Chapter 46

“What are you doing, Hye-won?”

Professor Han quickly tried to pull down her skirt, but Yu Hye-won grabbed her wrist and squatted down.

“Ahh… don’t look…”

Yu Hye-won tilted her head as she stared intently at Professor Han’s underwear.

“What? It’s not that time of the month, right?”

“Hye-won…”

Yu Hye-won finally released Professor Han’s hand, her face still contorted in an expression of puzzlement.

Professor Han quickly pulled down her skirt and stepped back.

“Is something really wrong with you?”

Professor Han debated whether she should tell Yu Hye-won about what Song Do-yoon had done to her.

How would Hye-won react if she were to tell her?

Would she immediately confront Song Do-yoon, or would she dismiss it as none of her business?

Or…

Even if Hye-won were to take her side, Professor Han didn’t think she could handle the consequences.

Hye-won wouldn’t be there to protect her all day, and knowing Song Do-yoon’s personality, he wouldn’t back down easily.

If Hye-won were to act now, it would only make things worse.

And the main reason was that Professor Han simply didn’t have the courage to recount the absurd humiliation she had endured.

It was too shocking, too much to even bring up.

So, she shook her head.

“It’s nothing. It’s because I crashed during the flight training today.”

“Is that so? Making a fuss over nothing.”

With that, Yu Hye-won smirked and walked into the dormitory.

Professor Han followed her in, still tugging at her skirt.

And all the while, Song Do-yoon had been watching from the window on the same floor.

Showing her underwear now… this was an outright provocation.

Rather than acting rashly like before, Song Do-yoon decided to execute a sinister plan he had devised in his mind.

“You started it, Han…”

With a disturbingly eerie smile, Song Do-yoon bit the tip of his thumb.

* * * * *

That night, it all began.

After enduring rigorous physical training with the top students, led by Yu Hye-won, Professor Han returned to her room, her body exhausted.

The season was now closer to early summer than late spring, and her entire body was soaked with sweat.

The moment she entered the room, she dropped her gym uniform and headed straight to the shower.

“Haa…”

Professor Han let out a long sigh as she stood under the showerhead.

Since then, Song Do-yoon had shown no significant reaction toward her.

In fact, he had been unusually kind, even going so far as to attentively care for Professor Han, contrary to his usual cold demeanor.

She didn’t expect someone as cold as Song Do-yoon to be capable of such pretense.

But surely, he wouldn’t keep up the act forever…

Song Do-yoon must have misunderstood the relationship between herself and Hye-won.

He probably thought she was trying to sexually seduce Hye-won, seeing her as a lesbian.

But where did this misunderstanding even begin?

Thinking of it now, it might have started when Hye-won pulled her collar and whispered into her ear on the day she left class without permission.

And the cheek caressing—he remembered that happened in front of the dormitory…

It was all unintentional physical contact, but Song Do-yoon wouldn’t listen to any explanation.

If he were the type to listen and understand, he wouldn’t have… have… gone that far with her before, she thought, unable to finish the thought.

“Haa…”

Once again, she let out a heavy sigh.

With her fragile mental fortitude and timid, introverted personality, Song Do-yoon was proving to be an insurmountable adversary.

Wait…

Even if he mistakenly thinks she’s a lesbian, why is he so enraged about it?

It was probably because Song Do-yoon liked Hye-won.

Not just as a friend…

That’s why he was trying to crush her like this.

From Song Do-yoon’s perspective, it was as if she was trying to steal the person he loved but couldn’t have.

“Haaah…”

A third sigh.

Things were getting complicated now…

Regardless, she and Hye-won were students under the guidance of the same professor, so they would have to interact, whether they liked it or not.

And she did like Hye-won—of course, as a friend.

But the blinded Song Do-yoon wouldn’t leave her alone.

Should she talk to Hye-won about this…?

No… That wouldn’t solve anything fundamentally…

Why does everything have to be so complicated…

She had just awakened her ether and made a new friend…

Now she was caught up in such a troublesome situation…

Instead of overthinking, it might be better to go to bed, use her phone a little, and sleep.

Just as she finished her shower and dried herself off with a towel, stepping out of the bathroom, she froze at the sight in the room.

Warm breezes entered through the shattered window, and the floor, bed, and desk were covered in shards of glass.

And right in the middle of the mess lay the corpse of a bird with a broken head, bleeding.

“AAAAHHHH!!!”

Professor Han screamed and collapsed onto the floor.

* * * * *

“Hmm… This is quite peculiar…”

Baek Ye-bin, the supervisory assistant on duty at the dormitory today, squinted her eyes.

At the moment, Baek Ye-bin and Professor Han were reviewing the CCTV footage in the dormitory management office.

The external CCTV camera clearly captured a bird flying in and smashing the window of Professor Han’s room.

“Really… a bird just… flew into it?”

“That’s right…”

As the footage repeated, Professor Han nodded in agreement.

It wasn’t intentionally done by someone with恶意—someone like Song Do-yoon, who harbored animosity towards her.

