Be My Teacher || K.SJ

F I F T Y T H R E E

My body shakes with rage. Thoughts are racing in my head, all jumbled, contorted and irrational. I know I probably overreacted, and I know I will regret it when I've clamed down, but the fact that lies have been told to my face for this long has pushed me to a limit. 

I walk aimlessly down a street I don't recognise. Before I realise it, I'm lost. Cars speed by on the busy roads beside me, tall unfamiliar buildings surrounding me, and crowds of people all cascading down the street, swerving around my motionless body.

Shit. I mumble to myself.

I grab my phone out of my pocket and text the only person I feel I could talk to right now.

Willow: Hey, do you think you could do me a huge favour right now?

Hoseok: Of course! What is it?

Willow: Uh, so I'm kinda lost? I don't know where I am, and I need a ride? Lol

Hoseok: Map me your location, I'm on my way!

Willow: Thank you!!

Only ten minutes pass, and I see Hoseok pull up in a car. He waves for me to get in, and I hurriedly trot over, jumping in.

"Thank you so much." I sigh exasperatedly. 

"Don't mention it, but what are you doing out here at nine in the morning?" He chuckles, pulling off into the traffic, his hands gripped to the wheel and his eyes concentrated on the road.

I gulp, my eyes darting side to side as I try to conjure up an excuse. What could I possibly say?

"Willow?" 

"Uh-" 

Shit shit shit.

"I stayed at a friend's house last night. We got into a fight so I walked out, but I'm just not used to this neighbourhood." I finally say.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you and your friend OK?" He asks concerned.

Not really.

"Yeah we're fine. Just stupid girl stuff." I chuckle. "Um, do you know where Taehyung lives?" I ask.

I watch his face, and his brows crease slightly, curiosity in his expression.

"Uh, yeah. You wanna go there? Right now?" There's confusion in his tone.

"If you don't mind." I giggle nervously.

"Sure." He smiles.

The journey sails by quickly. Hoseok pulls up outside of Taehyung's house. He pulls the handbreak up and turns the engine off. As I carelessly tug at the seatbelt and unclip it, he notices something is going on.

"Willow, is everything alright? You seem a bit.. Off." He says.

I quickly look up, and my eyes meet with his. 

"Yes! Everything's all good! I just promised Taehyung we'd hang out today." I try to smile, an attempt at reassuring him and throwing him off the scent. "Thank you so much for the ride. I gotta go though, he's texting asking where I am" I lie, chuckling.

"OK... No problem. Just text or call me if you ever need anything." He smiles widely and genuinely at me. 

"I will." I smile back, hopping out of the car and trying my best to speed walk without looking like an absolute nutcase. I approach Taehyung's door and ring the doorbell, my foot bouncing in anxiety, desperate to talk to him. 

The door opens, and it's Taehyung. His eyes are wide in surprise, but he soon smiles, happy to see me.

"Willow! What are you doing here?" He checks his watch. "At nine thirty?"

"Taehyung, I need to talk to you. Urgently." I say anxiously.

"About what?" He asks.

"Are you alone right now?" I reply.

"Uh, yeah. My parents are both at work..." He trails off, tilting his head like a puppy when it's confused.

"Great." I grab his arm and drag him in the house, shutting the door behind us. I take him to the first seat I see, which is a dining table chair.

"What's this all about, Willow? You're kind of worrying me."

"Have yo-" I'm cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I quickly pull it out of my pocket and see it's Jin. I decline the call and place my phone back in my pocket. But it rings again. And again.

"God- Sorrry, give me one second." I say to Taehyung, standing from the chair and walking into another room.

I answer the phone.

"What?" I spit angrily.

"Don't do this, Willow." 

"Don't do what? Save my friend from a psycho?"

"Please, let me handle it." He replies. His tone is calm, almost submissive.

"Oh, like you've handled it all this time?" I retort back callously.

"Where are you now?" 

"I'm at Taehyung's. Doing what you should have done."

"Willow. Please just listen to me. You are going to do more harm than good if you follow through with this ill-thought out plan of yours. You're acting on impulse and anger. You're not thinking rationally."

"I-" I sigh. He's right.

"Well what am I supposed to do?!" I whisper yell, looking over my shoulder at Taehyung still sitting at the dining table.

"Just make up an excuse, and go home. I will sort this. I promise. I know you don't trust me, but I need you to right now."

I feel like screaming into a pillow. Why do I always obey him? 

"Fine." I hang up immediately.

I gather the courage and walk back into the other room, Taehyung's eyes immediately falling onto me as I sit back down.

"Who was it?"

"My dad. I have to go."

"What did you need to talk to me about?" His brows are furrowed, anxiety and worry in his face.

I feel awful. I've made a huge mess of everything.

"Nothing, just me being stupid and panicking over nothing. I stayed out last night and I was worried my dad was gonna find out. So I came here to ask if you could say I was here if he asked." I lie.

"Oh! You had me scared for a second there." He chuckles nervously.

"Sorry!" I laugh.

I stand up, wave to Taehyung, and walk out of the house. Luckily I don't live far from him, so I walk the rest of the way, my mind still racing. What is Jin going to do? How can he fix this? What's going to happen to him? To me? Is this the end? Is he going to marry her?

I can't stop the thoughts. It feels like my head is fighting with itself, my brain bouncing on the walls of my skull, each bounce a new thought pops up. 

If I had just not had sex with my literature teacher, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't be in this mess, Jin wouldn't be in this mess, and most importantly, Taehyung wouldn't be in this mess. A mess he doesn't even know he's in.

What have I done?