Mr. Kim 2
"Joo-in?"
My uncle spotted me and called out.
"Uncle, these are my friends Jong-hyuk and Kyung-soo."
"Hello."
"Hello."
The greetings were brief. Seeing my uncle's worried expression at the fact we'd come to the hospital, I quickly explained.
"It's not that my friends are sick or anything. A classmate got hurt, so we came to visit."
"You don't mean... the In-ha patient who just got brought into the ER?"
"That's right. She's the one we came to see... Why? Is she hurt bad?"
My uncle looked surprised that school friends had arrived before any family—the nurses had been desperately trying to track down relatives.
"She's hurt pretty badly, but right now... the patient's not in her right mind."
Jong-hyuk and I were worried about In-ha too, but Kyung-soo latched onto my uncle like he was begging for answers. Unable to ignore Kyung-soo's distress, my uncle led us out of the hospital, dodging the cops arguing with a lawyer, just like he'd done earlier.
He gestured for us to calm down, then spoke in a steady voice.
"It's true In-ha's badly injured, but she's more shocked than anything. They gave her a sedative."
"Ah... so that's why she's out of it..."
"If she gets stable treatment, she should be fine."
"What about the detectives, then...?"
My uncle hesitated, wondering if he should say more, but our worried faces made him speak gravely.
"When the detectives showed up looking for her, I figured the police had finally responded to the domestic violence and severe assault. But they barge in demanding to arrest an underage patient who's not even conscious. I blocked them for now, but... it was embarrassing for you kids to see that."
"No way. You stood up to the detectives and protected the patient—super cool, Uncle."
"Super cool."
Unable to hide his pleased smile at my words and the boys' agreement, my uncle said,
"No matter what nice things you say, friends who aren't guardians can't go into the ER."
We hung our heads in disappointment, and he added,
"Besides, she's still not awake. When she comes to, I'll tell her her friends were here."
"Ah... when do you think she'll wake up?"
"She's been exposed to prolonged violence, so her overall condition is poor—malnourished, high stress for her age, tiny build, and massive blood loss today..."
Seeing our faces grow more worried with every word, my uncle realized he was scaring us and hurriedly wrapped up.
"But she got here in time and she's recovering, so don't worry too much. It's late—head home. Want me to drive you?"
"We're good. We can get back on our own."
We dragged our reluctant feet in silence.
"Does this even make sense?"
"Haa..."
Kyung-soo's angry voice drew matching sighs from Jong-hyuk and me.
"It had to be Ki-ha's dad—that brute—who beat her. But he's claiming she killed the gym teacher? Or that she did it?"
"Domestic abusers who brag to bystanders about 'disciplining' their kids don't mess with anyone who looks stronger."
"Cowards."
"You think a guy like that would go after a big dude like the gym teacher?"
"If he was pissed enough, maybe?"
"Even pissed, he'd take it all out on In-ha—he wouldn't have anything left to get mad about. That's why he acts all sweet to outsiders but beats her senseless."
"If it was In-ha's dad who killed the gym teacher, at least it'd make sense. I'd buy it."
"What? Sudden gear shift?"
"If he did it for his daughter, this boiling rage inside me might cool off a bit..."
I had to keep taking deep breaths to calm my burning gut.
Mr. Kim couldn't have... right?
Then I'd be the one who put a hit on the gym teacher...
Noticing I looked off—different from usual—Jong-hyuk asked during a lull in the talk.
"You okay, Joo-in? Your face looks rough..."
"Not the kind of thing that lets you smile."
"True, but..."
"Ah... the perp's a monster, but In-ha's the victim here. Yet the gym teacher's acting all bold while she's hiding—it just rubs me wrong."
"Yeah. At school, they say his suspended sentence proves it's all rumors. Some kids even wanted to hunt down whoever started the bad gossip about the teacher."
"Suspended sentence? Does that mean he's out? Innocent? We got it all wrong?"
"No way. Government's too cheap to keep low-sentence crooks locked up—they just release 'em."
"So he did bad stuff but got a light slap and walked?"
"For something that huge?"
"My mom says for sex crimes, victims have to report it themselves. But they get shamed and marked like scarlet letters, so most bury it and suffer in silence. Something about 'prosecutable only on complaint'?"
"Prosecutable only on complaint?"
"Means they only investigate if the victim reports it."
"So the gym teacher might have way more victims?"
"Sex crimes are probably double the reported cases."
