Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: True Education's Outsider - Aftermath
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The day after exchanging messages with that shameless bastard who secretly filmed us.
I first shared the situation with Han Si-a and Yoo So-mi.
"Yi-an got the video taken down from the internet, which is good... but that guy might show up again... right?"
"But he doesn't know our filming schedule. He probably can't even track us down, can he?"
I still couldn't tell whether that bastard would really show up again or if it was just empty bluster.
Of course, if it was just bluffing, I'd feel a lot better...
But when I recalled the messages from yesterday, the way he seemed strangely confident stuck in my mind.
...What if that bastard had some way to figure out our schedule?
"I don't know. But since he talked like he was going to show up again, I'm planning to act on the assumption that he will."
After asking Han Si-a for a few favors, I headed to Cheonggyecheon alone.
.
.
.
.
After wandering around near the spot where we'd filmed yesterday, I managed to pinpoint exactly where that bastard had shot his video.
And that spot was right on the small bridge that passed over the wall behind our filming location.
By adjusting the angle just right from the bridge railing, he could've filmed Han Si-a and Yoo So-mi dancing in front of the fountain from a blind spot hidden by the railing itself.
"But even so, it's still a little weird... No matter how good the vantage point, our actual filming only lasted about five minutes... Is it even possible to spot us, get into position, and film all that in such a short window?"
I leaned against the railing where that bastard must have stood to film us.
From there, the straight channel of Cheonggyecheon water, the kids splashing around in front of the fountain, and the elders strolling along the banks were all in plain view.
.
.
.
.
And a day later, I gave Han Si-a a quick call about the favor I'd asked her.
"Like you said, I consulted a lawyer about this incident first. Sorry, but the conclusion is..." "As expected, punishment's going to be tough, huh."
"Yeah. To hit that guy with any legal punishment, we need ironclad justification, but right now all we've got is that he filmed us dancing in Cheonggyecheon, uploaded it online, and deleted it after your request." "If we stretch it, the insults he messaged you might count as defamation or something? But it'll probably just drag on and fizzle out between both sides." "If we searched his computer and found more dirt, it'd be a different story, but confiscating and investigating someone else's device without probable cause is a no-go." "Sigh... Yeah. I figured as much. What about the private security team?"
"...They didn't see him. Only one guy was dispatched that day anyway, and he was there specifically to step in if violence broke out." "...Yeah. Didn't see a thing, got it?"
.
.
.
After hanging up with Han Si-a, I sorted through everything swirling in my head so far.
First. For that bastard to show up again like he threatened, he'd need to know our schedule.
Second. To pull off secret filming at Cheonggyecheon in such a tight window, he'd need not just our schedule but our exact positions nailed down.
Finally, third. The spot where he filmed was glaringly obvious. And yet the private security guy claimed he hadn't noticed.
Once I pieced it all together in my mind, I couldn't help but put one particular person on the suspect list.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ *** - Yoo So-mi POV
Our third shoot was set for in front of Namsan Tower and then a park along the Han River.
Yi-an had warned us about the pervert showing up, but...
If we started cowering and hiding over some guy who might not even appear, it'd never end.
Times like this, the best move was to face it head-on with confidence.
Besides, Yi-an seemed like he had some countermeasures in mind, so he felt reliable.
We gathered early in the morning near Namsan Tower and kicked off the photo shoot.
Of course, none of us wanted a repeat of the secret filming fiasco, so we picked a spot where a wall and flowerbeds made it damn near impossible for anyone to approach.
Namsan Tower was massive enough as a backdrop that our exact positioning didn't matter much, making it feasible.
Our camera handler struggled a bit setting up from behind the flowerbeds,
but thanks to that, not a single person managed to sneak in front and snap photos or video while we danced.
It was all thanks to Yi-an scouting the location ahead of time the day before—he had my eternal gratitude.
After that, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the park on the Han River bank.
We needed the river in the background for the contest video.
But unlike Namsan Tower, this spot made it tough to film right up against walls or flowerbeds.
It was wide open along the riverbank, and we had to keep a proper distance from the water or the river wouldn't show up in the shot.
Which also meant a much higher risk of getting secretly filmed.
In the end, we went with the same quick-shoot-and-hide strategy as Cheonggyecheon.
Si-a and I nailed it without a single mistake and successfully bailed from the Han River park together.
I turned to our camera handler, who'd busted their ass all day.
"So-ha. Thanks for the help with filming. It was your first time rushing through like that—wasn't it rough?"
"It was rough... Having to monitor the camera and keep an eye on the crowd at the same time. We practiced a few times beforehand, but it still wasn't easy..."
...
For reference, today's camera duty wasn't Yi-an—it was my little sister, So-ha.
Yi-an said he was handling things separately in case the pervert showed, so I hoped everything went smoothly for him...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Catching that bastard wasn't going to be simple.
He was using a smartphone camera, and if push came to shove, he could just tweak the angle of his arm or wrist to dodge suspicion.
Plus, if I had my back turned while filming the contest video, it'd make it even easier for him to sneak shots.
...
So to snag him, I handed filming off to Yoo So-ha and decided to conceal my own position.
I threw on a mask to hide my face, a hiking cap to cover my head, sloppy tracksuit, and wandered the planned shoot zones.
If I were that bastard, where would I want to film from?
I kept repeating that question in my head.
And the moment Yoo So-mi and Han Si-a showed up, started the music, and began filming,
I spotted a guy who casually pulled out his smartphone camera, like he'd been waiting for it.
.
.
.
.
"Hey, mister. You can't just film those girls without permission. Hand over the phone. Delete the video right now."
To cut off any bullshit excuses, I slipped behind him and pointed at his screen.
Of course, part of me wanted to just rip the phone away on the spot,
but there was no guarantee this was our guy yet—I needed confirmation.
