I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

At that moment, in the president’s office at the Blue House in Busan.

People often thought of the president as an omnipotent ruler.

While dramas, movies, or novels sometimes portrayed the president as a puppet controlled by others, the president undeniably held tremendous power in this country.

Older generations even referred to the president as “the nation’s ruler,” so no one dared to pick a fight with the president in person.

The same applied to the ministers or secretaries appointed by the president.

The executive branch operated under the president, and most administrative organizations must move promptly upon the president’s orders.

The president sat at the top of the administration.

But being at the top didn’t mean knowing everything.

Sometimes, certain departments rebelled against the president, or issues caused within departments ripple back to affect the president.

This was one of those moments.

“Do you think I brought you from Seoul to Busan so you could cause this kind of mess?!”

President Tae Chae-jin, veins bulging in his neck, shouted into the receiver.

“Didn’t I explicitly say during my term not to act recklessly toward female ability users?!”

[Yes, that was indeed one of your campaign promises.]

Despite the president’s fury, the voice on the other end of the line was calm.

[I only issued the pregnancy warrants according to the law.]

“You could’ve sent them once a year, or discreetly around November. Why issue them all at once now, without even reporting to me?!”

[Given your busy schedule, how could we report every detail? The Ministry of Defense merely followed legal procedures….]

“Legal procedures, my foot! Tell me the truth! Are you planning to quit and join Haegneul?!”

Faced with the president’s blunt accusation, the current Minister of Defense fell silent.

“If I elevated someone from managing leftover land at the Defense Command in Seoul to being Minister of Defense, you could at least refrain from stabbing me in the back! You’re just waiting out my term, huh? What is it? Planning to flee abroad for a few years and return when the government changes? Is Haegneul promising to enroll your grandkids in their fancy schools too?!”

[Your words are harsh, Mr. President. Are you implying I issued the pregnancy warrants under Haegneul’s orders?]

“Isn’t that exactly what happened?! Dammit…! Pack your things! I don’t need someone who swears loyalty to Haegneul’s logo instead of the Taegukgi in my administration! Out of respect, I’ll give you a chance to resign voluntarily!”

[I was already in the process of drafting my resignation letter.]

“You damn….!”

The president slammed the phone down in frustration, his face so red it seemed like a single pinprick could make it bleed.

“Huff, huff… Dammit…. I thought things had calmed down for a few years, but…!”

“The fact that the pregnancy warrants were issued immediately after the 17-year adulthood bill was passed suggests the A-class ability users currently in Jeju are the primary targets.”

From a corner of the office, a young man in a black suit, Taejo, calmly sipped his tea and shared his thoughts.

“They issue pregnancy warrants, then persuade or mobilize the families to ensure the women conceive with someone most favorable to Haegneul’s interests. It’s their usual tactic and will likely continue.”

Setting down his teacup, Taejo stepped toward the president’s desk.

“The damage has already been done. The Minister, under Haegneul’s influence, sent the warrants, and that can’t be undone.”

“Ugh….”

“The best option is to prevent the female ability users from fleeing abroad. The next best option is to ensure they don’t ally with Haegneul.”

“The worst-case scenario is exile, and the next-worst is them becoming part of Haegneul. Sigh….”

The president took a deep breath, barely managing to cool his anger.

“Taejo. What do you think? Do you have any good ideas to resolve this situation?”

“The best approach would be to tell them the warrants were merely a legal formality and to assure them there’s no need to take offense. But… considering they’re in their early 20s and A-class ability users, that’s easier said than done.”

Taejo pointed to himself.

“So, we find a Korean man unconnected to Haegneul, someone so suitable that they think, ‘If it’s this man, I wouldn’t mind.’ We hold a public audition.”

“A public audition?”

“Yes. More precisely, we compile a massive portfolio. The A-class female heroes can then choose men from the portfolio to meet.”

“That sounds suspiciously like a matchmaking service….”

The president frowned at the thought of the government organizing matchmaking.

Still, if they didn’t act, Haegneul would undoubtedly infiltrate the female heroes’ social circles.

“Yes. The advantage of this plan is that it gives the women ‘freedom of choice,’ and the men ‘a chance to be chosen.’ However….”

“However?”

“No matter how many carrots we offer, it won’t erase the damage already done by someone else’s malice. They were treated like livestock.”

Even if the government offered compensation, the wounds caused by Haegneul’s whip would not heal easily.

It would take time for the scars to mend.

Or some unexpected variable would need to emerge.

Knock, knock, knock!

A sharp knock echoed.

“Taejo.”

“…Ahem, yes. Ah, what is it?!”

