[143] Hero Academy [22]

'Haa… Why did I have that dream all of a sudden today…'

As soon as Cho Seo-hyun woke up, she couldn't fully gather her thoughts and headed towards the classroom with Seong Suho.

Her trembling legs with every step informed her of her current state.

'Haa… I thought it had gotten better since it hadn't appeared recently…'

The dream she had while sleeping on the desk started to forcibly flow back into her memory.

Countless whippings.

Voices filled with contempt and hatred.

Although it was an incident from ten years ago, Cho Seo-hyun's body remembered the whipping, and her mind was laced with curses.

Cho Seo-hyun was afraid that the emotional scars and curses she thought had been erased were now creeping back.

'...But why did that person appear in my dream?'

Cho Seo-hyun managed to momentarily put aside her thoughts about Hong Mi-seon thanks to the sound of Seong Suho's footsteps following behind her.

The man standing silently beside the podium.

That man glaring at her being whipped.

'Maybe because the assistant instructors changed so often, I don't remember them...'

No assistant instructor had lasted more than two months.

Cho Seo-hyun vaguely remembered hearing how difficult it was to find an assistant instructor who could handle Hong Mi-seon's personality.

Opening the classroom door, Cho Seo-hyun felt relieved.

'Thank goodness. Today is practical training in the back mountains. I just need to focus on the students' safety and grading.'

Relaxing a bit, Cho Seo-hyun stepped onto the platform and glanced at Seong Suho.

'I wonder if he'll follow along well today…'

...

...

...

A hands-on training session hunting monsters released in the back mountains.

Two teams hike along designated routes and engage in combat.

Each team is supervised by Cho Seo-hyun and Seong Suho, who are responsible for safety and scoring.

Groups 5 and 6, currently in progress, happened to meet at the central point and took a break.

Watching Seong Suho catching his breath from afar, Cho Seo-hyun thought.

'If only he improves his stamina, he'd be a really good person…'

Knowing that stamina doesn't improve overnight, Cho Seo-hyun didn't intend to nag Seong Suho constantly.

Moreover, considering the help she received from him, she wasn't in a position to scold him.

With a smile, intending to comfort him playfully, Cho Seo-hyun approached Seong Suho, who was gasping for breath.

'Well, with his archery skills, his stamina should be fine… huh?'

Just as Cho Seo-hyun was about to approach, someone else went to Seong Suho.

"Teacher… Are you okay?"

"Haa… haa… I'm... I'm fine. You go take a rest too… haa…"

"I don't need to rest…"

There was Song Ara looking at Seong Suho with pity.

Seeing Song Ara, Cho Seo-hyun smirked.

'She's the type who will suffer losses later when she joins a guild with that kind of personality…'

Cho Seo-hyun continued to watch the two.

It was just a normal conversation between a student and an instructor, an everyday scene without anything special.

However, to Cho Seo-hyun, who had a nightmare today, it looked different.

'If I had an instructor I could have normal conversations with, maybe things would have been different…'

When Cho Seo-hyun was a cadet, she never got close to any instructor.

Most assistant instructors showed no interest in the cadets outside of class time, and the official instructor abused her for three years.

Watching the two with envy, Cho Seo-hyun's ears perked up at Song Ara's words.

"Teacher, can you check my stance when shooting arrows again today?"

At Song Ara's words, Seong Suho finally caught his breath and opened his mouth.

"Huu… Well, I don't mind, but my skills aren't at a level where I can teach."

"Aww, it's just personal practice, so it's fine!"

Hearing their conversation, Cho Seo-hyun recalled the first time she met Seong Suho.

'Now that I think about it, during weapon distribution, he naturally handed an arrow to Song Ara, didn't he?'

Seong Suho's only mistake in handing out weapons was giving a bow to Song Ara whose main weapon was a sword. Cho Seo-hyun remembered scolding him for the mistake and him looking at Song Ara with an incomprehensible expression.

'Hmm… Ah, break time is almost over.'

As Seong Suho finished catching his breath, the break time was coming to an end.

