Chapter 8- Basic Evaluation (5)
Yu Hee-won, with her bright blue eyes that matched her blonde hair, looked like a high-class pedigree cat.
Like a haughty cat born with a pedigree certificate and raised on expensive food since young.
In contrast, Han Min-ha was like a stray dog wandering under a wall on a rainy day… Where did she go?
When looking for Han Min-ha who wasn’t visible, she was found struggling to get up from the floor on the side.
Academy students inherently possess hero talents.
So they shouldn’t be thought of with the same physical standards as ordinary high school students.
Even among them, Yu Hee-won was exceptionally talented.
Having collided with Yu Hee-won with all her might, she couldn’t withstand it and fell.
Due to the sudden situation, all students leaving the lecture hall turned to look this way.
Han Min-ha, unaware of the attention, searched the floor with both hands for her fallen glasses.
“Student Yu Hee-won.”
At my call, Yu Hee-won looked at me with a cold expression.
“Yes, Professor?”
“In situations like this, picking up the glasses and returning them to their owner is what a person with normal thinking would do.”
Hearing that, Yu Hee-won bent down and picked up the glasses.
“Here are your glasses.”
Han Min-ha, receiving the glasses from Yu Hee-won, timidly bowed her head.
“Thank you…”
“And apologizing for making someone fall is also appropriate.”
At my words, Yu Hee-won, without changing her expression, looked down at Han Min-ha and said,
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine…”
“Professor. Is that enough? Then let’s go.”
“Student Yu Hee-won. I’m sorry, but I plan to have a meeting with student Han Min-ha first. It won’t be possible today.”
“No, Professor. I’ll do it later.”
As Han Min-ha backed away hugging her bag, Yu Hee-won turned to me with a victorious smile.
Her expression seemed to say ‘See?’
Meeting her gaze with a faint smile, I said. “Student Han Min-ha. I asked to meet with you first. I’ll go ahead, so come to my research office. It’s on the second floor of the research building.”
“Ah, yes… I understand.” Han Min-ha answered in a shrinking voice.
“Ah, for reference, the meeting is about the incident during the last basic evaluation.”
With many eyes watching, I needed to set this groundwork.
Everyone already knew about Han Min-ha fainting during the basic evaluation.
It wouldn’t seem strange at all for me, the professor in charge of that subject, to meet with a student about that incident.
“We’ll set another time later, Student Yu Hee-won. Let’s have a meeting if possible.”
After saying that to Yu Hee-won, I turned and left the lecture hall.
* * * * *
Back in my research office, I waited for Han Min-ha while brewing coffee.
While listening to the humming sound of the coffee machine, I thought about what happened earlier.
To think I have to turn such a child into an S-class…
There aren’t many S-class heroes.
The Bureau Management operates a policy called the grade allocation system.
It puts a limit on the number of people in each grade.
So even if someone has outstanding abilities, they can’t be promoted unless there’s a vacancy in the next grade.
It’s a policy aimed at preventing grade inflation, but it’s still controversial even now.
And regardless of such policies, heroes who truly rise to the S-class are rare.
To become S-class, surviving countless life-threatening situations isn’t enough.
One must become a star hero who receives attention from both the Management Bureau and the public.
Many heroes have died trying to force their way to S-class.
And just as many heroes have given up on becoming S-class.
That’s why S-class heroes are extremely few.
Either die or give up.
And I have to turn that Han Min-ha into one of those S-class heroes.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Han Min-ha peeked her face through the slightly opened door. “Professor. May I come in?”
“I just said to come in.” I smiled and walked to open the door. “Have a seat. Let’s have some coffee.”
I directed Han Min-ha to sit at the round table and went to the coffee machine.
Sitting at the edge of the chair with her bag pulled close, Han Min-ha looked around the research office with intimidated eyes.
My research office is a simple place with nothing much to see.
A desk and computer with a round table for meetings.
A long sofa where one can lie down and rest their eyes briefly.
Bookshelves covering one wall and an air purifier running 24 hours.
My personal cabinet, and a large plant pot in the corner, that’s all.
The pot is gray and rectangular, filled densely with Areca palm trees.
Areca palms with fresh green color matching the white walls.
It’s the plant ranked #1 by NASA for ‘purifying air in sealed spacecraft.’
I brought it in because I needed to keep the office air clean due to my bad lungs.
There really is nothing to look at.
It might be more interesting to open the desk drawer and show the colorful assortment of tuberculosis medicines packed inside.
After giving her coffee and sitting down, Han Min-ha bowed her head. “Thank you for the coffee.”
After waiting for her to take a few sips of coffee, I spoke. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, Professor. Back then, I just… was too shocked.”
“That can happen. The video shown during the evaluation was an unedited version that the media never shows. It must have been very cruel and disgusting. So don’t feel too much self-reproach for not completing the evaluation.”
“Yes… but…” Han Min-ha hesitated before asking. “Was there anyone else who fainted besides me?”
“No.”
“Ah…” A discouraged Han Min-ha hung her head.
