Chapter 35: Year 2 Class A’s Jo Seong-hyeon (1)
Thus, March, which had been preparing for spring, passed, and April arrived.
It had already been one week since Jin-ho and Ye-na received their first training from Yoo jin.
The streets began to be filled with cherry blossoms that brought a smile just by looking at them.
The pink life that bloomed for only a few days a year.
But because it was short, that is why.
Its beauty was incomparable to anything else.
Just like a once-in-a-lifetime...
“Ugh...!”
“Aaahk!”
“Again! Do it properly!”
The glorious school days that, even if you wanted to return to them, you couldn't, and which, looking back, were the happiest, filled with the most laughter and tears.
“Uwaaahk!”
“I’m sorry, I lost focus.”
“Focus! Input into your brain that you will die if you are caught!”
Like the brilliant school years...
Thud!
Jin-ho and Ye-na collapsed onto the floor like puppets with cut strings.
“It’s hell... This is definitely hell...”
“Oh, you came too, Ye-na. Still, I’m glad we came to hell together...”
Jin-ho and Ye-na were only moving their lips, their eyes devoid of focus.
“Stop talking about crossing the River Styx! I’m glad that both of you showed potential after only a week. Although we still have a long way to go.”
Yoo jin stood, looking down at the children with his arms on his hips, like a Marine Corps drill sergeant.
Despite Yoo jin’s words, Jin-ho and Ye-na still had no focus in their eyes.
“Look over there... There’s a rainbow-colored river...”
“There’s a boat too... The old man rowing the boat is waving his hand...”
These were children who seemed like they would truly cross over to another world.
A smile hung on Yoo jin’s lips.
The children were completely exhausted.
That was because they had classes during the day and trained from the time school ended until late at night.
And the training was not just physical conditioning like running on the playground, but training that required them to risk their lives.
Yoo jin, his expression serious, opened his mouth.
“Jin-ho can now endure for 10 minutes. That’s a lot of progress. But to endure for about an hour by the Athletic Meet, it’s going to be tight. Push yourself harder.”
His gaze moved from Jin-ho to Ye-na.
“Ye-na can now slowly walk from one end of the rooftop to the other while using her Stealth Skill. Well done. But to reach the point of an Assassin... no, your goal, you still have a long way to go. Keep striving to move faster. Finally, focus properly. Whether you are fast or slow, if the skill cancels, it’s all for nothing.”
An assessment without a hint of humor.
Although it was accompanied by praise, the whip accounted for a larger portion.
It was natural.
The place they were trying to reach was not a place anyone could easily go.
And it was also unrealistic to expect results in just one week.
So, for now, he had no choice but to wield the whip that forced them to run, rather than offer a carrot.
If a teacher is not firm, children become lazy.
And conversely, if a teacher is lazy, there is no future for the children.
That is why.
“Then, let’s rest for 10 minutes... and then we’ll go into the final set.”
He had to stand up straight.
Only then would the children not lose their way.
“Yes...”
“Yay...”
Voices that sounded half-dead flowed out, but Jin-ho and Ye-na raised their fists.
A faint smile spread across Yoo jin’s face.
‘Still, they never once said they wouldn’t do it.’
There was nothing happier than this.
As a teacher.
Yoo jin, who was looking at the children lying on the floor, seemingly at death's door, clapped his hands together.
Clap clap!
“How long are you going to lie there? Sit up and catch your breath properly, so you won’t be flustered when we start training immediately. I told you the last part is the most important...”
Ring-a-ling-a-ling—
Yoo jin’s voice, which was speaking to the children, was swallowed by a phone call.
“What is it? At this hour.”
Yoo jin pulled out the cell phone from his inner pocket.
An unknown number.
But because of his job, he couldn’t not answer.
“Hello? Yes, that’s right, who is this?”
A brief voice was heard over the receiver.
Yoo jin’s brow furrowed.
“Police station?”