Taejo cleared his throat and raised his voice slightly.

“Didn’t I tell you not to knock like that when I’m talking to Grandpa?! Who is it?!”

“S-sorry, sir! But something extremely urgent has come up…!”

“And what could possibly be so urgent that you’d interrupt me and Grandpa? Spit it out. What is it?”

“Baek Seol-hee has captured a man and declared she’s going to have his child…!”

“What?!”

Taejo’s jaw dropped, and the president tilted his head in confusion.

“Snow White declared she’d have a child with the man she captured? Is Baek Seol-hee now a criminal?”

The president listened to the secretary’s words but interpreted the situation entirely differently.

“No…! Mr. President, let me explain again!”

“No, I just don’t understand. Are you saying Baek Seol-hee grabbed a man and publicly declared, ‘I’m going to have this man’s child’?”

“Yes.”

“…Why?”

The president tilted his head in utter confusion.

“Why? Is it just because the pregnancy warrant came out suddenly?”

“Who… who is the man? What kind of man would make Seol-hee noona talk about having a baby?”

“This man, sir.”

The secretary quickly displayed data on the wall-mounted TV in the president’s office.

“……!”

“His name is Do Ji-hwan, age 25, the same age as Baek Seol-hee. He currently works as a librarian at Sejong Academy.”

“…His face is decent enough. But according to the records, he doesn’t have an ability grade?”

“He’s not an ability user. He’s an unregistered civilian.”

“What… did you just say….?”

The president was overwhelmed by the flood of unbelievable truths, unable to collect his thoughts.

“Do you honestly think this makes sense? The Minister of Defense allegedly accepted bribes from Haegneul to issue pregnancy warrants—already hard to believe. And now you’re saying Baek Seol-hee decided to grab a random man and declare she’s going to have his child? Is this a joke? Hmm?”

“It’s not a joke. The real issue is that she didn’t just propose to the man—she punched him in the stomach, knocked him unconscious, and dragged him into a room!”

“…That’s assault!”

The president’s face turned ashen, incapable of expressing the absurdity in mere words.

“Did she not even ask for his consent? What the hell is wrong with that woman…?!”

“…It’s an outburst of stress.”

Taejo let out a dry chuckle, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“She’s been bombarded with comments like, ‘When are you going to get pregnant?’ during every state event, both from government officials and Haegneul representatives. The stress must’ve built up over time.”

“But wasn’t this addressed during the last incident on Sejong Island—”

“Grandfather.”

Taejo subtly glanced at the president, signaling him to rein in his words. The president took a deep breath and gestured for the secretary to leave the room.

“…Let me speak with Taejo for a moment. Is that all for your report?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll upload the details to the internal messenger for your review.”

“Thank you.”

After the secretary closed the door, Taejo pressed his hand against his neck and exhaled deeply.

“…It might seem like a sudden act, but choosing that man might not have been impulsive.”

“What do you mean, Taejo?”

“That man might have been her intended partner for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy all along.”

“…So you’re saying.”

The president moved his hands in circular motions, as if rearranging puzzle pieces.

“She flipped the sequence of events? She planned to have an affair and a child with this man all along, and the warrant simply provided the perfect excuse? Baek Seol-hee didn’t seem like that type of person.”

“A kind person can explode spectacularly when stress accumulates over time. I think this sums it up well.”

Taejo nodded with a wry smile.

“‘You wanted me to get pregnant? Fine, I’ll do it—just like this.’”

“But still, he’s a civilian with no abilities….”

“The mother is an S-class ability user. Does it really matter? He’s not a foreigner, nor does he appear affiliated with Haegneul.”

“…”

“Unless this is all just a performance on her part—”

Ding.

A notification arrived through the internal messenger. The president opened the link immediately, which led to a livestream on a video platform.

“Hey, keep it down! I can’t hear anything!”

“If you’re hearing noises from a hotel suite, isn’t that the weird part? Still… I think I hear something faint. Viewers, can you hear it?”

A group of young men, presumably students from the academy, was livestreaming outside a hotel room.

“It sounds like… creaking?”

“Shake it harder. Make sure the creaking bed echoes throughout the hotel.”

“…You’re practically advertising to the world that you’re trying to get pregnant.”

“They told me to get pregnant, so I’m just doing what they said. Now shake it harder. Even if they can’t hear our voices, they should at least feel the vibrations of the building.”

“…I’m the one who passed out. Why am I the one doing the work?”

“You’re stronger than me, so—ah! Watch it!”

Creak, creak.

That night.

The creaking and banging noises from the hotel suite echoed until dawn.