I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy Chapter 14

Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy

Chapter 14

“Why me? Surely the principal or vice principal should be first…”

“They said that would be too predictable. Teacher Kang, you’re handsome and very popular with the students.”

“Me?”

The current third-year students don’t even appear in the original novel, so I have no interest in them, and since I don’t teach them, there’s absolutely no connection, but what’s this about?

My recognition did increase a bit after the duel with Teacher Jung, but why specifically me…

“The first-year students in the student council strongly recommended you.”

Damn it.

If it’s first-year student council members, it must be those two kids, Eunsu and Eunseo.

I won’t let those kids get away with this.

Tomorrow, Class B will get five extra laps of running.

“What do you mean handsome… If that’s the reason, interviewing beautiful teachers like Teacher Min, Teacher Kim here, or Teacher Seong first would get a better response…”

“Oh my, Teacher Kang is so sweet. Your words are just lovely.”

“Really. Your lines sound so natural. I bet you’ve dated a lot of women.”

“Not at all.”

In my original world, when I was serializing stories, I constantly heard comments like, “Did this author learn about romance from books?” and “100% forever single.”

Of course, I’m not actually forever single.

But I haven’t dated that much either.

If we exclude just holding hands in my teens as no count, then in my early twenties, I dated twice for about six months each. And later, I dated an older girlfriend for quite a while who even waited for me during military service, but in the end, we couldn’t overcome the age difference and broke up shortly after I was discharged.

That makes a total of three relationships, which is far from a lot and doesn’t even reach the average.

“I don’t think so. By the way, after Teacher Kang, the three of us—myself, Teacher Kim, and Teacher Seong—are scheduled to do an interview together.”

“I have camera anxiety, so I think you teachers should definitely be the first protagonists.”

“Come on, Teacher Kang. The protagonists are the students. And I don’t think you can refuse.”

“That’s right. Remember what the principal said this morning? Even though it’s been delegated to the student council, this is a government policy initiative, so we should cooperate as much as possible.”

SIGH… This is driving me crazy.

The sudden talk of an interview completely ruined my appetite, but I couldn’t waste the food I’d been served, so I somehow finished it and went to the teachers’ office.

They told me teachers don’t need to worry too much, but I’m still concerned.

I said I’d live an “insider” life, but I’m not an “attention seeker,” and there’s no extra pay, so there’s no reason for me to do something that exposes my face.

Do teachers have no rights…

“Teacher Kang, did you eat?”

It’s Teacher Park from the next desk.

“Yes, I did. How about you, Teacher Park?”

“I ate too. Today’s food was delicious. The spicy monkfish stew was well-seasoned. The army stew was perfect for curing a hangover too.”

Just like the middle-aged man he is, he seems to have had Korean food rather than Western.

“I had pork cutlet.”

“That was too greasy for me… What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“My body is fine, but my mind isn’t doing so well.”

“Your mind? Did something happen? Don’t tell me you’re into stocks too? I heard Teacher Kim from the Korean language department lost three months’ salary on stocks recently.”

He’s completely barking up the wrong tree… Wait, stocks?

Suddenly, it felt like I’d been hit on the head with a hammer.

Why hadn’t I thought about stocks?

The world setting of this novel I’ve been reincarnated into is modern, so of course there’s a stock market.

Of course, “I Became a Delinquent Inferior Student at Hunter School” is clearly an academy delinquent hunter novel, so there’s no mention of stocks.

Since the protagonist comes from a wealthy family and has plenty of money, there was no need to include content about making money through stocks.

So naturally, I don’t know which companies’ stocks will rise or fall and when.

But that doesn’t matter.

Because I know the future.

I thanked Teacher Park, grabbed my laptop, and returned to the swordsmanship training hall.

I immediately downloaded a stock trading application on my phone and started searching on my laptop.

The search term I entered was “presidential election theme stocks.”

Coincidentally, there’s a presidential election next month, and I know who will become president.

Kim Joon-seok, who is the one behind Kim In-hak, Seo-ra’s enemy and the president who will be impeached later, is also running as a candidate, but it’s not him this time.