Maybe because I'd come up behind him out of nowhere, the startled man looked at my face... and grinned slyly.
"Haha. Hey there? I'm staff dispatched from the security firm. You heard about the protection detail, right? I'm just filming this for my work report..."
"What kind of protection detail involves secretly filming the people you're guarding? Cut the crap."
From his words, my gut screamed it:
This fucker's the pervert.
No random creep could track our schedule and movements like that.
The pervert had access to our itinerary from the jump.
Someone like a guy dispatched from the private security firm, for instance.
The man's face stiffened for a split second at my words.
But moments later, he switched to an utterly shameless tone.
"Hey, kid. Who the hell are you to boss me around? You hire me? No? Then quit messing with a grown man at work and fuck off."
He was probably trying to intimidate me into backing off.
Fat chance. If I bailed here, he'd just wipe the videos and play dumb.
So I wasn't budging until he coughed up that phone...!
"Ah~ What if I call the person who did hire you? Bet you'd listen to her. Want me to get Han Si-a over here so you can explain why you're filming?"
"Hold up. Even if she's the protectee, she's just some high schooler—what does she know about security work? Let's not blow this out of proportion!"
Haha. Check out this fucker squirming?
His fingers were flying across the screen, probably scrambling to delete the videos.
Which meant the phone was unlocked right now...
"Oh, perfect timing, Si-a. Come check this guy's phone."
"W-Wait! I never filmed anything like th— What? It's gone?"
"Liar, you fucking moron!!!"
I waved naturally, like Han Si-a was right behind him.
Of course, no one was there.
But the bluff worked like a charm—he flinched hard and tried to hide the phone behind his back.
I snatched it and bolted along the riverbank.
"You... fucking little shit!! Stop right there?!"
.
.
.
Even while sprinting down the path, I rummaged through the stolen phone.
But damn, his fingers were quick—the video he'd just snuck was already deleted.
...
Still, I had a valuable lesson from my friends:
Deleted photos and videos on smartphones stick around in the trash folder.
So I opened the trash... and out poured the photos and videos of us he'd been secretly snapping all along.
...Whoa. This creep didn't just target Yoo So-mi—he had shots of Han Si-a too.
Scared of her connections, so he only uploaded Yoo So-mi's online?
And it wasn't just dance clips in the trash. There were pics of us walking around Cheonggyecheon, Namsan, the Han River park... even zoomed-in close-ups of specific body parts.
Hell, the exact same video he'd posted to that P2P site's free board yesterday was in there too.
No doubt now—this fucker uploaded it.
"Huff... huff... Stop! You little fuck... huff...!"
Three minutes into sprinting along the Han River bank, the guy chasing me was already gassed out.
What, aren't security firm guys all ex-jocks from PE college or something?
I kicked it up a notch to widen the gap, but he wheezed at me like he was about to collapse.
"Huff...! Huff...! What the hell's your deal? Even if you pull this shit, those girls won't thank you for it, huff...!"
Won't pay me off? Yeah, I know. Wasn't expecting that anyway.
"Ugh... fuck... alright, deal? How much you want? Huff...! Fuck, just stop and hear me out!!"
No amount of cash would make me sell out my friends, you dumbass.
Money's infinite with Bitcoin copying, but friends? I've only got two.
"You fucking punk! You think calling the cops changes shit!? Think I'll rot in jail? Bullshit!! Worst case, it's a fine!!"
"..."
"Get fired from this crap job? I'll just bounce to another! Better to take some cash and keep quiet—good for both of us!! Huff...!"
...
I tuned out his labored panting as he struggled to keep up, lost in thought for a moment.
Why the hell was I even running right now?
At that doujin event, when some psycho chick showed up with a knife, I bolted.
Getting stabbed could've killed me.
Back in Sinchon when those fake exchange students glued themselves to Yoo So-mi buying me food and hurled insults, I just took it.
Two-on-one, plus legal headaches.
But why run now?
This guy had no knife, no backup, wasn't even built bigger than me.
And if I ditched with the phone and handed it to the cops, he'd probably skate with a slap on the wrist. Maybe even walk free.
This was the asshole who'd secretly filmed my friends and plastered their pics online.
...
Had running away turned into a damn reflex without me noticing?
Even a total coward's gotta have limits.
.
.
.
I slammed to a halt and turned to face the man chasing me.
His face was beet red from pushing too hard in the summer heat, drenched in spit and sweat.
Seeing me stop lit up his face with some pathetic hope.
"Huff...! Huff...! *Ptooey*! Phew... yeah, smart move. Girls like that, just selling their looks—they don't deserve protecting. I'll pay you handsome, so hand over the phone first."
"Sorry..."
"Uh... huh? No need to apologize or anything..."
"Sorry, Mom! Dad! Gonna need some hush money!!! I'll pay it back a hundred—no, a thousand times over later!!!"
"What the hell are you even babbling about?"
"UAAAAAAAAAHHH!! Die!!! You fucking creep!!!!!"
My friend Han Si-a once told me:
If the law won't punish 'em, you gotta handle it yourself.
"Die! Die! Die!! Die!!!!"
"Guhk... kkh...! Stop...! Plea...se...! Stop...!"
If the law couldn't sort this out, I'd just cripple the bastard right here.
.
.
.
First strike always wins a fight. And this low-stamina uncle was already wiped from the chase—he couldn't put up any real fight as I pummeled him.
His face was swollen everywhere—eyelids, jaw, cheekbones—with his lips burst open and bloody.
His arms and legs looked torn up and scratched from the tussle too, none of it pretty.
...
Sigh... but how much is this medical bill gonna run me?
With the dopamine and adrenaline rush fading from my brain, harsh reality started creeping back in.
Still... guess I should call the cops?