Assigned Duties and the Mirroring Secret
"Whoa~ Han Teacher. Been a while since I last saw your face!"
"…You called for me, Principal?"
I sprint to the principal's office after the announcement over the intercom, and the old man greets me with a beaming smile.
Balding head, bright grin. No wonder he's thrilled—someone's finally taking on that annoying job everyone hates. From his perspective, it's perfect.
The principal pats my shoulder like he's about to hug me. Dust yourself off first, old timer.
"I heard from Grade Chief Ryu that you've got too much free time on your hands since your duties are so light?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Never mind, never mind. Come sit down. I've heard all about it—you've got plenty of time, right?"
This old geezer was begging me at the start of the year to take over some sixth-grade classes. Promised to lighten my load in exchange, and now he's like, Oh, no duties? Must be nice!
I follow him to the guest sofa. It's ridiculously plush.
"Anyway, nothing major. You're young, so you must be good with computers, right, Han Teacher?"
"I'm great at computer games."
"If you're good at games, you'll handle this job just fine."
Damn it. Should've said I sucked at games.
The principal hands me a binder of approval documents.
2026 Classroom Smart Mirroring Deployment Project
It's that project Park Sung-hoon mentioned earlier, the one from the education office.
"This time, something about smart whatever? I don't get it, but they say they need a teacher in charge. Nothing big—just receive the equipment from the office, install it in the classrooms, and teach the other teachers how to use it."
"Uh…."
"I don't know much about this stuff, but young teachers like you are pros at it, right? Back in our day, there was this latest tech called OHP, you know…."
The principal launches into some Fifth Republic-era gaslighting anecdote.
I tune him out with one ear while scanning the official notice with my eyes.
"Hmm…."
It's not as bad as I thought.
Install mirroring devices on the TVs in each classroom.
Connect teachers' phones to the classroom TVs.
That lets teachers display their phone screens on the big TV. They can use it during lessons—usually by turning on the camera as a document viewer substitute.
I'd seen other teachers demo it at training sessions and thought, Neat idea.
As the person in charge, my job boils down to two things: install the devices in every classroom and teach the teachers how to use them.
Sounds tedious but not hard.
But there's always a catch with these gigs.
After-sales service. A/S.
Like if some classroom yells, "Teacher! The mirroring stopped working!"
I'd have to ditch my break and rush over as the repair guy.
No wonder the chiefs fought over it at the staff meeting—there's a reason.
And no real reward for taking it on. At best, the principal's favor?
What's the point from a guy retiring next year?
No recognition, no compensation—just a massive pain in the ass dumped on me.
My grip tightens on the notice.
Ryu Se-hee… You sold me out for this crap?
Did you think I'd just bite?
"…So anyway, young teachers like you build up experience handling stuff like this…"
"Yes! Principal, I'll do my best!"
I bow quickly and snatch the notice.
I'll do it. Who else?
It's come this far—no escaping now.
No one to pass it off to anyway.
Better grab it fast and buy some time than squirm and get chewed out.
The principal grins like he knew I'd cave.
"Oh, good man! Knew you were the type. I'll tell the academic affairs director you're the one in charge."
"…Yes, sir."
I bow to the old man patting my shoulder again.
Feels like wearing a school uniform.
"…So that's how I ended up in charge of the mirroring duties. Academic Affairs Director."
Back in the staff room next to the principal's office.
I approach the director, who's buried in some notice, and report cautiously.
"…Academic Affairs Director?"
"…."
She's not even glancing my way. Director.
Is she hyper-focused or ignoring me? Eyes glued to the monitor.
Did she even hear?
Atmosphere's too intense to interrupt. Should I come back later?
I sneak a peek at her face.
Wow… seriously.
Always stunning.
Sharp eyes cold as ice, impassive expression. Small lips pressed tight. Skin so pale it's almost ghostly, pure white.
Mid-thirties, they say.
Yet already third in the school hierarchy as academic affairs director—an elite among elites.
Handles everything efficiently, zero mistakes. Perfect.
I genuinely respect her.
Look—she's deep in work right now.
…But a reply would be nice even if you're busy. I've got stuff to do.
"…Um, Director? Staff—"
"Got it. I heard everything."
She answers without turning her head.
Voice is pretty too.
"I'll assign you as the person in charge. Go handle your duties."
"Yes, ma'am."
Not a single glance my way till the end—just work.
I leave the staff room, swallowing my disappointment.
Fine. At least she responded.
"Phew…."
Back in my classroom, I check the duty portal. The related notice is already assigned to me.
Director's fast. She gets work done.
I lean back and open the attachments.
"Installation status report… manual… oh, another app to install?"
The notice says I need the admin app.
Found it—right there in the app store.
Rating: 1.5. Teachers nationwide ripping it apart.
Bugs galore, memory hog.
Installing this junk on my personal phone sucks, but public servants deal.
Already over ten such official apps bloating my phone.
One more won't change much.
Installing Mirroring Admin System…
Installation complete.
"Let's see… Log into the admin app, assign classes… huh?"
Thumb freezes as I try assigning classes.
Something's off with the screen.
Admin confirmed.
Acquiring read permissions.
Admin: 6-2 Han Tae-oh
"…Admin?"
I didn't input anything, but it's already set me as admin.
These apps don't usually pre-load school details. The person in charge inputs manually.
Yet our classroom and my name are already there?
"No way the education office is this helpful…."
As suspicion hits, the screen changes again.
Not matching the manual at all.
Our school's unassigned classes and teachers listed perfectly.
And even…
A button not in the manual.
Mirror
"Why's this here?"
Think.
Mirroring here means linking teachers' phones to classroom TVs.
Nothing to do with my phone. No connection.
This app's just for checking connection status and usage.
Haven't even installed devices yet.
Yet 'Mirror' button on my phone?
"………."
Definitely sketchy, off-putting vibe.
But curiosity surges.
What if I tap 'Mirror'?
"…Ryu Se-hee's phone mirroring to mine?"
Nah, no way.
Even a public admin app wouldn't have that power.
"…But you never know."
Half-doubting, I hover my finger over the button.
Mirroring 6-1 Homeroom Ryu Se-hee's phone.
…Connecting
Connection complete.
"…What the hell."
I bolt upright from the chair.
My phone screen—full of cute idol pics—switches.
To an adorable cat photo.
"…A cat… no way."
I've seen it. That cat wallpaper.
This morning, when Ryu Se-hee showed her clock, it flashed.
Exact same screen now on my phone.
How?
Rub eyes, look again—still the cat.
"…It's actually working? Mirroring?"
Cheat? Glitch? Bug? Don't know.
But I'm seeing Ryu Se-hee's phone screen right now.
"Holy…."
As I reel, a notification pops at the top.
One that could upend my entire school life.
1 unread message
"Ho ho."