episode_0109

“Phew.”

So, she and I walked for a while, and only when we reached a place that resembled a park were we able to take a breather while looking at the scenery.

As we passed by, I was bothered by the fact that he didn’t really talk to me and just led me along quietly.

Still, looking at her reaction earlier, it was clear that she was a little distraught, so I followed her without saying anything else.

There was a resting area with benches placed around a large pond that had frozen due to the cold winter weather. Next to it, you can see something that looks like a small vending machine.

It’s not Taesung for nothing.

Anyway, when I heard that he was holding this kind of celebratory banquet in his own mansion instead of renting a hotel reception hall or a plaza somewhere, I thought it was a bit simple.

However, when I came here in person, it was hardly a mansion, it was almost like a royal palace. It was a splendid facility that seemed to have been copied from mansions on the level of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Is it because it is a world in a novel? If you lived in a mansion like this in a previous world, the opposition would have found fault somewhere and it would have become an issue.

When I stood in front of the vending machine and looked at the menu, I saw a series of not-so-popular teas in the vending machine.

As I live in the world, I see all the vending machines with Ssanghwa tea on the menu.

Although it is old-fashioned, it is not something that should be served to a woman, so as I roll my eyes in a bit of embarrassment, I hear a small giggling voice coming from behind.

I felt a little angry at that and blurted out.

“What is it? Isn’t that the vending machine in your mansion?”

“No, Professor. Most people who came here were embarrassed when they saw the drinks in that vending machine. For some reason, the professor said the same thing, so I felt somewhat familiar.”

“… You seem to enjoy drinking Ssanghwa tea.”

“Oh, that’s not true… Actually, I don’t even know why I’m there. Is this your grandfather’s preference? Ever since I was a child, I have been standing in this garden. That vending machine.”

I nodded at her, said yes, and looked at the vending machine to choose a drink to drink.

Since I was in Tae-seong’s private garden, I didn’t think I needed coins, so I pressed the button for a drink that was probably normal.

“Take it.”

“Oh, thank you.”

threw it at her

“… .”

After taking the can I threw in her hand, Jang A-hyeon expressed her gratitude in a slightly embarrassed voice that was somewhat uncharacteristic of her, but in a voice that seemed to have a slight thorn in it somewhere.

“… Snow on pine trees?”

Seeing her face like that, I smiled involuntarily and looked at the bench where she was sitting.

Jang A-hyeon didn’t seem to particularly like the strangely named drink in her hand, but she still took the drink I gave her.

“Can I sit next to you?”

“Of course.”

Listening to the obedient answer, she sat down near the center of the bench, pulling her body slightly to one side.

“… .”

Even though we are sitting on the same bench, it feels like the distance difference is a bit big because we are all sitting at the end.

Perhaps this is the distance between her and my heart? That’s what I thought.

“Well, that’s right.”

She is a precious student to me, but really, that is the only relationship I have.

We have no personal connections at all and our interests do not overlap.

Of course, she is an outstanding resource and this has already been proven by her abilities.

But now, I was a little worried about what to say to her after meeting her for such a public event.

“Yes, please say it, Professor.”

“Congratulations on your father’s work. I must be so happy. Didn’t his biological father become president?”

“Yes… .”

As I scratched my head and cried for a bit, she smiled and nodded.

But somehow, she doesn’t have the same spirit as her, so today, somehow, she doesn’t look like Jang Ah-hyun.

“… First of all, I would like to thank the professor for listening to my request.”

“No, of course it has to happen. Aren’t you my precious disciple? And even if that wasn’t the case, given the circumstances, it would have been better to come today.”

“Is that so.”

But her voice is not straightened somehow. Because she looked so different from the one I saw at the banquet hall, I also felt like her mood was contagious.

what. Is there something I want?

“Now that I think about it, how did Ms. Yoon Shia come here?”

“Oh, that’s what she asked me to do. When I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a bad outcome, so I allowed it. Isn’t that so? It would have been much more helpful to your father if she had attended today.”

“So you listened to that? Hmm.”

After hearing her words sound somewhat serious, I began to reflect a little on my indifferent attitude until now.

This child seems to be in a bit of a serious condition right now. It was a very unexpected situation.

