Chapter Text
Yeosang buzzed with excitement despite how exhausted she was. It was her first time out of the country and everything seemed so new and foreign to her. She kept her eyes open as big as she could to take in every detail she could.
She'd always wanted to travel her whole life, but had never had the opportunity. So when her favorite history professor handed around pamphlets for his annual class trip to Europe, she jumped at the opportunity. And now here she was on a whole other continent after an exhausting flight breathing in air from the other side of the world. She'd just turned eighteen a few months ago and this felt deeply formative for her. She was here without her parents or her boyfriend being adventurous and independent. The thrill kept a giddy smile on her face.
They reached the hotel they'd be staying at and the jet lag was really starting to hit her. She was glad she was the only girl who signed up to come only if it meant she would get her own hotel room. All of the guys in her class were nervously waiting to see who they would have to share with for the next two weeks, but she just grabbed her keycard and went upstairs after getting her schedule for the next day. She was more than ready to put her head on a pillow and get to exploring in the morning with more alert eyes.
She sat on the hotel bed and took a deep breath, taking out her phone. She hadn't opted to get a SIM card for the trip knowing it would only be a couple of weeks and she didn't want to give herself the option to call home every night. She wanted to truly do this on her own. Her boyfriend, San, had tried his hardest to get her to change his mind. She knew he might implode if he didn't hear her voice telling him goodnight or good morning every day, but maybe the space would be good.
She loved her boyfriend a lot but he could be kind of… smothering. He'd gotten down on one knee one day in middle school and professed his love for her in front of the whole class during study hall one day and they'd been dating ever since. And his devotion had never once waned since that very first day. He seemed to take euphoric joy from doing her chores, helping her study, hearing about her day, just being in her presence. She remembered the time they had their first real kiss on the lips in their freshman year of high school and he'd tried his best to hide the fact that he'd creamed his jeans. She knew she would never find someone who loved her like that again for as long as she lived.
And truthfully, she found it kind of intimidating. She loved San. She really did. But she just could never match his energy. She didn't worship the ground he walked on like he did. She liked talking with him just as much as she liked talking with her closest friends. She liked kissing him, but she just never seemed to get the same thing out of it as he did. He'd never pressured her for sex, but she knew he wanted it. And it wasn't like she didn't want to do it, she just was afraid that she would be in the same situation where San got euphoric joy from something that she just kind of liked. She didn't want to have to fake something she didn't feel.
All of those feelings swirled inside her as she stared at her phone that, for once, didn't have any calls or texts from her boyfriend. She tried to ignore the feeling of peace that came over her. She shouldn't be feeling that. She should be missing him just as much as he missed her. She figured it would come. It hadn't even been a day yet.
Just as she shook the thoughts out of her head and got up to take a much needed shower, she froze when she heard the lock on her door click. "Oh my god," Professor Jeong gasped as he dropped his suitcase seeing her.
"Is everything ok?" Yeosang asked, just as startled.
"There must be some kind of mistake. Is this room 314?" the history professor asked, adjusting his large, round glasses and looking at his keycard.
"Um, I think so," Yeosang said, picking her key off of the bedside table to check. "Yeah 314."
"I'm so sorry. There's been some kind of mixup," her professor sighed heavily, rubbing his tired eyes. "I'll go talk to the front desk. I'm so sorry for disturbing you."
"No it's ok," Yeosang shook her head quickly, not wanting the poor man to feel any worse than he already was. He looked absolutely mortified. "It's an honest mistake."
"Alright, well, get some sleep. We'll be meeting across the street for breakfast at 8 am," the professor reminded her before slipping out of the room.
Yeosang let out a breath, glad that she hadn't started undressing when the door opened. She hopped in the shower and quickly rinsed the travel grime off of her before pulling on her pajamas and brushing her teeth. She was just about ready to pass out when she heard a knock on her door. She wrapped her robe around her before cracking the door open to see her very sheepish looking history professor. "Professor Jeong?"
"They, uh, they don't have any other rooms," he said, his face bright red, looking anywhere but at her.
"Oh," Yeosang said, standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Well… come in."
"I'm so sorry," her professor said, bowing his head low. He raised his eyes and both of them stared at the only bed in the room. "Well shit," he said, leaning against the wall and running his hand through his hair. The man looked tired enough to drop. "Is it ok if I just sleep on the floor for tonight? I'll figure something out in the morning. I just need to get some sleep. I understand if that makes you uncomfortable. I can start knocking on the boy's doors and find somewhere to crash."
"I'm sure they're already asleep," Yeosang shook her head. "Besides, they already have two to a room. I really don't mind. I'm just sorry I don't have another bed for you."
"Ugh I shouldn't," the professor sighed heavily, looking at the door. "Fuck. I could lose my job for this."
"I won't tell anyone!" Yeosang insisted. "It's just an honest mix up. It's really ok."
Professor Jeong Yunho was Yeosang's favorite for a reason. Not only did she love history, but she saw how much he loved it too. She'd never met anyone else whose eyes lit up like hers when talking about ancient civilizations or long past glorious battles. Every lecture felt like an epic story the way he told it, capturing Yeosang's imagination like nothing else. He'd even taken her under his wing first semester, sensing a kindred spirit. It had made the transition from home so much smoother to have a kind of father figure looking out for her. She was happy to return that favor to him by offering him a place to stay.