That bastard will drop out this time and become president in the next election, which will be held when the protagonist is in his third year of high school.

According to polls from various institutions, Kim Joon-seok seems to be much more favorable, but close to the election, some incident occurs that forces him to withdraw his candidacy.

I don’t know exactly what incident it is since it’s not mentioned in detail, but in the novel, during the next election season, Kim Joon-seok grumbles that if it weren’t for what happened in the previous election, he wouldn’t have had to withdraw his candidacy and could have taken office earlier.

So the one who becomes president this time must be Kim Chul-hwan, the opposition party leader.

Several companies appear as related stocks, but excluding ambiguous ones like companies founded by college classmates or companies started by former colleagues, two remain.

A company run by candidate Kim Chul-hwan’s father-in-law and a company run by his younger brother.

Looking at the charts, both are similar as theme stocks, but they look truly terrible.

Whether it’s the 1-minute, daily, or weekly chart, they’re all plastered with blue, indicating nothing but minuses.

When I extended the time period, I found some days when they rose significantly—probably the day he announced his presidential candidacy.

They seemed to show a slight upward trend for a few days after that day, but suddenly plummeted from some point.

When I searched, I found that this was when Kim Joon-seok announced his candidacy.

Perhaps because he’s never won in the polls, the stocks related to candidate Kim Chul-hwan have fallen by almost half compared to their price before the presidential candidacy announcement.

At this level, they seem to have penetrated the crust and passed the mantle, almost looking at the outer core.

Of course, they could fall further, but since the president will be Kim Joon-seok, it seems like a good enough time to enter.

I immediately opened a stock account and, leaving only about a month’s salary in my bank account, bought stocks worth 150 million won each for the two items, splitting them equally.

3 billion won is certainly not a small amount, but it feels small given that this is a definite opportunity to make money.

Should I take out a loan?

The bank threshold was high for Lee Min-chan, a freelance third-rate writer, but now I’m Kang Shin-hyeok, a teacher at a Hunter School.

Looking into loan products, with my secure identity and status as a civil servant, I can borrow up to 200 million won, but that would mean complicated paperwork and having to visit the bank in person to submit it.

For large amounts, the review takes quite a long time, and I’m worried the stocks might skyrocket before the loan is approved.

If only I knew exactly when the incident would happen…

After some consideration, I looked for a loan with conditions that allow online document submission and quick disbursement.

Fortunately, I could still pull about 100 million won under the conditions I was looking for, so I immediately applied for the loan.

They said it would be approved as early as tomorrow or within three days at the latest, but I want to invest a bit more.

I remember a friend who used to trade stocks telling me that securities companies can also lend money with the stocks I purchase as collateral…

Not knowing if such a thing exists in this world, I searched and found it!

I saw a loan service that must be repaid within two days, but that’s too short a term.

On the other hand, credit financing can be extended up to three months and allows up to double the amount.

Double three billion is six billion… No, with the loan, I can invest as much as eight billion won.

The interest is a bit high, but it’s at a level I can manage with my salary, and the results will be out within a month anyway.

Kim Chul-hwan, let’s go!

***

Even though spicy pork and squid stir-fry, which came out as the dinner menu, is one of my favorite dishes, I have no appetite.

It’s not because the stocks fell.

On the contrary, the stocks rose a little today, though not significantly.

I was secretly hoping they would fall, which is disappointing.

I bought 600 million won worth with credit financing, but when the loan comes through, I can buy 200 million won more.

It seems they’ve fallen too much already, but putting that aside, what I’m worried about is the interview.

After the afternoon class, Eunsu and Eunseo requested an interview.

I had expected it from what I’d heard earlier, but I didn’t know the filming would be today.

Seeing the two of them smiling and saying they recommended me, I couldn’t even scold them.

It was annoying, so I gave them more criticism than usual during class time and made just the two of them run extra laps for chatting, but I still have to do the interview.

They said to go to the auditorium at 7 PM after dinner, where the president and vice president would conduct it.

