Side Story Chapter 40 – Parent-Teacher Open Class (3)

Everyone usually gets used to their environment.

At first, it may feel quite unfamiliar, but once the stimuli are repeated, they adapt quickly.

Thanks to that trait, people are often referred to as animals of adaptation.

“Alright, everyone. Shall we bring up things you’ve always wanted to say to your parents?”

Perhaps because of that, the teacher reminded the kids of that unfamiliar sensation again.

By mentioning the presence of their parents watching them right now.

The kids were startled by the sudden feeling and straightened up.

Isn’t it surprising?

How easily the kids can be controlled like this.

Also, the topic the parents showed genuine interest in.

Upon reflection, the topic selection was indeed sharp.

Everyone harbors one or two desires deep in their hearts.

It’s a law that applies to kids too, but unless it’s said out loud, parents will never realize it, not even in a lifetime.

So this must be an opportunity for the kids to reveal their true feelings.

The teacher was making the meaning of the parent-teacher open class much clearer.

“Teacher… it’s me…”

“Shall we hear from Seowoo?”

At that moment, one kid quietly raised their hand.

“……Yes…”

“Are you okay, Seowoo? You don’t have to speak right away if you’re feeling unwell.”

“No… I want to say it right here… to my mom…”

“I understand. But if it’s too hard, please stop right away, okay?”

It was just that the kid’s complexion seemed really bad.

It was a rather complex expression that couldn’t be simply conveyed.

At the very least, there wasn’t even a hint of positive emotion on their face.

What could possibly be troubling the kid to the extent of being so distressed?

“My mom is grateful for raising me, but… she’s been looking for dad’s murderer day and night…”

“Oh dear… what happened…?”

There was indeed a reason for it.

Personally, I thought it was largely the mother’s fault.

Of course, that kind of behavior isn’t entirely wrong.

If it were me, if someone harmed the heroines,

I’d go crazy with revenge, rampaging in a state of despair.

But that doesn’t justify neglecting the kid.

From the way he speaks, it’s not that she gave up on parenting,

but does the kid really have to feel bothered by this?

It would be easy to do so discreetly without the kid catching on.

It was a complicated family situation that one can understand, but it’s hard to accept.

“No one else wants to.”

“Then what does Seowoo want to say? Shall we talk to your mom?”

Now it was even more incomprehensible and defensible.

“Mom.”

“……Seowoo…”

What the kid named Seowoo said was, of course,

“Please don’t search anymore. Because I’m here.”

“Okay… I’m sorry… I’ll do better from now on.”

“When I grow up a bit, I’ll handle everything…”

Even the significant words the kid spoke to their mom.

‘Oh…’

[Wait a second…]

This was genuinely a complicated family situation in many ways.

Meanwhile, did what that kid displayed greatly stimulate the others?

Other kids began to blurt out what they had kept inside.

There must have been quite a bit they wanted to say to their parents.

From just this, it seemed the parent-teacher open class had achieved great success.

“Everyone? Could you please sit down?”

“MOM!!! MOM!!!”

Except for the fact that the situation was starting to spiral out of control.

Of course, it’s a good thing for kids to express what they want from their parents.

Whether it’s simply the kids’ desires or questions they’ve buried for too long.

But for it to get so chaotic as it did now was not desirable.

Not even turning their heads toward the parents in the back of the classroom,

But now they were getting up and running to their parents.

At the same time, they completely ignored the teacher’s words.

Thanks to this, the parents were left with perplexed expressions, worrying about how to respond to the children.

“I want to know why mom’s car is shaking in the parking lot when dad is sleeping at home.”

“Mom, why did you pour tteokbokki sauce into that weird square machine last night while wearing a purple wig?”

“Why does mom stab dad with the sausage that’s grown on her waist every night? Doesn’t it hurt?”

“Why does mom always suspect I’m a lesbian? She knows I like her, so she must be doing it on purpose!”

“I’m mixed-blood with mom and dad, but why do people keep calling me dirty pureblood? Isn’t that weird?”

None of these were easy questions to answer.

‘……Where exactly is this place…?’

[Reality.]

‘Ah, it’s hell.’

The teacher made a mistake here.

She should’ve organized everything before it became such a confusing situation.

Because she couldn’t grasp the reins in time, it turned out like this.

Even though she’s capable, the teacher is still human, and she made mistakes.