Seong Suho stood up before the students and said to Song Ara.

"There are many better people than me. If you want to learn properly, go see the official instructor instead of me."

"...."

Listening to Seong Suho's words, Cho Seo-hyun felt disappointed inside.

'Would it hurt to teach during the spare time? He must find it troublesome too… Just like other instructors… nothing different.'

Cho Seo-hyun felt the gratitude she had harbored for him vanish in an instant.

The sight of him dismissing an enthusiastic student brought back unpleasant memories.

While Cho Seo-hyun glared at Seong Suho, he patted Song Ara's shoulder and spoke.

"I'm just an assistant instructor. I've never formally learned archery; I only learned it for survival."

After saying that, Seong Suho stretched his body and continued.

"If I teach you and you develop bad habits, it might affect Instructor Cho Seo-hyun. That would be too sorry of me."

"Aww, that's my responsibility~ Just check my stance, please? The other instructors are busy and don't help much…"

Looking at Song Ara, Seong Suho chuckled helplessly and replied.

"Alright. Whenever I have free time after dinner, I'll help you within my abilities."

"Wow~"

Watching the two stand up and converse, Cho Seo-hyun unknowingly smiled.

***

After finishing the class, I trudged towards the cafeteria with my shoulders slumped.

'Oh boy… I'm dying…'

After hiking a lot, my whole body ached.

If I had handled both morning and afternoon classes, I would've been sent to the hospital already.

Finally arriving at the cafeteria, I laboriously lifted my head to glance at today's menu.

"It's Korean food… my favorite."

Humming happily, I heard a voice full of complaints from behind.

"Haa… It's always Korean food on days like these."

"Huh?"

Turning around, I scanned but saw no one… If I said that, I'd probably get killed right away.

It was Cho Seo-hyun.

Cho Seo-hyun nodded her head as she looked up at me.

"Come on, let's go in quickly."

"Ah, yes."

I briefly answered and was about to enter the cafeteria when Sung Suah, who was inside the entrance, waved her hand gently and greeted me with a bright smile.

"Welcome. Today's Korean food is something Instructor Seong Suho likes."

"Haha…"

As I awkwardly laughed, I heard Cho Seo-hyun's voice from behind me.

"What's this?"

"Uh… Sister…."

Sung Suah was flustered upon seeing Cho Seo-hyun.

Cho Seo-hyun frowned as she came back to my side and asked.

"Do you two know each other?"

...

...

...

'Wow… So this is what it feels like to eat rice through your nose.'

[Don't worry. The spoon is heading normally towards your mouth.]

'.…'

Seriously?

Every time I scooped jaeyuk-bokkeumbap and ate it, I kept glancing at Cho Seo-hyun and Sung Suah.

During mealtime, Cho Seo-hyun, who put down her chopsticks and crossed her arms despite having food.

Sung Suah, unable to properly pick up her spoon due to noticing Cho Seo-hyun's mood.

Finally breaking the endless silence, Cho Seo-hyun opened her mouth.

"Never in my dreams did I expect the two of you to be in charge of the same class."

"Uh… Didn't Instructor Cho Seo-hyun tell me to go to Magic Class 7 on the first day?"

"I didn't know she was in charge of Magic Class 7. Did I have to specifically know which class she was in charge of?"

Is she kidding me?

Suddenly displaying childish behavior like she did on the first day.

Cho Seo-hyun was a character with diverse personalities.

Sometimes a strict instructor, sometimes a child, sometimes an enthusiastic cadet.

Cho Seo-hyun, looking at me with a dissatisfied expression, opened her mouth.

"But do you usually eat together? From what I saw earlier, it seems like you often eat together."

"Ah… Yes. Since we work together, we usually try to have meals together."

"Haa… Even though we work together, I guess you didn't want to eat with me?"

"Huh?"

Cho Seo-hyun pouted at me with a displeased face.

How do you eat together with someone who usually doesn't even come to eat?

"Surely not. I haven't seen Instructor Cho Seo-hyun in the cafeteria before…."

