Lie Again! Chapter 34

<Chapter 34. Smiley Face> 

 

Time passed, and in the last week of October, the cafeteria was buzzing with chatter about the upcoming Halloween.  

 

That was no exception to Jin and the kids’ table either.

 

“Let’s go to Aaron’s house! You know they’re really into Halloween. They already set up all the decorations in the yard!” 

 

Although it was still far from Saturday, Joey, already excited, was raising her voice about the topic of “Where should we go for the Halloween party to make sure it gets rumored as the most fun?” 

 

She was debating with more enthusiasm than her usual speech time, but unfortunately, she was having a hard time getting her point across, as she had encountered a tough opponent.

 

“Dylan.”

 

“Or Cooper’s? Last year’s Halloween party there was pretty fun.”

 

“Dylan.”

 

“If you don’t like that either, we could go to Eleanor’s. It might not be fun, but I was kind of curious about what a Halloween party thrown by a bunch of weirdos would be like.” 

 

“Dylan.”

 

No matter what suggestion she made, Dustin kept answering with “Dylan,” and eventually, Joey couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted.

 

“I don’t get it. What’s so special about Dylan’s house anyway?”

 

“His parents are going on a trip then.”

 

“I agree.”

 

“Me too.”

 

Even before Dustin had finished speaking, Ruth and Amanda, who had been half-listening and doing their own thing, immediately cast their votes in favor. 

 

Before Joey could even voice her opposing opinion, the majority of the panel had already raised their hands in favor of Dustin’s suggestion, so this year’s Halloween party destination was set to be Dylan Watkins’ house. 

 

Even Joey, though frustrated, had to admit that there was no better party venue than a house without parents, and she nodded in agreement.

 

For a long while after that, the kids kept bouncing ideas back and forth about Halloween costumes. Meanwhile, Jin sat absentmindedly, breaking apart the half-eaten food on her plate instead of joining the conversation.

 

In fact, Jin had stopped really hearing the kids’ chatter quite some time ago.

 

Tuk, tuk.

 

Jin, who had been absentmindedly poking at her cabbage salad with her fork, turned her head at the soft tapping sound on the table beside her. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Ruth glanced around at the noisy table once before lowering his voice.

 

“Huh?”

 

When Jin answered a beat late, Ruth gestured toward Jin’s tray with his eyes. On the plate, what was once cabbage had been torn apart and was now scattered into dozens of pieces. 

 

Only then did Jin stop the cabbage torture and awkwardly put down the fork.

 

“You looked upset during Spanish class too.”

 

At Ruth’s words, Jin recalled the reason for her depressed mood. 

 

No, it wasn’t that she had just recalled it now. It would be more accurate to say that she had been dwelling on what had happened with Mr. Wayne ever since world history class. 

 

A few hours ago, Mr. Wayne, the world history teacher, returned the essays he had collected from the students. As he handed back the graded essays, he offered brief pieces of advice. 

 

His comments were sometimes firm and sometimes merciless, but there was affection underneath. Furthermore, the occasional compliment from the strict Mr. Wayne made him feel like he had done well, and some of the children even cited this as the reason they liked him.

 

However, for Jin, the day Mr. Wayne graded assignments was not a day she looked forward to at all.

 

“Good job. However, this part seems to need some revisions. The evidence supporting this argument is a bit weak.”

 

Mr. Wayne’s finger pointed to the middle of the essay. Seeing that he had marked the second key point of the body, Jin sighs inwardly.

 

Since the claim part was pointed out, it was obvious that the supporting evidence below it wouldn’t receive good marks either. However, this part… 

 

Jin struggled fiercely during the short time Mr. Wayne passed by. If this was really his mistake, it would have been better to accept his words instead of refuting them and prepare better for the next test.

 

However, the part Mr. Wayne pointed out was something Jin had taken directly from a comment the teacher had briefly mentioned during class. It wasn’t something that appeared in the textbook, but she remembered it clearly because it had intrigued her at the time.  

 

It seemed unfair to lose points like this.

 

‘Let’s say something.’

 

“…But Mr. Wayne, I’m pretty sure you mentioned this last week in class. I have notes for that day, so if you could just check them once…” 

 

A small but clear voice came out, speaking with determination. Mr. Wayne, who had stopped walking at Jin’s protest, quietly watched the girl flipping through her notebook before opening his mouth. 

