I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy - Chapter 16

Time flows relentlessly, regardless of the situation.

“It’s fine to have a snack, but after that―”

“Yes~ I’ll definitely brush my teeth.”

When you live with a young child, you feel the passage of time several times faster.

Baek Woo-jin looked down at Baek Hana, who was grinning as she saw him off at the entrance.

Baek Hana, who had just turned three years old this year.

The child, who once couldn’t reach his belly button, had now grown to just below his chest.

The chubby baby fat was gone, and the once vague eyes were gradually becoming sharper.

Baek Woo-jin glanced at the two girls standing behind Baek Hana, then turned away. Claire, who had been standing next to him, said to the two girls.

“Don’t cause any trouble.”

“Yes, Executor.”

“Do we still look like children to you?”

Claire glared at the girl who had answered second, then turned to Baek Hana.

“……Hana, it’s not too late for―”

“Go on, unnie. Woo-jin is waiting.”

“……Yes.”

Claire was pushed out by Baek Hana and left the house.

After the two adults left, Baek Hana closed the door and turned around. Then she started giggling.

“Ehehehe.”

“Ehehe.”

“……You two, stop laughing like that. I’ve told you so many times.”

The girl with beige short hair, Maria, frowned at the two girls who were laughing like fools, forgetting their age.

The girl with pink hair, Edyn, standing next to Maria, patted her on the back and replied.

“What’s the point of scolding us when there’s no one else around?”

“Yeah. Maria is an old soul.”

“You… I told you not to say that.”

Maria growled at Baek Hana, who had mentioned the word “old soul.” But with her naturally gentle face, she didn’t seem threatening at all, so Baek Hana just giggled and hugged Maria’s arm, saying, “Woo-jin said that would give you wrinkles.”

“……Isn’t that because of you?”

“Yeah. Sorry. So, let’s go to the room.”

Maria sighed softly at Baek Hana, who was giggling, and nodded.

Edyn, who was watching the two of them, giggled as she hugged Maria’s other arm.

“What.”

“It’s just that you still can’t beat her, I guess.”

“……Hmph.”

Maria didn’t respond.

It was true, after all.

The three girls walked down the long hallway and entered Baek Hana’s room.

“I’ll get the snacks.”

“Cherry sparkling~”

“……Can you help me?”

Baek Hana, who had been lying on the bed, got up and headed for the kitchen. She opened the cabinet without using the child-sized step stool, revealing shelves full of various snacks.

She took out a few that her friends would like and placed them on the shelf.

“……I wanted to go with you, too.”

Baek Hana muttered to herself as she took out a drink from the refrigerator, thinking of Baek Woo-jin.

Whenever there was somewhere to go, Baek Woo-jin always took her with him. But today was different.

-“I’ll be back for lunch tomorrow.”

That was all he had said.

He didn’t tell her where he was going or why.

Instead, he simply gave her permission to have her friends over for the night.

“It’s not fair that you only took Claire unnie with you…”

Baek Hana pouted as she put the snacks and drinks on the shelf, thinking about Claire, who had left with Baek Woo-jin.

A truly good person, albeit a little eccentric.

Baek Hana liked Claire second only to Baek Woo-jin.

But sometimes, when she saw Claire with Baek Woo-jin, she felt a strange pang in her chest.

Especially when she imagined them together without her, like right now.

“Hoo.”

Baek Hana took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart and returned to the room with the snacks.

“What? Cherry sparkling?”

“Just shut up and eat, you jerk.”

Edyn grumbled at the lack of her desired drink, and Maria slapped her on the back.

Baek Hana giggled at the two of them.

The two girls were classmates at the private school run by the Temple of the God of Amusement.

Originally, only the children of clerics or the deceased paladins could attend, but thanks to Claire’s consideration, Baek Hana was able to transfer there last year.

“So.”

“Yeah?”

Edyn, who had been rubbing her slapped back, wiped the smile off her face and asked Baek Hana.

“When are you going to tell us about the Professor?”

“……”

“……”

At Edyn’s question, Baek Hana and Maria, who was sitting next to her, narrowed their eyes and glared at Edyn.

“What? What’s with those looks?! Did I say something wrong?”

Edyn was taken aback by their reaction.

Baek Hana peeled the wrapper off a children’s chocolate and said to Edyn.

“If you want to know, just take any of the diaries that are stuck in there and read them.”

A bookshelf taller than the bed.

It was filled with diaries that Baek Hana had been writing.

