Human Rights Promotion Act for Research Students.
Commonly known as the Kim Shinwoo Act.
This can be seen as a significant milestone in the academy’s history, particularly in how research students are treated.
Of course, for the professors, it feels more like they’ve just had their carotid arteries slashed.
But that’s a story for a later time.
Right now, let’s rewind and return to the academy’s perspective.
It’s the period just after the introduction of the act.
*
Was Hyeji’s declaration of being the true heroine too effective?
The proceedings moved so quickly that it made one question if it was indeed possible.
However, from the moment my name was mentioned, I began to draw the attention of all the professors.
Naturally, it wasn’t for good reasons.
I’ve never had a great relationship with most of the professors.
Honestly, I’m not even sure why.
[Hasn’t more than half of the professors shaved their heads because of you!!!]
“Well, who told them to sneak into the student cafeteria?”
There’s even a professors’ cafeteria, and daring to lay eyes on the student cafeteria is a serious crime.
If delicious menu items run out or if there’s a shortage of side dishes in the student cafeteria, it’s usually the professors’ fault.
Research students sometimes have to dig up roots to eat because they’re broke.
I can’t tolerate that while those professors are feasting in the student cafeteria.
“There’s stuff to sneak, you bastards.”
[Well, you’ve got no retort when you say it like that.]
Here, the introduction of the Kim Shinwoo Act nailed down the animosity between me and the professors.
It’s natural for my relationship with the professors to head towards disaster.
One day, after class, Professor Pilyong approached me on the way to the cafeteria.
As soon as he saw me, he grabbed me by the collar.
Grrr…
“Hyeji, hold on.”
The situation was tense.
Professor Pilyong’s veins were popping as he started shouting at me.
“You! You! You bastard! Daring to repay kindness with enmity!”
“Thanks to me, your paper was written well, so why the sudden outburst?”
“And of all people, you dare to use my name!”
“Everything was agreed upon with Cheonma. I paid a proper price.”
[Wasn’t Ryu Kang-hyuk the one who paid that price?]
‘That’s not my concern.’
As Professor Pilyong’s atmosphere grew increasingly menacing, the rest of the group began to lose their composure as well.
Whether he was completely losing his sanity or not, Professor Pilyong kept his eyes fixated on me while shouting loudly.
He was clearly half out of control.
“Do you really think you’ll get away with this!”
“If you keep this up, I’ll plant hair on your head and then pull it out.”
[… What kind of insane idea is that for a bald person?]
‘One must lose important things to realize their value.’
Professor Pilyong’s face turned bright red, and his grip on my collar trembled with rage.
However, he finally shut his mouth and didn’t come at me anymore.
Because I was the real deal in that regard.
Instead, I chose to brusquely shake off his grip and turn away.
However, as Professor Pilyong turned, he stepped into a puddle and fell flat on his face.
Crash!
With quite a loud sound, it looked like he briefly fainted.
We checked on the unconscious Professor Pilyong.
His face, including his entire head, was coated in dirty water.
It didn’t seem like he’d be getting up anytime soon.
Seeing that, Elcia placed a black seaweed-like plant on top of Professor Pilyong’s head.
“Elcia, what’s that?”
“This is a weed that only grows in our Elf Forest.”
“Why put a plant on his head?”
“Hyeji unnie, you really are ignorant, aren’t you? Just like your chest, your head is empty too!”
Growl…
Elcia was startled by Hyeji’s expression.
Immediately, she urgently asked for my help.
“Husband! Save me!”
“Master! Stop this!”
“Hyeji, hold on.”
Elcia, hiding behind me and trembling, cautiously stepped forward when Hyeji dropped her threat.
And then, as if nothing had happened, she started talking confidently.
“This is a plant that’s recently popular among those experiencing hair loss.”
“Why? Does it grow hair if you place it on your head?”
“Yes! Of course!”
‘What, what did you just say…’
[This is innovative.]
At that, Hyeji regained her senses and asked Elcia a question, looking quite curious.
“What’s the principle behind it?”
“After it roots itself in the hair follicle, it absorbs all the nutrients going to the hair and a plant that looks like hair grows!”
If you only heard this much, it sounded like something truly amazing.
If not for Elcia’s next explanation.
“Just, it burns bright for one grand moment and dies a few days later.”
“……. Isn’t that false hope?”
“Since you’ll live your whole life bald anyway, it’s better to go out in a blaze of glory!”
“Isn’t that just like Elcia’s coin crashing down in one shot?”
“Don’t worry! It’ll go up before you know it!”
Elcia looked undeterred by Jeong Ahyeon’s words.
Her confidence made me doubt if it really would go up.
[Do you really believe it will?]
‘……Fuck.’
Then I came back to the original topic.
Why Elcia placed seaweed on top of Professor Pilyong’s head.
“Then why put it on Professor Pilyong’s head?”
“I want him to experience a little bit of a full head of hair, even if it’s just for once, since he’ll be bald for life!”
“…… That doesn’t seem like a normal way of thinking.”
“Long time no see; I agree with Jeong Ahyeon this time.”
“Oh, Shinwoo! Look! It’s rooting!”
