My Beautiful Teacher

That night was probably the lowest moment of his life, as he would climax and then grieve, and then climax again. It was probably around two in the morning before he passed out from exhaustion...

~~~~~

The next morning, Tom woke up feeling like shit. With only five hours of sleep, he prepared himself and made his way to school.

Walking in the hallways of the school like a zombie, he coincidentally met Miss Nakamura.

Forcing a smile, Tom tried greeting her normally, "Good morning, Miss Nakamura."

To no surprise, however, he was met with nothing but the cold shoulder, as she passed him without even acknowledging his presence.

Tom felt a sting in his chest. He didn't feel indignant, as he knew he deserved this, if not worse. Even though he knew this, it still hurt to be confronted with reality. Going through the classes in a blur, even James' usually carefree banter failed to lift his mood.

That day just happened to be another day with a literature class; however, it was completely different from yesterday.

Unlike yesterday, Miss Nakamura didn't even let her eyes pass over his seat as she walked into the classroom.

During the lesson, Tom tried to engage himself, yet was only met with more coldness. When he answered a question yesterday, Miss Nakamura would be enthused and further explain what he had said, yet this time he was only met with, "Correct." She didn't ignore him. Instead, he was only met with cold words and a cold gaze, emotionlessly responding to him.

Tom realized that what he had done would never be forgiven. He had accomplished one of his deep desires, yet ended up sacrificing the bond he had with the person he liked.

After class ended, he returned home, feeling even more demotivated than before.

Since then, he stopped meeting up for literature lessons and tried to avoid Miss Nakamura.

He felt pathetic, yet Tom was still just an 18-year-old boy, facing his first heartbreak and he couldn't even blame anyone but himself. He couldn't even discuss it with anyone, as even he knew that what he had done could be explained with no other words than disgusting.

Even though he had never felt embarrassed by his fetishes, he, at least, knew they weren't normal.

Going through the days, he started meeting later and later for school, finding it hard to find any motivation to care. You could say he was lucky for being intelligent enough to keep his grades on tests, despite his lack of attendance, yet it ended up also serving as a curse, making Tom feel nothing pushing him towards school.

Even the teachers didn't make a great fuss about this, as his grades continued. He lived alone, so not even his parents complained, as the only information they got was his grades. It seemed like there wasn't a person in the world who paid Tom any mind, which he thought was quite convenient, yet at the same time saddened him deep inside.

Meanwhile, one pair of eyes was looking over his attendance chart with a complicated look.

Yuna had been absolutely disgusted by Tom, deciding to cut all ties with him. Ignoring him when alone and treating him like a stranger when around other people. It proved quite effective, soon causing him to avoid her on his own.

At first, she felt quite satisfied with this. In the first place, she had only known the kid for two days before the request, so he was basically a stranger to her. It shouldn't be that different from normal without him around. Yet, after a few days passed, she noticed that she somehow began feeling something was missing in her days.

She was 38, having long grown used to the monotone life of adults. However, those two days with Tom had made her somehow feel young again, both days being full of action and first-time experiences. Even though she wanted to deny it, she missed the subtle excitement Tom's presence brought to her life. When she began thinking of Tom this way, she also began thinking of the incident again, feeling disgusted.

She couldn't hate Tom anymore, however.

First off, she realized that, as the older person between the two, she should have been more responsible when handling a teenager, whom she knew had feelings for her. In hindsight, allowing Tom to request anything as a favor was a mistake. Of course, she couldn't have expected he would ask for something so outrageous, so she didn't entirely take the blame on herself.

Second off, even though she would never admit it to anyone, and hated herself for even thinking it, the experience wasn't so bad after all. When it happened, she felt nothing but disgust, yet when she looked past that, all that was left was a very comfortable sensation of having the sweat cleaned from her feet.

Lastly and most importantly, was Tom himself. Even she couldn't deny he was a very handsome boy. As a woman, she naturally felt more positively inclined toward good-looking men. Thinking back on Tom's handsome face worshiping her feet, made even her feel slightly flattered.

On top of this was the fact Tom instantly stopped licking her feet when she told him the time was up, proving he still prioritized her over his lust. The fact that she always felt like Tom was an open book to her, with no secret intentions, made her feel like she could trust him. Ironically, the fact that he had openly revealed his deepest desires to her ended up proving this further.

It was embarrassing to think, but she somehow felt like she was the one in control of the relationship. With her trust issues towards men, this fact made her feel strangely comfortable.

Once she realized all these things, she decided that maybe she had been treating Tom a little too harshly. Therefore, she decided she would try to mend the bond they had.

She wanted to do this discreetly, starting with talking to him at school again. This proved to be a larger hurdle than she expected, however.

Tom no longer showed up to her lessons, so there were no opportunities there. He also had started meeting late for school, so there was no chance in the morning. He went home early, so no chances after school either. During the breaks, he would be surrounded by friends, which made it impossible to discreetly interrupt.

This led to the present day with Yuna looking at Tom's attendance chart. She realized Tom had taken a greater hit from the incident and her following cold behavior than she noticed at first. Since she had decided to forgive Tom, she also ended up feeling slightly guilty, as the main cause of this teen's delinquency.

Additionally, as a 38-year-old veteran teacher, she had dealt with all sorts of students. She noticed that it seemed Tom was left to his own devices by all the people around him, as not even the teachers had been trying to stop Tom from spiralling into this delinquency.

Steeling her resolve, she decided on a plan and went to bed...

