“Hmmm~”
On his commute to school, Professor Lee Chan hummed to himself as he drove.
“Is the world finally recognizing me?”
A few days ago, he had suddenly received a phone call.
“Hello? I’m reporter Lee Hyeonwook from KCN Broadcasting. Are you Professor Lee Chan of Hanju University?”
The reporter said he wanted to interview him as the Intellectual of the Month. If things went well, it could even air as a segment on the evening news.
If that happened, wouldn’t his true value be recognized through the department chair and all the way up to the foundation chairman?
After all, it would not only promote the school, but also elevate the school’s honor.
“Hehehe.”
A laugh escaped him on its own.
He had no idea how bitter he felt every time Professor Kim next door, born with a gold spoon in his mouth, mingled with the foundation chairman.
That man had gotten ridiculously lucky and randomly been born with a gold spoon, then bragged as if his father’s golf course belonged to him. Lee Chan could not stand the sight of it.
Just let me get on TV. I’ll show them clearly what it means to succeed and become famous through ability.
“If this goes well, won’t I become a regular guest on the news and get invited onto cultural programs too?”
Hehehe.
It was truly a pleasant thought.
If he became famous by appearing on broadcasts, it would become easier to win research projects. Then how much would all that research funding, appearance fees, and corporate lecture money from companies inviting him here and there come to?
Professor Lee Chan’s imagination soared wildly, knowing no limits.
He arrived at school while thinking that he would do well in today’s interview and brag grandly to his father-in-law and mother-in-law this weekend, since it was Parents’ Day.
“Wow!”
When he arrived at his office, seeing the camera and lighting set up made it truly feel like a real broadcast.
Especially when he saw the brightly lit lights, the thought came to him naturally that his own future would shine just like those lights.
However, he could not show that he was too surprised, so Professor Lee Chan walked over as naturally as he could.
“Professor, good morning. I’m Lee Hyeonwook from KCN, the reporter who greeted you over the phone.”
A tall, handsome reporter rose from the reception chair and politely handed Professor Lee Chan his business card with both hands.
‘Yes, I have now become a speaker who meets and talks with reporters like this.’
“Ah, Reporter Lee Hyeonwook? Hello. I’m Lee Chan. It’s nice to meet you.”
Professor Lee Chan responded warmly, wearing the kindest expression in the world while also giving off the air of a professor who conducted smart research.
They had only exchanged business cards, but in Professor Lee Chan’s mind, he was already imagining himself standing on a TED stage after gaining fame from various broadcasts.
That was when Professor Lee Chan was forcibly dragging down the corners of his mouth, which seemed about to reach his ears.
“Professor, I printed the preparation materials here.”
Jeon Yeongsu cut in, holding three or four sheets of A4 paper.
What Jeon Yeongsu had brought were expected interview questions and answers.
Lee Chan had told him to organize several topics worth raising in this era as an intellectual in the field of food engineering. But to hand them over so openly, without any sense, suddenly irritated him.
‘Is he giving those to me in front of the reporter to embarrass me? He still hasn’t been beaten enough to come to his senses. Seriously.’
As soon as Professor Lee Chan saw Jeon Yeongsu, his expression twisted on its own as usual.
Before he knew it, strength had entered his fist, and his arm even lifted slightly.
But he soon came back to his senses and quickly changed his face into his business expression.
“You prepared all this? My students are like this. They support me on their own so well that I can devote myself to research.”
“Isn’t that because you treat them well every day, Professor?”
“So that’s how the story goes? Hahaha.”
What a load of nonsense.
‘I had seen the way he looked at Jeon Yeongsu. I had also seen him clench his fist as if he were about to hit him and even raise his arm slightly.’
It was a scene that showed exactly how he usually treated Jeon Yeongsu.
‘If I followed my heart, I would grab Lee Chan by the collar right now and pay him back exactly for what he had done to Jeon Yeongsu. But to make sure he received proper punishment, I had to hold back.’
“Professor, we’ve finished preparing for the shoot. Shall we talk briefly about the interview contents before we begin?”
“Yes, let’s do that. Yeongsu, bring us some tea.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Jeon Yeongsu barely answered in a voice that seemed to crawl into the ground, then moved to the pantry without even looking at Lee Hyeonwook.
“Professor, your necktie is very nice. You chose a color that will show up well on screen.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief.”
‘As expected, was the place where I belonged an even bigger stage?’
No matter how much I paid attention to fashion, the guys in the lab never said a word, but this reporter named Lee Hyeonwook noticed right away.
Professor Lee Chan resolved that, if he wanted to meet people he could communicate with this well, he would have to appear on broadcasts often, just like today.
“Thank you for your work. You spoke so well that it wrapped up very smoothly.”
“Maybe I’m made for broadcasting, something like that? Hahaha.”
Professor Lee Chan was fussing over himself.
Made for broadcasting, my ass.
His eye contact was awkward, and his way of speaking was stiff.
His answers lacked substance, and the way he spoke while never stopping his bragging was utterly exhausting.
Still, I gave him the kind of answer he would like.
“I hope we’ll have another chance to meet again.”
Because next time, we would meet again in a social affairs news report.
Professor Lee Chan, who had no way of knowing what I really meant, could only flounder in his swamp of delusion.
“Enjoy that delusion as much as you can while you still can. There isn’t much time left.”
After finishing our farewells with Professor Lee Chan, Ju Myeongjin, who had packed up the camera equipment, and I left the building.
It sent a chill down my spine to think that the me from before my regression had gotten along so well with people like this.
“Hyung, you worked hard. We really put in the effort. Mr. Jeon Yeongsu has been suffering every day under someone like that, hasn’t he?”
