I have no intention of being pushed around. 2
I have no intention of being pushed around. 2
I only found out about Choi Man-ho after the entrance exams were over.
Having been a "bread shuttle" (errand boy) for three years, I was naturally called over to wherever Choi Min-su and the Banya gang gathered. Since I was already treated like I didn't exist back then, I ended up hearing all the conversations they shared in secret.
And right there, I heard everything: the affair between Choi Man-ho and Han Ye-seul, and the fact that Han Ye-seul was taking money to hand over school exam questions to Choi Man-ho.
At the time, I only knew that the clothes Han Ye-seul wore and the bags she carried looked expensive. But as time passed and I realized these were things that could absolutely never be bought with a teacher's salary, that suspicion turned into certainty.
Looking at the suddenly quiet Choi Man-ho, I spoke softly.
"First, let's get the School Violence Committee meeting tomorrow sorted out. Choi Min-su will handle it on his own anyway, so you just need to play along with the tune your son is going to sing."
"What? You... w-what did you do to our Min-su?"
"What do you mean, 'what did I do'? I just suggested we get along. Why? Students can fight with each other, right? So, forgive each other and get along, you said."
Choi Man-ho's face twisted horribly as he stared at my smiling face.
The calm before the storm.
That's the current atmosphere at school.
Things that happened at school over the past few weeks.
Seo Young-jin, who had disappeared, returned.
The Banya Iljin (bullies) were smashed one after another.
The legend of 17-to-1 against the thugs who attacked the school was created.
And the humiliation of Banya president Choi Min-su, and the dissolution of Banya.
And the meeting to discuss the agenda for holding the School Violence Committee.
It's a preliminary meeting where committee members gather to discuss the agenda before the official School Violence Committee takes place.
Depending on the results of today's meeting, the students' remaining school life will be decided.
However, since the head of that committee is Choi Min-su's dad, Choi Man-ho, everyone was accepting the fact that the School Violence Committee would be held as a foregone conclusion.
Many students expected that Seo Young-jin, who had taken control of the school, would be dragged out of school due to the intervention of the school, parents, and the police, and that the vanished Banya would be resurrected.
Though Seo Young-jin, the person involved, thought differently.
In the School Violence Committee meeting room, teacher committee members including the principal, vice-principal, and the student affairs director, as well as parent committee members led by Choi Man-ho, were seated.
And on one side sat me, the person involved, and my mom.
Even though I had repeatedly assured her there was nothing to worry about, Mom couldn't lift her head, perhaps because she was so anxious and felt so apologetic.
Sigh.
That appearance probably looked like easy prey to them.
Fuck, their expressions are a sight to behold.
The teachers and parent committee members were putting on solemn expressions, but behind them, they were filled with arrogance and hypocrisy.
Only Choi Man-ho, who had been hit once yesterday, had a stiff face, as if something was bothering him.
The vice-principal, who had been reading his mood, stepped up first.
"First, I would like to apologize for contacting you regarding such an unfortunate incident. The principal and various staff members here have been dedicated to creating a school without school violence, and as a school where no school violence has occurred for the past 9 years, I would like to mention that with just one more year, we will reach 10 years, making it almost certain that we will be designated as a School Violence Zero School recognized by the Office of Education."
The vice-principal continued with a long-winded explanation about how much effort he and the principal had put in day and night to prevent school violence.
"However, as already conveyed, stories have emerged about an unfortunate incident recently, and today, with various committee members present, we have decided to uncover the truth and finally determine whether or not to hold the School Violence Committee. I repeat, all the staff at our school..."
Seeing signs that he was about to recite their hard work again, Choi Man-ho, tired of listening, cut in.
"Alright, I get it. Vice-principal. Let's just move on."
The vice-principal, whose speech was cut off by Choi Man-ho's words, suppressed his displeasure and made his next statement.
"First, I think it is necessary to clarify whether or not this incident constitutes school violence. So today, we will listen to the story of the person involved, Seo Young-jin-gun. Seo Young-jin-gun."
'Gun' my ass. My response was indifferent.
"Yes."
"Two days ago, around 9 AM. Did you ever beat up Choi Min-ho-gun in the club room on the 3rd floor of the Welfare Building?"
Everyone's gaze turned toward me. But it's no big deal.
Except for Mom's gaze, trembling with anxiety.
"No."
A scoff of disbelief burst out from the mouths of the teachers and parents sitting there.
"Hah."
"My goodness."
The parents had already been given a notice summarizing what had happened so far.
The notice included Choi Min-ho's medical records and photos of his red, swollen, and bruised face.
And my current insolent attitude was making my school violence a foregone conclusion.
The vice-principal, reading the atmosphere, asked next.
"You shouldn't lie here. You need to tell the truth and ask for forgiveness. Then the committee members here might forgive you generously. Then we could discuss holding the School Violence Committee again."
They must be planning to make me grovel and beg for forgiveness to stop it from going to the School Violence Committee.
