Chapter 61

Seeing five heroes flying in the same direction simultaneously was indeed a bit strange.

It had to be something quite significant, otherwise, they wouldn’t act like that.

I took out my cell phone to check the messenger and the news, but there was nothing.

Perhaps it was nothing serious… but something felt off.

“Professor! Please come in already!”

As Yoo Hye-won shouted, she splashed water all over Han.

“Ah, yes. It’s fine. I’ll stay out here.”

Once again, I declined while slowly putting my phone back into my pocket.

Seeing me, the head manager asked with a slightly worried expression.

“Why are you like that? Did something happen?”

“No, no. Nothing at all.”

It could be a coincidence that their flight paths overlapped, or perhaps those heroes were Sikritos.

If they were Sikritos, it wouldn’t be unusual for two or three of them to move together.

Perhaps they were teaching rookies formation flight as part of their education.

Yeah. I’ll just relax for today.

I leaned back on the lounge chair and sipped my cocktail again.

Yoo Hye-won and Han swam around the pool, happily — or at least as “happily” as it could look given their situation.

Han’s figure was so outstanding that it was almost embarassing to look at.

Yoo Hye-won was also quite impressive, but by comparison…

I thought about it and reinforced my mental barrier even more.

Commenting on students’ bodies like this is grounds for revoking a professor’s qualifications.

Hye-won and Professor Han didn’t leave the swimming pool all afternoon.

At first hesitant due to Hye-won’s aggressive energy, Han gradually brightened up and was smiling broadly.

Hearing the clear laughter of the children, my mood involuntarily improved.

Indeed, the Academy was where it was at, not someplace like Sikrito.

***

Evening was wonderful too.

It was a different course menu than lunch, and this time the head chef personally came out and explained each dish.

Though I didn’t remember every single thing, one thing was certain—it was extremely delicious.

After the meal, we all headed up to this floor.

This floor had a normal house structure but an absolutely enormous square footage.

“How many square feet is this?”

“Is it a hundred? I don’t know.”

We split to our own rooms to rest briefly and then gathered again.

There was nothing special—it was just that Yoo Hye-won suggested watching a movie.

Sure, a movie sounds good.

I lay on my bed and unlocked my phone to check for anything related to the strange flight I’d noticed earlier.

But, as expected, nothing came up.

They must have been training after all.

“Come out quickly!”

After some time had passed, I heard Yoo Hye-won shouting from outside.

When I went out, I saw Hye-won standing in the center of the living room in casual clothes, shouting loudly.

“Han! Get out here quickly!”

“Uh, alright!”

As Han rushed into the living room, Hye-won wagged her finger.

“We’re going to the movie.”

“Are we going to a cinema? Give me a minute then, I’ll grab a jacket. It could get cold in the evening…”

As Han was about to head back to her room, Hye-won grabbed her neck.

“Why are we going to a theater? We’ve got one in the basement.”

“Ah, so this is a multi-use building.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?! This is my personal theater.”

“Huh…”

Right. If there’s a swimming pool, there must be a movie theater.

It wouldn’t be a mansion of the rich if there wasn’t.

Han scratched her cheek, looking perplexed as if she had fallen into another world.

“There’s even this?”

“Hurry up! I already had it prepped.”

We followed Yoo Hye-won into the elevator and descended to the basement.

There really was a movie theater in the basement.

Of course, its size was much smaller than the ones outside, but with a large screen on one wall and cozy recliner seats, it was genuinely a real movie theater.

And indeed, at the front, there was a staff member busily operating a popcorn machine.

“Impressive, Student Yoo. So, how do you manage during the school term? It’s a dormitory, right?”

“Managing somehow. What can I do? I can’t remodel the dormitory just like that.”

“Then what movie are we going to watch?”

Upon hearing the title Yoo Hye-won gave, Han widened her eyes in surprise.

“Isn’t that the latest movie currently in theaters? How are you watching it at home? Did you illegally download it?”

“Uh… Really… I… You…”

Yoo Hye-won shook her head as if she didn’t want to say anything more.

We settled into the soft recliner seats.

However, there was a bit of difficulty with seating arrangements.

Yoo Hye-won quickly took the middle seat and tried to place Han and me on either side.

But Han hesitated and suggested,

“Professor, shouldn’t you sit in the middle?”

“What are you talking about? I’m the owner here, so I should sit in the middle!”

