I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy Chapter 16

Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy

Chapter 16

“Excuse me… Teacher, we’d like to have a small gathering at the school store, would that be okay?”

“Please, we’re asking you.”

I wondered what was going on.

Technically, rules allow only activities inside the dormitory after 9 PM, but if a teacher is present, students can enter the dormitory until 10 PM.

It hasn’t even been three hours since we ate dinner.

Well… I guess students this age can chew through steel.

Since the timing is like this and it’s awkward to train today, and I don’t have any other plans, I told them they must return to the dormitory by 9:30 at the latest, and they all shouted with joy saying they understood.

I thought it wasn’t a big deal but they seemed really happy as I led the students toward the faculty dormitory.

The student store is still open, but it closes exactly at 9 PM.

If we talk to them, they might stay open until 9:30, but they have closing hours too and I don’t want to be a nuisance.

Besides, the faculty dormitory store is open until 10 PM anyway.

“Oh? Teacher Kang, are you leaving work… Oh, Se-jin is here too.”

When we arrived at the dormitory and went to the store, I ran into Teacher Min.

“Teacher Min, we’re here too.”

“It’s almost 9 PM, why are you all here…? Did Teacher Kang bring you?”

“Yes. It’s nothing special, the students said they were hungry after the interview, so I thought I’d get them something to eat.”

“You all begged him, didn’t you? You kids, don’t you know that eating at this hour all goes to fat? And it hasn’t even been three hours since you had dinner.”

“Ah, Teacher! We’re at an age where we get hungry the moment we put down our spoons.”

“That’s right. And we worked hard on the filming.”

“Oh my, you persistent kids. Quickly pick out a few things and get back. I’ll pay for it.”

Though she scolded them at first, seeing her step up like this, she must really care for the students.

She’s not only pretty but seems to have a beautiful heart to match her face.

“No, I brought them here…. Everyone, go pick out what you want. Don’t hold back.”

Besides, even though we’re both new teachers, I earn more than Teacher Min who teaches regular subjects, so it’s right that I should pay.

In a month, my stocks will ‘skyrocket’ anyway.

I can buy them snacks as much as I want… Or so I thought.

“K-kids, were you that hungry?”

I brought a total of 5 students.

Including me, there are only 6 mouths to feed. On top of that, 4 are female students and the only males are me and a rather skinny 2nd-year male student, but they came back with 3 shopping baskets completely filled to the brim.

Even though I told them not to hold back, it seems like they really didn’t hold back at all.

“But isn’t this too much for you to eat before sleeping? It would be wasteful if there’s leftovers…”

“Se-jin may look thin, but she eats a lot. Last year during the school festival, she even beat the vice principal in an eating contest.”

Ah, Teacher Min… You should have told me that earlier.

As luck would have it, I just put all my money into stocks today, leaving only enough for a month’s living expenses.

“Teacher, did we pick too many things…? Should we put some back?”

“No… No. Please ring them up. It’s okay, I’m a hunter after all.”

Right. Korean snacks are usually full of nitrogen, making them look bigger than they are, so they shouldn’t cost that much… Like hell.

We haven’t even scanned half of one basket yet, and it’s already over 50,000 won.

HAHA…. I overlooked the fact that the faculty dormitory store sells many more items than the student store.

Including items like cigarettes and alcohol, as well as expensive snacks like beef jerky and frozen foods.

Beef jerky cheese flavor? No, if you’re a student, eat student-appropriate snacks like chips instead of drinking snacks like… Wait, Sunel Chicken? Why is this so expensive!

“217,000 won.”

How is this a simple gathering by any standard…

Even if I went to a restaurant alone and ate beef, it wouldn’t cost this much.

I tried to keep calm as I took out my wallet, handed over my card, and signed, but I think my hand trembled without me realizing it.

It seems I’ll have to cut back on the snacks I buy for my master for a while.

I’m sorry, Master.

***

N-no way.

I put everything I had—the loan money from two days ago and even credit from the securities company—a total of 800 million won all in.

Yesterday it rose a little.

But today from the start, it suddenly fell without any reason, dropping 30%, hitting the daily limit.

I thought I had bought at the bottom since it had already fallen considerably when I bought it, but I never dreamed there would be a basement below the ground floor…

To make matters worse, I learned today for the first time that when stocks fall too much, the credit I borrowed from the securities company automatically triggers a forced liquidation.

Simply put, if the stock market drops another 10% by closing tomorrow, 320 million of my 400 million principal will be gone.

Not only the 300 million I had on hand, but since I borrowed 100 million from the bank, I’ll end up with a debt of 20 million won.

SIGH… Just thinking about it makes it hard to breathe.

I was too greedy.

If I had only invested money I actually had, it could have risen again no matter how much it fell.

This is maddening.

There’s nowhere I can get money right now.

If things don’t improve tomorrow, I’ll have to take half a day off and go to the bank to get another loan… But that won’t work either.

Since I’ve already borrowed 100 million, I might not get approved for another loan, and even if I do, the money won’t come out in a day.

Should I look for a loan shark…

If I take half a day off during work hours, I’ll lose my diligence allowance, but that’s not important right now.

I just stared at the stock app, which wouldn’t change since the market had closed, then stopped by the faculty office to punch out and returned to the dormitory.

Usually, this would be the time to practice my internal energy technique, but I’m in no state for that right now.

If I tried to meditate now, wouldn’t I risk qi deviation?

I was burning up inside even while sitting still, so I tried to get some water, but of course, the water was all gone.

Too lazy to go buy some, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, when my phone rang.

Checking the caller, it was Teacher Min.

I wonder why at this hour… Ah, that’s right.

