Ch 135
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 135
I made an appointment to meet with his mother at 2 o'clock at the cafe on the first floor of the officetel and hung up the phone.
"Who was that call from?"
"Right, who was it? It sounded like a woman's voice."
When I turned my head, I saw Luciel and Se-jin standing behind me.
Both of them had unusual looks in their eyes... Good grief, just from making one phone call.
"What woman. It was the mother of a student named Do-hyun who I'm personally helping."
"Ah... What's wrong?"
"Well. I'm not sure, but it seems like that friend Do-hyun has some problems. I arranged to meet with her later."
"When later?"
"Around 2 o'clock after lunch?"
Should I contact Choi Seo-ra?
Since it's vacation, it probably isn't a school-related problem... Well, I'll find out when we meet later.
After eating a simple breakfast and spending time with the two kids, before I knew it, it was time for the appointment.
I dropped Se-jin off at home, put the yacht back away, and used warp magic to come to the hotel.
The officetel was really close enough that if you fell over your nose would touch it, so I thought about walking, but I had no choice but to take the car because of the attention from people around.
I arrived at the meeting place, parked, and got out wearing sunglasses and a mask.
Come to think of it, I was supposed to learn appearance-changing magic from Luciel in exchange for helping her with magic...
That kid was sneakily trying to get away without teaching me.
I should learn it properly during the remaining vacation period.
Since she'll always be watching now, even if I learn it, I won't be able to go to places like clubs, but I want to get away from this kind of inconvenience at least.
When I entered the cafe and looked around briefly, his mother had already arrived.
I ordered a coffee at the counter and sat across from his mother.
"Ms. Yoon Mi-jeong, it's been a while."
"Who... Teacher Kang?"
"Yes. This outfit is because of the attention from people around..."
"Ah, I didn't think that this kind of place would be uncomfortable for you. If I had known, I would have suggested meeting at home instead..."
"It's fine, I'm used to it now. But you said there was something to talk about regarding Do-hyun's problem..."
"Ah... Could you take a look at this?"
As she spoke, she handed me a phone.
When I received it, it was quite an old smartphone.
"Why this...?"
"There's no lock on it, so could you please look at the messenger?"
I pressed the power button to turn on the phone and went into the messaging app... Huh?
"This is Do-hyun's phone?"
"Yes. A while ago Do-hyun dropped it and cracked the screen, so I took it to get repaired and picked it up yesterday. But the staff member..."
She suddenly trailed off.
Don't tell me that kid Do-hyun put some porn on his phone and got caught?
He's in 3rd year of middle school, so he's at that age, so it's quite possible... No, his mother wouldn't be like this over just something like that.
"What did the staff member say?"
"The staff member said that while repairing Do-hyun's phone, messages kept coming so they had to look unavoidably, and it seemed like he was being bullied at school..."
"Bu, bullying?"
"If you look at the conversation content at the very top of the messages there..."
[Trash: Hey beggar, there's no point in running away. It's unlimited invitation, you know?]
[Trash Lackey 1: Hey, Kim Do-hyun? Ji-sung is talking to you. Aren't you going to answer?]
[Trash Lackey 2: Maybe the beggar can't use messaging because he can't pay his phone bill? HEHE]
[Trash: Our beggar keeps ignoring us because it's vacation? There's not much left until school starts.]
"Do-hyun didn't say anything and there are only those messages... What do you think, Teacher?"
As his mother said, there weren't many messages and there weren't any extremely harsh curses, but it seems like he left the group chat in the middle, and there's clearly intent to mock and demean.
Actually, just this much is sufficient cyberbullying and grounds for disciplinary action, but...
Just in case, I pressed on the profile of the guy saved as "Trash" among the group chat members, and as expected.
The guy saved as "Trash" is Lee Ji-sung.
I've never met him face-to-face or talked with him, but I had confirmed his face at events like festivals and sports days, so I could recognize him at a glance.
Is he holding a grudge from last time?
A few months ago at the beginning of the semester, there was an incident where Do-hyun broke Lee Ji-sung's nose bone.
Lee Ji-sung's mother was extremely aggressive, so he was almost expelled, but his homeroom teacher Choi Seo-ra actively defended him, and like in the original work, Do-hyun's father intervened and it was settled without incident.
In the original work too, after this incident, Lee Ji-sung leads the bullying of Do-hyun.
"Teacher?"
"Ah, yes. This is clearly bullying too."
"That kid Do-hyun is usually so sharp, but why didn't he say anything when something like this was happening..."
Of course he couldn't say anything.
When he broke Lee Ji-sung's nose bone, he must have seen how his mother was troubled.
He must have known that if he caused trouble again, his mother would be called to school and go through troublesome situations, so he had no choice.
That's why I asked Choi Seo-ra to take good care of Do-hyun...
It seems like it wasn't very effective.
Well, there's a limit to how much a homeroom teacher can care no matter how much attention they pay.
They can't check the kids' KakaoTalk messages one by one, and it's not like Choi Seo-ra learned mind reading when Do-hyun won't even talk about it.
If it was something that Choi Seo-ra alone could control, he wouldn't have been called a delinquent in the first place.
"Then you can punish them, right?"
Punishment... Anyone can see that Lee Ji-sung would be the ringleader, but realistically it would be difficult.
In the first place, even though middle school is compulsory education, considering the delinquent acts Lee Ji-sung has committed so far, he should have been forcibly transferred ten times, but that didn't happen.
Guilty if you have money, innocent if you don't.
According to what I heard from Choi Seo-ra, it would probably just pass with an appropriate warning, or even if a disciplinary committee was convened, suspension would be difficult and at most it would result in school community service.
