Ch.60Episode 12. Because We’re Still Family (1)

A week had passed.

The nerve-wracking day of grade announcements had arrived.

Unlike most universities that calculate grades only at the end of the semester, the Academy evaluates grades twice per semester.

Once at midterms, and once at finals.

This is to weed out those who receive an F at midterms, judging them as lacking the will to study.

Of course, there are remedial options, but that comes with the disaster of having to attend lectures during vacation.

That’s why students desperately study during the semester to avoid falling behind.

It’s a kind of psychological inducement, you could say.

“I’m going in, you all.”

I spoke to them as they couldn’t take their eyes off their phones.

Everyone was checking their grades on the Academy’s online system through their phones.

They all had anxious, nervous expressions. Yoo Ari was practically praying.

After some time had passed,

Koo Yeonhwa was the first to show delight on her face.

“Hehe… HAHAHA!!”

Koo Yeonhwa burst into villainous laughter and quickly approached to show me her phone.

She had C+ in all subjects except for practical courses. Surprisingly, she got an A+ in Ethics and Justice.

I didn’t understand any of that subject.

“The Comic World convention in August! You’re coming with me, Instructor!”

It was an unsatisfactory outcome, but I had no choice but to accept it.

“Fine.”

“Yes!”

Koo Yeonhwa clenched her fist in satisfaction and joy.

“Then I’ll prepare similar outfits for us.”

“…Similar outfits?”

“That’s obviously ‘cosplay’! You’re handsome, Instructor, so you’ll look good in anything!”

“No, wait. There was never any talk about cosplaying. I thought I was just going to Comic World with you?”

“What! Are you daring to break our contract, contractor?!”

“Who’s a contractor? Don’t include me in your cringy middle school syndrome settings.”

“It’s not cringy! It’s not middle school syndrome! And it’s not just a setting!”

Koo Yeonhwa protested angrily, but in reality, it was all of those things.

“Be satisfied with just going to Comic World.”

“Wow! Talk about highway robbery!”

“I didn’t have to agree to any of this in the first place. You should be grateful I’m being this generous.”

“Hmph!”

She made a disgruntled face and pursed her lips. She folded her arms, clearly signaling that she was upset and wanted immediate consolation.

“Then shall we forget about going to Comic World?”

“I guess I have no choice. That was our contract.”

I keep telling you there was no contract…

Eventually, Koo Yeonhwa reluctantly backed down and returned to her seat. Next, Jeong Iyeon approached me with her nose held high.

“Hehe. Hehehe! Perfect score!”

Perfect scores in all subjects. A+.

As expected of the top student. The numbers were overwhelming.

S-class potential and perfect grades. She’s like a fantasy cheat character.

Ah… right, she’s the protagonist.

“You said there would be a special reward for getting perfect scores, right?”

“I think I just said to get perfect scores first…”

“Ah~ Are you trying to back out now? I didn’t know Instructor Yujin was such a stingy person.”

“Ngh…”

She gave me a pointed look.

Knowing Jeong Iyeon, she wouldn’t dislike me for not giving her a special reward. That’s the kind of personality the protagonist of this novel has.

Still, she would feel a bit disappointed.

Anyone would feel let down if they worked hard but received the same reward as everyone else.

“Fine. You get two rewards. Have you decided what you want?”

“I’ve decided on one.”

“What is it?”

“Call me by my first name!”

“…First name?”

“Instructor, you always call us with our last names. From now on, call me by my first name only. In any situation.”

“Okay. I understand. It’s not that difficult.”

“Then let’s try it right now?”

Jeong Iyeon brought her ear close to my mouth and cupped her hand behind it.

…She’s being dramatic.

“…”

Now that I’m actually trying to do it, it feels awkward.

Even though I’ve called her by her first name a few times before, being put on the spot like this makes me shy.

“…Iyeon.”

“I can’t hear you!”

“Iyeon-ah.”

“Yes! Did you call me, Instructor Yujin? Good job!”

“…Get back to your seat, you.”

This kid keeps pushing it.

You’ll be getting a knock on the head from me soon, won’t you?

I’ve let her be because she’s the only ray of sunshine in the special class, but she’s showing some concerning tendencies. If she weren’t the protagonist, I wouldn’t be this lenient.

As I watched Jeong Iyeon return to her seat while humming, I suddenly realized that she was the person I knew best in this world.

Since the novel was told from the protagonist’s perspective, I couldn’t help but know everything. From her likes and dislikes to her three sizes, even her sexual preferences.

