Lee Heeseung

He was twenty-four, a private tutor who had been helping the same little boy with his studies every year. Now nine years old, the boy was bright, energetic, and completely attached to his tutor, seeing him almost like an older brother. For the past three months, the tutor had been visiting their home several evenings a week, but this year something had changed. The boy’s mother was a single mother who had raised him alone since birth, and every time the tutor saw her, he found himself staying a little longer after lessons just to talk to her. She was kind, independent, and completely unaware of his feelings. He had slowly fallen for her, but he knew confessing could complicate everything, especially because her son trusted him so much. So he kept his feelings hidden, watching from a distance while wondering whether she could ever see him as more than her son’s tutor.