Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Justice on the Rails
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“ No, what did I even do! ”
“ Uncle, you took pictures! ”
“ Everyone! This student is totally delusional and picking fights with innocent people! ”
“ Uncle! ”
Yoon Haneul shrieked.
But the man didn’t seem to care at all and spoke even louder.
“ Student! You know picking a fight with a passerby is a quarreling offense, right? Do you or don’t you? ”
“ Q-Quarreling offense? That’s ridiculous…! ”
Yoon Haneul seemed utterly furious at the man’s shameless attitude and screamed.
“ Fine! Call the police! Police! I’ll go to the station and get punished, and you can too, Uncle! We’ll sort it out together! ”
“ What? Police? ”
The thick-skinned uncle was impressive, but Yoon Haneul was just as bold for not backing down in this situation.
Kang Hyun, who had been quietly watching, prepared to step between them and took a step forward.
“ Excuse me, sir, what’s going on here? ”
“ No, student! This, this girl is… spouting, spouting nonsense… ”
When Kang Hyun, who was at least 180 cm tall, stepped between them and asked, the man faltered slightly and began to stammer.
‘ Kang Hyun? ’
Yoon Haneul finally recognized him, and her eyes widened even more.
“ Sir. It seems like you’ve misunderstood and think this young lady took photos… ”
“ Right! It’s a total misunderstanding! ”
The man jumped in before Kang Hyun could finish, shouting triumphantly.
Kang Hyun hardened his expression, lowered his voice, and said,
“ Then just show us. Your phone. ”
“ W-What? ”
“ Show it to us. If you didn’t take any photos or videos. ”
“ Why should I? Why do I have to show you? ”
“ Come on. If you didn’t take any pictures, just show that and it’s done. What’s the problem? ”
Kang Hyun spoke clearly and loudly enough for the people around to hear, and all their gazes shifted toward the man.
“ F-Fine! Sh-Show it and that’s it! ”
The man angrily pulled out his phone and pretended to unlock it with the password.
But then he froze, as if the phone had malfunctioned.
“ Uncle? ”
“ Damn it… ”
“ Is there a problem? ”
When Kang Hyun asked pointedly,
“ You son of a bitch! ”
The man suddenly cursed and wildly swung the hand holding the phone in a big gesture.
“ Just delete it, delete it! What’s the big deal over nothing? Did I rape you or something? Huh! ”
“ R-Rape…? ”
Yoon Haneul, who had been watching from the side, froze in shock, her eyes welling up with tears.
Kang Hyun pushed Yoon Haneul to the side.
“ Yoon Haneul, go over there. ”
Kang Hyun’s eyes flashed.
“ W-What, sexual violence? ”
“ That’s right. The crime you committed. Anyone who uses a camera or similar device to film another person’s body in a way that could cause sexual shame, against their will, faces up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won. ”
“ Ah, damn it, I said I deleted it! Deleted it! ”
“ Looks like you’re misunderstanding something. ”
“ What? ”
“ You’re already done for. Illegal filming with a camera is a crime in itself. What you do after—delete it or not— isn’t our concern. ”
“ What nonsense is that! I’ll slap you two brats with quarreling offenses! ”
“ Cut the bullshit that wouldn’t fly even in German law and get ready to be handed over to the railway police. ”
And right then—
The door burst open!
“ We’re here on a report. Who made the report? ”
“ Here! This man filmed my friend in a way that caused her shame. ”
As the uniformed railway police approached the man to speak to him, he began to hiccup.
“ Um, officer? ”
“ Uh, uh, uwaa! ”
Whoosh, smack! The man flung his phone in the opposite direction.
“ Huh? Huh? ”
“ Grab it! ”
Then he started running in the opposite direction like a madman. It was obvious he’d be caught quickly inside the train car.
Crash, thud, bang!
The minor disturbance turned into a full commotion, but even railway police were special judicial officers.
“ Let, let go! Let me go! ”
The man was subdued in no time.
Amid the chaos, Kang Hyun didn’t miss a beat and picked up the discarded phone.
‘ Wow, there’s more than one or two photos and videos. ’
The gallery was open, revealing a gallery of horrors.
“ This guy’s headed to prison for a long stay. Please preserve this as evidence properly. ”
More police arrived, so Kang Hyun handed over the man’s phone, left his contact info, and gave a precise summary of the situation.
He almost lectured them on evidence preservation integrity and procedural importance but held his itchy tongue, thinking, ‘ They’re police, they’ll handle it. ’
‘ What is this guy… ’
Yoon Haneul, watching Kang Hyun handle it so deftly and calmly, was left with her mouth agape.
‘ Phew… hope I didn’t miss anything? ’
It might have looked cool to Yoon Haneul, but Kang Hyun thought differently. Despite his outwardly composed demeanor, his heart was pounding, and he’d stumbled over words more than expected.
Catching his breath, Kang Hyun felt eyes on him and looked around, his face flushing red.
Everyone was staring.
An event he’d never experienced in his life.
-That’s insane.
-Is that student a genius?
-How does he know so much?
