I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy - Chapter 30

The sun shone warmly through the study window, quietly warming the floor, despite the still chilly breeze outside.

‘Is it finally beginning…’

Eight years.

It’s definitely not a short time.

As proof, the once-white lump had grown into a young woman, having gone through her teenage years.

She had grown up healthy without any major incidents or accidents, and in a little while, she would attend the academy’s orientation and officially become a student of Arena Academy.

‘This will be the last time, too.’

Every morning, she made coffee for me.

For some reason, I swirled the last sip of the coffee, which she had made with chocolate that I cherished, in my mouth before swallowing it.

“Woo-jin~”

When I finished my coffee, Baek Hana poked her head into the study and smiled.

She approached me with her hands behind her back when our eyes met.

She quickly reached me and held out her small palm, which had a hair tie on it.

“Tie my hair.”
“…You’re not a child anymore.”

I took the hair tie from her palm.

She smiled silently and turned around.

Her hair, which reached down to her waist, was silky smooth and soft.

“Hmm…”

As I smoothed her hair, which had fallen down, she hummed a tune, clearly enjoying the sensation.

I gathered her hair neatly and tied it with the hair tie.

“Thank you.”

She had grown, but she was still shorter than me.

Baek Hana turned around and smiled at me again.

I looked at her for a moment and then bent down slightly.

“…Huh?”

She had a slightly dazed expression that matched her voice.

I looked into her wavering eyes and moved my hand.

“It’s messy.”
“…Oh.”

I straightened the lapels of her jacket and stood up, and I could see the beast’s ears that had appeared on her head.

The nape of her neck, now exposed by her tied hair, turned slightly red.

‘…This is difficult.’

I unintentionally found out how she felt about me.

It was embarrassing, but it also made me happy, and I hoped it was just a fleeting illusion.

She looked down at the floor, not saying a word, and I sat down in the study chair.

“Go check if you’ve forgotten anything and take a rest before we leave.”
“…I’ve packed everything.”

She answered my words and slowly walked around the desk to stand in front of me. Then, she turned my chair around and sat on my lap.

“Baek Hana.”
“…?”

She didn’t answer and grabbed the armrests of the chair, wiggling her buttocks until she was leaning her back against my chest.

Swish.

I could feel her tail, which was wrapped around one of my thighs, moving slightly.

She didn’t respond to my call, but she slowly lifted her head and looked up at me, then slowly moved her closed lips.

“…I won’t see you until the weekend after today, so I want to act spoiled for five minutes now.”

She quickly lowered her head and rested it on my shoulder.

‘You piece of trash…’

If I really cared about Baek Hana, I should be firm with her here.

But this damn body wasn’t cooperating with my thoughts.

It was as if my plans and thoughts were wrong.

“…Are you… mad…?”

I didn’t say anything because my body wasn’t listening, but she thought I was mad at her.

She looked up at me with her ears half-folded, and her wavering expression was truly pitiful.

“Baek Hana.”
“…Yes.”

Even her wiggling tail stopped moving.

I struggled with the words I wanted to say, but my mouth kept closing every time I tried to speak, and eventually, I compromised with my body.

“…Home…”
“…Home?”

Her drooping ears perked up.

“…Be careful in the academy. Here, I’m a professor, and you’re a student…”
“…Oh.”

She turned around and looked up at me, and her lips curled up slightly.

“Only in the academy?”
“…For now.”

Her smile widened, and she didn’t ask any more questions. She simply put her head back on my shoulder.

Swish swish.

And just like before, her tail wrapped around my thigh.

Swish swish.

She didn’t get off my lap until it was time to leave for the academy.

**

[Main Hall]

Four months ago, this hall was filled with various equipment for the entrance exam, but now it was packed with newly admitted students instead of the large machines.

‘I feel like throwing up…’

A small girl with brown hair and round glasses had a gloomy expression on her face.

Lee Nayoung, who had entered through the alchemy special exam, felt nauseous from the heavy atmosphere and the towering students around her.

If she hadn’t taken the medicine she had prepared in the morning, she would have had a seizure and fainted by now, as her shyness was on a whole other level.

She was praying for the orientation to end soon so she could go to the dormitory when suddenly…

-Wow…
-Damn.

The back of the hall became a little noisy, and some of the students who had been standing like walls moved aside.

Lee Nayoung held her aching stomach and turned her head slightly, and…

“Wow…”

She couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

A cold-looking beauty with hair whiter than the first snow of winter had appeared.

‘Ugh…’

Pretty and cool people can make people of the same gender admire them, and Lee Nayoung couldn’t help but admire the beauty who had suddenly appeared.

But when the beauty stood next to her, she had to lower her head.

The reason was that all eyes in the room were now on them.

-The principal and the professors are entering.

The hall, which had been a little noisy, suddenly became quiet.

Lee Nayoung was finally able to raise her head again.

“Whoa, he’s huge.”

Lee Nayoung was intimidated by Ahn Hyundo’s large build and rugged muscles as soon as she saw him in person, not just in photos or videos.

[I think you all know who I am, so I’ll skip the introductions.]

Ahn Hyundo laughed like an old man, contrary to his appearance, and continued.

