Chapter 25: The Importance of Communication
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: The Importance of Communication
Ms. Mizuki, our class's assistant homeroom teacher, had a desk right by the entrance to the faculty office.
That spot is usually considered the worst because it's so drafty, but it seemed she was assigned there because she was a new teacher who had just started this year.
"Hello, Ms. Mizuki."
"Oh, come in."
Since this was a career counseling session, the teacher tried to meet my gaze by tilting her head up. But she wasn't very tall to begin with, and sitting in her chair, she looked like she was about to tip over, chair and all. I quickly sat down.
Only then did Ms. Mizuki's neck return to a normal angle.
I pushed my chair back to make it easier for her to see me and said, "We're at eye level now, so you can speak."
"R-Right! J-Just a moment…"
Hearing me, the teacher hurriedly opened the student file that was stacked on her desk.
"Please, take your time."
"No, I'm not nervous at all, okay?!"
Looking flustered, Ms. Mizuki shouted this as she fumbled through the file, finally stopping on the page with my photo.
"Phew… Let's see. Korean: A, Math: A, English: A, PE: A…"
After checking my grades for each subject, she closed the file as if there was nothing more to see and asked, "Yoo-Sung, what do you want to be in the future?"
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I rubbed the back of my neck and answered, "I'm not sure yet. So if I don't figure anything out, I'm thinking of taking over my parents' family business."
Ms. Mizuki's eyes went wide.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what do your parents do for a living?"
"They run a small set meal restaurant in Setagaya."
"Your parents run a set meal restaurant?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Huh? No, not at all. I'd love to visit sometime."
Ms. Mizuki, who had seemed nervous at first, gradually relaxed as our conversation continued.
It seemed the tension of her first-ever career counseling session was finally easing.
"So, Yoo-Sung, which subject are you most confident in?"
"If I had to choose, I'd say math or science. The vocabulary in Korean is difficult, so it's always a close call for me."
Hearing my answer, the teacher scribbled something in her notebook and muttered, "Okay, okay, math and science. Then maybe it would be good for you to apply to a STEM department?"
Hearing something I absolutely could not ignore, my expression hardened before I knew it.
"No. That's not it."
"Eh?"
"I believe choosing a career based on a subject you're good at is a complacent attitude. I want to do what I want to do."
I don't know about anything else, but not engineering. Not in this life.
The teacher seemed startled by my firm refusal, her face resembling that of a surprised rabbit, but for someone whose PTSD had just been triggered, I couldn't help it.
"Oh, I see. That was thoughtless of me. What you're good at and what you like are two different things."
She said this with a little laugh, then closed her notebook. With a serious expression, she placed her hands on her knees and said, "Actually, when I was a student, I didn't want to be a teacher either."
It sounded like a rather interesting story, so I found myself listening intently.
"Then what did you originally want to be?"
"It's a little embarrassing, so don't laugh, okay?"
"Okay, I won't laugh."
Ms. Mizuki took a small breath in and out, then said in a voice as quiet as a crawling ant, "I actually wanted to be a voice actor. I… I had a huge crush on a male character from a robot anime I watched in middle school."
"Ah…"
I had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about.
"Anyway! So when I brought it up during my career counseling, my homeroom teacher gave me some advice. He said, 'Mizuki, you can always pursue your hobbies later. Wouldn't it be better to get a stable job first?' It's a bit much for me to say this myself, but I was a top student in high school. My homeroom teacher must have thought my grades were too good to waste."
I understood why Ms. Mizuki had suddenly brought this up.
Her situation back then was exactly like mine now.
"At the time, I thought it was only natural to follow my teacher's advice. But after going to a university that matched my grades, I soon regretted it. It's not like anyone else was going to live my life for me, but I'd made such a huge decision about my future so easily, based on the advice of just one person."
Then, Ms. Mizuki looked me straight in the eye and said in a calm voice, "So, Yoo-Sung, make sure you think carefully about what you want to be in the future before you decide. This isn't advice from your teacher, but from someone who's been there before."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Considering my age before I was transmigrated, I was actually about two years older than her, but emotionally, her story really resonated with me.
If I could go back to the past, I wouldn't have become a graduate student. I would have gotten a corporate job right away or opened a chicken restaurant.
