Chapter 114: Library

Ji-an let out a beastly roar and lunged at So-hee.

“SHAAAHHH!”

Or rather, she tried to.

“Haa.”

Ho-cheol’s long, deep sigh from behind made her freeze mid-jump.

Her head turned creakily, her eyes trembling with anxiety and tension as she looked at him.

Cautiously, she asked?

“Are you mad?”

Ho-cheol shook his head, still lowered.

“No. This sigh isn’t because of you—it’s because of my own pathetic state. I made such a big deal about being your guardian, but how much of your behavior is my fault?”

At that moment, Ji-an felt the boiling blood in her veins turn ice-cold.

If he’d outright scolded or berated her, she might’ve handled it.

But seeing him blame himself snapped her to her senses.

Given her situation, she’d been granted an almost impossible degree of freedom.

Above all, being able to stay by Ho-cheol’s side was entirely due to his sacrifices.

If she acted recklessly on her emotions, the consequences would eventually circle back to him.

And more than anything,

His expression pained her deeply.

“I-I won’t do it again.”

“And?”

Ji-an lowered her head, mumbling through her lips.

“I’m sorry.”

“To me?”

She turned to So-hee and apologized again.

“I’m sorry.”

“Uh, um. Okay.”

Wiping the toothpaste foam from her mouth, So-hee just blinked awkwardly.

She had no idea what had just happened, but it ended with an apology.

For her, there was no other option but to say.

“Alright, fine.”

Accepting the apology was all she could do.

“Good. Apologizing is nice. Of course, the best thing is not doing anything that requires an apology.”

Ho-cheol added, as if realizing something.

“Do you even remember what happened yesterday?”

“Huh?”

So-hee placed a finger on her cheek, puffed out from the toothbrush, and thought.

“Wha? When?”

At her claim of remembering nothing, Ho-cheol shook his head, letting out an even bigger sigh than when Ji-an almost lunged.

“Just thinking about the mess you made last night gives me a headache.”

It wasn’t just the hangover.

The spots on his shoulder and body where she’d bitten him ached even more.

“Anyway, don’t go around bragging about how well you can drink… No, you do drink well, so whatever. Just don’t drink too much.”

“What?”

At the revelation that Ho-cheol and So-hee had been drinking together, Ji-an nearly jumped again but barely held herself back this time.

“My friends always say I’m a quiet drunk.”

“Then what I went through must’ve just been you causing a scene.”

No matter what Ho-cheol said, So-hee, whose memory of the night was completely gone, felt unfairly accused.

She’d never lost a drinking match, even in the forced drinking sessions typical of bureaucrats.

To think she’d not only been outdrunk by Ho-cheol, a first-time drinker, but also shown a side no one had ever seen!

“Let’s drink again later. I wasn’t in top form yesterday.”

“If I drink with you again, I’m not human.”

“Tch.”

So-hee scurried back to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth and came out again.

“So, everything worked out?”

Ho-cheol explained what had happened that day.

“It’s been resolved, in a makeshift way. Seems like the Intelligence Department was pretty burdened by keeping her.”

If it weren’t for that, would they have skipped all the mandatory paperwork, reviews, and tedious bureaucratic processes to just hand Ji-an over?

Once Ji-an was transferred to Clington, the academy would have a semi-mandatory obligation to manage her.

It was like passing a hot potato, and the Intelligence Department had succeeded.

Of course, whatever complaints the dean might have later, they’d have to deal with it themselves.

“They said they’d handle the follow-up.”

“The Intelligence Department’s always been a bit irresponsible.”

Maybe there was some old grudge Ho-cheol didn’t know about, as So-hee openly showed her disdain for the Intelligence Department.

Probably a departmental rivalry.

“I can roughly guess how the Association operates.”

So-hee’s “Jeong Ho-cheol surveillance duty” had abruptly ended, and Ji-an’s custody had been tossed to the academy.

