I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

‘August 24, 2030, Thursday.
It’s been a month since I revealed my relationship with Claire.
Baek Hana has changed since that day.
She no longer acts spoiled around me and is more cautious in her actions. Specifically, she seems to be consciously trying to keep her distance from me.
It’s bothering me. It’s bothering me, and it’s bothering me.
But there’s nothing I can do about it.
All I can do is quietly stand by and let her sort out her feelings for me quickly. That’s probably the best I can do for now.
The only other option is…
-Brrrr
My phone vibrated slightly in my hand, causing my eyebrows to furrow. I put down the pen and took out my phone.
[Chairman: The semester starts next week…]
It was a straightforward email without any clear purpose.
“Tsk.”
I knew they would restore the barrier on their own. I sent a reply to the chairman, asking him to convene a full meeting the day after tomorrow.
The reply came almost immediately.
[Chairman: If you restore the barrier, I can call a meeting as early as tomorrow.]
That damn barrier.
A little over a month was more than enough time to come up with an alternative to replace it.
I turned off my phone after sending a reply that I would restore the barrier tomorrow, unable to hide my annoyance.
“Hmm…”
I was about to pick up the pen again when a slight headache made me turn my chair around.
The night sky was filled with stars and moonlight, but it didn’t evoke any emotions in me. Maybe it was because I was alone.
Whenever I looked at the night sky, she was always by my side.
I sighed, trying to calm my unruly emotions, which were as difficult to handle as my body. I turned my body and opened the drawer, taking out a notebook stored in a case.
The first page was filled with unreadable scribbles, neither words nor pictures.
After flipping through a few pages, I finally came across legible words.
【Kim Woo-jin】
I scanned through the notebook, which was filled with names. Compared to the beautiful night sky I had just seen, it was insignificant.
But looking at it made me smile.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I remembered the image of her awkwardly holding a pencil and drawing on my knee, her writing resembling more of a picture than actual letters.
I smiled as the emotions that only responded to her, unaffected by the fairy’s influence, slowly filled my body.
When my body was completely filled with these emotions…
…Swoosh.
I dyed the surrounding magic with my will.
The gradually corrupted magic formed a giant membrane that covered the entire Academy.
‘No one is getting caught yet.’
Either the outsiders were doing a good job of guarding the place, or they hadn’t made their move yet. I would find out in two days.
“Hmm…”
I turned my chair back around, feeling a slight headache from the imbalance in my body caused by using a part of my consciousness while it was still unstable.
I dulled my senses and closed the notebook, placing it back in the glass case. The fairy’s picture settled on top of it, a truly insignificant combination.
As my senses dulled, the headache naturally subsided.
I pushed the pen aside.
If I continued writing in the journal, this feeling would be ruined.
Instead, I flipped through the pages of the journal, slowly traveling back in time.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never read it again.’
After all, I remembered everything about her, so there was no need to read it. Still, I opened the journal to the very first page and began reading.
The day I rescued her from the underground auction.
She would climb onto my stomach whenever she had the chance.
She had terrible sleeping habits and even drooled in her sleep, so I had to use a pacifier for a while.
I flipped through one page, then another, and when I reached the blank page, I felt relieved.
‘I still remember…’
The part of soul that had left me.
The memories contained within it.
At least I would never realize on my own what the forgotten memories were. Fortunately, the memories that had left me didn’t include the days I spent with her.
Perhaps the memories that ‘Baek Woo-jin’ had before entering my body had left with the soul.
‘It’s just a matter of time, though.’
I picked up the pen again.
She’s trying to keep her distance from me.
Don’t worry about it.
It’s what I wanted, isn’t it?
‘Don’t forget your purpose.’
A roof to temporarily shelter from the raging storm.
That’s all I need to do.
And when the raging storm passes and the cloudy sky is filled with light again…
“I’ll find a proper home and start walking again.”
Ouch…
I must have blocked out all my senses, but I felt a faint warmth coming from my back.
“Yes…”
I was probably smiling.
The person who would leave the roof and start walking again wouldn’t be alone.
That’s enough.
So, I…
‘I’ll get rid of all the obstacles.’
Starting with the Shadow Guild members who were getting in the way.
I picked up the pen again and began writing.
.
.
.
Baek Hana’s room.