~~~~~

Tom was awoken by the sound of knocking at the front door. Picking up his phone beside his pillow, he looked at the time. 7.15. It had been weeks since he last woke up at this time. Groggily getting out of bed, he stumbled around towards the door, wondering who would be disturbing him this early in the morning.

Too tired to care about checking the peephole, he, instead, popped the door half open. With half his body out the door, he was instantly shocked to see who this early visitor was.

"Good morning, Tom, you little delinquent. Get ready, I'll give you a ride to school," Yuna said, half smiling at the half-asleep boy who opened the door.

Tom just stood there stunned in response, feeling like his jaw might hit the floor from disbelief. Unsurprisingly, he even began thinking this was just a very lucid dream. After all, the woman who hated him just yesterday was offering to drive him to school.

Yuna noticed Tom's stunned state, finding it kind of amusing, "What, are you going to keep me waiting?"

Tom snapped out of his stunned state, as he clumsily answered, "No, not at all! I'll be right back," before stumbling back inside to get ready, even forgetting to close the door.

As Tom stumbled back inside, Yuna could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She had been a bit worried Tom wouldn't treat her as warmly as before, yet it seemed she had no reason to worry. Besides this, she had also been a bit stunned when Tom opened the door. Tom slept without a shirt and just pajama pants, exposing his lean and muscular upper body. Even Yuna had a hard time not blushing when seeing such an enticing sight.

Tom had never gotten ready quicker in his whole life. Five minutes later, he stumbled back out the door, now wearing a black t-shirt and some blue jeans, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Nakamura."

"You can just call me Yuna when we aren't at school. Let's get going." Yuna turned around, making her way for the elevator.

Tom was stunned once again, only following behind Yuna in a trance.

This treatment was just too different than the past few weeks, he began thinking she had mistaken him for someone else.

When they reached the elevator, Tom built up his courage, "Mis...Umm, Yuna, I wanted to apologize to you for that day. That was not all right at all, and I realize I betrayed your trust, but—"

Tom changed the way he referred to her after getting a dissatisfied glance from Yuna.

"Just so we are clear, I haven't forgiven you for that incident."

After hearing this, Tom realized that he had been too optimistic, "Of course, I realize it was unforgivable."

Yuna looked over at Tom's dejected face, saying, "But, I am willing to overlook it, considering that I might have just a smidge of blame for how the situation turned out."

Tom's whole face instantly brightened, to the point where it even surprised Yuna, "No, no, you are not to blame at all, Yuna. I swear it will never happen again."

"And it better not, this is your last chance. You better be on your best behavior, or else..." Yuna said with a stern face.

"Yes, yes, won't happen again. Good behavior is my middle name, so you have nothing to worry about there."

A smile appeared on Yuna's lips at Tom's foolish claims.

