[146] Hero Academy [25]

"You're so mean… Hng… Leaving me all alone… Hah!"

"…I'm sorry."

Sung Suah was face-down on the bed, burying her face as she sobbed.

"Hah!"

"..."

She wasn't crying. She was moaning because the massage felt too good.

After getting caught by Sung Suah while enjoying a cozy moment stroking Bangul's paw, I was dragged back to the cabin.

Once there, I was subjected to a long scolding from Sung Suah.

The main point of the scolding was simple:

She came to play the game with me, yet I got obsessed with another character. How disappointing.

At least she didn't throw a tantrum about quitting.

Honestly, it didn't even seem like her personality to begin with…

And all of this...

'…is because Armonia didn't stop me in time.'

[....]

Hmph… Can't even argue back, huh? Must've hit a nerve.

Anyway, after the scolding session ended, Sung Suah asked for a massage as an apology, so I was diligently massaging her now.

But now that I think about it… isn't this more like a reward than an apology?

As I massaged her, my hands traced over the skin beneath her T-shirt.

'I want to touch her in real life too.'

[If you want to do this outside VR, a private space would be essential, I think.]

Sung Suah was the famous Cho Kang-hyun's girlfriend… no, fiancée.

She was only acting so freely now because she was confident no one was watching.

Even in real life, we'd gotten close enough to joke around, but to outsiders, we'd just look like friendly colleagues, nothing more.

But if we were caught secretly massaging in real life, there'd be no laughing it off.

That day would mark the immediate failure of Sung Suah's conquest!

If we were really unlucky, it might even make headlines.

'…Let's think carefully. We only just started massaging yesterday.'

Given Sung Suah's pure and innocent demeanor, she probably wouldn't let just anyone touch her unless she was absolutely sure they wouldn't get caught.

"Hah… Hah… Hng…!"

"..."

Even though she was currently getting a massage from an unrelated man in VR…

After about 30 minutes of massage, Sung Suah, in a dazed state, pulled me into a hug and fell asleep as usual.

***

"..."

"..."

Today's lesson for Class 5 was sparring between cadets.

Cho Seo-hyun stood side by side with Seong Suho, carefully observing the cadets.

Normally, she would point out their posture, but today, she just stared straight ahead without a word.

Even though she didn't usually talk much with Seong Suho, today she couldn't bring herself to say anything at all.

"..."

"..."

The silence hadn't started in the faculty room.

Thanks to going to bed early the night before, Cho Seo-hyun woke up early and headed to the cafeteria.

After waiting a while, Seong Suho appeared, and she planned to happily suggest they eat together.

Yeah… planned to.

"…."

"Instructor Cho Seo-hyun?"

"Uh… yeah…"

"…?"

The moment she saw Seong Suho in front of her, the words just wouldn't come out.

'Damn it, why is this happening…?'

Before meeting him, she thought asking him to eat together would be easy, but now that he was right in front of her, she couldn't speak.

While Seong Suho watched her hesitate with a puzzled look, Sung Suah appeared, and Cho Seo-hyun ended up speaking to her instead.

"Uh… you're here. Let's… eat."

Recalling her own words, Cho Seo-hyun clutched her head.

'Ugh! I sounded like such a loser!'

After that, Seong Suho, Cho Seo-hyun, and Sung Suah ate in awkward silence before returning to their duties without a word.

And ever since, Cho Seo-hyun and Seong Suho had been conducting classes in complete silence.

She wanted to talk to him.

She could've started with class-related topics like before or simply asked him to eat lunch together.

Just casual small talk would've been enough.

But the words wouldn't come out.

"..."

"..."

In the end, Cho Seo-hyun spent the entire class stealing glances at Seong Suho without saying a word.

...

...

...

"Dinner should be fine, right?"

Cho Seo-hyun skipped lunch with Seong Suho and ate bread and milk alone in the faculty room.

Part of her wanted to force herself to go eat with him, but she didn't want to relive the morning's silence.

And she especially didn't want to sit in silence where Sung Suah could see.

She took a bite of bread, sipped her milk, and stared at Seong Suho's profile.

The sparse profile contained almost nothing beyond basic personal details.

The only thing that caught her eye was his birthday.

"It's already passed."

Seong Suho's birthday was January 6th—long gone.

"Ugh, I wanted to at least give him a gift…"

Nothing else in the profile was helpful.

But Cho Seo-hyun kept blankly scanning the empty profile, killing time.

***

The long-awaited dinner time had arrived.

"..."

"..."

"Nom nom…."

It was 8 PM.

The cafeteria was nearly empty, the only sound being Song Ara eating.

The place was quiet and deserted.

The problem? Cho Seo-hyun and Seong Suho were also silent.

No matter how hard she tried, Cho Seo-hyun couldn't bring herself to speak.

'What am I even supposed to say…?'

No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn't remember how she used to talk to Seong Suho.

In the end, Cho Seo-hyun and Seong Suho finished their meal while watching Song Ara's mukbang.

...

...

...

"Sigh…"

Cho Seo-hyun lay on her bed without even changing, staring at the ceiling and muttering.

"Why am I like this…?"

The only "conversation" she'd had with Seong Suho all day was:

"Instructor Cho Seo-hyun?"

