Jia felt like the whole world turned over as soon as Sir Park said those words. She definitely didn't think this far, and she felt guilty knowing she would be the reason for their mission's downfall.
"I'm sorry, June," she whispered, already thinking of other ways to get through this.
'Maybe we could run?' she silently asked herself
'Or maybe I could just say that he's mute.'
'Nah, it's too late for that now.'
'We're ruined.'
As far as she knew, June was fully Korean. She had searched every platform on the internet, and all of them were congruent with that information. She even checked unreliable sites just to be sure!
Jia even caught a bug on her tablet because of it and hasn't been able to delete it until now!
From time to time, a pop-up of an old man's picture with the caption 'Blank is only three miles away!' appeared when she reviewed her notes.
So, Jia was definitely sure that June wasn't able to speak any other languages aside from Korean.
He hasn't traveled to other countries, too, and was much less able to speak Chinese.
"Come on, young man," Sir Park continued. "My wife is conducting research in a foreign country and has been away for quite some time now. Frankly, I miss speaking her language."
The classroom turned silent as all eyes turned to June.
He swallowed, and Jia interpreted that as him being nervous.
"Um, nihao?" June ventured tentatively, causing the class to burst into chuckles.
He made his voice deeper than usual so others wouldn't be able to recognize him. However, that seemed to throw his accent off a little bit.
The long-haired girl in the corner of the room suddenly froze, becoming more attentive to the newcomer in the room.
She had noticed him the moment he came in but was immediately appalled by his colorful clothes. She hated color…until her favorite idol wore it.
However, once he spoke, she felt like she was being filled with delusions. Was it just her, or did this person sound a little bit like June?
A small smirk appeared on Sir Park's face, feeling like he had caught them red-handed.
He wasn't stupid.
He didn't get a Ph.D. just to be fooled by a smart student.
From the very beginning, he could already tell that Jia was just covering up for her friend. Sir Park didn't know the reason behind it, but frankly, he felt like it didn't matter.
"Very good," he said, still in Korean.
"Now," he continued, now speaking in Chinese. "Can you tell me the difference between traditional and simplified Chinese characters?"
Jia bit her lips nervously, silently urging June to come up with something, anything, to salvage the situation. But to her horror, June remained silent.
Jia couldn't really blame him since she didn't even understand his question. She believed no one in the classroom even understood it.
Time seemed to stand still as the seconds ticked by.
The long-haired girl anticipated the newcomer's answer. If he wasn't able to speak Chinese, then she had all the reason to believe that June was in her class. It was a little bit delusional for her to think that he came just for her, but her mind was already brewing up countless fantasies.
Sir Park's smirk widened, about to ask him to leave the class once more.
"Alright, Carl. As I said earlier, I don't accept—"
"In traditional Chinese characters, the strokes are more complex and detailed, whereas in simplified Chinese characters, many of these strokes have been reduced or omitted for easier readability," he explained confidently, his words flowing effortlessly from his lips.
It had been a while since he spoke Chinese, so it felt a bit unnatural. However, by the second sentence, he felt a sense of 'home.'
He missed having such conversations.
Sir Park stopped pacing, and the classroom erupted into murmurs of amazement.
Meanwhile, Jia stared at June in disbelief.
He spoke Chinese fluently, with the ease of a native speaker. How was that even possible?
"You actually know how to speak Chinese?" Sir Park asked, still flustered.
June chuckled. "Well, my friend did say so, didn't she? I'm sorry for barging into your class, but I can't afford to lose Jia right now. We have something to do afterward."
Sir Park chuckled when June called Jia her friend. They continued to speak in Chinese, and none of the other students were able to comprehend them.
"Friend? I thought you were her cousin. There must be a lie in your story then.Is Jia actually your girlfriend?" Sir Park chimed.
June shook her head, chuckling along with the old professor.
"No, sir. She's just a good friend. I don't see her in that light."
Sir Park shook his head. "Well, you should reconsider it. That girl is smart, pretty, and has a good attitude."
The class continued to look at them. From their point of view, it seemed like the two of them had now become good friends.
Jia, on the other hand, couldn't close her mouth out of amazement.
"Fine, you may stay," Sir Park said, now going back to speaking Korean.
With that, he turned around and faced the whiteboard, going back to his previous topic.
However, Jia couldn't care less about their lesson and leaned closer to June instead.
"How did you do that?" she whisper-shouted
"Do what?" June asked like he didn't just speak another language fluently.
Jia shook her head and felt herself falling deeper in love with the man in front of her.
"You're really amazing," she whispered, now turning her gaze to the front to calm her beating heart.
***
After an hour, the class had finally ended.
June had learned more than he expected, and he found himself enjoying the class and Sir Park's teaching style. Given the chance, he truly wanted to go back and listen to another lecture.
However, that was the least of his worries at this moment.
Now that all of this was over, he could finally reach his main objective.
June kept his eyes on the long-haired woman and saw how she quickly stood from her seat, bolting out of the door without even getting noticed by her other classmates.
If it weren't for his fast eyes, then June wouldn't have noticed her as well.
"Let's go," he whispered to Jia, swiftly walking so they could follow the suspicious woman.
The long-haired woman seemed giddy as she went back to her dorm room, even skipping on the grass.
Then, they finally arrived.
However, Jia quickly halted when she realized where they had stopped.
"What's wrong?" June asked, also halting but not keeping his eyes away from the strange woman.
"This dorm room," Jia whispered.
"It's the same as ours."
