Summer Vacation (2)
"No fractures. She's perfectly fine," Chief Surgeon Choi Seongjun said as he studied the X-ray.
"Thank goodness, Min-ha." Assistant Teacher Bae Ye-bin clutched the hand of the girl lying in the hospital bed, tears streaming down her face.
"Please don't cry, Miss Bae. The doctor already said I'm okay." Han Min-ha, a band-aid plastered on her cheek, offered a gentle smile to comfort her.
"Her opponent was wheeled straight into the operating room... How is it possible for two people to collide with the same force and end up with such a massive difference in injuries? It's fascinating..." Choi Seongjun tilted his head, still staring at Han Min-ha's bones on the film.
"As expected, aura remains a domain that modern medicine simply cannot explain." He turned to Bae Ye-bin and Han Min-ha.
"Get plenty of rest. Stay here for today and you'll be discharged normally tomorrow."
"Understood. Thank you, Chief Surgeon." Assistant Bae rose from her chair and bowed almost ninety degrees.
Choi Seongjun glanced at me briefly, gave a small nod, and left the room.
"You did incredibly well today, Miss Min-ha."
"Thank you, Professor. It's all thanks to your guidance."
"The real credit belongs to you for following that guidance so faithfully."
The warm exchange between Han Min-ha and me only made Assistant Bae cry harder, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
"P-Professor... I really can't thank you enough. If it weren't for you, Min-ha might have failed the end-of-term evaluation, dropped out, gone to a regular high school, failed to adjust there, and gotten expelled all over again..."
Still weeping, Bae Ye-bin poured out all the bleak, pessimistic scenarios she'd been carrying in her heart. They were so devastating and tragic that even I felt a wave of despair just listening to them. So the ever-bright and cheerful Assistant Bae had been harboring worries like these all along. She really was a delicate soul.
Han Min-ha looked flustered and gently patted the assistant's shoulder.
"Miss Bae... everything turned out fine in the end..."
"That's right, Miss Bae. Stop crying. You'll probably hear some good news soon."
The good news, of course, was her promotion to the upper class. When I'd glanced over the consolidated evaluation sheet earlier, I'd seen that the other professors had given Han Min-ha exceptionally generous scores. I'd given her a perfect score myself, naturally. Since none of the instructors seemed to hold any personal grudge against her, she was certain to advance.
The real challenge would begin after she entered the upper class. I wondered whether Han Min-ha could adapt properly among all those formidable ace students. On top of that, Assistant Kim Yi Bit-na clearly harbored ill will toward her. The woman was notorious for her terrible personality, and she would undoubtedly resent Han Min-ha for thoroughly crushing Song Do-yun. Even if she ended up managing the upper class, she'd almost certainly make Min-ha's life miserable.
Still, that wasn't an immediate problem.
"Anyway... Miss Min-ha. Use this experience as a stepping stone to climb even higher. There are no more obstacles blocking you from displaying your full ability."
"I understand, Professor. But..." Han Min-ha hesitated slightly before asking, "Did Song Do-yun... get badly hurt?"
"It wasn't that severe. Multiple fractures and some internal organ ruptures, that's all."
"What?! Then isn't that incredibly dangerous?"
"Not at all. On the field, injuries at that level are considered minor. They're survivable with surgery."
Her limbs hadn't been crushed beyond regeneration, and half her body hadn't been blown away. The Academy Clinic boasted the best medical technology available, and patients like Song Do-yun were easy to fix. All of this stemmed from the greed of heroes who tried to rack up achievements alone while dragging along a few half-baked sidekicks. It would be far safer if heroes of similar levels formed proper teams, but it was rare to find anyone willing to share credit unless they were insane.
Unless, of course, you were talking about Secreto, where teams were forcibly assembled from the start. That was why Secreto heroes maintained a relatively low mortality rate despite being thrown into all sorts of suicidal operations.
That said, there were certain limitations to putting Han Min-ha into Secreto. Since their activities were never disclosed to the public, their evaluations were harsher and promotions more difficult. As a result, Secreto heroes were generally considered one or two ranks higher than their official designations. It was precisely why Regal Might, who had been C-class like me, shot straight up to A-class the moment he left the organization.
Therefore, it would be far more stable for Han Min-ha to join Regal Might's agency and steadily build her career as a sidekick. Unlike other heroes, he didn't treat sidekicks as disposable.
"Anyway, good work. Summer vacation is starting soon, so rest well and prepare for a strong new beginning next semester."
"Yes, Professor."
Revenge against Song Do-yun, excellent results in the end-of-term evaluation, promotion to the upper class. She had achieved everything in a single PVP Combat Evaluation. Rather than feeling proud about having guided her properly, I decided to take satisfaction in the fact that I had taken another step toward fulfilling my oath to Han Tae-woo and his wife.
Just then the hospital room door opened and Yoo Hee-won walked in.
