Chapter 13- Academic Advisory Assignment (5)
The moment I heard those words, I strongly built up my mental barriers and began thinking quickly.
Looking at my wristwatch, it was still early morning, too early for lunch.
I wasn’t sure when that ‘morning’ she withdrew, but it probably hadn’t been more than three hours.
And right now, Han Min-ha was very likely still at the academy.
Because withdrawal isn’t something you can just pack up and leave when you want to.
Unless it’s a special case, you need to go through formal deliberation, and that deliberation couldn’t have happened right away.
Assistant Bae Ye-bin said ‘withdrew,’ but ‘submitted a withdrawal application’ would probably be the correct expression.
“Where is Han Min-ha now?”
[They’re waiting in the dormitory. There’s a regular deliberation this afternoon, so it will be decided then.]
“I’ll go there, so wait.”
[What?! Professor, you’re coming here direc-]
After hanging up the phone, I immediately got up from the bench and headed to the administration office instead of the dormitory.
* * * * *
“Hello, Professor!”
When I opened the administration office door, the staff sitting at their computers greeted me enthusiastically.
“Hello. Is the director in?”
“She’s inside. She’s a bit busy right now…”
I crossed the administration office and knocked on the inner door.
“Director. This is Professor Gyo Su-hyeon.”
“Oh…? Ah, yes!”
Footsteps were heard and the door swung open.
Choi Ga-yoon, with dark circles under her tired face, smiled when she saw me.
“You’ve been coming often lately? What brings you here?”
“There’s a withdrawal application that came in, right?”
“What? Yes. Assistant Bae Ye-bin brought it this morning.”
“Let me see it.”
I entered the director’s office and took the withdrawal application that Choi Ga-yoon handed me.
It was handwritten, and the reason for withdrawal was quite short and concise.
‘I no longer see hope, so I will quit.’
“But why are you asking? Did something happen to this student?”
Choi Ga-yoon asked while looking at the withdrawal application beside me.
“Yes, there’s a problem. Has this been reported to the faculty?”
“No. Actually, I was busy this morning… I’m sorry. Right away… Aack! What are you doing?!”
Choi Ga-yoon screamed as I pushed the paper into the shredder.
“We need the original for deliberation if you shred it… I didn’t even make a copy…”
“It’s fine. This student. They decided not to withdraw.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“They showed interest in Basic Defense Studies, so I was thinking of advising them, but suddenly they said they’re withdrawing, so I persuaded them. Anyway, the withdrawal case never happened.”
“Oh… yes… if you say so, Professor…”
Choi Ga-yoon nodded bewilderedly while watching the withdrawal application being shredded.
“Thank you always.”
When I gently patted her shoulder, Choi Ga-yoon immediately brightened up and smiled with her eyes.
You have to provide service like this occasionally to keep getting cooperation.
“But since you’re here, how about a cup of tea…”
“I’m sorry. I have an urgent matter, so I’ll treat you at my research lab later.”
“Really? At your lab…? I’d love that…”
I smiled at the beaming Choi Ga-yoon before leaving the administration office.
* * * * *
“Professor!”
Assistant Bae Ye-bin, who had been pacing in front of the dormitory, discovered me and bowed so low her forehead almost touched the ground.
“You’ve worked hard, Assistant Bae. I came to see student Han Min-ha.”
The small and petite Assistant Bae looked up at me intently and carefully opened her mouth.
“Professor. Did you come all the way to the dormitory because Min-ha is withdrawing? Did Min-ha perhaps do something seriously wrong?”
“No. I was thinking of selecting them as my Advisory Student, but suddenly they said they’re quitting, so I came to persuade them.”
“Ad… Advisory Student…? You want Min-ha as…?”
Assistant Bae Ye-bin stuttered in disbelief as she questioned.
“Yes. I’m taking on my first Advisory Student, so it would be troublesome if they withdraw. Are they inside?”
“Ah… yes… they’re here. But Professor…”
Assistant Bae stopped me as I was about to enter the dormitory.
“I also talked with Min-ha this morning when I received the withdrawal application… it will probably be difficult to persuade her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Min-ha… Even if she continues attending here, it’s obvious she’ll try to drop out again. As you know, her grades are very poor and she’s too timid to make even one friend… Moreover…”
Teaching Assistant Bae spoke while watching my reaction.
“She fainted during the basic evaluation. Because of that, she’s being subtly ostracized by the other students. It seems she found it difficult to endure that situation.”
“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind when I talk to her. Ah, but Assistant Bae.”
“Yes?”
“Have you done background checks on all your assigned students? Do you know anything about Han Min-ha’s parents?”
Teaching Assistant Bae frowned as if searching through mental data before responding.
“Min-ha, she’s a bonus point recipient as a hero’s child. But the family section was blank. I know her parents went missing during a mission, but beyond that, I don’t know much.”
So Assistant Bae doesn’t know more than what I already know.
For now, let’s go see Han Min-ha.
* * * * *
Since it was morning class time, the dormitory was empty.
Standing in front of Han Min-ha’s door, I waited a moment before knocking.
“Student Han Min-ha. This is Professor Kyohyun. Can we talk for a moment?”
There was no sound.
As I was about to knock again, the door slowly opened.
“P-Professor…?”
