Chapter 256

Seviron Academy middle school graduation ceremony.

Children, having received bouquets from their parents and friends, share memories while reminiscing about the past three years.

Meanwhile, a boy and a girl were strolling in the rarely populated garden behind the gymnasium.

The garden was just a barren plot of land set for future construction, with no flowers in sight.

This was part of the student council’s initiative this year to turn unused land into a garden for students.

By next year, when the third-year students who promoted the project graduate, lilacs will likely be planted here in abundance.

“Wow, now the real hell begins! Welcome to hell! It’s already hellish here, but I wonder how much tougher it is beyond that wall!”

Living in the dorms became mandatory from high school.

Gu Onyu stretched widely and recalled the memories of the past three years.

In the end, the representative speech for the graduation ceremony fell to Gu Onyu, who had achieved overall top ranking.

This was due to Cheon Byeong-ho’s continued challenges against Ham Choe-rong, both in practice and competition, resulting in his practical scores dropping significantly.

Cheon Byeong-ho remained silent as always.

Gu Onyu, who always chattered away, found him responding with indifference during their interactions.

Their relationship, ultimately, did not change throughout the three years of middle school.

Gu Onyu resolutely took his hand.

“Wait a second.”

“What?”

“Do you… have a crush on anyone?”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Well, you see, you’ve received so many confessions from the seniors and even the juniors, yet you’ve never accepted any… Honestly, I suspect you might like guys or something.”

Gu Onyu said, twirling her hair.

“What are you talking about? Stop watching BL, Gu Onyu.”

“Hey! I’m not! That’s not my book! A friend asked me to hold it for them during a bag check!”

“Is that so?”

“If you don’t want to believe me, then fine… So, do you really not have anyone you like?”

“I’m not telling you. But why do you ask?”

“Because… I like you…”

Gu Onyu dropped her head and closed her eyes.

In the end, she blurted it out.

Gu Onyu’s heart was pounding, on the verge of exploding.

Shouldn’t the guy be the one to confess first?

She gathered all the courage she had accumulated since birth and unleashed it in that moment.

“Hurry up and say something!”

She regretted closing her eyes.

Rustling—

“…?”

“…!”

However, that moment was brief, as she sensed someone else’s presence beside Cheon Byeong-ho, forcing her to lift her head.

It wasn’t a movie or an anime, and the interruption during such a critical confession made her heart sink.

The figure that appeared before them was none other than Ham Choe-rong.

“My role is to be a role model and provide help for the next generation! For that, I would risk my life with a smile! Isn’t that the coolness of an older person? Wahahaha! Congratulations on your graduation, kids!”

Ham Choe-rong expressed her reflections on the middle school graduation ceremony in an eccentric manner, citing lines from an animated character.

Contrary to expectations that Cheon Byeong-ho would respond with a stiff expression, he smiled brightly and replied in kind.

“The child of prophecy is definitely you, right?”

“Oh Byeong-ho, you remembered that scene too! I’ll leave everything else to you!”

Gu Onyu was left completely baffled by what they were saying.

Yet through the genuine smile that Cheon Byeong-ho cast towards Ham Choe-rong, his deeply carved dimples, and the signature crescent shape of his eyes, she realized one undeniable truth.

“By the way, Onyu, there’s something I haven’t told you yet.”

Whatever words were to come from Cheon Byeong-ho’s mouth, they surely would not be what Gu Onyu wanted to hear.

“I actually decided not to advance to high school. So, let’s pretend you didn’t hear that just now.”

—

Gu Onyu found out why Principal Gu Onyu wanted to show her the middle school graduation album.

At the sports festival, in the martial arts practice, during the school trip.

In those moments, she discovered numerous photos capturing Professor Cheon in a disheveled state, as if he had rolled on the ground dozens of times.

Considering Professor Cheon’s usually composed demeanor, the image did not match at all.

“Isn’t it funny, Nama? To not want to enter the dorms and instead go to a regular high school. This guy ended up passing the graduation equivalency test for university.”

Once Ham Choe-rong won the national sports competition with the help of the academy’s teachers, she had no reason to stay at the academy any longer.

Professor Cheon Kyujin also left the academy to follow her, and Principal Gu Onyu would only meet them several years later as adults.

“Professor Cheon once told me that he had someone he was considering marrying, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Really?”

“Is that person the one you’re talking about?”

“Well… I guess so.”

The principal quietly nodded.

“When I suddenly heard that he had a daughter, I was truly surprised. I was also curious how you two connected.”

“You recognized me during the entrance ceremony.”

