That Was It (9)
I eventually gave up on trying to reach Han Min-ha since she kept missing my calls and headed into the next lecture.
It was only when the day's schedule was nearly over that I finally received a call from her.
"It's fine. You must have been busy. Can we talk for a moment?"
Han Min-ha hesitated slightly on the other end.
"Ah... right now...? Um..."
"Is there something inconvenient? According to your schedule, all your lectures for today should be finished."
After a long pause of fidgeting, she finally answered.
"I'll head to the lab right now."
"Good."
Hmm. Is something going on?
Her schedule clearly shows free time.
She has no real social connections with classmates, so she'd normally head straight back to the dorm. Why does she seem so troubled just at the thought of talking?
Well... at that age, there are probably things she does alone.
I organized what I wanted to discuss with Han Min-ha as I returned to the lab.
After hanging up, Han Min-ha estimated when Yoo Hee-won's class would finish.
She might be able to make it to the professor's lab for the meeting and return before then...
A meeting between an advisor professor and their student was extremely common and nothing strange at all.
But for some reason, Han Min-ha felt that Yoo Hee-won must not find out she was meeting the professor alone.
Until now, they had always met as a group of three, and Yoo Hee-won hadn't shown any major complaints about it.
She didn't know how much the professors knew, but among the freshmen, Yoo Hee-won's personality was infamous.
The fact that someone like Yoo Hee-won wasn't at least trying to drive Han Min-ha out was incredibly unusual.
Knowing that well, Han Min-ha planned to visit the lab without anyone noticing.
As Han Min-ha hurried down the hallway, she ran into a classmate coming out of the bathroom.
"Where are you going?"
The girl was Song Do-yun, a student in the same class as Yoo Hee-won and someone who acted as the second-in-command of her follower group.
Why did it have to be her of all people...
She should be in class right now... Maybe she just stepped out to use the bathroom...
"Uh...? Um... I have somewhere to go for a bit..."
"Where?"
"The dorm... All my classes are done... so I'm going to change into my gym clothes..."
Song Do-yun looked Han Min-ha up and down before replying indifferently.
"You know we're supposed to go to physical training together after this, right? Did you tell the training assistant?"
"Y-yeah. I did. I'll be there on time."
"Go on, then."
At Song Do-yun's chin gesture, Han Min-ha bowed her head and quickly walked past her.
Even though it had only been a little over half a day since they became 'friends,' Han Min-ha knew Song Do-yun very well.
She had a quiet personality that didn't show much emotion, but inside she was a cunning girl with a hundred venomous snakes lurking within.
That's why, unlike the others, Han Min-ha had no desire to get close to Song Do-yun.
She knew all too well that someone with a pushover personality like hers would only end up being used by a girl like that.
Although she was a four-eyed girl with a big chest who was dull and stupid and got bullied, Han Min-ha wasn't actually an idiot who couldn't read situations.
Once she left the lecture building, Han Min-ha turned her head to check the windows.
No one was looking at her.
Just to be safe, she pretended to head toward the dorm before quietly changing direction and walking toward the research building.
And from the window, leaning against the frame with her back hidden, Song Do-yun watched the entire thing through her compact mirror.
I was just finishing brewing coffee when Han Min-ha knocked on the lab door.
"Professor. It's Min-ha. May I come in?"
"Come in. It's unlocked."
The door opened and Han Min-ha entered the lab.
"Have a seat. I just finished brewing coffee. Coffee's okay, right?"
"Yes, it's fine."
I sat at the round table and watched Han Min-ha carefully sip her coffee before asking.
"How have things been lately?"
"Thanks to your help, Professor... it's gotten much better. Hee-won is helping me too."
"Hee-won? How exactly is she helping you?"
Han Min-ha rolled her dark eyes behind her glasses before answering.
"Um... how should I put it... Hee-won introduced me to some friends."
"Haha. Becoming friends isn't like being knighted or anything. Tell me the details."
Han Min-ha told me what had happened that morning.
That Yoo Hee-won had brought her into her own group, saying she would help her adapt to academy life.
She actually threw her into the follower pack.
I had simply hoped Yoo Hee-won would occasionally talk to Han Min-ha and create a good impression among the other students.
