The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 190

Tap, tap, tap.

Yoon Haul hurriedly scurried down the corridor.

She had followed Won’s advice, but…

Yoon Haul turned her head, blinking as she came to a stop.

She had been feeling oddly exposed since a while ago.

Huh.

“He’s not following?”

She definitely saw Han Siha earlier, but she lost him in the crowd gathered to check their grades.

Han Siha was probably also lost somewhere in that sea of students.

Was this really the right move?

It seemed like a complete failure.

Thud.

Yoon Haul plopped down on the stairs.

“This isn’t right… This… It’s ruined….”

Won had been so sure that Han Siha would follow her.

But now, Han Siha was nowhere to be seen, and neither was anyone else.

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that guy.”

All talk and no action, and clearly, Won had also learned about dating from books.

Yoon Haul sighed deeply, grumbling under her breath.

“Ugh.”

She had no idea where Han Siha had gone, and with her hastily conceived plan in shambles, her motivation had completely evaporated.

Any joy she might have felt from maintaining her top position in the Theology Department this semester had long since disappeared from her mind.

“This is so annoying.”

Yoon Haul buried her face in her knees, slumping her shoulders in defeat as she mumbled.

Just then, a shadow fell over her.

Yoon Haul instinctively looked up, not expecting much, but froze at the sight before her.

“…!”

Han Siha was right in front of her, leaning in close.

“What’s wrong?”

Startled.

“Ah!”

Yoon Haul hadn’t expected Han Siha to suddenly appear here, so she quickly clasped her hands together.

‘Was that guy a genius or what?’

Predicting a future that even she, a seer, couldn’t foresee.

She felt almost guilty for having cursed Won in her mind, even briefly.

“Uh…”

Han Siha had indeed followed her, just as Won had predicted. Now… now she just had to move on to the next part of the plan.

But this unexpected development left Yoon Haul’s mind completely blank.

“Uh… uh….”

“Seriously, is something wrong?”

Han Siha’s voice was tinged with concern, as if her pale face worried him.

“No.”

Finally gathering her thoughts, Yoon Haul shook her head vigorously. In doing so, she adopted a slightly curt tone, different from her usual self.

From this point on, she planned to follow Won’s instructions.

Human relationships require some push and pull, after all….

For now, she’d do as she was told.

Thump.

Yoon Haul buried her face in her knees again.

“…?”

It was a dramatic move, making her seem as if she was carrying some heavy burden. Han Siha, looking puzzled, darted his eyes around, unsure of how to react.

“You’re in first place; why the long face? Are you not happy with your score?”

“No.”

“Is someone bothering you?”

“No, that’s not it either.”

“Then did a professor tell you to go to grad school?”

“…What does that even mean?”

“Uh, I don’t know. It seemed like something that might get you down. If it’s not grad school, then what is it?”

As far as Han Siha knew, Yoon Haul wasn’t the type to keep secrets or enjoy being mysterious.

If she thought someone was clueless, she’d usually just get to the point out of sheer frustration.

But Yoon Haul remained silent, simply shaking her head.

Which made sense, of course, because she had no real reason to be upset.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Han Siha sighed and sat beside her on the steps.

Seeing someone who was usually so cheerful looking so dejected naturally drew his concern.

Han Siha stared at Yoon Haul for a moment before speaking again.

“It’s not like bottling things up is going to solve anything. You have to talk for others to understand. I’m not sure if it’s something I can help with, but there’s always the possibility, right?”

Yoon Haul flinched at the softness in his voice.

He was being so sincere, giving her such heartfelt advice that she genuinely didn’t know what to say.

‘It feels like I’m doing something terrible.’

She suddenly felt guilty.

Yoon Haul sat awkwardly, and with no response from her, Han Siha, looking even more concerned, scooted closer and asked again.

“Seriously, just tell me. What’s going on?”

“….”

At this rate, it was less of a push and pull and more like she was just getting swept along by Han Siha’s pace.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

This wasn’t the plan.

Yoon Haul swallowed nervously, trying to regain control of the situation.

She needed a solid move, something decisive, just as Won had advised.

A definite pushback, something clear and firm.

Yoon Haul clenched her fists tightly.

Then, she looked up at Han Siha.

“Thanks for the advice, but…”

With a strained expression, Yoon Haul forced out her words.

“You… you talk too much.”

“Huh?”

“I mean… I mean….”

To put an end to this awkward situation—

Yoon Haul took a deep breath and spat out her next words.

“Go away.”

“Wha… what?”

“I don’t care, just go away.”

The moment she said it, she regretted it.

“Just… just go away already!”

Thud.

Yoon Haul pushed Han Siha away with all her might and jumped up from the stairs.

Han Siha, shoved aside in an instant, raised his hands in bewilderment.

“O… okay, I’ll go.”

“No, don’t go!”

“You told me to go.”

“That’s….”

Ugh, this isn’t right.

* * *

“Telling me to leave, then not to… What am I even supposed to do?”

“Are you telling me not to go?”

Han Siha leaned against the wall, looking down at Yoon Haul, who was crouched on the stairs.

