Chapter 97
Chapter 97
A few days passed after that.
And in those few days, nothing much had changed.
The majority of students still ignored me, and though the teachers had grown even more nervous watching my reactions, they didn't treat me much differently than before.
I knew the reason.
It was because how often I caused trouble at school had noticeably decreased.
I frequently walked out of class with complete confidence to receive reports from Team Leader Han Ga-ram, and So-hee was still attending class with her desk somewhere other than the designated spot. During breaks, Ha-neul would steal the seat in front of me and teach me my lessons.
Aside from that minor nuisance, I was certainly behaving. At least I wasn't flirting in the classroom, dumping water on a teacher's head, or disrupting lessons.
That was why the teachers, though somewhat relieved, still watched me with anxious eyes—anxious that I'd taken so many bribes and given nothing in return, and relieved that I hadn't openly retaliated against them despite all that.
To be honest, they'd be horrified to hear this, but thinking of that over a billion won as money spent for So-hee to enroll safely and secure the seat next to me, I didn't feel particularly ripped off. Dragging out a fight over bribes would just exhaust us too.
I decided to be satisfied that I'd gained a clear ally inside the school, and that the teachers could no longer dismiss me so easily.
Anyway, for the moment, nothing had 'drastically' changed in my daily life.
But that didn't mean nothing had changed 'at all'.
First of all—
"I've been giving it some thought."
Right, the blue-haired girl sitting at our usual round table in the cafeteria.
Son A-reum had joined our side.
...Hmm, saying she 'joined our side' might be a bit off. We hadn't gathered here to take sides against anyone, after all.
Put more simply, it'd be more accurate to say we 'became friends'.
At any rate, that diligent Disciplinary Committee Member, on the second day after she'd cried in front of me, spoke up during lunch as if something had just occurred to her.
"Committing violence on campus or leading an ostracism is clearly against school rules, isn't it?"
That would be true, right?
When I was a teenager, I went through school without even knowing that my school had something called 'school rules.' Not because I was such a good person I didn't need rules, but because the presence of 'school rules' was that absurdly faint.
Yeah, obviously hitting someone at school would be against the rules. They're not going to make a rule saying you can beat people up and host a Battle Royale. And it's probably written somewhere that leading an ostracism is also forbidden. Even if rich kids go here, this place is still a school.
When I gave a silent nod, Son A-reum stabbed a piece of meat with her fork and continued.
"Besides, school ostracism isn't something to handle with just penalty points."
Come to think of it, back when I went to school, I vaguely remember banners in front of the school about intensive crackdown periods on school violence. Though I never actually saw any crackdown happening.
"So?"
So-hee prompted.
"Is there any way to do something about it?"
"We'll have to convene a disciplinary committee."
....
At that, the other four of us, myself included, exchanged glances. Without exception, our eyes were filled with skepticism.
That was only natural, because last time, even when we'd deliberately followed Son A-reum, we'd been completely ignored.
The person who was our Student Council President had treated me like I didn't exist.
It was treatment I'd more or less gotten used to by now, but honestly, that didn't make it feel pleasant. That kind of treatment was part of what had broken Ye Sa-ra, and personally, I didn't enjoy it either.
"Ah, this time it's a little different."
As if she'd guessed what we were thinking, Son A-reum said that.
"Because we're not trying to ding you with penalty points—we're trying to ding the other students."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
I asked back.
This was a school that ignored anything related to me anyway. If we tried to give penalty points to other students for bullying me, wouldn't they just brush it off with 'That never happened'?
"Of course they would."
Son A-reum nodded.
"If you said you were being bullied, they'd do exactly that."
The 'you' she said naturally meant me.
"If not me, then who?"
At my question, Son A-reum turned her head slightly and looked at So-hee sitting beside me.
For reference, even after Son A-reum had started speaking casually with us, she'd told So-hee multiple times to please button up her shirt, but So-hee stubbornly stuck to her style. The weather was gradually warming up now, but considering she'd been like that even before it turned mild, she apparently didn't feel the cold much.
...Or maybe it really was because it felt stuffy.
"Me?"
So-hee pointed a finger at herself and asked.
"Yeah."
"Was I ever bullied?"
