PAID

My head hurts. A wave of pain surged through, making me grimace as I exhaled briefly.

What I had hypothesized turned out to be correct, but I found myself in an unexpected place.

"Using your student’s back as a stepping stone in your old age, huh?"

Still, this was a better outcome than things getting more complicated.

It feels like I can start planning properly from now on. But...@@novelbin@@

"Ah, the Prize."

A competition I had forgotten about suddenly resurfaced in my mind.

I want to go meet that old man Wu Hua right away, but I can’t ignore the task looming right in front of me.

What a dilemma.

That said, it’s not the worst situation. I have a goal and a task ahead.

All I need to do is focus on that and move forward.

There’s no need to overcomplicate things by overthinking. Don’t you agree?

Let’s leave it at this for now.

Home. Living room.

"Ah, my head..."

After finishing my errands, I came back home and was granted permission to rest.

Of course, there was the awkward condition that I couldn’t go alone.

"I'll go with you. My father said he’s stopping by anyway," Hong Ye-hwa had said, coming to my aid.

I inwardly thanked her as I returned to my room.

"Speaking of which, I wonder how Uncle Hong Jin-hoo is doing. Did the Biennale go well for him?"

Lately, I’ve been so caught up with my work and other matters that I’ve heard little news about him.

Well, he probably handled things just fine on his own. It’s just Teacher Lee Ah-reum I’m worried about.

The Prize is wrapping up around this time, and all sorts of people and attention are converging on her.