The First Student Teacher
A curious way to put it.
That was how Choi Seungjun's secretary had described the proposal the Butcher had brought in just moments ago. Choi Seungjun held much the same opinion. To be fair, he had known the man was surprisingly earnest about the teaching profession — he'd sent in a staggering mountain of policy proposals not so long ago, after all.
Thanks to which, the Hunter Academy now possessed the most advanced training facility in the world — complete with attached team doctors and specialized trainers, no less.
This proposal followed the same pattern: with next year's faculty hiring on the horizon, why not extend early invitations to prospective weapon-arts instructors? It was a remark that completely overturned the tentative conclusion reached among the hunter-turned-teachers, but Choi Seungjun had nonetheless picked up, here and there, rumors of a strange undercurrent swirling among the students who had awakened armed-manifestation abilities.
That said, he couldn't simply accept it outright. The proposal itself was sound enough — the problem was the candidates Park Woochan had already picked out. To speak plainly, aside from student Jung Pilyeon's father, not a single one of them had any proven track record as an educator.
Being a first-rate player in one's prime did not guarantee a future as a great coach. Standing before Choi Seungjun as he declared this so flatly, Park Woochan had no choice but to take a step back this time.
It was decided that contact with Instructor Jung Ilhyun would proceed through official Academy channels. As for persuading the others, that would be left to Park Woochan — though Choi Seungjun drove the nail in by making it clear that, unlike the already-credentialed Jung Ilhyun, the rest would inevitably receive somewhat lesser treatment.
Park Woochan nodded along without complaint. Within the industry, sure — but inside this Academy, he was nothing more than a rookie teacher. However much cover Choi Seungjun provided, he had known from the start that he wasn't in any position to be greasing the rails for someone else this early. If anything, this counted as a decent outcome for him.
And so it was that Park Woochan's protégé — the retired A+ rank hunter Shin Seoa — became the Hunter Academy's very first student teacher.
I was surprised. I never dreamed the 'High School Girl Hunter' was the Butcher's disciple.
She has that 'Hunter' nickname too, so let's just go with that. It'd be exhausting getting called 'high school girl' at my age — way past it, you know.
Speaking from experience, are we?
Not wrong. Honestly, thirties are fine. But at forty, if someone still goes on about how bitterly cold the winter was, I might just freeze them solid on reflex.
Please don't. The moment you do, everyone around you will start a Bitter Winter fund.
Good heavens. What a horrifying world.
The pen is mightier than the sword. It was a maxim every hunter suffering under the Association's nicknames knew in their bones.
But of course, that wasn't what the secretary had truly wanted to ask.
Did you know?
Know what?
That the High School Girl Hunter was the Butcher's disciple.
Only moments ago, Choi Seungjun had said it himself: being a first-rate player in one's prime did not guarantee a great coach. And yet, despite that, he had handed a teaching post to a man with no track record whatsoever.
Granted, Park Woochan had been personally recommended by Lee Joongoo, the project's lead. But had that been the whole story, Choi Seungjun would sooner have squared accounts with Joongoo directly than let it slide. He was not the type to let things lie.
Choi Seungjun's hobby was collecting talent.
To him, this Academy was both a gathering ground for the unpolished gems who would become the next generation of hunters — and a display case for them.
There was no chance in hell he would sit idly by while someone else left muddy footprints all over its operation.
And yet Choi Seungjun had not opposed Park Woochan's appointment. Instead, he had packed the very best of the current class into Park Woochan's homeroom. And the best students of this age bracket meant, in other words, the very worst of the troublemakers.
At first, the secretary had wondered if it was some manner of bullying — but looking back now, that wasn't Choi Seungjun's style at all.
Which led to a certain thought.
Could it be that Choi Seungjun had seen through Park Woochan's teaching ability from the very beginning?
Well, obviously.
To that somewhat ham-fisted deduction, Choi Seungjun gave a calm nod.
Still, she couldn't quite wrap her head around it.
How on earth?
Hm?
