Chapter 374

Turning to the source of the sound, I saw a broken chopstick scattered through the pieces of the broken porcelain bowl.

He must’ve put so much strength on the chopstick and the bowl that the two broke at the same time.

It doesn’t seem like Kim Shinrok immediately understood what was going on, and he looked puzzled when he finally saw the pieces of the broken tableware.

Being a teacher among humans, he managed to quickly hide his expression, but Yong Jegun and I already took notice of his agitation.

‘A descendant forgetting how to control his strength... there’s no way.’

Kim Shinrok was clearly shaken by what Yong Jegun said.

‘Is there something between Kim Shinrok and Sung Gukeon? No, maybe it’s something between Yong Jegun and Sung Gukeon.’

I tried to find a point of contact between the three using my knowledge of the story from PMH, but since Kim Shinrok died in the prologue without his name even being mentioned, I don’t think I’d remember anything.

In the end, I need to completely guess what the three have in common just by their personalities and backgrounds.

The easiest one for me to understand was Sung Gukeon.

‘Sung Gukeon isn’t fond of the royal lineage and their descendants. Looking at people with his energy-infused eyes, he can see right through them.’

He used it to see whether I was human or not.Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

It was only after he was convinced that I was human did Sung Gukeon deactivate his ability.

‘Yong Jegun is of royal lineage, and Kim Shinrok is a descendant. Yong Jegun doesn’t hide his identity.’

Even if Yong Jegun or Kim Shinrok once crossed paths with Sung Gukeon, I don’t think Sung Gukeon would’ve welcomed them.

But there’s one common point between the three.

‘Did they meet in Eungwang High? As teachers and a student?’

Kim Shinrok was around the same batch as Professor Ham Geunhyung, but I know the latter has more experience than him.

Professor Ham Geunhyung met Sung Gukeon, who was then in his third year, when he first took office.

That means Kim Shinrok, who became a teacher a little bit later than Ham Geunhyung, wouldn’t have come in contact with Sung Gukeon.

Sung Gukeon must’ve already graduated when Kim Shinrok was appointed to Eungwang High.

‘But just as Hwang Jiho assumes several names and identities, so did Kim Shinrok. Maybe he met Sung Gukeon before he changed his identity to Kim Shinrok? If so, it’s possible that they met as a student and teacher.’

I could only guess so much, but assuming that my guess what correct, I could reach a plausible hypothesis.

I continued thinking.

‘What if he exceeded the life span of a normal human being, or his true colors were found out? In that case, wouldn’t he have to disappear? Erase his identity by pretending to be dead or missing?’

If my assumption was correct, that means Sung Gukeon must’ve lost a teacher at a young age.

Sung Gukeon didn’t live his high school life under the radar.

It’s hard to imagine how much Sung Gukeon would’ve suffered if a teacher who he had affection for died or disappeared suddenly when he was a teenager.

If that really is the relationship between them, I can see why Kim Shinrok is so agitated.

‘...No, all of my guesses could be wrong too. I don’t have enough information and clues to figure out what really happened.’

For further clues and information, I think I can get from Yong Jegun.

I thought he would tell me the reason why he mentioned Sung Gukeon’s name in front of me and Kim Shinrok.

“...Ah.”

Kim Shinrok, who spaced out for a while, tried to repair the bowl with a flustered face.

But there was someone that moved faster than Kim Shinrok.

Fwak! Fwaaaa!

The area around Kim Shinrok became covered with large and small jade-colored spaces.

Yong Jegun used his spatial skill to fetch the pieces of broken tableware.

Even though the porcelain bowl was shattered into fine pieces, Yong Jegun was able to use his skill to repair the bowl without leaving any pieces off.

“I was the one who broke it. I’ll handle it.”

In other words, an identity that Sung Gukeon despised.

Hearing his words now, it’s clear that Kim Shinrok knew of Sung Gukeon’s hatred for the royal lineage and their descendants.

“I didn’t want to build close relationships with the teachers and the students since I was under a disguise... When he was in third grade, I realized that I made a mistake when I saw Sung Gukeon trusting me and consulting me about the founding of the Jiikhoe.”

Eungwang High after Sung Gukeon became the student council president was like a battlefield.

The atmosphere in the school was deteriorating, teachers were divided, and conflicts between students and teachers intensified.

So it seems that Sung GUkeon trusted and followed his homeroom teacher, Kim Shinrok.

Kim Shinrok intentionally went on frequent business trips to keep his distance and try to pass on his student to Ham Geunhyung, but his attempts were futile.

“Sung Gukeon said he would visit me often, and said that he’d look for me during his graduation. That’s why I decided to quickly dispose of my identity, even though it was a little early.”

“...Dispose?”

“After the graduation ceremony, I silently pretended to have fallen from a disease.”

That’s like stabbing Sung Gukeon with a knife.

Being a teacher that Sung Gukeon followed and trusted, his sudden death must’ve literally killed Sung Gukeon.

Kim Shinrok describes his being too close to Sung Gukeon as a “mistake”, but I think the true mistake here is what he did.

But that opinion may be from Sung Gukeon’s point of view.

If I were in Kim Shinrok’s shoes, I might have acted similarly.

Kim Shinrok turned quiet.

As if he had been waiting for silence, Yong Jegun began to speak.

“I was the chief mourner of the funeral. It would be weird if Jeokho-ssi or the Tiger Clan attended, right? So as his coworker and friend, I became the chief mourner.”

Yong Jegun?!

The chief mourner?!

The thought itself was unimaginable, but seeing that Kim Shinrok wasn’t refuting it, it must be true.

“I didn’t even inform Eungwang High of a funeral so that his death could be as quiet as possible. They didn’t have a problem with that since they respect it. But Gukeon somehow knew about it and gathered some students to come and pay respects.”

Kim Shinrok’s closed his eyes tightly.

He also seemed to know that Sung Gukeon attended his fake funeral.

“Gukeon resented me, saying that I simply watched Shinrok die. It’s the first time I saw Gukeon lose his composure and scream like that.’

Sung Gukeon wasn’t the type to lose his composure in a fight.

No matter what dogfight occurs in the National Assembly, he’s known to just smile and cope with it with a relaxed face.

But he screamed and yelled at Yong Jegun on the day of the funeral?

I can see now how much Sung Gukeon must’ve liked Kim Shinrok and just how sad he was.

Looking at his reaction now, it’s clear that Kim Shinrok feels guilty about it and he seems to miss his student too.

‘But considering Kim Shinrok’s personality, there’s no way he would step up. He was like that too with his father.’

I looked at Yong Jegun who brought up this topic.

He was looking at me with expectant eyes.

‘...Is there anything I could do? No, is it even okay for me to intervene here?’

In the end, I was thinking about the specifics of it all without me realizing it.

Sung Gukeon’s traditional values.

Kim Shinrok’s choice and fake identity.

Yong Jegun’s reaction.

My favor to Yeom Bangyeol.

Putting all those things together and contemplating for a while, I finally had something to say.

“Professor Kim Shinrok, I want to propose something.”