Academy’s Villain Professor

Chapter 127: Outing

Well past lunchtime in the afternoon.

Hocheol turned the final page of the book.

As expected from a book meant for exam scores rather than reading pleasure, finishing it brought none of the rhythm or immersion of a good book.

Sighing deeply with disappointment, he stood up.

The sigh wasn’t just about the book’s lackluster content.

Why were there three people in a place barely fit for one to stretch out and relax?

Grumbling inwardly, he headed to the bathroom.

Emerging, he was fully dressed for going out.

Ji-an, with a colored pencil tucked between her lips and nose, looked up sharply.

“Hey, ajussi, where are you going?”

“Bookstore.”

The first certification written exam was in two days.

Despite studying with library books, Sohee’s advice was to try at least one practice test.

As an elite who’d survived the country’s grueling academic gauntlet to join the association, her advice was worth heeding.

Private practice tests weren’t available in the library.

Sohee, lying on the bed fiddling with her phone, glanced up.

“The bookstore here is pretty big.”

“Not the academy bookstore. I’m going outside.”

His monthly outing pass had just reset.

No reason not to use it.

Though Hocheol lived relatively freely without constant supervision lately, that was only within academy grounds.

Outings were still forbidden unless for official association or academy business.

His real goal wasn’t the bookstore but the Hero Cemetery.

“I’m stopping by there too.”

The recent dream had left him unsettled, so he needed to visit.

“Oh, there.”

Sohee smirked and asked.

“No need to pick out flowers anymore, right?”

“Nope.”

Ji-an, completely lost, widened her eyes, looking between them.

“There? Flowers? What’s that about?”

“Just a thing.”

He was ready to go, and explaining now would drag on.

He’d tell her later, brushing it off.

“But how are you going? Boongboong’s not here.”

Sohee was now Ji-an’s watchdog, unable to stray more than a few meters.

Hocheol would have to go alone.

“Asked the association. They said I can’t drive myself. Got a monitoring watch too.”

“You don’t even have a license.”

Hocheol shrugged after a moment’s thought.

“Guess a bike counts as a vehicle to them. Anyway, a couple of bus transfers should do it. Train schedules don’t match.”

Even with an outing pass, he could only ride with association or academy personnel.

It was inconvenient, but public transport was finally allowed.

Though, probably not planes.

“Train!”

Ji-an shouted, the pencil falling to the floor. Ignoring it, she jumped up and grabbed Hocheol’s arm.

“Ajussi, riding a train is my dream!”

“A train?”

“Yeah! I’ve never been on one!”

“How could you… Oh, right.”

Unlike Hocheol, who’d had a somewhat normal childhood, Ji-an’s earliest memories were of a sterile lab, living as an experiment, not a person.

Rescued by Hocheol, she’d been on borrowed time, waiting for death, unable to step outside or feel sunlight, let alone ride a train.

After surviving by sheer luck while her fellow experiments died, she chose the villain path to find Hocheol.

Her fascination with something like a train wasn’t so strange.

Her eyes sparkled as she asked.

“Can I come too?”

Hocheol flicked her forehead with his finger.

“Tch.”

He felt sympathy, but to curb her whining, he cut her off firmly.

“No way.”

“Okay…”

Her arms drooped.

Though Ji-an seemed free, she wasn’t.

Thanks to Hocheol’s near-threatening negotiations, she avoided prison or a facility, but her situation was akin to house arrest.

Her range was limited to this floor of the dorm.

Harsh confinement.

Even dining out or a walk was nearly impossible.

Given her crimes and strength, this was lenient.

Hocheol had agreed to these restrictions.

Still, her obvious sadness tugged at him.

“I’ll talk to the association later. If it works out, we’ll pick a day.”

“Yay!”

Ji-an raised both hands in a cheer.

Hocheol bent to pick up the pencil that had rolled to his feet.

“What’s with the colored pencils?”

She’d gotten a small desk and was coloring all day.

Sohee answered.

“She’s pretty emotionally unstable. After some observation, she needs psychological treatment starting at a five-year-old’s level.”

“Not five!”

“Fine, six.”

“So, coloring books.”

Hocheol looked at Ji-an’s drawings.

They were coloring books with pre-drawn sketches.

With decent color sense, anyone could fill them in well.

“What do you think, ajussi?”

Despite her expectant look, her half-finished work wasn’t great, even generously.

Resisting the urge to ask if the title was ‘Hell,’ he scratched his head.

“Good job. Keep at it.”

She had no talent, honestly.

But if she enjoyed it, fine.

Ji-an added, as if remembering.

“Oh, can you get some flower pots?”

“Flower pots? Not empty ones, I assume. You want to grow plants?”

“Yeah, any kind’s fine! I used to keep a lot of pots in my old place.”

Her head drooped sadly.

“They’re probably all dead now. I worked hard on them.”

Hocheol looked at her head, his expression serious.

Her emotional swings were intense.

She’d said she stabilized around him.

If this was stable, how bad was she alone?

“Alright. I’ll get a few plant pots.”

He felt the need for therapy even more.

* * *

Taking a bus from the academy, Hocheol arrived in a nearby city.

He bought practice tests at the bookstore and stopped by a flower shop in the same building.

He picked out flowers for the cemetery and, per Ji-an’s request, a few pots.

Though she said any would do, he wasn’t clueless enough to grab random ones.

On the clerk’s recommendation, he chose some vines, flowers, and bonsai.

Moderate size, low maintenance—should be fine.

With both hands full, he stepped outside.

Under the blazing sun, the asphalt sizzled.

Even Hocheol, resistant to heat, felt stifled by the summer streets.

Around him, people sweated profusely as they moved.

