Chapter 2 (Please Teach Me Tutor)
Episode 2: Take off your clothes for tutoring?
“Are you saying you want me to teach academy students one-on-one?”
“Yes.”
“Would that make any money?”
Of course, tutoring academy cadets is not something you can do. Unless you are at a decent level, they probably won’t even notice you.
Of course.
Their opponents were the cadets of the Korean Hunter Academy, known as the best among Korean Awakened.
Their pride and confidence in their abilities were something that could not be easily overcome.
“You know, senior, you were student too.”
“You’ll lose your hair if you keep dealing with them.”
It was a society where even graduates were looked down upon if they did not have the skills.
It seemed like a reckless business to start with just the title of graduating from the Korean Academy.
“If you were from Daesung Guild, the number one hunter guild, wouldn’t it still work?”
“So it worked?”
There is no answer.
It’s obvious.
He was rejected.
“Ahem. But it’s a business with a lot of potential.”
Jeong Bong-sik cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“Be honest, senior.”
“What?”
“Are you here to recruit me for my title?”
“…….”
When Si-woo make eye contact with him, he avoids eye contact.
“Ahem!”
Bong-shik couldn’t meet Si-woo eyes. So, he coughed for no reason and put his elbow on the table.
“Yes. I came here because I needed that title. Top graduate of the Korean Hunter Academy. I don’t know about anything else, but that alone would be enough to eat up the tutoring business……”
“You know that’s impossible, right, senior.”
“……”
“The association revoked my qualifications. My status as a graduate of the Korean Academy and my record of being a hunter were all erased, so theirs no need to talk about that now. And you saw my title disappear right there, senior.”
It was the price of confrontation with Daesung, the industry leader.
Si-woo lost everything he had worked for his entire life, but he had no regrets. If he goes back in time, he would choose to do it again.
Jeong Bong-sik, who had been looking at him silently, lowered his voice.
“Let’s talk about it among ourselves. Honestly, the title that the association has abolished, there’s no point in tutoring, right? Most of the time, villains only come into play when you enter a dungeon or use their abilities against citizens. Rather, we’re trying to help lost children find the right path. What’s there to lose here?”
That’s not wrong.
The criteria for the association to classify someone as a villain is when they invade a dungeon with a forbidden ability, or when they injure Awakened people or civilians.
However, that kind of thing won’t happen in tutoring.
However.
“Teaching children isn’t my style.”
Especially hunters with strong pride.
Si-woo don’t want to engage in unnecessary fights.
“Are you concerned about that, but would be same, if it comes to making money?”
“You know I’m not the type of person to move around for money, right?”
“Ha, are you really not going to do it?”
“Unless someone worth teaching comes along. If not, I won’t do it.”
“Will you do it if someone worth teaching comes along?”
“Yes.”
The reason Si-woo said that teaching children was not his cup of tea was simple. He get so angry whenever he sees people who don’t understand basic things.
Even if you tell them ten times, there are very few people who really understand. And he didn’t have the patience to make them understand but….
‘There are kids who digest anything right away when you tell them something.’
At least you don’t have to repeat the same thing over and over again. It won’t be stressful, so it’s worth meeting once.
Bong-sik tapped his fingers and asked, “then, let’s go together just this once. There’s someone good enough to catch your eye.”
“You’re really persistent, senior.”
“Salespeople have to be persistent. You have to have courage to come back twenty times even if you’ve been rejected ten times.”
Wait, a salesman?
“Are you really planning on leaving teaching the kids up to me?”
“Oh, that’s what I was saying. Ahem. Do you really think I’d leave everything up to you? I’m a guy who’s supposedly running a business.”
“Anyway, are you saying there’s a good kid?”
“Of course. I told you before. I’m already running a business. We have quite a few teachers on our team. But there’s this kid, who the teacher says is hard to handle. She’s smart, but she doesn’t cooperate well with the teacher… Hey, I’m not done talking.”
“I told you. I have no intention of teaching kids who don’t listen.”
“Judging from her performance, she’s smart.”
“Is it because of her practical skills?”
“That’s true.”
This is the most annoying case.
They have a lot in their head, so they know a lot, but they don’t apply it in real life.
The problem is that they often don’t digest the teacher’s advice well.
Why?
Because of the arrogance of thinking that their way is right.
“How long are you going to live with Appraising?”
“…….”
“You have to get revenge. Daesung did something to you, and are you going to just spend my time here with Appraisal? The world’s best hunter Kim Si-woo is just going to live in hiding?”
“Senior Bong-sik, watch your words.”
