The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 87

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 87

“Out of nowhere like that—what are you on about?”
Yeom Sa-hyeon’s voice dripped with irritation as he tossed out the words.
This stranger shows up out of the blue and calls him a “professor”.
Kim Do-gyeong strode over and matched Sa-hyeon’s pace, offering a glib reply.
“Well, I saw you teaching the kids in the Training Grounds yesterday, and I got the sense you don’t really have a knack for it, you know?”
“Fair assessment.”
Sa-hyeon conceded without resistance.
Besides, he had no desire to be praised for something like that in the first place.
But Do-gyeong seemed to find the response rather amusing, letting slip a soft chuckle.
Then he parted his lips again, probing carefully.
“But just now, watching you talk through Lee’s mental state—you’re actually pretty good at that, aren’t you?”
Sa-hyeon’s brow furrowed in disapproval.
How long had this man been watching him?
“You’ve got time on your hands, don’t you? Eavesdropping on other people’s conversations.”
“Eavesdropping? What can I do about my exceptionally sharp hearing?”
Do-gyeong laughed shamelessly, squinting his eyes.
…….
Sa-hyeon released a deep sigh as though there was nothing more to say, and picked up his pace.
Do-gyeong hurried after him, glancing around absently.
“By the way, where are you rushing off to like that?”
“The Training Grounds.”
“Ah, you’re heading to see Hae-seong? But the Training Grounds is the other way.”
“?”
Sa-hyeon raised one eyebrow and smoothly changed direction.
…Ha.
Do-gyeong watched his back and exhaled in defeat.
Then, leaving a subtle smile in his wake, he quickly caught up with Sa-hyeon.
He fixed his gaze on Sa-hyeon’s profile and asked.
“So when did you start working at the Academy?”
“…Why are you curious about that?”
“Well…….”
Do-gyeong drew out the words meaningfully.
A chill of instinct flashed through Sa-hyeon’s mind.
‘Is he asking because he knows something?’
Even if Kim Do-gyeong didn’t know his real face and voice, he had been one of the people hopelessly tangled up with Sa-hyeon in the past.
But Do-gyeong merely tilted his eyebrows and shrugged lightly.
“You look too young for a professor, so I was wondering if there was some special story behind it?”
It was a thoroughly anticlimactic reason.
Sa-hyeon kept his guard up, but answered in a weary voice.
“Age doesn’t matter much to a Hunter.”
Though Awakening typically occurs in the late teens to early twenties, it varies from person to person.
Because of that, the Hunter industry generally valued career and ability over age.
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
Do-gyeong conceded without complaint, folding his arms across his chest.
The shirt sleeves, pressed beneath his thick forearms, were pulled taut as if ready to split at any moment.
“Anyway, Hae-seong should be finishing up his training soon. Let’s go grab some food. I know this incredible place nearby that makes sea urchin and seaweed soup—the broth is absolutely divine.”
“…Aren’t you tired of broth yet?”
Sa-hyeon wrinkled his face in displeasure, and Do-gyeong laughed softly, pressing his case again.
“I passed by earlier and Hae-seong looked half-dead! If you’ve worked him that hard, the least you can do is give him some nourishing food to keep him from running off, don’t you think?”
Facing Do-gyeong’s apparent unwillingness to relent, Sa-hyeon finally let out a sigh of resignation.
The excuse was sound enough.
If Yun Hae-seong collapsed, his replacement position would go vacant.
“Fine, let’s go, Professor!”
Interpreting Sa-hyeon’s non-response as agreement, Do-gyeong moved to the front with a satisfied smile.

* * *

After finishing his meal, Kim Do-gyeong returned to his quarters.
The moment he was alone in his room, he let out a long, shaky breath he’d been holding.
The characteristic, easy smile he’d worn until moments before vanished without a trace.
His heart hammered as though it might burst from his chest.
He’d sensed it by instinct, but he needed certainty.
With trembling hands, Do-gyeong pulled out his smartphone.
He found a familiar name in his contacts and pressed the call button immediately.
Before the dial tone could ring three times.
Click.
A familiar voice came through.

—Hey, Kim Do-gyeong!
A rough, gruff voice poured from the receiver.
It was Gwak Cheol-jung’s voice.
“It’s been a while, sir.”

—Did some Monster brainwash you or something? What’s with you calling first? All the way to Jeju Island.…

Cheol-jung, who’d been speaking in a chiding tone, suddenly raised his voice as something occurred to him.

—Did you run into him?!

“!”
Do-gyeong’s breath caught short.
It was a question stripped of all context, yet Do-gyeong understood at once who he meant.
“…So he really was alive?”
Do-gyeong murmured the words as though speaking to himself.
He’d been puzzled ever since hearing that Cheol-jung had arranged temporary quarters at the Academy.
“……Ha.”
‘So that was the reason.’

—What, Kim Do-gyeong? You didn’t call knowing that already?

Do-gyeong wiped his face heavily and spoke in a hollow voice.
“No, sir. I only ever saw him in disguise using your item, so I never knew his real face.”
Through the receiver came the sound of Cheol-jung clicking his tongue.

—True enough. That indifferent bastard wouldn’t acknowledge knowing someone first. But how did you figure it out?