Escapees, Eclipse—the news screamed societal collapse, but citizens still lived their lives.

“Now, right turn here?”

Checking his phone’s map against the streets, he searched for the bus stop.

Kwang—!

A loud explosion shook the ground from afar.

Simultaneously, a villain alert text arrived.

Screams erupted as people ran from the blast site.

Hocheol let out a small gasp.

“It’s hot as hell, and they’re still at it. Impressive.”

He’d never do villain stuff in this weather.

Maybe it wasn’t a villain but a trait malfunction accident.

He calmly deleted the text and reopened the map app.

The incident was far off, out of sight, and the city had resident heroes who’d handle it quickly.

Sure enough, intermittent explosions signaled a fierce fight.

The villain incidents he’d faced were absurd; this was normal.

But another loud blast shook the ground.

A car soared high, arcing toward a spot far from Hocheol.

The problem was the five-year-old standing at its landing point.

Where were the parents?

The kid stood frozen, unaware of the need to dodge.

“Sigh.”

Hocheol stomped hard, tossing his bags.

Paang—!

He closed the distance instantly, standing between the child and the falling car.

Leaping lightly, he spun and kicked the car.

Kwang—!

It flew back along its trajectory, disappearing.

Landing smoothly, he turned to the kid.

“You okay?”

A silent nod.

Scared but unharmed—good.

Hocheol crouched to eye level.

“Where are your parents?”

Something about the question made the kid tear up.

Without foresight, Hocheol could see tears coming.

“Oh, crying’s gonna be trouble.”

Panicking, he pulled a candy from his pocket and placed it in the kid’s hand.

His trusty grape candy.

“Here, a bribe. Just don’t cry.”

Surprisingly, it worked.

The kid sniffled and nodded.

“Your parents aren’t gone, right? They’re around here?”

Nod, nod—

Thank goodness.

A shake of the head would’ve frozen his brain.

“Let’s find them. Quick.”

If a hero showed up investigating the car, things would get messy.

Holding hands in this crowd would prevent losing the kid, but his bags were in the way.

The kid’s eyes were sharper for spotting parents, but the crowd was thick.

He lifted the kid onto his arm.

“This height should give you a good view. Tell me if you see them.”

“Okay.”

“Okay’s too casual.”

Walking, he ran into an unexpected face.

Shiny silver hair stood out, sweat glistening even more.

Da-yeon, guiding evacuations, locked eyes with him.

“P-Professor?”

“What.”

She stared at him, or rather, the kid on his arm, in shock.

“That kid… is it yours?”

Her bewildered look wasn’t just from meeting an acquaintance.

“Then the mom… who’s…”

Her voice and expression screamed wild assumptions.

Normally, Hocheol would deny it sternly, but not this time.

Seeing her, he lit up.

What a perfect opportunity.

“You’ve got an SSD, right? Social Safety Delegate license?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

Snapping out of it, Da-yeon nodded.

“Perfect.”

He handed the kid to her.

Passing a lost child to a hero required revealing his identity, which wasn’t an option.

But Da-yeon, with the same license, was fine.

“Find the parents and hand them over.”

“Uh, what? The kid’s not… yours?”

But there’s another parent?

“What are you saying? No.”

Still confused, Da-yeon babbled.

Hocheol grabbed her shoulders, turning her around and pushing her back.

“Go.”

* * *

It took nearly 20 minutes to apprehend the villain.

Da-yeon took just as long to find and return the kid to their parents.

Drenched in sweat, she returned, panting.

“Found the parents?”

“Huff… Yeah.”

“Good job.”

Resting her hands on her knees, she caught her breath before straightening.

Wiping sweat from her forehead, she crouched beside Hocheol under a tree’s shade.

Cautiously gauging his mood, she asked.

“So, that kid?”

“No idea. They were alone in that mess, so I picked them up.”

“Oh.”

Relief washed over her.

Hocheol with a kid?

Ridiculous.

He’s unmarried.

No way a former villain had an out-of-wedlock child.

Peeling hair from her cheek, she asked.

“Why are you in this city?”

Meeting Hocheol outside the academy was rare.

“I needed stuff from the bookstore.”

“Ah.”

She glanced around, her white hair whipping Hocheol’s face.

One smack deserved another.

Oblivious to his thoughts, she asked.

“Where’s the other professor?”

She just noticed Sohee, his near-constant companion, was missing.

“She’s home. Other business.”

“Oh, you’re alone.”

More cautiously, she asked.

“Heading back to the academy now?”

“No, I’m…”

He trailed off.

No need to spill personal matters to a student.

But Da-yeon knew those matters.

She wasn’t a complete outsider.

“Going to the Hero Cemetery.”

“Oh.”

Her eyes widened.

“I was heading there too.”

She’d been en route when the villain incident interrupted her evacuation duties.

This city wasn’t even her destination.

Seizing the chance, she grabbed his sleeve.

“Wanna go together?”

She pointed to an expensive foreign car parked on the roadside.

“You’ve got a lot of stuff.”

“Appreciate the offer, but…”

He shook off her hand.

“I’m not allowed private cars. My situation, you know.”

It’d be nice, but unpermitted vehicles breached his contract.

Standing, he said.

“The bus is coming soon. You did well with the evacuation. Good work.”

Grabbing his bags and heading to the stop, Da-yeon hurriedly grabbed his hem again.

He turned.

“What?”

“Uh, well…”

At first, the kid threw her off, but this was a rare chance.

Meeting Hocheol privately outside the academy was unlikely, especially without Sohee.

Missing this because he couldn’t take a car?

She’d regret it forever.

Her answer was simple.

But effective.

“Then… how about I take the bus with you?”