“It might be true, but even so, it’s still the Professor… It just doesn’t seem right to put the professor on the edge.”

“Aah? Shut up! I’m sitting in the middle!”

Yoo Hye-won insisted firmly, and surprisingly, Han didn’t back down.

“I won’t let you. The professor should sit in the middle.”

“Say what? Just because I invited you, you’re trying to rise above me now?”

“I’m not disregarding you, but I’m trying to give the professor a proper treatment.”

“Hmph.”

Speechless, Yoo Hye-won turned to me.

“Professor, do you want to sit uncomfortably in the middle, or cozily on the edge?”

Looking at the seats, both the middle and edge of the big recliner chair looked equally comfortable.

“I don’t mind where.”

“Then sit next to me. The middle is mine…”

“No! Sit in the middle!”

Surprisingly, Han shouted, cutting Yoo Hye-won off.

“Hey! Han!”

“Professor… has earned the right to sit in the middle! It’s not fitting to have the professor on the edge!”

What an absurd argument.

Anyway, Han kept insisting while Yoo Hye-won just let out a sigh of exasperation, eyeing Han.

“Hmph… That presumptuous brat… Huh…”

“I’m going to sit in the middle. In any proper scenario, the professor belongs in the middle with guidance students on either side.”

With that, I let out a faint sigh.

Why should the seating arrangement be so important that we’re all arguing like this?

Yoo Hye-won’s intention was clear—trying to separate Han from me.

And Han was aware of that and insisted on having me sit in the middle.

If I were to satisfy both to some extent, I had to sit in the middle.

What a situation.

Upon hearing my decision, Yoo Hye-won closed her mouth and glared at Han.

Han, unable to bear her stare, bowed her head.

“Alright, let’s watch the movie. Anyway, I wanted to see this before the vacation ends, so it works out perfectly.”

I sat down in the middle seat, stretching my legs and smiled.

Then the two students settled down on each side.

“Start the movie!”

With Yoo Hye-won yelling somewhat grumpily, the lights dimmed, and the film commenced on the screen.

***

The movie was a typical, common hero-praising piece.

A hero’s hymn that fights against a cruel villain, standing shoulder to shoulder with comrades and overcoming adversity.

If only we had such heroes in reality… although, life is not so straightforward.

Still, it was indeed entertaining.

As bright flashes burst and large explosions occurred, Han startled and tightly grabbed my forearm.

Even after the intense scenes passed, Han didn’t let go of her grip.

Then, slowly, she slipped her hand down and intertwined her fingers with mine.

I ignored her actions because, on the other side, Yoo Hye-won was already holding my hand.

Hye-won grabbed my hand right from the moment the movie started and hadn’t let go yet.

Responding to either might start another fight.

So I just assumed a very excited demeanor and watched the movie.

“Wow.”

I occasionally exclaimed with admiration at crucial moments.

“Haha.”

Hye-won, strangely, smiled joyfully and snuggled her cheek into my shoulder whenever there was a violent scene with limbs being cut off and blood splashing.

“Professor, is it really like that?”

Hye-won was subtly speaking informally but given the context, I answered her without pointing it out.

“The movie romanticizes it.”

“Hmm… Is it like minced meat then?”

“It’s easier to think of it like a balloon bursting. Except it’s a balloon tightly filled with blood and internal organs.”

“Hieeeek…!”

Han shrieked and tightly hugged my arm to her chest.

“That’s horrifying…”

While saying that, Han slipped my arm in between her breasts and squeezed subtly.

For some unknown reason, she wasn’t wearing a bra, and the sensation under the thin shirt was far too explicit.

Because of my mental barrier, no particular emotion arose, but it was still awkward.

Especially with Yoo Hye-won right beside me.

“Professor… I’m scared…”

As Han whispered, fully clinging to me, Hye-won glanced up and looked at Han.

The moment Yoo Hye-won’s eyes were about to catch my arm stuck between Han’s bosom, my phone suddenly blared with an intense alarm.

Piiik! Piiik! Piiik!

“Ah! You scared me! Professor, don’t you know movie theater etiquette?!”

“I apologize, Student Hye-won, but this is urgent.”

Standing up from the seat, I took out my phone.

This was an emergency message that would ring regardless of any mute settings.

The phone screen, now glowing with a bright white text against a red background, was unmistakable.

[Immediate Return / Flight Approved]

It was an order to immediately use flight without any restrictions, heading back to the Academy.