“… Is she someone very important to you? I heard that they were also in Romania.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just happened to hear the story like that. I saw such an unpleasant and regrettable incident at the airport.”

“I see. There’s no way this wouldn’t spread rumors.”

Although there actually was an incident where reporters flocked to the airport, possibly due to Jang Tae-san’s involvement, not a single article related to it actually appeared in the world.

Even so, there is no way Jang Ah-hyun wouldn’t notice this. This is because he is related to Jang Tae-san, the person in charge.

“Every child is important. Because they are all precious students to me.”

“Are you just a disciple?”

“… What does it mean?”

I looked at her, a little surprised by the sudden remark. It also stung a little.

It was fortunate for me that he came in the form of Yongin. If it were in human form, he might have been startled and noticed her a little.

When I looked at her, I saw that she was looking at me with a droopy, unwavering gaze, slightly wiggling the corners of her mouth.

This bold and thoughtful side of her seemed a little cute, but for me, it just kept getting more and more serious.

She wouldn’t be the type of person to suddenly make such rude remarks.

Why are you saying this?

“I apologize for the rude remarks. I also know that this is not a story worth telling in a place like this. But I don’t understand why the professor keeps protecting Miss Yoon Shia so much. In some ways, I feel a little sad.”

She bit her lip slightly and opened her mouth to me, and I fell into trouble.

How should I speak?

The relationship between her and me is a secret that should not be revealed yet.

But just as keeping a secret is more difficult than keeping it from being discovered, will people around you slowly start to notice?

Jang Ah-hyeon, she is also Taesung. With Taeseong’s enormous information power, he must have researched some information about Yoon Sia.

No matter how much Yoon Shia tried to hide it, clues might have been picked up little by little in the end.

Should I stand up from this place in anger? It is not that there is a lack of justification.

No matter what, she is my student. Asking about my personal life like this is definitely rude.

‘but.’

However, it may ultimately lead to a bigger catastrophe.

The fact that she, a rational woman, dared to ask me so openly, despite being rude, meant that she had some evidence.

If she simply stood up angrily in that situation, she would already be acknowledging that her suspicions were true to some extent.

‘Of course, even if I told her, she wouldn’t go around talking to the world… .’

But I will receive a great deal of contempt from her. It was obvious that I would be stared at every time, as if I was looking at dirt.

Does the principal have a similar relationship with the students? Even in my opinion, it is a dirty and indecent thing.

It may seem like I’m being too self-deprecating, but isn’t that true? Is this something that can be forgiven?

‘What should I do?’

My mouth was dry and my head was spinning. Suddenly, a strong thought crossed my mind that my grave had been visited.

When I looked at her, her eyes were fixed on me as if asking for an answer, so I sighed softly and started to open my mouth.

“Well, that’s true too. When I thought about it again, it might have seemed like I was only protecting Yoon Sia.”

“No, rather than that… Well, I just wanted to know why, if that happens. There is always a good reason for what the professor does. It’s obviously because of that reason.”

“Yura Lee… .”

On the outside, I was sighing softly and scratching the scales on the back of my neck with my sharp nails, making a hissing sound, but my head was spinning relentlessly.

You must give her an answer that makes sense. So what is the most valid and plausible reason?

“That’s just… That’s because he has his own pace.”

“… ?”

When she gave me an incomprehensible look, I made a puzzled expression and slightly averted my gaze.

When our eyes met, he turned his head as if he was needlessly embarrassed and cleared his throat.

“That child is somehow very similar to my childhood.”

“… Yes?”

“When I was young, I felt like I had the whole world. If I wanted something, I had to have it, and if I had a goal to achieve, I did whatever it took to achieve it. If there was someone I liked, I continued to show affection for that person, and if there was someone I disliked, I continued to dislike them. To put it positively, he was a person who was sure to make and break things, but to put it another way, he was the type of person who always ended up only taking a loss.”

“Are you saying that Ms. Yoon Shia resembles the professor when she was younger?”

“I’m not sure. However, looking at her attitude, it feels like she is trapped in her own world. No, it’s not just a feeling, it’s probably true. Maybe the child doesn’t think people are ostracizing him, but rather he is ostracizing the world.”

“… .”

