Chapter 37

When Han Min-ha frantically arrived at Yoo Hye-won, Hye-won, leaning against a lamppost, was already visibly upset.

The tardiness of Han Min-ha due to crossed lectures wasn’t the cause.

Simply waiting alone had led Hye-won’s mind to wander, imagining all sorts of things and only worsening her own anger.

So she needed an outlet for that frustration. And right on cue, she saw Han Min-ha running heavily towards her, her ample bosom bouncing.

“Did you eat a turtle or something?! Why are you so damn late??”

“Ah, sorry… the lecture just ended… Anyway, what’s up?”

“Do you, by any chance, know why Professor Gyo took a day off today?”

“How would I know… The professor didn’t say anything to me.”

Yoo Hye-won asked with a sigh while rubbing her temples.

“Are your lectures over?”

“They are…”

“Separate from your group leader when you’re heading out for physical training later, and slip away quietly.”

“Eh? How do I skip physical training?”

“Just tell them you’re training separately with me, will you!?”

When Yoo Hye-won got irritated, Han Min-ha shrank back, nodding quickly.

“Y-yes… Okay… But where are we going…?”

“That’s none of your business. Just change into your gym clothes and be out in front of the lecture hall. I have a place to take you.”

“The lecture hall… Okay… But why…”

“It seems like Professor Gyo will meet a woman today.”

“That’s nice. Professor should go out, meet people, and all… Keeek!”

Yoo Hye-won grabbed Han Min-ha’s collar, bringing her lips close to her ear.

“Stupid girl. You’re not understanding the situation, are you?”

“Let go of this… Keeek!”

“If the academic advisor becomes enamored with women and strays outside the academy, what do you think will happen to the guidance students? Think about it.”

Yoo Hye-won whispered, her lips almost touching Han Min-ha’s earlobe.

“You won’t graduate, let alone move up to the next grade. You understand now?”

“I get it… I get it already…”

Yoo Hye-won let go of Han Min-ha’s collar.

“We need to check with whom Professor Gyo is meeting. I think it might be the flight theory professor.”

“Professor Jin? Why would she come out suddenly?”

“Didn’t you know that Professor Jin likes Professor Gyo?”

“Hmm… I didn’t really notice…”

“Forget it, you’re really something, you know…”

Yoo Hye-won stopped herself from further insults and shook her head.

“I’m going.”

“See you later, Hye-won…”

As Yoo Hye-won walked away, Han Min-ha scurried off in the other direction.

Once both had disappeared from sight, Song Do-yoon, crouching behind the flower bed, slowly stood up.

Song Do-yoon, who had been watching the entire scene through her favorite compact mirror, stood there for a while in silence.

Yoo Hye-won… kissed Han Min-ha on the cheek after pulling her collar…

And it lasted for quite some time…

Han Min-ha didn’t know what to do…

Grinding her teeth audibly…

Unconsciously tightening her grip, Song Do-yoon crushed the compact mirror, causing it to shatter and fall to the ground.

Blood began to trickle from her hand, pierced by the broken shards.

Yoo Hye-won belongs to me…

But Han Min-ha is trying to take her away…

Somehow, Yoo Hye-won is completely under Han Min-ha’s spell…

I don’t want to lose Yoo Hye-won.

That means Han Min-ha needs to be out of the picture.

How can I get rid of Han Min-ha…?

Licking the blood from between her fingers, Song Do-yoon lost herself in thought.

***

The journey from the capital, where the Organization headquarters lay, to the Academy wasn’t short.

When Han Min-ha arrived at the Academy gates to pick up Chae Ga-yun, evening had already fallen, but Chae Ga-yun was still not done.

The students are probably finishing physical training about now.

I want to call Han Min-ha over immediately and have a chat, but I need to deal with Chae Ga-yun first.

The authority of the Administrative Director is considerable, and if I can continue leveraging it by offering a meal, it’s a profitable deal for me.

I can always call Han Min-ha for a meeting next week if need be.

As the car stopped in front of the Administrative Building, the administrative office was clearly lit up.

[Director, it’s right ahead.]

[Wait a moment.]

Busy as ever, Chae Ga-yun replied hastily with a typo.

Even with several middle managers under the administrative department, Chae Ga-yun is always the busiest.

She practically acts as the deputy director, and the administrative office handles an enormous amount of document work.

On top of that, dealing with the always-tight regulations from the Organization creates a lot of stress.

Given all this, it’s no surprise that Chae Ga-yun always looks worn out and swears frequently.

She only manages to keep going due to her straightforward personality; otherwise, any normal person would have quit long ago.

After waiting in the car for a bit, Chae Ga-yun dashed out, only half-dressed in her coat.

Instead of her usual drab wardrobe, today she wore a short skirt with a sleeveless turtleneck, her normally tight hair down in curls, looking strangely unfamiliar.

Seeing her hair, usually tied tightly like a broom, looking especially lush today, made it clear that she had done something to it.

“Did I make you wait long? Sorry. Damn Organization… Forget I said that.”

Climbing into the car, Chae Ga-yun started chatting right away.

“You’re looking a bit different today, Director.”

“Am I?”

At that comment, Chae Ga-yun brightened and crossed her legs subtly.

“How do I look?”

