PHUW 127

It couldn’t be that they were just picking a fight because they couldn’t stand him living well, eating well, and playing well, could it? Surely not? The professor’s attitude was far too serious for just that. Even Jeong Mok, who should have been stopping this situation, was going along with it.

“Vice Chairman Jeong, as you know, there is a right time for studying. The later it gets, the more learning ability declines. Especially when it comes to basic academics.”

The nagging began again, though now it carried less sternness and more persuasion. Haeri realized the professor was the type who used titles when angry. In Haeri’s short but not-so-short life, he had rarely encountered someone like this. Refined, so refined that it was hard to even start speaking to them. From a completely different world, and an elder on top of that.

“You are right, Professor. There’s nothing bad about learning. But I think Haeri still needs rest.”

‘Good! Well said, my master!’ Haeri clenched his fist secretly and his eyes shone.

“Since it’s hard for him to go out with his injured leg, isn’t this a good time to study? It will make him less bored as well.”

Why would you respond like that? And I’m not bored! I’m already busy eating, playing, and spending money, why add studying on top of that?

“That’s true. Haeri, what do you think?”

Why ask me that! The answer is obviously no thank you! What a useless Master, he’s not helping at all.

Haeri began sweating excuses.

“I just want to rest a little longer. I’m not saying I won’t study. Just a bit more rest… it hasn’t been long since I recovered my memory. I get headaches. I can’t sleep well. And my closest friend died, so my mind is unsettled.”

He did have some of those symptoms, but nothing that bad. The tranquilizers worked, and the financial therapy worth billions helped even more. For what he had gone through, he was recovering well enough that he wondered if he might actually be a sociopath. But really, when a conglomerate vice chairman was showering you with dazzling luxury goods, how could you not laugh? How could you not sleep soundly? Even if Sangjin came back alive, he would have had to admit that much.

“It’s still like that?”

The first to react to his exaggeration was, as expected, Jeong Mok. With a serious face, he held Haeri’s hand and stared right into his face.

“Your face looks rough.”

‘That’s because I didn’t wash it today.’ But Haeri lowered his eyes and forced a pitiful smile. The large hand pressed down on both his cheeks.

“You look tired. Wouldn’t it be better to go to the hospital?”

For fuck’s sake. Why was this man like this. He was trying to avoid cram school, and now the hospital? How could someone be so oblivious.

“Well, his head injury was severe. And since he got caught up in a violent crime, he must have emotional trauma as well.”

The professor, who earlier said he needed to overcome things by immersing himself in something, stepped back.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have a live-in doctor or nurse at the house?”

“Since he hates hospitals, that might be a good idea.”

“When Teacher Kim Eunyoung arrives, I’ll ask her to also provide someone with psychological counseling qualifications.”

What? Combining hospital and school? Was this supposed to be a joke?

“There’s really no need for that.”

“No. Leaving things unattended is very bad. If you miss the right time for treatment and study, it only gets harder later. Don’t worry about the cost.”

“Yes. Treatment is absolutely necessary. The professor knows this field well.”

Jeong Mok suddenly shifted. Haeri had forgotten that when it came to treatment, he rarely gave way. Haeri had dug his own grave. How was he supposed to get out of this? He hadn’t studied, but his wits weren’t bad. But no solution came to mind. If only Sangjin were here, he would have come up with a brilliant plan.

Sangjin, I miss you so much.

Bzzz.

Just then, the professor’s phone rang. Almost at the same time, Jeong Mok’s phone rang too.

“Teacher Kim, you’ve arrived already? Please come up.”

“Escort her politely into the house.”

The professor and Jeong Mok ended their calls. This was over.

A moment later, a middle-aged woman in slacks entered the house.

She had a petite build, a round plump face, and thick, wavy, brown-dyed short hair so voluminous it looked like she was wearing a helmet. She carried a well-worn briefcase in her hand.

The professor stood to greet her warmly.

“Welcome, Teacher Kim. Sorry for calling you on such short notice.”

“Hello, Professor Choi. If it’s your call, I’ll always come.”

Despite her friendly and cute first impression, Teacher Kim had a low, husky voice. Perhaps because of that contrast, even with her small build, she radiated a presence that left people unable to move. She felt like one of those elementary school teachers with 35 years of experience in student guidance. Not your mother, but mother-like, one of those magnetic figures that even the most ill-mannered punks couldn’t bring themselves to defy.

“Oh my, Jeong Mok, you’re here too. How long has it been? I suppose I should call you Vice Chairman Jeong now. Hoho.”

