Chapter 103

“I’m an adult. I’m not a minor. Professor, you didn’t know?”

At Han Min-ha’s words, I let out a sigh of relief.

Is this something to be thankful for?

Yeah, it is. It’s illegal to get into trouble with a minor, even with consent.

That aside…

What in the world do we do from here…

As I watched Han Min-ha looking at me with sweet, almost honey-like eyes, a light headache crept over me.

Lately, these headaches have been frequent.

How could things be otherwise when the children keep creating all sorts of mischief?

And something I’ve noticed recently—my mental barrier doesn’t seem to be functioning properly.

Until the students enrolled, that mental barrier could almost turn a person into a complete psychopath, making them utterly emotionless.

But maybe it was because it nearly broke several times as I confronted my past.

Nowadays, as soon as I lose focus, my mental barrier starts to falter.

Because of that, I’m often surprised by the children’s words and actions, and find myself suffering from this dull headache from time to time.

Had my mental barrier been functioning fully like before, I wouldn’t have been swayed so easily by Yu Hye-won or instinctively fallen prey to Han Min-ha’s advances.

However, I don’t exactly know what the exact cause is.

Is it because my mental barrier has weakened due to several emotional shocks, or is it simply unable to withstand the chaos caused by the children?

Regardless, it’s true that my mental barrier has become somewhat erratic. I’m still unsure whether this is beneficial or detrimental to me.

But at least, considering my ability now to form some level of emotional connection with the children, it might not be all that bad.

Even without the mental barrier, I am still capable of rational thinking.

After breakfast, Professor Han didn’t really bother me much.

Perhaps it’s because the other kids are around, or maybe he’s embarrassed about what happened yesterday.

“Today we’re heading to the ski resort. Everyone prepare.”

Suddenly, Yu Hye-won declared it as though we’d arranged this long ago.

“Ski resort? What ski resort all of a sudden?”

In response to Han Min-ha’s question, Yu Hye-won smirked sarcastically.

“Idiot. It’s common knowledge that you go skiing in the winter, right? Do you know how to ski?”

“Uh-huh. But I can’t ski anymore…”

Han Min-ha, patting her stomach with both hands, gave a shy smile.

“What nonsense is this? Are you saying you’ve gained so much belly fat that you can’t?”

“No, not that. But I can’t do anything too strenuous.”

“Looks like people might think you’re pregnant.”

“Huh?! I wasn’t sleeping with anyone last night, you know?!”

Seeing Han Min-ha turn pale, Yu Hye-won twirled her index finger by her temple.

“Stop your nonsense and come along. Professor, are you coming too?”

A ski resort. When was the last time I went skiing?

It must have been during the secret mobility training in the harsh winter at Sikrito.

Secret mobility training refers to moving entirely without using aura, relying only on basic physical abilities.

It includes running, diving, climbing cliffs, or swiftly crossing snow-covered areas.

This was in preparation for confronting enemies who can detect or use aura against you.

“Sure. It’s not bad.”

“Do you know how to ski?”

“I know how.”

Frankly, I might be the one who skis best out of all of them today.

The training at Sikrito imagined a situation where one must fight while skiing down steep slopes of more than 60 degrees.

Thinking about it now, training at Sikrito was truly grueling. My body felt as if it had been utterly shredded and rolled endlessly.

“Crazy Beam-Jumper! What about you?”

“I can’t ski. You guys go without me.”

“You don’t know how to ski? What have you been doing all this time….”

Yu Hye-won quickly cut herself off and gave an awkward smile.

“Living too hard… so you never had time to learn skiing?”

She was being extra cautious now since she knows everything about Song Do-yoon’s background.

“Yeah. No need to apologize.”

“Now, wait. You didn’t do anything wrong, why apologize? Anyway, you’re coming too.”

“No. I don’t know how to ski.”

“I’ll teach you, so come along!”

“Let’s go together, Student Song Do-yoon.”

Seeing Song Do-yoon refuse, I couldn’t help but interject.

I didn’t think it was right to leave one person out when we’re all gathered like this.

“I’m not an expert, but I could at least teach someone else, so I’ll help you.”

Song Do-yoon glanced up and silently nodded without saying a word.

At the sight of this, Yu Hye-won let out a somewhat irritated chuckle.

“Alright. Let’s all get ready. We’ll eat lunch at the ski resort.”

“Yay!”

Just a moment ago, Han Min-ha was worriedly poking at her stomach, but now she happily cheered.

But wasn’t I supposed to meet with the Chairman of the Advisory Board today?

As if reading my thoughts, the department manager walked in.

“Professor, the Chairman has an urgent schedule and won’t be available for today’s meeting.”

