Chapter 100
Chapter 100
At first, Se-jin looked dazed, her expression saying, 'What are you talking about?' But soon realizing he wasn't joking, she slid closer to him.
"Hey, are you sure you’re okay with watching this?"
"Yeah. I don't really feel anything for my mother anymore."
A few participants introduced their circumstances and performed their mission songs.
<Next up is Lee Hee-yeon, the contestant who caused a stir by jumping from 76th to 22nd place! Wow, the support for her is truly passionate...!>
The moment they had been waiting for arrived quickly. The screen showed the mission song announcement and footage of her practicing intensely. Then, the music suddenly turned somber. Over the sound of sorrowful weeping, captions like 'What happened to contestant Lee Hee-yeon?' appeared to set a dramatic mood.
"What is this? They’re not seriously going to show that, are they?"
Se-jin shouted, stomping her feet. The scene that followed was the very footage they had assumed would be edited out. Lee Hee-yeon sobbed about finding her son and left a video letter. After that, the screen showed the production team tracking the son's whereabouts.
"They must be insane. That’s all just spliced together!"
The next scene was the real problem. The footage of the teacher trying to stop the filming had been maliciously edited and broadcast. Han-gyeol let out a hollow laugh, his brow furrowing.
"The teacher is in trouble because of me."
"Hey, don't say something so stupid. Those bastards are the problem, why is it because of you?"
Thanks to Se-jin, who was fuming on his behalf, Han-gyeol regained his composure and called his uncle.
Unlike usual, the ringing went on for a long time. He stood up abruptly and paced the living room anxiously, repeatedly wiping his face with his hand.
"Uncle Jae-gyu isn't picking up?"
"No. He said he arrived at his lodgings, so this is strange."
Meanwhile, Se-jin quickly opened her phone and began scouring the internet. As she checked real-time reactions across various communities, her expression gradually turned miserable.
"Oh, this is awful. Han-gyeol, what’s going to happen to our homeroom teacher?"
Listening to the endless ringing, Han-gyeol walked over to Se-jin and checked her phone screen.
Unverified rumors were rampant. Han-gyeol gritted his teeth. The situation was becoming increasingly serious, yet he still couldn't reach his uncle.
Ding-dong, ding-dong—
It was then that someone pressed the chime at the front gate. After checking the visitor's face on the intercom, Se-jin opened the door, and soon a large shadow loomed in the entryway.
"Oppa, come in!"
Lee Jun, who had come to pick up Se-jin, stepped inside along with a gust of cold night air. Looking back and forth between the two, Lee Jun narrowed his eyes.
"Where did Seon Jae-gyu go, leaving you two alone? I'm sure I told you not to be alone together."
"Oppa, that’s not what’s important right now... Um."
"If something happened, don't hesitate. Just tell me."
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Lee Jun listened as Se-jin showed him the TV screen and her phone, explaining the situation clearly.
"What should we do about these malicious comments and the doxxing? You're a lawyer, Oppa. Please help our teacher. Please? This is all a crime, isn't it?"
"...This is obscenity via communication media. This is defamation, and this is an insult. They’re certainly bold."
Scanning the phone screen without a hint of agitation, Lee Jun called out to Han-gyeol.
"Where is Seon Jae-gyu?"
"Uncle is on a business trip to China. He’s coming back on a flight tomorrow night. He’s not answering his phone right now."
Hearing Han-gyeol's words, Lee Jun picked up Se-jin's bag from the floor by the sofa.
"Tsk, of all times. Se-jin, you come with me first. You need to go home."
"No, Oppa! How can I go home in this situation!"
"I'm going to catch the original poster, the distributors, and every single commenter, so you can help me with that."
"Ah...! So that means you're helping?"
"Seon Han-gyeol, if Seon Jae-gyu doesn't pick up, try contacting someone he knows at the company. We'll look into the internet side of things, so you guys try to track down those broadcast people. Contact me if you need anything."
"Yes, Hyung."
After organizing the next steps, Lee Jun left with Se-jin. Left alone, Han-gyeol looked for Gu Philip's number in his contacts. Just then, a call came in first. It was his uncle.
"Uncle! Where are you? Are you outside?"
The background noise was quite loud. Amidst the busy rustling sounds, his uncle shouted in a booming voice.
-Yeah, I'm at the airport. I asked for the earliest flight, so I'm boarding soon.
"The airport? You're coming to Korea now?"
He had clearly said he was taking a flight tomorrow night, and Han-gyeol had even received a message a few hours ago saying he had arrived at his lodgings. His uncle was someone who rarely changed his set schedule. Seeing him move his flight up so suddenly to return home meant that maybe his uncle also...
"Did you see the broadcast, Uncle?"
-You saw it too?
His uncle explained that he had accessed a real-time stream to watch the broadcast closely. His intention had been to check if they had shown Han-gyeol's face. It was a very 'Uncle' thing to do.
However, it was completely unexpected that they would target the teacher. Consequently, his uncle had rushed straight to the airport. Han-gyeol had to break even worse news to his uncle, who was already huffing with rage at the thought that Han-gyeol might have been shocked by seeing his face on TV.