“The semester starts next week…”
“Speaking of which, have you two finished your assignments?”
The children, now accustomed to training, were still awake and chatting late into the night.
“I’m the top student, so I don’t have to do assignments.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“I’m so jealous.”
Edyn, who was lying next to Maria, rolled her eyes and snuggled up to her friend.
“We don’t have assignments either, so what’s there to be jealous about?”
“Well, you can get a lot of potions and stuff, and you don’t even have a curfew.”
“We get a lot of potions too, and what would you do if you didn’t have a curfew?”
“Hmm…”
Edyn couldn’t easily answer Maria’s question, so Maria sighed and pinched Edyn’s cheek.
“See? You’re feeling jealous for no reason. What am I going to do with you?”
“Please don’t hit me anymore. My back is already bruised enough.”
“Hmm.”
Maria sighed and turned over, placing a pillow under her chest. She looked at Baek Hana, who was sitting at the desk writing in her journal.
‘I can’t tell if it’s good or bad.’
Baek Hana had undergone a small change.
It was a subtle change that one might easily overlook, but Maria eventually noticed it.
The time she spent in the study in the morning had become shorter.
Her seating arrangement during meals had slightly changed.
After showering, she started tying her hair up on her own.
And…
‘She doesn’t chat with the professor anymore.’
To be precise, she no longer acted spoiled.
She still asked for things when necessary, but that was all.
‘I hope this change is for the better…’
Maria hoped that her friend’s change was a positive one.
To be honest, Baek Hana and Baek Woo-jin’s relationship was more like that of a parent and child.
Or, at least one of them certainly thought so.
Maria didn’t want to discourage her friend’s love, but she didn’t want her to get hurt either.
“Hana?”
“…”
Baek Hana, who was writing in her journal, blinked and turned her head.
Maria smiled softly and spoke.
“Have you finished your assignments?”
“Assignments?”
Maria immediately sensed her friend’s reaction.
‘She hasn’t done them.’
It wasn’t just that she hadn’t done them; she had completely forgotten about them.
“As far as I know, there were assignments for the basic conversion lecture, the magic control lecture, and the monster disassembly lecture.”
“How do you remember the lectures when you don’t even attend them?”
Edyn asked in surprise, but Maria ignored her.
“I haven’t done any of them.”
“I thought so.”
Maria sighed, but she was slightly relieved that Baek Hana hadn’t done her assignments.
“Don’t worry, we can all help you finish them quickly.”
“Why should I ask for your help?”
Slap!
“Ouch!”
Edyn’s lips were slapped by Maria’s palm, and she rolled on the floor. Surprisingly, even Inyoung, who was usually the most empathetic, didn’t pay attention to Edyn. They had become so used to it.
“Yes, Hana, I’ll help you.”
“Yes, I’ll help too!! I know a lot about monsters!”
Unlike Edyn, who was rolling on the floor, Seohui and Inyoung eagerly offered their help.
“Thank you.”
Baek Hana scratched her cheek and expressed her gratitude to her friends.
Maria continued, “But the monster disassembly lecture assignment requires you to enter a gate.”
“Can’t we just ask the professor for help?”
Edyn rubbed her slightly red lips and said.
“We should strictly separate personal matters from official duties. Don’t you know that?”
“I think the professor would just agree if you asked him.”
To be honest, Maria couldn’t completely deny it.
But to cheer up her friend, she had to say no.
“Hana?”
“I don’t think he would agree if I asked him.”
Baek Hana’s smile looked a little lonely.
Maria widened her eyes and quickly continued, “So, let’s do the assignments and go shopping and watch a movie while we’re at it.”
Due to the disappearance of the barrier, they couldn’t go out, and all the facilities in the Academy had been suspended, so they had been cooped up in the mansion for over a month.
“Oh!! Yes, let’s go out!”
“I want to go too.”
“If Hana agrees.”
Starting with Edyn, the children nodded their heads and looked at Baek Hana.
“Hana?”
“I want to go too. I’ll pay for it.”
“Yes!”
Edyn was overly excited about saving money.
Maria looked at Baek Hana, who didn’t seem as bright as she used to be, and thought, ‘I wonder if the professor will let us go out…’
Maria couldn’t shake the feeling that she had done something wrong, and she couldn’t sleep that night either.