Advisor Assignments (4)
Time flew by, and before long it was time to select advising students. Faculty members gathered repeatedly in the professors' office for meetings, each picking out their own students. Today was the day the management assistants collected their class's preferred advising professors and submitted the lists to the faculty department. When professor and student preferences aligned, the assignment was finalized immediately. Mismatches or cases where votes piled up on particular professors or students required careful adjustments. It wasn't a matter of simply choosing whichever student one liked, and every student needed an advising professor anyway.
As expected, the professors' greatest point of interest was whom Yoo Hee-won had chosen. Naturally, Professor Yu Hyeon-ju of General Combat was considered the leading candidate. Across the room, Professor Heo of Information Acquisition and Operations was watching me with a meaningful smile. That man already knew the outcome.
Professor Jin Se-yeong, seated beside me, leaned in and whispered, "Professor Kyo, did you also get chosen by Yoo Hee-won?"
"No. It seems every other professor wanted her."
"Of course. The experience of advising a future S-class hero is invaluable."
"Is that so? I suppose it is. But that kind of pressure isn't for me."
Just then the department head entered the office carrying a clipboard. "Have you printed out all the students' preference lists?"
"Ah, yes. They're right here. I received them from the chief assistant."
Professor Heo stood and began sliding the documents in front of him toward the others. The professors flipped through the pages, searching for the names of students who had chosen them and, more importantly, which professor Yoo Hee-won had selected.
"Huh...?" Professor Jin Se-yeong was the first to speak. One by one, surprised murmurs rose around the room as every gaze turned toward me.
"Professor Kyo... Yoo Hee-won... she chose you."
Jin Se-yeong stared at me, bewildered. I simply smiled without a word. I had already known. What I wanted to confirm wasn't whether Yoo Hee-won had picked me. It was whom Han Min-ha had chosen.
Ignoring the stares, I kept turning pages until I found Han Min-ha's name. There it was. Let's see... What? The field for her preferred advising professor was blank. Literally nothing was written.
By regulation every student was required to have an advising professor. Even if the form was left blank, an assignment had to be made. Hmm... blank, was it? That might actually work out in my favor. If Han Min-ha had chosen someone else, securing her as my student would have become more complicated. Since she chose no one, it meant anyone could take her. And after checking the list several more times, I confirmed that aside from Yoo Hee-won, no other student had selected me. It wasn't a question of my character; the subject of Basic Defense simply wasn't popular. If students were going to choose an advisor, they naturally picked professors whose fields would help them after graduation. Basic Defense... well, it gave off the impression of "Do I really need this?"
It didn't matter. I had no interest in how my subject was regarded. Still, the other professors remained in an uproar over the fact that Yoo Hee-won had chosen me.
"Professor Kyo, why on earth did Yoo Hee-won pick you? I'm not looking down on Basic Defense; I'm genuinely curious."
When someone asked, I smiled and shook my head. "I don't know. Perhaps it's her way of expressing confidence."
"That does make some sense. Honestly, that girl... she's a bit much, isn't she?"
The professors murmured in agreement. Apparently Yoo Hee-won displayed exceptional talent not only in my class but in every other subject as well. Her arrogant and overbearing attitude remained unchanged. Many professors wanted to advise her yet didn't particularly like her. What they coveted was her ability and powerful family background rather than Yoo Hee-won herself. Because Basic Defense was an unpopular subject and because of her personality, the professors quickly accepted the explanation and dropped the matter. It seemed they were content to treat it as nothing more than an odd occurrence.
"Didn't we compile the list of students each professor wanted? I told you to match it with this list. I distinctly remember ordering it done."
"It's ready."
The chief assistant and other assistants printed the matched lists and distributed copies. The professors immediately began flipping through the pages, checking whether the students they wanted had also chosen them or whether preferences had crossed. Professor Yu Hyeon-ju of General Combat had so many applicants that a separate page had been prepared for her, and the other professors likewise had lines of students ranked by subject popularity. Aside from Yoo Hee-won's choice, there were no major surprises—except one.
"Huh? What is this? Professor Kyo, is this real?"
"What do you mean?"
