Chapter Sixty-seven (1/2)

Seungkwan watched the other students finish their presentation.  He looked Vernon’s way, and the boy nodded.  Vernon won’t be helping out too much today other than being the editor of Seungkwan’s essay.  He walked to the front of the classroom and the two gave a respectful bow.

The last presentations have been light with only a few demonstrations.  Seungkwan rather not be kicked out of class, or maybe it was Vernon who begged him that he doesn’t want to be alone in the class.

Seungkwan cleared his throat and looked at the class.  “Today’s essay is talking about stress and the ways our bodies try to cope with it.”  He said, not even having to look at the screen behind him.

“Stress can be pulled from various sources such as: work, school, and family.”  Seungkwan listed.  “We all handle stress differently.  For example, my father Jeonghan handles stress by talking it out with his husband and cuddling.  Vernon handles it by closing his eyes and breathing.  I handle it by complaining.”

Seungkwan listed a few examples.  “Some people cope with caffeine, alcohol, or drugs.  Other people cope with violence or verbal abuse.”  He stated.  “During these times, the family gets devastated.”

Vernon stumbled up to Seungkwan, lifting a finger before falling down on the floor.  “Because stress can get to your nerves, it sometimes takes a toll out of you more to cope with it than to have it in general.”  He said, looking down at Vernon’s wandering eyes.

“Your loved one might be suffering and is too scared to admit it.  However, they’ll unintentionally hurt themselves in order to suppress their feelings.”  Seungkwan stated.

Vernon put his knees to his chest and his face in his knees.  “And when we find out that they’re working themselves to the bone; when we find out their eyes are sore and they have been sleep deprived, it breaks our hearts and we become stressed.”

Seungkwan went on his knees to hold Vernon’s hands.  “But we don’t need that to happen.”  He said softly.  “We can get through this together.”  He hugged Vernon.

Some students clapped while a girl wiped a tear.  The students bow once more, taking their place in their seats.

“Seungkwan, please meet me after class.”  The teacher said.

Seungkwan widened his eyes and looked at Vernon.  The younger gave a questioned expression, knowing that this presentation was tame.  However, he thought that maybe a student could have been triggered.  He held Seungkwan’s hand under the table.

“It’s going to be alright.”  Vernon whispered.

The older furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, keeping a firm grip on the younger’s hand.  He needed the sibling’s support more than ever at this point.

He sighed when their hands disconnected at the teacher’s office.  “I’ll be right out here, Seungkwan.”  He assured.

Seungkwan nodded and knocked on the door.  He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.  He bowed and took the seat when he was motioned to.  He wanted to protest, yelling at him that he did nothing wrong.  But Vernon’s comforting glare made him remember that he needs to be mature about this.

“You asked for me, Sir?”  He said.

“Seungkwan, your presentation today really hit hard on my students.”  The teacher started.  “I asked you not to do something like this.”

“Sir, you told me to not do violent scenes like killing Vernon or yelling at him.  Vernon edited my paper to make it smoother and there were bright sides to my essay.”  Seungkwan stated respectfully.  “I see nothing wrong with what I presented today.

“I admit, the last negative presentations were excessive.  I promised to not make that mistake again, and I kept that promise.”  He continued.

The teacher sighed.  “They are very informative essays, but you’re in creative writing class, not day-to-day composition.”  He said, standing up.  “I’m sorry Seungkwan, I can’t teach you anymore.  My students are coming to me crying.”

Seungkwan breathed in and out.  “You’re just going to dismiss me then?”   He asked a bit angrily.

“Yes.  I’ll return the remaining money to Mr. Choi’s bank account.”  He confirmed.  “But Seungkwan, I really like how your essays are realistic.”

Seungkwan looked up at the teacher.  “Then why are you getting rid of me?”  He asked with a tear in his eye.

“They’re wonderful and very informative, but it’s not what I’m looking for in my class.”  The teacher answered.  “But you know, I sent a couple of your essays to the drama class.  They absolutely love your work and scripts you have put together.”  He smiled.

Seungkwan looked at him in disbelief.  “You want me to be an actor then?”  He stood up.

“I think it would be a good opportunity for you.  And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to continue.”  The teacher explained.  “Please think it over.  They’ve already sent you an invitation.”  He handed Seungkwan a folder.

“An invitation?”  Seungkwan asked.

The teacher sat back down.  “The drama class is hard to get in unless you showcase your act in their tryout period.  The tryouts were a month ago, so enrolling outside the period is hard to do.”  He said.  “But I assured them that your acting is very good, and they see it in your scripts.  Please give it a thought.”

Seungkwan looked down at the folder.  Thinking about what Vernon would do, he nodded.  “Thank you, Sir.”  He bowed.

He turned to the door and left the office.  Vernon got off of the wall and looked down at the folder.  “Can you help me tell Cheol-dad about this?”  He begged with his eyes.

“Aren’t you the older sibling?”  Vernon chuckled while putting his arm around Seungkwan’s waist.

“Yeah.. but you have a better way of breaking the ice to them.”  Seungkwan chuckled, walking to their next class.

*** Seungcheol walked out of the elevator and knocked on Minwoo's door. Once he got clearance to go into the man's room, he breathed in and out before opening the door. He smiled and bowed at the older male. Minwoo offered him to sit at his couch, and he did. "Mr. Lee, I hate bothering you while you're working." Seungcheol started, accepting the coffee the secretary gave to him. Minwoo waved his hand. "Tell me what's on your mind." He insisted. "My son, Hoshi, works in building two under Eric Mun." Seungcheol started. "I've noticed that Eric has been having a lot of paperwork stacked up in the warehouses along with various other products.."

Minwoo nodded and put his coffee down. "Yes, I've noticed that too.." He muttered.

"His suite has been overworked with paperwork. They've also been tasked to do manual labor that sector three should be doing." Seungcheol gave the facts as if he memorized them to the punctuation.

Minwoo held his chin and thought for a moment. "Sector three? They were moved to Seoul and a new group of workers should be handling the shipments." He stood up and walked to his computer.

"There aren't any employees in the sector, as of last month when they were moved to Seoul." Seungcheol put the coffee down too. "The office suites have been tasked to do their work along with the paperwork to late hours. Eric is pushing his employees to work seven days a week." He stated.

Minwoo shook his head. "No, no, no!" He gripped his hair. "I'm so sorry, Seungcheol." He looked at the said male. "Eric has been reporting that everything is fine. I should have been tracking the new group of shippers.." He sighed.

Seungcheol pouted his lip. "Where are the workers now?" He asked, standing up and going to the screen on the wall. Minwoo shared screens with the TV on the wall. "They're still in Gangnam waiting to be transferred here. Sector three's headmen haven't done any of the transferring process." He stated.

Seungcheol read the screen and shook his head. "I'm going to sector three this weekend. Tell Dongwan that he needs to talk to the American merger for me while I help the sector with the transfer process. We need those workers here as soon as possible." He tasked.

"Right, thank you so much for informing me, Seungcheol." Minwoo made eye contact with the younger.

The male sighed. "If it wasn't for Hoshi coming home drunk last week.. I wouldn't have known.." He said.

Minwoo widened his eyes. "He..?" "Him, Mr. Kim, Eunhyuk, and Changmin went out because Eric was pushing them so much." Seungcheol explained. "He told me the night after that Eric has been working them nonstop." He raised his eyebrows.