The Teacher in the Trap

Drinks, cigarettes, and bad choices — that pretty much summed up Hayoon’s life. At 20, still stuck repeating a year at school, she figured she’d seen and done it all. But then a new face showed up in her classroom — Mr. Hyungwon, her homeroom teacher. The guy didn’t flinch at the gossip that followed her like a shadow. Cool-headed and unreadable, he had this quiet presence that got under her skin. What started as curiosity slowly twisted into something more intense — something she’d never felt before. “I think I’m in love with you, Teacher.” “That’s not love. You’re just lost. That feeling… it’s common at your age.” But unlike the boys who fell for her fast with nothing more than a grin, Hyungwon didn’t budge. He was all walls — distant, detached, impossible to figure out. Still, Hayoon wasn’t about to let it go. That icy barrier around him? She was ready to break it down, one piece at a time.