But would Lee Ji-sung reflect and stop bullying if he received such punishment?
He'd probably bully even more.
I couldn't bear to tell his mother this unfortunate reality as it is, so I answered that I didn't know well since it would be decided by the disciplinary committee.
"I'm sorry. I did tell my junior to take good care of him... I'm ashamed. It might sound like an excuse, but actually a homeroom teacher can't pay attention to all the students in the class..."
"No, it's not. How could a homeroom teacher know everything? You actively defended our Do-hyun during the last incident, and Do-hyun always said the teacher takes good care of him and that he likes you."
"Thank you for understanding. First, I think I need to talk with my junior to find out if she knew about this roughly, so may I contact you again later?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you. I'm always indebted to you."
"Not at all. It's not even another school's matter, it's our school's matter. You did well to tell me."
After parting with his mother, I returned to the hotel and called Choi Seo-ra.
—Oh? Senior! What's the occasion?
"It's been a while. Can you talk for a moment?"
—Yes. It's fine. What's the matter? When I ask you to do volunteer work together when you have time, you always say you're busy and don't come.
"Volunteering should be done because you want to do it yourself, not because you're forced to. Is it the orphanage?"
—No. Today I came out for portal strategy and I'm on the way back. What is it?
"Actually, I met Do-hyun's mother today, and it seems like Do-hyun is being bullied at school..."
—Do-hyun?
She had no idea at all.
"She found out when Do-hyun's phone was being repaired and the service center staff told her. Looking at the messages, it seems like that bastard Lee Ji-sung is leading the bullying."
—I knew their relationship wasn't good after the last incident, but...
"You had no idea? Looking at the message content, it doesn't seem like it's been just a day or two."
—There was no sign of it on the surface at all. Since you asked me to take good care of him, I talk with Do-hyun regularly, but he never mentioned anything like that... I'm sorry.
"No. His mother said she had no idea either. That foolishly kind kid probably didn't say anything because of what happened last time when he caused trouble and saw his mother suffer."
—Um... Senior, you found out about the kids bullying Do-hyun by seeing the messages, right? Then since there's evidence, I'll make sure to process it so they can be disciplined right when school starts.
"Do-hyun left the group chat in the middle, so there isn't much content. It would be evidence of bullying, but the content isn't that serious."
—It might take some time, but since it's vacation anyway, if we have a company restore it...
"Then, can you punish them properly?"
—Proper punishment would be difficult... Considering the misdeeds that kid has committed so far, he should have transferred schools long ago, but because of his background, everyone hushes it up and just watches carefully.
Choi Seo-ra thinks the same as me.
Well, she's a current employee at 1st Hunter Middle School, so she would know better.
Still, she said that now that she knows, even if she didn't know before, they have to discipline him, and she would try talking with Do-hyun's mother.
'Other people's misfortune is my happiness.'
It might unnecessarily provoke Lee Ji-sung and make the bullying worse instead, but since Choi Seo-ra is Do-hyun's homeroom teacher, I said I understood and hung up.
Anyway, there wouldn't be any brilliant answers even if we talked more.
With a frustrated heart, I was about to enter the bathroom to wash my face when my internal energy suddenly drained out.
Soon light burst forth and Luciel appeared.
"What are you worrying about? For trash like that, a club is the medicine. With your skills, you could secretly grab a kid like that and beat him up."
She must have heard everything while in the necklace.
"I want to do that too, but... He's not the type to listen even if I do that. There are circumstances."
Now that August is almost over, Lee Ji-sung will change in about half a year.
Actually, even after the possession, he's not that great of a person, but he's still much better than now.
Anyway, if he just endures this 2nd semester, Lee Ji-sung will be possessed and the situation will completely change, but I'm the only one who knows that fact.
"What circumstances?"
"You don't need to know."
"What circumstances that you're keeping secret even from me?"
That kid Luciel is glaring and speaking, thoroughly upset.
"There are such things. My head hurts, so go back in."
I can't tell Do-hyun that Ji-sung will become a new person next year, so just endure a little.
It would be nice if I could tell the truth, but I can't even tell Luciel.
It's not like Do-hyun chose to be in the same class as Lee Ji-sung, so I can't tell him to just endure it with evil stubbornness.
Should I ask them to at least change his class?
Even if it's a different class, that delinquent Lee Ji-sung probably won't stop bullying him, but it would probably be a little less difficult...
But suddenly changing classes in the middle of a semester is unprecedented, so the school wouldn't easily change it for him.
But asking the vice principal... Wouldn't work anymore.
In the first place, changing classes isn't a fundamental solution.
And thinking about it, there isn't no answer at all.
Even if not the vice principal, I'm also an S-rank Hunter and a director of the Hunter Association.
No matter how much Hwasin Group protects Lee Ji-sung, if I strongly insist on punishment, forced transfer might be possible.
But then the future would change.
Of course, the future has probably already changed due to what I've done.
I even resolved not to cling to the original work.
But forcibly transferring Lee Ji-sung to another school is incomparably different from what I've done so far.
There's a high possibility that the future will change so seriously that it becomes unpredictable and gets twisted.
It's Lee Ji-sung who defeats the Demon King, the final boss of the original work, so the world might even be destroyed.
In the first place, the protagonists of the novel 《I Became a Delinquent Inferior Student at Hunter School》 are Kim Do-hyun and Lee Ji-sung, these two people, but the real protagonist is Lee Ji-sung.
It's a dilemma.
Whether it's right to just close my eyes and stand by, or whether I should help. The angel and devil inside me are fighting.
"Are you really not going to tell me? Tell me too!"
Of course, I'm not talking about this kid.