Roh Jinho personally handed me a piece of chalk. Since I was terribly lacking in creativity in this area and had already written what I wanted to say on the rolling paper, I had to rack my brain. In the end, I just wrote “Thank you, Teacher.” Roh Jinho, who had been watching me struggle and write from the side, laughed and patted my back.
“Is there anyone who hasn’t written on the rolling paper?”
“No one who didn’t come, right?”
“Thirty-five… thirty-six. No, everyone’s here. Everyone wrote.”
“The blackboard’s done too, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s push the desks to the back now. Without making noise.”
It was a scheme to make the class as short as possible using Teacher’s Day as an excuse. The plan was to push all the desks to the back and stand to sing a Teacher’s Day song when the teacher came in. We could have sung perfectly well while sitting, but the kids pushed the desks with one heart and one mind. Some kids even stacked desks on top of desks, determined to extend the organizing time as much as possible. I giggled and placed my desk on top of Junsu’s desk. Eorin saw me doing that and ruffled my hair. Woojin even tried to put his desk on top of the lockers.
“…Now that I think about it, is there anyone who doesn’t know the lyrics to ‘Teacher’s Grace’?”
At Eorin’s words, silence briefly fell over the classroom. With less than 20 minutes until the teacher would arrive, several kids raised their hands with faces that said they hadn’t even thought of that. Junsu was one of them. Eorin swallowed a sigh and posted the lyrics to “Teacher’s Grace” in the chat room.
“Cheat, cheat.”
“No, how could we do that as students who respect and are grateful to our teacher!”
“Indeed! Let’s memorize it!”
“Give us a crash course, Eorin-ah!”
The kids swarmed around Eorin. Eorin said, “Ah, you really cute guys,” and opened an impromptu music class.
“Hey, the warning bell is ringing!”
“We need to be quiet now!”
“The windows, what about the windows? Should we clear the books?”
“The teacher will see through the windows on the way. Let’s just line them up.”
“Ah, the cake, the candles! The candles!”
“Give me the matches. I’ll do it.”
“The candles are melting. Do it 1 minute before. The teacher comes in right on time.”
The kids did a final check in small voices in case anyone outside might hear. And 2 minutes before, Yeongjin, who had lit the candles on the cake and placed it on the teacher’s desk, returned to his spot and placed his hands on his stomach. Seeing this, the other kids also clasped their hands together and placed them on their stomachs. It looked like thirty-six kids going to a choir competition.
“They’re coming! They’re coming!”
A kid standing by the window peeked at the hallway through the books and shouted. We held our breath.
“You guys, all lined up at the window—”
The teacher, who had opened the front door with nagging out of habit, stopped in place as if at a loss for words upon seeing the scene inside the classroom. We had a hard time holding back our escaping laughter. It was because we had agreed to sing with solemn expressions.
It was Woojin who had volunteered to conduct. Woojin walked three steps forward, bowed toward the teacher, then turned around sharply. Then he took out the conductor’s baton he said he’d borrowed from his mom and counted. One, two.
“Teacher’s grace is like the sky, the more we look up, the higher it grows. Be true, be right, the teacher who taught us is the parent of our hearts. Ah— how grateful, the teacher’s love. Ah— we will repay, the teacher’s grace.”
What we had overlooked was that the song was higher than we thought. As it went on, it was complete chaos with off-key notes and strange sounds, but our expressions remained serious. Woojin, who finished conducting by cleanly waving the baton, turned back around, greeted the teacher, and returned to his seat. Yeongjin shouted, “One, two.”
“Thank you, Teacher!”
Only then did we smile brightly and clap loudly. The teacher’s expression remained the same surprised face as at first. Eorin approached and pulled the teacher inside, and Yeongjin brought the cake and held it out to the teacher.
“Teacher, blow them out!”
“Uh, um…”
When the teacher blew out the candles, this time the rolling paper and gift box were thrust forward.
“We collected money among ourselves to prepare this!”
“Thank you, Teacher!”
The kids rushed to the teacher with smiles. In an instant, lumps of cream stuck all over the teacher’s nose and cheeks. Only then did the teacher’s expression return.
“Ah, you guys. Really…”
The teacher said that while lifting his necktie to wipe under his eyes. We burst into laughter.
After placing the cake, rolling paper, and gift prominently on the teacher’s desk and taking many photos with the blackboard, the teacher shared the cake with all the kids, one bite each. And unable to resist our urging, he opened the gift, which turned out to be a touchscreen pen for a tablet. During class, the teacher would display the lesson content on a tablet, connect it to the TV, and transcribe on it with the touch pen, but since the pen tip was worn down and often wasn’t recognized, we had discussed getting him a new one. The teacher held the gift and took a photo with a grinning face. Then, without even wiping off the cream on his face, he went outside and brought the math teacher who was teaching in the next class to ask him to take a photo. He said he wanted to take a photo together with everyone, but in truth, it seemed he wanted to show off a bit. We gathered close together and all made ‘ㅅㅅ’ shapes with our fingers and grinned. Yeongjin, who suggested it, said it was the initials of Teacher Sunsu’s name, but for some reason the kids giggled.
