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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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I stopped by the lab and swallowed a handful of pills.
The dizziness I had been feeling earlier had mostly subsided.
I’d thought I might just die like that.
After catching my breath, I headed to the administration office.
To check the list of new students.
Since things had turned out this way, it would be best if that girl was Han Min-ha.
If her name wasn’t on the list of new students, things would get a bit tricky.
Through the hallway window, I could hear the boisterous noise of the new students leaving the auditorium.
The freshmen were assigned dormitories and organized their belongings in the morning, then participated in orientation in the afternoon.
There, they learned the school rules, familiarized themselves with the facilities, and acquired basic knowledge necessary for life at the academy.
And tomorrow, the basic evaluation would take place.
A very important assessment that would determine the direction of their academy life.
According to the original story, Yoo Hee-won would place first in the basic evaluation.
She had received all sorts of private education before entering the academy and was already at a level where she could receive at least a D-Rank if she became a hero right away.
Then, during the student assignment period, she would blatantly choose me.
But now, no one knew what would happen.
Because the existence of Han Min-ha had suddenly entered the picture.
Let’s review the situation from earlier once more.
First, the alleviation of my lung disease.
The lung disease I suffered from didn’t cause me to cough up blood all day long.
It usually started as a mild cough, sometimes worsening before subsiding irregularly.
So, the contact with that girl couldn’t be considered the sole cause of the cough subsiding.
It could have simply coincided with a moment of temporary relief from the aggravated symptoms.
Second, the letters in the air.
I had never heard the name ‘Han Min-ha’ before.
Not in reality, nor in this world.
Even racking my memory, there was no character with that name in the original story, all the way to the final chapter.
But the letters clearly ‘instructed’ me to make this ‘Han Min-ha’ person an S-Rank.
Why did it appear now, after months of silence?
Because I came into contact with the girl presumed to be Han Min-ha?
No… I had bumped into her at the main gate earlier, so why didn’t it appear then?
Perhaps she wasn’t Han Min-ha.
Maybe she just happened to encounter me at the moment the quest appeared.
But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.
Han Min-ha, not Yoo Hee-won…
The possessed had to make an unknown character, not the original heroine, into an S-Rank?
What a crazy development.
Even if writing with conviction was important, shouldn’t an author cater to the readers’ expectations to some extent?
With mediocre writing skills, attempting unexpected twists and cliché subversions only led to comments like, “This plot is fucked up,” not praise for ingenuity.
Lost in my thoughts, I arrived at the administration office.
As I opened the door, the smell of old paper greeted me.
Half-opened cabinets filled the walls, overflowing with bundles of paper, seal cases, and color-coded file folders.
Against another wall, a large multifunction printer, a shredder, and a precarious pile of unshredded scrap paper were stacked high.
Several staff members were present in the office, but not a single sound could be heard.
They simply stared at their monitors with tired, haggard faces and scrolled through with their mouse wheels or sighed deeply as they typed on their keyboards.
As I entered, a low-ranking female employee near the entrance looked up indifferently at the sound of my footsteps.
The employee, who appeared completely drained, widened her eyes like a startled rabbit upon seeing me and quickly bowed her head.
“Sir… Professor Kyo…”
The employee whispered to another staff member beside her.
The other employee hurriedly adjusted her bangs and peeked at me over the partition.
“Why is he here…? I heard he almost collapsed in the auditorium earlier…”
“I don’t know… Wow… His nose bridge is amazing…”
I pretended not to hear their whispers and walked further inside.
“No, I mean… if they were going to reject it, they should have done it earlier. What are we supposed to do now that they’ve sent it back after the entrance ceremony?”
Inside the office, administrative director Chae Ga-yoon was rubbing her forehead while on the phone with someone.
Dark circles were prominent under her eyes, and her short updo appeared disheveled.
She would be quite beautiful if she dressed up and styled herself properly, but now she just looked like a middle manager burdened by work.
As the second-in-command after the director in the administrative department, she was responsible for managing and supervising all administrative tasks, so it was unavoidable.