"And they know there could be more victims but just let it slide?"
"I'd never report if I were In-ha, seeing her go around school pale as a ghost."
"But same school, same class—they should know the truth. Why does it end up like this?"
"School dismisses it as rumors, teachers parrot that, kids go along."
"Fake facts become truth."
"From the school's view, they hired the perp as a teacher. To dodge blame, what won't they do? Bashing the victim is nothing. Pressuring media's the real hassle."
"Media?"
"Newspapers. Newspapers."
"What?"
"Local papers are owned by the Baek-sin Foundation. Even An-nam City PD chief didn't know, but suddenly Baek-sin High news drops."
"So..."
"Nobody wants to trash their alma mater. School promises to handle it quietly, muzzles the press. No articles on the gym teacher while you were out."
"Keep attention away?"
"Quick conviction, he's out on light sentence—no complaints. He griped about dismissal, but after the no-contact order on the victim, he toned it down to avoid media eyes."
"How do you know all this?"
"Overheard it. Why do you think Hyun-jin's my source?"
"Huh?"
"He delivers papers. Been at it a while."
"That's why he's always barely making it to school in the morning..."
"His route keeps growing. His paper distribution center handles printing too—he says overhearing their calls is wild."
"What?"
"Papers add or yank stories for one more ad. For messy cases, they cut a whole section before printing."
"For real?"
"Yeah, scheduled articles get swapped for ads last minute."
"That's messed up. I thought the silence after was to protect victims like In-ha."
"That's why Hyun-jin's so cynical. He sees and hears that stuff."
"..."
Shocked speechless, we just kept walking.
"Today's been too much."
"Yeah..."
"Rough day."
"Days like this, you gotta eat well."
I ducked into a butcher shop and ordered a ton of meat. They offered delivery, but as I walked out, Jong-hyuk and Kyung-soo stared in shock.
"Dude, how we gonna eat all that?"
"Dunno?"
I grinned mischievously at them.
An hour later, we were having a BBQ party at Jong-hyuk's house. Weekends meant family outings, so setup was a breeze. Sadly, Kyung-soo's parents couldn't make it—just Jong-hyuk's folks, my mom, and us. But plenty of meat, so Jong-hyuk's mom set some aside cooked for Kyung-soo's family.
Kyung-soo and I set the table; Jong-hyuk grilled. Joo-shin stuffed himself and claimed Jong-hyuk's bed for a nap.
After seven people ate their fill, Jong-hyuk's mom and mine headed to the kitchen to marinate leftovers. Left in the living room with Jong-hyuk's dad, we nursed cold drinks to settle our greasy stomachs.
Noticing his odd stare fixed on me, I set down my empty glass and spoke.
"I called Jong-hyuk's mom today asking for help."
"I heard. Something about aiding a victim student?"
Kyung-soo jumped in urgently.
"Not just any victim. The one abused by that gym teacher making noise lately. In-ha killing him? Impossible."
"Strong grudge makes motive."
"She didn't even seem to have the strength left to hate anyone..."
"No strength to hate?"
Recalling In-ha through Kyung-soo's eyes, I said,
"Felt more like she hated herself."
"The real villain's the gym teacher exploiting her pain. Why...?"
"If everyone's blaming you, don't you start thinking maybe it's your fault?"
"Hm... Kids that age sync up fast with those around them."
"Huh?"
"Not my field, but a psych prof at my school studies it. Not common here yet, but abroad, they dive deep into psychology."
"School seems to be manufacturing that reaction on purpose."
"What? Just standing by?"
"Yes."
Jong-hyuk's dad stayed stone-faced, but I caught the tension in his jaw. He was holding back anger in front of his worried son and friends.
They're playing dirty? No need for us to fight fair.
It was a weekday, unlike usual, so Jong-hyuk's dad drove Kyung-soo home. Kyung-soo and Jong-hyuk hopped in back; the car pulled out.
"You not coming?"
"Mom's busy marinating. Someone's gotta be there when Joo-shin wakes."
"Ah... because of that?"
"Gotta be careful for a bit."
"So much crap happening lately."
"Yeah. Go careful, come back safe."
"See you at school tomorrow."
I waved to Jong-hyuk and Kyung-soo, gave Jong-hyuk's dad a quick nod. The car drove off.
Heading home down the alley, my steps halted at a familiar stuffed doll.
"Mr. Kim?"