novelraw Chapter 287 : Chapter 287
Chapter 287 : Chapter 287
Chapter 287: Lecture
The quantity was enough for at least 20 people by ordinary standards, but it was cleaned up completely, with not a single piece of food remaining.
Ho-cheol had finished his meal, eating only about one regular serving, so those two must have eaten 10 servings each.
Even if Augmentation-type Traits consume a lot of calories, they certainly ate well.
After finishing the meal, Ye-jin briefly excused herself to Da-yeon and moved with Ho-cheol to the alley behind the restaurant.
Ho-cheol leaned his back against the brick wall of the alley and waited.
For someone who called him saying she had something to say, Ye-jin was strangely hesitant.
In fact, Ho-cheol could somewhat guess the reason she called him.
No, it was obvious.
It would be about Smiley, Jeong Yu-hwa.
Recently, a sudden rumor had been circulating online.
It claimed that Smiley's inheritance still remained, and since she had no family or relatives, the inheritance belonged to whoever found it—a statement that went beyond a rumor and into nonsense.
The source was unclear, but perhaps the rumors arose because her video circulated recently due to a scandal related to the Association's corruption.
Ye-jin, standing opposite him, slowly started to speak, looking at him.
"So, Professor."
She mumbled with her lips for a long time, then closed her mouth again.
How many times did the words she wanted to say linger on her tongue before she swallowed them?
Ho-cheol scratched the back of his head.
Right, well.
It would be awkward to talk about.
After all, she was essentially asking if he knew anything about the inheritance of an older sister she couldn't even remember.
He had mentioned the inheritance in passing last time, but he hadn't given a detailed explanation.
She probably created this opportunity because she wanted to ask the one person most likely to know about its existence—him—about the truth.
Ho-cheol nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
"I know. I understand how you feel."
At that moment, Ye-jin's face suddenly flushed bright red.
Yet, her eyes were clearly filled with anticipation.
"Then, I..."
Before Ye-jin could say anything, Ho-cheol spoke first about 'Smiley's inheritance' that he thought she was curious about.
"First of all, there's no money. Of course, I can't say there's absolutely nothing else, but that is something that could be dangerous just by knowing about it. I'd rather not tell you if possible."
"…Huh?"
"Why?"
Ho-cheol was also caught off guard by her unexpected reaction.
Ye-jin rolled her eyes left and right, then cautiously corrected Ho-cheol's words.
"Oh, no. That's not what I was going to say."
"…Really?"
I made a fool of myself for nothing.
Actually, I was slightly worried about how to persuade her if she insisted on claiming the rights to the inheritance.
It was a relief for him.
Instead, Ho-cheol raised his hand in the air, gesturing for her to continue the conversation.
Ye-jin, who had regained the initiative, hesitated, unable to speak.
She debated for over a minute without saying a word, which might have frustrated Ho-cheol, but he showed no sign of it and waited patiently for her to speak.
The one who became anxious was Ye-jin herself.
She frowned, stomping her feet.
After stomping her feet in place and turning a few times, she finally relaxed her body and slumped.
"I'm sorry. Next time, I'll tell you next time."
"Okay."
Whatever it was, if she wasn't ready yet, there was nothing he could do.
Ho-cheol, taking it lightly, turned around, but.
Ye-jin instantly grabbed his sleeve.
It was barely held by her index finger and thumb, clinging to the very edge of the sleeve.
"Why? Just going to talk?"
She bit her lip hard.
It was always like this.
In the decisive moment, she lacked one word, one step, and couldn't express her most honest feelings.
This wasn't just a difference in personality, but because she had lived her whole life that way, and the faint lingering fear of rejection always made her hesitate and turn away at the last line.
However, as if finally making up her mind, she tightly clenched her remaining fist.
After taking several deep, labored breaths, she slowly spoke.
"I also. I want to be next to the Professor."
The expression was slightly ambiguous.
But soon, she solidified her resolve and stated clearly.
"Even after I graduate."
At her confession, Ho-cheol slowly turned back.
Ye-jin didn't dare to meet his eyes, merely looking down at the floor and his shoes.
She held Ho-cheol's sleeve tightly, as if it were a lifesaver.
"But you said that, so why are you shrinking back like this?"
"That's because…"
I'm afraid.
Of conveying my honest feelings, of Ho-cheol's answer that would follow, and of every situation that would unfold.
Actually, that wasn't the only problem.
Ye-jin sometimes imagined a future with Ho-cheol.
The most ideal, rosy future she envisioned, with herself standing beside him.
However, that fantasy was too easily shattered.
Her own appearance was too shabby for her to even imagine it.
The rivals who expressed their affection next to him.
No, the gap was so huge it was embarrassing to even call them rivals.
Unlike her, they were all either extraordinary or shared a deep relationship with him.
So-hee had continuously built a relationship with him as his supervisor after his release and, as Ho-cheol himself said, they were closer than anyone now.
Ji-an was said to have been saved by Ho-cheol during his villain days, and that's why she did what she did to find him.
Their relationship already spanned over 10 years.
Da-yeon... For now, they were packaged as a set, but upon graduation, her world would be completely different from Ye-jin's.
And unlike Ye-jin, she was openly expressing her affection for him.
Her memories with Ho-cheol, her relationship with him, her background.
