So That Was It (2)
In principle, academy students are strictly prohibited from leaving the premises. Still, there are a few exceptions—short outings supervised by their advisor professor. In those cases the advisor must personally notify the student’s management assistant, so I immediately dialed both of theirs.
“Of course, Professor! I’m the one who should be thanking you! Please take good care of Min-ha!”
Next was Yoo Hee-won’s management assistant, a veteran named Kim Yi Bit-na. She had been working as an academy assistant for a full decade—one of the true old hands. The reason she had never advanced to head assistant or assistant professor despite all that time was…
“Hello?”
“This is Professor Kyo Suhyeon from the faculty office, Assistant Kim.”
“It’s not Assistant Kim, it’s Assistant Kim-Yi.”
“Ah, yes. Assistant Kim-Yi.”
“Why are you calling?”
She really had no manners. Knowing her temperament already, I continued without missing a beat.
“I’m taking Yoo Hee-won out briefly for an advisory meeting. I wanted to let you know.”
“Haa… What time will you be back?”
“We’ll return before the main gate closes.”
“I’m sorry, Professor, but nine o’clock is a bit late, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t say we’d come back at nine. I said no matter how late we are, it will be before then.”
“You professors finish your lectures and go home; you wouldn’t know. Pulling the kids out suddenly like this in the evening is a bit much.”
Since she was the management assistant for one of my assigned students, I tried to smooth things over with a smile.
“Haha. Yes, I know how hard you work. I’ll coordinate the timing in advance next time.”
“Fine.”
She ended the call curtly. Just before the line disconnected, I caught her muttering to herself.
“Ugh, seriously… How annoying…”
Hmm… I stared at the darkened phone screen for a moment, then immediately dialed Kim Yi Bit-na again.
“What is it? I’m busy right now…”
“Assistant Kim.”
“It’s not Assistant Kim, it’s—”
I calmly cut her off. “I assumed that after ten years as a management assistant you must find the work rewarding and well-suited to you. But of course I understand how difficult the job is. Still, that difficulty comes from being an assistant, not from me taking Yoo Hee-won out for a meal, correct?”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“What I’m saying is this. There is a clear distinction between an advisor professor and a management assistant, and that distinction is hierarchical. To put it simply, I am not someone you can speak to the way you speak to your junior assistants.”
The woman on the other end of the line said nothing. As a senior academy assistant she had probably never been spoken to like this to her face. But I knew she had remained in that position all these years because she lacked the ability to rise any higher. Therefore she should know her place, perform her role properly, and stop abusing her petty authority to nitpick things that broke no rules or daring to treat professors as equals.
“Don’t you agree?”
“…Yes, I do.”
Her voice had grown subdued; she finally understood the situation.
“Behave appropriately from now on.”
“Understood, Professor.”
“Have a good evening.”
I hung up. Yoo Hee-won, who had been listening beside me, let out an impressed “Oh” and rounded her mouth.
“Our management assistant is famous for having zero manners, yet you handled her pretty well.”
“I’m not sure who you think you’re talking about. Anyway, let’s go.”
“What? Professor, what do you mean by that?”
“Let’s go.”
I ignored Yoo Hee-won as she pressed for an answer and left the lecture hall. Han Min-ha followed behind me like a shadow.
My car was parked in the faculty housing lot.
“Get in first. I need to grab something from my room.”
I opened the door for them. I was going to pick up the stomach-soothing liquid I had prepared after the last time I ate bulmakchang and ended up with an upset stomach. If I didn’t take it in advance, I would probably spend the entire evening running back and forth to the restroom again.
When I returned to the parking lot, Yoo Hee-won was nowhere to be seen; only Han Min-ha stood waiting beside the car.
“I told you to get in.”
“I thought I should wait until you got in first, Professor…”
Good grief…
“Where is Hee-won?”
“She got in already.”
I glanced through the window. Yoo Hee-won was sitting arrogantly in the rear seat like she owned it. Anyone watching would think this was a butler’s car come to fetch a young noblewoman from the royal academy. Still, the natural poise and oppressive aura she gave off could not be denied. If even I, a professor, felt it, how heavy must the pressure be for a classmate—especially one ranked dead last like Han Min-ha?
“Get in.”
“Yes.”
Once Han Min-ha took the passenger seat I started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. In the rear-view mirror I saw Yoo Hee-won inspecting the car’s interior with the fastidious gaze of a customer at a dealership.
“I expected you to drive some twenty-year-old junker, but this is surprisingly nice. You even have navigation and a dashcam.”
“An academy professor’s salary isn’t that generous, Hee-won.”
“Really? How much do you make? Ten million won?”
The casual way she began with a seven-figure number showed she truly was a golden spoon. No—calling her a diamond spoon would be more accurate.
“Enough that I won’t starve. Thank you for your concern. It covers me and two students.”
At the main gate I showed my faculty ID to the guard soldier and lowered the window so he could confirm the passengers.
“I’m taking my assigned students out for a meal. We’ll be back before nine.”
“I still don’t understand what those weapons are supposed to be blocking.”
Yoo Hee-won muttered as she glanced at the guard in full body armor carrying an automatic rifle.
“Probably to stop parents who come to complain to the advising professors.”
“Pfft…!”
Han Min-ha, who had been sitting as still as a mouse, suddenly choked on a laugh through her nose. It was the most intense emotional display I had seen from her since we met, so I was quite surprised. Was it really that funny?
