* Rumor Mill
ccjinil:
Palms pressed against the edge of his desk for support. The usual cane he clutched in his right hand had been long forgotten back at his home. Though far from an accident. A man with his fortitude could withstand a day of five minute delays instead of hushed whispers from his own students. The laughter when he would clumsily drop a book or two was something he did not miss. In a way, he felt he might be able to empathize with Seonho’s feelings - if the boy was aware of the rumors.
“You’re free to sit back down, you know. I’m not kicking you out for being early. Especially not when it’s my best student,” Jinil harbored up every modicum of strength he had to swivel on the heel of his foot, but he hobbled to the blackboard with nothing but a silent grimace. “Anyway, it’s good to hear that you’re confident about it, but…” He turned his head to gaze at the teenager.
“A few little birdies told me you probably won’t have a lot of free time in the future. Not to pry, but are you sure you’re going to be able to manage all that pressure, Seonho?” As a teacher, he knew it would do him well not to show such obvious bias for a student, but Jinil would not hesitate to call one Yoo Seonho one of his prized pupils. It was only natural he wanted to see the boy successful.
seonho returns to his seat once permission was given, an appreciative smile given to his teacher. some might call him a teacher’s pet, but he didn’t even understand the negative connotations behind that name. what was wrong with having your teachers like you? being appreciated for your work? but oh no, that was too prideful of him to think. he just liked being on people’s good sides — in fact, he wondered why that seemed to be such a foreign concept to most people.
he opens his mouth to respond, but closes it quickly afterwards. seems like his teacher was more observant that he thought. he appreciated the concern, but it was definitely not something he wanted to talk about, at least for the moment. pressure was something he had lived with for as long as he could remember — this was nothing.
“don’t worry about me, i’ll be fine,” he smiles reassuringly, nodding ever the slightest as if it would make his words seem more genuine. “it’s true i won’t have as much time to study as i would like, but i’m sure i can squeeze in some readings in between schedules.” truthfully, it didn’t sound very promising for his grades which was a source of stress in itself — he didn’t want to ruin his record now of all times. his mother wouldn’t much like him failing classes now because he couldn’t multitask properly, and he knew it was something he was capable of.
“i’ll try my very best,” he repeats, somewhat less energetically than before.
