They Won't Listen (1)
They Won't Listen (1)
[Magitech Workshop - Seoul Branch]
"Please come again~"
Leaving the counter clerk and her professional smile behind, Kim Seong-won and Choi Min-sik hurried outside and flagged down a taxi.
"Arena Academy!!"
"Yeees~"
Only after the taxi started moving did Kim Seong-won roughly wipe the beads of sweat from his broad forehead with his sleeve.
The moment the academy contacted them, they'd turned their boat around and made landfall. Driving back to Seoul would have taken far too long, so they had no choice but to use the ruinously expensive teleport portal.
"Haah, when am I supposed to go back and get the car?"
Because Kim Seong-won's car had broken down, the two of them had taken Choi Min-sik's car to the coast. Then they'd returned via portal, leaving Choi Min-sik's vehicle sitting forlornly by the sea.
"The car's not the problem."
"Well, no, but..."
On the boat ride over, they had roughly worked out a plan for damage control, but with so many students involved in the training room, some gossip was unavoidable.
"Anyway, it's always the ones who already have everything who cause the most trouble. Why do you think those kids turned out like that? They learned it watching their parents up at the top."
"My head hurts. Let's just keep quiet until we get there. Please."
"Tch."
Kim Seong-won fell silent, and thanks to that, Choi Min-sik enjoyed a quiet ride the rest of the way to the academy.
After a quick tap of Kim Seong-won's card, the two of them sprinted across the academy grounds, not even thinking about the state of their clothes.
Fortunately, the hats pulled low over their faces kept any students from recognizing them.
They reached the main building in an instant, took the elevator to the second floor, and pushed open the door to the administrative office.
-...?
-What.
The eyes of the staff on weekend duty turned toward them.
Just then, the Academic Affairs Department employee who had called Choi Min-sik spotted his boss and rose from his seat.
"Chief."
"Ah, there you are."
Only after Choi Min-sik spoke did the other staff members, recognizing his voice, nod in acknowledgment and look away. They had overheard the call earlier and already had a rough idea why he was here.
"The kids?"
"Too many of them. We sent most back and only kept the ringleaders seated over there."
"Good. Well done. Anything else I should know?"
"Umm... I think it's best if you go inside first and hear it there."
"Right, right. Sorry about all this, everyone."
When Choi Min-sik apologized, the staff members—
-Not at all.
-Coming in on a weekend, you're the one having a hard time, Chief.
-Man, this year's freshmen sure started things off with a bang.
—laughed as they spoke.
Not forced smiles for the sake of appearances. Genuine ones. It was a small window into how well-regarded Choi Min-sik was among the staff.
"Were you out fishing, Chief?"
"Yeah. This guy wouldn't stop pestering me to go with him."
"Says the man who threw a fit after catching exactly one fish."
"Ahem. Let's go."
Kim Seong-won and Choi Min-sik followed the Academic Affairs employee and opened a door marked 'Director.'
The students, seated as if divided into two camps, turned their eyes on the three of them. Meeting their stares, Kim Seong-won and Choi Min-sik walked to the table positioned squarely between both sides.
White hair and sharp eyes.
Those were the features Kim Seong-won had mentioned when describing the girl named Baek Ha-na.
'And the ones with her are just as distinctive.'
Pink hair and beige hair. And a shade of deep black that was the complete opposite of Baek Ha-na's.
After taking stock of the situation, Choi Min-sik addressed the larger group.
"I'm sure none of you want your names brought before the Disciplinary Committee."
Kang Seok-ho nodded, and so did Na Ju-hee, her face shadowed, along with the other children of the top ten guilds.
"We also don't want word of trouble getting out to the public so early in the semester. So, here's what we propose: cover the reconstruction and restoration costs for the damaged facilities, and make a donation—something suitable to be offered as a prize at the summer festival. In return, we'll close this incident with a simple penalty mark and no formal disciplinary action."
Choi Min-sik finished speaking, noting the students' slightly surprised expressions.
"If you wish, we can give you time to contact your guardians."
"...That won't be necessary."
Kang Seok-ho, who had been holding Na Ju-hee's hand, rose from his seat.
"Thank you for your consideration."
He inclined his head slightly toward Choi Min-sik before lifting it again to speak.
"The costs are naturally our responsibility, since we caused the damage. If you send the bill, we'll handle the full amount on our side as quickly as possible."
Even as he spoke, Kang Seok-ho kept stealing glances at Baek Ha-na, seated on the opposite side. He didn't know exactly why Baek Ha-na had raised her hand alongside Na Ju-hee, but as far as he could see, this whole mess was entirely his fiancée Na Ju-hee's fault.
"I'll prepare prizes for the festival that won't bring shame to the academy. No objections from the rest of you?"
