The Kind Teacher, Ms. Kim

"Oh my, Student Lee Yeo Ri?" A familiar voice exclaimed.

It was Ms. Kim Misun, Yeo Ri's homeroom teacher.

"What brings you here so early?" Kim Misun carried a tumbler in her hands. It was probably her morning coffee that she had brought from home. She hadn't expected to see anyone at the teacher's lounge, much less Yeo Ri. The girl had been sitting on the sofa, working on a worksheet that Min Chae had given her over the weekends. It was her homework from last Friday, but she hadn't had the time to do it previously.

Seeing the diligent-looking girl, Ms. Kim couldn't help but misunderstand. She praised her, "As expected of Lee Gun's little sister. You're so hardworking." She smiled. The exams were right around the corner and this was exactly the type of student that she wanted to see. She had thought that her class would be ranked low thanks to her losing Student Lim Jang Mi to another class, but with Yeo Ri around, she wouldn't lose face to the other homeroom teachers.

Yeo Ri smiled wryly at her misunderstanding, but did not clear it up. "Good morning, teacher," she greeted.

"What are you doing here so early?" Ms. Kim usually arrived early to avoid traffic, and she usually had breakfast alone in the lounge, so having another company made her feel talkative.

"I wanted to make up for my absence so I came early, but the classrooms were locked when I came," she half-lied.

"I see, I see," Ms. Kim smiled with satisfaction. She had always liked Yeo Ri and this added some extra points in her books. She had known the girl since she was in her first year; Ms. Kim had been her homeroom teacher in her first year, after all. The girl was not only diligent and obedient, but was also polite and often greeted people with a smile. It was hard not to like her.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" Ms. Kim smiled warmly at the girl.

Yeo Ri shook her head, "no, not yet..."

"That's bad! You should eat breakfast; it's the most important meal of the day," Ms. Kim lectured as she pulled out her lunchbox from her bag. It was a three-tiered lunch box filled with all sorts of side dishes and riceballs.

"Come and have some," Ms. Kim offered. Her family held a memorial ceremony over the weekends and there were plenty of leftovers. Luckily, Yeo Ri was around so she didn't have to have such a big breakfast all by herself.

"Um, no, please enjoy it, teacher..." Yeo Ri politely declined.

"Come now, you still haven't had breakfast, right?" Ms. Kim held out a pair of disposable chopsticks towards the girl, gesturing for her to take it. "Come and help your teacher finish these. There's too many for me to finish by myself," she smiled helplessly.

Yeo Ri struggled for a while before accepting. It would be too rude to reject her, so Yeo Ri planned on eating a few pieces out of politeness. She had been feeling a bit hungry so Ms. Kim's kindness was a boon.

"...!" Yeo Ri's eyes widened as she placed some food into her mouth. She had never tasted such tasty cooking.

"Delicious, right?" Ms. Kim smirked smugly. She had full confidence of her family's cooking. "Here, eat this," Ms. Kim placed a marinated quail egg in front of the girl. She had been in charge of boiling the eggs, and they were quite delicious, she thought. Though, honestly, she was only allowed to boil the eggs since her other cooking skills were too subpar for her mother and aunts' standards.

"It's tasty," Yeo Ri slowly chewed the egg, appreciating its taste.

"Right?"

Yeo Ri continued to accompany Ms. Kim eat her breakfast. Since the cooking was so tasty, the two quickly finished the food. Yeo Ri quickly offered to wash the lunchboxes as thanks, which the teacher did not reject—or could not reject. Yeo Ri had already taken the stacks of boxes into her arms and dashed to the toilet to wash them before she could say no. When Yeo Ri came back, the lunchboxes were clean and shiny, making Ms. Kim gape and marvel at her skills.

Yeo Ri looked at the time. The sun had come out and a few students and teachers had already arrived.

"I'll be going first, teacher. Thank you for the meal," Yeo Ri bowed towards Ms. Kim, slightly blushing. Yeo Ri was surprised that she could eat so well when she hadn't had much of an appetite for the past few days, so she was quite thankful to Ms. Kim. But it was also embarrassing since she appeared like a glutton in front of her teacher. She had generously shared her lunchbox but Yeo Ri had forgotten about her resolve to only eat a little bit when she had tasted the tasty food.

"Mm~ I'll see you in class," Ms. Kim bade her farewell. She still had some things left to do before teaching her class so she didn't go together with Yeo Ri.