Considering the Association’s greedy tendency to swallow everything from head to tail, their intentions were obvious.

“It’s not like we’re losing out on this, either.”

He glanced at Ji-an briefly.

For now, she was under control, but he couldn’t be certain he was doing the right thing.

It wasn’t easy to feel both responsibility and burden at the same time.

“Guess we need to make her a person first.”

A sudden thought struck him, and he asked So-hee?

“You said you have a counseling license, right? You do some counseling with the kids. Is that

career counseling?”

“No, psychological counseling, obviously.”

Her tone implied it was a ridiculous question, and Ho-cheol’s face lit up.

“Perfect.”

Honestly, Ho-cheol had no talent for persuading or caring for others, even as a courtesy.

Until now, he’d mostly repeated what he’d heard or experienced himself, which had worked well enough.

But that approach was reaching its limit.

For someone like Ji-an, who needed close care, he had no frame of reference and was completely lost.

And here was a real expert, right beside him.

“From now on, you take care of her closely. I’ll be back after stepping out for a bit.”

His afternoon schedule made it impractical to drag Ji-an along, and leaving her to wait on a park bench felt oddly wrong.

This was perfect timing.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Unaware of his reasoning, both women let out dumbfounded noises simultaneously.

It wasn’t just about psychological counseling or building a closer bond.

Ji-an’s extreme instability and signs of bipolar behavior stemmed from none other than Ho-cheol himself.

To lessen her obsession, even slightly, he needed to create some distance first.

Even now, just the hint of separation was making her visibly anxious.

Grabbing his sleeve, Ji-an stomped her feet.

“A-Ajusshi, are you abandoning me? I’m sorry, I won’t do it again!”

Her voice and eyes darkened with worry, which was concerning.

He didn’t want her piling up misunderstandings or hurt feelings, so he needed to explain clearly.

“Who’s abandoning you? People might actually think that.”

Ho-cheol placed a hand on her head.

“What did I say? It’s not about what you want to give me.”

“It’s about asking for what you want…”

How could she forget?

That was the one phrase that truly moved and convinced her.

“Right. You remembered well. I know you might feel upset or even resentful that I’m keeping my distance, since I don’t fully understand how serious your situation is.”

“No, it’s not like that!”

“Then that’s good.”

Ho-cheol bent slightly to meet her eye level.

“Sure, sticking by my side as you want wouldn’t be a big issue. But what comes next?”

Next, Ji-an had thought about it, of course.

But those were her own greedy, impossible desires, things she couldn’t bring herself to say out loud.

Ho-cheol pointed at So-hee briefly.

“She’s one of the few people I trust. If you really want to stay this close to me, you’ll run into her plenty of times, just like today. You’ll need to build new relationships. But if you keep acting like this…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Ji-an would understand well enough.

Of course, Ho-cheol would do his best to help her reform and change.

But if she refused to change and crossed an irredeemable line, even he would face a moment of choice.

And if it came down to choosing between So-hee and Ji-an, the answer was clear.

“Okay.”

“If you really can’t handle it, we can take it slow, give it more time. I can wait that long.”

If he could give someone the same chance he’d been given, he was certain she could change.

He wasn’t in a rush.

Ji-an shook her head gently.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Good. Then you two figure out what to eat for lunch and have a nice talk.”

So-hee, suddenly tasked with Ji-an, hurriedly called out to him.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I’m…”

For just a moment, Ho-cheol’s expression looked sadder than ever.

“Heading to the library.”

Studying for certifications at this age.

* * *

Clington’s library.

The sheer scale of it, clearly backed by immense funding, went far beyond merely “large.”

He’d seen it from a distance while commuting but was still a bit shocked by its grandeur upon visiting for the first time.

“…So many books.”

The collection numbered in the millions, and even classified documents, typically restricted, could be accessed with minimal procedures.

Any student with a thirst for knowledge could reap those benefits.

Of course, Ho-cheol was just there to find books for his certification studies.

