Big and Small (2)
Big and Small (2)
[ Annex Lecture Hall ]
"Whoa, apparently the first-years are protesting in front of the main building right now."
When Im Kyung-soo muttered this, chin propped on his desk while he browsed the community forum, the students waiting for Baek Woo-jin in the lecture hall turned their gazes toward him.
"Protest? What kind of protest?"
The female student who always egged Im Kyung-soo on asked, and he held out his smartphone to answer.
"They're shouting that they have a right to attend Professor Baek's lectures too, demanding the Chairman come out and explain. It's a mess."
Perk.
Baek Ha-na's human ears twitched faintly as she lay sprawled next to Nam Seo-hee, her sleep disturbed by the abrupt change in environment.
"Heh, kids these days, their spirit is no joke."
"Right? We never would've dreamed of doing that in our year."
"Well, I do get how they feel."
"That's true."
The five students other than Baek Ha-na and Nam Seo-hee understood the freshmen's feelings. How fiercely had they themselves competed just to enter this place? Even after placing in the top hundred, they'd fought tooth and nail just to survive. The seven sitting in this lecture hall were the ones who had endured and endured until they were the only ones left.
"To have withstood those hellish assignments and practicals... I'm a little proud of myself today."
"Ugh... what's this crazy bastard saying. That tone is cringy as fuck."
"Maybe he didn't get hit enough over break. Might need to tune him up during this afternoon's practical, eh?"
At Im Kyung-soo's self-praise, his classmates each wrinkled their noses and snapped at him.
"But man, I feel bad for the freshmen."
"For what?"
At the female student's murmur, the students who had been berating Im Kyung-soo turned their heads.
"I mean, Professor Baek hates noisy stuff, doesn't he?"
"He does. Almost pathologically."
"My legs still go weak when I remember the time I got hit in the forehead with chalk just for sneezing."
"You crossed the line with that one."
"Yeah. You should've at least covered your mouth and pretended to hold it in. Didn't you just blatantly let it rip?"
"If you exaggerated a little, you'd think an explosion went off."
Im Kyung-soo, having carelessly brought up the topic, became the target of his classmates once more. True to his tanker role, he certainly knew how to draw aggro.
"Anyway, the more ruckus they cause, the further they get from Professor Baek's notice."
"True. If they wanted to complain, they should've pestered the Academic Affairs Department, not staged a protest."
"And I happened to overhear the assistant instructors talking—the Chairman was really walking on eggshells around Professor Baek during the last faculty meeting."
"Wouldn't it be weird if he didn't? He's the Executor's lover? Has a great voice? Face is insanely—fucking—handsome...."
"Whoa, hey. Hey! Snap out of it!!"
A male student grabbed the female student whose gaze was briefly growing hazy and shook her shoulders wildly.
"Sssip... ahem, a-anyway, his skills are at high-ranker level, so it'd be weirder if people weren't careful around him."
"Urgh, I was playing The Guild this morning and got so pissed when some random link flew at me, but then I watched it and totally lost it."
The topic of conversation naturally drifted from the freshmen's protest to Baek Woo-jin.
"Hey, Ha-na?"
"......?"
Ha-na, who'd had her eyes closed and ears perked, lifted her eyelids halfway and turned toward the voice.
"Ah! S-sorry. If you're sleepy, go back to sleep...."
"It's fine. What is it?"
There were about five minutes left until 9 a.m., so she needed to start waking up anyway. Ha-na stretched long and turned her body toward the upperclassmen sitting above her.
"Well, you see... I heard from some other seniors... Ha-na, they said you danced with Professor Baek at that party... is that true?"
Under the somewhat intense stares of the two female students awaiting an answer, Ha-na thought for a moment before speaking.
"It's true...?"
"Wow!!"
"Crazy!! You saw the professor's face up close?!"
As if completely forgetting the distance they usually kept from Baek Ha-na, the two female students leaped right over their desks to the seats directly behind her.
"Did you ask him, Ha-na?"
"What did it feel like to actually meet him? Huh?"
"Well, um, uh...."
A storm of questions began.
The three male students, lacking the courage to butt into the girls' conversation, kept their mouths shut, while Nam Seo-hee didn't push the two away, seeing as Ha-na was making an effort to keep the conversation going.
Slide.
"......!!"
The lecture hall door opened, and Baek Woo-jin, clad in the black coat that was his trademark, ascended the podium.
Scurry!!
Even though the conversation had been in full swing, Ha-na and the two girls who had been chattering away quickly returned to their seats, straightened their backs, and fixed their postures.
