I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 123

Having put his daughter to sleep, Professor Seong went up to the hospital rooftop for a moment.

“…”

He didn’t want to listen.

It wasn’t just that he didn’t want to; he hated it.

Whatever was in that recorder, now that his daughter had woken up, it wouldn’t matter much or have much impact.

“Rotten part…”

But Seonghyun’s words kept swirling in his head.

If you know the rotten part and don’t cut it out, you never know when another part will rot.

With a click, the recorder started, and as Professor Seong expected, the voice inside belonged to the woman who had been taking care of his daughter.

[Our Jihyun, how does it feel to have devoured your mother? In a way, you’re quite similar to me. I devoured my husband, and you devoured your mother.]

“What… is this…”

He had expected it, so he had prepared himself, but the words he heard were beyond his expectations.

[Come to think of it, there’s one difference: whether you love or not. Jihyun-ah, the day your father comes to me isn’t far off. Soon, you’ll be going to your mother’s side, whom you killed. Of course, so will you.]

After the voice ended, there was a rustling sound.

Like the sound of clothes being pulled up.

[Come to think of it, do vegetative people feel pain? But if I do this, won’t you wake up someday? Of course, it will be too late then.]

After that, a venomous laughter was heard.

He hadn’t witnessed it directly, but it was clear that she had touched his daughter.

“Ha, haha.”

Professor Seong, who was clenching the recorder so hard that it seemed like it would break if he squeezed any harder, took a deep breath as he realized that the voice in this recorder was just the beginning.

The contents that followed were all shocking.

The two husbands she had met so far.

How they died, why they died, and what happened after they died.

Perhaps this woman felt a sense of superiority as she explained in detail to his 12-year-old daughter, who could do nothing but watch.

At first, Professor Seong’s hand clenched in anger, but as the recorder neared its end, he became calm.

“To endure all that alone…”

If his circumstances had been a little better, he wouldn’t have had to receive that woman’s care.

But Professor Seong’s abilities were not enough to cover the child’s hospital bills, caregiving expenses, and living expenses.

So, even if he didn’t like it, even if he was reluctant, he pretended not to notice the approaching woman.

He felt guilty countless times, wondering if he was using the emotions she showed him, but he pretended not to notice every time because nothing was more important than his daughter.

“All of that… is for this.”

Professor Seong copied the now-finished recorder file separately.

Then, he deleted the voice from the original recorder and returned it to the nurses, saying.

“Is this yours, nurses?”

“Ah, yes. Are you done with it?”

“Yes… thank you.”

As he turned around and headed back to the hospital room, the nurse called out to him.

“These are things that the person who borrowed the recorder asked for.”

“Yes? This is…”

The documents handed to Professor Seong.

There was quite a lot, not just one sheet, and Professor Seong checked the documents in the hospital room.

“Ha, this crazy bitch is something else.”

The documents detailed when the woman met the men, how she dealt with them, and how she had lived before meeting him.

She had started a store with the money she received after killing her first husband, and five years later, she seemed to have invested in stocks with the money she received.

It seemed to be going well, but she lost everything quite a while ago and reappeared.

“…Huh? Dad, you didn’t leave?”

“Are you awake? I’m going to sleep here today.”

“You have to go to work tomorrow.”

“Haha. Our daughter doesn’t have to worry; I’ll go to work just fine. So, you should go to sleep soon, right?”

“Okay… I understand…”

Professor Seong stroked his daughter’s hair as she took his hand on the bed into her arms and breathed softly, then lay down next to her and fell asleep.

“Dad, have a good day at work!”

“Yes. Our daughter, eat well and don’t be picky. Got it?”

“Okay, okay.”

Professor Seong, who had left the hospital, first called the academy.

“Hello?”

“Yes, Professor Seong. What’s wrong?”

“Can I… take a day off from work today?”

The fact that a new professor who hadn’t been to work much was saying this might seem quite insincere, but Professor Seong had something he had to do today.

“It’s not that, but there’s something I absolutely have to do today…”

“Yes, I understand.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The headmaster already mentioned it in advance. He said that you might take a day off today, so if you request a vacation, just accept it.”

“No, how did he know…”

As if he had heard from a god, how could the headmaster have given such instructions?

“Hunter Kim Seonghyun requested it from the headmaster. The headmaster doesn’t know the reason either, so if you’re curious, it would be faster to ask Hunter Kim Seonghyun directly.”

“I see…”

“I hope you take care of your business well. Then, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Just as he was about to become curious about the details, a familiar face was entering the hospital entrance.

“Oh my? Professor Seong?”

She looked surprised to find him, but soon changed to a loving smile and approached him, naturally linking her arm with Professor Seong’s and asking.

“Did you come to see Jihyun? Are you going somewhere today?”

“…Soon-geum-ssi [term of polite address]. Thank you for your hard work.”

“…Yes?”

“I have something to tell you today, so I was waiting.”