"Well..."
"We'll provide prizes, but the rebuilding costs—you, Iron Knight and Red Flame, will bear those."
"That's the plan."
Once even the children from rival factions nodded, Kang Seok-ho offered another small bow toward Choi Min-sik.
"We'll put in extra care to live up to the consideration you've shown us."
"Ahem. Good. Then, you're all free to get up."
The matter had resolved far more smoothly than expected. Choi Min-sik exhaled an internal sigh of relief, ready to dismiss the room. But oddly, none of the students rose from their seats. Even Kang Seok-ho, who had stood to show respect, sat back down.
"Oh, Chief..."
"......?"
The employee behind him stepped closer and whispered quietly into Choi Min-sik's ear.
-It's the thing I couldn't mention earlier, sir.
-Right. What is it that's keeping them all planted in their seats?
-Well, the thing is...
As the employee spoke, Choi Min-sik frowned—and so did Kim Seong-won, who had been eavesdropping beside him.
The reason they were refusing to leave even after the training room matter had been settled.
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
Kim Seong-won's and Choi Min-sik's eyes shifted toward the voice.
An apprentice girl wearing pristine white clerical vestments with a coin emblem stitched over the chest.
"You see, there is a matter that absolutely must be punished."
**
Beautiful sunset light seeped through the gap in the curtains.
-Pii-yaaang... uun...
The Fairy, curled up on Baek Woo-jin's chest, let out an adorable yawn, then covered her tiny face with both hands and began breathing in soft little puffs of sleep.
Watching through the half-open door, Claire smiled quietly and turned away.
'He did say he would wake around evening.'
Friday. That meant yesterday evening.
Baek Woo-jin had left the mansion, saying he needed to step out for a moment. He didn't return until well after the sun had set and the moon was high, his face deathly pale.
The moment she saw him, Claire felt as if her heart had dropped into her stomach. She had seen him cough up blood before, more than once, and couldn't help being alarmed.
She rushed over to support him. He handed her the artifact at his waist and spoke.
-I'll be up by tomorrow evening at the latest. And keep that away from the little one. Don't let her touch it.
Without explaining what had happened outside or whether his body was truly all right, Baek Woo-jin went into his bedroom and closed his eyes.
Fortunately, he showed no signs of fever or other changes, and by morning his complexion had returned to normal. After that, she spent the time feeding the Fairy once she woke and playing with her.
She had heard from Maria that Baek Ha-na wouldn't be coming over the weekend, so she hadn't prepared any special cooking. As a bonus, she had gotten to enjoy a rare meal of cereal for herself.
'I took plenty of photos...'
His posture was perfectly straight, as if he were merely awake, and he hadn't even taken off his glasses, but still, it was good. She was simply happy that Ha-na's store of memories was growing.
Claire decided to prepare a simple stew for the evening, just in case.
-Bzzzzt.
The smartwatch on her wrist gave a short vibration.
She turned her wrist to check it and saw the name 'Maria' on the screen.
Claire stepped out of the study and took the call.
"What is it?"
Her voice, cool and uninflected—so different from how she sounded with Baek Woo-jin and Baek Ha-na—settled softly into the corridor.
-Well, there's been a problem...
"Go on."
-Ugh... the thing is...
Maria slowly explained the situation to Claire and how it had come about.
The apprentice of the Luck God who had made a move on Idni; how Baek Woo-jin's name had been dragged into it, and how that had made Baek Ha-na see red.
And how she had overcome Na Ju-hee, who had stepped in to block her, and how Na Ju-hee, humiliated and spiraling, had wrecked the training room in her rampage.
Mercifully, everyone's mana had bottomed out by then, so nobody was seriously hurt. The problem was, precisely because no one was seriously hurt, Baek Ha-na had been free to grab that apprentice priest and rain down brutal, merciless violence.
Before things went truly catastrophic, Maria and Idni had used their holy power to heal the apprentice girl, but far too many people had witnessed the whole thing.
And above all, the injured party had no intention of letting it go.
Using the top ten guild heirs as her witnesses, she had brought the matter forward and escalated it, calling in the head of the Arena Academy branch office—her own superior.
-...So I think Professor Baek needs to come. Or at least the Executor... Ha-na doesn't have a guardian on paper, so...
Up until last year, Baek Woo-jin had been listed as her guardian, but once Baek Ha-na became a legal adult, Baek Woo-jin had Claire erase every trace of his connection.
-And it's not just Ha-na. Idni, too...
"Where."
A quiet edge of anger slipped into her previously flat voice.
Through the smartwatch came the brief sound of Maria swallowing.
-M-Main building, second floor, Administra—
"Wait there."
Claire hung up before Maria could even finish. She walked silently through the dark corridor.