Educational System Reform (6)
I finally get to meet you now? I had no idea who this person was. Who was she again?
"Who are you?"
"Did you perhaps conduct new recruit training for Secreto for a short while?"
There had been such an occasion. When the hero in charge of new recruit education suddenly left the position, I had been hastily pulled in to teach.
"I received training from you back then, senior. It left such a deep impression that I've never forgotten it. To think we'd meet here."
"Ah, is that so? Since it was only a temporary post, I don't remember each and every trainee. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Thanks to your lessons, I was able to give today's lecture without much difficulty."
I wondered what she meant for a moment before it suddenly hit me. The lecture materials this hero had brought were essentially the ones I had created during my time as temporary instructor, only with a slightly altered design.
"No wonder I couldn't find you anywhere. So you were at the academy all this time?"
"Yes. Well, things just turned out that way. It must have been quite a while since I served as instructor, yet seeing that you're still holding up well in Secreto makes me feel belatedly fulfilled."
At my words, the hero smiled and glanced behind her. The male hero who had come with her tucked a laptop under his arm and smiled at me.
"Hello, Instructor. I also received training from you alongside this friend."
"Nice to meet you."
"I'd love to talk more, but we need to return immediately. If the opportunity arises, we'll come visit you again."
"Alright. Please do."
"I'm Trickymist, and this friend is Masharats. Please remember our callsigns."
The male hero told me both of their callsigns.
"I'll remember them."
The heroes bowed to me, walked past, and left the seminar room.
What a strange thing. I had lost all my memories and fallen into the delusion that I had been possessed by some random novel, yet everyone else still remembered me.
"P-Professor? What are you doing? Let's hurry and go get something cold to drink."
Professor Jin Se-yeong approached me and casually slipped her arm through mine.
"Let's go. I'll treat everyone."
"Hoho. That sounds wonderful. Professor Yu! Professor Kyo is buying coffee!"
At that, Professor Heo Tae-hyeon smoothly made his way over from the other side.
"Thanks, Suhyeon. I'll enjoy it."
"Wait, I didn't invite you, Professor Heo?"
"What's the big deal? The more the merrier, right? Don't you think?"
I smiled and nodded.
"Please join us, Professor Heo."
"You're really something else, you know that?"
While drinking coffee at the campus café that Yoo Hee-won, Han Min-ha, and I often visited, we chatted about the kind of topics professors usually discuss. Naturally, that included the students we were mentoring.
"You both know Song Do-yun, right?" Professor Yu began.
"Of course. She's that upperclassman who got completely crushed by Min-ha during the last evaluation."
"It looks like she's going to drop out."
At those words, Professor Jin asked in a flurry of surprise.
"Why? Why would she drop out? Doesn't she have good grades? Isn't that why she never got demoted and stayed in the upper class?"
"That's true, but dropping out isn't always just about grades."
"Then what could it be? Oh, I get it."
Professor Jin lightly smacked her palm with her fist as if she'd figured it out.
"It's because the classes got completely split up into teams this time and she can't adapt, isn't it? She used to follow Hee-won around like a shadow. But now she's been separated from Hee-won, and she even lost to Min-ha—a lower-class student—in front of everyone. So that's probably it, right?"
"You're right. It seems that's the case."
"Poor Do-yun…."
Professor Jin looked heartbroken, but I didn't feel any particular emotion. I already knew exactly what kind of person Song Do-yun was through Han Min-ha. A dark, blunt girl with extremely strong tendencies toward jealousy, envy, and obsession. On top of that, her poor social skills meant that if she hadn't positioned herself as Yoo Hee-won's right hand, she probably wouldn't have found a proper place in the class.
The reason she followed Yoo Hee-won around like a shadow wasn't just because she liked girls. More than anything, it was likely because she needed to ride on Hee-won's coattails to adapt to the academy. Now that she had been separated from her, she must feel utterly lost.
"I don't know how it'll turn out, but I think that's what's going to happen. I've had several counseling sessions with her, but she won't say a word."
"Heeeeng. Isn't there anything we can do? It'd be such a waste for someone with Do-yun's grades to drop out."
"Then maybe we should try changing her team."
Then Professor Heo, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up.
"That won't work."
"Why? Why not?"
"If changing teams would solve it, the talk of dropping out wouldn't have come up in the first place. With that personality of hers, it'll be the same no matter where she goes."