"I will skip the introductions."
Simultaneously, the mouth of the briefcase Baek Woo-jin set down opened, and paper handouts—now a familiar sight—flew toward the students.
"As it's the first day, I won't be giving a lecture. Instead, use this time to decide whether you want theory or practicals in the next class."
Baek Ha-na read through the handout filled with her favorite handwriting in the world.
『 1. Artificial Rift Practical 』
Difficulty: 5th Stage
Theme: Swamp
Objective: Base Camp construction and perimeter stabilization (3 days)
※ Each person will be responsible for their share of the supplies (food) necessary for Base Camp construction after discussion.
『 2. Artificial Rift Practical 』
Difficulty: 5th Stage
Theme: Snowfield
Objective: Base Camp construction and perimeter stabilization (3 days)
※ Each person will be responsible for their share of the supplies (food) necessary for Base Camp construction after discussion.
A total of ten options with different themes but identical objectives were written on the handout.
"I have a question."
Ha-na quietly raised her hand, and Baek Woo-jin merely gave a single nod without a verbal reply.
"You wrote 3 days for stabilization. Does that mean we have to hold out for 3 days?"
"You must defend the Base Camp from the moment you construct it, and keep it from being destroyed for three days."
"Thank you."
As Ha-na lowered her hand, Baek Woo-jin glanced around at the other students and continued.
"You may have seen the timetable, but the lecture originally scheduled for Thursday has been moved to Friday. If you choose the practical, consider your weekend gone."
At Baek Woo-jin's words to give up the weekend, Ha-na's eyes began to waver violently. From now until vacation, weekends were the only time she could comfortably meet Baek Woo-jin, and she was being told to give them up here.
"Though, choosing theory will likely be similar."
"......!!"
At Baek Woo-jin's next words, the eyes of the other six trembled fiercely. The lectures Baek Woo-jin gave were packed with material and so difficult that even Nam Seo-hee found them overwhelming. If they simply had to listen and understand, maybe they could manage somehow—but the real issue was, other professors assigned homework as well.
"...May I ask a question?"
This time, Nam Seo-hee raised her hand, and Baek Woo-jin gave the same single nod.
"If we choose the practical... I believe it will be difficult to complete the assignments given by other professors. I would like to ask if you could grant us some leniency."
"I will. If you choose the practical, I will use my authority to exempt you from other professors' assignments."
At those words, Nam Seo-hee and the other five made their decision.
"Ha-na. I'm sorry."
"S-Seo-hee, you...?"
For the first time, Baek Ha-na felt she could somewhat understand the heart of Yoon I-seul, who insisted on skill above all.
**
"Study on your own and move on to your next lecture."
Since the Friday lecture was confirmed as a practical by majority vote, I instructed the kids to self-study and left the lecture hall.
As lectures were in full swing, I exited the quiet annex and walked toward the main building. The reason was an email Chairman An Hyeon-do had sent before I entered the lecture hall, asking me to spare some time.
[ We demand an answer from the Chairman!! ]
As I drew closer to the main building, the voice of that fucking trash I'd seen earlier gradually became clearer.
**
"Haah, this is absolute fucking bullshit."
Kang Han-na glared at the freshmen shouting toward the main building, her face a scowl. Including her time as a student and now as an assistant instructor, she'd been at the Arena for nine years—and this was the first protest she'd ever seen. Newly admitted freshmen, no less.
'I can't just beat them all to death.'
As much as she wanted to inject some manners straight into their skulls right then and there, the situation prevented her from laying a hand on them yet.
The freshmen had gathered en masse, but they'd divided into left and right groups and left the path to the main building clear. That meant professors and assistants could still come and go as usual during the protest—which was precisely why Kang Han-na and the other professors couldn't forcibly disperse them.
[ We, the freshmen, have the rightful── ]
Shut it.
'......!!'
A voice carrying irresistible power instantly pressed down upon the entire area around the main building.
Click─ Click─
At the sound of approaching dress shoes, Kang Han-na unconsciously swallowed dryly.
And soon, an enormous shadow fell over her.
"An opportunity. Fine. I'll give you bastards an opportunity soon enough. Kang Han-na."
"You called, sir."
At the summons of the superior who had captured her heart, Kang Han-na answered with strict formality.
"Assign everyone 10 penalty points and disperse them. Suppress with force if they refuse."
"Yes. Understood."
Kang Han-na remained at attention until the superior—whose dignified grace emanated even from his walk—was completely out of sight.
And the moment the main building's door closed entirely.
"Get your heads down, you bastards."