Before we knew it, the plant Elcia put on Professor Pilyong’s head was beginning to root.
According to Elcia, the plant would grow quickly and act like hair.
However, even after watching for a while, the plant showed no signs of change.
Not even a bit.
“Hey, Elcia? Isn’t that defective?”
“No! I’ll have another look!”
Elcia examined the plant on top of Professor Pilyong’s head.
Then, she suddenly started trembling.
“There are no roots…?”
Indeed.
Professor Pilyong’s head was a barren wasteland.
There was not a single hair follicle, let alone nutrients.
Elcia had a look of horror, roughly yanked the plant from Professor Pilyong’s head, and tossed it into the flowerbed.
As a result, Professor Pilyong’s head was left dirty with rainwater and dirt.
When the plant was pulled, it seemed to have felt like being yanked by the hair, causing Professor Pilyong, even fainted, to have tears welling up in his eyes.
Seeing that, I felt a little pity and took out a tissue to wipe down Professor Pilyong’s head.
Then I continued on my way.
[You feel sorry for him!!!!]
‘It was sad to see Professor Pilyong’s identity being buried.’
We continued on our way again.
The last sound I heard was Professor Pilyong’s wailing.
*
“Shinwoo, did I push for the proposal too quickly?”
“No, you did well. Thanks.”
“Surely, the Master’s actions were truly right.”
“Someone had to do it.”
“However, it seems the pushback is quite intense.”
As Jeong Ahyeon said, the professors kept throwing shade at me nonstop.
They’d suddenly bump my shoulders hard as they passed.
Tell me to pick up the trash can that was thrown at me.
Or knock the things I was holding out of my hands.
“Shinwoo, should we destroy a few of them as a lesson?”
“….. If you do, I feel like you’ll actually die, so please don’t.”
Hyeji, the rabid dog, was starting her engine again.
There’s no bad dog in this world.
It’s only the owner’s fault.
So as long as I hold the leash, there shouldn’t be an issue.
But suddenly, Hyeji bit my arm hard.
“…… Why are you suddenly like this again?”
“I feel like the owner is the problem.”
“……”
In the midst of all this, someone else bumped my shoulder hard as they passed by.
‘These bastards really seem to want to die.’
[You must endure, no matter what.]
Should I endure, as Piece said?
I decided to have a talk with my inner self.
‘Mini Shinwoo can endure, right? But Mega Shinwoo can’t.’
[You’re already filled with anger at every moment!]
Compared to the professors’ actions, my tiny revenge began.
For the professor who bumped my shoulder.
“Whoa, damn, I’m falling!”
“Gahh! I’m flying!!”
I pretended to fall while grabbing the professor’s clothing and threw him far away.
Surely, he wouldn’t die from this.
If a character could die from such a trivial act, they couldn’t be called a professor in this story.
Occasionally, Elcia would pickpocket a professor that I bumped into.
“Hey!! Are you insane???!!!”
“Oh my! Our husband just got the settlement money.”
“Elcia, even so, stealing is a no-no.”
“……Alright. I’ll give it back.”
When Elcia drooped her head looking dejected, I swiped the wallet she was holding and tossed it onto the ground.
“Oh? Someone dropped a wallet!”
“Husband! I love you!!!”
“…… Say that to my face, not the wallet, you fucking girl.”
“Don’t worry! I’m always looking at your face!”
Or when a professor threw a trash can at me and told me to clean it up.
‘I should give our newbie a solid haul.’
[…You’re not just a stagnant pool; you’re like trash sitting in the water.]
I snuck a trash bag and a cockroach into the professor’s pocket.
Of course, the cockroach was alive.
Having a pet these days in web novels is common, after all.
Initially, upon seeing me, Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon rushed to help.
“Shinwoo, I’ll help you too.”
“Master, I’ll help as well.”
“Oh really? Here you go.”
I handed each of them a cockroach.
As the cockroaches scuttled up their arms, their expressions began to rot rapidly.
“You crazy bastard!”
“Master, have you gone crazy?”
[Are you insane?]
‘Isn’t this what you wanted?’
I began to nervously question Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon.
“… Weren’t you going to help me sneak something in?”
“I was planning to help clean up the trash!!”
“Oh? There’s a burning piece of trash right in front of me.”
“……. Hyeji? People should be classified as unburnable trash.”
“From today onward, you’re burning trash. That’s the decision I made.”
After a minor mishap, neither of them helped me any longer.
Lastly, when professors knocked the things I was holding to the ground.
“Long live the Emperor!!!!!”
Eeek!!!
“Ah!! What is this deer!!!”
Commands were given to my squad of deer to execute a Banzai Attack every time a professor held something important.
The deer seemed to be enjoying it more than getting hit by a car, giving it high ratings.
A high satisfaction rate of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
However, the point deductions were due to:
“Ugh…”
Eeek!!!
The deer that fainted due to the Banzai Attack were looked to be transformed into meat by Elcia.
Even Elcia’s Escort Elf joined us during that time, as the sight of any fainted deer would immediately see them being snatched up.
So the rating dipped slightly.
In any case, the professors’ pushback was more manageable than I expected.
[……You seem to be the worse one here.]
‘So why are you provoking the top?’
