Miss Yoo Jinae stood at the podium while Dahyun was standing in front of the class next to her. Dahyun was feeling a little bit nervous facing the entire class. The class was so big that Dahyun didn't know who to look at. The students sat everywhere filled the entire class. There were three seats back faced the windows on the side that had students sitting in them seats. Dahyun assumed that they were the top oldest or class presidents of the class. Then there were seats column in 10 and 7 down the rows. Dahyun assumed that the students were assigned seats based on their age or their rank in the class.

Miss Yoo Jinae began to introduce the students to their new student, Dahyun.

Miss Yoo Jinae (*says to the class) : Today we have a new student.
Miss Yoo Jinae : please welcome her to our class.
Miss Yoo Jinae : this is Kim Dahyun and she will be joining us this school year.

Everyone looked at Dahyun confusingly because they weren't expecting any new students for the school year. Dahyun didn't want any awkward silence so she began to introduce herself to the class.

Dahyun (*bows politely & says) : Hello, im Kim Dahyun. please take care of me.

All the students in the class claps for Dahyun and Miss Yoo Jinae begins to say...

Miss Yoo Jinae : please take a seat at the empty seat in the back.
Dahyun : yes ma’am.

Dahyun walked to the empty seat at the back of the class and sat down. She took out her pencil, textbook, and notebook from her backpack. She was ready to work and listens to the teacher for instructions. Miss Yoo Jinae started to ask Dahyun........

Miss Yoo Jinae (*says to Dahyun) : i see that you have gotten your textbook already.
Dahyun : yes, i have.
Miss Yoo Jinae : good. (*asks) : have you read any of the contents yet ?
Dahyun : i have just a little.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : have you read the story starting on page 53 yet ?
Dahyun : i believe so.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*says to the class) : please turn to page 53 class and we will start reviewing.

All of the students took out their Literature textbook and turned to page 53. Some students didn't even review so they hid their heads down pretending the teacher didn't see. Miss Yoo Jinae looked at the class and realized that some of the students didn't do their reading the night before. So she asked Dahyun...

Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : would you like to summarize what the story is about ?
Dahyun : sure.
Miss Yoo Jinae : summarize it back in Korean, please.
Miss Yoo Jinae : yes.

Dahyun got ready and stood up to present what she read to the entire class. Everyone was listening to her carefully and was amazed on her first day of school.

Dahyun : The story is about a young boy who grows up to be who he wanted to be. He lost both of his parents in a fire accident when he was young. Since then, he had lived on his own in a small village. While living on his own, he had to make a living. So he delivered newspaper in the neighborhood, worked in a family own restaurant, and in a factory as he grew older. When he was in his teenage years, he became an overnight sensation singer on Youtube. Through his singing, he got signed to a company and began his career in singing. Years later, he discovered that he was diagnosed with cancer. Couple months later, he passed away from the illness. The end.
Dahyun stood there in silence waiting for Miss Yoo Jinae to ask her questions.

Miss Yoo Jinae : that's a very good summary, very detailed.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : what was the moral of the story ?
Miss Yoo Jinae : and what did the young boy learn ?
Dahyun : the moral of the story is happiness.
Dahyun : the young boy learned that no matter what obstacles you face in life,
Dahyun : you must face them.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : why do you think he shared his story to the world ?
Dahyun : i think is because he wants others to know that there are hardships in life.
Miss Yoo Jinae : just some simple questions i want you to answer.
Dahyun : yes.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : what was the name of the village he lived in ?
Dahyun : Tongyeong Village in a small town called Gyeongsangnam-do.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : At what age did he get discover for his singing on Youtube ?
Dahyun : he was 17 years old when he was discovered.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : Who was the person in his family that he discover had cancer ?
Dahyun : his great grandfather had cancer and that's how he discover he had it.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : At what age did he passed away ?
Dahyun : he passed away when he was 21 years old.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : and what was his name ?
Dahyun : Ryu Bong Yu.
Miss Yoo Jinae : excellent Dahyun.
Miss Yoo Jinae : you may sit back down.