“It’s an embarrassing thing to say, but in the end, it took a lot of trial and error for me to change my childish personality. And the inconvenience caused so far is impossible to count. It’s a fairly simple and easy habit to correct, but it takes a lot of time to correct it on your own without someone watching.”

“That can’t be possible… .”

After finishing speaking, I looked at Jang Ah-hyeon.

After hearing what I said, she was still looking at me, but I could feel her eyes shaking a little.

The illusion of my existence may be completely shattering in her mind right now.

Ha, I really had a bad day today. Still, I shrugged my shoulders and thought it didn’t matter.

Still, it seems like you might agree at first glance. Also, it’s a strange story.

I think Jang Ah-hyeon was in shock and her thoughts hadn’t reached that point yet, but in fact, my story didn’t have enough basis for her to accept it.

So let’s make sure we hit the nail on the other side.

“When I think about it again, I find it shameful. How can you make me say such trivial things? Those memories are a dark history that even I don’t want to bring up.”

“Oh, no! Sorry, Professor. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“The growth of all intelligent bodies is the same. Just because I’m a dragon doesn’t mean I don’t have periods of upheaval like humans. Isn’t it worth coming to everyone at least once? Some people are idiots who rub their right hand and giggle, while others look at family photos and imagine if they were omnipotent.”

“Peep!”

Jang A-hyeon seemed surprised, let out an exclamation, but quickly covered her mouth.

Looking at that, I chuckled to myself.

It works.

‘There was a part like that in the original novel.’

In the daily life part of the novel 『Kiss: Sense』, Jang Ah-hyeon once told a story about her time as a second-year middle school soldier in response to Jang Su-ri’s question.

Whenever he felt depressed, he would look at a picture of his deceased mother and childishly imagine that he was Jang Tae-san and Jang Yeon-ho and would beat them all up.

This part was Jang Ah-hyun’s own setting that was already planned before I entered this world, so it would not have been particularly affected by the twisted original story.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Oh, no, Professor. Sorry.”

When I asked her back with a sly smile, she waved her hand.

Just looking at her reaction now made me feel even better because I could realize that it was true.

I remained silent, giving her time to get her bearings.

Some time passed, enough time for her to get herself together, but no word was heard from her.

She called me out as if she had something to say, but as the silence continued, the atmosphere started to feel a little awkward, so I opened my mouth and spoke to her.

“Anyway, that’s the way it is. That’s why I feel a little concerned about Yoon Shia, but there’s no other reason.”

“I see. So that woman is not a person who has any major reasons for the professor other than just guidance and discipline?”

“… Hmm?”

I heard her reply as if I was being nudged somewhere, so I turned my gaze towards her.

When I turn my head slightly, a woman with brown short hair who is right next to me, whose facial expression is clearly visible, is staring at me intently.

Since we were sharing a bench, our faces were so close that it felt a little strange, but I tried not to pay attention and looked at her with an unappreciative look.

“Is that so, Professor?”

“What?”

“Please tell me. Please confirm. The professor’s feelings for Ms. Yoon Shia are just for the sake of picking up a poor stray puppy, right?”

“Why are you suddenly asking me that?” I tried to say something, but seeing her look so serious, I closed my mouth and swallowed.

Her voice seemed to be questioning me, so I tilted my head for a moment and opened my eyes wide.

What is this. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Jang A-Hyun was also the same with the “my-pace” thing.

She had a slightly embarrassed expression on her face, with her unique brown hair slightly pushed back and her cheeks blushing slightly.

Does she know that she’s acting like that now? Maybe she’s just doing it unconsciously, I don’t know.

When she, who seems somewhat adult and mature, suddenly does something like this, the gap with what she was used to seems even more noticeable, making her even more attractive.

Now, I’m in trouble because I can’t tell if this behavior is what she intended or if it’s purely a question.

And the answer that came out of my mouth after thinking about this series of actions was—

“… okay. That’s just the reason. Anyway, I am the principal of an academy and have no personal relationships with students other than official matters.”

─It was to keep the concept of my story that I have maintained up until now and answer lies to the woman who asked me.

“I see. I felt a little relieved.”

When she nodded as if she was somewhat satisfied with the answer, I sighed in relief.

You’ve passed one hurdle. Thinking like that, my heart sank.

