NOVPUBEun-Gwang High School, 2nd Year Teachers' Office.
Today's topic among the teachers was the Teacher’s Day event prepared by the students.
The most talked about were the secret video revealed by Cheongwon, Ze Gahl-Jae-Gahl, and the upcoming showdown with Im Yeon-hwa.
Although none of the three were present in the 2nd-year teachers' office, they were still being discussed.
"Teacher, the head of the research department is apparently doing some light exercise, training all night. He says he’s doing his best because the graduated students are coming."
"Wow, I wonder if Ki-hwan and the others will be able to walk back home tomorrow."
"He’d win even without that training, he’s so strong and diligent."
"I guess Teacher’s stopped writing poems?"
"I heard he won a lot of awards in the past... but I guess now he’s focusing on teaching."
The teachers who didn’t know much about Ze Gahl-Jae-Gahl casually mentioned him, then moved on.
In fact, the teachers were more interested in Cheongwon.
Due to Eun-Gwang High’s academic atmosphere, the longer a teacher works here, the more selective they become about what they listen to and eat, so it was inevitable.
The current band club advisor at Eun-Gwang High was known for being stingy with praise, but he had highly praised Cheongwon’s singing and guitar playing skills.
"I guess you’re not in the band anymore?"
"This year is my first time taking a class with class 0, and with the Taeho-gwon club, it would be hard. I also spend my holidays doing other work, like in-game campaigns and volunteer activities."
As the teachers were lamenting, the door to the teacher's office opened.
Kim Shin-rok entered, holding several paper bags, a mixture of joy, awkwardness, and embarrassment evident on his face, likely from meeting with the graduated students.
Teachers with more experience noticed this and watched Kim Shin-rok with satisfaction.
"You’ve worked hard again this year."
"Thankfully, the graduated students are still following the proper etiquette when visiting."
It was no secret that many of Kim Shin-rok’s students continued to gather after graduation.
There were rules in place for the meetings.
One of the guidelines was to make sure not to overwhelm Kim Shin-rok when many people gathered suddenly.
Today, five graduates had come to visit Eun-Gwang High, selected through a very competitive drawing process.
Kim Shin-rok didn’t know much about the process, only that he had been invited as the representative of the graduates.
‘I just wanted to quickly greet them so I wouldn’t take up their time, but with that dragon showing up...’
Kim Shin-rok had no classes this afternoon, so he had used the time to meet with the graduates.
It was a rare chance to see them again, and while he was very happy and excited, Kim Shin-rok, well aware that human time was fleeting, tried to respect the graduates' time.
The graduates didn’t seem to mind spending their precious time with Kim Shin-rok, but Kim Shin-rok didn’t fully understand that.
As the graduates tried to leave early, sensing they might be bothering him, the uninvited Yong Je-geon appeared.
Yong Je-geon cheerfully interrupted, disturbing the little time left between Kim Shin-rok and the graduates.
Yong Je-geon’s words stirred the graduates’ memories of their long-forgotten dreams of becoming Dragon Slayers.
As they imagined ambushing the dragon tribe in the amusement world, Kim Shin-rok intervened.
Kim Shin-rok held back his anger and tried to act like a teacher.
The tension in the graduates’ eyes grew as they watched Kim Shin-rok and Yong Je-geon talk.
They were already irritated by the sudden appearance of this dragon from the amusement world, and couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the waste of time.
Although Kim Shin-rok was somewhat insensitive to the emotions of his students, he eventually realized that they were unhappy, feeling neglected as he focused on Yong Je-geon.
After some thought, Kim Shin-rok decided to chase Yong Je-geon away and spend the time with his graduates.
Kim Shin-rok had prepared tea, but Yong Je-geon was not invited to partake.
Yong Je-geon, grinning mischievously, watched the scene unfold and then left.
Yong Je-geon headed towards the 2nd-year class 0 classroom.
After Yong Je-geon left, the atmosphere calmed down, and Kim Shin-rok enjoyed tea with his graduates.
"So, the graduates came today? There must be some professionals among them, couldn’t we just meet them on the weekend?"
"Right, tomorrow is Teacher’s Day. Didn’t you arrange schedules in advance?"
Kim Shin-rok would have liked to adjust his schedule to accommodate the graduates, but tomorrow he simply couldn’t make the time.
After a brief pause, Kim Shin-rok answered carefully.
"...I have an appointment."
He had promised to visit Eun-Gwang High every year for Teacher's Day to offer flowers.