7 PM isn’t during business hours, so I can apply for overtime pay, right?

Since they’re not giving me a separate appearance fee, I’m definitely planning to apply.

After eating, I returned to the dormitory, brushed my teeth, and changed my clothes.

I changed into the neatest and cleanest-looking clothes I had, casually fixed my hair, and headed to the auditorium.

It’s not yet 7 PM, but a group of students is already preparing.

“Oh, Teacher, you’re early.”

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

Eunsu was fiddling with something in front of a tripod, and when she saw me, she greeted me, followed by the other kids.

“Yes. Are you doing the filming, Eunsu?”

“Yes.”

I thought they would just shoot with a mobile phone, but on the tripod was equipment that looked like a digital camera.

“I didn’t know you had such talent. I’m counting on you.”

“The school bought this for us, and since it’s the latest model, it makes people look even better than in real life, so don’t worry.”

Alright, since I’ve agreed to be filmed, I’ll do my best.

“Teacher, here’s the interview question script. Please look it over and let me know if there’s anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

The girl who is the vice president handed me an A4 paper. From the equipment to the script, I thought they would just pretend, but it’s quite professional.

Looking at the questionnaire, there are some questions I expected, and nothing particularly difficult.

There seems to be no problem from a security perspective either, and even if there is… Well, Teacher Min will cut it during editing, or the superiors will cut it during review.

“It looks fine. Are you only asking questions from here?”

“Well, for now, but the president has a bit of an unusual personality, so she might ask some strange questions. Just give us a signal during the interview, and we’ll cut it out, so don’t worry.”

“I see.”

Shortly after the vice president who had handed over the questionnaire left, the student council president arrived.

She said she had just been to the bathroom. Her name is Kim Se-jin. With her tall stature and distinct features, she exudes confidence. She has the look of someone who is clearly a student council president.

She seems to be over 170 cm tall—she could be a model rather than a hunter.

Of course, she’s a character never mentioned in the novel.

I was tense because of the comment about the president being a bit unusual, but after talking with her, she seems like just a bright and ordinary female student.

“Senior Se-jin, we’re all ready.”

“Good. Then let’s begin.”

“So far, we’ve shown you the aspects of Hunter School and friends working hard in various fields. Finally, we’d like to have a special time.”

“Wow, what kind of time is it?”

Wait, what is this?

My hands and feet seem to disappear due to the awkward, scripted tone of their dialogue.

“It’s time to interview a teacher who is guiding students at our school.”

CLAP CLAP—

Now the other students around are even applauding.

Kids, couldn’t this just be added as a sound effect?

“Then which teacher will be appearing? Surely it’s not the principal since this is the first time?”

“Wrong! Hey, that would be too predictable and boring.”

“Then could it be our First Hunter School’s strongest man, one of only ten S-rank hunters in Korea, our vice principal?”

“Unfortunately, the vice principal is on a business trip today, so we couldn’t book him. Instead, we’ve invited a handsome teacher who is currently the most popular among our cute first-year students. Please come out.”

Ha… Handsome?

Wait, I know I’m good-looking, but this wasn’t in the question sheet.

I was taken aback by the unexpected and excessive comment, but at the students’ signal to enter quickly, I stepped into the camera angle.

“Hello, I’m Kang Shin-hyeok, teaching swordsmanship to first-year students at 1st Hunter School.”

“Wow, I’m a third-year student, so this is my first time meeting you, but you’re really handsome as I’ve heard.”

“That’s right. We don’t have such handsome teachers in the third year… I envy the first-years.”

Should I stop the filming right away?

Kang Shin-hyeok’s face is decent-looking, but he’s definitely not celebrity-level handsome.

So if this content goes up on YouTube, it seems like it will be flooded with malicious comments.

“I don’t particularly think so, but I appreciate the students seeing me in a good light.”

I thought I should ask to reshoot the beginning later, but for now, I let it go.

I couldn’t stop right at the start.

“Well then, let’s quickly ask the teacher some questions. Madam President, please ask your questions.”