episode_0052

As soon as I returned from the bathroom, Siwoo rushed towards me.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

“I… met her.”

“Really? Baekcheongha, right?”

“Yeah… it was her….”

It was her indeed. The problem was serious.

“Baekcheongha, remember? We used to dislike her.”

“Yeah? She used to bother us so much, like a nerd guy, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right. That’s how it was.”

“As a tutor, couldn’t do anything because she’s the professor’s daughter.”

“Yeah. Just thinking about it annoys me….”

Just by looking at the quickly formed consensus between us, it was clear that we disliked Baekcheongha. We definitely said we disliked her.

“Do you like her? Tell me honestly. I asked you, didn’t I? You ran away saying no. And if you try to say something similar, you get hit.”

Could that be a sign of liking someone? Is that something I didn’t know?

“Just wait and see. No matter what happens, I’ll chase Unni away!”

Starting as an ajumma, becoming a grandmother, and in the end, Unni.

It seems like some manners were instilled, but I’m not particularly happy about knowing this shocking fact.

“… Why? Do you have something else to say?”

Should I tell Siwoo about this or not?

“If I tell him, he’ll probably worry for no reason, right?”

If he says he’ll handle it himself, he might go to confront Baekcheongha and end up making useless promises.

If he starts a fake relationship to calm her down, it will only cause headaches.

Even if Siwoo has no feelings for Baekcheongha, she’s the professor’s illegitimate daughter. It might end up with the impossible result of marriage after tormenting Eul-in Siwoo in various ways.

If that happens, Siwoo’s plan for conquest will fail, and I’ll forever be Min Chaewon’s enemy.

No, I just don’t like the idea of being associated with Baekcheongha in any way.

“Keeping a proper distance like now is the best.”

Okay. Let’s handle it my way.

Let me just take care of the annoying stuff.

It’s not that difficult.

“No? So, do you have stock left?”

“Yeah. There’s one left.”

“Okay~ Let’s pay for it and go home?”

Siwoo looked at me suspiciously.

Did he notice that I was hiding something?

“Hmm.”

Luckily, he didn’t ask any more questions or dig deeper.

As expected of Siwoo, I really like that side of him.

“You, don’t you have a habit of taking things without paying.”

“Why would I take this.”

“You said you were just going to pay for one….”

“Are you stupid?”

***

The next day.

Professor Baek Joong-eon canceled an important golf appointment and came to the hotel where I was staying.

“So, what’s going on all of a sudden? Is there something I can help with?”

After hearing about Kang Hwi’s situation, the professor unknowingly owed a lot to our parents.

Especially when there was something to do with Bin, he always stayed at Chaewon’s house.

Even though it’s okay to go to the hotel, Chaewon’s parents always treated the professor lavishly, inviting all kinds of artists residing in Bin to their home.

So, whenever the professor came, it seemed like a party was happening at our house, or rather at Chaewon’s house.

“It was confusing back then, but the lady that day seemed to enjoy it.”

“Why?”

“Because famous musicians visited every time. The party was like a concert. It was a small festival of musicians that ordinary people couldn’t afford to listen to.”

I see. Spontaneous performances that couldn’t be heard on ordinary days must have unfolded.

They must have been some of the few musical geniuses of this era.

“It must have been nice….”

I’ve listened to countless musicians’ performances, but still felt unsatisfied.

I cried out for hunger without even realizing that I was adding more colors and painting it black.

Well, it’s no longer necessary, but envy is envy.

“Cheongha… I wanted to talk about something…”

“…Cheongha? Why him. No. But are you two acquainted?”

“No! Not really acquainted… I just heard him call me a pig yesterday…”

“A pig?! This darn daughter of mine.”

It feels like I’m beating around the bush, but I have to say it.

Didn’t Jung Siwoo go straight to the professor when Baek Cheongha did something wrong?

Anyway, since I couldn’t directly confront Baek Cheongha, I had no choice but to tell the professor the truth.

“Oh, it’s probably because he’s still young. Don’t get too angry.”

“…But we’re only a few years apart.”

“Anyway, I have a… request.”

“Alright. What’s the request? Just say it. Should I bring Cheongha here to apologize?”

“No, no! It’s not like that…”

Maintaining this timid concept is not easy.

Since I’ve already revealed everything in front of Baek Cheongha, is there a need to hide it in front of the professor?

“…No. This is the right thing to do.”

Think of Yoon Jiyu.

How she charmed people and manipulated situations to her advantage.

Changing personas as needed, using them to gain the upper hand, that’s the virtue of a fox.

Show a weak side to be loved by the professor.