They arrived at the bottom floor, as the elevator doors opened. Yuna made for her car, as Tom giddily followed behind her, nearly smiling from ear to ear.

It was just ten minutes ago, she knocked on his door, yet she was already feeling her mood improving. Yuna felt happy that she decided to reach her hand out to Tom again.

On the other hand, Tom felt like he arrived in heaven after walking the path to hell. He had a hard time handling this unexpected wave of happiness. Furthermore, the love he had for Yuna became even more deeply seeded.

As she drove to the school, Tom realized she had noticed his lack of school attendance, deciding to reach out to him. The unconscious sadness he had felt from being neglected by the people around him was instantly replaced by love for Yuna. His love before was entirely based on the fact she seemed perfect in his eyes. Now, however, a bunch of other emotions, such as gratitude, were mixed in, making his feeling of love even more profound than before.

Not realizing she was further captivating this young boy, Yuna drove to school, feeling quite satisfied with herself.

When Tom arrived on time, all his friends looked at him like they had seen a ghost.

After sitting down, James was the first to come over, "What's going on Tom, did you catch a fever? It is only 7.45."

"What are you talking about, I always meet at this time," Tom said, causing James to be stunned, before smiling.

"Seems someone has recovered. What, did you finally realize the futility of your endeavors?"

"James, it seems you have forgotten that your best friend is a stud. What could possibly be futile for me?"

"Haha, hearing you say that makes you seem very hateful. Seems you haven't been hurt enough yet."

"Let's not talk about this," Tom said, realizing that even he felt his situation to be hopeless, albeit not as bad as before.

Even though Yuna had reached out to him again, it was pretty clear she was seeking a friendship, and nothing deeper than that. However, learning from his last lesson, he no longer dared to seek anything more, afraid of driving her away again. If settling for friends meant he could keep the bond between them, then that is what he would do.

The day passed by quickly. After hearing Yuna request good behavior, the obedient Tom, of course, wouldn't refuse. He enthusiastically engaged in all the lessons, surprising both the other students and the teachers.

As this continued for the next few weeks, it became quite the story in the teachers' lounge, as everyone discussed how this change came to be. All not knowing that the main cause was also sitting in that room, smiling to herself.

As the day ended, Yuna got into her car and happily drove home.

Once she got home, she changed into some more casual clothes, before going outside and knocking on Tom's door.

Within seconds, the door opened, and a smiling Tom greeted her, "Welcome home, Yuna."

Yuna looked at him with a playful glare, "I thought I told you to stop with that greeting, it makes it sound like this is my home."

"Yes, yes, whatever you want. I have already prepared some coffee, so get inside while it's still warm," Tom said, before walking inside.

Yuna followed him in. This had been her routine for the past few weeks.

At first, Tom had invited her over to talk. At the time, she had been suspicious, afraid Tom was once again trying something, yet they just ended up casually talking about their days.

After that, Yuna began to come over once a week, which turned into twice a week, to now basically coming over every day to talk. She found it very pleasant to share what happened during the day. On top of this, Tom always engaged in her stories, making her not feel stupid for sharing these things with him.

Tom would also share his own stories, which made Yuna feel closer to him, feeling like she was learning more about this 18-year-old.

Sometimes, she even forgot he was only 18 years old, as his perspectives on situations seemed far too mature for his age.

These seemingly meaningless conversations helped her calm down from work. Tom's often carefree perspective made the seemingly stressful problems in her life seem meaningless to worry about.

As they both sat down in the living room, they began talking about their days. Time flew by, and dinner time arrived.

Realizing this, Yuna stood up and said, "Well, I better head home."

A slightly sad expression flashed over Tom's face, before quickly being replaced by a smile, "See you tomorrow, be safe on your way back."

As usual, Yuna smiled in response to Tom's stupid comments, "It's only five meters to the right, what am I supposed to be careful of?"

"I guess you are right, haha."

Yuna noticed that even though Tom was smiling, he seemed quite saddened that she was leaving. She also felt it was unfortunate that they had to part already, so she mustered her courage and said, "How about coming over for dinner, if you don't mind my cooking?"

Surprised, Tom's face instantly lit up, "Sure! I would be happy to."