“Right, that was when I first saw you. Nama, Professor Cheon is truly a pitiful person. He has been loved by all, but ultimately lost everything he cherished. So I hope you understand that when he said those words, it was because he cared deeply about you. Isn’t it natural to worry about family to that extent?”

“Family… I don’t really know…”

For a moment, she felt a sharp headache.

She wasn’t unaware of who Ham Choe-rong was.

The production team had mentioned her frequently in the Genius Discovery Initiative, prompting Gu Onyu to research her often.

If she was Professor Cheon’s fiancée…

The ending would surely be tragic.

“The Algerian Airlines Flight 8318 bombing.”

It was an event that transpired about a week before Christmas in 2024, the year the Fifth Middle Eastern War ended with the collapse of republicanism.

On the losing side, Libya, with scarcely any mana, detonated a bomb hidden in the cargo hold 10,000 meters over the Sahara Desert, causing the plane carrying Ham Choe-rong to crash.

Meticulously, they had discovered her parents’ address through the television program she appeared on and blackmailed her into taking the scheduled flight that day.

Ultimately, all 189 passengers aboard perished.

However, contrary to what was known to the public, there seemed to be at least one pregnant woman aboard.

Thus, with the unborn child included, the death toll reached 190.

“Whose image is Professor Cheon projecting onto me?”

—

[You just got on a plane? Aren’t you still working in Africa?]

[I have something urgent to take care of in Korea!]

[What could possibly be that urgent?]

[Umm… my parents seem to be a bit unwell. I think I need to hurry back, heh…]

[You’re rushing back for just that? Should I go take care of them instead?]

[No, no, no! There’s really no need! You’re probably busy with work in America too, so rest well and take me out to eat something delicious later! I want sweet stuff like crepes or patbingsu.]

[I thought you didn’t like sweet things.]

[Even if I don’t, our baby might like them.]

[Huh?]

[Ah, I was trying to keep that a secret! Oh well, I’m two lines in now, Byeong-ho! Eek! I spilled it!]

It was a nightmare.

A nightmare that had tormented Cheon Kyujin for 27 years.

Even in the face of the tide of time, his nightmare still lingered.

According to Baek Bong Gon, he remained trapped in the past, unable to escape.

5:30 AM.

It was an awkward time to fall back asleep.

He went out to the kitchen and quenched his thirst with cold water.

“Ha…”

He slightly shifted his footsteps.

The door to Nama’s room beside the living room was wide open, and no warmth was to be found therein.

She hadn’t come home for three days now.

She had spent two full nights at the academy.

What exactly was Principal Gu Onyu doing that she hadn’t persuaded her?

If there were no contacts until today, Professor Cheon planned to go directly to the academy to bring Nama back.

But he had no idea how to approach her first.

“Should I apologize first? Or should I scold her more?”

Everything was inexperienced, and it added to his stress, as raising a child was a first for him.

At that moment, a text from Gu Onyu came through.

[Gu Onyu: (I sent a photo.)]

[Gu Onyu: Nama sleeping ♡]

[Gu Onyu: Look at those chubby cheeks, they’re so stretchy like mozzarella! ♡♡♡]

Professor Cheon’s index finger moved unconsciously to check the message.

[Gu Onyu: What? You can see it right away? What’s this old man doing lurking around since dawn?]

[Cheon Kyujin: Where’s Nama?]

[Gu Onyu: How could you mistreat such an angelic child? Isn’t she just so cute? Can’t I have her?]

[Cheon Kyujin: Stop with the nonsense.]

[Cheon Kyujin: Return her home by today.]

[Gu Onyu: What are you talking about? You need to come!]

[Gu Onyu: There’s an open class for parents today. Aren’t you coming? Nama will be so sad…]

[Cheon Kyujin: I can’t receive any school notices right now, how would I know?]

[Gu Onyu: Haha, these days everyone uses apps. You sound like an old person.]

The open class for parents would mean it was an event for the parents of elementary school students.

Even so, most of them would be in their 30s, all roughly the same age as Professor Cheon’s children.

It would be questionable whether Nama would like a lone man in his 50s surrounded by younger parents.

[Gu Onyu: What are you talking about? These days, even grandparents come along.]

[Gu Onyu: Haha, I heard something really funny from Nama, you wanna know?]

[Cheon Kyujin: What is it?]

[Gu Onyu: Nama got confessed to by a classmate.]

“Nama?”

His grip on the phone tightened.

A reason now existed for Professor Cheon to absolutely attend the open class.

[Gu Onyu: Your heart just shattered, right?]