There were rumors, of course, that the 'High School Girl Hunter' must have had an excellent teacher. She entered the industry rather late, after all. Unless she'd been trained by a truly capable hunter, it's hard to imagine growth that rapid.
Exactly. It's the kind of thing you'd expect from someone who hates being noticed.
But all this time, right up until she was being called the leading star of the next generation, no one ever spoke of her teacher. Yet you, young master, how did you—
I'm twenty-seven. Must you call me 'young master'?
Unlike Choi Seungjun, who asked back with evident displeasure, the secretary maintained her stony expression.
And yet Choi Seungjun found himself genuinely puzzled by her.
Her stride.
Pardon?
No — her walk. The way she moves. From what I've observed, Shin Seoa's footwork is almost identical to Park Woochan's. The way she distributes her weight, too. I've never seen anyone else walk like that, so eight times out of ten, it's him.
This time, it was the secretary who could not keep the displeasure off her face.
Principal of the Hunter Academy, heir to a conglomerate whose name alone opened doors the world over.
And yet, she realized anew, this young man before her was simultaneously a hunter blessed with the greatest talent on the planet.
That's not the issue, though.
Sir?
If Hunter Shin Seoa joins the Academy, that's a win for us. What I don't know is what Hunter Shin Seoa herself is thinking.
I'll keep an eye on the mood within the Association.
Good. And while you're at it, poke around the guilds a little too.
Somehow, it had all worked out. That was my honest feeling.
Even now, I thought the plan itself was sound. Near-range, long-range, and support — three broad categories, with educational staffing secured for each in advance.
As I said before, the problem had been securing a long-range specialist. For near-range I planned to ask Pilyeon's father, and for support I had someone in mind anyway.
But that problem, too, had been more or less solved the moment this brat Shin Seoa showed up.
My teaching philosophy hasn't changed from back then to now. In other words, I'd drilled every technique imaginable into her — melee combat included — just in case.
Among all of them, her primary tactics were traps that turned the surrounding environment against the enemy, followed by ranged combat with a bow.
Hunter. The nickname she went by — that had to be where it came from.
Thinking about it now, that's actually infuriating.
No wait, if we're being technical, wouldn't I be the original? Why am I the Butcher and she gets to be the Hunter?
Of course, if I said that out loud, the little gremlin would start calling me 'High School Girl Hunter' for the rest of my days, so I elected to stay silent. A strategic retreat, as they say.
Alright, eyes up front. Starting today, the Hunter Academy has a student teacher joining us.
A student teacher, sir?
Wait, was there even such a thing as hunter teacher-training?
Speaking of terrible naming sense. What is this, a paramilitary strike corps?
Barely having wrung the last of the booze out of my system, I made it to the podium — where peals of giggles rang out across the desks. But at my next words, even those clowns had to widen their eyes.
Some of you already know her. It's Hunter Shin Seoa.
Hal-lo! Hal-lo-hal-lo! Hi there, everyone!
A brief silence greeted my hopeless disciple as she sashayed in through the front door, mugging for the crowd.
And then—
The next instant, a colossal cheer filled the classroom.
Shin Seoa! It's really Hunter Shin Seoa!
Seriously? No way, you're capping!
What wouldn't we want with Hunter Shin Seoa here?
No, even if it is a cap — it's Hunter Shin Seoa!
My personal theory was that these kids had somehow come to misunderstand 'Shin Seoa' as a verb meaning 'whatever she is, it's fine.'
As a conversation that seemed to drag the classroom's average intelligence down to orangutan levels raged on, at some point thunderous applause began to erupt. mercifully, it seemed I wouldn't even need to ask for a round of applause.
Well, that's a good thing, I suppose.
The classroom had carried a slightly awkward atmosphere ever since that article came out. A fresh face at a moment like this had exactly the punch needed to blow the stale air right out of the room.
Frankly, it stung a little that she seemed more welcome than I was.
Then again, I'd never imagined she'd be this popular.
When I'd seen the article, all I thought was, 'huh, she's climbed that far? Oh, she became a magazine cover model. Wow, the camera loves her.' I didn't expect this.
