That Was It

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Yoo Hee-won suddenly exploded in anger to hide her embarrassment, glaring at Han Min-ha. "What do you mean, 'what do you mean'? Your parents work abroad or whatever, and you deliberately twisted it like that just to mess with me? You're seriously a shady bitch, aren't you?"

But no matter how aggressively she pushed, it wouldn't change ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the situation or let her take back the words she'd already spat out. Yoo Hee-won glanced back and forth between the silent Han Min-ha and me, who was also staying quiet, her lips trembling as she forced a smile.

"For real...?"

"Let's stop here, Miss Hee-won. Please take your seat."

"It's okay, Hee-won... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You didn't know."

At Han Min-ha's words, Yoo Hee-won stared down at the top of her head for a moment before spinning around sharply.

"This is so fucking annoying!"

She yanked open the lab door. "Damn it... the door lock..." Muttering as she twisted the handle and slammed into the door, Yoo Hee-won pressed the electronic lock button. Once outside, she didn't even look back as she slammed the door shut with force.

With such a strong sense of pride and an arrogant personality, she couldn't bring herself to apologize when she should have. Instead, she turned the tables and acted like the victim. It wasn't the right thing to do, but I couldn't exactly call it malicious. What could you do about someone with that kind of temperament?

After Yoo Hee-won left, silence settled over the lab. Han Min-ha remained in the same hunched posture she'd taken when being scolded, staring down at her answer sheet.

"Miss Min-ha."

"Yes, Professor."

"Shall we continue? Or would you rather end here for today?"

"It's fine. I'll stay and hear the full explanation."

"Then let's do that."

I opened the thick Management Bureau regulations manual and continued going over the problems with Han Min-ha. Even after we finished, Yoo Hee-won never returned. She had probably gone straight back to the dormitory.

Once Han Min-ha had also returned to the dormitory, I finished writing up the guidance log and left the research building alone. The April sun set early, and outside was already covered in a deep navy twilight. As I walked past the streetlights toward the faculty housing, I thought about what had happened earlier.

Han Min-ha's parents were missing. But even if they were missing, that didn't mean the family relations section had to be left blank. That suggested a high chance they had gotten caught up in something unsavory during hero activities. They might have intentionally killed civilians, defected and become villains, or done something else that made the Management Bureau no longer recognize them as heroes.

But if that were the case, how did one explain the survivor pension being paid to Han Min-ha? I'd have to contact the Management Bureau during work hours tomorrow. It was a serious family matter for one of my guidance students; it wouldn't be right to keep going while harboring doubts. Besides, it might be the decisive reason why Han Min-ha couldn't use her aura.

It wasn't that I felt sympathy for Han Min-ha because she'd lost her parents early. With my Mental Barrier active and my awareness that I was a possessor, it was difficult for me to feel such emotions toward a character in a novel. I was simply guessing that to make Han Min-ha an S-class hero, her chronic problem needed to be resolved, and the answer might lie in her parents' disappearance.

When I arrived at the dormitory, I showered, ate a simple dinner, did a bit of mental training, and lay down in bed. In the group chat, there was no sign that Yoo Hee-won had apologized separately. The group photo Yoo Hee-won had taken when we ate bulmakchang was still faintly visible at the top of the scroll. In the foreground was Yoo Hee-won shining brilliantly in gold, with me and Han Min-ha crumpled darkly behind her. We looked exactly like Golden Viper and the gray molds.

Yoo Hee-won, who had stormed back to the dormitory with furious steps, headed straight up to her room.

"Hee-won! Are you done already?"

Some of the followers who trailed after her tried to greet her, but Yoo Hee-won ignored them completely.

"What's with her? Did she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fight with her advisor professor?"

Yoo Hee-won stopped walking and turned her head like a snake. Her gaze was so fierce that the students flinched and looked away.

"Fight with the advisor professor?"

"Uh...? No. I just thought it was possible, that's all."

"It is possible. When trash professor meets trash student, after all."

"That's not what I meant..."

"That's exactly what I meant. That you all are trash."

At the incomprehensibly vicious response, no one dared open their mouths. They only exchanged nervous glances. After shooting them a glare, Yoo Hee-won strode up the stairs.

How dare these insignificant things gossip about my relationship with my advisor professor? Just because they're in the upper class and I talk to them, they think they're on the same level as me?

Still fuming, Yoo Hee-won entered her room and leaned against the door, standing still for a moment. The reason she was angry was simple. She had been faced with a situation where she needed to apologize. That's why she was mad—because apologizing was the right thing to do.

But I really didn't know that shady bitch was an orphan. If I'd known, I wouldn't have said that. So it's not my fault.

"Ah, fuck..."

Irritably running her hands through her hair, Yoo Hee-won collapsed into her chair. She took out her phone to dial a number but soon flipped it over and tossed it onto the desk.

"I didn't know, okay!"

