Chapter 37

“…Who is that?”

The professor slightly furrowed his brows as he opened the door, and in front of him stood a man he had never seen before, looking at the professor with a perfectly expressionless face.

“What, what is it?”

Feeling an instinctual pressure, the professor momentarily stepped back and spoke, while the man looked down at him with a cold, icy gaze and said,

“Are you Professor Lee Ik-hyeon?”

“Yes, that’s me, but what brings you here? I’ll say it again, I am currently conducting a private lesson. And how did you know to come here, may I ask again?”

“That’s not important right now. But if you think about it, you must know why I came here.”

As the professor pondered what the man meant, he finally realized where the man must have come from.

‘The association, it must be the association!’

Since it was the association that had connected them, no one else but the association would know the precise time and place.

“Ha, haha. I must have been too focused on the private lesson to think clearly. So, what brings you…?”

“Let’s have a word, shall we?”

“Excuse me? I am in the middle of a lesson…”

“Just for a moment. Let’s talk.”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

Yielding to the man’s firm words, the professor looked at Hyein with a resigned expression and said,

“Miss Hyein? Would you wait for a moment, please? A guest has arrived. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Yes…”

The man, having moved to an empty room with the professor, immediately got to the point.

Taking out his cell phone and placing it on the table.

“…Why the cellphone?”

“See for yourself.”

So, have you thought about it?

Forget already? Come on… Let me say it again. You know I’m famous in this field, right? It won’t take long! Just spend some time with me, and I’ll make sure you get good lessons and studies.

Oh, don’t be so greedy. It’s common in this field.

This was just the beginning of the recorded conversation.

“What is this…?”

“That’s…!”

The professor stood there, unable to do or say anything, his mouth agape.

Initially, the professor had tried to determine if the man came from the association, but after hearing the recorded content, such thoughts completely vanished from his mind.

All he could think of was somehow resolving the situation, and the only person who could help him do that was this man, apparently from the association.

“Phew… Luckily, Hunter Kim, Hyein’s brother, had already come to the association first.”

“I-Is that so?”

“He must have sensed something was off.”

A mix of dismay and anger flickered in the professor’s eyes.

“Such a lowly hunter daring to…”

“Excuse me?”

“No, nothing. So, what happens to me now, and what do I need to do?”

“You do know the position Hyein’s brother holds at the association, don’t you?”

“…Yes, of course…”

He knew it in his head, but his heart found it hard to accept.

To strut around boasting about unlocking some abilities at the age of 20.

It seemed like those who always engage in menial physical labor failed to grasp their place.

The man before him was no exception.

Seeing right through the professor’s thoughts, the man scoffed as if the notion was absurd.

“Do you think someone of your standing should have committed such an act? We’ve finished speaking with Hunter Kim, who was about to come here himself, but we decided to look into it thoroughly on our behalf.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“We had no choice but to pass on all the information requested by Hunter Kim.”

The professor’s momentarily brightened expression darkened again at the man’s follow-up.

“Before Hunter Kim takes any action, it seems we need to move first.”

“What do you mean by move?”

The man pulled out a paper and pen and placed them in front of the professor.

“A list of professors associated with you… please write it down.”

“But, this is…”

“Professor Lee.”

“Yes?”

When the professor was reluctant to cooperate, the man looked at him with a slightly hardened expression and said,

“It seems you’re not fully aware of the situation.”

“But, to include other professors’ names as well…”

“The prestige of South Korea. It’s almost as if Hunter Kim alone is responsible for it. In other words, if Hunter Kim were to report today’s incident to the association, they would be eradicated without a chance for you to intervene.”

“Eradicated…”

“Even if you begged for your life… we couldn’t protect you. Do you understand?”

The mention of losing his life made the professor’s face look as if he had just returned from the brink of death.

‘How did things end up like this…!’

The professor tightly clenched his chubby hands.

Having enjoyed several years without any problems, it was unsettling to be involved in something that could create a link to the association.

“I will tell you everything.”

The professor began to jot down everything on the paper handed to him by the man.

Who the leader of this group was, and how many victims they had created so far, he began to write down with certainty.

Writing itself wasn’t difficult.

Every time they gathered, the professors would proudly show off photos of the students they taught, boasting about their achievements.

Without any change in expression, the man quietly observed as the professor compiled the list.

“It’s done.”

“Surely you’ve written down everything, right? You understand that if even one person is missing from the list, our efforts will be meaningless.”

“I-I’ll double-check it again.”

Taking back the paper, the professor pondered for a moment, or rather, hesitated, before adding a few more names and then handed the paper back.

“You’ve thought it through. Please try to finish the class as soon as possible today. Since Kim Hunter also knows the location here, we might face an unwanted situation when he arrives.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll end the class right away. Thank you very much.”

