Ace felt his heart leap as his teacher pulled him aside. "U-uhm... sure..." He replied simply. "Lunch is fine." He scoured his brain trying to think of what Mr. Lin could want to talk with him about. He knew Mr. Lin often just wanted to check in on students, so he really didn't have to worry, right? He had been feeling a bit faint today though, so he eventually resigned himself to eating a pastry if Mr. Lin had them today.

As the bell for lunch rang, Ace was quick to leave his math class, he didn't like the teacher anyway, and went to Mr. Lin's office, neither hurrying to get there nor taking his time. He knocked softly on the door to the office, hesitantly saying quietly, "You wanted to see me...?"

Ace eyed the pastry box, having a momentary internal battle before reminding himself he said he'd eat one if they were present. He picked out a coconut bun and took a bite. It was so good, and made him question just how long he had gone without eating this time. As Yunjin spoke, Ace quickly tried to search for a reason he could be 'out of it,' but couldn't really come up with much that wasn't just the truth. "Um... well, the other teachers have started really stressing finals were coming up... I'm worried about science and English, I haven't been doing well on the essays or tests and mom would be so disappointed if I got a bad grade..." Theoretically, he added mentally - he had never actually gotten a bad grade on a final report card, somehow always managing to pull through at the last minute, and his mom never told him he had to get perfect grades, but Gwen had, and she did praise him when his report cards came in. He curled up into the chair, resting his chin on his knees and frowning at the pastry. "Been stressed, I guess." He said, using those words as a means of ending his rambling before he revealed a little too much.

Ace perked his head up at the mention of getting a tutor. "Um... sure. That would be helpful." He replied simply.

He shifted uncomfortably, feeling like he was getting caught in a lie even though he hadn't actualy lied; just didn't tell the whole truth. He flipped back and forth in his mind whether or not he should say more, or leave it at that and actually lie. He looked down as he rested his head back on his knees and muttered, barely audible, "I guess there's bullying happening..." He hadn't told a teacher since he was in probably first or second grade. When he had done so then, the teacher had "a firm talk" with his bully, and then the bullying got worse, so to even admit it to Yunjin it was happening made him nervous. But he wasn't going to point fingers this time, even if the worst of his bullies weren't at this school; he didn't even want to know what kind of retaliation he'd face now that they were older.

((TW: mentions of eating disorder and self-harm in this post.))

Ace realized he must have essentially frozen in place when Yunjin placed a cup of tea in front of him, and he almost instinctively took a big bite of the pastry. Which, in retrospect, was not the smartest idea, but at least it gave him an excuse to remain silent as he digested everything Yunjin told him. He had never thought about getting a counselor; as a kid, it seemed like it would be too much of an inconvenience on his family, but now he was old enough to walk himself, or take the bus if necessary. He knew he needed a counselor, but to admit it was scary, let alone admit it to his family.

"A place to stay for breaks. My classes are fine." He said as he was almost done with the food in his mouth, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked down, intensely studying the remainder of his coconut bun, "and maybe a counselor, one I could maybe see at school, or nearby school. For... school stress." He was afraid if he admitted his eating disorder and self-harm to a counselor they'd have to tell him mom, and he didn't want that. But he also knew he needed help; having a safe place in GSA helped to ease the self-harm habits, but they didn't stop. He sipped on the tea, hesitantly glancing to Yunjin. As he set the cup back down, he felt a little braver, like the tea that reminded him of home and the comfort-food pastry were giving him more confidance, "And quite honestly, I don't even know if my academics matter, because I've never come home with bad grades. For all I know, I'm stressing over getting perfect grades for nothing. But my mom has her own business, and my sister is in school for nursing... And my mom is so proud of my sister..." He faded off, not really sure where he was going with this topic. Where ever it was supposed to go, however, was not this direction, and he forced himself to stop talking before he got emotional.

Ace finished the coconut bun and hesitantly reached for another, observing one before grabbing it, taking a bite, and being glad his assumptions that it was a pineapple bun was correct. "I'll wait until that youth advocate comes in. And maybe I will check out the LGBTQ+ center at some point."

He stared intently at his tea, not sure how to tell a mandated reporter that what he had to tell a therapist would activate the need for a mandated reporter in the first place, instead silently nodding. It took a moment before he looked back up, giving Mr. Lin a smile. "I appreciate it, and will definitely look into counseling services, depending on how easy it is to go to the LGBTQ+ Center, I think going there would be beneficial in more than one way." A part of him was curious what his teacher's partner was like. But that was a totally different topic. He finished his tea and gently placed the cup back on the desk. "Thank you." He added simply, "For the resources, and things to consider, and yummy food."

Ace nodded, taking the card and shoving it into his jacket pocket. "Thank you." He said softly, following Yunjin out to see the door code. He smiled at the comment about taking pastries, though he wasn't sure if he'd do so, it somehow humored him that his teacher had that set up in the first place.

He gave Yunjin a small bow, "Thanks again, Mr. Lin. I'll remember that. See you in Chinese class!" He said simply.