Chapter 62
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 62
Taehak's commendations came in many varieties.
Among them, we were to receive a Martial Commendation for having displayed exceptional martial prowess.
Given how chaotic the situation was, there was no separate award ceremony, and I understood that Professor Lee Taek-jin would be presenting the awards in place of the president.
This was the same as the original work, where the highlight was Lee Taek-jin in a slightly excited mood.
Because a student's achievements reflected directly on the professor in charge, Lee Taek-jin's evaluation score had risen as well.
"Heh heh heh, now that I think about it, Professor Lee is truly blessed with good students."
But this time, something seemed a little different.
The unexpected visitor who came in after him was an old professor with a thick head of white hair, Cha Myeong-hwan.
"......Thank you for joining us."
"What else would an old man with nothing but time on his hands do?"
From the look of it, he hadn't come just to visit; he had the air of someone here for a reason.
I didn't know why things had changed either.
All I could tell was that Lee Taek-jin, who was always brimming with confidence, looked quite uncomfortable today.
But that made sense.
Even for a rising young professor, the gap in seniority with Professor Cha Myeong-hwan was enormous.
In terms of the setting, it was no exaggeration to say Professor Cha Myeong-hwan was the most senior member of Taehak.
He was three or four cohorts ahead of the current president of Taehak, so I remembered that he had already been a professor back when Lee Taek-jin was a Taehak student.
......Anyway.
"Professor Cha, we will now proceed with the commendation ceremony."
"Let's do that."
Professor Cha Myeong-hwan approached this way, guided by Kim Mi-young.
Cheon Seo-yoon and I tactfully straightened our posture.
Professor Cha Myeong-hwan pushed up the glasses he was wearing and accepted the commendation certificate that Kim Mi-young handed him.
"To the first recipient, student Cheon Seo-yoon......."
"Hold on, Assistant Instructor Kim."
Then, abruptly, he cut off Kim Mi-young.
"......Yes?"
"No, I just think the order is wrong. Wouldn't it be proper to present them in alphabetical order?"
"There is no established rule regarding that......."
"Student Park Ha-yul, come forward first."
Professor Cha Myeong-hwan spoke to me in a tone like a spring breeze.
......What's with that old man.
Come to think of it, his eyes were strange too. It was like watching a grandfather looking at his own grandson.
"...Ah, yes."
The inexplicable goodwill was rather burdensome, but I stepped forward for now.
Only then did Professor Cha Myeong-hwan, as if satisfied, read the words written on the commendation certificate in a strong voice.
"This student, having honed his skills on a daily basis......."
As I bowed my head and accepted the commendation, he patted my shoulder and smiled with satisfaction.
"I must be going senile these days. Failing to recognize a talent like you. I have something important to discuss, so come see me separately later."
Professor Cha Myeong-hwan, who had moved aside, handed over the next certificate with an indifferent expression, unlike before.
"The rest is the same."
That was all.
"......Is that it?"
"What else?"
"No, but why am I......."
Cheon Seo-yoon pouted her lips as if feeling wronged, but the answer was cold.
"Is it such a big deal for someone who only knows how to use a sword to be commended for using a sword?"
"But still, for a student in danger......."
"Tsk tsk, that's only natural."
A midwinter wind blew.
Cheon Seo-yoon muttered, "But he used a sword too," and was cleanly ignored.
"Anyway, both of you did well. You, come see me."
Professor Cha Myeong-hwan, who had been clearing his throat, pulled me toward a corner and cautiously began to speak.
"It's nothing much, but there's an opportunity that might be helpful to you......."
The gist was this.
Taehak had a major event called "academic conference season" that took place around the end of the semester.
Professors in the theory subjects invited experts from various fields and so on and so forth. It was a fairly prestigious occasion for showing off influence.......
Professor Cha Myeong-hwan wanted to introduce me as his direct disciple at that event.
He even told me to prepare a short presentation.......
Why I had gotten tangled up with the history department was soon revealed.
"That answer sheet you submitted. No matter how I looked at it, there was no answer quite like it."
......The formative assessment.
Apparently, the answers I had scribbled with the help of Appraisal had been satisfying enough that he wanted to pull me into his own line.
"Professor, sorry to interrupt, but as his supervising professor, I would have appreciated being consulted first......."
"Ah, did he not tell you? Heh heh, my apologies."
