The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor – Chapter 014
He’s Finally Shedding That Mutt Look
After class ended and everyone dispersed, only Kwak Dojin remained.
Kang Hyeon watched him while sipping his whiskey.
The look in his eyes had changed.
These were the eyes of a man whose mind was made up.
“Professor.”
“What, thirsty for booze again?”
“Thank you for the drink last time.”
“If you didn’t bring the money to pay for it, save your breath and leave.”
Despite the blunt joke, Kwak Dojin bowed at the waist.
Kang Hyeon could tell.
This kid had really made his decision.
To finally strip off the ill-fitting clothes of a third-rate thug and return to his past.
Right. That suits you better.
Rather than clumsily barking.
“Thank you sincerely for everything you’ve taught me. Thanks to you, Professor, I learned what the basics are and what I had been missing.”
It sounded more like a farewell than a thank you.
‘He’s prepared for expulsion.’
Rather than watch Baek Yuyeon continue to be manipulated, he had decided to throw away the Academy.
But Kang Hyeon didn’t bother stopping him or prying into that decision.
Arguing over a choice made after bone-grinding deliberation is not the proper courtesy toward a martial artist.
“I don’t know what it is, but it seems you’ve made a firm decision.”
“Yes.”
Kwak Dojin bit his lip hard.
He had no regrets.
Yet, a lingering reluctance remained.
Seeing Kang Hyeon’s Three Talents Sword Technique earlier had set his blood boiling for the first time in ages.
Kang Hyeon had perfectly demonstrated the overwhelming presence he had wanted to reach when he first grasped a sword.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Speak.”
“Even if I am no longer a cadet at the Academy, could I still receive your teachings?”
A brief silence hung in the air.
Gulp.
Swallowing a mouthful of liquor, Kang Hyeon replied.
“You didn’t pay for the drinks, and now you want to take my class without paying tuition? Cha Yusik was the same earlier—none of you have a conscience.”
“Didn’t you say I was an exception? That I couldn’t skip class. I was taught a man never goes back on his word.”
In truth, Kwak Dojin had never felt the desire to retake a class, no matter how great the professor was.
But Kang Hyeon’s class was different.
He wanted to keep taking it.
He felt like he finally understood why private tutoring was so popular outside.
The conviction that giving up his Academy diploma would be more than worth it if he could just remain Kang Hyeon’s disciple.
“You seem to be mistaken, mutt.”
“Pardon?”
“When have we ever held class during official class hours?”
“…!”
Kwak Dojin’s eyes widened.
The official class time was originally Saturday at 10 AM.
In other words, anyone could participate in the classes held outside of that time, even if they weren’t a cadet.
“…Thank you. Professor. I will take my leave then.”
Kwak Dojin quickly turned his back to hide his reddening eyes.
Of course, there was no way Kang Hyeon couldn’t see it.
‘Tsk, a man shedding tears.’
* * *
The alleyway behind the female cadets’ dormitory.
Someone was cautiously walking toward Kwak Dojin, who was leaning against the wall.
A white mask and a baseball cap pulled down low.
“Why did you call me out again, Senior?”
It was Baek Yuyeon.
It was obvious she was trying to avoid someone, but Kwak Dojin actually felt relieved seeing that.
‘She hasn’t stamped the contract yet!’
Why else would she be avoiding Hwang Minwoo?
“I told you. Stop interfering. Why do you keep seeking me out?”
“What about the contract?”
Kwak Dojin asked calmly.
Just to be absolutely sure.
“Hah.”
Baek Yuyeon let out a short sigh.
A sharp pang of guilt ached in the corner of her heart.
‘The senior who ruined himself trying to save me.’
She couldn’t bear to see him expelled, and she wanted to talk him out of acting like a thug.
“Listen well, Senior.”
So she drew a firm line.
“Because you saved my life, Senior. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you graduate safely. That is my responsibility and my duty.”
“…”
“So you need to live your own life, Senior. Stop acting out, stop going astray, and just attend your classes diligently. You shouldn’t do this, if not for yourself, then for your grandmother.”
After a brief silence, Kwak Dojin replied.
“I’m not going astray anymore.”
“Pardon?”
“I swore I won’t live like a thug anymore. So answer me.”
Kwak Dojin took a step closer and asked.
“That 10-year slave contract—did you sign it?”
“Hah, about that.”
Baek Yuyeon’s lips parted.
“I didn’t.”
“You didn’t?”
“Actually, I couldn’t.”
Baek Yuyeon muttered, pressing her fingers against her forehead.
Not doing it and not being able to do it were two completely different things.
“How could you not? Did that Hwang Minwoo bastard just sit still?”
“I was right on the verge of stamping my thumbprint, you know? But…”
A look of sheer bewilderment crossed Baek Yuyeon’s face.
“You know that newly hired contract professor who carries a whiskey bottle around every day?”
“Professor Kang Hyeon?”
“Yes, him. He suddenly stumbled out of nowhere, slurring ‘Oops! I’m drunk!’ and deliberately spilled his liquor all over the contract.”
“…What?”
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“And it wasn’t just once. Hwang Minwoo got pissed off and printed out another contract, but he appeared like a ghost again, claimed his foot slipped, and just ripped the contract cleanly in half.”
“…”
Kwak Dojin’s heart pounded.
“Because of that, Hwang Minwoo is absolutely furious and throwing a fit right now. Since the professor did that twice, I figured it was some kind of sign, so I’ve been making excuses to push back our meetings and running away.”
Listening to Baek Yuyeon’s grumbling, Kwak Dojin’s mind went blank.
‘The professor did?’
There was no way Kwak Dojin could know that Kang Hyeon had only ruined things because he had his sights set on Baek Yuyeon.
So the bridge of his nose stung.
‘…He was helping me!’
