Painful Reality 2
After the morning homeroom greetings turned the classroom into a noisy chaos among friends, a sudden wave of confusion swept through. Amid the children's murmurs, blaring sirens erupted abruptly.
Turmoil broke out right in front of the school gate, which should have been closing by now.
Kyung-soo, who had been standing at his desk, was the first to rush to the window. "What's going on?"
"Isn't that an ambulance siren?"
"Did someone get hurt?"
As the sirens grew louder, a police car and ambulance pulled into the school field, drawing the attention of every student in the building. The first- and second-years, still before classes, had their windows shut amid shouts from what seemed to be their homeroom teachers, forcing lessons to start. But the third-years were in self-study, so even as the class bell rang, everyone fixated on the commotion outside.
"Hey, isn't that the PE teacher over there?"
"What's happening? Is he getting arrested?"
"The PE teacher?"
"He's always so nice and kind to the kids."
"Yeah, what could it be?"
The class buzzed at Hyun-jin's words—the girl known for her sharp tongue and wide connections.
"Hey, that bastard had weird rumors swirling even before he came to this school. This must be it blowing up."
"What?"
"What rumors?"
"He was teaching at some fancy private girls' middle school in Seoul, but he messed around with the students and got forcibly transferred here."
"Wasn't that just a nasty rumor? The PE teacher graduated from Seowon University PE department, and his classes are fun."
"You think smoke rises from a clean chimney? Even there, the other teachers liked him, but the girls hated his guts."
"If he was touching kids and rumors spread that far, shouldn't he be barred from teaching?"
"No hard evidence."
"What?"
"The girl who got targeted said she loved the teacher."
The classroom fell into stunned silence before erupting in shocked whispers.
"So she lied because she liked him."
"The PE teacher's the victim here?"
Hyun-jin shot back harshly at the kids defending him—after all, the PE teacher treated students differently from the others, without the usual authority. She spat it out fast but precise, like finally unloading a bitter secret she'd been holding in.
"Even if she liked him, would she go to a motel with a teacher old enough to be her dad? I don't buy it. My first crush was an academy teacher, and I never even held his hand."
"Hey, that's normal. Liking someone doesn't mean that."
"You guys didn't know? Before the transfer, rumors said he did it with over ten students at his old school."
"What? Just rumors, right? And if she liked him..."
"Does liking someone make it okay? Plus, the PE teacher's married with kids. He even showed us photos and bragged."
"So he's human trash? Cheating with the students he's supposed to teach? And why would the cops come all the way here, making a huge scene, if they had nothing better to do?"
"But schools hate scandals like this. If it was real, they'd call him in quietly."
"Yeah, true."
"Anyway, if girls are hooking up with a married guy, aren't they crazy?"
I couldn't hold back. "Students can have crushes on teachers. But isn't it the adult's job to draw the line and say no? And we're only hearing one side—maybe he blackmailed her into agreeing."
"Maybe..."
The murmurs grew louder as kids chimed in with their own thoughts from all corners.
I watched quietly, thinking, 'At least the kids are starting to think critically...'
"Time to Re-Examine Purity Education Once Again"
The next day in class, I heard the shocking details.
"You call that right?"
"A teacher?"
"Yeah. Even the reporter who took the tip couldn't believe it at first. But then she read her daughter's diary about a suicide attempt and knew something was off, so she investigated on her own. When she tried to report it, she hid her identity because people talk."
"Why?"
"I'd hide too."
Jong-hyuk and Kyung-soo looked at me puzzled. I showed them the Dongsin Ilbo.
"This... is too much, right?"
"If she had the sense to think that way, she's lucky. Some frontline girls' schools are even holding real health classes in agreement."
"What did the victims do wrong? I thought the PE teacher—no, that trash—was a good guy too. Does judging wrong mean victims get treated like this?"
"And at his previous school, there were 22 victims. The reporter investigated, but with cases hushed up, the real number might be higher."
"In this atmosphere, who'd reveal their name and say their daughter might be a victim?"
"But it started because the tipster's daughter was forced into compensated dating. How's the PE trash connected?"
"Maybe the daughter was a PE victim too, but hated seeing normal kids go to school unscathed, so she dragged them down: 'You try it too.'"
"Why do you think that?"
"Tiny opinion piece at the bottom here."
"Whoa... you read even these small articles?"
"Headlines are traps to hook readers. Real facts hide in these tiny corners."
'Truth always gets ignored.'
"You sound just like my dad."
"Sometimes you have total old-man mindset. Peak boomer."
"Anyway, to me, this is victims breeding more victims. 'My life's ruined, so share my pain.'"
"The daughter ain't normal either."
"Doesn't make it right. But the adults who let it escalate aren't innocent."
"Why so serious today?"
"I'm pissed."
"Huh?"
"Thinking Joo-shin will grow up in a country like this pisses me off. Imagine your future kids or wife in this society—doesn't it?"
"Aren't you jumping ahead? Sure, it's infuriating, but it's other people's problems."
"Yeah... other people's problems."
I agreed with Jong-hyuk mediating to cool my solo rage-fest.
'Other people's problems. That's why we just get mad at news and papers. How furious would I be if it hit me directly?'
"Hey, there's this article too."
"What?"
"Sa○○ from a divorced family. Mom fled because she couldn't take Dad's violence."
"How do you leave kids alone with a monster like that?"
"You'd run too if you thought you'd die."
"What?"
"Heard of the upcoming Domestic Violence Special Act?"
"Just that it's pending in crim law studies."
"Domestic violence is all over the news, so they're making it. But its purpose shows the direction's wrong from the start."
"Huh?"
"It sets special procedures for criminal punishment of domestic violence crimes, focusing on restoring peace and stability to broken families. No real victim support. Might add human rights later, but the core prioritizes the family."
"So no punishment if you beat someone inside the home?"
Kyung-soo perked up at the legal talk.
"Yeah. Intra-family assault goes unpunished if the victim doesn't want it. Absurd: cops rush for street fights with strangers, but 'it's family' even if it kills."
"But too much state meddling in family matters might be bad too?"
"Maybe. Victims probably want intervention—immediate agony, daily terror. Yet this law pressures them: forgive the abuser or you're not family?"
"Hearing it that way changes things."
"No country obsesses over family like ours. A whole law for it. As long as the family unit survives, whatever happens inside is fine—state-endorsed. That's our nation."
"This law's intent feels scarier now. Even with Red Brick House incidents, just look away. First wife? Cause of death unconfirmed."
"Victims stay victims forever."
"What? Modern slavery?"
"The irony? Guess what."
"?"
"The teacher the daughter counseled for domestic violence abuse was the PE guy."
"Holy shit..."
"So?"
"She went to him as a last hope, spilling her trust, and he crushed it. Seeing other kids live normally? Rage exploded. Not saying she did right—the system that created this mess is broken."
"Whoa... this happened right around us?"
"Painful reality."