WWBU - 6

“Yes, why are you here?”  

Hyun-soo’s voice trembled slightly. And understandably so—it was the last person he expected to see standing there.  

Guk stood in front of him, wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, his bangs slightly tousled from being pushed back. His expression was unreadable, his eyes blank and calm.  

“Didn’t you hear? I’m supposed to start tutoring you today.”  

“Tutoring? What tutoring?”  

“I’ll be helping you with your studies.”  

What kind of nonsense was this? Tutoring? He could barely keep up at school, let alone adapt to an academy—so tutoring was completely out of the question. Hyun-soo couldn’t hide his disbelief as he raised his voice.  

“What are you talking about? This is the first I’m hearing of it. Plus, we’re the same age! What do you mean by ‘helping me’...?”  

‘He was always top of his class at his previous school.’  

Suddenly, his math teacher’s words flashed through Hyun-soo’s mind. The guy had consistently ranked first in his entire grade.  

If the gap between someone who ranked first in their school and someone struggling to stay afloat in their class was considered, it made sense that Guk could easily tutor him. Scratching his head furiously, Hyun-soo thought, Hmm… Maybe this isn’t so absurd after all.  

“So, you’re really going to tutor me?”  

“Huh?”  

Without answering directly, Guk pointed to the notebooks and textbooks he’d brought, gesturing toward Hyun-soo’s body. Only then did Hyun-soo look down and realize the state he was in.  

“Wah!”  

Bam!  

The door closed behind him, but his heart was still pounding wildly. Of all times, why now? So embarrassing. Ugh, so embarrassing!  

“Wait, just a second!”  

Leaning weakly against the door, Hyun-soo managed to shout. There was no response from outside, but he hadn’t really expected one. Pushing aside his embarrassment, he quickly changed into more presentable clothes: a loose shirt and knee-length shorts. He also untied the messy bun on his head, letting his hair fall freely. Without glancing in the mirror, he figured this was good enough.  

“Come in.”  

“... “  

At Hyun-soo’s invitation, Guk entered the room silently. Though the room wasn’t small, Guk’s towering presence seemed to fill it entirely.  

“Sit in the desk chair over there.”  

“And where will you sit?”  

“I’ll take the small stool by the vanity.”  

“No, you sit there. I’ll take the stool.”  

Before Hyun-soo even finished speaking, Guk had already pulled out the small stool and planted himself firmly on it.  

“Aren’t we starting the lesson?”  

“Huh? Oh, right. Let’s begin.”  

Hyun-soo, who had been staring blankly at Guk, finally snapped out of it, closed the door, and sat down.  

Since Guk was sitting on the low stool, their eye levels were roughly the same. Or perhaps it was because Guk’s long legs made his seated height appear shorter.  

“For now, try solving these problems. I need to know where you stand before I can help you properly.”  

“All of them...?”  

“Why? Do you dislike it?”  

“It’s not that I dislike it, but isn’t this too much? Are you sure you have time for this?”  

At that question, Guk paused mid-page-turn and stared intently at Hyun-soo.  

“I’ve got plenty of time to spare here, so just focus on the lesson.”  

“...Alright.”  

Considering that Hyun-soo didn’t attend any academies, all his study time must have been self-directed. The thought of taking away even a portion of that effort weighed heavily on him. Even though Guk assured him he had enough time, Hyun-soo couldn’t help but think it would be better spent on himself.  

“When you’re done, let me know.”  

“Okay.”  

With that, silence settled over the room. The hum of the air conditioner, the soft whirring of the fan, and the ticking of the clock were the only sounds breaking the quiet.  

Tock. Tock.  

Huh? What was that sound?  

Deep in thought over an unsolvable problem, Hyun-soo faintly heard a subtle noise. With the eraser end of his mechanical pencil in his mouth, he quietly rolled his eyes to locate the source. To his surprise, the answer was right beside him.  

The sound came from Guk—specifically, water droplets falling from his damp hair onto his book. Now that he thought about it, there was a faint, clean scent of shampoo in the air. It seemed Guk had showered before coming over. The droplets clinging precariously to the ends of his wet hair looked ready to fall at any moment.

“Got something to say?”  

“Huh? No, no.”  

Startled by the sudden question, Hyun-soo shook his head. Guk gave him a bland look before running his long fingers through his damp hair, pushing it back. To Hyun-soo, the motion seemed to unfold in slow motion.  

Once he started noticing it, all his senses zeroed in on Guk. Though his eyes were on the problems, his sense of smell had come alive, amplifying everything. The faint, sweet scent of shampoo kept wafting toward him, teasing the back of his throat.  

The first day’s lesson ended in utter failure. Not only did Hyun-soo fail to solve all the problems Guk had assigned, but he also had to endure Guk’s inscrutable gaze and ended up with extra homework on top of it.  

“See you.”  

“Yeah. I’ll definitely do the homework.”  

“Mm.”  

As soon as the door closed and the sound of Guk descending the stairs reached his ears, Hyun-soo flung himself onto the bed. He pounded the pillow and buried his face in it, letting out a frustrated scream. Something about the situation felt completely messed up.  

