Ch 200
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 200
"It's fine."
"Aw, don't be like that and just let me. I'm pretty good at taking photos, you know."
I said it was fine, but since he was reaching out his hand as if trying to grab my phone, I quickly dodged.
"What are you doing? Why are you trying to take someone else's phone..."
"You really are incredibly fast. I'm really good at taking photos though."
"I said it's fine!"
Why is he being so annoying?
Don't tell me this guy still has feelings for me?
"...Is this perhaps because of what happened last time?"
"What happened last time? What are you talking about?"
"You seem to be so wary of me, I thought maybe you were still thinking about the confession I made last time..."
"Like I said back then, you're not my type, you know?"
Even though he's lost a lot of weight since he first confessed and has become somewhat more human-like, he's still not my type.
Even if he were my type, I only have eyes for Teacher.
"You're being so cold. But this time I really was just trying to help you out with pure intentions."
So does that mean his confession last time came from bad intentions?
As expected, I don't like this kid.
"It's fine, so I'd appreciate it if you could stop showing interest in me."
"Huh? Eunseo, what are you doing here? Oh, Ji-sung is here too."
It's Jinsu, completely soaked with water.
"It's nothing. Why are you coming back already?"
"I forgot I had my phone in my pocket and went in like that."
"What are you going to do? You really have a knack for forgetting the wrong things. Did you try turning the phone on?"
"I wiped off the water and tried to turn it on to check, but Minhee stopped me. She said she had dropped hers in water before and had it repaired, and you shouldn't turn it on while it's still wet."
"Of course. Even if it looks fine on the outside, there's probably still moisture inside, right?"
"Yeah. She said when we went shopping earlier and bought seaweed, there's some preservative? Moisture absorber? Anyway, if you bury it in rice with that stuff, it might come back to life."
"That's only when you drop it in clean water, isn't it?"
"Don't badmouth it. I still have over a year left on my contract. But what are you two doing here?"
"It's nothing. I was going to the bathroom and this guy started talking to me."
"What about?"
"Senior Eunseo seemed like she was going to take a selfie, so I was suggesting that I help her. I'm quite into photography, you see."
"I said I didn't need it, but he kept bothering me."
"What? Ji-sung, do you perhaps like Eunseo? If that's the case, give up. Eunseo has really high standards."
"I know. I confessed when I first saw her at the entrance ceremony and got rejected."
"Whoa, really?"
"Lee Jinsu, stop talking nonsense and go save your phone. I'm going to the bathroom too."
"Aren't you going to take photos?"
"I said I didn't need to."
I don't know if this kid really can't understand what I'm saying, or if he only hears what he wants to hear...
I didn't want to deal with him anymore, so I passed by the two of them and came to the villa.
***
"Don't be too discouraged. I told you she has high standards. There's probably a truckload of guys who confessed and got rejected."
Senior Jinsu patted my shoulder a couple of times as he headed to the villa, but I'm not sure if he's consoling me or teasing me.
I'm getting slightly annoyed.
It's true that I confessed at first, but just now I really was just trying to help with pure intentions.
Lee Ji-sung, this bastard's image is so messed up that I'm trying my best to appear kind whenever possible.
Providing the villa and various other conveniences for today's student council training is also for that reason.
At first, I confessed because I didn't know any better.
Seong Eunseo, that bitch, isn't even a heroine and is just an extra who wasn't even mentioned by name in the original work.
Her looks aren't even that much prettier than the heroines, so I don't know why she's acting so high and mighty...
I don't really have any interest in her anymore, but seeing her act like that makes me feel spiteful.
***
After coming out of the portal and checking my phone, I had quite a lot of contacts.
Maybe because I suddenly didn't go to the MT, Do-hyun also sent me a message asking if I was okay.
Eunseo sent many messages and several photos too - the facilities look good, the water is clean... it looks fun.
Reading through the messages, it seems that Ji-sung guy provided both the villa and the boat - he seems to be making a lot of effort to improve his image.
In the original work, I think they went to an ordinary beach.
Well, it should be fine.
I briefly replied and called Se-jin.
I did confiscate all the food and drinks, but Se-jin might stop by the portal to buy some for me.
—Oh? Teacher!
"What are you doing?"
—I'm at the guild right now. I still have work left to finish.
"Are you working overtime today?"
—You told me not to come to the portal for a week, Teacher. I wanted to finish a bunch of work so I could see you with peace of mind.
"Ah, now that I think about it, that's right."
Yesterday I called Se-jin and told her not to come to the portal for a week.
Zhang Sambong said that if he met anyone other than me, Master, and Luciel whom he first encountered, causality would be required and his time staying in the human world would be reduced.
I really made up my mind to focus only on training for a full week, but thinking about today's events again, Zhang Sambong was too much.
Just because he's Master's friend, what kind of Taoist is he?
—Teacher, what kind of training are you doing that you even told me not to come?
"Later... no, wait. Do you have time now? Do you still have a lot of work left? If it's okay, let's grab a meal together."
If I go back right away, he probably won't reflect much, so I'm thinking of making him sweat for two or three hours.
—Yes. It's not really urgent anyway, and I can do it at home, so let's meet at my house then.
"Sounds good. I'll come right now."
I hung up the phone and used teleportation magic to come to Se-jin's house.
I thought she might be cooking in advance, so I went to the kitchen, and Se-jin appeared at that moment.
"You came quickly."
"You said it wasn't urgent. If anything, didn't Teacher come too early?"
"Is that so?"
"Do you have rice?"