At the mention of the police station, Jin-ho and Ye-na, who had been lying like corpses until then, turned their gazes toward Yoo jin.
***
Yoo jin arrived at the police station only after the sky was completely steeped in darkness.
[Baekseok Police Station]
“Wow. I’m actually coming to the police station because of a student.”
Contrary to his bitter voice, many emotions were mixed on his face along with a faint smile.
“I know. This is a first for the police station, too.”
“Since we only live within Academy City, cases like this don’t happen often.”
“……”
Yoo jin’s eyes, looking at the police station door, narrowed into a straight line.
“But... why did you two follow me?”
Jin-ho and Ye-na were beside Yoo jin.
“How could we not follow you.”
“A friend from the same class is at the police station.”
I wondered if they were the same kids who were half-dead from training.
Still...
Well, it’s not bad.
“Then let’s go in.”
The children followed behind Yoo jin as he took a step toward the door.
Whirrr—
Passing through the automatic door, Yoo jin entered the police station.
“Thank you for your hard work. I received a call and came here. You said a student was here...”
As soon as Yoo jin’s voice rang out, a policewoman in a police uniform inside stood up and raised her hand.
“Over here.”
“Ah, yes.”
Yoo jin slowly moved his steps toward that spot.
One thing came into his sight the closer he got to the policewoman.
An unfamiliar back view of a child was sitting in front of the police officer he just greeted.
Purple hair that was impossible to forget once seen.
And an expression that showed no emotion, as if he had no interest in anything in the world.
It was Jo Seong-hyeon, a student from Class A.
Even though Yoo jin was right next to him, Seong-hyeon showed no reaction.
No surprised expression, no words.
Not even a hint of embarrassment.
“Hello, thank you for coming. I am Corporal Yoon Byeol.”
Yoo jin took his gaze off Seong-hyeon and bowed his head slightly.
“I am Yoo jin, his homeroom teacher.”
He didn't react to any power or authority, but when it came to his students, Yoo jin’s head was always light (bowed easily).
“I came after receiving the call, but I don’t know what the situation is.”
“Ah, yes. Seong-hyeon... No, this student was brought here after a report that he entered private property.”
“Private property?”
“Yes. Due to information protection laws, I cannot tell you exactly where, but he illegally trespassed onto private property in Ilsan.”
Yoo jin’s gaze turned toward Seong-hyeon, who was bowing his head.
His face still showed no emotion.
“……”
Yoo jin bowed his head once again to the policewoman with short hair.
“I apologize for causing you concern because of my student.”
“Not at all. I just did what I had to do.”
“Then, what about the subsequent measures...”
“You can take him. He is a young student, and the reporting party did not request any specific action. However...”
Corporal Yoon Byeol’s gaze reached Seong-hyeon.
“I only asked that this not happen again. I told him not to come back.”
A look of pity was visible in Yoon Byeol’s expression toward Seong-hyeon.
Yoo jin confirmed that, but for now.
“I apologize once again.”
The priority was just to bow his head and take Seong-hyeon out.
.
.
.
Academy City.
In front of Taewoon High’s dormitory.
Yoo jin faced Seong-hyeon.
Still a blank expression that revealed no emotion.
Well, he always had this expression in the classroom, but even more so today.
In this state, there was no way he would willingly say why he went there.
“Go inside and rest.”
“……”
Seong-hyeon bowed his head slightly and entered the dormitory.
Yoo jin’s expression sank as he watched Seong-hyeon’s retreating back.
“Why didn’t you ask him anything?”
“Shouldn’t there be a reason?”
Jin-ho and Ye-na’s worried voices echoed.
Yoo jin placed his hand on the children’s heads.
“Because he wouldn’t tell me anything right now anyway.”
“Even so...”
Yoo jin stroked the children’s heads.
“It’s late, go inside. You two are tired from today’s training too. Hurry in if you don’t want to be late tomorrow.”
“Yes...”
“Yes, Teacher...”