I completely forgot that today was the gathering with the general subject teachers that Teacher Min had proposed, as I was too preoccupied with the stock market crash.

“Hello?”

—Teacher Kang, where are you? I’m just about to leave the school.

“Ah, I lay down for a moment after work and fell asleep accidentally… I’m sorry. I’ll get ready right away and come. Please go ahead.”

I don’t really want to go because I’m so troubled, but since I promised in advance.

Actually, this might be good. I’ll go and have some drinks.

—Will it take long? If you’re coming out soon, I can wait.

“Ah, I’m really sorry. Then I’ll come quickly.”

I changed my clothes, checked the mirror once, and immediately left the dormitory for the main gate.

I should stop by the administration office to get permission to go out, but fortunately, Teacher Min said she would take care of the permission.

“Teacher Kang, didn’t you say you were at the dormitory?”

The distance from the dormitory to the school gate is quite far, but I used my internal energy to increase my speed.

“I felt so sorry that I ran a bit. I apologize.”

“You must have been very tired today. But it’s fine since you’re here now. But you’re really fast.”

“Haha… It’s not that impressive. Where are the other teachers?”

“I had a lot of paperwork to do today, so when I contacted everyone after I finished, they said they had already gone ahead. Fortunately, you were still here. Oh, by the way, the video will be uploaded at 9 o’clock.”

“Video? What… Oh, you mean the video the student council kids shot.”

The filming ended two days ago, but I thought it would take quite a while with editing and verification, but this seems pretty fast.

“The editing must have been quite tiring.”

“At first, it was completely overwhelming, but I managed to do it by looking things up on the internet.”

“Did the higher-ups say anything?”

“Both the principal and vice principal watched it and approved it in one go.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Given the original purpose, it mostly focused on the students, but your portion is also quite substantial.”

“Ah… How was it? I’m worried that the students praised me too much and people might criticize me after watching it.”

“You seemed to be quite embarrassed in the video, but it’ll be fine. After all, Teacher Kang, you’re quite something in real life too.”

“You’re flattering me. I don’t really think of myself that way.”

“Come on, when the video is uploaded, you’ll become a star, Teacher Kang! Ah, I didn’t tell you, but the part where you’re sparring with the student council president and giving guidance…”

“Was it cut?”

While it’s not a problem according to regulations, there’s nothing that can be done if the vice principal or principal think it’s not appropriate.

They make the final decision on what to upload.

“Cut? No. Both the principal and vice principal praised it, and they even suggested uploading it separately, without editing, so it will be uploaded separately.”

“What?”

“If we attach the sparring scene without editing, the video becomes too long.”

Uploaded separately…

Most viewers of the school videos will be parents, and unless their child is in the 1st-year swordsmanship class, they probably won’t be very interested in me, so that might be better.

Is that a good thing?

The main focus is the students, and I’m just like an appendix.

If it’s uploaded separately, fewer people will watch it, which might be better.

We took a taxi from the school gate and arrived at the gathering place.

“Seung-ah, why are you so late… Oh? Teacher Kang came too. I was just thinking about contacting you, but no one knew your number.”

“I contacted him and came together. He said he forgot about it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it happens. Please sit here.”

“Oh, it’s Teacher Kang.”

“Since you’re late, you need to down a penalty drink.”

Since I’m the only hunter, I was worried there might be some awkwardness, but fortunately, everyone seems to welcome me.

Since it’s a barbecue place, out of habit, I grabbed the tongs and scissors as soon as I sat down, but unlike previous gatherings, I didn’t have to grill meat constantly.

Since everyone was new, they took turns grilling and told me to just eat.

Most of the conversation topics were about school life, so it wasn’t difficult to empathize and join in.

Unlike the gathering with practical subject teachers, when I spoke, they listened well and had good responses, which made me feel good.

I was a bit surprised that they all drank so well, but it was enjoyable.

I hope there will be more occasions like this often.

***

My head feels like it’s going to split open from the hangover.

Yesterday, I was upset about the stocks and originally planned to drink a lot, but the other teachers were no pushovers either.

Of course, since it was a gathering of only new teachers, there was no forced drinking.

But even the female teachers, who didn’t seem like they would drink much, every single one of them drank as if there were no classes tomorrow.

Is drinking well a passive skill for teachers?

It seems like they all had a lot of stress built up.

Well, teaching can also be considered a service job.

Although teachers have a bit more freedom compared to students, for most teachers in their 20s, living in a boarding school must feel confining.

No, this isn’t the time for me to be thinking about these things.

The problem is what will happen to the stocks today…

It’s not even pre-market trading time yet, but I’m already worried.

At yesterday’s gathering, two male teachers also said they invest in stocks, so without mentioning that I bought any, I cautiously asked about it, saying a friend recommended it.

Both of them asked why anyone would buy stocks related to Candidate Kim Chul-hwan and said they would probably fall more, which made my blood boil, though I didn’t show it.

According to the original story, they should rise again, but it doesn’t seem right to use loan sharks.

Should I talk to Choi Seo-ra and borrow some money?

The stock market closes at 3:30 PM, but if I deposit additional money into my stock account by 11 AM, I can prevent the forced liquidation.

Yes, last weekend I helped her learn the truth about Antas, and I’m going to testify later that she’s not with Antas.

Above all, how much money have I given to Antas because of Choi Seo-ra all this time.

If she has any conscience, she should lend me the money, right?

After organizing my thoughts, my mind feels a bit lighter.

I finished getting ready for work and headed to the school cafeteria.

Just as I arrived at the cafeteria and was about to enter… What’s this?

Students keep glancing at me and murmuring among themselves.