Yuna felt herself getting happy in response to Tom's obvious glee, telling herself, 'I'm just inviting him over to talk a little more, nothing else to it.'

Yuna walked out of Tom's house, as Tom giddily followed behind her.

It might seem like Tom was still trying to get together with Yuna, yet in his mind, this wasn't the case at all.

After the last experience, he had become scared of trying. He was just enjoying the company of the person he loved, not daring to dream of anything more. Even this invitation didn't incite any fantasies, something that would have been impossible in the past.

Even though this was the case, Tom still felt kind of nervous as he walked into Yuna's house for the first time. As he entered the living room, he instantly noticed the subtle smell of Yuna's natural musk in the air, having the urge to take in a deep breath, yet he quickly stopped himself.

"Wait at the table, I'll prepare the food," Yuna said, preparing to walk into the kitchen.

"Wait, let me help," Tom interrupted.

"Help? Can you even cook?" Yuna looked at him suspiciously.

"I've lived alone for a few months now, so if I couldn't cook, I would have starved to death by now."

"I'll be the judge of that, but all right, follow me."

The two went into the kitchen, where Yuna was soon surprised.

She had expected Tom to clumsily try to keep up with her, yet he skillfully moved around the kitchen. With both effectively working together, they soon finished the dinner.

Sitting down, they began to eat, joyfully conversing the whole time.

During the conversation, Yuna slowly forgot that Tom was her student, as she began to even talk about non-work related topics, which she usually would never bring up.

"And then my sister told me that I was looking older as of late. She even told me to remember to moisturize my face more often. It's a hard world for women," Yuna said, sighing while still smiling.

She had been a loner her whole life, and as she became older, she didn't really have any friends to converse with either. This was the first time in a while that she got to gush as much as she wanted.

"Really? to me you are getting prettier by the day, so to think she would say something like that," Tom said, feeling a little frustrated on Yuna's behalf.

After saying that, Tom noticed that no response arrived. Looking over at Yuna, she was just blankly staring at him, which caused his heart to skip a beat, as he realized his mistake.

"Ummm, that wasn't me trying to hit on you, it was just my honest thoughts... uhh, that wasn't it either, sorry," Tom rubbed the back of his head, feeling awkward and scared he had made Yuna feel uncomfortable again.

Seeing Tom act like this made Yuna snap out of her stunned state, "No need to apologize, I was just distracted for a moment," pausing a bit, she continued, "Thank you, that was very kind of you to say."

Tom breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had dodged a bullet. Joy resurfaced on his face, as they continued talking, albeit with Yuna being less responsive.

The cause of this was the internal chaos that was brewing inside Yuna at the moment. She hadn't expected Tom would say something like that, so she had both been surprised by the words, as well as the flutter in her heart that they had caused. She knew she was pretty, so she had never felt flattered by people praising her appearance, yet for some odd reason, when this 18-year-old said it, it triggered emotions in her.

Soon, the dinner ended, and it was time for Tom to leave. At the door, he waved her happily goodbye, "Thank you for the dinner. I'll cook you some tomorrow, so look forward to it."

"Since you helped here, I will, of course, also give you a hand. Now, get to bed. There's still a school day tomorrow," Yuna said with a smile.

"Yes, Ma'am," Tom said, giving an exaggerated salute, before walking into his apartment.

Seeing the door close, Yuna released a massive sigh, 'What am I doing?' Filled with internal dilemmas, she closed the door.

Meanwhile, Tom skipped into bed. He wasn't really a religious person, yet he suddenly felt like thanking god for giving him life at this moment...

~~~~~

The daily conversations changed into talking over dinner, as the two would alternate to cook in their respective apartments.

Weeks passed. Yuna felt herself becoming more and more conscious of Tom. The young, handsome face that used to just be a nice face, began causing her heart to flutter. The muscular physique which used to just be a part of Tom's frame, began to make her lie awake at night.

She was aware that she no longer seemed to be in control of her emotions, and that she should be trying to distance herself from Tom before she made some big mistake. She was unable to do so, however. The sheer happiness she experienced every day while visiting him after work, made it impossible for Yuna to just break their bond like last time.