At Baek Hana’s answer, Edyn flopped onto the bed and grumbled.

“But why read it when we have a friend who can tell us all about it in person?”

“Yeah. Why?”

Maria got up from the bed and went to the bookshelf, stroking the tightly packed diaries. Baek Hana said, “The one on top is the first one I wrote.”

“Okay.”

Maria took the top diary and sat on the edge of the bed. Edyn, who had just been slapped on the forehead, quickly got up and put her chin on Maria’s shoulder.

Edyn, who seemed to have a plan, slowly wrapped her arms and legs around her body like a sloth, and Maria glared at her.

“What.”

“Nothing. It’s just that I guess you still can’t beat her, huh?”

“……Hmph.”

Maria didn’t respond.

It was true, after all.

The three girls sat on the bed and began to flip through the diaries in order, looking for a readable part. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find one.

Baek Hana’s handwriting had improved at an incredible rate.

The two girls sat on the bed and quietly read Baek Hana’s diary, focusing on the legible parts.

One of the main reasons they had come here today was to learn more about Baek Woo-jin, a man who even the highest-ranking person in the temple, Claire, couldn’t handle.

Baek Hana munched on chocolate like a squirrel as she watched her friends concentrate on reading her diary.

There was nothing to hide, as the diaries on the shelf contained only memories of her and Baek Woo-jin that she didn’t want to share with others.

For example, the fact that they still slept in the same bed three times a week.

“Hey, Hana.”

“What?”

Edyn, who had been reading the diary intently, looked up.

“Professor isn’t here right now.”

“So?”

“Then, wouldn’t it be okay to sneak a peek at the notebook he writes in every day in the study?”

As soon as Edyn finished her sentence, Maria, who had been reading the diary next to her, glared at her.

“Hey. Did you forget what Executor said about not causing trouble?”

“What’s the harm in just taking a little peek? And besides, it’s not a crime if we don’t get caught, right?”

“If we do?”

“Then……”

Edyn rolled her eyes at Baek Hana.

“Do you think she’ll get a smack on the head?”

Because, according to the diary, Baek Woo-jin never really scolded Baek Hana, no matter what she did.

At most, he would give her a smack on the head or pull her cheeks.

Baek Woo-jin, as described in the diary, was unusually gentle towards Baek Hana.

“Hey, Hana?”

“……Hmm?”

Baek Hana, who had been considering Edyn’s suggestion to sneak into the study, looked up at Maria’s call.

“Have you ever seen Professor really angry?”

“Woo-jin getting angry?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing in the diary about him getting angry, even when you caused trouble.”

“Yeah. Woo-jin can’t get mad at me.”

“So, let’s go to the study…”

Slap―!!

“Kyaak?!”

“Just stay still!”

Edyn, who had been slapped in the exact same spot as before, screamed silently.

Maria asked again, as the reason she kept asking was simple.

She was curious about the study that Baek Woo-jin used.

“I have seen Woo-jin get angry.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“With you?”

“No. It wasn’t directed at me, but…”

Baek Hana paused for a moment.

The day Baek Woo-jin got truly angry.

It was last year.

Baek Woo-jin had always intended to send Baek Hana to the private school run by the Temple of the God of Amusement. However, Baek Hana refused.

The reason was simple.

She felt uncomfortable with the special treatment she was receiving.

So, she insisted on transferring to a regular middle school near the Academy as a second-year student. Kim Sung-won, the head of the Finance Department, helped with the arrangements.

On the first day of school, she rode in Claire’s car, wearing transparent glasses, and headed to the teacher’s office.

She didn’t make any mistakes, as she had already received instructions from the nuns at the temple and Claire on how to behave.

After a brief introduction to the class by the homeroom teacher, she was able to fit in well.

Although her hair and eye color were unusual, the students were kind and nice, so she didn’t have any problems.

And exactly three days after starting school.

Some female classmates from another class surrounded her and started talking about the ring on her left hand, saying it violated school rules and trying to take it off.

The ring on her left hand.

It was a precious ring that Baek Woo-jin had put on her finger on her first birthday.

So, she resisted, and that became a problem.

Unlike her, the classmates who tried to take off her ring ended up in a terrible state.

The classmates were as fragile as the nuns at the temple, and that was the cause of her failure to control her strength.

She missed her afternoon classes that day and was called to the teacher’s office, where the parents of the classmates she had injured were waiting.

She learned for the first time how terrible it was to be in a noisy and chaotic situation and to be the target of malice.

The vicious insults and ill will.