“Is that so? Understood.”

In that case, we can go to the ski resort without worrying.

All of us, including Golden Vipers and Grey Fungi, moved to the ski resort.

The vehicle was a large van among the dozens parked in Yu Hye-won’s basement garage.

“Wow, I feel like I’m a celebrity.”

When Han Min-ha saw the TV on the ceiling, the massage function-equipped seats, and a fridge, she couldn’t stop marveling.

“Since we have a driver, Professor, please come this way.”

Yu Hye-won tapped the seat beside her.

Han Min-ha seemed to want to protest, but was silenced by Yu Hye-won’s aura and eventually sat at the back with a slightly sulky expression.

Right beside Song Do-yoon.

Song Do-yoon, who was completely uninterested in where I was sitting, continued tapping away on her cell phone.

The van ride to the ski resort was extremely noisy.

Han Min-ha fiddled with the buttons and opened the fridge, while Yu Hye-won burst into giggles watching the ceiling TV.

When Song Do-yoon couldn’t take the volume anymore and asked for some quiet, Yu Hye-won snapped back, asking if she wasn’t allowed to enjoy herself in her own vehicle, leading to another potential argument.

To prevent further escalation, I lightly held Yu Hye-won’s hand and asked her to stop. She looked at me with wide eyes, then slightly blushed before nodding.

She’s usually so sharp and fierce, but moments like these reveal how gentle she can be.

Yu Hye-won is such an interesting child.

After that, Yu Hye-won obediently stayed close by me, intertwining her fingers with mine, lightly scratching her palm against mine, and behaving perfectly.

“Hahaha… Hye-won, wanna switch seats with me now?”

When Han Min-ha whispered into her ear, Yu Hye-won firmly pushed her away.

“It’s fine here.”

“But I’m sitting at the back, and it feels like motion sickness or morning sickness… maybe because of that….”

“Morning sickness? Who the hell made you pregnant? Be quiet!”

“Hieee….”

Upon arriving at the ski resort, instead of going to the crowded areas with regular visitors, we entered a different section.

Judging by this, it seems this area might be exclusive to VIPs.

Here, we rented ski gear and cold-weather equipment tailored to our body sizes.

Han Min-ha struggled for a considerable amount of time to find equipment that fit appropriately due to her special body characteristics.

After filling our stomachs with sandwiches at the high-end lounge restaurant, Yu Hye-won immediately moved to ride the ski lift.

However, Song Do-yoon was the issue.

Song Do-yoon didn’t know how to ski at all, so she froze like a statue, unable to move even a step on the snow.

“Students Hye-won and Min-ha, go up first and enjoy. I’ll stay back and teach Student Do-yoon how to ski, then we’ll join you.”

As a head teacher, I have the responsibility to guide and lead students comprehensively in all aspects of academy life.

Thus, it was only natural to teach a student struggling to learn something new.

When I mentioned this, Yu Hye-won quickly glided over on her skis toward me, her eyes fierce.

“If Professor doesn’t go, what’s the point? Anyway, it’s been a while for me too, so I thought I should start on the beginner’s course to warm up.”

As if following her cue, Han Min-ha chimed in as well, moving to be next to her.

“Hehe, me too. It would be boring for me to go alone.”

Thus, we all ended up gathering together at the beginner course and began teaching Song Do-yoon.

“Wait a second. Don’t just grab me like that.”

Song Do-yoon’s face was tense as she struggled to maintain balance and exerted a lot of effort.

Surprisingly clumsy and awkward in this context.

“Hye-won! You’ll hurt her if you yank like that! She’s still a beginner!”

“It’s the fastest way to learn!”

Ignoring Han Min-ha’s warning, Yu Hye-won forcefully pulled Song Do-yoon, causing her to comically fall into the snow.

In stark contrast to her usual cold demeanor, it was amusing enough that I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

Yu Hye-won burst into open laughter, clutching her stomach and cackling loudly.

“Do-yoon, are you oka- hahaha, it’s fine- pfft! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but seriously sorry… I’ll only laugh once more. Hahaha!!”

Even Han Min-ha, who was helping Song Do-yoon up, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“It’s just too funny. This is fun. So happy.”

As tears streamed down from laughing so hard, Han Min-ha wiped her eyes with her gloved hand.

Then she abruptly covered her face with her hands, shaking her shoulders.

“Wh- What are you doing?”

“Student Min-ha. Is something wrong?”

As I placed a hand on her shoulder, Han Min-ha started sobbing with a wet voice.

“I’m sorry, Professor… I’m reminded of coming to the ski resort with my parents… I’m sorry… I’m sorry, kids…”