Academy’s Villain Professor-Chapter 153 : Chapter 153

Chapter 153 : The Gift
There was no explanation of the situation whatsoever.
Wolf Fang was momentarily flustered by the sudden command, but that was only for a moment.
Understood.
Just give me the address.
He was also in the middle of a rather important mission, but he immediately dropped it.
He didn't know about others, but Wolf Fang, who had seen Jeong Ho-cheol up close during his villain days, could be sure.
This wasn't the endlessly soft Ho-cheol of recent days, but the villain Jeong Ho-cheol from his past, whose fists would fly at the slightest displeasure.
His voice right now was clearly closer to the latter.
Against Ho-cheol in that state, even a moment's hesitation was a gamble with his life.
And Wolf Fang did not have that kind of courage.
And so, in less than 30 minutes, Wolf Fang arrived.
Ho-cheol, who had been sitting on the rooftop railing and looking down at the city, turned his head back.
“You came quickly.”
“Well, I was just sorting out documents at the Legal Department. It's nearby, isn't it?”
In the first place, Ho-cheol had also started chasing the twins as soon as he had left the Legal Department, so it was only natural.
“So what's the matter?”
Ho-cheol turned his body and got off the railing.
“If I called you to come quietly, what would it be for? Chasing someone, of course.”
To chase the twins alone, the boy's, whether he was the older or younger brother, sensory Trait's range was greater than Ho-cheol's.
In the first place, the reason he had first noticed their presence was because they had exuded a strong hostility.
If they didn't continue to show such negative emotions, it would not be easy to track them.
Even Ho-cheol was naturally lacking compared to a real expert.
“Is there a scent to track?”
At Wolf Fang's question, Ho-cheol took out a candy from his pocket, the same kind the twins had eaten earlier, and held it out.
“This. They ate two of them 30 minutes ago.”
“Green grape candy.”
Looking at the candy, Wolf Fang scratched the back of his head as if in trouble.
“These days, green grape shampoo and tanghulu are very popular, so there are a lot of similar smells in the city. If the distance gets too far, I'll definitely lose them.”
If his Trait had no output limit, that would be one thing.
But his current limit was less than 50% of his full power.
A fairly common smell.
And tracking in a city was honestly difficult.
Ho-cheol thought for a moment and then took out another candy.
“They also ate nurungji candy. Is it easier to specify now?”
“You should have said that first.”
Wolf Fang changed his expression again and smiled confidently.
“How many smells in this city are a mix of nurungji and green grapes? It's obvious.”
He lowered his body and Wolf Fang's nose twitched.
He actually sniffed around the ground like a dog and then turned his head to one side.
“Did they go this way?”
“Yes.”
“It’s still faint, but the trail is definitely there. Let’s go.”
Wolf Fang jumped off the railing first, and Ho-cheol also went down the stairs and out of the building.
And so, Wolf Fang continued the chase.
It seemed there was a manual for dealing with being tailed or tracked.
The twins had tried to throw them off their trail by stopping at irrelevant buildings several times, but it was useless against Wolf Fang.
About an hour later, the two of them stopped in front of a building.
Wolf Fang pointed to the building.
“The smell stops here.”
Ho-cheol looked the building up and down.
It was an ordinary commercial building that you could see anywhere.
The restaurants, shops, academies, reading rooms, hospitals, etc., on each floor seemed to be in actual operation.
“For a disguise, it's too plausible. Did they even put in civilians as a smokescreen or to buy time?”
Recently, Ho-cheol, who had only encountered villains hiding in gates or in back alleys where the power of the state and the law did not reach, was, in a sense, freshly shocked.
Actually, this is normal.
In fact, operating only in such shady places like gates had more disadvantages than advantages.
If various businesses were located in this building, it wouldn't be strange for any person or object to enter the commercial building.
“It’s probably not the headquarters, but a fairly important branch.”
“Of course.”
Without a moment's thought, Ho-cheol agreed with Wolf Fang's opinion.
“Heo. Good grief.”
He muttered, as if dumbfounded.
It was definitely not the headquarters.
There was, of course, a basis for his firm, even vehement, conviction.
“They say the darkest place is under the candlestick.”
He turned right around and looked at the towering building.
The Hero Association Headquarters.
This branch and the Hero Association Headquarters were within a stone's throw of each other.
Staring blankly at the building, he turned back again.
“We’ve found the location, so that’s enough. Let’s go back.”
“Eh?”
Wolf Fang was, for a rare moment, flustered.
He had heard the whole story of the situation as they had come here.
And neither the villain Ho-cheol of the past, nor the current Ho-cheol, had the option of turning back here.
He even forgot that he shouldn't do this against the current Ho-cheol and asked back.
“Why, why are we going back?”
And seeing his eyes turn towards him, he belatedly realized.
I'm dead.
