5 minutes ago.
Kim Youngchul, who was left alone, shook his legs up and down, feeling anxious.
He bit his fingernails and thought about it over and over again, but even after much pondering, he realized that solving this problem with his own abilities was impossible.
‘It was an incident where three kids were taken to the hospital. The school obviously didn’t want the incident to get worse, but if Kim Hyunsung isn’t properly punished, the parents of the victims would cause a huge scene. Especially Jung Minho’s parents. They would never turn a blind eye to the situation of their son’s friends.’
The problem was serious.
Although he had accepted Kim Hyunsung’s demands, as an ordinary teacher, there was a limit to what he could resolve.
Who were Jung Minho’s parents?
They were well-known wealthy individuals in the area.
Not only did they own several properties, but they had also been providing financial support to Cheonil High School since Jung Minho entered the school. In fact, they had just recently funded the replacement of new grass with their own money on the school grounds.
Since Jung Minho was a special student under the Principal’s direct supervision, his parents’ influence was inevitably strong.
And most of all.
He himself had also accepted money from them.
If Jung Minho’s parents started causing a real uproar, there would be nothing he could do about it.
‘Think, think, think.’
Shake, shake.
He shook his legs nervously.
He grabbed his head, which ached to the point of bursting, trying to think of the best way.
However.
There was still no way.
The only solution was to separate Jung Minho from this incident.
‘Kim Hyunsung didn’t touch Jung Minho. Jung Minho’s parents also didn’t interfere with their son, so if I persuade them properly, they might just overlook this whole situation. After all, the students who got into the situation are just friends of their son. If I go to Kim Hyunsung and beg him not to touch Jung Minho, it won’t be the worst-case scenario yet.’
Thud.
He quickly jumped up from his seat.
Before the situation escalated, it was crucial to control Kim Hyunsung and Jung Minho as quickly as possible.
He hurried his pace.
His mouth felt dry.
And then he saw.
Slap!
Slap, slap, slap!
Through the window.
Jung Minho was getting brutally slapped in the face.
Through the crowd of frightened students, who watched from a distance, Kim Hyunsung was seen grabbing Jung Minho by the collar and slapping him repeatedly across the face with a fierce expression. The sound alone was enough to send chills down one’s spine. As a teacher, it was clearly a situation where he should have intervened, but the moment his eyes met Jung Minho’s, he unconsciously turned his head away.
“…F*ck.”
There was nothing more he could do.
Whether it was Jung Minho’s parents or anyone else.
If his affair were exposed, it would be the end of him.
Kim Youngchul hurriedly left the hallway, leaving the students’ suspicious gazes behind.
* * *
How many times did he get hit?
Jung Minho lost consciousness.
He was so weak.
He hadn’t even been hit that many times, yet he couldn’t handle it and passed out already.
‘You were laughing at me when you could handle only this much?’
Kim Hyunsung was furious.
For three years, Park Mincheol and his gang had tormented him, laughing as they watched him crouch down and suppressed his groans filled with pain. They would mock him, saying that this was the result of being too weak. Hearing their mocking voices, saying that if it had been them, they would have fought until the end, Kim Hyunsung just wished that the moment would pass quickly.
However.
Their reality was pathetic.
Compared to the torment they had put him through, it was merely a drop in the bucket, yet they trembled as if they were facing death.
Thud.
Kim Hyunsung finally put Jung Minho down.
He wiped his bloodstained hands and got up from the ground, only then did he notice his classmates looking at him with fearful eyes. It must have been shocking to them. The Kim Hyunsung they remembered was definitely not this kind of person. The sight of him relentlessly using violence made him seem like a completely different person, even though they were in the same space.
Creak.
Thud.
He sat down on a chair.
Then breathed deeply.
Soon, pain surged from all over his body, and when he turned his head, he saw Jung Minho, still unable to get up.
“Idiot.”
Kim Hyunsung also knew.
If he didn’t touch Jung Minho, he knew he could somehow smooth over this incident.
But he didn’t care.
If he were going to seek revenge selectively, he wouldn’t have slapped Park Mincheol’s face the moment he regressed. Instead, he would have chosen to avoid them and live a happy life. However, his mind, completely worn out from experiencing the hellish life of a vegetative state, only desperately longed for revenge.
That was the result.
Looking at Jung Minho, sprawled on the floor and bleeding, Kim Hyunsung knew what was about to happen next.
‘There’s going to be chaos.’
The three people who had been taken to the hospital earlier.
And one more added to that.
It was an assault incident worthy of being reported on the news.
Since this was an incident that trampled on the Principal’s goal of making Cheonil High School a prestigious school, he would likely be severely punished. However, he could not pretend that it never happened. The countless eyes watching him were evidence. Their testimony, which could not be blocked no matter how hard he tried, would bring Kim Hyunsung to the judgment stand.
‘Anyway, if I can’t even handle Cheonil High School, the revenge I want to achieve is impossible.’
He faced reality.
It was only the beginning.
Just as he planned.
At the noise coming from afar, Kim Hyunsung leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the ceiling.
* * *
One student.
A dozen or so adults.
Around Kim Hyunsung, who sat quietly, the adults raised their voices with angry expressions on their faces.
“This incident is absolutely unacceptable. Kim Hyunsung not only brutally assaulted his friends to the extent that they had to be taken to the hospital, but he also assaulted student Jung Minho without showing any signs of remorse even after meeting with Teacher Kim Youngchul. This is an extremely heinous crime. Have you all seen the faces of the victimized students? Their faces were covered in blood, and their situation was so dreadful that one would only expect to see in gangster movies.”
