Thompson a real chance to become an NFL star.

However, the problem was that his grades were terrible. They were so bad that he might not even meet the basic graduation requirements.

“If he doesn’t get at least a C in Algebra 1 this semester, that opportunity could be lost.”

“What? Algebra 1?”

Jeong-in, who had been listening quietly, opened his eyes wide. Algebra 1 corresponds to what Korean students learn around 7th grade. Moreover, most Korean students engage in advanced learning. Jeong-in had learned Algebra 1 in 4th grade.

“So, I’d like to make a proposal to Mr. Lim.”

Principal Smith proposed a deal to Jeong-in. He wanted him to tutor Darius Thompson in math until the end-of-semester exam.

“Of course, I’m not just asking for a favor. This will be conducted as an official tutoring program, and you’ll receive community service hours for it. According to your guidance counselor’s records, you seem to be lacking in community service anyway.”

“I was planning to fulfill that during summer vacation.”

Principal Smith tapped the desk with his finger as if he was troubled and asked, “So… is that a rejection?”

Jeong-in’s eyes flashed sharply.

“No. I mean that community service points aren’t enough. I don’t have time to teach anyone right now. I have to prepare for the SAT, take the ACT, write essays… I need to dedicate my time to these things, so that compensation isn’t enough.”

Principal Smith was momentarily speechless. Jeong-in didn’t miss the opportunity to continue.

“In addition to the community service points, please write me a recommendation letter too. You used to teach literature, right? I’m sure you write well…”

The principal’s mouth fell open. He seemed momentarily lost for words at Jeong-in’s direct approach, though he maintained his politeness.

“Listen, Mr. Lim. I’m the principal of this school. Do you know how busy I am?”

Principals are typically so busy focusing on school administration and management that they rarely write recommendation letters.

Darius, who had been watching the conversation, stepped in to help Jeong-in.

“Principal Smith. I’m desperately stupid. Whoever has to teach me deserves a recommendation letter or whatever they ask for.”

Principal Smith glanced at Darius. His words were true. Getting students into good colleges was connected to the school’s achievements. Furthermore, producing an NFL star would be an even greater honor. It couldn’t be ignored that most successful players often contribute to their alma maters later in life.

After careful consideration, Smith finally made his decision.

“Very well. If Mr. Darius Thompson achieves a grade of C or higher in Algebra 1 this semester, I will personally write Mr. Lim’s recommendation letter. But I must warn you, it won’t be easy.”

Darius looked at Jeong-in with pitying, sympathetic eyes.

“That’s really true. I apologize in advance.”

Walking out of the principal’s office corridor after the successful negotiation, Jeong-in’s eyes were burning with determination.

If he succeeded in this, his recommendation letters would be complete. One would be written by the math club advisor who had closely observed Jeong-in, and with the principal’s letter added, it would be a competitive combination.

“Alright. Let’s start right away.”

Seeing Jeong-in’s resolute face, Darius looked a bit scared.

* * *

Darius Thompson’s math skills were a little—no, very—serious problem. The very day after being offered the tutoring position, Jeong-in asked Justin for understanding and told him to eat lunch with the club members for a while.

Justin worried about whether he could teach such a rough athlete and if he might get hit during the lessons, but Jeong-in had encountered Darius Thompson a few times. Behind his large build and fierce appearance, he had a gentle and modest side.

Jeong-in took Darius to a quiet corner of the cafeteria. The two sat at a table, opened the worksheet, and stared at the numbers. Darius already looked disgusted.

He couldn’t even touch the problem he had given him to test his skills.

“I’m sorry… It’s frustrating, isn’t it? I’m too stupid…”

Darius looked at Jeong-in with a deep sigh. His shoulders were heavily slumped, and his eyes were full of self-blame.

“You have to understand. Like the guys say, maybe I’ve taken too many tackles… killed my brain cells.”

“I’m not planning to give up.”

Jeong-in was referring to his recommendation letter, but Darius seemed to interpret it as him not giving up on him. His eyes looked at him with deep emotion.