Right. If she'd been the one doing the bullying, that'd be a different story. So-hee had picked fights with a few people since then. She'd bumped into someone on the way and, though she didn't actually grab them by the collar, she'd basically cornered them as if she might. There was also the time the teacher skipped my name during roll call and she grumbled right in front of them.
It was textbook delinquent behavior. Though she herself didn't seem to care.
Even so, it was surprising that there were kids who stubbornly ignored So-hee, even with tears welling up.
Then again, considering the rumors going around, it was far luckier to just get roughed up by a delinquent and be done with it. Not that So-hee would do something like that.
"Isn't that a stretch? I don't remember being bullied that badly."
Yeah, for someone like So-hee who barely cared about others' opinions, she wouldn't be bothered by kids ignoring her. Bullying is generally recognized as bullying only when the victim feels tormented by it. She'd just snort and ignore it if you told her.
"Exactly, that's the loophole."
But Son A-reum shook her head and denied it.
"Because whether it counts as bullying isn't for the perpetrator to decide—it's the victim who decides."
....
At those words, we fell into thought for a moment. Son A-reum let us think.
The first to break the silence was Ha-neul.
"But even if we think that way, what if everyone else just ignores it?"
Ha-neul had been one of the people directly ignored. To claim that this 'ignoring' constituted group bullying, we'd need testimony and some form of evidence. And all of that was harder to obtain than one might think.
I'd even considered filming it, but... filming 'someone not reacting' is unlikely to draw much attention.
And besides, to anyone who didn't know, the things I'd done around the school could easily make the victim and perpetrator seem reversed. The person right in front of us, Son A-reum, was a prime example of that.
"So, that girl becomes the victim."
Son A-reum deliberately pointed at So-hee.
"...Ah."
Su-a, who had been listening, let out a small exclamation of realization.
"What's that mean?"
So-hee glanced at Su-a and asked.
"...It's a bit awkward to ask this so directly."
Son A-reum took a deep breath.
"I heard you spent a lot of money to get into this school. Is that true?"
"Well, yeah."
So-hee admitted it so casually that Son A-reum put a hand to her forehead.
"Aren't you admitting that a little too easily?"
"If you already heard about it, there's no hiding it anyway. Besides, I blew it all wide open my first day here."
That was why the teachers got so nervous whenever they saw So-hee or me.
Oh.
I had a rough idea of what Son A-reum was getting at.
"But why does that matter?"
"Because you spent that kind of money, they won't be able to ignore you so lightly. From what I heard..."
It was over a billion won.
By ordinary people's standards, that could be someone's entire fortune, including the value of their home.
"Ah-haa."
So-hee murmured that only then, and fell into thought for a moment.
Then she grinned wickedly.
"What's this? You're smarter than you look."
"What do you mean, 'smarter than I look'...?"
Watching Son A-reum mutter that as if wounded by So-hee's words, I apologized to her in my mind.
Sorry, I kind of thought the same.
When I saw her following me around, I'd wondered if she was a bit thoughtless. Especially when she was hiding in that way, like she thought she was being stealthy.
...Right, she was also an outside admit on a full scholarship. Even if her quick thinking was in question, it meant she was as good at studying as Ha-neul.
Actually, there was a reason we hadn't thought of this method until now.
Because there had been no one in the school's core who openly took our side. Even the Student Council President, who was supposedly a romance target, had treated me as nonexistent right in front of me.
But now, the person telling us this plan was none other than a Disciplinary Committee Member.
Someone who could directly assign penalty points and recommend disciplinary actions to the teachers.
"W-Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?"
When the four of us looked at Son A-reum with renewed respect, she seemed flustered and asked that.
"Nothing, I just thought it was pretty plausible."
When I said that, Son A-reum cleared her throat with a slightly sheepish look.
"...Honestly, I should be holding all that bribe business to account..."
"Hmm."
So-hee rested her chin on her hand, smirking lazily at Son A-reum.
"So now you'll let it slide because we're friends? Isn't that a bit corrupt for our righteous Disciplinary Committee Member?"
....
Son A-reum shot a sharp glare at So-hee, who was beaming at her, but it didn't feel very intimidating. Maybe because she had such a cute face.
"R-Right now, I'm just dealing with the evil right in front of me first!"
"Weren't we the evil right in front of you just now?"
So-hee said with an expression about to burst into laughter.
"Uh, no, I mean..."
Son A-reum looked at me and fell into another panic.
...She's going to cry again at this rate.