Chapter 5. Discipline (5)
How the hell was I supposed to clean this up?
I glanced around the classroom, and the conclusion was immediate. This wasn't something I could just smooth over right here. The room was utterly devastated. Desks and chairs lay shattered everywhere, and while no one seemed seriously hurt, there were plenty of witnesses.
My sister, Lee Sea, stood at the center of the chaos, her right hand brimming with mana, her face twisted in a complicated expression I couldn't quite read as she stared at me.
Right behind her, Jin Yu-ri struggled unsteadily to her feet, her eyes blazing with fury as she gritted her teeth. I raised my voice again.
"Enough!"
"Ah……."
"Hoo, ha……."
Sea flinched and let out a quiet whimper, while Yu-ri continued heaving ragged breaths, her anger far from subsided.
"This is…… ha, really……."
Seo Sang-wook, the professor who'd come with me, muttered awkwardly under his breath. I'd come up with the best way to handle this, so I turned to him.
"Professor, can I take these kids with me?"
"You will?"
"Yes. I'll hand them over and then come to your lab."
"Mm…… In that case, I'll explain to the other professors about the next class for the students."
Sang-wook looked a bit apologetic but gave them a few words of admonishment before leaving. I listed off the troublemakers I had to drag away.
"Lee Sea, Jin Yu-ri."
"……Yes."
"Yes, Professor."
"Everyone, follow me. And…… Yoo Hae-bin too."
"Huh? Me too?"
"You know you can't claim innocence, right?"
"Uh…… yes."
Hae-bin, who'd been playing innocent, nodded reluctantly. As if I'd let her slip away. I'd seen her sneakily firing off mana herself.
"No other involved parties? If not, just you three, come with me."
Hearing that, three girls who looked like Yu-ri's friends stepped forward hesitantly. Hae-bin, Yu-ri, Sea—that made six in total. Dragging these six fledgling troublemakers with me, I headed to a place I'd visited now and then a few years back: the faculty office.
Jeil High School runs on a system a bit different from regular high schools. It's like a mix of high school and college, half and half. Starting from second year, you choose a major like liberal arts or sciences—non-technical, magic, or magic swordsmanship—and take specialized classes plus general subjects like magic dynamics.
There are 175 second-year students total. It's still technically high school, so classes are divided within the year, with morning and end-of-day homeroom in each room. This year's second years are split into six classes of about thirty each.
Coincidentally, all six girls I'd brought were from Class 1, the magic swordsmanship section. And even more coincidentally, Class 1's homeroom teacher was someone I knew.
"Oh, hey. Dojin. ……Hm?"
The middle-aged man, whose face was perpetually flushed like he'd been drinking, greeted me but looked puzzled at the six girls trailing behind.
My homeroom teacher back when I was a third-year here. He'd nagged me not to go astray, told me I could do it so just try harder—but I never listened. For the school's biggest delinquent to end up back as faculty, it was a triumphant return of sorts…… though the reason for my visit today wasn't exactly positive.
I cautiously informed Class 1's homeroom teacher—my old one.
"Sorry to bother you when you're busy, sir. These kids got into a bit of a fight—"
"A fight?"
"Yes, well, not exactly 'a bit'……."
No matter how I racked my brain, I couldn't sugarcoat it, so I just laid it out straight.
"They trashed the classroom and brawled. I think they need a proper scolding."
"Aigoo……."
The teacher rubbed his dry face with both hands, sighed deeply, and replied.
"Alright, let's head to the counseling room first. Dojin—no, Professor Lee Dojin, could you come explain what happened?"
I didn't know all the details myself. But since Sea was central to it, I figured we needed the full story, so we went to the counseling room.
About twenty minutes later, after cross-verifying each of the six girls' accounts, the guilt tiers shook out like this.
Tier 1: The ones who'd openly thrown down—Lee Sea and Jin Yu-ri, plus Yoo Hae-bin who'd snuck in. Among them, Sea was worst for striking first, then Yu-ri, then Hae-bin third. They'd all gotten physical, so per school rules, disciplinary action was standard.
Tier 2: Yoon Min-seo, the initial instigator. No full discipline for her…… a few pages of reflection essay and a sincere apology to Sea should suffice.