In fairness, to the students, this delinquent disciple of mine was the very definition of a wannabe idol — a hunter worthy of being called their hero.
She'd entered the industry right after high school graduation. Even so, she'd weaponized the 'high school girl hunter' gimmick, made a name for herself across the country, and driven up her market value. In time, her diligent attitude and rising fame carried her to the cover of the Association's magazine. After that flashy media debut, she ascended to A+ rank at a blistering pace.
It would be no exaggeration to call her the most rags-to-riches story among the current generation of hunters.
To the top students, she was an object of aspiration — proof that they could make it too. To the underachievers, she was a symbol of hope — proof that even someone who joined the industry after high school could become a hunter this extraordinary.
Either way, a character designed to sell.
Nice to meet you all! I'm Hunter Shin Seoa. I've been on TV a few times — anyone here seen me?
YES!!
Aww, how sweet, even if you're just being polite. But no need to be so stiff with me! Because I'm your homeroom teacher's—
Hey, hey—!
I scrambled to raise my voice over her slip of the tongue, but it was too late. Somewhere along the way, the students' eyes had already turned toward me, glinting with something suspiciously like admiration.
You're fine with this, right, Sabu?
At her coy little whisper, I could only give a grudging nod.
Well, it's not like there's any reason to hide it.
At that, the students' cheers rose to new heights.
Wait, was that article actually true then?
The one about the homeroom teacher being an S-rank hunter?
Hunter Shin Seoa is A+ rank. If she trained under him, he'd have to be S-rank for it to add up!
Yo, does a coach become a coach because he can outrun his players?
Student teacher!! Honestly, honestly — how much did training under the homeroom teacher actually help you?!
Hmm... basically everything?
Ooh~
Then can we become A+ rank too?!
Of course you can!
Voides tangled and overlapped into a deafening clamor, and for a moment I could only wear a dumbfounded expression.
Look, I've got plenty to say about that...
I drew a slow breath and looked around the room. Then, before I knew it, I snorted a laugh.
Forget it.
They were squealing with delight like this — dumping a lecture about how their current level wasn't ready for that mountain would be catastrophically tone-deaf.
Besides, I had no intention of washing my hands of them at a mere B-rank.
If they're my students, they'd better hit A-rank at the very minimum.
With the morning homeroom effectively transformed into a student-teacher introduction session, I took a step back from the podium and began to take stock of my students' reactions, one by one.
Jung Pilyeon — the little rat seemed to be savoring some private sense of superiority as he watched the students' gazes flicker back and forth between Seoa and me.
That guy's meaner than I gave him credit for.
Lee Yeeun, by contrast, looked genuinely startled. Though notably, what startled her wasn't the news that I was Seoa's teacher — it was Seoa's appearance itself.
A strange thing. After all, Yeeun's older brother was the one and only Lee Joongoo. I'd assumed there was no longer any A+ rank hunter alive who could make her blink.
Hwang Yoonha, who had been keeping a certain careful distance from me since the kidnapping incident, gave a thumbs-up in Seoa's direction at the words 'A+ rank hunter.' In her head, no doubt, a calculator was already tabulating how much an A+ rank hunter earns in a year.
Ryu Jihee, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes and dissected Seoa's face feature by feature. Fair enough — for the Marital Society, the arrival of a new hunter would be something to stay sharply attuned to.
And Hayeon, as ever, simply smiled her gentle smile.
Perhaps because of that conversation we'd had before? The two of them seemed to have grown quite close.
Only after taking the full measure of my students' reactions could I nod to myself, satisfied. The fresh wind that had blown in with the end of midterms was breathing new life into this classroom as well.
And the person who raised this fresh wind of a Seoa?
Muahaha — why, none other than me.
Confirming my first disciple's success was a joy in itself, but an even greater satisfaction wrapped around me. Muahaha, who on earth raised that hunter? What's that? A hunter named Park Woochan, you say? Muahaha — a splendid hunter indeed, by the sound of the name alone!
And so, despite the sudden transfer, Seoa succeeded in slotting herself effortlessly among the students of our class.