He was genuinely moved.
Calming his overwhelmed heart, Kwak Dojin brought up the main point.
In truth, this was the reason he had called her out.
“I’m leaving the Academy.”
“…What did you just say?”
Baek Yuyeon’s eyes were dyed with shock.
“Senior! What are you saying now!”
“I’m going to walk out on my own two feet before I get expelled.”
“I told you I would find a way to stop it.”
“That’s exactly why!”
Kwak Dojin’s voice rose slightly.
“I’m leaving because you’re doing things like that. Do you think I’d be genuinely grateful if you stamped your thumb on a contract like that?”
“Senior!”
“I will handle my own life. If I get expelled, all the reasons for that bastard Hwang Minwoo to threaten you disappear too!”
“Don’t you feel it’s unfair, Senior?”
“I used to, but not anymore.”
Kwak Dojin sincerely believed that.
Life works in mysterious ways.
If his life hadn’t fallen into the gutter, would he have ever taken Professor Kang Hyeon’s class?
“I’ve already found my own way to survive. So please, just think about yourself. Don’t ruin your life using me as an excuse.”
Just as their emotions clashed, stretching the air taut.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of slow clapping echoed out.
“Oh my, what a tear-jerking teen drama we have here.”
Kwak Dojin and Baek Yuyeon’s heads turned simultaneously toward the sound.
A man walking out of the darkness with a hardened expression.
It was Hwang Minwoo.
He looked quite angry.
“This makes me the villain, right? Fine, fuck it. Let me play the proper villain for you.”
He walked over with a twisted sneer, his eyes wild with jealousy.
He glared at Kwak Dojin.
“Senior Kwak, you’re walking out on your own two feet?”
He snorted at the same time.
“Don’t delude yourself, Mad Dog. Do you think things will get easier once you leave the Academy? Whether it’s expulsion or dropping out, do you think our guild’s influence won’t reach you when you struggle to make a living as a Hunter out there?”
“…”
“And Baek Yuyeon.”
Hwang Minwoo pulled a crisp, unwrinkled new contract from his coat and waved it around.
“That crazy drunkard professor ruined things twice and made the contract fly away, but I printed it out again and even laminated it this time. But seeing the pathetic, affectionate display between you two just now really ruined my fucking mood.”
Venom filled Hwang Minwoo’s eyes.
“Let’s make an amendment. Not 10 years, but 15. You will rot in our guild’s affiliated medical unit for 15 years. Otherwise, I’ll chop off this bastard’s limbs so he can’t even function as a Hunter outside.”
“Y-You really…!”
Baek Yuyeon’s face turned ashen.
It was then that Kwak Dojin, who had been listening silently, finally opened his mouth.
“Hwang Minwoo.”
He didn’t lose his temper like usual.
Because he had made up his mind.
Not to live like a thug anymore.
“Originally, I was planning to just leave the Academy quietly on my own two feet, you see?”
Kwak Dojin cracked his neck left and right.
Crack, pop, the sound of grinding bones echoed through the alley.
“But thinking about it, that just won’t do.”
“What?”
“Let’s just make it a guaranteed expulsion.”
“What kind of bullshit are you suddenly…”
Before Hwang Minwoo could even finish his sentence.
Dash!
Kwak Dojin closed the distance with a single, massive stride.
As his tempered lower body pushed off the ground, the force traveled seamlessly up his waist and shoulders.
‘The professor said it.’
A sword is dead if the feet leave the ground.
Power is drawn up from the earth.
“Senior, don’t!”
Baek Yuyeon reached out in a panic to stop him, but Kwak Dojin’s fist was already cutting through the air.
In the first place, you needed basic martial prowess backing you up even to act like a thug.
In terms of actual combat power, Kwak Dojin was inherently leaps and bounds above the likes of Hwang Minwoo.
Add to that a strike perfectly centered thanks to Kang Hyeon’s teachings!
Craaaack!
Hwang Minwoo’s head snapped back.
Just one hit.
With his brain rattled by that single, heavy blow, Hwang Minwoo couldn’t even manage a proper scream before passing out.
Silence fell over the alleyway as Baek Yuyeon covered her mouth with both hands.
“Hoo.”
Kwak Dojin let out a refreshing sigh.
“There, you saw it. This is definitely enough for an expulsion. It wasn’t self-defense or anything—I just beat him up in broad daylight.”
“S-Senior. What are you going to do?”
“So, don’t you dare think about signing a garbage contract like that, even if you die.”
It was the declaration of a true martial artist.
Watching the scene from the roof, the corners of Kang Hyeon’s mouth curled up.
‘He’s finally shedding that mutt look.’
* * *
A moment later.
The door to the medical center burst open.
The eyes of the cadets and on-duty nurses inside snapped to one place in unison.
The one who opened the door and walked in was Kwak Dojin.
The Academy’s famous attraction, the Mad Dog.
“Gasp…!”
“What’s going on?”
Slung over his shoulder like a sack of rice was the unconscious Hwang Minwoo, his neck dangling.
Behind him, a pale-faced Baek Yuyeon chased him inside.
“Senior! Don’t do this! Please!”
Thud!
Kwak Dojin roughly tossed Hwang Minwoo from his shoulder onto an empty bed.
“What is going on here?”
Hearing the commotion, a woman wearing a doctor’s coat ran out from inside the examination room.
It was Professor Hwang Yerim.
“Kwak Dojin? Did you cause another incident?”
“Yes, Professor.”
Standing with his back perfectly straight, he spoke confidently.
“I beat him up. It wasn’t self-defense or anything—I just beat him openly because his face pissed me off.”
“What?”
“So.”
Kwak Dojin looked Hwang Yerim straight in the eye.
“Treat him, and convene the Disciplinary Committee.”
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