So That's What It Was
The weight of her father's voice made Yoo Hee-won flinch. No matter how she thought about it, she regretted bringing up something so pointless. Her father was a cold-blooded man who made no exceptions, not even for family. He had no doubt that his only daughter would reach S-class just as he had. Yoo Hee-won lived with a constant, quiet anxiety that she might disappoint him. She had never once shown it outwardly.
She swallowed hard, waiting for him to speak. At last, her father broke the silence.
"Stop wasting time on pointless concerns and focus on your studies."
"Yes..."
The moment the call ended, Yoo Hee-won let out the breath she had been holding. Talking with Dad is always so tense... Telling me to stop paying attention to useless things... He's the same as ever. I wonder if anything will change once I become S-class.
She stood there a moment, shoulders slumped, before straightening her expression and walking down the hallway with purpose.
I had a dream.
I was flying through the sky in my hero suit when I encountered a cloud of some strange color. I twisted my body sharply to avoid it, but an overwhelmingly powerful force slammed down on me from above. The impact threw me off balance, and I began to plummet toward the ground. Sky and earth flipped over and over until, just before collision, I frantically created dozens of weak barriers in succession. They shattered one after another, barely softening the blow.
Even so, falling from hundreds of meters up left my entire body feeling like it might break apart. Groaning, I lay face-down for a moment before forcing myself to my feet.
"Ugh..."
I staggered, finally planted my feet, and looked up at the sky. That bizarre cloud was only growing larger. Whatever I had been searching for was nowhere to be seen. I tried to wrap my body in aura and launch myself upward again, but my body refused to obey. My legs gave out and I collapsed, staring up at the cloud in helpless despair.
"No..."
A meteor trailing a long tail pierced the cloud and began its slow descent.
"No...!"
The meteor fell steadily, inevitably, vanishing between the rugged mountains.
"No!!"
I clawed at the dirt, dragging my unresponsive legs, desperate to reach it. But even at a glance the distance was dozens of kilometers. No amount of running or crawling would close that gap.
"Ugh... sob..."
Grabbing at dry weeds and gravel, I wept like a wounded animal.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!"
I screamed and woke up. The clock read four in the morning. The Mental Barrier, momentarily frayed by sleep, rapidly repaired itself, restoring my sanity.
It was that dream again. The same one I always have. This time, though, a few new details had been added. I tried to grasp their meaning, but the memory slipped away like water through my fingers. All that remained were the strange-colored cloud and the falling meteor. I felt like I'd experienced a storm of emotions while watching it... but now I couldn't recall any of them.
One thing was certain: waking up at this awkward hour every single time I had the dream was becoming a serious problem. If it happened right after falling asleep or just before waking, maybe I could manage. But four in the morning? I rubbed my temples, then rose from the bed.
The cold sweat from the nightmare made me want a shower. Standing under the hot water, I thought about the dream instead of reviewing my schedule for the day. What kind of dream is it? Why does it keep repeating like this? Maybe...
I arrived at a ridiculous hypothesis. Normally I would have erased it cleanly or shoved it into a dark corner of my mind... but this time was different. Maybe it really was...
The guidance meeting for Golden Viper and the Gray Molds. Today was the day I had promised to review their important assignment on information gathering and covert operations.
Yoo Hee-won's submission was nearly perfect, so there wasn't much to comment on. From what I could tell, she actually understood the material better than I did. Just what kind of private tutoring had this freshman received to produce work of this caliber? Maybe her father was pulling strings and feeding her the answers through back channels. It wouldn't surprise me, considering he called the dean directly whenever he had an issue with her advisor.
Han Min-ha, on the other hand, had a mountain of corrections. The more I marked up her paper with my pencil, the redder her face became.
"This section should be rewritten exactly as I showed you. What you wrote isn't simply a differing opinion—it's completely incorrect."
"Understood."
She diligently copied my feedback into her notebook, but her hands were trembling so badly that her handwriting was nearly illegible.
"Is your arm hurting?"
"Ah... No, it's fine. I've been training hard lately, so..."
Yoo Hee-won, who had been fiddling with her phone, let out a derisive snort. I already knew she had been dragging Han Min-ha around for physical training recently. The rumor had spread so thoroughly that there wasn't a single person in Graford Academy who didn't know about it. Yoo Hee-won was always the center of attention; every little thing she did became a topic of conversation. So when the top student personally took the dead-last girl under her wing, it was inevitable that tongues would wag.
Since no one knew her true intentions, most of the rumors were pure speculation. Some claimed Han Min-ha had cunningly latched onto Yoo Hee-won to survive at the academy. Others descended into vulgar gossip about Yoo Hee-won's tastes. Rumors naturally grow more sensational with time, but I didn't like that my students were being subjected to such slander.