Professor Heo was right. For Song Do-yun, the team wasn't the problem. Unless she changed herself, she would continue to be an outsider until graduation. Moreover, losing to Han Min-ha had been a fatal blow to her. Up until last semester, Han Min-ha had been the idiot who fainted during basic evaluations, crawled at the bottom of every subject, and had been on the verge of dropping out.
One way or another, it seemed she was headed for withdrawal. Whether that happened or not was none of my business.
But a few days later, it became very much my business.
"What did you say, Miss Min-ha?"
"Do-yun wants to join our team… What do you think, Professor?"
Han Min-ha glanced at me nervously, rubbing the tips of her toes together. Instead of answering right away, I turned to look at Yoo Hee-won. She had her arms crossed and was smiling as if this was incredibly entertaining.
"Did Song Do-yun beg you for this?"
"It's not really begging… I think it's more like a request…."
"That bitch is making a request? That's hilarious. You'd have a better chance of debuting as an S-class hero right now."
"No! It was real! She said she's on the verge of dropping out and is grasping at her last straw!"
As Han Min-ha flailed, Yoo Hee-won burst into laughter.
"All the blood must have gone to your chest instead of your brain. You actually believe that? It's obvious she's trying to get into our team so she can stab you in the back. She's probably trying to get revenge for losing in the PVP Combat Evaluation."
"How would she stab me in the back?"
"How hard could it be? During cooperative combat practice, she could just fire an Eye Race at the back of your head and that'd be the end of it."
"Huk… That would be murder…. And Do-yun was being sincere. Really."
With that, Han Min-ha whispered something into Yoo Hee-won's ear. The smile on Hee-won's face gradually twisted.
"What? She said something that crazy? Ha, then it really must be true."
"What is it? Could you tell me too? This is about whether we're getting a new team member or not. It doesn't make sense for only the homeroom professor to be left in the dark."
When I interjected, Han Min-ha hesitated, her face turning slightly red.
"It's just… it's a bit embarrassing to say directly to you, Professor…."
"I'll tell him."
Pushing Han Min-ha aside, Yoo Hee-won began to speak.
So here's what had happened.
After finishing dinner at the campus cafeteria, Han Min-ha and Yoo Hee-won walked back to the dormitory together. This was because, starting this semester, the teaching assistants strictly controlled student movement so that teams had to stick together even after regular hours.
Yoo Hee-won didn't have any particular complaints about this arrangement. During the early guidance meetings, Professor Kyo Suhyeon had asked her to help Han Min-ha. Since she liked Professor Kyo, she had decided to grant his request.
Besides, Han Min-ha was the only student at the academy who didn't grovel before her family background. She was a comfortable person to be around because Hee-won didn't have to wonder whether the girl's attitude was genuine or just an act to get on her good side. That part pleased Yoo Hee-won.
Han Min-ha also enjoyed spending time with Yoo Hee-won. After all, Hee-won was her only friend at the academy. Hehe.
Their rooms were at the end of the second-floor corridor in the dormitory. Because the room assignments had been redone by team, their doors faced each other. They were about to part ways in front of the doors and head into their respective rooms when Han Min-ha cautiously called out to Yoo Hee-won.
"Hee-won. Want to come play in my room?"
"I'm tired."
Yoo Hee-won flatly rejected Han Min-ha's suggestion. She had an important schedule waiting—sorting through the secret photos of Professor Kyo she had taken today once she got inside.
"Hmph. Okay. See you tomorrow."
The rejected Han Min-ha looked a bit dejected as she said goodbye and entered her room. I bought snacks and even downloaded a movie to watch with Hee-won today. Oh well. Guess I'll watch it alone.
She had just changed into comfortable clothes and lain down on the bed when she heard a knock on the door. Could it be Hee-won?! Hehe. So Hee-won decided she wants to play with me after all.
With a delighted heart, Han Min-ha quickly ran over and opened the door, only to freeze and take several steps back.
Song Do-yun was standing there, staring intently at her.
"U-um… h-hello…, Do-yun…."
"Can we talk for a moment?"
"Talk…?"
Han Min-ha had no idea what Song Do-yun could possibly want to talk about. If it was anything, it would probably be about the PVP Combat Evaluation. She really didn't want to discuss that….
However, Han Min-ha's nature made it difficult for her to refuse easily.
"Okay…. Where?"
"It won't take long. Can we talk inside your room?"
"Ah, um…."
When Han Min-ha stepped aside, Song Do-yun slowly entered the room.