Jin-ho and Ye-na bowed to Yoo jin with dark expressions and headed to the dormitory.
Yoo jin was left alone.
Yoo jin shifted his gaze to the pitch-black night sky where not a single star was visible.
Jo Seong-hyeon.
He didn't know why the child, who always wore an expression revealing no emotion, committed an act like illegal trespassing.
But probably.
“Well, this is what I came back for.”
There must be a reason he couldn't tell anyone.
***
The next morning.
As soon as Yoo jin entered the Teachers’ Office.
“Teacher Ji-na, did you hear?”
“Pardon? What is it?”
“I heard that Jo Seong-hyeon, the student from Class A, was caught at the police station again yesterday.”
“Again?”
“I thought things were quiet for a bit since the new semester started. For a student from a prestigious school to illegally trespass, honestly.”
The voices of the other teachers flowed in.
At the same time, gazes were directed at Yoo jin.
Embarrassed gazes, and gazes that couldn't hide their hostility.
The faces of Teachers Yu Ji-na and Jin Tae-jin entered Yoo jin’s sight.
“……”
Since the words had already been spoken the moment the door opened, they couldn't be taken back.
Perhaps because of that, Yu Ji-na, who had been watching Yoo jin’s reaction, hurriedly organized the documents on her desk.
However, there was a gaze that didn't move.
Yoo jin, who stopped right in front of the door, and Teacher Jin Tae-jin, who glared at Yoo jin.
A strange silence continued.
The air in the Teachers’ Office was growing heavy.
Then.
“Good morning, Teacher Yoo jin!”
The silence was broken by a voice that was out of sight.
By the window seat.
Teacher Kang Hye-rin, wearing a white gown, greeted Yoo jin with a bright face.
Yoo jin slightly bowed his head to the voice directed at him and headed to his seat.
At Kang Hye-rin’s voice, the air in the Teachers’ Office returned to its original state.
Sighs of relief were heard from beyond the partitions.
However.
Teacher Jin Tae-jin’s hostility.
Teacher Yu Ji-na’s mistake.
Teacher Kang Hye-rin’s intervention.
Yoo jin didn't care about any of it.
The only thing he cared about was.
‘He’s been caught at the police station multiple times for illegal trespassing?’
Only the matter of his student.
As he thought yesterday, sure enough.
Seong-hyeon had a reason he couldn't tell anyone.
“I need to find out about Seong-hyeon.”
And fortunately.
Yoo jin knew exactly the person who could help him with that.
A grin.
Yoo jin immediately rose from his seat.
***
“Heeeek!”
The Principal, whom he encountered early in the morning, was so surprised, he let out a strange sound as if he had seen a ghost.
“Why do you always get surprised every time we meet? Do I look like I’m going to eat you?”
“A-No...”
The Principal, realizing he was about to bow his head unintentionally, cleared his throat.
“Ahem ahem! Anyway, what is the matter? So early in the morning?”
“Ah, nothing major. I just need some information on one of my students.”
“Pardon? I thought all the student information was already delivered back then?”
“It was a bit lacking. It was only personal identification data.”
“That’s something that shouldn’t have been given out originally, either, but because of the Associa... no, because of your request...”
“Not just the basic stuff, but things like... the material from the entrance interview, or records of parental consultations with accepted students.”
“Heeek!”
Contrary to his muscle-bound physique that seemed about to burst his shirt, Principal Ma Jae-min was once again making an unfitting sound.
“That is really not possible...”
Yoo jin stood up from his seat.
“Well, I have to go teach class now, so I’ll be going.”
Yoo jin, who was heading toward the door, only peeked his head back.
And...
Grin!
A mischievous smile spread across Yoo jin’s face.
“Then, I’ll be counting on you, Principal.”
Thump!
Yoo jin left the principal’s office as the door closed.
“……”
Silence flowed through the principal’s office.
“Honestly, why does he always pick on me...”
Principal Ma Jae-min’s head drooped.