Mentor Assignment (7)
A mentor professor guides their students to achieve good grades and graduate safely. Therefore, the term mentor is more accurate than comparing it to the relationship between a professor and a graduate student in the real world. Unlike graduate students who are worked like slaves, mentored students actively leverage their professor to receive help. For the professor as well, if their mentored student succeeds and goes on to become a prominent hero, it naturally benefits their career.
In that sense, Yoo Hee-won would perhaps be the ideal mentored student. Han Min-ha, on the other hand… Using my authority as a mentor professor, I had accessed her grades, and they were truly dismal. It made me wonder whether it wouldn’t be better to take a physically fit student from a regular high school instead. But… this could not be Han Min-ha’s limit.
People with inherently low self-esteem tend not to see their own level clearly and fail to demonstrate their true abilities. If my feeling was correct, Han Min-ha’s aura was incredibly powerful. If I could just get her to use it properly, she would definitely be able to rise much higher.
“P-Professor Kyo!”
As I was leaving the research building to head to class, Professor Jin Se-yeong caught up to me from behind.
“Are you heading to lecture?”
“Yes. What about you, Professor Jin?”
“Me too. Let’s go together.”
Professor Jin was dressed like a swimmer before a competition. She wore a tight-fitting full-body practice suit designed to minimize friction during flight and prevent injuries. With a loose training top thrown over it, she radiated healthy charm in every way. She was a completely different type of person from me—a grey mold slowly wasting away from lung disease.
That aside, I really hadn’t been coughing lately. It felt like I might actually live. Could it really be because of Han Min-ha?
“Professor Jin. About Han Min-ha.”
“Min-ha? Why do you ask?”
“How is she doing?”
“Min-ha… she’s only just managed to get her feet off the ground. The other kids can already do low-altitude takeoffs, so she’s a bit behind.”
“I see. Have you by any chance checked Han Min-ha’s aura?”
“Aura. Right.”
Professor Jin nodded as if she had grasped the intent behind my question.
“It seems you felt it too, Professor. That girl Min-ha—her aura is really amazingly clean.”
Here, clean meant high purity.
Let’s see. At this point in the semester, there weren’t many subjects that required direct aura manipulation. My own Basic Defense, Jin Se-yeong’s Flight and Guidance, and Yu Hyeon-ju’s General Combat. So far, that was it. In the case of General Combat, it would still be focused mainly on physical movements like regular martial arts. Essentially, it meant Jin Se-yeong and I were the only ones who had taken a close look at Han Min-ha’s aura.
“Han Min-ha is a hero descendant with extra admission points. That’s why.”
“I know that too. But isn’t it strange? If she’s a hero descendant with extra points, she should be able to handle aura much more easily than the others, yet that girl is a bit… how should I put it…”
“Like an idiot.”
“Ahaha…”
At my blunt description, Professor Jin laughed without being able to affirm or deny it. It was true, but she seemed reluctant to call a student she taught an idiot. She really did have a kind and pure personality.
“Anyway, it’s good. If someone like you, Professor Kyo, mentors that child, she’ll probably rise to the upper class very quickly.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“By the way, Professor Kyo. Why did you suddenly decide to take on mentored students? And one like Min-ha, at that?”
“Well. You could call it meddlesome good intentions. I simply thought that if I could mentor a student with poor grades whom everyone else had given up on and help them graduate safely, I might feel a genuine sense of fulfillment in my profession as a professor.”
At my lie, Professor Jin Se-yeong clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling.
“As expected… Professor Kyo…”
The faculty department had already paired every student with an appropriate professor. If the students had no major objections to the results, the selection process would be finalized. Because the pairings had been carefully coordinated over a long period, they rarely changed significantly at this stage.
The biggest concern I had in taking Han Min-ha as my mentored student was Yoo Hee-won’s reaction. Something along the lines of How dare you pair me with the likes of Han Min-ha? or The only mentored student of Kyo Suhyeon is me. But I hadn’t come without countermeasures.
“Hello, Professor.”
The students entered the lecture hall and naturally took their places on individual mats. The first ten minutes of class were always spent in meditation to calm the mind. The upper-class students could already deploy basic defensive barriers, so the teaching assistants no longer needed to enter carrying iron pipes.
As I stood at the lectern receiving the students’ greetings, Yoo Hee-won soon entered leading her group. There had only been about three before, but now her followers numbered nearly ten. Roughly half the class had already sworn loyalty to her.
There were other upper classes, but Yoo Hee-won’s was the highest among them. Half of that elite class was following her around like hunting dogs. If those children graduated without incident, they might very well form a new hero faction centered around Yoo Hee-won. Heroes never cooperated with one another, but one never knew.
Wait… what happened in the original story? Did Yoo Hee-won drag those kids around as subordinates, or did she act alone? I tried to recall, but the memory was hazy. It had been a long time since I possessed this body, so I must have forgotten naturally. It wasn’t the only novel I had read, nor was it a masterpiece that would be burned into my mind.
Since I knew the general plot, I supposed I didn’t need to remember every minor detail.
Right after the lecture ended, Yoo Hee-won came to see me.
“The mentor assignment results seem a bit strange.”
“I’d like to know in what way you find them strange.”