It’s okay. I can bear it.

But.

[Look at her, an orphan without parents. It’s clear what her guardian was thinking, bringing her here. Ugh, what a lowlife.]

She couldn’t stand them insulting the person who had saved her.

[You bitch! How dare you glare at us after turning our daughter into that state!]

A hand rose towards her face.

[Ah, ah……?]

But that hand never touched her face.

The broad and large back she had seen every night.

The black coat he always wore.

【Baek Hana.】

The warm voice that comforted her in that place filled with malice.

【Claire. Take her out.】

She didn’t know when Claire had arrived, but her hand grabbed hers and led her out of the teacher’s office. And through the closing door, she heard a single sentence.

– How dare you…

She had never heard such a cold and chilling tone from him before.

She didn’t know what happened after that, but she remembered what Claire had said as they left.

[Hana, Professor is far more amazing than you think. And that amazing Professor values you more than anything else. So, if you truly believe you haven’t done anything wrong, don’t bow your head.]

She didn’t remember her response, but she remembered that she didn’t say a word until she got home, had dinner, and went to bed.

And that she cried in Baek Woo-jin’s arms for the first time that night.

“Hana?”

“Hmm?”

At Maria’s call, Baek Hana shook off the memories of the past and came back to her senses.

“What were you thinking about to make your face so red?”

“Ah, nothing.”

Baek Hana shook her head at Edyn’s question, which was asked with a nasty smile.

Her face was red.

It seemed like she was thinking about being in Baek Woo-jin’s arms.

“Okay, so are we going to the study or not?”

“……Let’s go.”

At Edyn’s question, Baek Hana got up from the bed.

“Really……?”

Edyn, who had suggested it, was taken aback by Baek Hana’s sudden decision and asked again.

“Yeah, really. If you don’t want to, you two can stay here.”

Leaving those words behind, Baek Hana turned and left the room without waiting for their response.

Realizing that Baek Hana was serious, Edyn and Maria got up from the bed and hurried after her to the study.

Click—

The tightly closed door to the study opened, and the three girls stepped inside, swallowing their saliva.

And a subtle fragrance stimulated their noses.

“Sniff… Haa~ What’s this smell? It’s so nice.”

“Yeah. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact scent, but it’s incredibly soothing.”

“Isn’t it nice?”

The three girls, distracted by the unusually comforting scent, forgot their original purpose for a while.

“Ah……”

After a while, Baek Hana, who was the most resistant to the scent, was the first to snap out of it, followed by Maria, and then Edyn, who had been slapped by Maria.

“But… is it really okay?”

“I don’t know. If we get caught later, we’ll all get in trouble together.”

“Hey!! You might get in trouble with Professor, but we…”

Maria and Edyn shivered rembering the bone-chilling gaze from Claire.

“Ugh…… Creepy.”

Edyn hugged herself and shivered, but Baek Hana ignored her and sat down in the chair where Baek Woo-jin usually sat, with Maria next to her.

Edyn, who was usually the most cautious, fidgeted as she joined them, and Baek Hana said, “So, let’s open it?”

Gulping―

At the sound of someone swallowing, Baek Hana slowly opened the drawer of the study.

Inside the drawer was a notebook and a notepad.

A plain notebook that anyone could easily buy at a mart.

However, the notebook was kept in a special glass case with a luxurious cushion.

On the other hand, the high-quality leather notepad was simply placed in the drawer.

“This―”

Slap―!!

As Maria reached for the notebook in the glass case, Baek Hana closed the drawer.

And.

“Let’s get out of here!!”

Baek Hana stood up from her seat and shouted.

“Hey, what the… Ouch!!!”

“Ow, Hana!! Stop it!!”

Baek Hana smacked Maria and Edyn on the back and dragged them out of the study, and in the end, the two girls had to return to Baek Hana’s room without any gains.

“Damn… Why did you suggest going in the first place?”

“Hey, Hana.”

As soon as they entered the room, Maria and Edyn called out to Baek Hana, who was humming a strange tune while patting her buttocks on the bed.

But Baek Hana didn’t respond to their calls, so the two girls shrugged and sat on the bed, watching Baek Hana hum and pat her buttocks.

The plain notebook in the glass case.

It was the very notebook in which she had first learned to write and scribbled Baek Woo-jin’s name.

A notebook that seemed to be treasured and carefully kept.

“Ehee…”

“Look at her.”

“What is it?”

The two girls shrugged at Baek Hana, who was giggling like a fool.