"You should have invited me at least once, right?"

"…Sorry."

What's going on here? There's no way out.

If I had invited her on the first day, she probably would've said something immediately.

"Why should I eat with you?"

She definitely would've said something like that.

Even as I bickered with Cho Seo-hyun, Sung Suah quietly watched the situation.

Worried, I said to Sung Suah.

"Instructor Sung Suah, please eat. Your food will get cold."

"Haha… Yes."

Then Cho Seo-hyun interrupted our conversation.

"No, aren't you telling me to eat? Is my food not getting cold?"

"Well… I thought you didn't like Korean food much…."

"If I don't like it, does it matter if it gets cold?"

"…Sorry."

So sorry… Sorry for eating together.

'This is awkward…'

[I didn't expect Cho Seo-hyun to be so unreasonable.]

'Well, when she acts like that alone with me, it's cute…'

Honestly, getting closer to Cho Seo-hyun would benefit me, whether for my mission or personal desires.

Her complaining doesn't make her pretty face disappear anyway.

The problem is that Sung Suah is here too. And she keeps interfering.

'Could it be that she'll keep interrupting every meal?'

[Personally, I predict Cho Seo-hyun will be seen at every meal from now on.]

'Damn…'

This is strange… She didn't say anything yesterday when it mattered, but today, when it's useless, she does this.

After finishing the cold lunch, Sung Suah and I finally escaped from Cho Seo-hyun's grasp.

***

Cho Seo-hyun entered the faculty room, sat down on a chair, leaned back, and sighed.

"Haa… Damn, this isn't what I intended…"

Wanting to build rapport with Seong Suho, Cho Seo-hyun followed him to the cafeteria.

She knew that most people feel uncomfortable eating with their superiors at work.

Formal instructors and assistant instructors generally fall into such positions…

Therefore, she planned to have a friendly conversation filled with compliments and encouraging words.

Until Sung Suah showed up…

"Why did it have to be Sung Suah… Haa…"

Cho Seo-hyun wasn't feeling jealous or guarded as a romantic rival.

She simply wanted to establish Seong Suho as a good colleague.

But seeing him with Sung Suah twisted her mood, leading her to disrupt their meal.

Cho Seo-hyun didn't dislike Sung Suah from the start.

She didn't attach much significance to her brother dating someone.

The problem was her brother's attitude after starting to date.

"No matter how much I think about it… Kang-hyun seems to have changed strangely after meeting her."

In Cho Seo-hyun's memory, her younger brother, Cho Kang-hyun, had always taken care of her until he entered the academy.

After their parents passed away, the two were so close they didn't seem like siblings.

But her always upright and cheerful brother began to consistently display a cold expression and blunt speech somewhere along the way.

And coincidentally, that period aligned with when he started dating.

"Was it a year after I graduated? That's when he said he started dating…"

After Cho Seo-hyun graduated, Sung Suah enrolled.

And a year later, she found out the two were dating.

She heard it from someone else, not directly from her brother.

If her brother were dating, she intended to support him enthusiastically.

But after he started dating, her brother's contact became infrequent, and even when they occasionally met, his attitude toward her felt cold, making her feel sorrowful.

For the two who lost their parents, each other was their only family.

But now, that family didn't feel like family anymore.

Cho Seo-hyun noticed a piece of paper on her desk.

-Hihi~ My birthday is next month! I gotta eat something delicious with Kang-hyun (>_<)-

Muttering as she read the note, Cho Seo-hyun whispered,

"I hope he doesn't forget this time…"

Others might find this sentence odd, but to her, Cho Kang-hyun was her only family and someone she could communicate with.

Yes, he was her existence. Ten years ago…

Because her brother who used to communicate with her changed after dating, Cho Seo-hyun couldn't bring herself to like Sung Suah.

"That damn relationship…"

Cho Seo-hyun bitterly smiled, flipped the paper over, and gazed out the window.

And she thought.

"What should I say to make him happy?"

Cho Seo-hyun began simulating in her mind the conversation she would have with Seong Suho tonight.

***

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