If it goes to the School Violence Committee, a report will be filed with the Office of Education, and things will get big.
Then there was a risk that other violence cases the school had been hiding would surface.
The principal and vice-principal just want to prevent that.
Of course, I think the same as the vice-principal, but our methods of solving it were different.
"I'm saying it because I didn't hit him. I'm telling you honestly."
A parent committee member who was listening stepped up.
Middle-aged, his hair is so slathered with wax that it's shiny.
"Teacher, there's no need to listen any further when he's making excuses like that. A guy like that needs to be punished to come to his senses. Since we'll have to hear it again anyway if the School Violence Committee is held, let's just hear the victim's statement and finish this quickly."
My eyes turned to that gentleman, no, that bastard who was stepping up and running his mouth.
He's the bastard who, during the School Violence Committee meeting last year where I was the victim, was blabbering about how we shouldn't make innocent kids into criminals with baseless accusations.
That same guy has now changed his stance.
It's probably because Choi Min-su, who was the perpetrator back then, is the victim now.
Because that guy, who runs a private business, is faithful in his role as Choi Man-ho's lackey.
That son of a bitch is wagging his tail quite well.
But I don't know how he runs a business with so little awareness.
The middle-aged man, checking to see if his recent remark had cheered Choi Man-ho up, looked flustered after seeing his face even more crumpled.
Anyway, at the middle-aged man's words, the meeting moved on to the next stage.
The vice-principal stepped up again.
"Then we have no choice but to listen to the victim's statement. So, student Seo Young-jin and his mother, please move to the room next door. Mr. Kim."
The grade director took me and Mom to the empty counseling room next door.
It was a measure to separate the perpetrator while listening to the victim student's testimony.
We entered the small counseling room and sat facing each other with a table in between.
The grade director left us and went out of the counseling room.
On the table, paper cups left by someone were still sitting there.
Bastards. No matter how much they look down on people, this is too much.
But Mom, who didn't even notice such things, was clasping her hands together and praying, even though she didn't have a religion.
Well, the result is obvious, though.
Her small shoulders just weigh on my heart.
Meanwhile, in the meeting room where the preliminary School Violence Committee meeting was being held, Choi Min-su and a few Banya members who were in the club room at the time were sitting.
The committee members, who wanted to hear about the violence through their statements, were all flustered by Choi Min-su's unexpected remark.
"I've never been hit by Seo Young-jin."
The vice-principal, thinking Choi Min-su was lying out of fear of retaliation, spoke in a warm, coaxing tone.
"Min-su. If you're worried about retaliation, there's absolutely no need to worry. After today's meeting ends, Seo Young-jin will immediately be given a temporary suspension and house arrest. And once the School Violence Committee is held, he'll be forced to transfer or expelled. So, just tell us honestly what happened to you."
The vice-principal's words were incredibly warm, as if he wanted the parents, especially Choi Man-ho, to hear.
But making those efforts meaningless, Choi Min-su repeated the same thing from beginning to end.
"It's the truth. I've never been hit by Seo Young-jin."
"Then. Your face. What about those bruises? And here, the medical certificate is right here."
"This. I got hurt while exercising."
"What exercise?"
"Soccer. I got it when I bumped my face while playing around with Young-jin in the club room."
"Good grief."
The principal, who was listening, sighed without realizing it.
The vice-principal asked the students next to him this time.
"No, then you guys tell me. Did Seo Young-jin really not hit Min-su? Did it happen because you bumped into each other while playing around?"
As soon as Choi Min-su's answer came out, the other Banya members were breathing a sigh of relief inside.
From their perspective, if they sided with Seo Young-jin and lied, they were worried about Choi Min-su, and if they sided with Choi Min-su, they were afraid of Seo Young-jin's relentless retaliation. Just then, Choi Min-su, the person involved, had taken the lead.
"Yes. It just happened while we were playing around."
"That's right. We didn't fight."
As the students spoke with one voice, the principal and vice-principal felt dejected, but also thought it was better this way.
However, the vice-chairman, the middle-aged man with slathered wax, was clueless to the end.
"Let's stop this. Since they're kids, it seems like they're doing this because they're afraid of retaliation. That guy earlier, he's such a vicious guy, tsk. Just since we already have evidence, let's vote on it right away. Whether to hold the School Violence Committee or not. Isn't that right, Mr. Chairman?"
He tried to give an out-of-place eye smile while looking at Choi Man-ho, but Choi Man-ho didn't have the luxury to pay attention to that right now.
Choi Man-ho's heart was incredibly complicated right now.
'Why is that brat Min-su lying? Don't tell me he got some weakness caught too? Damn it. By a little shit like that.'
If he could, he would want to mobilize all his power to crush him.
But if he did that, he and his son would end up getting shit on their hands too.
'Fuck. You avoid shit because it's dirty, not because you're scared of it.'
After agonizing for a long time between pride and practical gain, Choi Man-ho finally opened his mouth.
"In my opinion..."