After shaking hands, Teacher Kim greeted Jeong Mok first. She was the one they had called his entrance exam coordinator, right? But what even was an exam coordinator? He knew fashion stylists and water purifier coordinators, but this?

“It has been a while, Teacher. Please call me as comfortably as before.”

Jeong Mok fastened the button of his jacket that had been left undone and greeted her very formally. Because of that, Haeri quickly bent at the waist to bow as well before straightening up.

“I have many things I want to ask and hear about, but let’s leave that for later. Is this the student? Oh my!”

No sooner had Teacher Kim greeted Haeri than Gom-i suddenly intruded.

The dog, who had been lying with dignity, seemed unable to hold back its curiosity after seeing first the professor and now another stranger enter. It pushed its big head toward the small new arrival.

“Gom, no.”

Jeong Mok spoke sternly to stop him. Even so, Gom-i sniffed Teacher Kim’s feet and then looked up at her. Teacher Kim didn’t seem afraid at all, simply smiling as she stared at the dog. Their eyes met. At that, Gom-i suddenly tucked its tail and backed away.

“Come here.”

When Jeong Mok called, Gom-i hurried behind him and peeked out nervously at Teacher Kim, looking frightened. For some reason, Gom-i had lost the contest of will.

“Good boy.”

Teacher Kim laughed as if finding him cute.

But this was a dog known to bite people if provoked. Haeri had heard about Gom-i’s role during his kidnapping incident. Everyone who came and went in this house feared him, and even when hiring staff, compatibility with Gom-i was checked first because of his fierceness. Yet now, he tucked his tail and backed down before Teacher Kim.

Gulp.

‘There’s no way I could win, right? Probably?’

This was a disaster.

“You didn’t call me here because of this dog. So this must be the student?”

Teacher Kim looked at Haeri. His heart sank.

“What is your name?”

“Ah, I am Ahn Haeri.”

“Such a pretty name. It suits you well.”

“Th-thank you.”

No sooner had he greeted her than Teacher Kim picked up the briefcase she had set on the floor.

“Shall we start with a basic academic test? We can talk in detail afterward.”

“Let’s do that.”

From her briefcase, Teacher Kim took out two sheets of A4 paper. Each page had ten questions under the headings of Korean, English, Math, and Social Studies. She had even prepared pencils and erasers, leaving Haeri no time to catch his breath.

He started by reading the Korean questions. They were fill-in-the-blank sentences. At first it was easy, like “Yeonghee goes to school.” But from question three, the difficulty jumped, and by question five it demanded four-character idioms he barely knew. The rest, though written in Hangul, felt like alien language he couldn’t understand at all. Was this really Korean?

“Korean is a little advanced. If it’s hard, you can start with another subject.”

“…Yes.”

On the next page was English. Question one: write A to Z. Please. Even a middle school dropout knew the alphabet. He wrote it at once. But question two blocked him. Write lowercase a to z. Haeri panicked, he managed to write up to c, but after that came confusion between b and d.

As he carefully erased, thinking it looked wrong, he felt a gaze. He glanced sideways.

Jeong Mok had his fist against his lips, staring intently at Haeri’s test sheet.

“Why are you looking at someone else’s test?”

Embarrassed, Haeri twisted his body to cover it.

“No, it’s just…”

As if in shock, Jeong Mok rubbed his lips and then exchanged a grave look with the professor. Damn it. Why did Koreans have to know English anyway? This was a world where you could just take a picture and run it through a translator. But Haeri’s face grew hot.

His ignorance was already exposed, so what was the point of continuing?

“I’ll stop here.”

Teacher Kim allowed it. Somehow that stung his pride even more.

Even though one sheet was untouched and the other had more blanks than answers, Teacher Kim still marked it with a red pencil. Instead of drawing lines, she circled only the correct answers. In Korean, he got two right. In English, he got them all wrong. He had been confident about the first question, the capital alphabet, but even there, he had written the middle stroke of N in the wrong direction.

Jeong Mok dragged his palm down his face.

“As the professor said, education is as urgent as treatment.”

Teacher Kim smiled faintly, a poker-face smile, as she stared at Haeri. She was definitely smiling, but Haeri felt menace behind it.

“We will be seeing each other often and for a long time, Student Ahn Haeri.”

The life of an indulged pet human, where he only had to be cute, had suddenly turned into a thorny path of fiery academics.

Of course. That was Ahn Haeri’s cursed fate. Had anything in his life ever gone easily? Fuck.