It was fortunate in its misfortune.

“Min-ha, you must have been scared. Are you alright? Did you step on any glass?”

“No, I’m fine, Assistant.”

“Well, what should we do? The caretakers have all gone home, so it might be difficult to have the window fixed right away…”

“Ah…”

It was a tricky situation.

Professor Han didn’t have roommates.

If she had to choose, it would be only Yu Hye-won, but spending the night in her room like that…

“There’s an empty room available, so you can sleep there tonight. I’ll inform the caretakers first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Ah…? Ah, yes! Understood.”

She had been lucky to avoid an awkward situation.

Professor Han quickly gathered her things and moved to the room Baek Assistant had directed her to.

She repeatedly picked up and put down her phone while lying on the cold bed, deep in thought.

She decided it would probably be better not to tell Hye-won about this.

If she were more careful, Song Do-yoon might calm down eventually…

With her situation distorted and rationalized in a convenient way, Professor Han finally began to feel more at ease as she drifted off to sleep.

How many hours had passed since she fell asleep when the sound of shattering glass awakened her, and a dead bird fell onto her.

* * * * *

Hearing the news, I headed to the dormitory early in the morning.

At the management office, the caretakers who had just started their shift and Assistant Baek were reviewing the CCTV footage.

“Baek Assistant.”

“Welcome, Professor.”

As Baek Assistant stepped aside, I saw the monitor replaying the scene of a bird flying into the window.

“Is this Min-ha’s room?”

“Yes… The same thing happened twice last night. First in Min-ha’s original room, then in the room she moved to.”

“Could I see both scenes?”

A caretaker obliged and replayed both the first and second incidents for me.

A bird suddenly flew in from outside the CCTV’s range and struck the glass.

No other unusual details appeared upon closer inspection of the surrounding footage.

If birds selectively attacked two specific rooms where Han lived, then it probably wasn’t a coincidence.

Even without concrete evidence against coincidence, it would be foolish to classify this as such.

This was most definitely someone’s deliberate act, and yet…

It’s hard to imagine Min-ha doing anything to provoke someone.

Hmm… What could it be?

“Where is Min-ha?”

“She’s in the duty room. She must be exhausted from not sleeping all night.”

I moved to the adjacent duty room.

On the small bed in the duty room, Han was curled up under the sheets.

“Professor…”

“You don’t have to get up. Sit as you are. I came right after receiving Baek Assistant’s call. How are you feeling? Are you injured anywhere?”

“No… I’m just startled, that’s all…”

“So I see.”

Checking my lecture schedule, I noticed I had some time before Min-ha’s first class.

I pulled up a chair and sat in front of her.

“Min-ha Student. Have you done anything recently to incur anyone’s enmity?”

“Enmity…?”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing… There’s really nothing, Professor…”

While averting her gaze, Professor Han trailed off.

I already knew the answer, just from her expression, tone, and reluctance to meet my eyes.

There’s definitely something she’s not telling me.

It must have been the reason for her distracted demeanor during our study group.

It’s unexpected to hear that Min-ha, of all people, would harbor someone’s resentment.

“Min-ha Student. Remember, I am your academic advisor. I’m here to help you, not only with your academic pursuits but also with all aspects of your Academy life. Talk to me.”

“Really… There’s nothing…”

Min-ha refused to speak, keeping her head bowed.

Though her words denied it, her entire body language spoke volumes.

It has to be one of two things:

Either someone blackmailed her into silence, or the incident is so overwhelming that it’s hard for her even to speak of it.

Although I generally refrain from interfering in others’ affairs due to both my personality and the side effects of my mental barrier, this is different because she is my guidance student and the daughter of my old colleagues.

“Min-ha Student. I understand why you don’t want to bring this up. You’re probably hoping the situation doesn’t escalate further, right? But that’s precisely why you need to tell me.”

Still keeping her head down, Min-ha silently shook her head.

“I’m not saying I’ll immediately take action using my authority as a professor if you tell me. I simply want to understand your situation and discuss a plan to address it. If you stay silent, chances are, another bird will break your window tonight.”

“Hh-heek…”

The suggestion caused Min-ha to stifle a strangled moan, clearly indicating how deeply shocked she was.

I softly tapped the bed with my hand.

“I’m the only one here at the Academy who genuinely cares about your well-being. And no matter what, I’m on your side.”

“Haa…”

“I’ll listen to whatever you have to say. Tell me.”

Tearing at her lips, Min-ha wrestled with a deep internal conflict.

After a long pause, she finally began to speak.

“Professor… The truth is…”

* * * * *

After quietly listening to all of Min-ha’s story, I offered a faint smile and spoke.

“Min-ha Student.”

“Yes?”

“I’m not entirely sure if it was that student’s doing, but…”

“Yes?”

“If it was, let’s deal with it properly.”

“But… It could really just be a coincidence…”

“Even if it’s not, we’ll deal with it properly.”

“Wha—?”

…