“Hmm.”

She looked at me and smiled. No, it seemed like he was smiling and looking somewhere beyond me, not at me.

When I tried to turn my head back to see if there was someone behind me, she called me out.

“… I tried.”

“What?”

“That person seems to be having a hard time, so let’s give him strength. And I thought that one day, if I became stronger, I could be helpful to that person and we could have a deep relationship where we both trust each other.”

“… .”

“That’s what ‘importance’ means. Even if something is so precious to me, on the other hand, other people may not value me as much. I already experienced this once when I was a mother. The person most precious to me was my mother. I realized this the day my mother passed away. It seemed like my mother was not an important person at all to other family members other than me.”

When I heard her self-deprecating voice, I was dazed and could only listen to her story.

Once again, in an atmosphere that seemed to have sank somewhere, I also listened to her story, feeling something similar to a strange sense of despondency.

As I look at her, she moves her seat slightly again and approaches me.

There was still a distance between us, but she took a step closer to me.

“Ahyeon Jang?”

The distance wasn’t that far before, but seeing her come one step closer again, I called out her name in a voice filled with curiosity.

When she heard my voice, she also smiled a little.

“That’s the fundamental problem with emotions. This time, I almost experienced that feeling again. I was so nervous about that.”

“What are you talking about… .”

“That’s right. I thought I just needed to become stronger. That’s not it. Emotions are something you shouldn’t just expect others to know about. It’s the kind of thing that won’t be conveyed if you don’t say it.”

When she looked at me, wearing a thick women’s coat and a red muffler, I broke into a cold sweat even in the middle of winter.

Gradually, everyone around me starts saying things I don’t understand. Where did it go wrong?

Was it because the demons came out and asked questions in their unique way of speaking that only they could understand, in which they could communicate with each other but not understand each other’s meaning?

And has everyone around me learned that conversation habit?

“But I won’t say it now.”

“What?”

She suddenly turned away from me and grinned mischievously.

Then, along with that faint smile, a sharp, piercing scent blows in from somewhere, returning the woman in front of me to the usual atmosphere of Jang Ah-hyeon.

In an instant, the humid atmosphere surrounding the space disappeared, leaving only a woman with short brown hair smiling brightly.

“Because I heard the professor’s confirmation. I’ll be satisfied with this today.”

“… What does satisfaction mean? What did you want from me?”

“Ha… When I heard Professor Burns’ story, I wondered if Professor Northmund was like that, but this was really… .”

Jang Ah-hyun looks at me with a depressed, downcast gaze as I listen to her words and ask questions with a puzzled expression.

When I saw her covering her forehead and sighing loudly, I couldn’t understand it even more and tilted my head.

I don’t know.

Whether it’s a game or a comic, it’s common for lines that are unknown at the time or characters you’ve never seen before to tell a story that you don’t know what they’re talking about.

Of course, such a piece of cake gets unraveled the further you go, so even if you don’t understand it at the time of reading it, you can skip it without paying much attention.

But when you actually stand at that point, you couldn’t be more frustrated.

What on earth are you talking about? Jang A-Hyeon There is no way this kid likes me. That kind of thing doesn’t make sense.

“But it’s okay. I’ll be satisfied with this for today. I think it was an answer not only to me but also to other people here.”

“Anyone else? Do you mean me?”

“Okay. It could be a professor or someone else. Are you going to sleep at our mansion today? See you later at dinner, Professor.”

Dodododog.

Then, Jang Ah-hyeon grins and runs to her mansion from where we came, making a distinctive footsteps.

As if his feet were covered in mana and he kicked the ground, he disappeared at great speed like a serpent jumping over a wall.

“No, what is this.”

If I don’t stay here, I’m going back? Because the words disappeared so quickly that I had no time to say them, I swallowed the words that were about to come out of my mouth and sighed heavily.

Then, along with a loud, earth-shattering sigh, I realized something: my mouth was dry and cracking.

I guess I was really nervous for some reason.

With that in mind, I put my fingernail under the lid of the drink called “Pine’s Eye”, which I had pulled out and not even opened the lid, and lifted it up.

As I was smelling the strange, peculiar scent of the drink along with the refreshing sound of chwiik, I heard something rustling behind me, so I turned my head back.