“That’s right. I believe we should impose severe punishment immediately.”
At the words of Oh Daehwan, the Principal of Cheonil High School, one of the teachers nodded in agreement.
This incident.
It wasn’t something that could be overlooked.
The other teachers also nodded their heads in agreement, saying that Kim Hyunsung had committed an unprecedented incident at Cheonil High School.
The English teacher, Lee Minyoung, spoke up.
“I also agree with the Principal’s opinion. Kim Hyunsung should be expelled… What?!”
Poke.
At Lee Minyoung’s words.
Kim Youngchul poked her from the side.
When Lee Minyoung glared at him in surprise, Kim Youngchul gave her a sharp look, as if telling her to stay silent if she didn’t know the full truth. He still hadn’t told Lee Minyoung about the situation. Kim Hyunsung knew about the affair between him and her, and if he were expelled like this, it would mean the end of both of their lives.
He glanced at Kim Hyunsung.
Even though all the teachers had gathered and were making a fuss, he had a relaxed expression on his face, as if it wasn’t his problem.
Kim Youngchul opened his mouth.
“It’s true that Kim Hyunsung did something wrong, but as the homeroom teacher of Class 1, from what I’ve observed, the root of the problem stems from the victims, including Park Mincheol.”
“What do you mean by that, Teacher Kim Youngchul?”
“There have been many rumors that Park Mincheol’s group has been bullying other students. I had planned to address it at some point and punish them properly, but it seems that Kim Hyunsung, unable to tolerate the bullying, ended up taking action. Teachers. Kim Hyunsung is a victim before he is a perpetrator. If we punish him like this, we will be doing something that, as educators, we should never do.”
He twisted the situation.
Since there was no room for excuse, he simply reversed the positions of the perpetrator and the victim.
For Kim Youngchul, it was the best solution.
However, despite the homeroom teacher’s argument, Oh Daehwan thought this issue was something that could not be overlooked.
“Still, we must punish him.”
“Principal!”
“Teacher Kim Youngchul!”
Oh Daehwan’s veins stood out on his neck.
If it had been the previous three students.
He might have let it go.
However, when he saw Jung Minho being carried away, covered in blood, Oh Daehwan was determined to impose a strong punishment.
‘Jung Minho’s parents won’t let this go easily. In order to appease their anger, we must decisively crush the perpetrator.’
His eyes turned fierce.
Oh Daehwan had a wish.
In order to make Cheonil High a prestigious school, he had to firmly hold onto his connections with those in power.
“A week from now, we will convene a disciplinary committee. We will decide how to punish Kim Hyunsung at that time, so everyone, please keep your mouths shut and make sure to keep any rumors related to this from spreading. Additionally, Kim Hyunsung will be suspended until the disciplinary committee is held. During the time he is not at school, he should reflect on what he did wrong, and a week from now, he should come to school with his parents.”
Oh Daehwan was not interested in Kim Hyunsung’s family history.
Whether he had parents or not.
Who he lived with.
At his coercive speech, Kim Hyunsung got up from his seat without saying much.
“Understood.”
* * *
As soon as he stepped outside.
Kim Youngchul hurriedly followed him.
Once he confirmed that there was no one else around, he spoke to Kim Hyunsung in a desperate and quiet voice.
“Hyunsung, I really did my best. Since you messed with Jung Minho, it was a problem that I, a mere teacher, couldn’t solve no matter how much I struggled. So, damn it…. Ahem, no. Why didn’t you control your temper? If you had just stayed still, at least I would have had a chance to smooth things over.”
Kim Youngchul was an interesting person.
In the past, he used to look down on Kim Hyunsung, and even slapped him on the cheek. Now he had already accepted the position of being his subordinate.
Well.
Only this kind of person could understand his life.
He was the type of person who would give away his liver and gallbladder depending on the situation, so he also threw away his sense of responsibility as a teacher and lived like trash. Kim Hyunsung didn’t feel particularly angry. He had known for a long time that Kim Youngchul was this kind of trash, and he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to solve this problem.
“I know that you tried hard enough.”
“Right? Then our secret….”
“But.”
Step.
He stopped in his tracks.
Looking up at him, he gave a cold, icy stare.
“You must have known all along that Park Mincheol was bullying the students, right? Keep this in mind. Until the day I graduate from this school, the only way to keep my mouth shut is to do your best for me. No matter what the outcome. If you don’t show that kind of attitude, I will tear apart the life of you and Lee Minyoung, who you had an affair with. Kim Youngchul. I promise. I will keep my word.”
“… I understand.”
His expression turned pale.
Seeing that he could no longer say anything, Kim Hyunsung turned his back on him and walked toward the classroom.
Kim Youngchul.
If it were up to him, he would have driven them to destruction right away.
But they were not his true target.
Kim Youngchul was just one of the many pieces of garbage he had encountered in his previous life. However, he couldn’t afford to discard a useful card that could be used to bring him down. Kim Youngchul was, at least until he laid the foundation at Cheonil High School, a necessary existence. Though he was just an ordinary teacher, his trash-like life meant that he would not hesitate to use any means necessary to survive.
Kim Hyunsung entered the classroom.
Ignoring the gazes of his classmates and friends, Kim Hyunsung simply grabbed his bag and walked straight out.
‘One week from now.’
That was enough time.
For the future.
To lay the foundation for revenge.
After a week, Oh Daehwan would witness a situation far different from the disciplinary committee he was expecting.