"Purple Pig."
Yoo Hee-won immediately called Han Min-ha by that bizarre nickname. She completely ignored both me and Bae Ye-bin, not even offering a greeting.
"H-Hee-won... you're here...?"
Han Min-ha visibly panicked the moment she saw Yoo Hee-won, lowering her eyes. She was clearly feeling guilty about the things I'd instructed her to say in order to shatter Song Do-yun's mentality.
"What the hell are you? You completely turned Song Do-yun into a bloody rag."
"Ah... yeah..."
"It's weird. That Song Do-yun. She was completely deranged, eyes rolling back and everything. That's not like her at all. Did you fight with her before the match?"
"Huh? N-no? Why would I f-fight her before the match?"
"Hmm."
When Yoo Hee-won narrowed her eyes, Han Min-ha broke into an awkward smile and began sweating profusely.
"Something's off... Don't you think so, Professor?" Yoo Hee-won suddenly whipped her head toward me.
"I'm not sure. But shouldn't you start by praising her for doing well? It would also be better if you greeted your professor and assistant teacher first."
"Hello, Professor. Assistant. You did well, Purple Pig." Yoo Hee-won offered the most half-hearted greeting and compliment imaginable. I let out a low chuckle.
Perhaps that rude attitude was part of Yoo Hee-won's unique charm.
"Professor. Is she really moving up to the upper class?"
"The final scores aren't out yet, so I can't say for certain. However, since a lower-class student defeated an upper-class one, it's certainly possible."
"Did you see the internet? It's all anyone is talking about."
"I saw it too."
"Plus, students, faculty, headhunters, active heroes, broadcasting stations, and news outlets all witnessed it in that huge arena. If she doesn't get promoted after that, the Academy will probably get slammed with accusations of grade manipulation. Don't you think?"
I answered with a faint smile.
"It seems you want to be in the same class as Miss Min-ha, Hee-won."
"Hweh?"
Yoo Hee-won made a strange noise that didn't suit her at all and leaned her upper body back slightly. Her sapphire-blue eyes scanned me, Assistant Bae, and Han Min-ha in turn.
A moment later she spoke at incredible speed.
"If I leave that idiot alone she'll obviously get expelled soon so wouldn't it be easier to drag her around by the collar if we're in the same class?"
"I see. That makes sense."
When I smiled, Yoo Hee-won shouted sharply with an extremely irritated expression.
"Why are you laughing?! And why the hell are you crying again, you moron?!"
Seeing Han Min-ha rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, Yoo Hee-won scrunched up her face in disgust.
"Ugh, this is so fucking annoying!"
She stomped out of the room, slamming the door so hard it seemed it might break. Assistant Bae Ye-bin stared at the violently shut door with a bewildered expression before turning to me and Han Min-ha.
"Why is she like that?"
"She's happy."
"Huh...? Her personality is really strange..."
Bae Ye-bin shook her head and pulled the still-sniffling Han Min-ha into a hug.
"Were you startled by the sudden loud voice? It's okay now."
But Han Min-ha wasn't crying because Yoo Hee-won had yelled at her. She was crying because she'd realized how Yoo Hee-won truly felt about their friendship. That girl really was... a strange one.
* * * * *
The evaluation results came out. Han Min-ha had been promoted to the upper class. Her written test scores being above average, combined with the bonus points from defeating an upper-class student in the duel, had been decisive. Starting next semester, she would be able to receive high-quality instruction alongside Yoo Hee-won.
Of course, adapting there would take some time, Min-ha.
On another note, Song Do-yun hadn't been demoted either and remained in the upper class. Her written test score had been perfect, for one thing. And although she'd lost the duel, she'd displayed wind manipulation skills far beyond what you'd expect from a freshman, earning her high marks. No matter what her personality was like, her talent was undeniable. She was exactly the type of talent that Graford Academy unofficially preferred.
Still, having been thoroughly crushed by Han Min-ha once, she wouldn't be able to act as arrogantly as before.
"Professor. Are you listening to me?"
At the department head's call, I slowly raised my head.
"What did I just say?"
"You said that during the vacation period we are to conduct home visits of our assigned students and enter the results into the system."
"Hmm... Good. You were listening." The department head cleared his throat awkwardly. Professor Jin Se-yeong, sitting beside him, suppressed a laugh.
It was a short one-week summer vacation. Normally professors would be taking time off as well. But for some reason the dean had suddenly ordered home visits to be conducted during that period. It didn't matter much to me since I only had Yoo Hee-won and Han Min-ha, but for professors of popular subjects it was terrible news. For example, Professor Yu Hyeon-ju had nearly twenty assigned students. And since they didn't all live in the same place, she'd end up spending her entire vacation doing nothing but home visits.
That said, home visits usually meant meeting the parents... but Han Min-ha's parents...
Well, since I'd been told to go, I would have to. The situation was rather awkward, though.