-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Mentor Selection
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Hello, Teacher."
Unfortunately, the counseling room I'd been assigned to was the one where Han Hyo-jin was waiting.
I'd secretly hoped to walk into Ji-woong's room and boldly declare him as my choice like some dramatic scene, but Kim Sun-woo ended up in Huh Ji-woong's counseling room instead.
"Oh my, Do-hyun's here. Did you have a good weekend?"
The moment she saw my face, Han Hyo-jin flashed a bright smile and greeted me warmly. It always felt awkward no matter how many times I saw it.
This kind of excessive friendliness only made things uncomfortable.
"Yes. You too, Teacher?"
But after over a decade in the working world, this much was easy for me.
I could handle a response like that without breaking a sweat.
"Of course. You bet."
For some reason, she seemed unusually excited, her mood sky-high and a little unsettling.
"You're not just good at acting, are you? I knew it. Coming from outside the prep school and still nabbing second place in the overall prelim evaluation. Impressive. See? Teacher's got an eye for talent."
She must have already seen my overall evaluation scores.
I couldn't tell if she was praising me or boasting about her own judgment, but it sounded like a compliment either way.
"Ji-woong Teacher said your tone is good too. No wonder. Your pitch sounded great during acting too."
Oh ho, that actually felt nice.
"Thank you. Hearing praise like that straight from you... it's kind of surreal."
I bowed my head slightly in genuine gratitude to Han Hyo-jin.
It wasn't just because she'd passed on Ji-woong's compliment—my thanks were sincere.
Before my regression, she was still an active musical actress, too big a star for me to ever share a stage with.
So getting praise from Han Hyo-jin like this really was astonishing.
Honestly, I still had no idea what had her so hooked on me, but it felt good.
"What's there to thank? Did you think it over carefully over the weekend?"
"Yes."
"Good. So, which teacher do you want?"
Han Hyo-jin pulled up a screen displaying the mentors' names and photos.
But her intense gaze and smile, boring into me, made it impossible to focus on the screen. I felt like I was going crazy.
No, I had to decide fast and get out.
Feeling good from the praise was one thing, but the choice was another matter entirely.
She'd even said something similar herself. Acting was acting, vocalization was vocalization.
"I'll go with this one."
I pointed at one person on the screen without hesitation.
"What...?"
Han Hyo-jin's face twisted in shock at my choice. It was kind of funny.
I'd been a little curious about her reaction, but as her student, teasing my teacher wasn't the way to go.
I needed to make it clear right away.
"Huh Ji-woong Teacher. Our homeroom teacher. That's who I want."
Her shock showed for a split second at my firm words, but she quickly composed herself.
An actress through and through.
She plastered on a gentle smile in an instant and asked,
"Haha. You don't have to pick your homeroom teacher just because. Think it over."
"I have thought it over."
"There are so many options here—opportunities like this don't come to everyone. Right? Not just anyone gets second in the prelims."
Her expression was starting to crack. If this kept up, she might badmouth Huh Ji-woong Teacher.
"I'm not badmouthing Ji-woong Teacher... yeah. His training process isn't easy. You know that, but he's super thorough and a bit prickly."
I flinched without meaning to.
Had she read my mind or something?
"On the other hand, I use a precise curriculum that even pros..."
"No."
I'd considered listening a bit since she was trying so hard to persuade me, but no way.
"Pros' curriculum" had been the most hated phrase in my life for ages.
"I'm choosing Huh Ji-woong Teacher. Thank you."
I kept smiling to the end, adding a thank you to shut down any further talk.
I'd been through it countless times before the regression, so I was already prepared for how tough Ji-woong's classes would be.
That's exactly why I needed his training.
"Fine. Got it. Go on up."
Even while managing her expression, I could see her face flush slightly.
Had I touched a sore spot? It stung a little.
But really, getting mad over my one choice?
Best to escape while I could.
"Then I'll head out. Thank you."
I bowed quicker than anyone and bolted from the counseling room.
It was the moment I started worrying if acting class would be okay from now on.
***
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
The bell rang, signaling the end of first period.
Kim Sun-woo and Song Ha-na, who'd gone for mentor selection before me, came back to the classroom a bit later.
"So, who'd our big bro pick?"
Woo-sik spun around, eyes sparkling like he'd been waiting.
I figured I'd answer now that everyone was done,
"Do-hyun. Who'd you pick for your mentor teacher?"
Kim Sun-woo approached and spoke first, same as always.
Even after taking first place, was he keeping an eye on second-place me?
Or maybe I was overthinking it.
Maybe he was just purely curious about the mentor closest to him in ranking.
Anyway,
Why was it so quiet?
I glanced around instinctively.
During break time, everyone was silently focused on our conversation, their eyes intense.
Not just Woo-sik right next to me, but Song Ha-na and Moon Woo-hyuk a bit away, their gazes anything but casual.
Ha, really.
I just wanted to focus on musicals, but that wasn't so easy.
Everyone would find out eventually, so I'd answer quick and grab some banana milk.
