Love You Teacher

Chapter 4. 

The morning sunlight streamed into the room, which was now neatly arranged as if nothing had ever happened. Pobmek and Solar entered together. Solar placed the grocery bags on the table before turning to speak to Pobmek, his face still showing disbelief at what he had just heard.

"Huh? Me, acting like a 7-year-old, and even saying my name is Sun?"

"Yeah, that's good," Pobmek said in a weary voice.

"Yesterday, the room was a complete mess. I had to clean it up all by myself. All night long."

Solar listened to what Pobmek had found, with a puzzled, confused expression.

"You don't remember anything from yesterday at all?" Pobmek asked to be sure. Solar tried hard to recall the events, reviewing his missing memories.

"I remember... There was a really loud car horn... and then I don't remember anything else." Solar said, sounding confused by what he was trying to recall.

"Then I woke up here... took a shower... and went to the market this morning." When Pobmek heard that, he was stunned for a moment. His heart felt heavy, as if a stone had been placed on his chest. Why couldn't his boyfriend remember anything that happened? Solar walked over to pick up his work bag, getting ready to go teach.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going to teach," Solar replied in a normal tone. Pobmek quickly blocked his path and snatched Solar's work bag for himself.

"Solar, you hit your head on the ground yesterday, and can't even remember what happened yesterday. I think you shouldn't go to work today. Just stay in your room and rest."

"It's too soon," Solar said, his voice laced with concern.

"I didn't ask for leave in advance either. Who's going to look after the kids in the room?" Pobmek pointed to himself confidently. Solar burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not playing," Pobmek replied in a serious tone. "I'm a teacher too, although not a homeroom teacher like you. But I can take care of the kids, too. Don't you trust me?" 

Solar still didn't believe him, but didn't say anything. Pobmek gently held Solar's hand.

"You stay here for now, and I'll talk to P'Sodchuen later, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Solar gave up.

"Go, go take a shower now. It's late."

Pobmek found Solar placing his bag on the table and then kissed Solar on the lips.

"So adorable! You're the cutest ever!"

Pobmek hurriedly went to take a shower, feeling relieved. Solar sighed, then looked at his work bag with a feeling of dread. 

Pobmek's car pulled up in front of the school, and he quickly got out and ran into the school in a panic. Why? Because he was late again. He ran into the school without even looking back. A moment later, a motorcycle taxi pulled up quietly, with a passenger wearing a helmet and trying to hide their identity. The passenger cautiously lifted their head, slowly opening the visor of their helmet, revealing Solar's face, which held a knowing look, as if they were plotting something.

Pobmek found himself running and stopped in front of the Grade 2/1 classroom, breathing heavily. He looked down the familiar hallway and saw Jee and Sodchuen chatting animatedly as if gossiping about someone. The turmoil that had burned in his heart gradually subsided, replaced by frustration at seeing so many children running to greet Jee so familiarly.

The children used sign language that seemed like a secret code to communicate, but Jee made a mistake at the last moment. Nevertheless, the children continued to laugh loudly. Seeing this, Pobmek felt annoyed by Jee's close relationship with the children. Jee looked up and saw Pobmek standing there.

"Oh, Teacher Pobmek, I didn't see you this morning. You must have slept soundly," Jee said with a bright smile, but to Pobmek, it seemed like a teasing and annoying remark.

"But at least I made it in time to teach," Pobmek replied sarcastically with a smile, then turned away. A refreshing greeting from Sodchuen.  "Hello. Oh, Solar didn't come with you? Or is he still not feeling well?" She asked refreshingly, her voice filled with concern.

"He’s much better now," Pobmek replied. "He's stubborn and wants to come teach, but I'd like him to rest in the room first for another day. I'll be taking care of room 211 for you today."

"Um... is that a good idea?" Sodchuen looked at Mek uncertainly. "The kids in the room."

Solar is quite stubborn, isn't he?

"I think that one's probably more stubborn," Jee grinned and looked towards the corner of the hall. Along the walkway, they saw Solar sneaking into the classroom with his helmet still on. Mekwas was left speechless with shock.

"Solar."

"Teacher Solar is here!!!"

The children's voices in the room greeted them joyfully. Solar gave Pobmek  a wry smile and pointed into the room as if to say, "Go in and teach first." Pobmek could only sigh wearily.

"Solar isn't going to quit teaching that easily," Sodchuen said, shaking her head in exasperation at her junior from the same university.

"Teacher Solar is really responsible for his duties, isn't he? He’s really suited to Teacher Pobmek," Jee said in a calm voice with a hidden meaning. Pobmek turned sharply to look at Jee suspiciously, as if to say, 'Is he trying to subtly insult me ​​again?'

"Ding ding ding..." Just then, the bell rang, signalling the start of class.

"Okay, it's time to teach. Let's all go back to working on what we love. Teacher Jee, don't forget the work I asked you to do."

"Yes, sir!" Jee saluted cheerfully and walked away, leaving only Jee and Pobmek. Jee wrote something in a notebook. Pobmek glanced at it and saw Solar's name, a date, and what was written...

Teacher Solar: Even though he recently had an accident, he came to work as usual. After finishing recording the note, he walked away. Seeing him, Mek became suspicious and followed him out of curiosity.

"What are you writing down?"

"Oh, this one? The student protection notebook."

"Huh? What is that?"

"At the main school, there was a case of a teacher behaving strangely. Outwardly, she seemed normal and got along well with the children, but one day she suddenly had mood swings, couldn't answer a child's question, and just cried nonstop... So she was assessed as having a mental illness," Jee said in a serious tone. Upon hearing that, Pobmek was stunned for a moment. His heart felt strangely heavy.