“Just… a feeling, I suppose.”
Even as he said it, the reason was difficult to articulate.
At first, he’d thought it unlikely.
When he first encountered this man in the meeting room at the Airport, he’d thought anyone could have such a personality.
But once suspicion took hold, similar details kept catching his eye.
The way he avoided hot broths, his notorious lack of directional sense, and those black leather gloves he stubbornly wore even on the hot, humid beaches of Jeju Island.
It struck him as absurd that mere trifles like these had transformed suspicion into certainty.
But the moment he heard Cheol-jung’s confirmation, Yeom Sa-hyeon’s voice and the altered voice from the past merged together with spine-tingling perfection.
Cheol-jung let out a low chuckle.

—Makes sense. You two were quite close, weren’t you?

Do-gyeong let slip a slight laugh.
“Close? We were always busy arguing every time we met.”
Cheol-jung’s hearty laughter echoed through the speaker.

—That’s because you two are close! That brat doesn’t even acknowledge people he doesn’t like. Anyway, it seems you and Seo-yeong—

Cheol-jung, who had been speaking freely, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Silence descended, as though the call had cut off.
A heavy sigh of self-reproach crackled through the phone.

—Sorry about that. My mouth runs away from me sometimes. I shouldn’t have said such nonsense.

“It’s alright, sir. Not much time has passed, has it?”
Kim Do-gyeong spoke as calmly as he could manage, but a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Ryu Seo-yeong—his girlfriend, who had lost her life on the eve of their wedding. Her name was still lodged like a splinter in his chest.
Do-gyeong shifted the conversation, searching for safer ground.
“…But how is this possible? The man we heard was dead—he’s suddenly turned up as an Academy professor?”

—I didn’t ask for the details myself. Whenever I bring up the past, he just shuts his mouth tight.

Gwak Cheol-jung sighed and offered a terse explanation.
Until recently, he’d been working as an Interrogator at the Hunter Correctional Facility, and the Association Chairman had just offered him Lee Ha-je’s vacant position.
As Do-gyeong listened, a deep crease formed between his brows.
That sharp-tongued kid had walked into a dark prison on his own and buried himself there.
But there was little time to dwell on sentiment—Cheol-jung’s tone suddenly grew heated.

—Still, that bastard should’ve reported anything like that to me immediately! If Yun Hae-seong hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even have known he went to Jeju Island!

“Ah, you’re talking about the sparring accident, sir?”

—That’s right! From what the kids are saying, it sounds like he pushed himself pretty hard. How does he look now? Any lingering effects?

“What’s there to worry about? He’s fine as far as I can tell. Same temperament as always.”
Do-gyeong added this with practiced ease, and Cheol-jung burst into laughter.

—Right? I’ve wanted to punch him more times than I can count! Though knowing him, he’d probably just crack my knuckles in return. Ha ha!

Do-gyeong let out a quiet chuckle at Cheol-jung’s frivolous joke.
“You’ve actually cracked your own knuckles on him before, haven’t you?”

—Ha ha ha! That’s right, now you mention it!

Cheol-jung’s laughter rang out loud and full.
As the sound faded, his voice took on a more serious edge.

—You haven’t properly greeted him yet, have you?

“No. He doesn’t seem to want to make a big deal out of it.”
How he’d survived, what had actually happened that day, why he’d told no one—not even whether he was alive or dead.
There were countless questions Do-gyeong wanted to ask.
A tangle of feelings too complex to name twisted inside him.
But setting aside all those questions, one emotion occupied the largest place in Do-gyeong’s chest.
Relief.
Relief born from the simple, overwhelming fact that a colleague he’d thought dead was alive.

—That kid might seem cold on the outside, but he’s got a good heart underneath, doesn’t he? I’m sure he has his reasons for not saying anything.

“…I know.”
Do-gyeong’s mouth twisted in a bitter smile.
He could guess at some of those reasons.
Cheol-jung seemed to want to shake off the heavy atmosphere, his voice suddenly brightening.

—Anyway, I’m going to forget what your face looks like if this keeps up! Come by the Academy sometime and show your face!

Making a visible effort to lighten the mood, Do-gyeong slipped back into his usual manner of speaking and played along.
“Come on, sir—you know I can’t leave my post for long because of the Jeju Island boundary maintenance.”

—Excuses! You could spare half a day, couldn’t you?

“Phew, half a day is all it’d take—just a round trip to the Airport and back.”

-According to what Yun Hae-seong said, Yeom Sa-hyeon took a Portal Pass with him this time? We could just use that to get there!

“…What?”
Kim Do-gyeong blinked hard, doubting his own ears.
“He took what with him?”
Something issued to only ten high-ranking officials? How could he possibly—?
The answer came swiftly.

-Word is he tore the Vice Director’s Portal Pass right off him! That bastard’s got some nerve, I’ll give him that.

“Huh…….”
Kim Do-gyeong stood slack-jawed, a soft whistle of amazement slipping from his lips.
The man’s ambition had always been something else—and it hadn’t diminished one bit.
‘He’s grown into someone far more formidable than I imagined…’

S-rank Correctional Officer Devours the Academy ⎯ Chapter 87

Author
Baek Ru-ga
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yun Tae-ri
Cover Art
Torp

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0087

ⓒ2026, Baek Ru-ga

※ This e-book is protected under the Copyright Law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or whole of this work may be reprocessed in any form without the express permission of the author and publisher.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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