After a while of venting, Hyun-soo stomped downstairs at the call for dinner. By the time he arrived, the other three family members were already seated with their spoons in hand.  

“I don’t like this.”  

Slurp. Ignoring his comment, the sound of soup being sipped echoed from every corner. Frustrated by the clinking of spoons against dishes, Hyun-soo raised his voice.  

“I don’t want to do tutoring!”  

“Stop whining and just do it.”  

“Why won’t you listen to me and decide things on your own?”  

“You said you didn’t like academies, so we arranged private tutoring instead. What’s the problem?”  

While Hyun-soo grew increasingly heated, his mother remained utterly calm, picking up a side dish of seasoned vegetables. Surprisingly, it was Hyun-seo who showed more interest in the matter.  

“What? You’re getting tutored? Who’s the teacher?”  

“Not a teacher. It’s someone from my class. Same age as me.”  

“What? Mom, that doesn’t make sense.”  

Hyun-seo smirked and took another bite of rice. Hyun-soo glanced at his mother cautiously, wondering if his sister might actually be helping him for once.  

“Is he just any same-age kid? I heard he’s the top student in the entire grade! If you’re getting help from someone like that, you should be bowing in gratitude, not complaining. Honestly.”  

“Top of the grade? Then that changes things. You’re at the bottom, after all. Think about your level, Kim Hyun-soo.”  

Kim Hyun-seo—of course she couldn’t truly be on his side. Her earlier support had been too good to be true.  

“Not only is he the top student, but since he lives nearby, it’ll be convenient to ask questions whenever you’re stuck. Plus, he’s offering to tutor you for free out of friendship. Why are you rejecting that?”  

“What? Free? Mom!”  

To make matters worse, they weren’t even paying him. Hyun-soo’s eyes burned with frustration. It seemed clear now that this arrangement had come bundled with the housekeeping services provided by Mrs. Ah-san. The whole thing made him resent the tutoring even more.  

“I’m not doing it! I’ll tell him not to come over starting tomorrow, so just—”  

“Hey, Kim Hyun-soo!”  

“... “  

“This ungrateful child. Don’t you realize how lucky you are to have someone like him helping you? Why are you being so stubborn? Do you think anyone’s doing this because they like you? They’re embarrassed by having a last-place mom like you, embarrassed!”  

“... “  

“Enough of your nonsense. Hiring a teacher for someone as dense as you would just be a waste of money. For now, learn from this number-one student. Got it?”  

Every word stabbed at his chest. And to make matters worse, he wasn’t even really at the bottom of the class—but here he was, being treated like it. The injustice of it all left him too angry to cry.  

“Why aren’t you answering?”  

“I don’t know. I’m not eating.”  

This was the extent of his rebellion: refusing to eat, stomping loudly as he walked, slamming doors.  

With a deeply frustrated expression, Hyun-soo turned around and stomped up the stairs, each step echoing loudly. But as always, his rebellion seemed futile. His mother’s voice followed him, striking his heart like a hammer driving a nail into place.  

“Mrs. Ah-san, take away Hyun-soo’s food. Let him starve a little so he learns the value of a meal.”  

Hyun-soo froze momentarily on the stairs but didn’t turn back. He went straight to his room and shut the door behind him.  

---

Time passed smoothly enough. Somehow, rumors spread that Guk was the son of an incredibly wealthy family, while Hyun-soo remained the invisible nobody he’d always been.  

Their tutoring sessions were set for once on Tuesday and once on the weekend—two days a week. The location was always Hyun-soo’s second-floor bedroom in the mansion.  

At school, they sat next to each other as seatmates, and at home, they were tied together through tutoring. Despite spending so much time together, they rarely exchanged words unless absolutely necessary.  

“Who’s the class president?”  

“It’s me.”  

“Your name?”  

“Song Tae-yeon.”  

“Line everyone up in pairs.”  

“In pairs?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”  

“No.”  

It was a rare physical education class, and with lunch finished, everyone was brimming with energy. At the teacher’s command, Song Tae-yeon’s face visibly crumpled. She had been racking her brain over how to pair up with Yoon Guk, and now they were being told to form teams with their classroom seatmates. All her careful planning had gone to waste.  

“Hey, stand properly!”  

Anyone could hear the irritation in Song Tae-yeon’s voice. Poor Hyun-soo, caught in the crossfire, was pushed toward Guk, ending up standing right next to him. When they ended up standing too close, Tae-yeon hurried over to pull them apart.  

“To prepare for the upcoming sports competition, we’re starting practice today. We’ll start light with three-legged races, dodgeball, and group jump rope. Get ready, everyone!”  

Booooo, a low groan spread among the students at the thought of having to endure three events. But the perpetually indifferent gym teacher ignored the complaints, blowing his whistle sharply to hurry them along.  

The first event was the three-legged race. For Hyun-soo, who often stumbled even on his own two feet, the prospect of running tied to someone else filled him with dread.  

Meanwhile, Guk calmly attached his ankle to Hyun-soo’s while tying the rope securely. His movements were steady and composed, showing no signs of nervousness or hesitation—unlike Hyun-soo, whose tension was palpable.