Yoo Hee-won herself didn't seem to care in the slightest. She was the ultimate individualist—if she could justify her own actions, she never spared a glance for what others thought. Han Min-ha, though... I wasn't sure how she was handling the whispers. She only ever showed her timid, hesitant side, which made her inner thoughts even harder to read.
Come to think of it, I still hadn't received any real answer from her since our last counseling session. I'd hoped that giving her a rough outline of her parents' past and gently persuading her would work. Perhaps she still needed more time.
If Han Min-ha continued to be unable to wield her aura, it was impossible to say when we could move on to advanced defense techniques. The gap between Yoo Hee-won and Han Min-ha was literally like heaven and earth. I couldn't teach them at the same level, nor could I ask Yoo Hee-won to descend to Han Min-ha's. At the very least, Han Min-ha needed to improve enough to follow at least somewhat in Yoo Hee-won's footsteps.
But when would that happen...?
"All right. Let's call it here for today. It's getting late. Everyone should head back and rest."
"Professor. Buy us dinner."
Yoo Hee-won slipped her phone into her pocket and made the demand with complete confidence.
"I know you already ate."
"It tasted bad, so I left most of it."
"It's too late to go out now. We'll do it another time."
"What about tomorrow? Something besides bulmakchang."
"I'm on leave tomorrow, so I won't be at the academy."
Yoo Hee-won's mouth formed a perfect O.
"Oh? Professors can take leave during the semester?"
"There are no lectures scheduled."
"Where are you going? With whom?"
"Alone. And you don't need to know the details."
Yoo Hee-won narrowed her eyes and stared at me. I met her gaze with a faint smile.
"I want to go rest as well. Good work today, everyone."
As I stood, Han Min-ha jumped to her feet and hurriedly gathered her writing utensils. Yoo Hee-won rose more slowly, her expression still suspicious. Since it was time to leave for the day, the three of us exited the research building together.
The sun had already set. The streetlights looked painfully cold in the chilly evening wind. The girls seemed perfectly comfortable in their regular training clothes, so apparently I was the only one feeling the cold.
At the fork between the faculty residence and the dormitories, I bid them farewell.
"Take care, both of you."
"Goodbye, Professor."
"Yes."
Han Min-ha waited for me to leave first. Yoo Hee-won, true to form, turned on her heel without hesitation.
"Student Hee-won."
I called out to stop her.
"Thank you for granting my request."
"What request?"
"Helping Student Min-ha. I appreciate it."
When I smiled, Yoo Hee-won opened and closed her mouth a few times before turning away with an obviously furious expression. I knew exactly why she reacted that way. She was embarrassed.
Still, gratitude was gratitude.
"See you the day after tomorrow, then."
We exchanged final greetings and waves before heading to our respective homes.
The next day, I drove out of Graford Academy and sped down the highway. I was on my way to the Management Bureau.
After that dream yesterday, I felt the need to look into not only Han Min-ha's parents but my own past as well. Learning about my history would likely give me more information about her parents anyway. Secreto or not, it was only right for an only child who had lost both parents to at least know what had become of them.
A phone inquiry would never get past the integrated call center, so I decided to go in person. My guess was that a direct visit from a Graford Academy professor and former Secreto agent wouldn't result in me being turned away at the door. The Management Bureau was notoriously strict, of course, but I would at least be able to gauge their reaction.
After a long drive, I finally arrived. The Management Bureau was an overwhelmingly tall building constructed entirely of glass. Its sheer presence was intimidating.
As I stood looking up at it, I caught sight of a hero with a red tail streaking across the sky before disappearing onto the building's rooftop. I lowered my gaze and stepped inside.
On the first floor, I presented my ID and stated my purpose of visit. The guard examined my face with open suspicion.
"I'm sorry, sir... but are you really... a hero?"
"Yes. How else would I be a professor at the academy if I weren't?"
"Hmm... That's true, but..."
The guard looked deeply troubled as he typed away at his keyboard again.
"Ah... No matter how I search... nothing comes up under your name..."
"That would be correct. My name and activity records probably aren't in the system."
"Excuse me...?"
The guard raised an eyebrow, clearly baffled.
"That's exactly what I came to confirm. If it's difficult to handle here, please report it to your superiors. Just tell them that an academy professor using the callsign Graysteel has arrived."
"Uhhhh... Understood for now..."
Since my academy faculty ID proved I wasn't simply bluffing, the guard reluctantly picked up the phone and dialed somewhere upstairs.