Ju Myeongjin also shook his head at Professor Lee Chan’s two-faced nature.
“You installed everything we prepared before we left, right?”
“Of course.”
There was a reason Ju Myeongjin and I had gone out of our way to visit this place for Professor Lee Chan’s fake interview.
It was to install hidden cameras that would properly capture the abuse Jeon Yeongsu was suffering.
The cost of buying the hidden cameras was covered by K, who kept wanting to spend money.
“I wanna help Yeongsu-hyung too, okay?”
That was what K said that night, when Jeon Yeongsu had shed tears and barely managed to put the pain he had suffered into words. I had thought K was asleep, but he suddenly sprang up and said that.
K had charged in as if he were ready to do a stakeout, so we barely reached an agreement by having him pay for the hidden cameras.
[May 9, 20XX. Hanju University graduate student Jeon Yeongsu sent to the emergency room due to Professor Lee Chan’s abuse of power. Jeon Yeongsu is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Professor Lee Chan is released without charges.]
[You can’t even do proper reporting, and you call yourself a reporter…….]
There were only a few days left now.
Today was Friday, May 6, and the incident in the reporter’s notebook was Monday, May 9.
That meant something would happen over the weekend that would make Professor Lee Chan fly so far out of control that Jeon Yeongsu would be taken to the emergency room……
I had to capture on video a story that I knew, but the world did not.
“But hyung, hidden cameras like this don’t have legal evidentiary power, right?”
“They can be used as two kinds of cards. The first is pressure against the perpetrator. He’s the person most afraid of this footage being revealed to the world, so we can pressure him to admit wrongdoing. The second is to protect Mr. Yeongsu.”
“Because Mr. Yeongsu has only suffered until now because he was alone and there was nothing he could do by himself? I guess it could be something he can rely on.”
“We have to show him that we’re with him. If there’s hidden camera footage, he’ll feel that there are people who believe what he says.”
Ju Myeongjin nodded at my words and added,
“Still, Mr. Yeongsu must be having such… a hard time.”
It was a warm feeling that came from his sincerity.
Before my regression, I had foolishly thought that kind of feeling was fake.
But after regressing, I knew that heart was real.
With my heart moved, I looked at Myeongjin.
“Hyung, why are your eyes like that?”
“What about my eyes?”
“Hyung, remember this. I like women.”
Ju Myeongjin’s back grew smaller as he hurriedly ran toward the parking lot. What was with him?
“Mr. Yeongsu, please hold on just a little longer.”
As I moved toward the parking lot too, I thought of Jeon Yeongsu, who remained in the lab.
“So I was selected as this month’s Intellectual of the Month and had an interview with KCN Broadcasting. Everyone told me I was made for broadcasting and that I looked good on screen. Hahaha.”
Two days after the interview shoot, on Parents’ Day, Professor Lee Chan went on and on about the interview to his father-in-law and mother-in-law at a high-end Korean restaurant.
Naturally, Lee Chan thought his family would be pleased to hear the news of his broadcast appearance.
“Professor Lee, drink some water. You’re going to run out of breath.”
His mother-in-law, who called him Professor Lee, was as beautiful as his wife, elegant and graceful. She was the kind of woman who made him think his wife might look like that when she grew older.
He thought her telling him to drink water was her way of taking care of him.
Gulp, gulp.
He stopped talking and drank the water, but something about the atmosphere was strange.
At this point, shouldn’t they normally be saying things like, ‘Our son-in-law is truly impressive’, ‘That’s amazing’, ‘We’ll definitely watch the broadcast, so tell us when the airtime is set’?
After he finished drinking the water, he finally noticed that the food on the table had barely decreased.
And that the red ginseng gift he had bought was shoved off in a corner.
“Professor Lee, if you go on television, will you become more famous?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“Then will you also earn more money?”
He had been feeling so good that he had forgotten for a moment.
The fact that his mother-in-law saw him as a tree that grew money.
And the fact that his wife was a perfect copy of that mother-in-law, talking only about money.
“Oppa. My mom and dad don’t even like red ginseng, so why did you buy it first without even discussing it with me?”
“No, I thought it would be good for them to take it before summer.”
“Professor Lee, what’s good for the body isn’t red ginseng like this. It’s something else.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“Isn’t it true that people should move their bodies to promote physical health, and strengthen themselves mentally by having a variety of experiences?”
His father-in-law, who liked to speak in a way that sounded impressive, opened his mouth.
A long and grand explanation followed, but the conclusion was that they wanted to travel.
“So, Professor Lee, I hear a three-month cruise around Europe is very nice.”
His mother-in-law stated what she wanted very clearly and precisely.
“Oppa, you’re someone capable of this much. A professor son-in-law who sends his parents-in-law on a European cruise? Isn’t that totally cool?”
“O-Of course. I can send you. Please take that red ginseng and take care of your health. I’ll book the tickets for you soon.”
The mother-in-law, whose expression had been indifferent when she heard about Professor Lee Chan’s interview, instantly changed to a bright expression.
“I live thanks to our professor son-in-law. When marriage talks came in for our daughter from all over, it was worth it that I chose our Professor Lee.”
“Mom, didn’t I tell you to just trust my oppa? That you could go on a cruise?”
“Wait, this isn’t the time for me to eat. I have to brag to Mission.”
Looking at the neglected red ginseng gift and the expensive food no one had touched, Lee Chan thought of his parents farming back in his hometown.
Ugh. As his stomach suddenly began to ache, Jeon Yeongsu’s face also came to mind.
He wished Monday would come quickly.
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