To the onlookers, Kang Hyun looked like the perfect cop, prosecutor, or lawyer.
Several people in the same car were filming with their phones, their faces filled with awe and admiration.
One man at the front cautiously spoke up without being intrusive.
“ H-Hey, student, you caught him! ”
An auntie and some college students behind him chimed in.
“ So brave, I was shocked! ”
“ Where did you learn that legal knowledge? ”
Clap, clap clap.
They started with words of praise, then began clapping little by little, until the train car filled with applause and cheers.
Clap clap, clap clap clap clap!
-The best! He’s the best!
-So cool!
-Good job!
A mix of thrill and exhilaration washed over him. Only then did Kang Hyun truly feel, with his whole body, how amazing and incredible his ability was.
And he thought.
He’d nurture and use this power well to leap to greater heights and live a life of true value.
“ Kang Hyun. ”
Yoon Haneul stood in front of him.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she smiled brightly.
Her face was one he’d never seen before—a mix of gratitude and awe, overflowing with such prettiness it was disorienting.
“ Thank you. Really. ”
Hearing thanks from her, whom he’d thought lived in a different world, felt strange.
“ No big deal. It was the right thing. If that guy causes trouble or anything, tell me right away. ”
Kang Hyun puffed up a bit as he spoke, and she replied with a relieved expression.
“ Okay. I will. ”
Tap, tap.
Someone tapped Kang Hyun’s shoulder.
“ What? ”
“ Hey, Kang Hyun. You on Instagram? ”
Min-su approached Kang Hyun, who was deep in studying.
“ Quit it. ”
“ Whoa! ”
Min-su scowled as he watched a short Instagram video.
The video showed a male student in the subway subduing a creep harassing a female student and even getting him arrested by police.
“ Tsk, weird. This is definitely our school uniform… ”
The video had become a massive issue at school, and students were desperate to identify the male high schooler.
-Genius High School Student Saves Girl on Subway
Just the title was goosebump-inducing, drawing everyone’s attention.
Kang Hyun knew about it too, but he ignored it, focused solely on studying.
Even Yoon Haneul in the front seat kept quiet about it.
Slide.
Homeroom time.
The skinny, sharp-featured homeroom teacher Park Hyuk-su entered, looking visibly prickly.
“ Class president. ”
Yoon Haneul stood expressionlessly.
“ Attention, salute to the teacher. ”
“ Good morning. ”
“ Hm. ”
He glanced around, then glared slightly at Kang Hyun.
‘ What’s that about? ’
Kang Hyun tilted his head, clueless why the teacher was eyeing him.
Gossip about teachers was student culture, but Park Hyuk-su’s reputation went beyond that—it was notoriously bad.
Rumors said he’d been kicked out for sexually harassing a female student, then reinstated; that he favored rich kids and led a “cartel” selling exam papers for cash.
When had a guy like that ever glanced his way?
Today felt off.
“ Hm, report cards are out today, so the duty student distribute them, and self-study. ”
As usual, Park Hyuk-su turned his first period into self-study and breezed out.
Ignoring the kids muttering, “ Is that a teacher? ” the duty student rushed back with the report cards.
After gaining his mysterious talent, the long-awaited first test.
Kang Hyun’s report card was handed to him.
‘ Ah! ’
One.
He got one wrong.
He’d put a lot into math in that short time, but one problem with an ambiguous solution had stuck in his mind—and he got it wrong.
Plus, though he got them right, a few he wasn’t confident on, so strictly speaking, it was better than his ability warranted.
‘ Anyway… this isn’t a dream… ’
A flash of regret passed, and Kang Hyun’s face filled with joy and pride.
In under a month, from near-zero base, he’d achieved progress anyone would marvel at.
But then,
“ Our resident dunce Kang Hyun, what’s the point of looking at a zero-score paper… huh? ”
Before Kang Hyun could hide it, Min-su peeked at his report card from the side and couldn’t close his gaping mouth.
“ N-No way… guys! ”
He shot up and yelled loud enough to shake the classroom, gathering everyone.
“ Th-This bastard’s crazy! He got almost everything right! ”
The classroom, full of mocking laughs just days ago over his zeros, went dead silent like it’d been hit with a hammer.
Slide, clatter! Crash!
“ He’s lost it! ”
“ How’d you do it? ”
“ Min-su, you said he bombed! ”
Friends rushed over, nearly tumbling, their faces hilarious enough to make Kang Hyun smile. Their shock was amplified because they knew his usual level well.
“ Got lucky. ”
His calm expression made their jaws drop further, as if he’d expected this score.
“ Luck my ass! ”
“ Spill. How’d you cheat? ”
“ This possible? ”
Word would spread instantly that the class dunce became a genius overnight, but he didn’t care. This was his real, unadulterated skill.
“ Studied on the down-low. ”
“ Man… no PC bangs either… ”
“ Dude, does that even work? ”
Leaving his stunned friends behind, Kang Hyun headed to the back schoolyard.
‘ I really… did it! ’
He might look triumphant to them, but truthfully, even he had to calm his own shocked heart to accept this miraculous result.