"Oh, actually I've been eating at the company recently, so I need to cook fresh. Are you very hungry?"
"A little? Actually, I couldn't even eat lunch."
"You didn't even eat lunch? What kind of training are you doing to be so dedicated..."
"Training, my ass. It's just stupid dog training."
I was looking for someone who wasn't even there without eating.
Of course, I couldn't find them even when they were there, but there's a difference between having a possibility and being completely impossible.
Today was really no different from stupid dog training.
"Seeing Teacher use such words, it seems like very difficult training, but please don't skip meals."
"Only Se-jin thinks of me. Should I just order delivery if you have to cook?"
"Delivery food is bad for your health."
"But occasionally it's okay, isn't it?"
"It'll be ready soon, so please wait in the living room watching TV or something."
"I can't let someone who just came from work do it alone. I'll help too."
I have a conscience too.
I helped Se-jin prepare dinner.
"Now we just need to wait for the rice to cook, so please go to the dining table now."
We had dinner together and chatted, and she said she'll be inaugurated as guild master this December.
Originally, she was planning to attend training until the first half of next year, but since she became an S-rank hunter this time, they moved up the schedule a bit.
"Then from December on, should I call you Guild Master Kim Se-jin?"
"Teacher, really. What's that supposed to be?"
I also talked about Zhang Sambong and today's training.
Se-jin already knows about Zhang Sambong since she heard about him from Master.
Well, it should be fine as long as she doesn't meet him directly.
Of course, I didn't talk about anything related to Luciel.
There's no proper way to explain to Se-jin that the difficulty of this world increased because I didn't give up on Luciel.
To begin with, considering Se-jin's personality, she wouldn't scold me asking why I didn't give up on Luciel.
Even if I somehow explained it, she'd just worry needlessly.
As the Primordial Heavenly Honored One said, since it's something I chose, it's right for me to take responsibility.
I ate a delicious dinner, had a cup of coffee, and returned to Mount Seorak where the portal is.
I thought about staying longer, but Se-jin has work to do, and while it wasn't three hours, this should be enough education.
As soon as I entered the portal, Master and Zhang Sambong were standing there with serious expressions.
Usually only Luciel comes out to wait, so they must have been quite anxious.
"Where have you been?"
"I went out for a quick stroll."
"A stroll? Didn't you tell me earlier that you were going to get beer? You were gone for so long that I went to check, and the refrigerator was completely empty."
"I thought it would interfere with training, so I took care of it."
"Interfere with training? What do you mean by that?"
"Didn't Zhang Sambong, who is Master's friend, make me train and then hold a drinking party in broad daylight?"
"No, you couldn't find it so much that I thought today was a lost cause and came. Just because of that..."
"It's not 'just because of that.' Even if I succeed in harmonizing with the world, if Zhang Sambong isn't here, I won't know whether I succeeded or failed, right?"
"Absolute Domain isn't something you can learn in just a day or two... Well, anyway, didn't you train hard thanks to me?"
This old man still hasn't come to his senses.
Is that supposed to be something to say right now?
"Shin-hyeok, I really didn't know. I'll scold this guy properly to teach you correctly..."
"Master, have you ever heard of collective responsibility? You were watching Fake Men last time, so you should know."
"No... I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"
"I'm sure Master must have offered him alcohol, am I wrong?"
"..."
‘You know me so well.’
"Besides, isn't Zhang Sambong Master's friend? Master, are you abandoning your friend now?"
"No..."
I think Master had forgotten for a moment because I've been treating him too well recently, but between us, I'm always the one in charge.
Of course, I did pressure and interrogate him, but in the end, I restored all the alcohol and food to their original state.
Instead, I firmly warned Master that if he doesn't teach Zhang Sambong properly, I won't give him even a drop of ramen broth in the future, and I got Zhang Sambong himself to promise that he would never do it again.
***
"Senior Eunseo, the stew is really delicious."
"It's because the ingredients are good. Eat a lot."
We had a barbecue party and recreation for dinner yesterday evening, and even though I woke up early this morning to prepare meals, seeing my juniors eat well makes all the hard work worthwhile.
"Senior, what's today's schedule? Can't we go to the sea again after eating this?"
"The boat to take us back comes at 1 o'clock, so... we can't do too much, but it should be okay until 11 o'clock."
Minhee, who was sitting next to me, answered instead of me.
"That's a relief."
"Let's eat quickly. So we can go play."
Even after playing so much yesterday, they don't seem tired at all... I'm not that old either, but I can't keep up with my juniors' stamina.
"Wait. Junior students, playing is good, but since the female students made breakfast this morning, the male students should do the dishes, right?"
At Minhee's words, everyone is making a fuss saying they should decide with rock-paper-scissors.
After finishing breakfast, I went up to my room to pack, and my sister and Minhee came to find me.
"Eunseo, are you already packing? Let's go to the sea with us too."
"I woke up early so I'm a bit tired, so I was going to organize and rest."
"Aw, don't be like that and come with us. Once summer vacation ends, it's the second semester and graduation - when will we all come together like this again?"
"Right. The vice president can't be absent, right?"
It was annoying, but since the two of them insisted so much, I changed clothes and left the villa.
When we came to the beach, the male students had also finished doing the dishes and were playing.
My sister and Minhee also ran straight toward the sea - did they apply sunscreen beforehand?
"Eunseo, you come in quickly too."
"I'll apply some sunscreen first."
They'll suffer later if they do that.
I sat on the sun bed and was applying sunscreen when Jinsu, who was in the sea, suddenly shouted.
"Ev... Everyone run away!"