She shouted, then grabbed her phone again and opened the photo gallery. It was filled with pictures from the time they'd gone to eat bulmakchang. After the selfies with the professor and Han Min-ha, the perfectly grilled bulmakchang, and the restaurant sign, there were a series of photos taken from somewhat suspicious angles.

They were all secret photos of Professor Kyo Suhyeon.

Photos taken while pretending to snap selfies, captured in continuous burst mode and carefully selected frame by frame. Among the nearly identical burst shots, these were the best of the best.

Professor Kyo Suhyeon entering the store in his coat. Professor Kyo Suhyeon gently ordering from the staff and handing over the menu. Professor Kyo Suhyeon saying something to Han Min-ha with an indifferent expression. Professor Kyo Suhyeon scooping egg custard and mixing it with rice. Professor Kyo Suhyeon wiping his mouth with a napkin. Professor Kyo Suhyeon taking out his wallet from his coat pocket to pay. Professor Kyo Suhyeon reaching out the drive-thru window to receive coffee. Professor Kyo Suhyeon holding the steering wheel with one hand and drinking coffee through a straw. Professor Kyo Suhyeon reversing to head toward the faculty housing.

As Yoo Hee-won scrolled through the photos, it was as if she could hear Professor Kyo Suhyeon's voice in her ear.

"Ugh... this is so annoying..."

She hated that attitude of his—the one that seemed to think his face alone could make anything work. From the beginning, she'd chosen him because she needed something to stand beside her like a mannequin. So why was he trying to teach her? Did he think she'd submit so easily? He could never tame her. If that had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been her intention, she wouldn't have chosen him first.

Just wait, Kyo Suhyeon. I will never move according to your will. I didn't become your guidance student to be mentored by you. I did it to possess you.

Apology? The right thing to do? Don't make me laugh.

However, much later, Yoo Hee-won eventually began typing a message to Han Min-ha. After writing and deleting it dozens of times, she irritably pressed the send button.

Soon, Han Min-ha's reply arrived.

Seeing that only made Yoo Hee-won even angrier. People who aren't originally kind tend to see kind people as hypocrites. And when they see someone possessing what they lack, rage boils up inside them. Yoo Hee-won was especially like that.

That's why, although she had read the notification, she deliberately didn't open the message window. That way, the "1" on Han Min-ha's side wouldn't disappear, making it look like Yoo Hee-won had ignored the reply.

Han Min-ha. How dare you... You want me to help someone like that? Why should I? This is complete bullshit.

Yoo Hee-won, who had been lying still on her bed, picked up her phone and dialed somewhere.

"Management assistant. Come to my room for a moment."

Before long, Kim-Yi Bit-na, Yoo Hee-won's management assistant, arrived at the room.

"What's going on? Did your father ask you to do something..."

"No. It's nothing like that. Could you bring me a copy of the lower-class students' schedule?"

"Ah, sure. I'll get it right away?"

As she watched Kim-Yi Bit-na close the door and leave, a sneer hung on Yoo Hee-won's lips. A typical strong-against-weak, weak-against-strong piece of trash. At the very least, she herself acted strong regardless of whether the other person was strong or weak.

Lying on her bed again, Yoo Hee-won scrolled through the photos in her gallery while waiting for Assistant Kim-Yi Bit-na.

That night, I had the dream again.

As always, I was floating high above the ground in the sky, and that strange-colored cloud began surging toward me. Just before the cloud touched me, the scene suddenly switched, and I found myself standing on the ground. And from high up in the sky, a shining meteor was slowly falling.

Just as the meteor was about to hit the ground, I woke up.

"No!!"

Screaming as I violently threw off the blanket, I was about to get out of bed when I realized I had woken from the dream.

It was five in the morning. The place I was in was the faculty dormitory at Graford Academy. I was a professor named Kyo Suhyeon who taught Basic Defense, and I was a possessor.

The Mental Barrier that had been loosened in my sleepy state rebuilt itself firmly, and I regained my senses and faced reality.

Good. It was just a dream.

A meaningless, recurring nightmare that came irregularly. Why did I keep having this dream? On days I had it, all the energy in my body was drained, making it incredibly hard to get through the day's work.

After thinking for a moment, I soon forgot most of the dream's contents. It was always like this. Forgetting within seconds of waking from an intense dream. The only memories that remained were the cloud and the meteor.

For now... I should wash off this sweat-soaked body first. I couldn't go back to sleep feeling this gross.

I turned on the shower and stood leaning against the wall, organizing what I would do once the day broke. Morning meeting, lectures, guidance student meeting. And on top of that, I needed to contact the Management Bureau. About Han Min-ha's parents.

Since it was an academy professor trying to resolve an issue for his guidance student, they would surely look into it. If not, I could ask the department head to send an official document. If I framed it as there being a disruption in guidance because Yoo Hee-won was also involved, they would probably jump in with both feet in surprise.

Good. Planning complete. Let's wash up quickly and get a little more sleep.

The next day, when I called the Management Bureau and requested a simple inquiry using Han Min-ha's parents' names, I received a bewildering answer.