Ever since the regression cut off my drinking, I'd been craving banana milk weirdly.
"My homeroom teacher. Huh Ji-woong Teacher's my mentor."
"What?"
Even Kim Sun-woo looked a bit surprised, a crack appearing in his ever-smiling face.
But the biggest reaction came from...
"What?!!!"
Woo-sik next to me.
What's the big deal? I clamped my hands over my ears.
"Ugh, my eardrums."
"Let 'em burst then. That matter right now? You're doing it with homeroom teacher?"
It wasn't weird for Woo-sik to freak out like this.
With second place in the prelims, I could've picked any famous musical actor everyone knew.
"An interesting choice."
Kim Sun-woo, back to his smiling face, murmured softly.
The room buzzed with whispers.
I let out an awkward laugh at the reactions.
This wasn't why I'd made the choice, but banana milk was off the table now.
"That guy's crazy, right...?"
Moon Woo-hyuk, who'd been listening, looked at Song Ha-na in disbelief.
"Homeroom? Passing up all those pros?"
"Tch. Thinks he'll get favors if he cozies up to homeroom, probably."
"Wow, Lee Do-hyun. No joke."
Moon Woo-hyuk shook his head.
Not from prep school, and from what he'd heard, not from some famous family either. Was that why he couldn't tell up from down?
"Stop obsessing over him and do your own thing. Quit yapping in my ear all day."
"Whoa, seriously. You take it out on me when you're bored? Fine, I'm out."
Song Ha-na snapped at him, and Moon Woo-hyuk stormed off in a huff.
After he left, Song Ha-na linked arms with Woo-sik and secretly watched Do-hyun head out the back door.
***
One-on-one mentor matching was complete.
The last class of the afternoon was our first meeting with our mentors.
I stared blankly out the window in the empty classroom, waiting for Ji-woong.
Late afternoon had arrived before I knew it, red sunlight filtering through the curtain gaps and blurring into a hazy glow.
"Heh. Jeez."
Ji-woong walked in, leaned against a desk, and let out a dry chuckle like it was ridiculous.
Watching him bathed in the sunlight, I vaguely recalled the last time I'd seen his face before the regression, then it faded again.
'Like a scene from a drama.'
Ji-woong was right there, but it still didn't feel real.
The late-afternoon atmosphere made it even more surreal.
Something welled up in my chest again.
Was it because I was getting older? My emotions felt richer than they should.
Even though I was in a seventeen-year-old body right now.
"So, you got second place and could pick second. And out of everyone, you picked me?"
"Yes."
I nodded, and Ji-woong shook his head instead.
"Fine, whatever. You can choose. But what I can't get over—what I'm dying to know is, why? Why'd you pick me as your mentor?"
His usual prickly tone, but he really seemed curious.
Since seeing Huh Ji-woong again, I hadn't heard him talk that long outside of announcements.
"Teacher, you praised me to Han Hyo-jin Teacher. Said my tone's good when I sing."
I couldn't say he was my old training mentor from before the regression, so I stitched together what I'd heard from Han Hyo-jin earlier.
"Ahem. That was just... not personal praise. There was a staff meeting after the prelim results where we shared individual evaluations for each student."
Whoa, he'd just broken his record.
Ji-woong spoke even longer than before.
He really couldn't handle awkward situations like praising someone.
"Wow. So you praised me in front of all the teachers. Thank you."
He used to seem scary when I was young, but now he just felt endearing.
If I could, I'd share a shot of soju with him.
Since I couldn't, I bowed my head instead.
"Alright. So is that it? You picked me because you were grateful for the praise?"
"No way. This is my one-year crop for high school life."
"That's the point. You gonna ruin transplanting from the start on something this important?"
"Ruin? I don't see it that way at all. I really picked you because I want to learn from you."
Why the hell? His face grew irritated, like he was demanding an answer now.
Seeing that expression, I answered seriously.
"The tone—you nailed my strength there. That's why I chose you."
Ji-woong's face nearly made me burst out laughing.
He must've expected some grand reason, but what can you do? It was the truth.
I now knew he'd worked hard before the regression to bring out my tone.
After we drifted apart, I never met another adult who put in that effort.
"Your face says it's real this time. That's really all? Just that?"
"Knowing your strengths. Meeting a teacher who recognizes them. Isn't that important?"
"Yeah, yeah. It is."
Ji-woong peeled his hips off the desk, nodding with a dissatisfied look.
"Not wrong. Knowing your strengths matters. And..."
"Knowing your weaknesses matters just as much."
Ji-woong froze, staring at me with a puzzled face.
Seeing his near-shocked expression, I realized—oops.
I'd gotten too excited about training with him again and jumped ahead.
Strengths and weaknesses were phrases he always harped on.
You had to know them to decide whether to overcome or hide them in practice.
He looked pretty thrown that I'd said exactly what he was about to.
"Follow me."
Huh Ji-woong scratched his head oddly and walked out of the classroom ahead of me.