Angel Smile 104 Scene 104
Yanghwa Middle School, teacher's lounge.
Although it was winter break, several teachers were working overtime in order to mark the papers for the recent exam that had been conducted before winter break.
Kim Misun was staring at the screen of her laptop with furrowed brows.
"How can this be...?" She whispered to herself.
"Ms. Kim, have you finished keying in the scores for your cla.s.s yet? We're supposed to release them by tonight," her colleague reminded her.
Kim Misun snapped out of her thoughts. "Ah, yes! I'm almost finished."
Even after she published the marks, she still continued to stare at the monitor with a strange look.
"What have you been staring at for so long, Ms. Kim?" Ms. Jin, an English teacher, approached her curiously with two steaming cups of coffee in hand.
"Oh?" Ms. Jin bent to look at the screen as well.
Cla.s.s 2-2, Student No. 17, Lee Yeo Ri.
"This student?" She muttered in recognition. "Ah, what a shame," she sighed. "I had great hopes for her, but her condition didn't seem to be good in the previous exam. Although she didn't fail, it was really close," she remarked.
"..." Kim Misun absentmindedly sipped her coffee, also sighing.
"What's this?" Ms. Jin gaped. "I thought it was just for my subject, but what kind of performance is this?" She could not help but be surprised at Yeo Ri's set of abysmal scores. She had failed three subjects and barely managed to pull through in the rest.
"I know, right?" Kim Misun sighed again.
Ms. Jin excused herself and manoeuvred through Yeo Ri's records. Clearly, she was not one of the bad students, and yet, her grades took a ma.s.sive fall this time. Any teacher could not help but be worried.
"Did something happen to her? Bullying? Trouble at home?" Ms. Jin asked worriedly. It was not normal for a good seed like Yeo Ri to just drop her grades like that.
"I don't know. I'm planning on holding a parent-teacher meeting soon, but her father is not picking up. I'll try again later," she explained.
"Good," Ms. Jin heaved a breath of relief. Hopefully, Yeo Ri's situation could be resolved soon. It would break her heart if Yeo Ri was unable to succeed, seeing as how bright she was in terms of both intellect and personality.
After exchanging a few more words, Ms. Jin left to continue her tasks.
Kim Misun picked up her phone again for the nth time that day, dialling a number that she has now started to memorise.
However, contrary to her expectations, the call was picked up.
"h.e.l.lo?"
"Who are you?" The gruff and annoyed sound of a man's voice could be heard on the other side.
"Is this... Student Lee Yeo Ri's father, Lee Do Joon-ssi?" Ms. Kim hid her anxiousness and spoke in a polite tone. "I am Kim Misun, Yeo Ri's homeroom teacher."
"..." The man did not reply for a few seconds. When Ms. Kim heard his voice again, it had sounded comparably pleasant and amiable. "I see! Teacher Kim, is it? Is something the matter?"
"Ah... I'm calling regarding Yeo Ri's performance in the recent exams. Would it be fine for you to come to the school to discuss this matter?" She felt that the man's tone was a bit off-putting and could not help but feel perplexed.
"...Oh?" The man responded lightly. "And how did she do?"
"That... pardon me for saying this, but... Yeo Ri's grades are quite bad this time. I hope you can free up some time to talk about this matter. When will you be free?"
The man laughed amiably, "It's okay, Teacher. I'm free tomorrow."
"Great! I'll see you two tomorrow, then," Ms. Kim heaved an inaudible sigh of relief. Usually, the parents would scold her thoroughly when she made such calls, but Lee Do Joon was oddly calm about it, which was rare.
"The two of us...?" Lee Do Joon mumbled in a peculiar tone.
"Yes...? Is something the matter, Lee Do Joon-ssi?" She wondered if she had ever seen him at the parent-teacher conferences. Had he ever attended one, then he should know that the student in question would always accompany their parents along.
"Ah, It's nothing. It's just that I didn't think that Yeo Ri would have to come as well." Lee Do Joon laughed, as if he was embarra.s.sed about his ignorance. "I'm sorry, I've never done this kind of thing before. I've been too busy working. How terrible of me, to have never even met my daughter's homeroom teacher."
"Ah, no, it's fine..."
"But unfortunately, I don't know where that wayward daughter of mine is right now," he sighed helplessly.
"Huh...?"
"You see, Teacher, Yeo Ri went out to stay at a friend's house these past few days and hasn't returned home," he effortlessly lied. "Well, she's at that age after all, so it's normal to be a little rebellious."
"Yeo Ri is not at home?" Ms. Kim repeated in surprise. "A friend, huh... could it be Min Chae?" She wondered out loud.
"Min Chae?" He seemed to be faintly familiar with the name.
"Oh, Lee Do Joon-ssi, could it be that you don't know Min Chae? She's Yeo Ri's closest friend, if I'm not mistaken." Kim Misun's gut feeling was telling her that something was definitely odd. How can a parent not know who their child's best friend is? It didn't quite make sense... unless they were not close. She wondered if the parent and child did not have a good relationship.
"Oh! Min Chae, Min Chae... I see, Min Chae, huh? Of course—" Lee Do Joon seemed to be smiling on the other line, "—of course, I know her." He laughed boisterously.
For some reason, a chill went down Kim Misun's spine.
"Lee Do Joon-ssi, do you have any way to contact your daughter? If not, I'll be happy to give Min Chae a call and tell her to tell Yeo Ri to come tomorrow for the consultation." Kim Misun took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. Even though the man could not see her, she still flashed a polite smile.
"That would be greatly appreciated, Teacher. I'll be counting on you," he laughed again, as if he was feeling incredibly happy for some reason. "Then, see you tomorrow."
"Yes, see you tomorrow."
After hanging up the call, Lee Do Joon flashed a contorted smile. He looked down at the shadow lying at the corner, "Did you hear that? I'm going to see my sweet, lovely daughter again tomorrow!"
The sounds of crazed laughter and shrill screams reverberated in the empty warehouse surrounded by even emptier lands.