Tier 3: The other two who'd gossiped carelessly despite knowing Sea was nearby. They could probably skate with a light warning—they'd just tagged along out of loyalty.
The teacher, scribbling notes, spoke in a gravely serious tone.
"Sea, Yu-ri, Hae-bin. You three would normally go to the disciplinary committee…… but if none of you want that, we can keep it off your records and just do campus service. Sound good?"
It was phrased like "what can you do if it's not?" but clearly considerate of the girls, and all three quickly agreed.
"Min-seo, write five pages of reflection by tomorrow's end-of-day homeroom and hand it to me. You two…… don't let it happen again. Apologize to each other, the teacher, and Professor Lee Dojin—say you're sorry for the bad words and the violence."
Honestly, I wasn't thrilled either. They'd kept picking on my sister and even dragged our parents into it. But stepping in now would just embarrass Sea more. So I silently watched the three show some remorse as they apologized.
"Sorry for the weird stuff I said……."
"Me too. I know it's not favoritism, but…… sorry……."
"I…… yeah, sorry for talking carelessly……."
Sea, pale-faced and silent till now, finally murmured softly.
"……Sorry for pushing you."
Tiers 2 and 3 wrapped up smoothly enough, but Tier 1 was still a mess. Yu-ri clamped her mouth shut. Hae-bin seemed indifferent. Sea kept glancing at me hesitantly.
Time for me to give her a nudge.
"Sea, you need to apologize."
Not as a teacher—as her brother. Apologizing first wasn't losing, and in this case, Sea was way more at fault than Yu-ri.
Sea bowed her head deeply. She looked like the words wouldn't come…… but finally squeezed out a faint whisper.
"……Sorry."
"Me too. I was trying to stop it, but bad word choice. I apologize."
"Sorry for butting in."
Yu-ri responded like she'd accepted it, while Hae-bin muttered under her breath, displeased.
"Alright, that's enough. Professor Lee Dojin, you're free to go. I'll counsel them more and send them to class."
"Yes, sir. Sorry for the trouble."
"No worries. Nice seeing how mature you've become, Professor Lee. If your number's the same, I'll hit you up later for a meal."
"Sure. I'll head out now."
I bowed politely to the homeroom teacher and left the counseling room. Even as I stepped out, Sea kept her eyes downcast.
She looked utterly dejected, and it tugged at my heart, but…… first things first.
I started toward Professor Seo Sang-wook's lab, but got a call from him just then. Emergency came up—he had to go, so we'd discuss the paper in detail on Thursday.
It was past 3:30 p.m. already. I grabbed my stuff and left the school building.
Got in the car and called Seo Yeon-hee.
<Yeah, what's up?>
"Can you give me some advice?"
<Advice? On what?>
I explained the whole thing. Sea got into a fight with friends over our late parents and my situation.
"I couldn't just take her side, so I made her apologize. It's sorted on the surface…… but I don't know how to handle her at home without hurting her."
<What do you want to do?>
"Comfort her, tell her not to feel bad, scold her gently."
<Then do that. Why ask me?>
"……Huh?"
It sounded absurd to me. Our sibling dynamic wasn't that warm—blindly going in without a plan felt risky, regardless of whether it was good or bad.
She clicked her tongue over the line. Pitiful yet pathetic, pathetic yet pitiful. That's the vibe.
<Dojin, I've kept quiet since I'm in no position to lecture while using you…… but one question. What does Sea mean to you?>
"My sister."
Blood-related or not didn't matter. She'd been my baby sister since infancy, still was, and always would be. My last remaining family.
And…… Yeon-hee said softly,
<If you really think that…… don't place too much meaning on her.>
Before I could probe her intent, I asked,
"What do you mean by 'placing meaning'?"
<To Sea, sure. She might see you filling a parental role, and that's fine as her guardian. But…… don't dump all the love you couldn't give Si-hyeok and Se-bin onto her indiscriminately. She's just your sister, right? She can't replace your parents for you. She shouldn't. Don't assume it's just her youth and immaturity twisting your kindness. She senses it, consciously or not. It's a burden. Bluntly, she feels like you're pouring parental love onto her as a substitute. That's why she keeps acting out. Get what I mean?>
"Is…… that so wrong?"
