I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 41

[ Chapter 41: Teacher and Student (1) ]

Shall we talk about old times for a bit?

The man wanted to raise me as an ordinary kid.

When I was young, I didn’t have a choice in the matter, so I grew up as he raised me.

I didn’t have any major complaints. At first, I was happy when he said he would take me in… After all, he was the one who had gotten rid of the Lab Director. When he said he would take me out of the orphanage, I eagerly followed him.

The first thing he did after adopting me was to take me to therapy. My words about being already sick of psychological counseling at the orphanage didn’t matter.

Looking back now, it was natural. It wasn’t just a matter of understanding his feelings, but it was an extremely sensible decision.

Honestly, if I just list the objective facts… it was a pitiful life. Not because it was my life, but in general.

Anyway, he didn’t want to raise me as a lucky orphan adopted by Korea’s top Hunter, but as an ordinary eleven-year-old boy. That went awry the following year when I awakened.

Even so, he congratulated me. Right after I awakened, he took me to the hill behind the house on the weekend and taught me various things. How to pick handcuffs. How to use magic. How to use strength. How to fight.

At first, I did everything as he said, but soon I came to believe that even if I showed some reluctance, he wouldn’t abandon me.

So maybe I tested him a bit.

To see how much he would tolerate me.

Hmm.

It’s an embarrassing past.

This isn’t what I wanted to talk about.

Though I didn’t show it, he must have had a hard time because of me back then.

But he never raised his voice at me. He never made a gesture like raising his hand, unlike the Lab Director.

Around the time my rebellious phase started to wane, he sat me down and said,

“Hee-jae, I’ll let you do anything you want.”

“……”

“If you want something, I’ll buy it for you, and if you want to do something, I’ll let you do it.”

He took my hand and spoke softly.

“If someone bothers you… I’ll try my best. You see, I have some strength. I can handle a person or two without anyone noticing.”

“No, that’s fine.”

“Do you dislike me?”

“……”

“I’m human too, so it hurts if you stab me with a knife. So, just like I taught you, here, like this…”

“That’s enough!”

I don’t know what kind of nonsense he was saying to a kid.

Well, I heard later that he was trying to give me a shock treatment. He was told that I would come to my senses if he said such weird things since I only mildly rebelled against him and didn’t harm others.

…It was so easily resolved that it hurt my pride.

Well, I can’t do the same to Park Seo-hyun or Choi Jin-woo. But I can twist my words in a similar way.

“Park Seo-hyun.”

I approached Park Seo-hyun. I thought she was drawing a rune, but it wasn’t a rune. The lines flowed continuously like waves… it was a diagram of a magical formula.

As I looked at the paper, Park Seo-hyun slyly covered the formula with her arm. Look at that.

“Anyway, even if I see it, I won’t understand.”

“Still… I was told not to show it….”

Magic formulas are sensitive, after all.

Anyway, that’s not why I’m here.

“Jin-woo refused.”

“Uh, um… what?”

Earlier, Park Seo-hyun had asked me to ask instead because she felt embarrassed.

I should have just taken Park Seo-hyun with me. With Choi Jin-woo’s personality, he wouldn’t have been able to refuse if she had asked him directly. He might have accepted if she had pushed him just a little.

What’s done is done. We can try again.

This is also an opportunity for Park Seo-hyun to develop a proper sense of responsibility, beyond just continuing her grandfather’s magic legacy.

…Am I pushing her too hard in one day? Well, this is how you get stronger.

“It’s not that he has anything against you…. He just said he doesn’t feel qualified to learn from you.”

“What?”

Kim Chae-min, who had followed me, was startled. I lightly kicked Kim Chae-min’s calf, signaling him to stay quiet.

And hey, I’m not lying.

…It’s not that I never lie, but only amateurs tell easily verifiable lies in places where it’s easy to cross-check.

I just slightly change the words and make the story a bit more provocative.

…Did the man do this? I feel like it wasn’t exactly like this…. A student should surpass their teacher, after all.