“Student Han Min-ha. I told you, didn’t I? That this can happen. The basic evaluation isn’t the end. You’ll have countless evaluations until you graduate from the academy, and there will be plenty of opportunities to get good grades. Of course, that’s if you endure and stay until then.”
“That’s right. But I’m not sure if I can endure.”
“You’re already enduring, aren’t you?”
“What…?”
“I saw your basic evaluation grades. They were very poor.”
“Because I’m lacking compared to others…”
“Let’s stop putting yourself down needlessly. Anyway, among students with similar rankings as you, many have already submitted withdrawal forms and left the academy. But you’re still here.”
“That’s because I don’t have anything else in mind even if I leave…”
“Do you think other students left because they had clear alternatives? Probably not.”
“Is that so?”
“Student Han Min-ha. Do you know how S-class heroes got there?”
“Well…? Because they’re strong?”
I smiled and shook my head. “It’s because they survived until becoming S-class.”
“Ah…” She didn’t seem to have gained any great insight, it seemed more like a polite exclamation.
“You said you haven’t thought about anything besides the academy? Then endure. Endure, graduate, and become a hero. I’ll help you.”
“Someone like me doesn’t need to cause unnecessary trouble for you, Professor.”
“What do you mean by trouble? How is properly guiding a student unnecessary trouble? Rather, I want to ask that.”
Actually, the original purpose was because of that quest.
One way or another, I need to keep this child here and make them graduate so they can become S-rank or whatever.
“One of the decisive reasons Han Min-ha’s basic evaluation ranking turned out that way was because she got an F in my subject. And if she graduates with such grades in Basic Defense Studies, Han Min-ha will become one of the protagonists in the videos we watched during evaluation the moment they encounter a villain.”
Videos of senior heroes who died while stopping the villain’s terrible atrocities.
Han Min-ha’s face turned pale.
“Do you understand why I want to help you, Han Min-ha?”
“I understand…”
“Good.”
I took a sip of coffee feeling satisfied.
This explanation should be enough for her to understand.
Then shall I ask what I’ve been wanting to ask?
“I checked and cough…! Sorry. I checked and saw you entered as a hero’s child with extra points, is that right?”
“Ah, yes. Both my parents were heroes.”
“Were heroes? So they’re not anymore? Did they retire?”
“Well…” Han Min-ha closed their mouth for a moment with a dark expression. “They both went missing. A few years ago.”
“Missing?”
“Yes. Suddenly one day.”
“What did the Management Bureau say?”
“They didn’t say anything. They just provided a monthly family pension and helped me enter the academy, but they didn’t tell me what happened to my parents.”
That’s quite strange.
“What are your parents’ names? I might know something.”
“Dad is Han Tae-woo, Mom is Seo Ji-a…”
Suddenly, I couldn’t hear Han Min-ha’s voice at all.
The mental barrier that usually activates started shaking violently.
But that wave was just for a moment, and soon my mental state became calm as usual.
It happened so briefly that Han Min-ha didn’t seem to notice anything.
I took a sip of coffee and spoke casually. “I see. I’ll look into your parents’ whereabouts, just in case.”
“Alright. Thank you, Professor.”
“So have you been living alone until now? Without another family?”
“Yes.”
An orphaned, timid black-haired girl with glasses who failed her exams at school.
A typical character indeed.
“Anyway, don’t get discouraged. I’ll help you, so hang in there and graduate. There are many opportunities to rise up. Let’s do that.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
Now I’ve said everything I needed to.
Small talk would be fine, but since I’m not even their academic advisor, it might be burdensome from the first meeting.
“That’s all. Do you have anything else to say to me?”
“No, nothing. Ouch, hot…!”
Han Min-ha hurriedly drank the half-remaining coffee, hugged their bag, and stood up.
“Goodbye, Professor. Thank you very much for today’s conversation.”
“Stay strong. Fighting.”
Han Min-ha bowed once more and grabbed the doorknob, then suddenly turned to look at me as if remembering something. “Um… Professor.”
“Yes?”
“The mental barrier you mentioned in class… is that difficult to use?”
“Mental barrier. Yes, it’s difficult. Because you need to maintain extreme composure even in situations like the videos we saw during basic evaluation.”
“Ah, I see…”
“But it’s not impossible. I can use it, so why wouldn’t a promising freshman be able to learn it?”
Han Min-ha was silent before speaking again. “When you use it… how does it feel?”
“Are you asking what’s good about it? You can stay calm in everything. It can protect your mental state from external shocks. It also helps with sound sleep.”
The last part was half a joke.
But Han Min-ha didn’t laugh.
Well, it wasn’t a funny joke anyway.
“For external shocks, does that include things like past memories?”
I closed my mouth for a moment and thought about Han Min-ha’s question.
Past memories… That means they’re asking if it can block the pain from past memories.
“It can block them. To some extent.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you.”
After Han Min-ha left the research office, I finished the remaining coffee.
While doing so, I started roughly planning how to help Han Min-ha going forward.
Ah, right. The handkerchief. I forgot.