Even as I questioned it, realization dawned. She was right.
I didn't see Lee Sea purely as Lee Sea. Of course she was precious as my sister, but there was more. Someone absent from my novel. Sea proved this world was real, not fiction, by her very existence.
And as my last family…… I wanted to give her all the love I couldn't give Lee Si-hyeok and Jeong Se-bin, my parents.
Yet Yeon-hee called it wrong. Without full context, but based on what she knew, she judged it gravely mistaken.
She was my invaluable ally, always helping. A novel character I'd cherished. To me, she validated all my efforts and love poured into this world.
If she was right…… was even thinking this way a huge offense?
Finally, she said,
<You're smart, and she's sharp too—you'll figure it out with a little thought. No good if I meddle too much, so puzzle it out yourself. How a brother should treat his sister after she causes trouble at school.>
Then the call ended.
Despite the scolding, I felt oddly refreshed. In the warm car with the heater on, I pondered what I most wanted to say to Sea as her brother.
Lee Sea trudged across the campus alone, locked in extreme low pressure until the last class and end-of-day homeroom ended.
It was 6 p.m. She checked her phone just in case, but no word from her brother.
Flower-bud frost had hit; wind howled, air bit cold. Sea, who'd come to school in just her uniform without a coat despite the morning warning, felt the chill seep into her body—and her heart even colder.
What do I do…….
She'd meant to keep harsh words from reaching him, but it backfired catastrophically. What would he think of a sister who picked fights? Would he be annoyed at her coldness at home yet causing drama outside?
She didn't want that image. But objectively, it was true. No excuses, no words for him came to mind, and even if they did, courage failed her.
Reaching the school gate, she scanned the road. Maybe his car, maybe waiting…… faint hope.
But no familiar vehicle. She started to drag her feet away.
And then—
Plop.
A soft warmth draped her back. Glancing aside, a coat enveloped her. Lee Dojin had approached silently, gazing into her eyes.
"Real smart thing you're doing."
"……."
Reprimand? Scolding? Something like that laced his words. Sea shrank instinctively, and he continued.
"Told you to wear your puffer this morning 'cause it's cold. Freezing, right?"
"……Huh?"
Sea blinked in confusion. Not the time for that…….
But somehow, relief washed over her. He waited as she slipped on the coat, then walked beside her.
"I'm pretty pissed."
"……I know."
She sensed more coming but hesitated, fumbling.
Not refusing fault. Just uncertainty of his reaction.
To Sea, ignorance in their relationship equaled fear.
But unexpectedly, Dojin scolded again.
"I'm really pissed, you know? Worried sick too. Sure, they said crappy stuff and you got mad, but violence? Can't say that was okay. You get what I mean?"
Only then could she reply.
"I was wrong……."
"What’s with the formal? Since when? Anyway, you gonna do it again or not?"
"……No."
"For real?"
"……Yeah."
Dojin grinned.
"First time, so let off. Cold—let's get home."
"……Car?"
"Left it home. Walking. Or cab?"
"……Nah, walk."
"Cool. Think dinner menu on the way."
Somehow, Sea felt her brother different today. Not blindly defending, not fawning. Expressing worry, anger—his true feelings.
Like a brother should.
So, finally, she mustered it alone.
"Sorry…… Oppa."
"Huh?"
Dojin looked shocked. When was the last "Oppa"? Sea barely remembered.
"You just said 'Oppa,' right?"
"……Wanna eat galbi."
She pivoted quickly. No ingredients home—he suggested market stop. A laugh bubbled up.
And…….
From hundreds of meters overhead, Yoo Hae-bin watched them walk amiably.
Too high for shapes to distinguish, impossible for ordinary humans to endure—yet she clapped, hovering.
Nice. Real nice.
Unexpected mess, annoying campus service…… but that scene warmed her.
One nagging thing, though.
Lee Dojin…….
Thought he was a useless human, but firsthand? Not quite. His mana sense—at least that—was tops among humans she'd seen.
Test him out…… just a poke?>
Low-risk, gauge the hero's son, her friend's brother. What kind of guy? Could be fun.
Guessing so, Hae-bin smiled beautifully, then her form vanished from the sky.