Academy’s Villain Professor-Chapter 184 : Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Introduction (2)
Ho-cheol, who had suddenly become a fake boyfriend, let out a groan and changed his clothes.
Well, since he had promised to do it, he had to do his best.
However, if there was a problem.
“Nooo.”
It was Ji-an, who had been sniffling and clinging to one of his legs for a while.
Physically and mentally.
Both were annoying.
“Mister is getting married!”
“No, I’m going to put on a show.”
Ji-an, who had misunderstood his explanation and thought he was getting married, whined and clung to him.
“Get her off of me.”
“Why? It’ll be fun if we take her with us.”
So-hee also showed a slightly edgier reaction than usual and smiled cynically.
“Good grief… If the food there is good, I’ll get some takeout. Just bear with it.”
Meanwhile, from outside the door, Se-ah vehemently rang the doorbell and shouted.
Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong—
“We have to go!”
“I’ll be back.”
“Uuuh, have a safe trip.”
***
After a few hours' drive in Se-ah's car, they arrived at a secluded hanok hidden between mountains and forests.
Passing through a gate with a complicated Hanja sign, they were guided by an employee and arrived at a room.
There, a middle-aged couple was already waiting for them.
“Hello. My name is Jeong Ho-cheol.”
“Right. It's a pleasure to meet you. You must have had a hard time coming all this way. Please, have a seat.”
Se-ah's father, at a glance, exuded the characteristic aura of a hardened, trained man.
He was a retired hunter, and he was now running a monster byproduct business.
The smell of money was certainly strong.
He sat in a comfortable position and stared at Ho-cheol.
“Right. So you’re a professor at Clington, just like our Se-ah.”
“Yes. I am in the Hero Department, Augmentation Department.”
“Full professor? Associate professor?”
Ho-cheol thought they were the same thing, but every time he was introduced somewhere, he would get this question.
Was the difference that big, and that important?
Erasing the faint displeasure, he answered shortly.
“I am a full professor.”
“Not just a full professor, but an associate department head!”
Se-ah added proudly.
As if it was unexpected, Se-ah's father's eyes widened.
“It seems you’re quite capable.”
“I was lucky.”
“No, I know well that it’s not a position you can get with just luck. By the way…”
His father's head turned to the side, and his sharp gaze turned to Se-ah.
No, to be precise, to the back of her.
To the teddy bear sitting demurely.
He clicked his tongue.
“Are you still carrying that doll around?”
Se-ah shouted in a shrill voice.
“Don’t say anything to Gom-gom-i!”
“When you were a hero, I let it be, thinking it was showmanship to be conscious of the media and recognition, but to think you’re still like that.”
After that, his father continued to point out Se-ah's attitude, private life, and habits.
In their conversation, Ho-cheol could not even dare to interrupt and kept his mouth shut.
To be precise, he didn't even have a chance to speak.
Wasn't this a place to appeal that she had a boyfriend?
Was it supposed to be this suffocating?
In any case, since it was the first time Ho-cheol had been in such a situation, it was honestly difficult to distinguish whether this was right or wrong.
And so, the sharp conversation between Se-ah and her father continued for a long time.
“That’s why I left this house!”
They’re not on good terms.
“Hmm. Well, enough.”
His father readjusted his posture and asked.
“So when are you planning to get married?”
At that question, all Ho-cheol could do was not be flustered, let alone answer.
“Uh, ah, I. That.”
“Dear, really. How can you just ask the kids a question like that and surprise them.”
At least it seemed to be an unplanned, impromptu question, as Se-ah's mother, who was sitting next to him, lightened the mood with a reprimand that wasn't quite a reprimand.
“Don’t think too much of it.”
Only then did Ho-cheol have the leeway to properly look at Se-ah's mother.
Se-ah's mother.
Unlike Se-ah, who had a slightly sharp impression, she had a gentle impression with slightly drooping eyes.
If Se-ah had grown up properly without any accidents, wouldn't she have been like this?
She was a beauty who stimulated such an imagination.
“The kids will do well on their own, won't they?”
Se-ah's lips parted.
She lowered her head and answered in a crawling voice.
“Yes…”
The girl who had been so headstrong in response to her father's question was a completely docile lamb in response to her mother's.
No, she was suppressed even more than that.
It was a very subtle difference that only Ho-cheol could barely notice, but Se-ah's body was trembling.
On the outside, this side seemed much gentler.
There must be another hidden side to her.
Ho-cheol let out a sigh inwardly and reached his hand under the table.
He placed his hand on top of hers, which was on her lap.
Se-ah's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and she looked at Ho-cheol.
But Ho-cheol had just held her hand, and his gaze was fixed on the front.
Se-ah smiled softly and placed her remaining hand on top of Ho-cheol's again.