 

“Lee. I’ve seen countless Asians so far. They are smart and diligent. But they can also be arrogant and obsessive. They often push forward their belief that they are right, thinking they are clever.”  

 

I think you need to correct the illusion that you are smarter than your teacher.

 

The monotonous voice echoing in the quiet classroom carried with it a sense of boredom and faint weariness. Jin, who had been flipping through her notebook, flinched and stopped her hand.

 

Jin lifted her head, and her mouth slightly opened. The negative emotions emanating from him were something Jin had never felt before. 

 

What Jin had experienced from teachers in Korea were only praise, warm gazes, and at most, gentle scolding. This was the first time she encountered something sharp and harsh.  

 

Words like Asian, arrogant, obsessive, and stubborn floated around Jin’s head without being properly organized. Feeling the teacher’s unmistakable resentment through her skin, Jin couldn’t say a word and froze.

 

Mr. Wayne walked right past Jin. In the room he left behind, gazes filled with curiosity, pity, and interest turned toward her. Glances exchanged behind her and hushed whispers flew toward Jin, clinging to her like something sticky. 

 

Even after Mr. Wayne began the lesson, Jin couldn’t lift her head and kept staring at the corner of her textbook.

 

😉

 

In the corner of the white page, a small smiley face doodled by someone who had used the textbook before was winking at her.

 

As if locked in a staring contest, Jin kept her eyes fixed on the little smile. She was afraid that if she looked away, she would meet the gaze of the teacher looking at her with disdain and the kids snickering at her.

 

The essay, which she hadn’t been able to properly protest, was sure to receive a low grade, so she had to attend the class for the sake of the next assignment. 

 

But no matter how hard she tried, the things Mr. Wayne was saying just wouldn’t sink into her mind.

 

What mistake had she made, what had she missed, what had she done to offend them?

 

The thoughts flowing through her mind were all forms of self-criticism. Throughout the entire class, Jin remained frozen, constantly replaying her flaws in her head. 

 

Smiley Face stared at Jin as if teasing her.

 

“That’s… uhm…” 

 

The words that had risen to the tip of her tongue hesitated, and in the end, Jin shook her head. It’s nothing. 

 

“Isn’t it really nothing?”

 

“Mhm. Just because of the assignment.”

 

Jin knew that if she opened up to someone, she would feel much better. But…

 

Jin wasn’t sure that the kids would side with her over Mr. Wayne.

 

To Joey and Ruth, he was a smart and charismatic teacher, and Amanda admired him. Dustin was full of complaints about the assignments, but he didn’t seem to hold any real grudge against him either. 

 

Most people in Crawford had the same opinion of Mr. Wayne. He was a good teacher.

 

That’s why Jin felt even more uncertain—whether he was truly treating her unfairly, or if she was simply being overly sensitive. 

 

“Are you sure nothing’s wrong? You’re not avoiding anything again, right?”

 

“I’m not…”

 

Jin hesitated and eventually swallowed her words. She had no confidence that the kids would side with her. If she were to hear that it was her fault, she felt like the fragile hold she had on her emotions would shatter into pieces.

 

Jin chose to keep her mouth shut rather than gamble with her emotions. She had managed to endure up until now, so if it really became unbearable, she decided she would speak up then.

 

“It’s really okay. Just eat.”

 

Jin pushed Ruth’s face, still looking at her with doubt, away with her palm, and to show that she was fine, she picked up a piece of shredded cabbage with her fork. The torn vegetable bits wouldn’t stick to the fork, so Jin had to scoop them up with it before tasting them.

 

Jin pushed Ruth’s face, still looking at her with doubt, with the palm of her hand. To show that everything was fine, she picked up a piece of shredded cabbage with her fork—however, the torn vegetable bits couldn’t stay on the fork, so Jin had to scoop them up instead—and took a bite. 

 

Ruth didn’t seem fully convinced, but with a shrug of his shoulders, he signaled that he wouldn’t ask if Jin didn’t want to talk, then turned his gaze away.

 

Jin swallowed a sigh and relaxed the corners of her lips that she had been trying to raise, and went back to chopping cabbage.