“…No problem. Then.”

With a list containing quite a few names, the man left the room, and the professor returned straight to the classroom.

“Sigh, Hyein? It seems like we have to end the class with this. Really… it’s unfortunate.”

“Yes, yes…”

“Ahem, if you have any questions, feel free to come by anytime. You still have the address I gave you before, right?”

“…Yes…”

With a satisfied expression, the professor again draped his arm over Hyein’s shoulder and escorted her to the door.

“Then, see you again at this time tomorrow.”

“Yes…”

Confirming Hyein’s departure, the professor heaved a sigh of relief and tidied up the room.

Hyein also breathed a sigh of relief that today’s class ended quickly.

There were people she could talk to about these concerns, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak up.

She wondered if her brother, Seonghyun, might face unfair treatment at the Association.

No matter how extraordinary Seonghyun’s abilities were, he was just an individual, while the Association was one of the organizations representing the country.

Furthermore, Hyein knew well what treatment Seonghyun had received in the first semester.

That’s why she didn’t want to add any more pressure.

“Just endure a little longer…”

Just a little, that’s all she needed.

Still, after starting classes, she could feel slight changes in her body, so it seemed that when she turned 20, her abilities would definitely manifest.

If she underwent an early screening for ability manifestation and received confirmation, she wouldn’t have any reason to endure such filthy and demeaning tutoring sessions in the future.

After letting out a heavy sigh and lightly patting her cheeks with both hands as if making a resolution, Hyein returned home.

The secretary at the Association showed a different demeanor after Seonghyun’s visit.

“Are you… alright?”

“Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

The vice chairman of the Association watched the secretary nervously nibbling on her nails, wondering if something had happened in her personal life.

“If something has come up… you can leave early. If someone as diligent as you is shaken like this, it must be quite serious.”

“Oh, no. Really, I’m fine.”

The secretary was only waiting for one thing.

Since Seonghyun’s visit, she had personally sent someone to the location where tutoring was taking place. It wouldn’t be long before she received detailed information on the outcome of the situation.

“Excuse me for a moment…”

“Sure.”

The secretary left with her ringing phone and met the person she had sent out in her office.

“What happened?”

“Well…”

The man opened his mouth with a stiff expression.

“When I arrived, the tutoring session had already ended. It was still supposed to be during the class hours.”

“So, does that mean you found out nothing?”

The man shook his head and began to explain what he had found out so far.

“I’ve conducted a more detailed investigation into the professor. Wasn’t the reason we assigned him the task because of what he had achieved?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve uncovered what was hidden beneath that, and it’s quite… filthy.”

“…What? Filthy?”

The man continued, as if reluctant to voice the rest.

“It seems he reached out with dirty hands to the female students we’ve entrusted him with so far.”

“That, that’s…!”

“We were careless. We should have investigated more thoroughly. Although the professors had a good reputation among the faculty, they were all of the same ilk, which led us to make such judgments.”

The secretary ran her hand through her dizzying thoughts.

If what she had just heard was all true, then the Association had inflicted unforgettable wounds upon both Seonghyun and his sister, Hyein.

“So, what about the professor?”

“At the moment, Hyein seems to still be in that process. That’s… somewhat fortunate.”

“Fortunate…”

She pondered what the best solution might be, but no thoughts came to mind. Then, a voice came from outside.

“Kim Seonghyun is still here to see you. He wishes to speak with you, secretary…”

She hadn’t yet come up with any plan, and Seonghyun’s sudden arrival didn’t help.

“I’ll… go see him.”

“Sure, good luck.”

The man left the room, and shortly after, Seonghyun entered.

His expression was as unreadable as when he had met with the secretary earlier, but she could tell.

Seonghyun was enduring quite a lot right now.

“…Welcome.”

“Yes. Can we… talk for a moment?”

“…Of course.”

Seonghyun placed his phone on the table as he took his seat.

“I hope the Association wasn’t aware of the facts I’ve uncovered.”

He lifted the phone, playing back the recordings he made earlier.

The man who claimed to have come from the Association was none other than Seonghyun himself.

Though he wished he could have confronted the professor right then and there, without resorting to using his influence, doing so wouldn’t uproot the underlying issues.

Seonghyun didn’t want to see just his sister but also other victims, and he hoped to prevent any future victims from suffering.

“So, what about the Association? Were they aware? Or were they… pretending not to know?”

The secretary found it difficult to breathe for a moment, as if struggling against a tumultuous energy.

It was astonishing to think that someone known as a healer could possess such intense vitality.

“As for the Association…”

“What’s the use in asking? I’ll wait until tomorrow.”

“Um, what do you mean?”

Seonghyun placed the list he received from the professor on the table.

“I’m interested in the Association’s perspective.”