She had been in a foul mood just moments ago, but after giving her a bun, her spirits had lifted.

Seizing the moment while Yoon Haul was cheerful again, Han Siha decided to ask about what had happened earlier.

“What was all that about, anyway?”

Munch, munch.

Yoon Haul took a bite of her sweet red bean bun and looked up at Han Siha.

Since everything had already gone sideways, there was no point in hiding anything anymore.

She answered honestly.

“You keep hanging out with the Magic Department students, so I get bored.”

“And?”

“I was practicing some push-and-pull tactics….”

Push and pull?

Han Siha rolled his eyes at Yoon Haul’s sudden and unexpected answer, but it didn’t take long for him to understand what she meant.

So all that grumbling and running away earlier this morning…

Was it because of that?

Han Siha couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

Honestly, she’s so transparent it’s maddening.

With a smirk, Han Siha shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, so you decided to push me away then, huh?”

“…Don’t make fun of me.”

Yoon Haul frowned as she chewed on her bun, glaring at him.

Though it looked like she was scowling, it had no impact at all.

Grinning widely, Han Siha decided to tease her even more.

“Hey, I’m not an expert, but is push-and-pull usually this physical? Like, actually shoving someone?”

“….”

“You pushed really hard, you know? I did feel it—ahh!”

The two of them were playfully bickering and shoving each other in the hallway.

Yoon Haul tried to push Han Siha again, but even this time, he barely budged.

Han Siha burst into laughter and sprinted in the opposite direction.

“If I catch you, you’re dead meat!”

As Yoon Haul jumped up to chase after Han Siha—

“Uh?”

The door to the Magical Manufacturing Lab swung open, and Adela burst out.

“Yoon Haul! Han Siha!”

“…?”

With her face flushed, Adela called out to the two of them.

Yoon Haul grimaced at the unwelcome interruption, while Han Siha stopped in his tracks, eyes wide with surprise.

But after hearing what Adela had to say, both of their eyes went even wider.

“Guys, it’s the Smartphone!”

The result of their six months of work had finally come to fruition.

“The experiment was a success!”

In Adela’s hand was the final version of the Smartphone.

* * *

The shimmering artifact was finally in his hands.

Sound Mana Trans Telephone.

Or, in short, *Smartphone*.

Han Si-hyuk gazed down at the final product, swallowing hard.

This was, without a doubt, the most valuable result of this semester’s [Magical Manufacturing] class.

Who would have thought that something so groundbreaking could come from the hands of students?

With trembling hands, Han Si-hyuk pressed the button on the side of the Smartphone.

Immediately, the screen flickered and lit up.

“Oh… oh…”

Unlike the sound teleportation booths, the Smartphone only had one button.

Instead of inputting a unique mana number through buttons…

Just a tap.

All you needed to do was touch it with your hand.

“Incredible.”

Han Si-hyuk couldn’t contain his amazement as he watched the numbers he pressed appear on the screen.

That these three students managed to create this in just six months was nothing short of astonishing.

“It feels like witnessing a historic moment.”

Moreover, it allowed two-way communication.

If the developers of the sound teleportation system saw this, they’d probably faint from shock at this groundbreaking invention.

This small rectangular box was poised to change the history of Ardel, if not the entire continent.

“Amazing…”

The fact that the inventors of this device were his students kept a proud smile on Han Si-hyuk’s face.

His gaze remained glued to the Smartphone.

Though they had lost points in Magical Manufacturing for not completing their final project on time, seeing this result made him want to retroactively give them full marks.

“How… how does this even work…?”

Han Si-hyuk fiddled with the Smartphone, exploring the hidden features that the students had built into it.

The variety of astonishing functions packed into such a small object was simply unbelievable.

The more he used it, the more certain he became.

This…

Was not something to be kept hidden.

It needed to be announced at the academy and distributed to those who could use it.

Though Han Si-hyuk had hardly set foot in the Ministry of Magic after voluntarily leaving, he knew he’d be in and out frequently because of this Smartphone.

The students had made the invention, but it was the teacher’s duty to introduce it to the world.

Han Si-hyuk was prepared to run all over to make that happen.

“There’s so much to do.”

He knew it would keep him incredibly busy, but he felt excited rather than overwhelmed.

Han Si-hyuk hurriedly packed up the documents related to the Smartphone, preparing to head to the Ministry of Magic.

But first, he planned to present the device during the faculty meeting.

If possible, he wanted to alert the media and make this historic item known.

And then…

“There won’t be any time to sleep.”

Han Si-hyuk organized his thoughts on what needed to be done and got up from his seat.

The smile on his face didn’t waver. His heart swelled with excitement, making it hard to calm down.

However, his elation didn’t last long.

Creak.

At the chilling sound of the door opening, Han Si-hyuk instinctively turned his head and froze.

“….”

Standing there was a face he never wanted to see again.

And the feeling was clearly mutual, as the other person stared back with a similar expression.

A low voice echoed through the quiet office.

“It’s been a while.”

“What brings you here?”

The smile vanished from Han Si-hyuk’s face.