“Very good.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. Shall we go?”

Seeing the conversation heading that way made me slightly uncomfortable, so I changed the subject and started the car.

“You seem like you’re not having fun. You took a day off today, right? Where did you go?”

“I had some business at the Organization. It wasn’t anything major.”

“Oh, so that’s why it was related to the last time at Document Storage, huh?”

“Uh… Yeah, I guess. By the way, where are we eating?”

“Oh, certainly. Let me just set the navigation for you. Hehe, it’s supposed to be really delicious.”

Chae Ga-yun giggled as she programmed the destination into the navigation system…

“Grilled pork belly… The taste is amazing. Goes perfectly with soju… Crap… Besides, tomorrow’s Saturday, so let’s go all out, Professor!”

“Ah… Sure…”

Could it be that my erased memories are causing these repeated visits to grilled pork belly places as some sort of penance?

“Ah… It’s been too long since I’ve had a proper meal outside or drank a bit… It’s good…”

Chae Ga-yun, completely oblivious to my internal conflict, started humming a tune.

How does someone curse that much…

***

One hour into hiding behind the flower bed in front of the research building, Han Min-ha, with sore legs, finally slumped down onto a concrete block, while Yoo Hye-won stood poised, glaring fiercely at the entrance of the research building.

“Hye-won, maybe Professor is meeting someone outside the Academy, not Professor Jin. It’s already evening and they haven’t come back.”

Han Min-ha massaged her thigh while speaking.

“Let’s just go back. The professor has a personal life, right? Even if they went on a blind date, they won’t abandon us. Today’s Friday night, and we have lanterns. Want to watch a movie in my room? I have snacks…”

“Is that how you talk to your senior? Getting too familiar?”

“It’s not that…”

“Well…”

Yoo Hye-won mulled it over for a moment, then nudged Han Min-ha’s behind with her foot.

“Hey, get up.”

“Going back to the dorm?”

“No. Come with me.”

Yoo Hye-won took Han Min-ha and lightly jogged toward the main gate guard post.

The female soldiers on guard, armed with rifles, tensed at the sudden approach of an unknown figure, then relaxed after recognizing them as ordinary Academy students and relaxed their grips on the rifles.

“Hi~”

Yoo Hye-won greeted the soldiers with an uncharacteristically sweet smile and voice.

Han Min-ha gasped in shock and covered her mouth.

“Hello. Are you on physical training?”

“Sorry to bother you, but did Professor Hyun enter or leave through the main gate?”

The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances at Yoo Hye-won’s request.

“Well… We can’t really tell you that…”

“Is that so…? Oh no… This is bad… What should I do…?”

Yoo Hye-won dramatically twisted her body and tapped her lips with her index finger.

Seeing such coquettish behavior from Yoo Hye-won, who was usually stern, left any man unable to resist.

Of course, Han Min-ha, watching from the side, was so shocked she panted irregularly.

“What’s the issue? If we can help, we will.”

“We’re Professor Hyun’s guidance students. We were sure that the professor was supposed to treat us to fried chicken today, but we’ve been waiting for two hours… The professor isn’t answering calls, and we’re starving…”

“Oh… Is that so? Hold on a moment.”

Charmed by Yoo Hye-won’s cuteness, the soldiers hurriedly ran back to the guard post.

They soon returned with the information about Professor Hyun’s whereabouts.

“With the Administrative Director, they said? Thank you, guys!”

As Yoo Hye-won waved her hand gracefully, the soldiers grinned like fools, waving back.

Once they were far enough away from the guard post, Han Min-ha cautiously spoke.

“Still, it’s good news… If it’s the Administrative Director, it’s probably just colleagues going out for a meal…”

“Is all the blood going to the wrong places in your brain?”

Yoo Hye-won interrupted Han Min-ha with a cold glare.

“Considering Professor Hyun’s personality, do you think they’d eat with a female staff member alone? Especially after taking a day off, coming back to campus just to board a vehicle and leave?”

Han Min-ha was not stupid.

She simply tended to interpret situations in the most benign, plausible way.

“Anyway… Since they’ve already left, there’s nothing we can do, right? Let’s just head back to the dorms. I’m hungry…”

“Let’s chase them.”

Yoo Hye-won’s statement left Han Min-ha wide-eyed in surprise.

“Is it really necessary?”

“Would a man and woman really just go out on a Friday night to eat? Huh?”

“Uhhhh… Not really, but… What do you plan to do by following them?”

Yoo Hye-won wasn’t entirely sure herself.

Why follow them? Should they interfere? Or simply spy and return?

Nevertheless, they couldn’t just do nothing, given her frustration was brimming by now.

What mattered was that she was angry.

“And… How do you plan to chase them? Students aren’t allowed to leave campus, and we don’t have a car…”

“Are you some run-of-the-mill humanities-student-in-a-general-high-school?”

“Uh…?”

“Which level are you currently at in flight theory?”

“Uh… Up to low-altitude flight…”

“Great… You’re such a clueless moron… And still… forget it.”

Yoo Hye-won sighed then firmly wrapped her arms around Han Min-ha’s waist.

“Hold on tight.”

“What a—aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!”

Yoo Hye-won unleashed a golden aura, soaring dramatically into the sky.