Dahyun bowed politely and took a seat back down at her seat. Everyone was surprised to see how smart she was. They were all speechless of what her knowledge contained. Then Miss Yoo Jinae began talking to the entire class.

Miss Yoo Jinae : for those of you who didn't read the story,
Miss Yoo Jinae : Dahyun summarized everything you need to know.
Miss Yoo Jinae : please read what i assign to you.
Miss Yoo Jinae : i will ask every time i assign something to you.
Miss Yoo Jinae : we will now move onto your 'About Me' Introduction Speech.
Miss Yoo Jinae : remember what i said yesterday.
Miss Yoo Jinae : we all want to know something about yourself.
Miss Yoo Jinae : tell us something interesting and please keep it short.
Miss Yoo Jinae : we'll start with the order of the seats.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*says to Jinwoo) : please get ready to present in front of the class.
Jinwoo : yes.

While Jinwoo was getting ready to present his speech in front of the class, Miss Yoo Jinae said something to Dahyun.

Miss Yoo Jinae (*says to Dahyun) : you can just watch and listen to the speeches today.
Miss Yoo Jinae : you can do yours tomorrow when you have written it.
Dahyun : i would like to present today like everyone else.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : but you haven't written anything yet.
Dahyun : i can write it while i listen to everyone talk.
Miss Yoo Jinae (*asks) : can you manage to do two things at once ?
Miss Yoo Jinae : there will be a pop quiz at the end of the class.
Dahyun : i can do it. i want to do it today if that’s okay.
Miss Yoo Jinae : okay.

Dahyun began to write her introduction speech in her notebook and everyone was coming up one by one to present their introduction speeches. As everyone at the front of the class were done presenting their speeches, it was Dahyun's turn to present her speech. She stood up to the front of the class with her paper in front of her. She began to say...

Dahyun : Hello. I'm Kim Dahyun. I transferred from Gyeongju High School.
Dahyun : a fairy tale is how you describe my life.
Dahyun : i lose both of my parents at a very young age.
Dahyun : since, i lived with my step-family which consists of my mother and two sisters.
Dahyun : they took really good care of me when growing up.
Dahyun : through my hardships, i gained an interest in music and it became a passion.
Dahyun : i began to write and producing songs on my own at home.
Dahyun : i also love to make up my own dance moves for a routine.
Dahyun : that is it about me. thank you.

Dahyun bowed politely and everyone clapped for her. She went back to her seat and Miss Yoo Jinae called up the next student to present. By the end of the class session, everyone had already presented their speech and Miss Yoo Jinae had recorded the grade in her book.

After the class was over, the students waited for the next teacher to come in to the class. Miss Yoo Jinae asks to speak to Dahyun outside in the hallway before her next class starts.

Miss Yoo Jinae : the reason i called you out here is because of an assignment.
Dahyun (*asks in confusion) : what kind of assignment ?
Miss Yoo Jinae : all of the students were assigned to write a paper on a subject.
Miss Yoo Jinae : it was due on Friday of last week and i haven’t finished grading them yet.
Miss Yoo Jinae : i wanted you to write one as well.
Dahyun : yes, i understand.

Miss Yoo Jinae hands Dahyun the paper rubric and outline. Dahyun takes a skim look at it.

Miss Yoo Jinae : you can choose any topic of your choice from the list.
Miss Yoo Jinae : everything is on that sheet so just refer to it when you start your paper.
Miss Yoo Jinae : if you have any questions, just come ask me.
Dahyun (*asks) : when is this due ?
Miss Yoo Jinae : i want it by the end of this week, Friday.
Dahyun : yes.
Miss Yoo Jinae : i’m looking forward to reading your paper soon and seeing the ideas you have.
Dahyun : yes.

Miss Yoo Jinae walked away and Dahyun went back inside of the classroom to her seat.

After a while, Mr. Ben Luu came into the classroom teaching World Studies and Chemistry class. Even after a few hours went by, Dahyun’s classes went by really fast.

Notes