“Think of the variable x as a football. How do you get the ball to the end zone? You need to break through the defender stuck in the middle, right?”

“Yes.”

“Send that guy to the opposite side. This is your goal post.”

Jeong-in explained things as simply as possible, matching Darius’s level of understanding. He was still slow, but at least his attitude in trying to follow along diligently was admirable.

Whenever he felt frustrated watching him slowly work through problems, Jeong-in recalled his own past experiences. He remembered his junior high counselor, Ms. Wendy, and Justin, who had patiently taught him when he first came to America and even the language wasn’t easy. Without their thoughtful care, he wouldn’t be who he was today.

“Now, try solving these problems below.”

Darius gripped his pencil with his pot-lid-sized hand and began solving the problems. Meanwhile, Jeong-in finished his sandwich and folded the wrapper to reduce its size, like a note.

A moment later, Darius handed his completed workbook to Jeong-in. His expression mixed with anxiety and anticipation.

After checking the answers, Jeong-in nodded.

“Well done. All three are correct.”

“Yes!”

Darius, having successfully solved elementary-level problems, raised both fists high and cheered. But his expression of joy didn’t end there.

He suddenly stood up from his seat and lifted Jeong-in onto one of his shoulders like a coach being hoisted after winning a game. He felt like he had instantly become a trophy.

“Hey! W-what are you doing?!”

“Thank you, teacher! You’re my hero!”

He was over 2 meters tall, and Jeong-in’s heart raced as his view became dizzyingly high. He patted his shoulder and flailed his arms. Not only was he scared, but he couldn’t bear the attention from everyone in the cafeteria.

“Ahhh! Okay, enough, Darius! Put me down!”

“I’ve got no choice. I’ll just have to adopt you for real.”

At that moment, a firm hand wrapped around Jeong-in’s waist from behind and gently pulled him down from Darius’s shoulder.

A familiar scent of skin brushed his nose, and he felt warm body heat against his back. Chase embraced Jeong-in from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder.

“Jay, are you cheating on me right now?”

The cafeteria, which had been noisy with the voices of energetic teenagers, suddenly went quiet as if someone had pressed a mute button.

Chase Prescott, the prince of Wincrest High whose name alone needed no further explanation, was hugging an unknown nerd he would normally not even glance at, nuzzling his chin against his shoulder as if being affectionate.

The previously quiet surroundings became noisy again as buzz-like murmurs filled the cafeteria. What on earth is going on? Who is that kid? It was clear that such conversations were taking place.

Never having drawn this much attention before, Jeong-in was greatly flustered and quickly escaped from Chase’s embrace. He felt that being with Darius was much safer.

As he quickly moved to Darius’s side, Chase’s expression changed in a peculiar way. He looked like a child whose toy had been taken away.

“What are you two doing here? Thompson, your lunch appointment was with Jay?”

Chase’s voice wasn’t much different from usual, but there was a slight chill to it. Darius scratched his short-cropped hair awkwardly as he answered.

“I got an ultimatum. If I fail math this semester, USC will withdraw their offer. So Jay here agreed to tutor me.”

“Kalinski finally gave up on you?” 

Max Schneider threw in a joke from the side, laughing. But Chase’s gaze remained fixed on Darius.

“Tutor?”

Chase asked again with a surprised expression. Darius nodded, and Chase looked back and forth between Jeong-in and Darius, who were already standing close together like they’d become friends.

“Tutor… Until when?”

“Until the final exam this semester.”

At Darius’s answer, Chase nodded his head with a serious face, as if contemplating.

“Hmm… that’s a long time.”

Chase’s lips were smiling, but his eyes were not. It was hard to interpret his expression—whether he was glad there was a lot of time left, or whether he regretted it.

“I became friends with Jay first.”

Jeong-in’s eyebrows twitched at the comment that sounded like a child’s complaint. His words sounded exactly like jealousy. No, perhaps it really was jealousy. Chase added fuel to Jeong-in’s suspicion.