"Just one night," Yunho said, already looking half asleep. He laid his backpack on the floor and using it as a pillow. Yeosang pulled one of the blankets off of the bed and draped it over him, the older man already snoring the second he closed his eyes.
She crawled into bed, feeling bad that she got to sleep in comfort, though sharing a bed was absolutely out of the question. She'd never even shared a bed with her own boyfriend. She fell asleep quickly too, the weight of the long travel day hitting her hard.
It felt like only a second had passed when she heard her alarm go off. She grumbled as she opened her eyes and turned it off. She'd completely forgotten the older man was in her room until he tried to get up off of the floor, all of his joints cracking at once.
"Morning," he grunted, feeling around for his glasses.
"Good morning," Yeosang said awkwardly, the situation hitting her more now in the morning light. She grabbed a change of clothes and hurried to the bathroom while Yunho tried to get his middle aged joints to work after spending the night on the cold, hardwood floor.
She came out of the bathroom to find him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. "Is everything ok?" she asked, putting her pajamas back in her suitcase.
"I'm fucked," he groaned.
"What do you mean?" Yeosang asked, rushing to his side.
"I can't ask any of the guys if I can share their room instead," he mumbled into his hands. "If they talk, they'll be able to narrow down where I was instead. And I checked. The nearest hotel is a twenty minute walk from here. I can't leave my students that far away in a foreign country. But if anyone finds out I spent the night in a female freshman's room I… what am I going to do? I'll lose my job. My wife will kill me."
"No one has to know," Yeosang insisted. Yunho looked up at her, his glasses askew. She tried not to chuckle at how pathetic her dear professor looked. "It's really honestly fine. If it was going to happen, I'd rather it be you than a horny freshman guy if you know what I mean." She smiled at him, trying to keep hidden that she was secretly happy that she got to spend more time with him. Being so far from her family, having someone with her who still felt like home made her feel so much safer.
"I hate to make you keep a secret for me," Yunho said bashfully, looking up at her guiltily.
"I keep lots of secrets," Yeosang shrugged. "My best friend Wooyoung can't keep anything to himself so I know the dirt on half of everyone on campus."
Yunho chuckled, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. "I knew you were my favorite student for a reason."
Yeosang's heart fluttered at hearing that. She turned away to hide her burning face. She'd never been anyone's favorite student before. She'd always gotten scolded by her teachers for daydreaming and doodling. And coming from someone she thought so highly of… "You mean that?" she asked, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear.
"I've never had a student match my energy when it comes to my favorite subject," Yunho laughed, gaining his usual carefree grin. "Most of my students wish they were anywhere else while I'm talking. The joys of teaching a gen ed. But you really seem to care. It reminds me of why I love teaching."
"Well you're a really good teacher," Yeosang giggled, not knowing what to do with her hands. His genuine complements flustered her more than any love poem her boyfriend had ever written her, even though those clearly came from the heart too.
"Anyway, I'm going to get myself presentable and head across the street. Would you mind waiting a couple of minutes before walking out after me? I don't want to be seen coming out of the same door," Yunho explained.
"Yeah ok," Yeosang smiled. She felt strangely excited to share a scandalous secret with someone she respected so much. It made her feel… special.
At breakfast, one of her classmates joked around with the professor about why he was walking with a slight limp and clearly had a crick in his neck. He just laughed it off casually. "Did you guys also have a hard time sleeping on those old mattresses or am I just old?"
"My mattress felt new," Jongho said, crossing his arms. "Better than the ones at the dorms."
"I must just be old then," Yunho laughed, rubbing his sore neck. He quickly changed the subject and explained the walking tour they were about to go on.
Yeosang couldn't stop beaming as they walked through the old historical streets as the professor told stories of revolutions that happened right there where they stood. She looked around, her eyes full of awe as she imagined the bloody skirmishes and the very real lives that were lived here all those years ago. She ate up every word while raising her hand every time he took a breath to ask question after question. She could tell that the rest of her class was getting annoyed with her, wanting to get the educational part of the day over with so they could go do something fun, but she couldn't help it. She'd never felt happier in her life.
Yunho had an answer for every single question she could think of, looking just as excited as her to delve deeper and deeper into his favorite subject as she was to learn about it. She hung onto every word, feeling like the whole world had opened up to her. She wished she could go everywhere in the world with the handsome professor and learn from his extensive knowledge. Did she just think he was handsome? Where did that come from? It must be the passion he spoke with. That always made people more attractive. Not to mention his height and his striking profile and his effortless charisma. Those are things anyone would find attractive. It wasn't wrong to notice them.
They were out for the whole day, going from historical site to historical site, stopping to eat delicious food wherever they could. She couldn't think of a day that she'd ever been happier. She continued to pick the professor's brain the entire walk back to the hotel, waving goodbye to him in the lobby before waiting a minute and going up the elevator after him.
She took a deep breath before opening her hotel door, trying to not look as excited as she felt, not wanting to give him the wrong idea. She was just happy to have an excuse to spend more time talking to him.
