‘you might as well just say i look rough.’ she talks in a pout, the same way she does when she’s teased by her members or things aren’t going her way, lips jutting out and brows furrowed. his words aren’t malicious nor without reasonable source of concern – after all she had been yawning even more than usual. and she often yawned in their lessons.
how long had it been? not too long actually, but she noted that ever since covid her body ached a little longer and the lack of sleep impacted her more visibly.
it doesn’t compare to the earlier years where sleep was a rare commodity during promotional periods. now they were a little more established, there wasn’t the same rush they felt. still – time still wasn’t completely free. rather than jumping from schedule to schedule, they were doing a lot more behind the scenes, prepping while promoting for their next big thing. it takes a toll more so if she can’t have her alone time and in the past few weeks that had become a rare commodity.
her chin is propped against the palm of her hand, still talking with a little whine colouring her tone. ‘it hasn’t been that long, i swear… you’re not going to nag me are you?’
they were the same age and yet he always seemed far older than she was. wasn’t it supposed to be the other way? females more mature than their male counterparts. momo exhales, exaggerated perhaps, but now he’s opened the pandora’s box, exhaustion seeps into her bones. she slumps as arms stretch lazily, resting her cheek upon her makeshift pillow as she gazes at her tutor.
‘does this mean we can wrap up early?’ the corners of her lips curl, devious twinkle within the gaze she holds. she tries her hardest to keep up with the appearance of lethargy, but the concept of being able to leave her lesson early was like a shot of caffeine straight to the veins. it’s not tat she doesn’t enjoy hanging with him – actually, that’s the only thing which is bearable when it comes to trying to learn english. she’d really would like to learn, truly, but no matter how hard she tried she could never manage to make much progress. ‘let’s go get a coffee and some fresh air instead, your treat.’
his lips immediately purse at her reply, letting out a breath through his nose. that’s not what i meantㅡ he almost said, but he couldn’t. because that’s definitely what he meant. not in a bad way though, the male was genuinely concerned and it could be seen in the way his features slightly soften as he watches her. of course, jihoon knew how exhaution felt, he’s reached that point more times than he cared to admit so he knew how forcing yourself to do anything in that state was just a waste of time.
“i’m not going to nag but next time just text me if you’re too tired, we can simply reschedule. you can’t focus if you keep yawning.”
he doesn’t hold back a sigh as he watches her stretch. he knows there’s no way to pull her back into the lesson, he’s officially lost her for the day and her next question doesn’t catch him by surprise, after all, it isn’t her first attempt at skipping - and probably not her last. but it came earlier than usual. although for once, instead of immediately denying her request, he actually considers it, head tilting down to check his watch.
thirty minutes, that’s all they had left. thirty little minutes where they could finally wrap up the chapter they’ve been stuck at for the past three sessions. it wasn’t much for him, barely longer than an anime episode but for the woman in front of him whose jaw was threatening to break from yawning so much it was probably an awful lot.
“fine,” he suddenly says, the pen he had unconsciously started spinning between his fingers coming to a stop. “let’s get coffee. but just so you know, next lesson will be thirty minutes longer.” it’s his turn to stretch, arms reaching over his head as he stands up to gather his belongings, ignoring any type of protest from his student. he isn’t thrilled by the idea either, but he needs to make up for the time. he signed a contract and he had to honor it.
it was either that, or ㅡ “unless you’d rather get homework?” he turns around to look at her, a hint of a smile on his face. “i think homework is better, you’re making me pay for the coffe so it’s only fair, right?”