“Be careful, Jay. If you become the guilty spouse, the custody of Snowball might come to me.”

Chase passed by with his usual gentle smile. Darius fixed his gaze on Chase’s retreating figure and asked Jeong-in,

“When did you get married to Chase?”

“…We didn’t, nothing like that.”

Jeong-in’s face was flushed peach-colored as he looked in the direction where Chase had disappeared.

* * *

Jeong-in was sitting on the sofa in Justin’s living room.

If one were to briefly describe his house, it could be expressed as “IKEA gone to study in China.” China was visible everywhere in the house. It was filled with Chinese symbols all around, from fans hanging on the walls to vases engraved with dragons.

In the right angle of the sofa where Jeong-in was sitting, there was an old rocking chair, and Grandmother Meiling, wearing a knitted cardigan and an ankle-length pleated skirt, was sitting there.

As always, Grandmother Meiling was watching the TV screen with knitting work on her lap. The edges of her green pleated skirt swayed gently each time the rocking chair moved.

On the screen, a telenovela was playing as usual. It was a makjang (over-the-top) development where the male protagonist’s identical twin brother was seducing the female protagonist. The grandmother pointed at the screen with her finger and shouted toward Jeong-in.

“Farsante! Farsante!”

Although Spanish was Jeong-in’s second foreign language, he couldn’t understand the meaning, so he used a translation app. “Farsante” meant “fake.”

“When will Justin come down?”

Jeong-in looked toward Justin’s room on the second floor while talking to the grandmother, knowing he wouldn’t get a response. Justin had said he would get ready quickly and come down, but there had been no sign of him for quite some time.

The two had planned to go to a retro game shop today, the first day of Spring Break. It was a space where they could enjoy old arcade and console games, with everything from the latest to retro games available to play and rent.

As expected, the grandmother continued watching TV, ignoring Jeong-in’s question. A scene came on where an elderly priest was giving advice to the female protagonist. The grandmother, fully immersed, repeated part of the man’s dialogue.

“¡Juega con fuego(Play with fire)!”

Grandmother Meiling was like a fortune cookie to Jeong-in. The words she blurted out seemed random, but they were somehow meaningful.

It wasn’t clear if Grandmother Meiling knew what she was saying. But it seemed certain that she was better at Spanish than English, having watched too many telenovelas. Jeong-in had never heard her say anything in English.

Jeong-in tilted his head and opened his phone again. And he typed in some of what Grandmother Meiling had said. He soon found out what the line was.

[El que juega con fuego, se quema.]

It meant that if you play with fire, you’ll end up getting burned.

“Did you wait long?”

Finally, Justin came down from the second floor. It seemed he had taken time to tame his curly hair.

Just then, Rachel appeared from the kitchen. Justin’s mother looked at him with a regretful expression and spoke to him in Chinese. Her voice carried both desperation and reproach.

“Mom, speak English. I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

Justin shrugged as he replied. Rachel sighed deeply and asked Jeong-in,

“Jay, have you forgotten all your Korean too?”

“No, but I lived there for a long time.”

“Suzy is lucky. Justin seems desperate to forget his culture.”

Jeong-in couldn’t help but laugh at Rachel’s exaggerated pretense of sadness. Rachel pressed down Justin’s carefully fluffed hair with her saliva-dampened hand, visibly upset.

“This little baby is going to fly on a plane all alone…”

“Mom! What kind of big baby are you talking about?”

Justin shouted incredulously, dodging her hand. But Rachel wouldn’t back down easily.

“Jay, tell Justin how cruel it is to leave his parents.”

“I can’t. You know I’m aiming for Harvard too.”

“Oh, how heartless children are!”

Jeong-in followed Justin, who had finally escaped his mother’s grasp and was heading toward the entrance. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to turn back briefly at the door to say goodbye to Rachel and Grandmother Meiling.

“Goodbye!”

“Kids! No drugs!”

Justin shook his head and made a disgusted expression at Rachel’s last words. Seeing him, Jeong-in let out a small laugh as if he found it amusing.