This was such a Yoo Hee-won way of solving things.
An extreme egocentric way of thinking that processed every problem solely from her own perspective.
Although Yoo Hee-won's group consisted of kids who followed others around, each of them was an incredibly talented individual.
They monopolized most of the top ranks, and they were the students who came closest to the ideal talent that Graford Academy sought.
I wondered if Han Min-ha could really endure being in such a group.
Since Yoo Hee-won was watching with both eyes open, they would all pretend to accept her for now, but deep down they would be thinking something else.
Thoughts like, 'That kind of girl is on the same level as us?'
Anyway... the good thing was that Yoo Hee-won hadn't ignored my request and was carrying it out diligently.
Whether the method was good or not was another matter, but she probably thought it was the best solution in her own way.
"That's good to hear. Take this chance to make lots of friends. If academy life becomes enjoyable, your grades will naturally improve too."
"Understood."
"But the reason I called you today isn't to check on your social relationships."
Han Min-ha quietly waited for my next words.
"There's something I want to ask you, Miss Han Min-ha."
"Yes."
"First of all... the reason your grades are so low is because you can barely use aura. You know that, right?"
"I do..."
"All the practical subjects taught at the academy require aura. No matter how good your written scores are, if you can't use aura, you can't become a hero. At best, you'd end up in an administrative position at the Management Bureau."
Not that Han Min-ha's written scores were particularly good either.
But now wasn't the time to bring that up.
"However, your aura is incredibly solid and has high purity. That's typical for hero descendants who received bonus admission points. The problem is that it's so heavy that moving it requires a lot of effort. Most students overcome that process through innate talent. If they didn't have such talent to begin with, they wouldn't have been able to enter the academy."
"Yes..."
"The fact that you were admitted to the academy means your talent has already been sufficiently verified. So under normal circumstances, you should already be able to use aura. And judging by the purity of your aura, it's strange that you haven't already moved up to the upper classes. Yet..."
When I trailed off, Han Min-ha lowered her head as if she had committed some grave sin.
"I'm not criticizing you. I didn't call you here to scold you. So lift your head."
When Han Min-ha raised her head and met my eyes, I smiled at her.
"I want to know what problem is preventing you from operating your aura. As I just said, by objective standards, you should be able to use it. The fact that you can't means there's a subjective issue—a different obstacle inside you that I don't know about. A barrier blocking your aura operation. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Does this have anything to do with your parents' disappearance?"
For a moment, Han Min-ha's pupils trembled. I didn't miss it.
"I'm wondering if the shock of both your parents—who were active heroes—disappearing at the same time has caused you to unconsciously reject becoming a hero."
Han Min-ha said nothing.
"I'm sorry for bringing this up. But I have a duty to figure out the reason and help you use your aura. Only then can you graduate normally and become a hero."
Han Min-ha remained silent, and I quietly sipped my coffee while waiting.
After a long time, she finally spoke.
"You're right."
I see.
Han Min-ha couldn't operate her aura because of her parents' disappearance—or death.
If the vision I had seen was truly of her parents, they must have had a very harmonious family.
Such parents had vanished in an instant, and the Management Bureau wouldn't tell her anything.
For Han Min-ha, left all alone without even grandparents, the only thing the Bureau provided was a survivor's pension.
She had entered the academy at the Bureau's recommendation because she had no choice, but...
Could that young child really walk the same path as her parents who had gone missing while working as heroes?
It would probably be difficult.
But Han Min-ha had to walk that path.
For someone like her who had nothing but hero talent, becoming a hero was the best option.
If she left the academy now and went to a regular high school, she'd live a life that was neither here nor there.
And...
Ever since seeing that vision in the archives, I had felt an enormous sense of responsibility toward Han Min-ha.
Even if it was just a past setting arbitrarily created by the author.
I looked at her for a moment before speaking.
"Your parents were part of Secreto. Secreto is the Management Bureau's organization that carries out secret missions."
"Secreto...?"
"You've probably never heard of it. It's a group of heroes who perform classified operations."
Han Min-ha's eyes widened as if hearing this for the first time.
"You're probably curious. How I know about such an organization, and how I know your parents were in it."
Han Min-ha slowly nodded.
"I was on the same team as your parents."