But unlike his resignation to death, Ho-cheol just let out a faint sigh.
“Well, right. You and I can't be in this kind of relationship forever. And in fact, I'm the one receiving help.”
Ho-cheol crossed his arms and let out a faint sigh.
“If we go in there now, it's a dead end.”
It wasn't a personal matter that he had to solve alone without any cooperation from the Association, nor was it a matter of overwhelming priority.
“If you and I barge in there right now and smash everything, it would feel good. But that's all.”
At the very least, if their headquarters were a single point of concentration with no other branches or bases, that would be a different story.
From the information he had confirmed today, they managed all their facilities, personnel, and information in a decentralized manner, regardless of faction.
It was just one of the branches anyway.
If he were to raid it now, the remaining branches and the headquarters would tighten their reins and move more cautiously and secretly.
And the information he had painstakingly obtained would go straight to the shredder.
The best course of action was to subdue all the bases and the headquarters simultaneously through a large-scale operation at the right time.
And if he were to be on the front lines instead of the Association, where would their retaliation be directed?
It was a simple logic that didn't even require any thought.
In fact, if only Ho-cheol were targeted, he would have welcomed it, saying it would save him the trouble.
But there was a higher probability that the danger would be directed not only at him, but at the people around him.
I can't see that happen.
“Hmm.”
Wolf Fang was about to nod his head, but then he tilted it again.
It was a reason that others could fully understand, but not in Ho-cheol's case.
“I thought you would go in to save those twins even if you had to bear all that.”
Hadn't that been the case with Ji-an?
Ho-cheol shrugged his shoulders.
“Surprisingly, I have some leeway.”
Perhaps thanks to the special nature of being able to rely on each other, not being alone.
The twins were much more stable than the many precarious humans Ho-cheol had seen so far.
If they had been alone, and had been walking a tightrope on a precarious line like Ji-an, he would have moved regardless of the conditions, but it wasn't to that extent.
He had also left a strong warning, so in his view, he had at least a couple of months of leeway.
“It's funny for me to be explaining this to you. Let’s go back.”
“Yes. Still, it’s a bit unsettling to just turn back with the enemy in sight.”
“Who said I’m just letting them be? I have to give them some yeot.”
“Yeot?”
Ho-cheol chuckled.
“Is there anything in this country that can't be done with money and power?”
By the time Ho-cheol returned to his dorm, it was already late at night, to the point where the expression ‘evening’ was embarrassing.
He opened the door without thinking and entered his studio apartment.
For a moment, he froze, flustered, with his body halfway through the door.
There was an intruder in the dorm that should have been empty.
Occasionally, when Ho-cheol returned from an outing, Ji-an would be occupying his chair or bed.
But today, the atmosphere was not so playful.
Unlike usual, she was not at the low-slung desk, but properly occupying Ho-cheol's chair and desk, with a book open, engrossed in studying.
The reason for that was probably the special admission exam, which was less than a week away.
She was so focused that she didn't even notice him opening the door and coming in.
If I make a sound, I'll break her concentration and flow.
After thinking for a moment, Ho-cheol backed out of the door the way he had come.
Only after quietly closing the door did he realize.
He muttered, as if in trouble.
“No, but where do I go?”
She should be studying in her own room.
Why come all the way to someone else's room?
And at this time of night, there was nowhere to go.
As he stood blankly in the hallway, the front door of the next apartment opened with a creak.
So-hee stuck her head out and asked Ho-cheol.
“What are you doing there, looking so pathetic.”
“She was studying so hard, so I came out so as not to disturb her, but now I have nowhere to go.”
So-hee looked at Ho-cheol with pity, as if looking at a fool, and then tilted her head.
“Good grief……. Then just come in for a moment.”
So-hee said it casually, but instead, Ho-cheol's eyes widened in surprise.
“You, you never let me in before.”
So-hee would come and go from Ho-cheol's dorm as if it were her own, but she had never allowed the reverse.
When he pointed that out, So-hee's face turned slightly red.
“That was because I was a bit busy and hadn't cleaned. It’s fine now.”
“Then shall I come in for a moment?”
Since the owner's permission was granted, there was no reason to hesitate.
Ho-cheol immediately stepped into So-hee's room.
“Don’t look around so much, it’s embarrassing.”
Despite So-hee's protest, Ho-cheol looked around.
The structure was, of course, the same as Ho-cheol's dorm.
The furniture inside was also basically provided.
But the detailed interior was definitely different.
The smell seemed different too, was she using an air freshener?
“But why are you here? You're the surveillance officer.”
“I was kicked out because I was disturbing her studying.”
“At this rate, I’m not even sure if you’re really a surveillance officer.”
Ho-cheol nonchalantly opened the refrigerator and took out a drink.
Then he plopped down on the bed.
