As 11 o’clock approached, the gymnasium auditorium was filled with parents and incoming students. Sang-ho sat on the stairs next to the podium, observing them.
There was no trace of fear on their excited faces. Watching them chat amiably among families, it seemed as though being a Hunter was just a convenient means of making money for them.
As the clock struck the hour, the principal took the stage.
“Thank you distinguished guests for visiting our school. I am the principal of this institution…”
It was the kind of speech you could hear at any event. Even in the principal’s own expression while speaking, you could detect annoyance and boredom.
The surrounding staff were also visibly unengaged. Sang-ho, hearing it for the first time, was comparatively interested, but soon realized it was just the usual lip service and lost interest.
Eventually, the principal pointed to the teachers.
“…Next, we have staff introductions.”
The male teacher standing at the very front walked forward. Standing in the center of the stage, he took the microphone passed by the principal and began his introduction.
“Hello, I’m Moon Kyung-han, an A-class Hunter, and I’ve been working here for two years. I completed my doctoral program in Mana Training Studies at Seonjong University…”
And so, the teachers continued to introduce themselves.
All the teachers were either A-class or S-class Hunters. The ranks for Hunters generally go from C, B, A, to S.
The average annual salary of an S-class Hunter is about 300 million won. Top-tier Hunters easily make billions. At that level, they’re not just protecting a city but the country as a whole.
However, this was just an average, and the nature of a Hunter’s job, catching monsters, involves a lot of ups and downs, like a fisherman out at sea. Because you can’t harvest monsters like crops, if you’re lazy and unlucky, even an S-class Hunter might not make a million won in a month.
That’s why the salary at such a job was much lower than the average for Hunters, around 200 million won a year. But the big attraction was that the job was much easier and more stable.
It was finally Seolmi’s turn. She lightly tapped Sang-ho’s elbow.
“Your turn is next. Be prepared.”
As Sang-ho nodded, Seolmi summoned her spirits and ascended the podium.
Fire and Water Spirits, a small dragon, and a half-elf woman floated next to her. As the audience murmured in admiration, Seolmi raised the microphone.
“Hello, I am Lim Seolmi, an A-class Hunter, and I’ve been employed here for one year. My special skill, as you can see, is Spirit Magic, and my major was Monster Ecology at Hamseo University.”
As she gestured to the spirits, they vanished in an instant.
“If you entrust your children to me, I will cherish them like my own family and teach them safely. Thank you.”
The parents gave a brief applause.
Sang-ho looked at Seolmi coming toward him with the microphone and thought,
‘A brief introduction gets a good response. A little demonstration of skill also…’
“Come back safely.”
Seolmi handed him the microphone with a wink.
Sang-ho took the microphone and climbed onto the stage.
Step, step.
Leaning on his sword.
“Huh?”
A murmur of confusion came from the audience.
“Is he limping?”
“Blindfolded too… Is he a retired Hunter? He looks young.”
“Can he even fight? No, he probably can’t even teach…”
“Must have applied for teaching as a joke, huh.”
“Probably wants an easy job…”
All were complaints.
As if he was inadequate to entrust their children’s education to.
Sang-ho continued to walk, unfazed.
Thud, thud.
Each time the sword hit the floor, a small sound echoed.
As he finally took his last step to the center of the stage,
‘A little demonstration of skill.’
Sang-ho subtly channeled his inner energy into the sword.
Swoooosh!
“What, what’s happening!”
“Ahhhh!”
The gymnasium shook as if hit by an earthquake.
The parents panicked, and even the teachers were startled, huddling together. Yet, only a few stones fell, and the building did not collapse.
Amidst the chaos, only two were calm: Sang-ho and the principal.
‘A brief introduction.’
Sang-ho raised the microphone.
“I am Kang Sang-ho, a B-class Hunter who joined this year.”
No one believed what he said. Regardless, he had said it.
“Only students prepared to get hit will be accepted.”
Upon hearing Sang-ho’s bombshell statement, Seolmi’s face turned pale, while Haelan burst into an inexplicable laughter.
Currently a teacher, previously the strongest.
“Sang-ho, why did you do that!”
Seolmi seemed at a loss, stamping her feet.
Somehow after the meeting, he was dragged to the back of the gym. Sang-ho shrugged his shoulders.
“The principal seemed to like it.”
“That’s because she’s been through everything, so nothing surprises her! But we were all shocked! What about the parents!”
“Don’t worry, if they don’t like it, they won’t attend my class.”
The educational method of Ye-hyeon High School felt like a blend of college and high school. Like in college, students could choose which teacher to learn from, but once chosen, the teacher assumes the role of a homeroom teacher, managing even aspects outside of academics.
The school wouldn’t incur any damage, all things considered.
Seolmi let out a deep sigh.
“I don’t know… But Sang-ho.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have some sort of connection with the principal?”
“Yes.”
“Were you parachuted* in?”
“You’re quite direct. Well, I like that.”