But the atmosphere was turning strange.
He'd acted like he couldn't wait to tear me apart before.......
Lee Taek-jin, who appeared next, displayed his displeasure without filtering it.
"This is a place of learning, so how important can affiliation be?"
"You're right, but he won't have the time. Student Park Ha-yul will be attending the Monster Studies forum that I am hosting."
"Monster Studies?"
Me?
Why Monster Studies now?
I made a dumbfounded face, and Professor Cha Myeong-hwan continued speaking with a sneer at the corner of his mouth.
"How important can a practical subject with no foundation be?"
"Being practical does not mean it lacks value. It is the only theory subject included in the Yosal Corps selection exam."
As Lee Taek-jin shot back, a subtle tension hung in the room.
"Heh heh, then how about asking the person in question directly?"
In the end, the sparks flew this way.
......Shit.
When both professors' gazes turned toward me at the same time, I swallowed hard.
It might not look like much, but it was a big deal.
One was my grudge-holding psycho of a supervising professor; the other, Taehak’s most senior old fox, famous for his stubbornness.
Honestly, Monster Studies and History were both equally unappealing, but I couldn't say that.
Either way, I had to choose one, and no matter who I chose, I'd get cursed out.
Just in case, I looked around.
But Kim Mi-young had already fled far away, and Cheon Seo-yoon was.......
......Let's not even talk about it.
She was glaring this way with a face like she'd chewed shit, as if hurling a curse at me.
In the end, I had to resolve this alone.
I had to somehow produce an answer that satisfied both of them.
I hesitated, then opened my mouth.
"Um......."
* * *
Suho Hospital, located in Gangnam.
A VIP hospital room so luxurious that, if not for the medical equipment, one might mistake it for a hotel.
A welcome guest came to visit Joo A-rin, who had been confined there for three full days in an otherwise healthy body.
"How's your body doing?"
"A-rin!"
It was Jeong Ae-ri, who had come carrying two cups of coffee as always.
"Did the club situation get sorted out?"
"More or less. It was a relief that there weren't many victims."
Jeong Ae-ri handed over the coffee and sat down across from her.
Since this was their first meeting since the incident concluded, the conversation was quite serious.
After all, it had been Jeong Ae-ri who had invited Roberto and planned the special lecture.
Jeong Ae-ri couldn't hide her apologetic expression throughout the conversation, and Joo A-rin just repeated that it was fine.
The bond they had built over time did not crumble easily, so the mood soon softened.
It was then that Jeong Ae-ri got to the point.
"Those two people who saved you. One of them is Park Ha-yul, right?"
"Huh?"
The question, which came out of nowhere without any warning, flustered Joo A-rin.
It was because a government official had asked her to keep quiet about the details of the incident.
When she couldn't answer easily, Jeong Ae-ri's lips curved upward.
"Hmm, must be pretty deep feelings. Enough to notice right away that you'd disappeared~"
She had jumped to the conclusion that Park Ha-yul liked Joo A-rin, and that was why he had saved her again this time.
Joo A-rin, uncomfortable with the hasty misunderstanding, had no choice but to speak.
"Actually, that person got a message too. So he came to save me......."
"Aha. So that's how it was....... But it's still true that he came running without hesitation, right? Knowing Park Ha-yul's personality, he wouldn't have done something he didn't mean."
"......."
"You haven't thanked him yet, have you?"
Hit where it hurt, Joo A-rin silently nodded.
It was true that she had been too flustered, and also that it had felt a little awkward, so she had put it off.
"Do it soon. The longer you wait, the more awkward it gets, you know?"
"Okay, Ae-ri."
Since the topic had come up, Joo A-rin took out her phone.
...But what should I send?
It was at that moment that the area outside the hospital room became noisy.
"Wow, I swear I'm never accepting a commendation like that again."
"No, so what did Park Ha-yul say?"
"That bastard's a total fox. Hear it yourself when he gets here. I'm just speechless."
"Who's going to wait until then? Just tell me."
Not only the ever-bickering Cheon Seo-yoon and Lee Dae-ho—
"I'm curious too. Can't you tell me?"
Even Baek Sa-young's voice could be heard, the one who had supposedly been living in the comprehensive training grounds lately, aiming for Buhansi.
