Chapter: 07
“What is this?”
Saebyeok drizzled gochujang in the shape of a heart over Haram’s omelet rice.
“What could it be?”
Haram, in turn, splashed ketchup in a squashed… heart shape on Saebyeok’s omelet rice.
“What on earth happened while I was running errands at headquarters?”
“What do you mean?”
Saebyeok, taking a big bite of her omelet rice, mumbled as she chewed.
Dongbaek smiled kindly at his fake wife, who was enjoying his cooking.
“You two have gotten really close, haven’t you?”
“Hmm… does it look that way?”
“Very much so.”
Haram, trying to help the shy Saebyeok, poured water for her himself.
Dongbaek pushed his cup toward her, silently asking her to pour for him too, but she didn’t even glance at him.
“Amazingly, now you look like just a servant compared to Madam.”
“That’s a relief. Haram, if we try a bit more, we could at least look like a mother and son who aren’t close.”
“I will continue to strive, Master.”
“Master?”
Dongbaek, surprised, finally started smirking as if he had caught a break.
“You little rascal, you still can’t say ‘Mom’? What’s so hard about that?”
“Ouch.”
“If your stubbornness were as soft as your cheeks, how great would that be. Now, try it. ‘Mom, I love you~’”
“Love… that’s a bit much…”
Saebyeok watched with a slightly awkward expression as Dongbaek pinched Haram’s soft cheeks.
Haram, desperately trying to fend off his hand, still argued back without losing face.
“Master is greater than Mom, you silly Dad!”
“Oh, really?”
“Hehe… Master is a PhD in paleontology!”
“What… what kind of PhD?”
Hah, Haram’s nose lifted in pride.
From that moment, the legend of Dr. Saebyeok in paleontology spilled from Haram’s mouth.
For example, how she had scored full marks at lightning speed on the university dinosaur aptitude test appended to the dinosaur encyclopedia.
And how she could recite the entire dinosaur timeline flawlessly, and even pronounce Epidexipteryx perfectly without stumbling…
“Compared to Dad, who only knows about Tyrannosaurus, she’s on a completely different level. Bow down quickly.”
“Geez, soon you’ll be saying I can’t even eat at the same table.”
“Go eat outside with the raccoon.”
“You keep ignoring this handsome dad, but I know about T-Rex now, you know?”
“Well… Dongbaek, T-Rex is just a nickname for Tyrannosaurus.”
“Oh.”
Dongbaek fell from “silly Dad” to “hopelessly silly Dad.”
“I was hoping that once the two of you got closer, the three of us could go to an amusement park together…”
Haram, afraid of catching the “silly virus,” scurried off to the living room.
Dongbaek pretended to wipe away tears, gazing at Saebyeok with fascination.
“Even so, Haram, he has a really high bar, right? How did you get recognized by a kid who spends all day memorizing dinosaur cards?”
“Skill, I suppose.”
Saebyeok, regaining confidence after a long time, responded with quiet pride.
Of course, the effort from her teaching practicum—memorizing dinosaur wiki entries and kids’ names to get along with mischievous elementary students—hadn’t gone to waste.
“With this, there’s nothing to worry about today.”
Dongbaek set down his coffee cup with a bright smile.
Today was the first day all of the staff of Beodeul School would gather.
“Technically, they’re the operational staff. The principal I met before doesn’t handle these matters at all.”
“So what do they do…?”
“They do very valuable work since they’re here themselves~”
It was a bright and clear winter day.
Walking along the lakeside where their breath formed clouds, Saebyeok loosened the scarf she had wrapped around her neck as she descended toward Sansuyugwan.
Unlike the first day, which had been silent as a grave, there were now signs of life everywhere.
“This way.”
Dongbaek skillfully led the way.
“The person we’re going to see now is the vice principal. The leader of the operational staff, so to speak.”
“What kind of person?”
“Someone who values principles and believes the process is as important as the results? Not originally strict, but when I visited headquarters the other day, there was a minor issue.”
“Minor issue?”
“The vice principal had pre-selected a candidate before the foundation informed us of our dispatch. Oh, here we are.”
Minor? Hardly.
Before Saebyeok could protest, the office door swung wide open.