"The teacher's face and personal information have all been leaked online. I'll send you the links. Check them. Lee Jun Hyung said he’d find the people who spread it."
-Are they out of their minds? This is an emergency. Send them to me, quick.
After sending the screenshots and links to his uncle, Han-gyeol heard about the developing situation from Se-jin. The internet was ablaze with a witch hunt, and since things had reached this point, Lee Jun Hyung said he was connecting with an expert acquaintance who specialized in online tracking to collect data.
[I told him I'd help collect PDFs, but Oppa said there was no need. He just asked me to gather the URLs.]
[I told my uncle too. Since the adults found out right away, maybe it'll be resolved a bit faster.]
[I guess this is a silver lining in a bad situation ㅠㅠ But the teacher will still come to school tomorrow, right?? ㅠㅠㅠ]
[Probably. I'm worried.]
Entering the classroom after arriving at school the next morning, Han-gyeol thought again.
Yes, it was lucky. Because I happened to watch TV yesterday—something I don't usually do—I was able to inform the adults early and can deal with the situation this early in the morning.
"Fuck, what are they saying? I don't get it."
"Hey. So, to sum it up, your homeroom teacher was caught red-handed going to motels with a married man in Seoul, and that's why she came to our school."
The first thing he noticed in the classroom was a group of kids from another class. Those pathetic punks, whose only talent was having loud voices, were making a scene in someone else's classroom.
"Our teacher isn't that kind of person. Didn't you see it wrong?"
"Is your phone not connected to the internet? Fuck. It's all over the place. She's the 'Motel Girl'!"
A guy who usually didn't even show up to school had arrived early on a day like this to run his mouth so recklessly. Han-gyeol set his bag down and approached them.
"Who's this? Is that Seon Han-gyeol?"
"Long time no see, Kim Su-hwan. But I think it would be better if you went back to your own class now. It's a bit noisy."
The other's face crumpled instantly, then quickly twisted into a sneer.
"Whoa, are you mad because I talked about the Ethics teacher? I saw yesterday that she's supposedly 'like that' with your uncle too, right? Is it true?"
"Shut your mouth, Su-hwan."
"Ooh, shit. Seon Han-gyeol is scaring me to death. Can't I even call a motel girl a motel girl? Huh?"
Han-gyeol drove his fist straight into Su-hwan's jaw. Following the dull thud of flesh and bone colliding, Su-hwan lost his balance and crashed into the desks and chairs with a loud clatter.
"Fuck, seriously... Are you crazy?"
Even as he screamed, Su-hwan raised his arms to cover his face, fearing that the approaching Han-gyeol would hit him again.
"I'm not going to hit you anymore. I just didn't think there was any other way to make you shut up."
"That hurts like a bitch, fuck. You know you're screwed if I report this as school violence, right? You son of a bitch, acting all smart by yourself... you're dead. Class 2, you guys are all witnesses, okay?"
Se-jin, who had been watching from among the students at some point, stood in front of the sprawling Su-hwan.
"Kim Su-hwan, you're really stupid."
"What?"
"Since yesterday, my brother has been tracking the people who spread those internet rumors to get them thrown in jail. You know my brother opened a law practice, right? Do you want to rot in jail too?"
As the scale of the situation unexpectedly grew, Su-hwan's eyes blinked slowly.
"Oh, right. Since you're a student at our school, we can add a violation of teacher's rights. Does that get recorded on your student record too? Oh, if things go well, your high school diploma might just fly out the window."
"...What the hell. You're lying, right?"
Su-hwan lacked the ability to discern whether Se-jin's words were true or not. When Se-jin glared at him and shouted for him to get out of the classroom before she reported him, all the kids from the other classes scrambled out.
After closing both the front and back doors of the classroom, Se-jin went up to the podium and shouted to the entire Class 2.
"Who here knows about our teacher being on Nakega yesterday?"
Most of them raised their hands. No, even if they hadn't known, they would have guessed what was going on after hearing the kids from the other class shouting just now.
"Then you must have seen all the stories and photos of our teacher posted online?"
The classroom fell silent, with no one answering. It was Han-gyeol's low voice that broke the heavy silence.
"Guys. Then, do you really think that's the truth?"
⋆★⋆
Bom stopped in her tracks in front of the Class 2-2 classroom. The voices of the children, which usually leaked out the door in a noisy chatter, were not heard at all.
The unfamiliar silence amplified her anxiety. Her heart, which had calmed down somewhat in the teachers' office, began to thud loudly again.
What if I just tell the Vice Principal and leave early?
She had come to work with a firm resolve to at least get through her classes, but the thought of facing the children's disappointed faces made even the tiny bit of courage she had squeezed out begin to wither away.
Pretending not to know, closing her eyes and ears, acting as if nothing were wrong while doing morning roll call, teaching classes, supervising cleaning... How ridiculous would she look?
But then, how could she possibly stand before the children and say something like 'I never committed adultery'? No matter what she chose, it was the worst; she was at rock bottom.
For a moment, she regretted not just living quietly as her parents had said and getting married, but Jae-gyu came to mind, and she quickly stopped that thought as well.
"..."
Bom, who had been holding the doorknob with trembling fingertips, finally opened the classroom door after a long while.