“Hmm. That makes sense. After all, Jin-woo hasn’t been a magician for long. Suddenly being taught unique magic… it must be overwhelming.”

Actually, things like this work better when you let time pass, and Park Seo-hyun has sorted out her feelings. But it can’t be helped.

“And he said he feels so untalented that he doesn’t think he deserves to be your student, that he’s too embarrassed to face you.”

Isn’t this similar to what someone was tearfully confessing to me just a few hours ago?

Kim Chae-min made choking sounds beside me. But seriously, I didn’t lie.

This is what Choi Jin-woo said. That he wouldn’t do it because he wasn’t confident he could learn the magic properly.

If he were in the Bureau’s attack team, oh? There wouldn’t even be any dust left now. Yoo Ji-eun would have burned him before I even got to him.

“So, he said he couldn’t do it.”

“…Even if the teacher persuaded him?”

Park Seo-hyun, who had been opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish, finally managed to ask.

“Even if the teacher speaks to him, does he still think he’s unqualified?”

Hmm.

I shrugged.

“If that’s how he feels, what can I say?”

Park Seo-hyun’s eyes trembled.

“But, but, the teacher… to me….”

She was probably thinking, ‘Why did you say you’d make me a Grand Mage but not to Choi Jin-woo?’

Of course, I didn’t. I’ve seen the answer sheet for Park Seo-hyun, but not for Choi Jin-woo. I don’t buy lottery tickets.

I quieted the groaning Kim Chae-min and replied.

“You are my student.”

No matter how I think about it, I deserve a raise.

“But he’s your student.”

Of course, Choi Jin-woo was my student too. But there’s a significant difference between being a nominal teacher without a teaching certificate and being a magician’s apprentice. The legal obligations are also different.

“An apprentice….”

“Not yet. Convincing an apprentice is the teacher’s role.”

Given that Choi Jin-woo was adamant, forcing him wouldn’t spark any motivation. This had to be resolved by the parties involved. I was merely adding a bit of… seasoning.

I lightly tapped Park Seo-hyun’s forehead with my fingertip.

“Here’s your first assignment as a teacher. Go and convince your apprentice to become your student.”

“He, he refused….”

“So, you’re going to give up?”

“…….”

“Go and honestly tell him why you want him as your apprentice. He’s your student.”

Park Seo-hyun looked at me with a blank expression before lowering her head. She wasn’t trying to hide her face with her bangs; she was looking at the formula she was drawing.

“…….”

She started crumpling the paper she had been drawing the formula on. She pressed the paper into a small ball and then put it in her mouth.

Gulp.

After swallowing the paper ball, Park Seo-hyun stood up abruptly.

“I’ll go now.”

Watching her determinedly head toward the classroom container where Choi Jin-woo was, I had a sudden thought.

I would never understand magicians for the rest of my life.

* * *

Shall I tell you another old story?

‘Hee-jae.’

‘What?’

‘Hee-jae, let’s talk for a moment.’

‘What’s there to talk about? I have nothing to say.’

‘Hee-jae.’

‘I’m not even your real son.’

‘Woo Hee-jae!!’

That was the only time the man ever raised his voice at me. Even when I played with his spear and dropped it, or when I ruined the report he had worked hard on, he just laughed and patted my head.

He wiped his face with the same hand he used to pat my head. It was a gesture full of fatigue.

But when he lowered his hand, the fatigue was gone from his face. He spoke firmly.

‘You’re my son.’

‘Why?’

‘What do you mean why?’

‘Is it because of the adoption? Don’t worry, I’ll leave when I become an adult.’

‘Woo Hee-jae.’

‘Stop calling my name. It’s not for you to call.’

‘Then? Want to change your last name? To mine?’

‘I don’t want to. Why would I take your last name?’

‘Because you’re my son.’

He sighed.

‘Hee-jae. I don’t know what someone told you, but I didn’t take you in for that reason.’

‘Then why? To get some publicity? “The great Hunter Hong Seok-young has adopted a poor orphan and set an example for others”?’

‘It’s not like that….’