The shower was running when she walked in. She quickly changed clothes while she was sure he was occupied behind closed doors before instinctively pulling out her phone. She stared at it, still feeling weird about not having a goodnight text from San. Feeling weirder about not missing it.
She knew he would love to hear her talk about her trip so far and all of the things she'd learned, but it just wasn't the same as talking to Yunho about it. He would nod along and follow what she was saying, but he never had anything to add. He just wasn't as interested in the same subjects as she was. And that was fine. He was interested in her and that's all that really mattered. But now that she'd gotten the chance to have her passion fueled instead of vented, the latter didn't feel as fun. She shook her head. Why was she comparing her professor to her boyfriend? Her MARRIED professor who was more than twice her age?
"Did you want to take a shower?" Yunho asked, dressed in pajamas and rubbing a towel through his wet hair.
Yeosang's heart skipped a beat seeing him so casual. So… domestic. She swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. "Y-yeah. I got kind of sweaty doing all that walking."
She scolded herself as she rushed to the bathroom. Why did she say that? She was so gross. Why couldn't she just have said yes? Now he thought she was gross and sweaty and immature for bringing it up. Stupid stupid stupid.
She washed herself quickly before exiting. She saw Yunho sitting on the edge of her bed, flipping through the pamphlets he got from the hotel lobby. "Oh sorry. I'll move," he said.
"No it's ok. There's nowhere else to sit in here," Yeosang shrugged, frowning at the lack of chairs. "You don't have to sit on the floor."
"Thanks. I don't think my old bones can handle it," Yunho joked, tossing the pamphlets in his suitcase.
Yeosang felt those words hit her right in the chest. She felt so overwhelmingly guilty for making him sleep so uncomfortably. She'd felt that guilt every time she noticed how funny he was walking all day. She sat in bed, pulling the covers over her while she watched Yunho text his wife out of the corner of her eye. He was sending her all the pictures he took on their adventures that day.
"Your wife must miss you when you go on these trips ever year," Yeosang said, trying to make conversation.
"Oh she's just happy to have me out of her hair for a couple weeks every year," Yunho chuckled. "I've tried taking her here, but she just gets bored of me rambling about kings and castles."
"I don't know how I'm going to be able to travel anywhere else now," Yeosang giggled, hugging her knees. "I'm getting so spoiled with your knowledge."
"I'm getting spoiled with your questions," Yunho smiled at her. "You're keeping me on my toes."
"You're like my own personal time machine," Yeosang rested her cheek on her knees, looking up at him. "It's like I'm really experiencing all those amazing things that happened in the past. I'm going to really miss your stories when I graduate."
"Oh you can always email me with questions even after you leave," Yunho nudged her shoulder, the contact making Yeosang's stomach do a flip. "I have some students who still do even years later. It makes my whole day."
"Ok I will," Yeosang said, happy at the thought of staying in touch with him forever.
"Welp, guess we'd better try to get some sleep. We've got another busy day tomorrow," Yunho said, slapping his knees before getting up, his joints cracking.
"What if I slept on the floor tonight?" Yeosang said without thinking. "It's not fair that I get the bed every night. Besides, I'm young."
"Hey," Yunho narrowed his eyes at her calling him old. "This is my mistake so I'll deal with the consequences. I appreciate the offer, but I'm not making my favorite student sleep on the floor."
"What if we shared? There's enough room for two," Yeosang said, again, without thinking. She looked over and yes, there technically was enough room for two people to fit, but Yunho was larger than the average person and there wouldn't be much space to spread out. She just couldn't stand the thought of making him wake up in pain again. "We're already breaking rules right now. We can pretend like none of this ever happened. And the guys might get suspicious if you spend the whole trip limping for no reason."
Yunho stared at her and then at the empty spot on the bed, clearly deeply conflicted. She could tell he really didn't want to spend another night on the floor. "And you're sure you're comfortable with that?" he asked, his eyebrows pinching together.
"Completely," Yeosang insisted. This was different from sharing a bed with San. Yunho wouldn't want to cuddle or kiss or invade her space. He was a gentleman. It was no different that sharing a bed with one of her parents when they were on vacation. Right?
"Please feel free to kick me out if you change your mind," Yunho said, pulling the covers back to crawl onto the edge of the mattress. Even with both of them politely scooting as far away as they could from each other, she could still feel his body heat under the covers.
"It's just sleeping," Yeosang rolled her eyes, trying to act a whole lot more casual than she felt. "There's no reason for it to be weird."
"Goodnight Yeosang," Yunho said, reaching over to turn off the lamp, plunging them both into darkness.
Yeosang rolled over so she was facing the wall, her heart hammering in her chest. It was just sleeping like she said. Why was she feeling like this was the biggest thing that had ever happened to her? Was it because she was sharing body head under the covers with an older man? A handsome older man who made her heart beat faster ever time he looked at her with those beautiful brown eyes? A man who shared her interests and passions and who made her feel seen like no one else? She covered her face with her hands, screaming internally. She was being so weird! He obviously didn't see her as anything more than a kid. A student. His favorite student. Fuck. She was in trouble.