Her trembling completely stopped.
Her parents now directed a series of questions at Ho-cheol.
Ho-cheol's personal information, his savings, etc.
Of course, in a situation where he knew full well what would happen if he told the truth, he moderately exaggerated or hid things.
However, when it came to Ho-cheol's family, he was honest.
It was too unsettling to get through this with a lie, and there would be no problem even if he told the truth.
“Ah. That kind of…”
“I told you not to ask.”
The atmosphere suddenly became cold, but the heavy atmosphere was barely resolved when Se-ah's father was hit on the back.
“I’m sorry.”
“Not at all.”
“Heo-eo. This is a little unexpected.”
Was he relieved that his daughter wouldn't have to live with her in-laws?
Or was he worried because his family background was so humble?
No matter how sensitive Ho-cheol was to the emotions of others, since it was his first time in such a situation, it was difficult to guess the other person's thoughts.
And after answering a few questions well.
“So. How did you and Se-ah start dating? What was so good about her?”
For the first time since the mention of marriage, Ho-cheol's mouth stopped.
“That is!”
And Se-ah also shouted in a fluster, but she shut her mouth again at her mother's gaze.
In fact, she had not expected the atmosphere to flow like an interrogation.
She had thought it would be over after just showing his face.
There was nothing like this in the few expected questions and answers she had prepared on the way here.
Ho-cheol's lips parted for a moment.
A flimsy lie would be easily exposed.
And he didn't want to tell one either.
After a long deliberation, he confessed his honest feelings.
“Until the beginning of this year, I had secretly looked down on the professors at Clington. Incompetent people who had neither the ability nor the will to be active as active heroes, and who were rotting away day by day without a proper educational philosophy.”
Ho-cheol turned his head and looked at Se-ah.
“But Se-ah was different.”
He recalled the events of the MT and described the situation.
She had thrown her life on the line to protect a student, and even in a seriously injured state, she had taken care of the student's well-being, and had first resented her own weakness for not being able to protect them.
“It’s a very simple and easy thing to help others when you have the leisure and the strength. But a person who risks their own life and helps others to their limit, I think that’s truly amazing.”
The shock Ho-cheol had received at that time was so great that just recalling it was enough to give him goosebumps all over his body.
“I sincerely respect such a person as Se-ah.”
“Heo heum. I see.”
Se-ah's father let out a series of dry coughs.
The answer to the question of why he liked her and how they started dating was very strange, but it was also a subtle atmosphere to point that out.
That's how clearly Ho-cheol's sincerity was felt.
At the very least, there was not a single waver in that feeling of respect.
Her mother had her mouth wide open in surprise, covering it with her hand, and Se-ah couldn't say anything and just stared at the innocent floor with her head bowed deeply.
Not just her face, but even her earlobes were flushed bright red, as if they would burst if touched.
A short silence followed.
His father tapped the table with his fingertips.
“Honestly.”
His voice was a little less high-handed towards Ho-cheol.
“I was against this relationship. Of course. Although she is my daughter, no, because she is my daughter, I can say for sure. Any guy who has feelings for my daughter as a member of the opposite sex is lying nine times out of ten, and the rest are crazy.”
Ho-cheol also nodded his head as if in agreement to some extent.
Apart from her actual age, Se-ah's appearance was too young to be just a matter of preference.
“But I couldn't just let her live and die as a spinster, so I looked for a partner of a certain level.”
In any case, if it was a marriage without affection, he had only looked for conditions where they couldn't give each other affection.
And he had also made some connections that would benefit the family.
“I naturally thought you were a gigolo who had latched onto our family and Se-ah.”
But respect, not affection or love.
As a father, he had no choice but to acknowledge that feeling.
“Do you happen to have a sense of pride in your profession as a professor, or do you see it as your lifelong calling?”
“……No. That’s not it.”
Se-ah's father's face brightened, and he slammed the table.
“Quit being a professor. Settle things as quickly as possible and join the family.”
It was an advantage at times like this to not have a mother-in-law.
There was no burden or hindrance in accepting him.
“Pardon?”
Ho-cheol answered with a dumbfounded expression and a dumbfounded sound.
But regardless of his will, the story suddenly progressed rapidly.
“You’ll start with management training.”
“Dear. We haven't even talked to the kids yet. You’re too hasty. First, the wedding…”
“Ah. Right. The order is important.”
Looking at the two of them who were suddenly pushing the pace on their own, Ho-cheol was genuinely flustered.
What is this?
At least Se-ah, who should have stopped their rampage, was just listening to the story with a blank expression, for some reason.
If I don't stop this here, it'll get out of control.
He felt it instinctively and raised his hand.
“Uh, ah, um. That is.”