She wondered if something had happened, but seeing the trusting look on Professor Seong’s face, the woman inwardly rejoiced and replied.

“What is it that…”

“Let’s move to another place first.”

Having arrived at a nearby cafe, Professor Seong immediately got to the point.

“I think I’ve been ignoring Soon-geum-ssi’s efforts too much.”

“Yes? No, it’s something I’m doing because I like it.”

He felt nauseous at that hypocritical voice and expression, but Professor Seong was also a person with a lot of monster subjugation experience, so his expression didn’t easily crumble.

“Now that I’ve been appointed as a professor at the academy, I’m spending money in more diverse places than I thought. So, I was wondering if Soon-geum-ssi could manage it a little.”

“Me, I can do such a thing…”

He could see the corners of her lips twitching behind her hand covering her mouth.

“And these words might be a little early, but even if something unfortunate happens to me, I’ve taken out insurance in my daughter’s name. I’d like you to manage it.”

“Oh, oh my! Don’t say such things. Unfortunate things. Only happy things will be full of you in the future.”

She must have thought, ‘What a windfall!’

He, who had been like an iron wall that wouldn’t fall, was suddenly crumbling and relying on her.

And since he was even offering the money, which was her goal, on his own, the woman had the brightest expression she had shown so far.

“And as an apology for everything so far, how about going on a short trip… I was waiting.”

“Oh my goodness. You’re so sweet… I’d love to!”

“Then shall we go right away?”

“Ri, right away?”

She hadn’t been able to prepare what she needed to do in advance, so she was bound to hesitate.

“Yes, I haven’t had much time since I was appointed to the academy. I barely made time today.”

“Th, then let’s go! What’s important is not where we’re going, but who we’re going with. Hoho.”

Professor Seong immediately drove off.

With this unpleasant and disgusting woman in the passenger seat.

“But… where are we going?”

“I’ve already made a reservation. You just need to bring yourself.”

“Oh my, you’re so prepared.”

Professor Seong’s car gradually left the city, then the outskirts, and then began to drive on a mountain road.

As if he knew where the most deserted place was, the further they went, the fewer people there were.

‘I was worried because I didn’t prepare, but this is the best!’

The woman was so excited that it was written all over her face.

“Soon-geum-ssi. Have you ever heard this?”

“Yes? Heard what?”

Professor Seong, who had entered a completely deserted mountain road, stopped the car next to a cliff and fiddled with the audio.

Then, a very familiar voice began to flow from the audio.

[…Soon, you’ll be going to your mother’s side, whom you killed. Of course, so will you.]

[…Do vegetative people feel pain? But if I do this, won’t you wake up someday? Of course, it will be too late then.]

“Wh, what is this…”

The woman didn’t seem to have grasped the situation yet.

Because her voice couldn’t come out of that audio.

“I was so stupid. I’m an idiot for thinking you were a good person.”

“Pr, Professor Seong?”

The trusting look she had shown him until just now was nowhere to be found, and only hatred and murderous intent remained in his eyes.

“At least… you shouldn’t have touched my daughter.”

On his daughter’s body, which he had checked last night, there were countless bruises hidden under her clothes.

He couldn’t forgive this woman who had left not only physical scars but also indelible mental scars.

“Pr, Professor Seong. I think there’s some misunderstanding…”

The woman looked at him with panicked eyes.

She must have experienced this kind of look when she dealt with her previous husbands.

“What’s the point of any more conversation?”

“Pr, Professor? Professor!”

Professor Seong then unfastened his seatbelt and opened the car door.

“Still… I’m seeing you off this much.”

Professor Seong, who had gotten out of the car, picked up a large rock right next to him and reappeared.

“Professor… nim [honorific suffix]?”

There was no answer to the woman’s call now.

The large rock that Professor Seong was holding was placed on the accelerator pedal.

“Th, this crazy!”

The woman, who had finally grasped the exact situation, tried to get out of the car, but fortunately, the seatbelt wouldn’t come off.

“Professor! Seong Professor!!! You son of a bitch!”

The car began to pick up speed, and the voice calling him began to fade away.

Professor Seong’s car, which had crashed into the weak guardrail that was there or not, began to roll down the cliff with a loud noise.

After the eardrum-splitting explosion echoed several times, Professor Seong slowly approached the pierced guardrail.

He could see his car, so damaged that he couldn’t recognize its shape, down there, and next to it, red blood was spreading little by little.

Nevertheless, Professor Seong did not leave his spot.

He watched the scene for 10 minutes, 20 minutes.

After watching the scene for more than 30 minutes without the slightest movement, he was convinced that it was over, and he collapsed on the spot.

Then, in that state, he muttered as if he were hypnotizing himself.

“I… didn’t kill a person. I killed a monster.”

How many monsters were there in the form of humans? He felt a little relieved when he thought that woman was one of them.

“Let’s go. My daughter is waiting.”

Then he got up and called 119 [emergency services number in South Korea].