SAVING MR. PARK | PJM

七

↳ ❝WHAT'S WRONG, sexy?❞

she noticed the way his bottom lip trembled after she "cleared up" her mumbled phrase. though his shift in expression was subtle and quite unnoticeable, jay caught onto it almost instantly. he seemed to be deep in thought as he sat there, pen twirling in between his fingers and chin resting on his loose fist, and she couldn't help but wonder how much easier things would be if she could only read his mind.

mr. park blinked himself back to reality and stood up from the plastic seat in sudden alarm. she stared up at him in both shock and bewilderment and observed the distance he created between them as he sauntered back to his desk. jay stubbornly trailed after him, seeking to find the cause of his abrupt change in mood.

"miss parker," he turned around to face her again, concern written all over his face. "this meeting is officially over. you may go now," he informed her breathlessly, refusing to meet her curious stare because he knew quite well how powerful and alluring her eyes were.

mr. park wordlessly staggered around his desk and slumped down on his office chair, elbow situated on the armrest and two fingers gently stroking his temple.

"something seems to be bothering you, mr. park. was it something that i said?" she pried innocently, crossing her arms over her chest, scrunching up her lips to the side, and pretending that she hadn't done anything wrong.

"nothing is bothering me, miss parker." but she wasn't buying it. he sighed when she scoffed at his lie, not knowing how else to prove to her that he was fine—or, more like, that he'd eventually be fine. "i think what i enjoyed most about your essay was the way you elaborated on raskolnikov and sonia's love story. he was a criminal, miss parker, the murderer of two innocent women, and yet you centered your essay on the way sonia helped restore his morality. i specifically asked for the essay to focus on either raskolnikov's descent into madness or his inept sense of justice. but you ... you lightly touched on his insanity and instead emphasized that sonia was the light that helped him overcome it. do you believe that, miss parker? do you truly believe that one tiny person can fix the seemingly-irreparable damage inside someone else?"

the query caught her off-guard.

she didn't expect his tone to be so evocative—so full of nostalgic poignancy. he'd never spoken that way before. it was as though, and she somehow sensed this from the way he solemnly voiced his question, he was that "someone else."

jay shuddered when she felt a cool gust of air slither past her neck, and after a moment of silence, she nodded at him with the soft words "i do believe that" slipping from her lips.

a light tint of red and a layer of gloss diffused on the surface of mr. park's eyes after hearing her murmured response, a sight that completely stunned her.

jay did not know why the topic of conversation had awakened an unusual state of sensibility in him. it was weird to see him so fragile—as if he'd shatter from even the most delicate of touches. but despite that, she felt like she understood the root of his pain. she felt like she knew why he'd become so emotional all of a sudden, even though she actually didn't. she sympathized with his feelings for an unknown reason, and he felt that.

she was also quite honored to be the first student (and possibly the first person ever) to see him break out of his emotionless front.

it made her feel special.

even the swarming butterflies that surged in her stomach indicated how flattered she was.