As Ho-cheol was wondering how to start.
Kugugugung—
The building shook.
The ceiling lights shook, and the windows rattled.
The moment they recognized the disaster, the atmosphere from just a moment ago instantly changed.
Ho-cheol and Se-ah shot up from their seats without anyone having to say anything first.
Ho-cheol was the first to point in three directions with his fingertips.
“This way, team 5. Evacuate first.”
“Uh. The vibration was from the northwest.”
Since the two of them were already complete as heroes, without even needing to consider their proficiency, they had grasped the situation and perfectly organized what they had to do with just two sentences.
Se-ah, who had grabbed Gom-gom-i, said shortly to her parents.
“You two stay here. We’ll be back after evacuating the civilians.”
No matter how much they had retired, her parents were hunters.
They possessed a strength that was at the top of the awakened ones.
Even if this building were to collapse, they wouldn't get a single scratch, so it was safer to stay inside.
As they were leaving the room, Ho-cheol whispered softly, so only Se-ah could hear.
“You prepare your explanation.”
Se-ah laughed awkwardly, as if her conscience was pricked.
“I didn't know it would turn out like this either.”
“I’m never helping you again.”
“Ah! Come on!”
***
Ho-cheol knelt on one knee.
Under him, a man whose body had half-turned into something new was twisting his body neurotically.
Even though he was pressing down on his lower back with enough force to break it, he was surprisingly holding on well.
He didn't even faint when he hit the back of his neck.
Was it because the structure of his body had changed?
“This kind of thing has been happening a lot lately.”
Se-ah squatted down and stared at the villain's face.
“Disgusting.”
“I know.”
Of course, Ho-cheol had a rough idea of the cause.
Black Oskopf, whose key facilities and the monster, the subject of their experiment, had all been blown away, was spreading the monsterification drug in a final act of desperation.
Transcendence and all that crap, the company was about to go bankrupt, so they had to do whatever they could to make money.
Se-ah let out a sigh of relief.
“Still, it’s a good thing there were no civilian casualties.”
It would have taken at least 20 more minutes for a proper hero to arrive at this restaurant, and if the two of them hadn't been there, he couldn't have estimated how much the damage would have grown.
“I have to do something.”
Should he contact the higher-ups of The Top, with whom he had a connection, and take measures to ensure that such an unpleasant incident does not occur in this country again?
On their way back to the room.
Ho-cheol let out another sigh.
“By the way, how on earth are you going to clean up this lie?”
“……Sorry.”
Se-ah lowered her head gloomily.
Because she had gone along with her lie, only Ho-cheol was in a difficult situation.
But to reveal that it was all a lie, she had come too far.
After thinking for a moment, Ho-cheol shrugged his shoulders.
“Can’t be helped. I’ll just be the bad guy.”
“How?”
“It’s simple. Villain coming-out.”
“Ah, uh. Wow!”
Se-ah was impressed.
Indeed, such a past was the best card to get out of this situation.
He didn't even have to reveal his entire past.
A public C-rank villain was enough of a disqualification.
And so, he returned to the room and confessed his past.
‘I went to prison as a villain in the past.’
At that confession, his father's brows narrowed.
He turned his gaze and asked Se-ah.
“Did you know too?”
“Well. Uh. Yeah.”
Since her own reaction was lukewarm to say she didn't know, Se-ah also affirmed.
Ho-cheol closed his eyes and waited.
Now, he thought it would be over if he were just doused with water and chased out.
“Hahaha! It’s alright! It’s alright, I say!”
With a hearty laugh, he was forgiven too simply.
The flustered Ho-cheol opened his eyes again.
“……Pardon?”
“A man can cause trouble once in a while. In fact, isn't it because he was appointed as a professor at Clington despite such a past? It’s not something you can do with just ordinary competence.”
Ho-cheol belatedly realized.
In a situation where his acceptance was already decided, no matter what he said, they were interpreting it in their favor anyway.
“And to be honest and tell me about such a flaw without hiding it. I’m truly grateful.”
“That’s right. If it’s really awkward, we can get you a new identity.”
Ho-cheol felt a sweat run down his back.
If he wasn't careful, he could really get roped into this.
He would rather fight a dozen S-rank villains.
This was a harsh ordeal for Ho-cheol.
Just before he became a sous-vide Ho-cheol with the flowing sweat, a final move flashed in his brain, which had been spinning the most fiercely recently.
“Then may I confess one more flaw?”
“Right. Well, speak as much as you like.”
His father nodded his head nonchalantly.
At most, what could be worse than a villain's criminal record?
Ho-cheol lowered his head deeply and said.
“I have them.”
“What do you have?”
“I have children. Two of them.”
In the end, he sold out the twins who were probably playing happily at the facility right now.