"Uh… yeah…"

On loop.

Like a music player stuck on repeat.

She doubted Seong Suho even considered it a real conversation.

Frustration and anxiety started creeping in.

"He must think I'm weird, right? Ugh…"

A woman who usually snapped at people suddenly going quiet and clingy?

Putting herself in his shoes, it did seem creepy.

She recalled how she'd scolded Seong Suho last week.

She hadn't shown him a single good side in the past week.

Meanwhile, Seong Suho had praised her behind her back, showing his sincerity.

"From what I've seen, among all the instructors here, no one is as responsible and hardworking as her."

Remembering his words, Cho Seo-hyun's lips curled up, and she started giggling.

"Hehe… Hihih… Hah… How could he say something like that… Hehe…"

After happily replaying his praise in her head, she snapped back to reality.

"Ahem… First, I need a topic."

She decided that "natural conversation" was already out of the question.

From the start, she'd acted like they were strictly work colleagues, so any talk would inevitably circle back to cadets.

Of course, cadets were important to her as an instructor.

But she wanted to talk to him personally, not about work.

The problem? She'd spent so long not making friends that she had no idea how.

She considered asking someone for advice.

First candidate: Sung Suah.

"…No, not her."

No matter how much she wanted to get closer to Seong Suho, she didn't want to ask her about it.

Second candidate: Song Ara.

"Song Ara… Does she not try to befriend people her age and only go after older folks…?"

A top student she'd taught for two years.

Great personality, outstanding skills, and looks most cadets found appealing.

But her overflowing hero complex made her peers avoid her.

Her overly upright words and actions at such a young age were just too much.

"As her teacher, I shouldn't say this, but… Song Ara needs to loosen up a little."

Thinking about Song Ara reminded her of the training session earlier.

"Wow, you're amazing. You've improved so much since yesterday!"

"Hehe. I kept thinking about your advice all day. It really helped!"

"It's not just the advice—you're just that talented."

"Hehe."

Cho Seo-hyun lay sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a bitter smile.

"Praise… I'm jealous."

Blinking at the fluorescent light, she muttered,

"I'll ask Song Ara first."

***

The next day, after morning classes, Cho Seo-hyun called Song Ara and vaguely asked:

"What do guys like?"

"Uh, what do kids these days enjoy?"

She phrased it as "kids" to avoid suspicion about Seong Suho.

But Song Ara tilted her head and muttered just loud enough for her to hear:

"Instructor Sung Suah asked something similar."

"Huh? Her… I mean, Instructor Sung Suah did?"

"Yeah. Is it for Instructor Cho Kang-hyun's birthday?"

"Ah… Y-Yeah! Something like that…"

"Hmm…"

Luckily, Song Ara didn't dwell on it.

"Well, guys these days like VR stuff. But someone like Instructor Cho Kang-hyun probably already has a capsule, right?"

"…Probably."

If VR headsets were budget-friendly, capsules were luxury tier.

Cho Seo-hyun had vaguely heard about their prices.

They were so expensive that even mid-tier heroes couldn't afford them.

And it wasn't something you could buy even if you had the money…

'…Would he have earned that much by now? Wait, that's not the point.'

She shook her head and asked again.

"Hey, but VR is too expensive. Anything else?"

"The kids here probably aren't into much else."

"…Got it. Go eat."

"Yes, ma'am."

Just as Song Ara hummed and grabbed the door to leave—

"Wait."

"Yes?"

Cho Seo-hyun suddenly stopped her.

"Instructor Sung Suah asked the exact same question?"

"Yes."

Cho Seo-hyun couldn't make sense of it.

'…Weird. She said she couldn't contact Kang-hyun recently, but now suddenly…?'

Wondering if it was from a while ago, she asked when it happened.

"When?"

"Last week."

"And you gave the same answer?"

"Yes."

"..."

Cho Seo-hyun blankly tapped her desk before speaking.

"Sorry for calling you during lunch. Go eat."

"Yes~"

Once Song Ara left and the door closed, silence flooded the faculty room.

Alone, Cho Seo-hyun stewed in her thoughts.

'No matter what, that's way too expensive. If I give him that, he'll think I'm weird…'

She wanted Seong Suho to notice her feelings—but without realizing she wanted him to.

Not confessing, just… figuring it out on his own.

For heroes, 500 million won was an amount they could scrape together if they tried.

Even Cho Seo-hyun, from a mid-to-low-tier guild, could've managed it.

But no matter how much she wanted to give him a VR headset, it was just too expensive.

"Wait! Don't they rent those here?"

She vaguely recalled hearing about it but immediately scratched her head.

"Telling him about rentals isn't a gift. Ugh, this is giving me a headache…"

She needed a gift that would make him happy without raising suspicion.

And that dilemma lasted until she finally fell asleep at dawn.

***

"Huh? He's not here?"

"No, Instructor Seong Suho left early this morning. The log says he'll be back Monday."

"…Okay."

After hearing the guard's answer, Cho Seo-hyun trudged back to her dorm.

"…I finally worked up the courage to ask what he likes, and now this."

Muttering to herself, she headed back to her room, feeling lonelier than ever.

***

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