Do you remember Anthony? My travel school comrade, the outgoing male teacher, expert volleyball spiker, fighter of restaurant robots, English enthusiast? Yes? Well, he’s dead to me. To explain this saga, I need to line up some details. First, the characters: Anthony: male homeroom teacher at my travel school Jisoo: young female homeroom teacher at my travel school. She, her friend, and I all went out for burgers once. David: Anthony’s friend and male teacher at a different elementary school As of typing this, I have worked at my travel school every Wednesday for almost the past two years. I occasionally play volleyball with the other teachers and greet Jisoo…

I sat on a bench outside of the Lotte Cinema when I heard someone call for me. Two fourth grade girls ran up to my side, huffing in their haste and excitement. I should have guessed they were fourth grade; my older students are too surly to chase me down me the street. One was a girl in purple with a new bobbed haircut. Once she caught her breath, she and her friend giggled too much to say anything. I made out that they were en route to the supermarket. “What will you buy?” I asked in Korean. More giggles. “Pizza? Cake? Steak?!” They giggled more and shook their heads.…