When an awkward silence fell after our conversation, the teacher scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed look and said, "Sorry, did I talk for too long? I was talking with you and got lost in old memories."
"No, it was actually quite helpful."
Just as I'd told Rika earlier, it was a chance to think again about the future I had only been vaguely considering.
I still didn't know what I wanted to do or what I wanted to become, but I was sure I would find it before graduation.
Before leaving the faculty office, I decided to ask one last thing.
"Ms. Mizuki, are you happy with your current job?"
If she had become a teacher simply because someone else recommended it, pushed into it, she probably wouldn't enjoy it very much.
But Ms. Mizuki nodded without a hint of hesitation and said, "Yes. I think my current job is great, too. I feel a strange sense of fulfillment when I'm teaching students."
Scrape—
Having heard the answer I wanted, I pushed my chair back and stood up.
Startled, the teacher also stood up from her chair. I gave her a slight bow.
"I'll be heading to my club activities now."
"Alright, you're dismissed."
Ms. Mizuki smiled kindly and waved.
I have a feeling she's going to be a great teacher.
*
Mizuki Nanae realized she had been completely misunderstanding him when she heard about Kim Yoo-Sung's parents.
"Yoo-Sung, what do you want to be in the future?"
"I'm not sure yet. So if I don't figure anything out, I'm thinking of taking over my parents' family business."
When he first mentioned his family business, Mizuki had involuntarily thought of a yakuza family.
It was probably due to the prejudice she had built up herself, influenced by the rumors about Kim Yoo-Sung circulating at school and his appearance.
That was why Mizuki's voice had trembled when she asked, "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what do your parents do for a living?"
Kim Yoo-Sung closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and replying in a calm voice, "They run a small set meal restaurant in Setagaya."
The moment she heard that, Mizuki felt as if she'd been struck hard on the back of the head.
"Your parents run a set meal restaurant?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Huh? No, not at all. I'd love to visit sometime."
She had been a fool.
If she had just thought about it for a moment, she would have realized that the rumors about Kim Yoo-Sung were all ridiculous, but she had believed them without question.
He wasn't the delinquent she had imagined.
If anything, he was a filial son who was proud of his parents, who worked day and night running a restaurant to raise their only child.
She had been afraid for no reason, all because of her own assumptions.
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up so simply, Mizuki was able to proceed with the counseling session with a natural smile.
She still wasn't used to his large frame and stoic face, but he didn't seem as scary as before.
The smoothly progressing session came to a sudden halt when they started talking about his future studies.
"No. That's not it."
When she had carelessly suggested he should aim for a STEM university, Kim Yoo-Sung had refused in a firm voice.
"I believe choosing a career based on a subject you're good at is a complacent attitude. I want to do what I want to do."
Hearing his words, a memory from her past surfaced.
About seven years ago, when she was still seventeen, her homeroom teacher had told her, 'Mizuki, you can always pursue your hobbies later. Wouldn't it be better to get a stable job first?'
In retrospect, it was the kind of irresponsible advice anyone could give.
If she were in her teacher's shoes, she would never say something like that to a student.
She would at least tell them to try chasing their dream, that if they gave up without even trying, they would regret it later.
She wanted to convey that feeling to Kim Yoo-Sung.
So she rambled on about her past, her story all over the place, but Kim Yoo-Sung listened to her from beginning to end.
When she finished, a wave of embarrassment washed over her.
In her attempt to explain by mixing in her own experiences, she felt she had said all sorts of things she didn't need to.
"Sorry, did I talk for too long? I was talking with you and got lost in old memories."
"No, it was actually quite helpful."
Kim Yoo-Sung nodded as he said this.
Relieved, she was about to tell him he could go, when just before standing up, he asked her a question.
"Ms. Mizuki, are you happy with your current job?"
The answer came out instantly, without a second thought.
"Yes. I think my current job is great, too. I feel a strange sense of fulfillment when I'm teaching students."
Kim Yoo-Sung nodded as if satisfied, then bid her farewell and left the faculty office.
After finishing the last of her counseling sessions, Mizuki, now alone in the office, looked down at the seat he had occupied and made a firm resolution.
From now on, she would never judge a student by their appearance alone.