Han Min-ha looked up at me with intimidated eyes, her dark hair hanging gloomily.
“I came to talk.”
“Professor… I… I already dropped out…”
“You submitted a withdrawal form, but you haven’t dropped out yet. Let’s have a brief interview. You’re still an academy student, so it’s not right to refuse a professor’s interview request without good reason.”
At my words, Han Min-ha reluctantly opened the door and stepped back.
A large carrier stood quietly beside the bed.
She’s already packed everything.
“May I sit in the chair?”
“Yes. Please sit…”
As I turned the chair to sit, Han Min-ha perched precariously on the edge of the bed and lowered her head.
“I saw your withdrawal form. You said you don’t see any hope.”
“Yes…”
“You fainted during the basic evaluation, your grades are at the bottom, and you have no friends. Is that right?”
“Yes…”
I deliberately let out a sigh. “Did you forget what I said during our last interview?”
“No…”
“Tell me what I said.”
“You said you would help me, Professor…”
After staring at Han Min-ha for a moment, I spoke. “If you say you don’t see any hope even though I said I’d help, should I take that to mean you don’t trust me at all?”
“Ah…! That’s not it…!” Han Min-ha flushed red in embarrassment.
“Student Han Min-ha. I clearly said it. I said I would help you.”
“Yes… But I… No matter how I think about it, I don’t seem to fit in at the academy…”
“Are there people who do fit in at the academy?”
Han Min-ha slowly nodded and whispered dejectedly. “People like Hee-won… it’s like they were born to be heroes…”
Yu Hee-won…
“Well, isn’t student Han Min-ha also a child of a hero? Hero talents are inherited. You’re that kind of person too.”
“No… I… have no talent. I’m falling behind others in all subjects… At this rate, I won’t even graduate, let alone become a hero.”
“Do you know that your Aura is extremely pure and strong?”
Han Min-ha slowly shook her head as if hearing such words for the first time.
“If my observation is correct, your Aura is far superior to other students. You just haven’t figured out how to utilize it yet.”
“Thank you for saying that… but… no matter how strong my Aura is… it’s obvious I’ll never figure out how to use it in my lifetime…”
Her self-esteem has hit rock bottom and dug even deeper into the basement.
No wonder Assistant Bae couldn’t persuade her.
In such a self-deprecating state, she’ll interpret everything negatively.
“Professor… I’m sorry you came all this way… but my mind hasn’t changed about dropping out.”
“Do you think I came here to stop you from dropping out?”
Han Min-ha looked up with a questioning expression.
“I came for an advisory student selection interview.”
“Advisory… student…?”
“I’m planning to select Han Min-ha as my advisory student, and an interview is required for that.”
“What…? You’re selecting me as your advisory student…?”
“Yes.”
“Uh… why…? Why…?”
Unable to comprehend the situation, Han Min-ha rolled their eyes like a broken doll and stammered.
“Because I’ve decided to mentor Han Min-ha. Does a professor need any other reason to choose a student?”
“But… Professor… my grades are poor… and my family background isn’t notable…”
“Grades can be improved, and family circumstances don’t seem to matter much here. Don’t you agree?”
Han Min-ha kept her mouth tightly shut without saying anything.
“I checked and it seems you don’t have a preferred advisory professor, so would it be alright if I became your advisor?”
“I haven’t thought deeply about that yet… besides, I’m dropping…”
“The dropout is cancelled. I just stopped by the administration office and shredded the withdrawal form.”
“What… what?!”
While Han Min-ha half-rose from the bed in surprise, I continued speaking calmly.
“Nobody knows about your intention to drop out except me, the administrative director, and Assistant Bae. We can say you missed this morning’s class because of the advisory professor interview.”
“But… Professor… I really don’t have confidence…” Han Min-ha sat back down on the bed and dropped her head. “Whether I can graduate… Whether I’ll become a hero and get an F-rank and end up being neither here nor there… Honestly, I don’t know…”
“F-rank…”
I silently looked at the top of Han Min-ha’s head.
Yes. At this rate, you’ll receive an F-rank.
But even that is something you can only get if you endure and survive.
If you can’t even get that, you can’t become S-rank.
And if you can’t become S-rank, it becomes troublesome for me too.
“Becoming an S-rank hero is truly difficult.”
Han Min-ha looked at me.
“There are two ways to become S-rank.”
I said while holding up two fingers.
“First. Meeting the dangerous and stringent conditions set by the Management Bureau while simultaneously having a spot open up when one of the allocated S-rank personnel dies.”
I folded one finger.
“Second. Survive until you become S-rank.”
Lowering my hand while folding the remaining finger, I gave a faint smile.
“This may sound obvious, but most heroes don’t know this obvious fact. That’s why Basic Defense has become an unpopular subject.”
I stood up from the chair and knelt on one knee in front of Han Min-ha.
“Student Han Min-ha.”
As the distance between us suddenly shortened, Han Min-ha leaned back as far as possible while supporting himself on the bed.
“I’ll help you.” I said in a low voice while leaning my upper body toward Han Min-ha. “I’ll help you survive until the end. Survive.”
Han Min-ha stared at me intently with a flushed face full of bewilderment.
I smiled while looking at Han Min-ha.
You need to survive… so I can live too, Han Min-ha.