Beyond Dongbaek’s waving arms, a window opened fully.
And perched on the windowsill was a gigantic raptor…
A raptor?
Startled, Saebyeok froze. Dongbaek, however, strode confidently toward the window.
“Oh, it’s been a while, Elder~ I hope you’ve been well.”
Dongbaek reached out, and the raptor flapped its enormous wings and rose into the air.
Saebyeok, trying to grab Dongbaek’s sleeve in surprise, saw the raptor transform instantly into a human mid-air and approach them.
“Long time no see, Kim.”
The person holding Dongbaek’s hand had an age and gender that were hard to discern.
Their faded reddish hair was mysterious, and the dark circles under their eyes gave them a frail, almost sickly appearance.
“You’re still overworking, I see. Did you enjoy the ginseng I sent you earlier?”
“Yes, I boiled it. You’re as polite as ever, Kim.”
Clearing their throat, the vice principal slowly made their way to a seat.
Saebyeok quickly closed the window and, following Dongbaek, cautiously sat in front of the desk.
“I’ve received the foundation’s notice. Thanks to it, our school has lost good talent.”
“Oh, but you’ve gained such an outstanding person, haven’t you?”
“A one-year contract teacher? That doesn’t count as talent. The person I had my eye on could have devoted themselves to education for at least 174 years and 9 months.”
Definitely not human.
“And the dispatch’s purpose was to assess Beodeul School, which has recently had staff leaks? If that were true, an auditor would have come. Not an investigator who even fabricated a family.”
“….”
Dongbaek just smiled.
“To see such a blind attempt at deception. I can tell how the foundation perceives our school: at best, a tool to masquerade as the foundation, or a convenient long-term pawn.”
“Oh, don’t be so self-deprecating~”
“Not self-deprecation, just stating facts.”
“If they wanted to deceive the school, they’d have done it more meticulously.”
“Ah. So they weren’t trying to deceive the school, but someone else?”
Dongbaek shrugged.
No threats or persuasion could get that slippery tongue to tell the truth.
“I swear my mission is for the glory and development of Beodeul School. Please view me without prejudice.”
“What’s your mission?”
“Confidential.”
“What will you do at this school?”
“Confidential.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Yet Dongbaek, undaunted, proudly introduced Saebyeok.
“Tada! I’ve brought this remarkable talent with me!”
Huh?
Saebyeok, nearly cowering in a corner, flinched.
The icy gaze of the vice principal was now fixed on her.
“Look! Our Saebyeok’s shining resume, personal statement, high school records, and even college transcripts! Beodeul School rarely sees such high specs! Ah, and who knows when this innocent person will be caught off guard again!”
“W-Where did you get all this?!”
“There’s always a way~”
Before she could stop him, the documents explaining Saebyeok were passed into the vice principal’s hands.
Nervous, Saebyeok clutched her scarf under the desk.
That personal statement… looks like it was scraped straight from a part-time job website.
What did I write? Did I write truthfully? Did I check the spelling?
“…Hmm. Kim really has reason to boast.”
The vice principal, reading through a magnifying glass, glanced up.
“But Beodeul School isn’t like other schools. Teachers need not just basic skills, but also deep knowledge of the mysterious.”
“That’s not a problem either.”
Dongbaek pulled an envelope from his suit pocket like a secret weapon.
The vice principal, opening it, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Staff selection test papers? How did you get these?”
“Only these?”
“We usually give 40 minutes to complete them.”
“Saebyeok finished them in just 20 minutes. And while in a moving car.”
That was the test?
“Unbelievable.”
“Then try it now.”
Dongbaek leaned back slightly in his chair.
Saebyeok, barely keeping up with their conversation, suddenly faced the vice principal’s cold stare.
“Good, Teacher Ham.”
Lowering the magnifying glass, the vice principal asked with sharp eyes:
“What do you think I am?”
Behind them, the office door quietly closed.
Dongbaek, hands in his pockets, strolled lightly, murmuring casually.
“Oh, it’s almost the start of the semester~ I haven’t even started my vacation yet~”
Meanwhile, Saebyeok was half in a daze.
The interview… that was it, wasn’t it?
The principal… was just trying to intimidate them before, but today was the real thing.
So I… just had the real interview…