With the teacher as a model, Junsu took tons of photos. The teacher also willingly came forward and posed. Between having a party, eating cake, and taking photos, time flew by, and the teacher said that since there wasn’t much time left until the bell rang, let’s just play this period. The kids excitedly sat on the floor, and the teacher also sat on the floor cross-legged.
“You don’t want to have class, right?”
“Yeeees.”
“I don’t want to sometimes either. But what can I do? I have to get you guys into college.”
The teacher sighed.
“Since we have time, I’ll mention this now—you all know we’re going on the retreat tomorrow, right?”
“Yes!”
“Gather at the playground by 8:30. Don’t forget to pack and only leave your toothbrush behind in the morning.”
“Yes!”
“If you’re late, I’ll leave you behind.”
Mmm. Junsu, who had experience with being late, stuck out his lips.
“There will be kids from other schools there, so don’t get excited and go over there causing trouble. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t bring a lot of money, and if you even try to bring alcohol, I’ll kick your butts and send you home. We’ll do a bag inspection as soon as we arrive, so if you think ‘oh, this might not be okay,’ just leave it all behind. Cards, hwatu, these are all prohibited too.”
“Awwww.”
“In the past, some senior brought Blue Marble and got caught. Does it even make sense to bring board games to a retreat?”
“What’s wrong with board games!”
“You guys will be busy collapsing and sleeping when night comes. Those instructors there are so strict.”
“Awwwww.”
When the kids whined collectively, the teacher giggled.
“Let’s play well and come back without any incidents. Got it?”
“Yes!”
The teacher grinned and left the classroom tightly hugging the rolling paper and touch pen box. We were left with a sense of accomplishment, remnants of whipped cream spilled on the floor, and the pile of desks we’d stacked up because we didn’t want to have class.
The teacher’s next class seemed to be Class 9. A kid who had a close friend in Class 9 went to visit during break time and came back into the classroom giggling and said,
“Teacher went to Class 9 and bragged about the touch pen like crazy.”
“Hey, doesn’t this seem to shine? You guys, the grip feels extraordinary. Look at this, guys. The pen movement is like a fairy on ice…”
Hearing that he bragged like that throughout the class period, we also giggled along. It felt immensely satisfying that he was so happy about it.
That day, I asked the teacher to excuse me from night self-study. It was because there was another party at the orphanage. We couldn’t do anything grand, but every year on Teacher’s Day, we prepared dinner and treated the teachers. Since I was the latest to return from school with classes until 8th period, by the time I got to the orphanage, Chanhyeong had already rolled up his sleeves and was holding a frying pan.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
“No.”
“What should I do?”
Since Chanhyeong said he’d take the lead on this party, I had decided to just do what Chanhyeong told me to. While I helped Chanhyeong prepare the cooking from the side, the younger siblings carried plates and utensils. Normally we’d take turns eating at the dining table with a few people at a time, but on days like this, we’d put several wide tables together in the big room and eat there. Along with the dishes Chanhyeong prepared, we placed bouquets the younger siblings had folded from colored paper on the table, and we sang “Teacher’s Grace” in front of the teachers.
After eating dinner noisily and laughing, the cleanup and dishwashing was my share. The amount of dishes for over 20 people was terrifyingly large, but I didn’t complain. The teachers did this amount every day. Thankfully, even without being asked, the younger siblings volunteered to help.
When I returned to my room, I prepared for the retreat. I just needed underwear, clothes, a towel, and toiletries and that was it. I decided to pack my toothbrush and phone charger tomorrow, and left a memo on my phone’s home screen in case I forgot, and only then was the preparation finished. That’s when I heard someone knocking on the door.
“Yes, come in.”
“Hyung.”
“Ah, Chanhyeong-ah.”
“You’re going on the retreat tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. You’re going next week, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s true, but, um…”
“Hm?”
Chanhyeong stuck his head through the doorway and mumbled. It seemed like he had something to say. I waited without rushing him, but Chanhyeong just sighed and brushed it off saying it was nothing.
“Have a safe trip. Take care of yourself. Don’t take a lot of money.”
“You worry about everything.”
“Your heat cycle, there’s no concern, right? Did you pack tissues and garbage bags?”
“Ah.”
“You forgot, didn’t you? I knew you would.”
There was a sound of running footsteps, and soon Chanhyeong appeared with a black plastic bag and a roll of toilet paper in his hands. I wondered if I could use all that toilet paper in two nights, but I accepted it without complaint and put it in my bag.
“Just in case, pack two suppressants too. Just two.”
“I think it’ll be fine though…”
“I said pack them.”
Unable to resist Chanhyeong’s nagging, I opened the medicine bottle I’d placed on the shelf, slightly lifted the teacher’s note, and took out two pills. Chanhyeong, who had been quietly watching me pack from the side, suddenly sighed.
“Have a safe trip. Got it?”
“I told you not to worry. What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t feel at ease.”
“Geez. I’m three years older than you, you know.”