“Han Min-ha. What is that about?”
“Student Han Min-ha’s grades were so poor that the other professors didn’t want her. So I, who specializes in an unpopular subject, ended up taking her. Every student must have a mentor professor, after all. It doesn’t seem like a big problem.”
With my Mental Barrier firmly raised, no one could see through my lie. As expected, Yoo Hee-won continued her protest without noticing anything amiss.
“I’m not talking about procedural issues, Professor. The problem is how someone like me—who took first place in the basic evaluation—ended up tied together with that girl who barely passed the evaluation and even fainted.”
“Are you saying that being with student Han Min-ha would lower your grades, student Yoo Hee-won? I didn’t think you’d be at that level.”
“Pardon?”
“If it’s someone of your caliber, student Yoo Hee-won, it would be Han Min-ha who gets influenced and sees her grades improve. Or is it simply that you don’t even want to speak with a lowly lower-class student?”
When I directly pointed out a flaw in her character, Yoo Hee-won didn’t respond. She looked at me with a slightly resentful expression before changing the subject.
“Weren’t you the one who originally said you wouldn’t pick me, Professor?”
“My mind changed. A person’s heart is always moving, after all.”
“Is that so? And I suppose there wasn’t some external factor that influenced your change of heart?”
I smiled and met Yoo Hee-won’s gaze head-on.
“I can’t deny it. There is that, and internal factors as well. Of course, I don’t think I need to emphasize that the internal factors had the greater influence.”
“What exactly are those internal factors, Professor Kyo Suhyeon?”
Firmly maintaining my Mental Barrier, I recited the lines I had prepared in advance.
“It’s like this. You, student Yoo Hee-won, had other professors lining up to be your mentor, but you chose me instead. For me to refuse would not be the right thing to do as a human being—either to you or to the other professors.”
“I had no idea you were such a warm-hearted person who cares about things like that.”
Even at Yoo Hee-won’s sarcasm, I kept my smile and continued.
“And student Yoo Hee-won, you had already considered me through the school homepage before admission, and you even approached me first at the entrance ceremony.”
“Hmm.”
Yoo Hee-won crossed her arms and waited for my next words.
“I am very grateful for that. Of course, I won’t deny that the first impression wasn’t very good. It’s true that your attitude toward others is somewhat inappropriate, student Yoo Hee-won.”
“That’s…”
Yoo Hee-won tried to retort, but I ignored it and kept speaking.
“But perhaps that could be an awkward expression of the pride you have in your own talent and ability.”
“Excuse me…?”
I gave Yoo Hee-won a gentle smile and continued.
“So… I thought that mentoring an excellent student like you might allow me to feel some pride and fulfillment in having chosen this profession.”
At the sudden shift in attitude, Yoo Hee-won stared at me blankly, unable to find words.
Right now, I was laying the groundwork so that Yoo Hee-won could implicitly accept Han Min-ha, since things had come to this. Making her think that I had chosen her of my own will, and that choosing Han Min-ha had been unavoidable due to procedure. Making her believe that having a low-grade student beside her would only make her shine brighter. For that purpose, there was nothing better than elevating her through comparison.
“That is why I selected you as my mentored student. Do you understand now?”
“Ah, yes… If that’s the case, I can accept it…”
It wasn’t for her to decide whether to accept it or not, but that didn’t matter. The important thing was preventing Yoo Hee-won from throwing a tantrum over sharing a mentor with Han Min-ha.
“Thank you for wanting me as your mentor professor, Hee-won.”
When I gave her a bright smile, Yoo Hee-won hurriedly averted her gaze.
“Let’s do well together.”
It was the feeling a door-to-door evangelist must have when they ring the bell expecting rejection, only for the door to swing wide open with an invitation to come in for tea and conversation. That must have been Yoo Hee-won’s current state of mind.
For a while, Yoo Hee-won simply stared at me with a slightly dazed expression. Then she soon put on her characteristic sly smile and spoke.
“Professor. Aren’t you underestimating me too much?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Well. Think carefully about what I mean. Anyway…”
Yoo Hee-won’s eyes had softened somewhat as she continued.
“I’m grateful that you chose me as your mentored student. I’ll believe what you said about that girl Han Min-ha.”
I didn’t think Yoo Hee-won would take my words at face value. But even so, making her consider them to some extent and let the matter pass—that had been my goal, and I had succeeded. From now on, or at least for the time being, Yoo Hee-won wouldn’t cause any strange trouble regarding Han Min-ha.
In a way, it might look like I was anxiously trying not to offend her. However, I didn’t care how anyone saw it. As long as I could mentor Han Min-ha without any issues and help her graduate safely.
“Good. I’ll notify you of the mentor orientation schedule soon, so let’s talk more then.”
Even if it was called an orientation, there wasn’t much to it. I would simply call them in, have them introduce themselves, and discuss how I would help them and what they needed. For popular subjects like Professor Yu Hyeon-ju’s General Combat or Professor Jin Se-yeong’s Flight and Guidance, who had multiple students, the term orientation was appropriate. Since I only had Yoo Hee-won and Han Min-ha, however, it would be more accurate to call it tea time. I could just call them to the lab and brew some coffee. Simple enough.