“Ugh, fuck… This is so fucking annoying… I should just quit…”
The administrative director slammed the phone down and muttered curses to herself.
“Director. It seems like a rather inappropriate time to greet you and ask how you’re doing.”
At my greeting, the administrative director looked up.
“Professor Hyun Kyo…? What brings you here?”
Meeting my eyes, the administrative director asked with concern,
“I heard you weren’t feeling well at the entrance ceremony. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. It was just a bit of a cough. I have a favor to ask.”
At the word “favor,” the administrative director’s gray face brightened.
“Me? What kind of favor?”
“I’d like to see this year’s list of new students. Is that possible?”
“Of course it is. Even if it weren’t, I’d have to grant Professor Kyo’s request. Just a moment.”
The administrative director clicked the mouse and slightly turned her monitor towards me.
“Here it is.”
The school website was logged in with the administrative account, and the names of the new students were listed in alphabetical order.
“Are you looking for someone in particular?”
“Yes. Would you mind if I take a quick look?”
The administrative director readily got up from her chair and gave me her seat.
I grabbed the mouse and began scrolling all the way to the bottom, then started scrolling up.
Han Min-ha… Han Min-ha…
“Did the child of someone you know enroll?”
“Well, no, not really.”
Han Min-ha… Let’s see…
“Or are you trying to get a head start on choosing good students for the upcoming student assignments?”
“Haha.”
It was annoying that she kept talking.
Where was I?
“Since you’re here, would you like some warm coffee?”
“No, thank you. I had some this morning.”
Ah, there she was. Han Min-ha.
Fortunately, she was among the new students.
As I was about to click on her profile, I hesitated. It would be risky to view Han Min-ha’s profile with the administrative director standing behind me, watching the monitor.
It could lead to unnecessary rumors.
“Director. On second thought, a cup of coffee would be nice. It would be a shame to leave after coming all this way.”
“Would you?”
The administrative director beamed and left the room to make coffee.
As soon as she left, I took out my phone with one hand and clicked on Han Min-ha’s profile with the other.
After a short loading time, I saw the ID photo in the upper right corner of the profile.
Black hair, glasses, and a gloomy expression.
That girl from earlier was indeed Han Min-ha.
After confirming her face, I took a picture of the entire screen with my phone.
I would look at the rest of the details later.
Just as I exited the screen and stood up, the administrative director returned with two paper cups of instant coffee.
“Did you find who you were looking for?”
“No. Actually, I thought I saw a familiar face in the auditorium, so I checked just in case, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“I see. Come and sit here.”
The administrative director offered me a seat at the round table used for receiving guests or holding interviews.
I had to repay her kindness since I had confirmed Han Min-ha’s identity.
Even though I didn’t have the leisure to relax and chat over coffee.
The administrative director inquired about my health once more, then began to vent about her recent work-related struggles.
Starting with complaints, she soon became emotional and unleashed a torrent of strong language, including phrases like, “Those Administration bastards who do nothing but issue official documents.”
I chuckled and offered appropriate responses to the administrative director’s words.
“I’m sorry, Professor Kyo. I feel like I’ve been talking too much about myself.”
“It’s alright. Since I’m in the administration office, I should listen to stories about the administration.”
“Ho. So if I go to your lab, I can hear your stories?”
“Well, haha.”
I avoided answering and laughed ambiguously.
“By the way, after the basic evaluation, we’ll be starting student assignments soon. Are you considering Yoo Hee-won, Professor Kyo?”
“Yoo Hee-won? I’m not sure yet.”
“You haven’t taken on any students so far, but I imagine you’d be quite interested in Yoo Hee-won.”
“I’m still not sure. Anyway…”
I got up from my seat.
“Thank you for the coffee, Director. I’ll visit again sometime.”
The administrative director escorted me out of the office.
“Take care, Professor Kyo!”
“Thank you.”
Once I was a reasonable distance from the administration office, I took out my phone.
That girl, Han Min-ha.
Let’s see what kind of person she is.
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