“Alright, everyone. Then shall we express our gratitude to our parents this time?”

Still, with a loud clap, the teacher quickly tried to salvage the mistake.

The rambunctious, noisy kids suddenly quieted down like it was a lie.

They swiftly returned to their original seats, sitting calmly.

Though she made a mistake, she was indeed still a teacher.

However, the kids didn’t make any moves beyond that.

They just glanced at their friends awkwardly, mumbling with their mouths.

Unlike before, they even lowered their heads, not giving a glance to their parents.

“Who wants to show their parents a wonderful side the quickest?”

Even with the teacher’s rather provocative words,

The kids didn’t budge.

Well, I get it to some extent.

While they might express their desires immediately,

Expressing gratitude directly to others is quite hard.

It’s definitely not an easy task, even for adults.

Can we expect kids to do it so easily?

Especially at this age, kids become incredibly shy.

“Is no one going to do it?”

“Teacher, I’ll do it!”

At that moment, a girl rapidly stepped forward when everyone else had hesitated.

With a youthful voice, the kid boldly stood in front of everyone.

Yet her eyes were nothing like that of a child.

They shimmered with determination, as if she had made some solemn vow.

“Let’s hear what Dahyun has to say!”

“Yes!”

“Then, why don’t you start with a thank you to your mom?”

The teacher smiled with relief, naturally guiding the order of who to thank.

It might seem trivial, but personally, I was impressed.

Even if you set your mind to say it, the situation can be different when it comes time to actually speak.

Moreover, expressing gratitude to parents is a bit embarrassing.

Especially when all eyes are on you, like now.

In such situations, one could stumble over their words before even starting.

If that happens, instead of expressing what they wanted to say, they could easily become the subject of ridicule among the kids.

These days, if the kids spot even a slight flaw, they tend to bite at each other unknowingly.

Of course, as long as there’s a great teacher, such worries are unfounded, yet the possibility always exists.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk a bit more later?”

“No, it’s alright! I can do it!”

“Then shall we talk about mom first?”

The teacher was making small details to prevent that from happening and keep everything on track.

“My mom broke up with dad because of adultery!”

“Uh……”

Well, it seemed she hadn’t expected that.

The unexpected response left the teacher momentarily speechless.

As everyone’s gaze turned slightly cold, the atmosphere became heavy.

The teacher quickly tried to change the subject to stabilize the situation.

“W-what, then what do you appreciate about your dad?”

“But my dad still raised me well!”

“That’s really wonderful! That’s amazing!”

“Right?!”

Fortunately, this time a pretty decent response popped up.

Even saying that is really not an easy feat.

Acting on it is a whole other story.

At that moment, I felt a sense of awe.

Knowing it’s someone else’s child, but they raised them with so much effort.

And that, too, is the child of the person involved in the affair.

It can be dismissed with the term pongpong, but

I couldn’t dare to mock the greatness of a father who doesn’t abandon a small little life.

In fact, the mother, who’s related by blood, abandoned the child.

While a mere stranger, the father took the child in.

Even though it’s a child from that hated affair.

Instead of pouring out rage, he showered love.

It was a level of greatness that couldn’t be praised enough.

At that moment, the girl named Dahyun suddenly stood up and began to dash toward the parents at the back of the classroom.

Judging by where she was headed, it was probably her dad.

“Dad! I love you!”

“Dahyun…”

Then she dove into her dad’s embrace and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Though it was sudden, no one criticized it.

Instead, everyone silently clapped, blessing the father-daughter duo.

The teacher seemed so moved that she wiped away a tear.

It was a truly beautiful moment that tugged at the heart, even for someone who believed they were emotionally dried up.

“This feeling… That guy is just like him… I’m so grateful that our Dahyun is growing up well…”

“Yes! I’m grateful too!”

……I was shocked for different reasons, though.

‘……Wait a moment… How does that kid know the feelings of the adulterous man…?’

[Oh, f*ck, don’t tell me it’s the object of his affair…]

Still, I decided not to voice this thought out loud.

Everyone felt no discomfort and was just moved.

Was there any need to ruin their feelings at the end?

So I just kept it to myself.

After all, the class that had strayed from its original path was finally returning to normal.

The teacher started to gather her materials to continue the lesson but suddenly thought of something important.

Promptly pulling down the materials, she subtly brought up another suggestion to the kids.

“Okay, how about taking this chance to introduce our parents?”

---