Ye-jin had nothing to proudly put forward.
Even if Ho-cheol rejected her, saying, "Ah, honestly, we aren't close enough for that," she wouldn't have a comeback.
She whispered in a trembling voice.
"Someone like me. I don't suit you. I'm afraid of being easily rejected. I'm afraid that even this current relationship will disappear. I'm so scared of that."
Ho-cheol let out a faint sigh.
Was the problem that he thought of her as the most mature and proper adult because she grew up early?
He hadn't noticed this kind of worry at all.
Ye-jin's body trembled slightly at his sigh.
However, Ho-cheol used his free hand to grip her chin and gently force her to look up.
Only then could Ho-cheol properly look at Ye-jin.
All the aspects he had seen until now were Ye-jin.
Genuine feelings and appearances that couldn't be called fake.
But that wasn't her whole self.
She must have her own difficulties, concerns, worries, and emotions.
If it had been Ho-cheol immediately after his release, he wouldn't have understood how she felt at all.
If it had been Ho-cheol around summer, he would have understood her feelings but wouldn't have bothered to sympathize or console her.
But now was different.
He had changed enough to fully understand, sympathize, and comfort her.
Ho-cheol silently approached Ye-jin and embraced her.
Ye-jin's body flinched.
"In this world, there are many people who part ways without ever revealing their honest feelings and heart to their loved ones. They can't even properly convey a simple 'thank you' or 'I love you.'"
His voice carried a deep sense of regret rather than just advice.
"People's emotions fall like snow—faintly and quietly—and disappear the moment they touch something. Out of thousands, tens of thousands of emotions, only a very small fraction manages to reach the other person and remain."
There was a huge difference between a life that didn't know this and a life that did.
And a life that didn't know was always filled with regret and pain.
He didn't want his student to experience that.
"The moment that emotion connects is more precious than worrying about acceptance or rejection. It's best not to worry about such things. At least, that's what I think."
The trembling that had been felt in Ye-jin's body stopped.
"What saves the world isn't a mighty Trait that cleaves cities, stops time, or creates a sun. Nor is it the hero who saves thousands or tens of thousands of people. It's love."
What changed him in the past wasn't a world-shaking Trait, but merely a simple greeting given with a smile.
"And you're giving me something that great. So, I should be the one who is more grateful."
It was an answer as ambiguous as Ye-jin's confession, but in this moment where their emotions were connected, she could understand Ho-cheol's meaning too clearly.
Ye-jin also slowly raised her arms and tightly hugged Ho-cheol's back.
Hiding her face in his chest, only the sound of her soft sobs could be heard for a long time.
***
Clington Academy.
The buildings, which had been restored and normalized through repair and reconstruction, were now just waiting for the start of the next semester.
And in the dead of night, close to midnight.
The door to Training Hall Sigma, one of the many buildings, opened.
The door, which should have been firmly locked, opened easily, and dozens of students poured in.
"Hey, don't push me. I can't see, it's dark."
"Is your phone just for show?"
"How do we turn the lights on here?"
"You have to do it from the system room in the back; you probably can't turn them on here."
The students, murmuring their own thoughts, slowly entered the training hall, relying on their phone flashlights.
Although the phone flashlights were weak, with over 40 of them illuminating the interior, it was enough to distinguish the objects around them.
"But who called this meeting?"
"Didn't everyone just get a text from the person with the number ahead of them? And then they were told to forward it to the person with the number after them."
The number 1 student shrugged at that.
"I don't know. I got it from number 43."
They had all gathered because of a single text message that arrived in the morning.
The problem was that they didn't know who started the message or what its purpose was.
Some students sent suspicious glances toward Ye-jin and Da-yeon, who had been class representatives for a long time, or asked if they knew anything.
But the two merely shrugged silently.
In reality, these two didn't know anything either.
"It takes me over 3 hours one way to get here from my house."
One student grumbled.
It was close to midnight.
How nervous he was when he almost missed the last bus on the way.
The student next to him nudged his side with his elbow.
"It wasn't mandatory attendance in the first place."
"Are you crazy? Honestly, the smell is so strong. How could I skip it? I'm too scared to."
The text message did include a condition that only students who could afford it should attend.
Nevertheless, all 43 students attended without exception.
They still didn't know the reason for this gathering, but they could vaguely guess who was leading it.
As they walked further into the training hall.
In the center of the hall, the face they expected greeted them.
"…Professor?"
Da-yeon, who was standing at the very front, tilted her head, looking at him with confusion.
He was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, eyes closed.
Ho-cheol's mere presence wasn't what was confusing.
All sorts of weapons were scattered around him.
Swords, maces, axes, spears, bows, and even guns.
"Professor?"
When Da-yeon called Ho-cheol again, he slowly opened his eyes.
And simultaneously.
Rumble—
A sudden sense of pressure enveloped all the students.
That sticky, intense killing intent they all felt on the first day of the lecture, which made even breathing difficult.
The students, being crushed, looked at Ho-cheol in confusion.
But Ho-cheol merely rose from his seat without any explanation.
He lightly wiggled his foot, floating an axe that was stuck in the floor into the air, and casually snatched it.
The moment he grasped it, the pressure crushing them intensified by more than double.
Looking at the students who could barely hold on, Ho-cheol announced.
"Alright, let's begin the final lecture."