"Sodchuen is afraid that one of our teachers might become like that, so she asked me to help keep an eye on them. Because if a teacher does become like that, we teachers can help protect the children."

"And...did anything happen to that teacher?"

"I noticed she's disappeared. She hasn't been back to teaching for a while," Pobmek heard, secretly worried that Solar would get into trouble like that teacher.

He never imagined Solar's condition would be this serious, and that it might even affect his career.

"So... why did P'Sodchuen assign this task to you?"

"I don't know. Maybe they want me to try out the job. They're praising me."

"Awesome," he keeps saying, "He's really something," Jee said, then walked away, leaving Pobmek standing alone with conflicting thoughts swirling in his head. He glared at Jee as he left, feeling displeased.

Seven years ago, Pobmek and Solar were roommates, each working at their own desks, backs touching and a comfortable distance apart. Solar was comfortably listening to music with headphones on, while Pobmek was talking on the phone with his mother, Pranee, via speakerphone, checking his midterm exam scores on his laptop.

Upon seeing his grade, a C, his face fell as if Flowers scorched by the sun.

"That's amazing, isn't it? Jee got to represent the university in an academic competition abroad, and even got a scholarship! You should contact him, Pobmek. Should I get his number for you? You can become friends with him."

"No, Mom," Pobmek replied with a weary tone. “Jee already has his own social circle. I have some friends here."

"So, who is your roommate? And what faculty are they studying in?"

"Well... I want to study to be a teacher, Mom," Pobmek replied hesitantly.

"Oh, really? That's a shame. These days, anyone can be a teacher. I see teachers searching the internet for information to use in their lessons..."

His mother's words were like stones thrown into the room. Pobmek quickly and anxiously hung up the speakerphone, as if trying to extinguish a raging fire, afraid that Solar would hear the hurtful things his mother had said about the teaching profession.

"If I were in the same group as medical or accounting students, we'd probably get along and learn more..."

Suddenly, Solar sprang up as if springing back and was momentarily shocked. It seemed he had overheard what his mother had just said, so he quickly hung up the phone.

"That's all for now, Mom."

Mek looked at Solar, who was standing with his back to him, with a heavy feeling of guilt. He felt like a stone was stuck in his throat, making it impossible to speak. He slowly stood up and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Solar... I apologise on behalf of my mother for what she said—"

"Yayyyyyy! FINALLYYYYY!!!" Solar turned around with a face full of joy. Overjoyed, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Huh? What the heck?" Mek looked confused.

Solar flipped his laptop screen over to show Mek, revealing his midterm exam scores: an A and the message "Highest overall score in the class."

"Damn...that's awesome! Congratulations!" Pobmek said with a smile, from the bottom of his heart.

"And how about yours?" Solar asked with a proud smile, but when he saw Mek slowly dissipating, he began to wonder.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Hmph, it's alright," Pobmek replied dismissively.

"Sigh... You're so stubborn... Here, look at this," Solar said with a weary sigh. He gave a colourful presentation on the "Magic Word" that shows you how to find answers.

"In child psychology, there's something called 'idiosyncratic mand,' which is the unique way children communicate when asking for what they want." (The image shows a puzzled expression, like a dog bewildered by its owner.)

"For example, some children are raised to be afraid to ask for help. If they ask directly for something, they're afraid of being scolded. They might think that all problems must be solved by themselves, so they keep them to themselves."

Mek nodded, listening attentively, beginning to understand its master.

"So, we taught him to use other words instead, so he wouldn't feel anxious about speaking them."

Instead of asking for help directly, they spoke up.

"So what word should it be?"

"Anything is fine," Solar replied with a smile.

Mek was looking towards Solar's presentation and noticed messages written by the children. The magic word is "raincoat".

"Like this little one, she doesn't like it when it rains. When she wants something...When you help her, she'll say, "..."

"A raincoat?" said Mek, understanding.

"Yes, once she speaks up, her friends will know she needs help. Personally, she wouldn't be ashamed to say her request out loud."

"What does that have to do with me? I'm not a kid anymore," Solar leaned closer to Pobmek, making him flustered and speechless. Solar looked into Pobmek 's eyes and asked...

"Really?"

Mek remained silent, not responding, suppressing his embarrassment to the best of his ability.

"Silence... No answer... Okay, let me know when you're ready."

Solar returned to his table, sat with his back to him, and then noticed Mek with a happy smile spread across his face.

Ding ding ding....

The bell signalling the end of the class rang like an alarm in Pobmek 's mind. He walked straight to Solar's classroom and saw that another teacher was teaching this class. Pobmek suddenly remembered that Solar didn't have a swordsmanship class, so he immediately picked up his cell phone and called Solar.

Creep... creak... creak

Solar's cell phone, which lay on his desk, vibrated and rang softly. The teachers' lounge was empty; no one was there except Solar, who was slumped asleep at his desk, utterly exhausted. Just then, Pobmek walked in. Seeing Solar asleep, he grinned mischievously. He sat down beside him and gazed closely at Solar's face.

"So you're sneaking in a nap to recharge your energy.." Pobmek muttered, looking left and right. Seeing that no one was in the room, he felt like playing a prank.

Rising slightly, Mek bent down to gently kiss Solar's cheek.

"Wake up, teacher..." the cunning teacher whispered in the ear of the petite teacher.

Solar, who seemed to hear something, began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes and, upon seeing Pobmek's face, greeted him in a sleepy, weak voice.

"Uncle Thief..."

Mek was stunned when the person who woke up wasn't his familiar boyfriend, but Sun.

That mischievous, stubborn kid.