Since it was so late at night, So-hee, who was wearing comfortable pajamas unlike usual, pulled a nearby doll and hugged it.
The light blue pajamas had a dense pattern of tea leaves the size of a fingernail.
“How much do you like tea……”
“Tastes are to be respected, you know?”
“Yes, yes. So is she studying well?”
So-hee nodded lightly.
“She doesn’t know much, but she’s smart. She learns fast and applies it fast.”
Ho-cheol had provided the necessary workbooks, but teaching her was a completely separate matter.
And this was where So-hee's efforts shone.
An unexpected compliment.
In any case, as a guardian, Ho-cheol was quite pleased to hear it.
At least smart is better than a fool.
“Is that so? You must be having a hard time. It's less than a week away anyway.”
“It’s not really a hard time. It is what it is.”
Her position had suddenly changed from Ji-an's surveillance officer to her teacher, but surprisingly, Ji-an was obedient and listened well when studying, so So-hee was quite satisfied.
“Is that so? Then that's a relief. Actually, I was thinking of giving you a gift because I felt like I was giving you a hard time again…”
“Give it to me!”
So-hee exclaimed, cutting Ho-cheol off.
Her face flushed, she was so excited she looked like she would pounce on Ho-cheol at any moment.
“I was thinking of giving it to you not, then of course you should give it to me! No, hand it over! My gift!”
Since last time, he had always said he would buy her something too, but he had never actually bought her anything.
She had been a little hurt by that treatment, but today, she would definitely receive it.
“Alright. Then.”
Ho-cheol suddenly reached out and squeezed So-hee's cheeks with both hands.
“Ueaef?”
She made a flustered sound, but Ho-cheol didn't pay any attention.
It was quite soft, stretching when he pulled and spreading out over a wide area when he pressed.
Had he been tormenting her cheeks in silence for a long time?
Her pink lips, which had been pushed out like a goldfish's due to her pressed cheeks, mumbled.
“Heuhaeheomeong.”
“You want me to stop?”
“Nue!”
At So-hee's slightly annoyed expression, he obediently let go.
“Alright then.”
“Is this a gift, by any chance?”
So-hee asked, just in case.
“Yeah.”
“What is this?”
She grumbled, clearly disappointed.
Since they always joked around, it wasn't particularly unpleasant or anything, but to think that all he did was torment her cheeks when he said he would give her a gift.
It was natural to feel a little disappointed.
It wasn't painful, but she placed the back of her hand on her reddened cheek.
But that was also for a moment.
Her gaze shifted downwards.
“……Ah?”
And she made a foolish sound.
On her neck, which had been bare until just a moment ago, a necklace that she didn't know when had been put on, was sparkling.
“Eh?”
She lowered the hand that had been cooling her cheek and touched the chain of the necklace.
The thin chain moved, and the small pendant in the center swayed and shone.
“Th-this is?”
Looking at the bewildered So-hee, Ho-cheol answered nonchalantly.
“I told you. It’s a gift.”
It was not a simple necklace.
Of course, the platinum chain and the jewel embedded in the pendant were quite expensive, but that wasn't the point.
“Wear it well.”
This necklace contained a Trait.
Although it was a one-time use, it would save her life in a fatal situation.
Of course, he had no intention of telling her that.
Items imbued with a Trait basically started at a price in the hundreds of millions.
So-hee knew that well, so if she found out, she would probably refuse, saying it was too much of a burden.
“Hyaa……”
So-hee exclaimed softly.
Then she carefully tapped the pendant of the necklace.
The jewel in the center of the pendant, which shone with a gentle light, changed its light depending on the angle, adding to its mystery.
Honestly, she wasn't curious at all, nor did she care what kind of jewel it was.
Who had given it to her was what was important.
“Do you like it?”
So-hee, completely captivated by the necklace, nodded her head in silence.
After a long while, she finally came to her senses and asked worriedly.
“But isn’t it too expensive? As a public servant, I can’t accept anything over 50,000 won.”
I knew it.
Ho-cheol immediately gave her the answer he had prepared.
“I won it in a claw machine. It cost 6,000 won.”
So-hee's eyes widened in surprise, and then she laughed in disbelief.
She could tell without even using a Trait.
There was no way.
Who would believe that, unless they were a fool.
Still, should I pretend to be fooled?
“……Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m more grateful. And there will only be things to be grateful for in the future.”
A sincere and honest feeling, without any pretense or modesty.
So-hee's lips parted.
She licked her lips several times with her tongue and then leaned towards Ho-cheol from her sitting position.
“I-I asked you last time, right? What you were going to do after you served your sentence. And you said you hadn't really thought about it then.”
“That’s right.”
“If you don't have anything you want to do or a proper plan even after you're a free man……”
She subtly turned her head, avoiding Ho-cheol's gaze.
“You can stay at my place until you find it. I can give you a room.”