"I don't really know the exact meaning either. He went on about some weird four-character idiom and following the natural order, and Lee Taek-jin nodded while Cha Myeong-hwan cackled? Anyway, this is a secret, so keep it."
Could it be a secret when they were talking that loudly?
Jeong Ae-ri, who had been listening, rose from her seat.
"The next guest is here, so I'll get going."
"Already?"
Joo A-rin couldn't hide her disappointment and followed her to the door.
Then Jeong Ae-ri, who had just reached for the doorknob, smiled meaningfully and said,
"But Arin, I think that person's pretty decent."
"Ah, Ae-ri, seriously."
"Pfft, you've never dated anyone. Think it over carefully."
Before Joo A-rin could say anything else, Jeong Ae-ri quickly opened the door and went out.
* * *
The department office, where tension had been thick in the air.
I broke the silence and said this to Professor Cha Myeong-hwan.
Subdue the self and return to propriety (克己復禮).
That I must set aside personal desires and observe propriety, and so I had no choice but to follow the opinion of my supervising professor.......
But even the same words could sound different depending on how they were said.
With the nuance of "setting aside personal desires," I expressed that I had a bit more interest in history, saving Professor Cha Myeong-hwan's face, and since I ultimately chose Monster Studies, Lee Taek-jin would have no complaints either.
"Heh heh, a young fellow who's upright in principle too. Understood. I'll step back this time. Instead, stop by my research office after class. We'll have tea or something."
Thanks to that, an unexpected schedule was added.
After finishing class, I stopped by Professor Cha Myeong-hwan's research office.
Apart from the history department itself, it wasn't a meaningless meeting, since it was a connection that could become a great help if cultivated.
About an hour of in-depth conversation.
After discussing the value of history and its future direction, I left Taehak to visit Joo A-rin in the hospital.
I didn't have anything else to do for a while, after all.
There was a special event coming up in a week, but it wasn't a main-episode-scale thing, so I had enough time to make an appearance.
I moved by portal, and after walking about ten minutes from Gangnam Station, a magnificent hospital came into view.
Suho Hospital.
It was one of the best hospitals in South Korea, operated by the Joo family.
I took a brief look around and then went inside. It was at that moment that my phone rang.
[Thank you. It's late, but I felt I had to say this. Let's get along well as good 'colleagues' from now on.]
The sender was Joo A-rin.
But what was this about being good colleagues?
The nuance of the word felt particularly awkward.
"Artist?"
Just then, an unfamiliar form of address reached my ears.
When I turned my head, I spotted Jeong Ae-ri standing there as if she had been waiting.
I greeted her warmly.
"Hello, Ae-ri."
"It's even nicer to see you outside. On your way to visit?"
"Yes, and you've already been, I take it?"
"I had sins to atone for, so I came to make an appearance first. Good timing, actually. I had something to pass along."
Jeong Ae-ri, who had been smiling brightly, walked over and handed me an envelope.
"It's the rental contract for Portrait of a Girl. If you just sign it, they plan to put it on display starting today."
"Ah, right."
I'd been so busy that I'd forgotten for a moment.
"Just a moment. I'll do it right away."
Since we'd met anyway, I took out the contract to deal with it. I quickly signed where a signature was needed.
I gave one copy to Jeong Ae-ri. Then Jeong Ae-ri asked,
"Aren't you curious how much the rental fee is?"
Rental fee?
Only then did the numbers catch my eye.
Whoa.
For a moment, my eyes widened, and then I tried hard to act nonchalant.
The one-year rental fee was a whopping 600 million won.
"Think of it as a minimal token of sincerity."
"Ahem, well, if you insist."
I nodded while suppressing the corners of my mouth that kept twitching upward.
"Hurry on up."
Jeong Ae-ri, who had been smiling contentedly, gathered up the documents and spoke to me.
I nodded in greeting as well. Then, just as I was about to walk on—
"May I give you one piece of advice?"
Advice?
Wondering if I'd missed something, I looked at her quietly, and Jeong Ae-ri continued in a whisper.
"Don't give up, and see it through to the end~ Then you might get a good result?"
"Huh?"
What was I not supposed to give up on?
"I’m rooting for you. Well then, goodbye."
Jeong Ae-ri hummed a tune, as if something was thoroughly enjoyable, and left the hospital.
I just let it go and went up to the hospital room.