SAVING MR. PARK | PJM

四

↳ ❝YOU OKAY, sexy?❞

though this morning had started off like any other, jay felt an uncanny energy oscillating inside her english classroom the moment she entered it. nobody but her young professor was present in the room (as usual), so she wondered why the air felt so strangely different today.

the only reason she always arrived so damn early to his class was because her first period was in the same hall. besides, she always saw these few minutes alone with him as her chance to provoke him—just to see if a reaction could be procured from her irking comments.

"miss parker," he raised his head once her shorter figure reached him. he had been pensively reclining his backside on the front of his desk, hands firmly resting on the edges of the table and legs sturdily stretched out in front of him. he'd been so deep in his thoughts that if she hadn't called out to him, he wouldn't have heard her—nor anyone—come in. "yes, i am fine."

"you don't seem fine," she replied in a shaky whisper, instantly dropping her mischievous behavior as a genuine concern for his emotional stability overcame her.

"don't worry about it, miss parker. you just worry about graduating, alright?" he squinted at her, arbitrarily—and quite bitterly—reminding her of her position as a student.

jay was taken aback by his curt response, indignation filling her heart as though his words had been nothing but poison. the truth hurt her, especially when it came out of his mouth.

he's not wrong, jay! you are just a student, her own conscience snapped. it's not a dick. don't take it so hard.

"mr. park," she mumbled, still staring at him with green doe eyes that compelled him to grip the edge of his desk tighter, their internal urges and wavering lips both aching for a sweet encounter.

mr. park didn't know what had overtaken him, but the way she said his name so tenderly begged him to pull her into him—to comfort her, protect her. of course, he kept himself from actually doing that, but he had come so close to acting out on his feelings that it alarmed him.

the taunting pain in her irises lured him in. it soothed him, welcomed him, approved of him. it assured him him that whatever it was that he felt for her, despite society's disapproval, was fine. that it would all be fine.

she noticed his hesitation to speak, which mirrored her own, and forcefully swallowed her anxiety.

for the first time since she transferred to this school, jay feared speaking to him the way she usually did. perhaps because, unlike those other days, there was something different about the air.

"i–"

but he was interrupted by the sound of collective mutters outside his room.

jay's eyes widened when she noticed her unnatural proximity to her english teacher, knowing how the situation could be easily misinterpreted by anyone who came in and saw them.

she jumped back in sudden fright, scurried over to her desk without glancing back, and nervously pulled out her notes from her backpack.

mr. park furrowed his eyebrows at her haste, but his usual, apathetic demeanor settled back on his face as the rest of his students entered the class. once the final bell rang, a good two minutes later, he assembled his paperwork together and prepared himself for today's lecture.