Honestly, I don’t know why the sexual preferences were included.

Anyway, because of that, there was relatively little description of Yujin, who appeared in the middle to latter part of the story. Plus, with the hiatus, there wasn’t time to see the past.

Thinking about it again really pisses me off.

Swoosh—.

“Huh?”

I looked up at the phone screen suddenly thrust into my field of vision. Yeon Muhui was standing there.

“All C+.”

“So they are.”

I checked all the grades displayed on the screen. All C+ except for practical courses.

Compared to her first year, these were disappointing grades, but if I had left her alone, she would have gotten F’s or D’s.

This could be considered a good result.

“Well done. What do you want from me?”

“…I don’t have anything yet. Can I use it later?”

“Sure.”

Yeon Muhui said only what she needed to say and coolly turned away.

Next, Yoo Ari approached me cautiously. She silently held out her phone.

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes when I saw the phone. I blinked several times and couldn’t close my mouth.

“…What are you?”

They say it’s more surprising when someone you didn’t expect at all pulls off a reversal.

Honestly, I was impressed.

Like Jeong Iyeon, she had perfect scores in all subjects with A+. Her rank was naturally first place.

S-class potential and perfect grades. What a fantasy cheat character.

Ah… she’s the protagonist.

“Hehe. I, I got perfect scores… D-do I get a special reward?”

At Yoo Ari’s words, the four sitting at their desks were startled.

Did she have so many things she wanted to ask me about the exam subjects?

“Yeah. Yeah. You do. What… do you want?”

“I-I’ll come to find you S-Saturday morning this week.”

“…Okay. Got it.”

Seeing how she keeps emphasizing that we’ll be alone together, this is highly likely related to ‘dating.’

If any of her requests are excessive, I’ll have to put a stop to it.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“You gave me proper motivation, Instructor Yujin.”

Ah… wait a minute.

While I did want her to rely on me, I didn’t have the slightest intention of developing it into a romantic relationship.

That would be too risky.

If she confessed and I rejected her, or if we dated well but broke up, our relationship would instantly become a mess.

Then Yoo Ari might stop relying on me. This could create an opening for Akcheon to connect with her.

I absolutely had to prevent that.

I watched her walk away and sighed. I’ll have to find a way to handle this somehow.

Finally, only Bin Yooni remained.

“Yooni. Your results?”

“Ha, haha…”

She shook her head with an awkward laugh. It seemed she had subjects where she couldn’t get C+ or above.

“That’s too bad. Do you have any F’s?”

“No F’s.”

“Good. Let’s do better next time.”

“…Yes.”

Bin Yooni tried to smile as she answered, but her expression wasn’t very good.

I already knew.

I knew that Bin Yooni wasn’t the type who could memorize everything after just skimming through a book once.

She’s not a genius.

Bin Yooni simply had the passion to pour everything into her field.

She knows this well herself, which is why she doesn’t get discouraged despite frequent failures.

She’s already experienced countless failures and has become accustomed to them.

That’s why I’m angry at Bin Yooni’s parents.

They made the two years she spent working hard, staying up all night, completely worthless.

“Everyone worked hard on the exams. Let’s do well on the finals.”

“Yes!”

* * *

Knock knock.

Not long after I knocked, the door opened. Bin Yooni, dressed in white, spoke as if she had been waiting.

“Instructor, you came?”

“Did you know I was coming?”

“No. I didn’t know you would come. I just… thought you might come to comfort me since I was the only one who didn’t get a reward… I expected it because you’ve been especially attentive to me since the parent visit.”

“Don’t you know me too well?”

“Hehe. Don’t underestimate my powers of observation!”

Bin Yooni smiled frivolously as usual and spoke proudly.

“I came to comfort you, but I also have something I want to ask.”

“Something you want to ask?”

It was something I had been thinking about for several days.

Since I went berserk and eliminated the infiltrators in the Academy, there must have been at least one executive meeting by now.

With such a major disruption to their plans, they couldn’t have avoided holding a meeting.

Considering that the eX potion was discussed in the executive meeting, Bin Yooni’s parents were likely to be the next targets.

That’s why I needed to hear her opinion.

“Yooni.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s say your parents were in mortal danger.”

“That’s suddenly a very heavy topic?! Isn’t that hard to even joke about?”

“…Would you save your parents?”

I ignored Bin Yooni’s reaction and asked.

Realizing that I wasn’t just testing her with a joke, the smile disappeared from her face.

After contemplating for a while, she hesitantly opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally speaking.