Sang-ho shook his head.
“I may have parachuted in, but not because of the principal’s backing. I was just recommended by the association.”
“You’re rumored to be a parachute hire. You’re here without even having graduated from college… People are talking. Not everyone, but most are.”
Seolmi sent him a concerned look.
In reality, Sang-ho had neither entered college nor graduated high school, let alone junior high. He was 15 years old when the awakening happened.
On the flip side, the teachers who claimed to have graduated from a college related to hunters were one of the three types.
Either they were lucky enough to go to college after the war ended.
Or they discovered their abilities late.
Or they had abilities but chose not to participate in the war, making them cowards.
Sang-ho smirked.
“I don’t care.”
Ninety percent of them are cowards. Those “most” that Seolmi mentioned are likely to be those cowards. People who, unable to prove their own morality, try to degrade the morality of others.
He tapped the hilt of his sword with his index finger.
“In the world of hunters, power speaks. Now that I’ve become a teacher, the criterion will be how well I teach. You’ll see who’s a more qualified person.”
“Speaking of which…”
Seolmi looked up at him.
“Are you a B-rank? I don’t know much about martial arts… But you seem much stronger than the A-rank hunters.”
Abilities were categorized into martial arts, magic, shamanism, and faith.
Sang-ho, who uses a sword, was categorized as a martial artist, while Seolmi, who uses spirits, was categorized as a shaman.
Sang-ho shrugged.
“I don’t know. That’s what the association decided.”
It was a lie. B-rank was the rank he chose. A rank that would keep him under the radar.
After the war, the country provided several benefits to the underworld squad members, including the option to choose their hunter rank.
Either go big and use the special rank, X-rank, to make a name for oneself.
Or live quietly with a lower rank.
Do-hyun, the president of the association, chose the former, and Sang-ho chose the latter.
“Did you get all the answers you wanted?”
“No, you didn’t give any clear answers.”
Seolmi shook her head.
“Why do you have so many secrets despite being so young?”
“I didn’t intend to.”
“You slip through like a snake, which is unlike your age.”
“Is it?”
Sang-ho chuckled.
“I guess it could be.”
When he was younger, he was the complete opposite.
As Haelan once said, his nickname in the underworld squad was “Mad Dog.” He was quick to fight and never compromised.
But the war killed that side of him, although it tries to resurface occasionally.
He moved, leaning on his sword.
“Let’s go eat. Know any good places?”
***
The last day of February.
Sang-ho was sitting at his desk in the teachers’ office, scanning the course application forms he had received.
Only three sheets.
Other teachers had around 30 sheets.
Given the mess he made during the information session, it was an expected outcome.
‘With three students, it’s perfect for personalized guidance.’
Sang-ho was actually satisfied.
His goal was not just for his own students, but for all students to gain practical experience. However, first, he had to prove to other teachers that his method was correct. Having fewer students was advantageous for that.
“Teacher Kang.”
Suddenly, someone called him from behind. Sang-ho turned around.
It was Moon Kyung-han, a teacher who had been working at the school for two years.
A man with a neat face, neatly parted permed hair, wearing glasses, and of considerable height. At a glance, he looked like the typical ‘gyohoe oppa*’ that female students often talked about, so he was likely quite popular in a girls’ high school.
Sang-ho had never spoken with him before.
“Ah yes, Teacher Moon.”
“Could we talk for a moment?”
Kyung-han gestured for him to go outside.
Such a hassle for someone with a bad leg. Sang-ho muttered inwardly.
‘His face and his true colors don’t match, this guy.’
Either way, he was a senior colleague, so Sang-ho followed him out of the teachers’ office.
Kyung-han led him to the elevator at the end of the hallway. As Sang-ho entered the elevator, he frowned. He had no idea why he was being led so far just for a conversation.
It probably wasn’t anything good or upright.
The elevator stopped on the fifth floor. When the door opened, stairs leading to the rooftop were right in front of them.
“Do you need help?”
Kyung-han glanced at Sang-ho’s leg as he asked.
Sang-ho shook his head.
He endured the pain and climbed the stairs, vowing to blow off Kyung-han if he spoke nonsense.
They opened the rooftop door and went outside.
The blue sky stretched out above a fence that came up to their chests.
Kyung-han looked around to confirm that nobody was there and then lit a cigarette.
“How’s teaching life, Teacher Kang?”
“I haven’t had a chance to teach yet, so I don’t know.”
“I see. Have you seen the course applications?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a student named Chun Se-hee.”
Sang-ho recalled that female student’s application form. Chun Se-hee. A quite famous student in a hunter training school, ranked first in martial arts.
And what was unique was that she had no relatives, an absolute orphan.
“What about that student?”
“How about handing her over to me?”
Kyung-han smoked and made eye contact with Sang-ho. His eyes subtly looked down on him as he tilted his head back ever so slightly.
“That kid had good grades in middle school.”
Sang-ho chuckled incredulously.