“That’s what are you going to do. I didn’t say anything wrong, and you know it. It was all those guys who did it, you didn’t kill anyone.”
Kim Si-woo didn’t answer.
No, he couldn’t answer.
It was because of the deal he made with Daesung.
The deal he made to never open his mouth about that matter.
The deal he made in exchange for dropping the lawsuit and making it seem like it never happened.
“Anyway, imagine that the kids you raised become the best in the world. Daesung will make a deal with you to scout your students, and then maybe you can resolve the grudge that has built up over time?”
My mind lit up at Bong-sik’s words.
What if, like he said, the students he taught became the best?
‘Couldn’t that be my weapon too?’
Si-woo only have passive skills.
He had the disadvantage of not having any useful active skills, but his skills, they are the skills that help with growth.
Up until now, he’d only used it for himself, because there were people around him whom he couldn’t trust.
But if he uses this skill on his students and make them stronger, the existence of his students who had grown because of him will soon become his biggest advantage.
If they got recruited, the especially those guilds that can keep Daesung in check, rather than giving them to Daesung or Taesan, wouldn’t it be possible to take revenge on Daesung someday?
The mistake he made when he confronted Daesung was that, he attacked as an individual, an individual named Kim Si-woo.
But what if he attacked as a group, not as an individual?
‘It’s worth a try?’
“I’ll pay you for the class trip. But if you don’t like it, you can refuse. What do you think?”
“How much will you pay me?”
“Two million won.”
“That’s a lot for one trip.”
“I told you we make a lot of money?”
“If you really don’t like it, you can separate yourself from your senior’s business and everything.”
“It doesn’t matter. If you say you can’t do it, I’ll have to pay back the money I received from her.”
The amount of money wasn’t important. What mattered was that Si-woo was getting paid for it.
“Okay.”
“Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow after work.”
“Okay.”
Senior Bong-sik, who had finished the deal, stood up from his seat.
He also had to receive the next guest.
“I will accept your deal!”
***
It was an ordinary day.
An ordinary day, no different from any other.
It was a much more stable and stress-free job than when he used to enter the dungeon to live as a hunter.
However, the income is very disappointing.
No matter how high up you go in the Appraisal industry, how much can a salaried worker earn?
It was barely enough to compete with the income of a C-class hunter.
The income was disappointing, too disappointing.
Whenever Kim Si-woo Appraises, he often thinks back to his active days when he used to run around in dungeons.
It wasn’t just for the money.
The thrill and tension he often felt on the bloody battlefield was something he couldn’t feel anywhere else.
Seniors who started out as hunters before him once said this, ‘Dungeons are drugs. Once you get a taste of them, you can’t escape.’
At first, Si-woo was skeptical about it. But, now he knows what it meant.
“I really want a cigarette.”
He thought about the cigarettes, which he quit after quitting his job as hunter.
Ring!Ring!Ring!
The bell rang, signaling the end of work.
He immediately got up from his seat, packed his bag.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Huh? Are you going to leave work right away? There are still a lot of customers who came to see Si-woo today.”
The team leader secretly wanted him to work overtime. But today is impossible.
He got a side job worth 2 million won.
“Are you done?”
“Senior, are you free? Wait 30 minutes before.”
“I’m still busy.”
Finally, he got into Bong-sik’s car.
“Isn’t this a pretty expensive foreign car? You must be earning a lot, senior.”
“I told you; I earn a lot.”
He felt Bong-sik’s gentle handling and headed to meet the smart private tutor senior had mentioned.
All he did was chat with Senior Bong-sik in the passenger seat.
The place we arrived at was a rather shabby house, considering it was the home of someone who hired an expensive private tutor who charged 2 million won for visit.
“Here it is.”
“You don’t seem to have enough money to pay 2million for a trip.”
“That’s because I provided the bleeding service.”
“How much is it?”
“Five million won per person, per semester.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“Considering the academy tuition, it’s cheap.”
The academy’s tuition is well over 20 million won per semester.
Students with good grades are given scholarships, but those who don’t?
It’s a place where you have to pay a dizzying amount of money to attend.
But since life would be smooth sailing after graduating from the academy, it was worth investing in.
“The children of wealthy Awakened people would be the main targets.”
“Most of them?”
Bong-sik said with a sly smile.
“Of course, there are kids who aren’t like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kids with good grades get less tutoring. It’s kind of like a scholarship. We’re raising these great kids. That’s the idea.”
“Is this kid one of those kids?”
“No. I told you. The practical skills are a mess.”
Si-woo also had a feeling that the student’s condition might not be as good as he thought.