Thanks to the break, the library was quiet.

The certifications the dean demanded were among the most universal and essential.

No need to buy expensive study guides or past exam papers—reading a few relevant books from the library would suffice.

He quickly searched for some books at the catalog terminal.

Since they weren’t particularly popular, no one had checked them out.

With a few books tucked under his arm, he turned to leave when his gaze fell on a corner of the library.

Bookshelves, partially hidden by others, stood apart.

A belt guide blocked access, with a sign reading “No first-year access, no borrowing allowed.”

What kind of books were these?

Curiosity piqued, he approached.

The closer he got, the more he felt a strange, dark aura.

Upon reaching the shelves, he understood immediately.

Antisocial books that outright rejected the current Trait, Awakened, and Gate society systems—books that, just a decade ago, would’ve been banned or deemed subversive.

Yet here they were, occupying a corner of the academy’s library.

Seeing the title Workers, Unite! at the forefront, Ho-cheol muttered dryly.

“Not a dark aura, but a red one, huh.”

Next to it were shelves of classical literature, some bordering on scandalous or obscene.

Apparently, these were now preserved for their literary value, though borrowing was prohibited.

Ho-cheol couldn’t help but feel the times had changed.

“The world’s really…”

Changed a lot.

It wasn’t just that banned books now had a place in the library.

Some of those books were tied to Ho-cheol’s past.

Most were filled with foolish propaganda or baseless theories, but a few had solid arguments.

More importantly, they were books he’d smuggled during his villain days.

They’d sold for a fortune.

Whether this societal shift was positive or negative, Ho-cheol couldn’t judge.

Nor did he see a reason to.

Lost in thought for a moment.

Thud—

Someone from the next aisle bumped into his side, causing the books in his arms to spill onto the floor.

The person, who’d hit their nose on his arm, rubbed it with the back of their hand.

“Ow, damn…”

Suppressing a curse, the woman muttered in a low voice.

“Where the hell are your eyes…”

But she didn’t finish.

Meeting Ho-cheol’s gaze, Ye-jin’s eyes widened.

“Professor!”

About to shout, she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth with a thwap.

“You’re supposed to be quiet in a library.”

Realizing her mistake, Ye-jin nodded rapidly.

Ho-cheol removed her hand from her mouth.

“Hey, hi.”

“Yeah. Studying in the library during break? That’s some dedication.”

As he spoke, Ho-cheol bent down to pick up the book she’d dropped.

“Wait, hold on! That’s—”

Ye-jin lowered her voice but still panicked.

Ho-cheol, however, remained unfazed.

Considering the corner she’d come from, he could guess it was something odd.

He had no intention of pointing it out.

She was an adult, and these were books kept in the academy’s library.

“What? It’s fine. You’re an adult.”

But when he saw the book’s title, his brow furrowed.

He flipped it over to check the back.

His expression crumpled further.

Opening the book, he flipped through it and read a random page.

He pulled his head back sharply.

“Ugh, damn.”

Even if it had literary preservation value, this was a bit much.

“…They teach sex ed at the academy, right?”

Ye-jin just nodded silently, her face—and even her neck—flushing bright red.

“That’s… something, at least. Ugh.”

Trying to say it was a relief, he sighed again, visibly shocked.

“To think my student has this kind of taste. I didn’t want to know that.”

His curiosity had only hurt his eyes.

Holding the book by his thumb and index finger, he handed it back to her.

“Take it. Yeah, uh, enjoy your time.”

As he turned to leave quickly, Ye-jin snapped out of it.

She hurriedly ran to block his path.

“No! I can explain!”

“No need to explain. I respect people’s tastes. Don’t understand it, but still.”

Despite his words, his eyes looked at her like she was some irredeemable pervert with a horrifying fetish.

Chasing after him, Ye-jin shouted urgently.

“It’s a misunderstanding!”

Misunderstanding, my foot.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.