He probably wants to send a talented kid to a good college and use it to boost his own credentials.
He never thought he’d see such blatant student poaching. For someone who only had battlefield experience, it was unimaginable.
“That student came because she wants to learn from me.”
“I majored in mana training in college. And I have a longer teaching career. I think I’d be better for her in many ways.”
Kyung-han’s eyes directed toward Sang-ho’s leg.
“It’ll be good for her future. Think about it. It’s a matter of a child’s life.”
Sang-ho looked beyond the fence at the playground and fell into thought.
‘Is he picking a fight?’
Strength flowed into the hand resting on his sword.
Education, disability, experience.
In fact, upon reflection, Kyung-han was right. If one were to objectively consider the probabilities, he was more likely to teach the student better.
However, there was one thing Kyung-han had not taken into account.
Skill.
Sang-ho infused his sword with inner energy.
Whooosh.
Deep blue flames began to erupt from the sword.
“What…?!”
Kyung-han was taken aback.
That wasn’t the end. The flames that enveloped the sword soon spread across the entire rooftop.
A strong aura, extremely dense flames.
The dark blue flames swirled as if to engulf them.
“Ugh!”
Kyung-han dropped his cigarette and clenched his chest.
The flames didn’t harm him, but the space where the flames didn’t exist was also filled with an immense amount of energy. He looked at Sang-ho with horrified eyes, feeling a stifling sensation pressing down on his lungs.
It was beyond human level.
“How… could this be?”
“Ever fought with a monster?”
Sang-ho retracted his aura.
“Or ever became a monster yourself?”
Such a person wouldn’t understand how he had become so strong. Teaching others was out of the question.
“I will teach my student because they chose me. As a teacher, I can’t give up before my student does. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Ugh…”
Defeated both in skills and as a teacher, Kyung-han had nothing more to say.
He opened the rooftop door and went inside, sweating profusely. The sound of him hurriedly descending the stairs reached Sang-ho’s ears.
Sang-ho looked at the door through which he had fled.
“Getting used to it?”
A voice came from behind him. When he turned around, Haelan was sitting on the wall.
She must have sensed the intense concentration of energy and come over.
“Does it annoy you when someone you can handle easily calls himself a senior?”
He couldn’t outright say yes, so he gave a bitter smile.
She continued speaking.
“Talented students are desired by all teachers. It will continue to be like that.”
“Can they change the homeroom teacher during the semester?”
“If the original teacher, the new teacher, and the student all agree, then yes. Sometimes they just switch it if something special happens.”
Sang-ho sighed lightly upon hearing that.
“Will these manipulations continue? It’s annoying.”
“Why don’t you get promoted to class X? No one would bother you then.”
“That’s even more annoying.”
If that happened, he couldn’t lead a normal life. People from the media, politicians, blacksmiths wanting advertisements, and quack doctors would keep coming to the school, disrupting classes.
It would even be detrimental when taking new students. Parents would pester him without any resolve or preparation. He didn’t want to be bothered by those people. He knew how hard it was for those who chose class X.
He just wanted to focus solely on education for the first year. There’s next year, too.
When he becomes more confident in his job, then he will make an effort to take more students.
He walked to the wall and stood beside Haelan.
Below, the dormitory students were wandering around in groups. Haelan looked down at them and spoke.
“What do you think?”
“What?”
“These are the kids we’ve protected.”
Sang-ho looked down at the students again.
Faces that knew nothing of what war was.
He didn’t feel anything special. Only images of his deceased comrades came to mind.
“They’ve grown up well.”
“Yes, haven’t they?”
She smiled.
“Talking with Teacher Kang makes me reminisce. I talk more.”
The same was true for Sang-ho. When he talked with Haelan, he remembered the past.
So, he spoke less.
Because they weren’t very happy memories.
He picked up the cigarette Kyung-han had dropped and threw it into a trash can made of a paint bucket.
“I’ll go in first.”
“If the seniors bother you again, run to the principal’s office. I’ll hide you.”
“Haha…”
Sang-ho entered through the rooftop door with a wry smile.
Trivia:
- Parachute– In Korean business and corporate culture, the term “parachute” or “parachute appointment” is often used to describe a situation where someone is appointed to a high-ranking position within a company or organization based on their personal connections or political influence rather than their qualifications or merit. This practice is often seen as nepotism or favoritism.
- Gyohoe oppa- In Korean, “교회 오빠” (gyohoe oppa) is a term that combines the word “교회” (gyohoe), which means “church,” with “오빠” (oppa), which is a Korean term used by females to refer to an older male friend or brother. Taking advantage of the fact that a church is a place where young men and women can gather in one place, regardless of gender, there are some people who think of church as a kind of blind date place, going there just to have meet people. In particular, to students attending boys’ schools or girls’ schools, girls/boys who attend to church become fantasized a lot. in that case, girls call the boys(who are older than them) at the church who are seen attractive to them 교회오빠/성당오빠.
Cliche Novel 