Be powerful and dominant in front of Baek Cheongha.

Yeah, this is exactly what Yoon Jiyu would do.

“….Is it okay?”

I asked Chaewon. Is it okay to proceed like this?

If I make a mistake, Chaewon might end up like Yoon Jiyu.

Persona 0 laughed and assured me that she would never become like that.

Well, if it’s my executing persona, there’s no way I’d turn into a villain like Yoon Jiyu.

If Min Chaewon is okay with it, there’s no need to hesitate. I have to be a two-faced person.

“If I… tutor Cheongha… how would that be?”

The professor looked at me blankly, then burst out laughing.

“You want to tutor someone who called you a pig?”

“I… I think… I need to teach him about the fear of adults…”

The professor probably thinks I’ll end up experiencing a crumbling authority rather than teaching him.

I’ve only shown a hesitant and clueless side, so it’s understandable.

But if the professor doesn’t take on this task, I’ll have to somehow secure the tutoring job.

Since Siwoo is on sick leave, there’s no one else to take over the job.

“It’s because of Siwoo, isn’t it? Tutoring Cheongha.”

“Yes.”

“Well… it’s not like you’re teaching something extraordinary. I’ll just follow the curriculum and report back…”

The only reason this tutoring arrangement worked was because the teacher was Jung Siwoo.

That’s why the professor said it would be difficult for me.

“Cheongha is very picky with people. If it’s not Siwoo, he won’t listen at all. He only listens to me nagging.”

“…Is that so?”

Really? I didn’t know that.

I thought the professor just handed it over to me because he was lazy.

“So I assigned Siwoo. Not just to listen to Siwoo, but because Siwoo really likes him. That’s why I couldn’t say anything to Siwoo. I was afraid of burdening him.”

I see. So that’s why you didn’t bring up marriage until senior year.

I’m sorry, professor. I thought you entrusted me with your daughter’s education because you were busy having fun.

‘Perhaps I was an alpha mail…’

But she didn’t know.

Even if she was an alpha mail, I don’t want that kind of alpha mail.

All the alpha mails I saw were manipulating women as they pleased, but I was manipulated in return.

“Still, just in case. Let’s arrange a meeting first. If Cheongha agrees to it, there won’t be any physical contact.”

“O-Okay.”

“Hmm. And… It would be nice if you could ask your mother about it.”

“Ask… about what?”

The professor who had backed off upon learning that I was Margaret Hebler’s daughter a few days ago.

“During your time in Korea, would you mind if I taught you? Please ask.”

It seemed like he still hadn’t given up.

Jung Siwoo had unknowingly captivated a woman.

Min Chaewon, on the other hand, was currently captivating musicians without even realizing it.

Yoon Jiyu, Yoon Jichang, and even our professor.

Stop it. How much more will you entangle? You’ll even entangle Song Seonghyuk later.

“Am I really at that level now…?”

The professor who had taught me for 14 years had never once given me a compliment.

I roughly knew the reason. There was no remarkable growth.

While most students gradually changed and crossed milestones in a step-by-step manner, unlike the typical students, I was climbing a gentle slope.

Most students go through a period of confusion where they can’t see their own colors and wander, but I was too busy drawing the big picture without getting lost in my own color.

But surprisingly, Min Chaewon.

No, Jung Siwoo, who had become Min Chaewon, had changed.

From the moment she destroyed the tower she had built over 14 years, a new world opened up for me.

The black room that absorbed light was gradually turning into a cherry blossom color and receiving light.

The professor witnessed this transformation up close.

He wanted to see me completely immersed in pink, so he must be making this request to speed up the process.

‘If I change rapidly…’

Siwoo’s transformation will also be accelerated.

There is no reason to refuse.

“Yes. I’ll… give it a try.”

“Good. As I thought… Huh? She agreed? Really?”

“Yes… But… on one condition.”

However, Professor, please promise me this one thing.

“If Cheongha accepts the tutoring… I will do it.”

“….Understood.”

Perhaps feeling that the conditions were too strict, the professor looked hesitant.

“I don’t plan on enrolling in Hanyang University… And I don’t want to receive lessons next to Siwoo either.”

The professor asked cautiously.

“If you’re worried that I might compare myself to Siwoo, you don’t have to. When I mentioned ‘放下着’ at the Baekjung Hall… That’s what I meant.”

The professor, with his forehead in his hands, shook his head and muttered softly with a voice full of regret.

“It felt like finding the answer to a problem I hadn’t been able to solve for 14 years. That’s why I muttered without realizing it. I promise it won’t happen again.”