[It would be boring to ramble on, so I’ll just introduce the faculty members who will be teaching you this year, and then we’ll dismiss quickly. Some of you may be confused because it’s not the professors you expected, but your opinions will change after you hear them out, so please hold your complaints until then.]

Ahn Hyundo called out the three professors who had replaced the dismissed professors.

[This is Professor Kang Hanna, who will be teaching practical combat techniques. And this is…]

The three professors returned to their seats.

[And this is Professor Baek Woo-jin, who will be teaching the newly added foundational rift studies course.]

Lee Nayoung and the other freshmen looked at the empty space next to Ahn Hyundo as they heard his name.

Click.

The sound of shoe heels was clear to everyone in the hall.

Click. Click.

Baek Woo-jin, who was as tall as Ahn Hyundo, walked forward in a black coat, making an impressively uniform sound with each step.

He had messy hair and semi-transparent glasses that covered half his face.

He might have looked quite comical, but none of the freshmen in the hall saw him that way.

“Hic…”

Lee Nayoung couldn’t help but hiccup from the pressure she felt, and she quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

【That’s Baek Woo-jin.】

“…?”

Lee Nayoung’s hands, which had been covering her mouth to stop the hiccups, slowly lowered.

【He’s the professor who will be teaching the foundational gate studies course, as the principal introduced. The foundational gate studies course is an elective liberal arts subject, and most of it will be theoretical. Also, there will be weekly assignments, and those who fail to complete them properly will be expelled, so try not to waste time and take the necessary courses.】

Baek Woo-jin finished speaking and returned to his seat.

[The rest are as introduced, so I’ll skip the introductions, and I sincerely welcome you to Arena Academy. Dismissed!!]

The freshmen, who had been a little dazed by Ahn Hyundo’s voice, which was filled with magical power, snapped out of it and regained their senses.

‘Oh, oh my…’

Lee Nayoung was one of them, and she had no memory of what had happened since Baek Woo Jin had started speaking.

As the freshmen became a little noisy, the professors descended from the stage, and a middle-aged woman and man took their place.

[Female students, follow me.]

[Male students, follow me.]

They were the dorm supervisors for the first-year students.

**

Lee Nayoung followed the dorm supervisor to the first-year dorm, hoping to get her room assignment quickly so she could lie down on her bed.

‘I want to take off this stuffy uniform…’

Lee Nayoung wanted to take off her uniform as soon as possible, and soon, her name was called.

“Lee Nayoung, Baek Hana.”

Single rooms were only available from the second year onwards, so first-year students were required to share a room with one other person.

Lee Nayoung approached the supervisor, curious about who her roommate would be.

‘Baek Hana… What a cute name.’

As she stood in front of the supervisor, she swallowed nervously.

“You’ll get demerit points if you lose it, so be careful.”
“Yes.”
“……Oh, yes, yes.”

Lee Nayoung received the card from the supervisor and hurriedly passed by her, chasing after the white-haired beauty who had gone up the stairs.

‘What should I do… Should I ask to change rooms…’

Lee Nayoung kept fiddling with the card in her hand as she glanced at Baek Hana’s back, and…

-Beep.

They had reached the third floor in an instant.

Baek Hana turned around and looked at Lee Nayoung.

“Aren’t you coming in?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, yes, of course.”

Lee Nayoung, who had been seriously considering asking for a room change, decided to give it a little more thought after Baek Hana’s small consideration.

-Clack.

The door closed, and Baek Hana and Lee Nayoung entered the dormitory.

‘Wow… This is bigger than our living room at home.’

The dormitory room was excessively large for two people.

“Which bed do you want?”
“Hmm? Oh, um, either is fine.”
“I don’t mind either. Then I’ll take this one.”

Baek Hana sat on the bed on the left, and Lee Nayoung cautiously sat on the opposite bed, testing it with her buttocks.

‘…Haa.’

She felt a little relieved as she sank into the soft mattress.

‘I’ll pick up my luggage after dinner…’

Lee Nayoung glanced at Baek Hana, who was across from her, and quietly lay down on the bed.

“Haa~”

She let out a sigh, melting into the bed, and then she slowly turned her body and operated her smart watch.

Unlike the upperclassmen, freshmen had a one-week adjustment period.

They could sign up for classes starting now, but the actual lectures wouldn’t begin until next week, and freshmen would have a week to attend any lectures they were interested in, regardless of the number of students, to get a feel for how they were conducted.

So, most students signed up for classes over the weekend, and Lee Nayoung, remembering a certain professor she had seen in the hall earlier, quickly searched for his name in the course registration section.

‘Baek… Woo… Jin…’

A single lecture popped up on the smart watch’s screen.

But there was a problem.

‘…?’

The class was already full.

Lee Nayoung sighed as she had hesitated to sign up earlier.

‘I should have signed up on my way here…’

The popularity of the young professor with the deep, resonant voice that tickled her brain through her ears was greater than she had expected.

‘I should take a nap until dinner…’

She had been so nervous in the morning that she hadn’t slept well, so she decided to set an alarm and take a short nap.

Just then, she heard a loud thud.

“……”

She turned her head slightly and saw her roommate, the cold-looking beauty, staring blankly at her smartphone, which had fallen on the floor.