‘It’s fine. Let’s not worry about each other and just go our separate ways. Okay?’

To make a pathetic excuse, I was young and overly sensitive. I was also a bit intoxicated by the constant pity from those around me.

It couldn’t be helped. Being an orphan who had been captured by a wicked crime organization easily garnered sympathy from kind people, regardless of whether it was true or not.

Not everyone looked down on me. However, Hong Seok-young held a fairly high position in Korean society. Though I’m not trying to differentiate, people generally associate with others of similar status, and Hong Seok-young was no exception. Looking back, he must have wanted to create a stable environment while raising a child who might have psychological trauma.

Fortunately or unfortunately, because of his efforts, most people around me maintained enough decorum not to say nasty things to a poor orphan. Yes, they just refrained from outright cruelty.

Among them were those who felt that Hunters, despite being good at killing monsters, didn’t belong in their social circle. Some people disliked the idea of an orphan of unknown origin getting close to their children. These people wouldn’t say it outright. They would just subtly and indirectly make remarks.

‘I never thought he would adopt a child, but you never know. His son turned out like that… Oh dear, don’t mind me. It’s not about you, so don’t worry.’

Hearing such remarks at different friends’ houses, despite numerous counseling sessions, would drive any kid crazy. And it would also wear down the adult raising that child.

‘I’m not your son.’

‘You are my son.’

‘Your son is him. I’m just a stray mutt you picked up from the street. Isn’t that right?’

‘I don’t know what you’ve been hearing, but… I didn’t take you in to replace him.’

‘Then what was it for?’

‘I…’

He hesitated. I remember standing still for a long time, not like my usual self. Maybe I was afraid of what he might say.

‘That day, Hee-jae, I saw myself in you.’

‘…What do you mean?’

‘I didn’t want to be here, but I had nowhere to go. I just stared at the door, hoping someone would take me away.’

‘…….’

‘Even though I knew no one cared about me, I couldn’t let go of that tiny bit of hope.’

He gave a bitter smile.

‘I ran away from the orphanage the moment I awakened at nineteen. I didn’t want you to end up like me.’

He cautiously reached out. When his hesitant hand, fearing I might run away, touched my shoulder, he pulled me into a tight embrace.

‘That’s why I decided to be your father.’

“Hey.”

The warmth I felt on my shoulder from the man’s embrace faded, and a woman’s somewhat brusque voice interrupted.

“I don’t really understand what kind of person Teacher Woo is.”

I looked blankly at Kim Chae-min.

“I don’t really understand what Teacher Kim Chae-min is talking about either.”

“Oh, come on!”

Kim Chae-min pouted and grumbled.

“I can’t tell if Teacher Woo cares about the kids or not.”

“At this level, it means he cares.”

“If you say so, there’s not much I can argue with…. But why did you say it like that earlier?”

“What did I say?”

Kim Chae-min kicked my shin under the table.

“Jin-woo didn’t say it like that.”

“It wasn’t wrong, though.”

“If a person with a twisted mind deliberately twists the words, it might come across that way.”

I shrugged. It had been quite some time since Park Seo-hyun went into the container.

Curious about what they were talking about inside, I suggested to Kim Chae-min that we use magic to eavesdrop, but she refused, so we were just sitting and waiting.

“In my experience.”

“Experience? Have you ever taught kids?”

…I ignored the question that was disadvantageous to me.

“Kids like them are so sensitive that a little poke can send them running without brakes.”

“Really?”

“Choi Jin-woo was worried that he would disappoint Park Seo-hyun, right?”

“…Yes?”

“Then, it’s a matter of creating a strong bond so that they can’t let each other go, disappointment or not.”

“What are you talking about?”

While Kim Chae-min was still puzzled by my words, the classroom door finally opened, and Choi Jin-woo and Park Seo-hyun came out. Park Seo-hyun was hiccuping with tears streaming down her face, and Choi Jin-woo…

“Sniff, sniff!! You didn’t tell me you had such a story!!!! I, I’ll do my best!!”

He was crying loudly, his face red.