“Hey. Why are you laughing? Huh?”
Yoo Hee-won kicked the back of the passenger seat repeatedly while interrogating her.
“Sorry… I wasn’t laughing, my nose just suddenly itched…”
“Bullshit. You laughed. The professor said that for my benefit, didn’t he? Was it funny?”
“No… I’m sorry…”
“I told you not to say sorry!”
“Ah, right…! Sorry… No, I mean… Um… I apologize…”
“Ugh, you absolute blockhead!”
Yoo Hee-won was kicking the seat inside her professor’s car and referring to her professor’s words as “that,” yet for some reason I didn’t find her as repulsive as she had been in the original story. Compared to her actions in the novel, her current behavior felt more like the cute misbehavior you’d expect from a rebellious student her age. It seemed the author had deliberately reshaped her character. At this level… perhaps with proper guidance she could become a decent person after all.
If I could keep Yoo Hee-won properly under control, raising Han Min-ha would become that much easier. I glanced sideways. Han Min-ha was sitting obediently, staring straight ahead. She really was the one I needed to worry about now.
“Hiss… Haa…”
While eating the bulmakchang, Yoo Hee-won kept sucking in air, sticking her tongue out, and wiping away sweat.
“Are you all right, Hee-won?”
“Yes…”
“You don’t look all right.”
She had been the one who suggested bulmakchang in the first place, yet she was also the one having the hardest time eating it. I took the stomach-soothing liquid from my pocket and offered it to her as she gulped down another cup of cold plum tea.
“This will protect your stomach lining. Take it and keep eating.”
“I’m fine. Hiss… It’s just a little spicy… Hssss…”
“Are you sure you actually like bulmakchang? It doesn’t seem like you’ve had it before.”
“It is my first time. My family would never let me eat something like this. Haa… It’s insanely hot…”
She was using the excuse of the spicy food to slip in casual speech toward me, but I decided to let it slide. Still… a family that forbade bulmakchang? It didn’t sound like mere wealth; it felt like an entirely different social stratum.
“You should eat it while no one’s around to scold you. When you go home for break it’ll be that tiresome organic whatever again… Heek… Hey, pass me the rest of that cold plum tea.”
Han Min-ha handed over the cup in front of her. Yoo Hee-won didn’t even bother pouring it into her own glass; she simply put her mouth to the rim and drank straight from it.
“Ugh… I feel alive. When else am I going to get to eat stuff like this?”
“It’s not like this is your first time eating out or anything…”
“It is, actually.”
“What?”
“I said it’s my first time. Ah—correction. It’s my first time in ‘a place like this.’”
Huh… So all that talk about “slumming it” with tteokbokki wasn’t an act; it might have been genuine.
“If my dad or mom calls, absolutely do not tell them, okay? If you do, you’ll probably end up in trouble too, Professor.”
“I doubt it would cause me any real trouble. After all, who was the one who used activity funds as leverage to drag me here?”
Yoo Hee-won snorted. “Ha! You’re underestimating my parents way too much, Professor. These are people who wouldn’t bleed even if you stabbed them.”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t spoken with them directly yet, so—”
“Excuse me! One more steamed egg, please!”
Yoo Hee-won cut me off mid-sentence and shouted her order in a loud voice.
“And more corn cheese.”
“Corn cheese too!”
Compared to Yoo Hee-won, Han Min-ha ate quietly and steadily as usual. It was fascinating to watch her consume the spicy food without shedding a single drop of sweat. When I stared, she met my eyes for a moment before quickly looking down.
“I… like spicy food…”
“Eat as much as you want. I’ll order more if it’s not enough.”
“Thank you, Professor. You should eat too.”
Han Min-ha spoke carefully while looking at my still-clean plate.
“I’m waiting for the steamed egg so I can eat it together.”
At that, Yoo Hee-won, who had been fiddling with her phone, turned to me with an incredulous expression.
“Heek? Professor… that one’s mine, you know?”
“Then order another one.”
“Unbelievable…”
Watching my two assigned students— one with a flushed face eagerly devouring bulmakchang, the other eating neatly—gave me a strange feeling. I was a reader who had possessed the ruined academy novel. I was fully aware that the real world and this fictional world were separate, and that the girls in front of me and every customer at the surrounding tables were merely characters in a story. On top of that, my solid Mental Barrier protected my mind, so I rarely felt strong emotions toward others. Yet as I looked at the gloomy black-haired girl and the rude blonde girl before me, I felt something like a faint sense of responsibility. A similar emotion, at least.
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.
“There were a few minor difficulties, but now that we’ve formed this connection, let us continue to grow and develop together until graduation—”
“Should we take a picture together?”
Yoo Hee-won cut me off cleanly and raised her phone high.
“Hee-won, I was in the middle of saying—”
“Hey, Han Min-ha. Aren’t you going to smile?”
“Ah… yeah…”
Han Min-ha forced an awkward smile and leaned her upper body into the frame.
“Come on, Professor, smile too. Cheeese.”
“All right… cheese…”
Click.
“Wait, I didn’t turn the filter on. Again. I told you to smile.”
“Mmm… hehe…”
“Ugh, seriously so gloomy. So gloomy the filter won’t even work.”
Why did it feel like things were already this rocky when there were only two of them…?