“Let’s meet up first.”
“Let’s go.”
Ding-dong.
-Who is it?
“Student Yu Ah-ra, this is your private lesson.”
-Ah… Was that the same person who came last time? That person wasn’t very good.
“I brought a new teacher. He’s definitely good.”
There was a moment of silence, and soon the door opened.
The person who opened the door was a young woman.
She had black hair that reached down to her waist, tied back, and was looking at us with tired eyes.
Did she study all night?
She was exhausted. This is something that all Academy students have.
Terrible fatigue.
Even for the most awakened, the Academy classes were so intense that it was difficult to keep up.
That must be the reason.
Or maybe she just became neurotic because of her grades.
One thing is for sure.
Despite her exhaustion, she still looked strikingly beautiful. She would probably be quite popular within the Academy.
Even among her beautiful appearance, those dark brown eyes that shined particularly were impressive.
“Is this person your new private tutor……?”
“Haha, yes. He is the teacher who will teach our student Ah-ra. Let me introduce the representative’s history…….”
Senior Bong-sik looked at me for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“He is a top graduate of the Korean Hunter Academy.”
At those words, Yu Ah-ra’s expression changed.
“Top… graduating class?”
Bong-sik took out the document handed it to Yu Ah-ra, who had look of disbelief. It was the top graduation certificate he received in the past.
“There’s definitely an Academy seal here, right? Haha, you genuinely topped the academy?”
“Ahh…….”
As Yu Ah-ra made a gesture to look through it carefully, Bong-sik quickly put the documents in his bosom.
“Okay, then I’d like you to briefly assess Yu Ah-ra’s condition and give her some progress for today.”
“Bong-sik… No, where are you?”
“I have someone I’m supposed to meet up with up ahead. Please call me when you’re done.”
Bong-sik made a phone shape with his hand and shook it, then closed the door and left.
Thud.
So Kim Si-woo was left alone with the student.
“You’re the senior who graduated at the top of your class?”
“Yes.”
“But why aren’t you working as a hunter……”
“There are some circumstances.”
“Ah……”
The awkward atmosphere continued.
“Leaving aside the details, I’m here to teach students, so let’s focus on that.”
“Oh, okay.”
He followed Yu Ah-ra’s instructions and went into her room. It was a small house with one room and a living room.
It was probably a separate house that the family had prepared for her in order to attend the Korean Academy.
It was a bleak house for a woman living alone.
The room was filled with countless books about Awakeners, Hunters, and dungeons.
He could feel how sincere she was about Hunters.
“I got a report saying you were strong in written exams but weak in practical exams. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s true. I got almost perfect scores in written exams, but…”
“What about practical exams?”
“Not good enough.”
It was difficult.
At Hunter Academy, the weight of the written test is 30%.
Even if you get a perfect score on the written test, if you fall short on the practical test, you won’t be able to get a failing grade.
So, the student in front of you right now, Yu Ah-ra, isn’t just a student who is good in theory.
‘That kid is on the verge of expulsion.’
“You already failed once?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll be held back a year this year and next year…”
“That won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“I already failed once. If I fail again, I’ll be expelled.”
Yu Ah-ra’s face turned red with shame.
She had paid a lot of money to sign up for private tutoring.
Expulsion?
This is wrong.
The Korean Hunter Academy was an academy known for its brutally competitive society.
Students who failed to meet the standard in the four regular exams held each year were given failing grades, and students who failed twice a year were all held back, didn’t get promoted to next class.
This was because of the Korean Academy’s school culture, where only the strong could survive.
It was famous for expelling students who had been suspended from school once without mercy if they were failed again.
‘They chose to kick out failed students, rather than them dying in the dungeon.’
“I absolutely cannot fail this time. That’s why I signed up for expensive private tutoring… I can’t give up here. I absolutely have to become a Hunter.”
There was a sense of desperation in her voice.
But desperation doesn’t solve everything.
“But, if your practical skills are lacking, you won’t be able to avoid failing this time either.”
“That’s why I paid a lot of money to find teachers. You can help me.”
Senior Bong-sik.
You said she was a good kid to raise.
But this is a total dud.
Somehow, Si-woo felt he had been scammed.
“Are you that desperate? So desperate that you can do anything?”
“Yes. I’m putting everything on the line here.”
“I’m putting everything on the line…….”
Well then, let’s see how prepared you are.
“Then, would you like to take off your clothes for a moment?”
T.N:
Is this really the right way to check desperation, especially to the girl you met for first time. Please mention your thoughts.