Jin Se-yeong pointed at a specific page. "Han Min-ha. Did you really choose her?"
The surrounding professors opened the page and reacted similarly.
"Han Min-ha... isn't that the girl with the glasses and black hair?"
"Right. That blockhead."
It seemed Han Min-ha performed at a consistently low level across all subjects, just like Yoo Hee-won performed at a high level. Still, "blockhead" suggested she struggled quite severely.
"Professor Jin, how is Han Min-ha doing in your class?"
"She still hasn't managed to lift her feet off the ground."
Nearly a month had passed and she couldn't even perform the most basic act of flight. That was rather serious.
"Professor Kyo, you never took on an advising student all these years, and now this? Why her of all people?"
"Exactly. Out of so many freshmen, why go out of your way to suffer?"
When the other professors questioned me with puzzled expressions, I answered with a smile. "Wouldn't it be rewarding? Guiding a student like her all the way to graduation."
If even I didn't volunteer, Han Min-ha, already labeled a blockhead in the lower class, would have a hard time graduating. Professor Jin Se-yeong's eyes sparkled as she clasped her hands together, apparently moved by my words. The other professors were split—half seemed to accept it, while the other half looked as though they thought I was spouting nonsense.
Afterward, under the department head's direction, the first round of matching took place. Students and professors were loosely grouped for interviews to confirm mutual intentions. Final assignments would be decided based on those interview results. A student had only one advising professor, but a professor could have multiple advising students. Last year, professors of General Combat and Flight had each taken on more than twenty students. I intended to take only Han Min-ha, so I paid no attention to anyone else. Besides, no other students had wanted me anyway. Convenient.
* * * * *
Because of the interviews, students constantly came and went from the research building. Most professors and students conducted their meetings in a friendly atmosphere, taking walks or having tea, but my situation was different. Interviewing prospective advising students was mandatory; the content had to be recorded and entered into the system as documentation. Therefore I had to call Yoo Hee-won in for an interview. She sat across from me wearing an arrogant smile that was not particularly pleasant to look at.
"You chose me as your advising professor."
"I told you, didn't I? I wanted you to be my advisor."
"You did. That's why many other professors were disappointed. Plenty of them wanted the chance to properly guide you."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"It does matter." I looked at Yoo Hee-won calmly. "I am a professor of Basic Defense. It's an unpopular major that holds almost no practical value for heroes, and my health isn't good either. Under these circumstances, taking on an outstanding student like you is honestly a bit of a burden."
"So what?"
"There are many other excellent professors at the academy. For example, Professor Yu of General Combat. Once an advising professor is assigned, it's difficult to change. Think it over again. Graduation isn't the end; it's the beginning. After you graduate you'll have to fight all kinds of villains. Receiving guidance from another professor would be better for you than receiving it from me."
Yoo Hee-won twisted the corner of her mouth into a sneer. "I want to be your advising student. Learning defensive techniques might actually be useful."
"But you were the one who called the ultimate defensive technique, Mental Barrier, 'clinging to your mentality.'"
"Don't tell me you're still holding onto that comment?"
"It's not that I'm holding onto it; I simply remember it. What I'm trying to say is that I have far too many shortcomings to be your advising professor."
Yoo Hee-won narrowed her eyes and stared at me. "Did you perhaps already select the student you wanted?"
"No. As you know, I haven't taken on any advising students for several years."
I lied without so much as twitching an eyebrow. Yoo Hee-won studied my expression carefully, but with Mental Barrier active it was probably impossible for her to detect any sign of deception.
"I understand what you're saying. However..." Yoo Hee-won stood up and looked down at me with disdain. "It will probably turn out that way anyway."
That arrogant confidence of hers...
After she left, I immediately called Bae Ye-bin, Han Min-ha's management assistant.
"Assistant Bae, I need to conduct an interview with Han Min-ha regarding advising-student selection. Please send her to my office."
[Ah... Han Min-ha?] Assistant Bae's voice trailed off awkwardly.
"Is there some restriction?"
[A restriction... well... Professor Kyo, I'm sorry, but Han Min-ha... she submitted her withdrawal this morning...]