Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: 3. Chaos in the Disciplinary Committee (2)
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Kim Young-cheol's statement.
The people stifled their groans.
Oh Dae-hwan had clearly stated that he had bought off the teachers, yet Kim Young-cheol had abruptly pointed to Jeong Min-ho as the perpetrator. For Oh Dae-hwan, who had been calm until just moments ago, this was utterly bewildering. He visibly panicked and hurriedly spoke up.
“Teacher Kim Young-cheol. Speak precisely to avoid any misunderstandings.”
“Understood.”
His response was crisp.
But having already crossed the line, Kim Young-cheol had no intention of acting as Oh Dae-hwan wished.
“To understand this incident, we need to revisit why it happened in the first place. Park Min-cheol, Jeong Min-ho, Jo Yong-taek, and Kang Chang-seok—the four students known as Park Min-cheol's gang—have received numerous reports of bullying their peers since the start of the semester. At first, we tried coaxing and persuading them to avoid causing any disturbances. But as time passed, Park Min-cheol's gang grew increasingly vicious.”
Oh Dae-hwan stomped his feet in frustration.
Even as Kim Sun-ja glared at him with eyes that could devour him whole, Kim Young-cheol averted his gaze and looked at the others.
“That day was no different. Park Min-cheol had been harassing Lee Jung-min as usual, beating him for not properly leveling up his game character. That's when the incident began. Kim Hyun-seong had no initial intent to assault Park Min-cheol's gang. He stepped in courageously after watching Lee Jung-min get beaten. ‘Stop it! Aren't we all students?’ With genuine concern, he tried to stop their actions. But Park Min-cheol turned the tables and attacked Kim Hyun-seong instead.”
It wasn't the truth.
A suitable embellishment.
Mixing truth and lies like this packed an even greater punch.
“Everyone, think about it. If someone were hitting you, could you just stand there and take it? That's why Kim Hyun-seong struck back at Park Min-cheol, and it was clear self-defense. So why is Jeong Min-ho here? As I mentioned earlier with ‘Park Min-cheol's gang,’ when Park Min-cheol was getting hit, they all attacked Kim Hyun-seong together. Kim Hyun-seong had no choice but to fight back again to avoid being beaten. Outnumbered, he lashed out desperately, resulting in all four students being hospitalized.”
His voice was earnest.
Like recounting the saga of a hero, Kim Young-cheol put strength into his words.
People said it: Kim Young-cheol would've been a con artist if he weren't a teacher.
Those observing the disciplinary committee began to find Kim Young-cheol's words persuasive at some point.
“I'm not saying violence is justified. I simply question whether it's right to label Kim Hyun-seong the perpetrator and Jeong Min-ho the victim based solely on the visible situation. Kim Hyun-seong must pay for his violence. But if the punishment is too severe while Jeong Min-ho faces none, we'll be worthless adults ignoring the true nature of school violence.”
“Watch your words, Teacher Kim Young-cheol!”
“That concludes my statement.”
Kim Young-cheol sat down.
He openly ignored Oh Dae-hwan's fury.
It was do or die.
He had set the stage; now he had to trust Kim Hyun-seong's inscrutable plan.
* * *
Murmurs rippled through the room.
The crowd stirred.
Especially the parents who didn't know the truth—they began clamoring that Kim Hyun-seong shouldn't be punished after Kim Young-cheol's exposé. Even Oh Dae-hwan and Kim Sun-ja hadn't bought off everyone at the committee. They'd only secured a few key figures, so the parents attending as general observers were outraged to learn Park Min-cheol's gang were such heinous thugs.
The atmosphere shifted.
Caught off guard, Oh Dae-hwan's face flushed red.
‘Kim Young-cheol, you damn bastard. You knew I paid you off and went along with it, yet you stab me in the back? Just wait. Once this incident is wrapped up nicely, there'll be no place for you at Cheonil.’
For now.
He needed to regain control.
Despite his obvious panic, Oh Dae-hwan forced a calm tone.
“Teacher Kim Young-cheol's statement reflects only his personal views and has nothing to do with the school. Claims that Park Min-cheol, Kang Chang-seok, Jo Yong-taek, and Jeong Min-ho led school violence remain unverified and are separate from what we're discussing here. So stop derailing the point. We're here to address the most brutal incident in Cheonil High School history: four students rushed to the ER. No matter the reason, such savage violence by a student is unprecedented.”
He flipped the mood.
By invoking the same word—“brutal”—the supposedly neutral principal buried the core issue.
“It pains my heart. We're all parents of Cheonil students, yet we must judge right and wrong. But to prevent this from happening again, we must identify the problem accurately and punish it decisively. Only then can we parents who entrust our children to Cheonil go home with peace of mind, right?”
He locked eyes with Kim Sun-ja.
A silent signal: stick to the plan.
“So let's hear from Jeong Min-ho first. Wouldn't it be more accurate to hear from the involved party how this happened? We'll hear Kim Hyun-seong's side in turn. Jeong Min-ho. Please speak.”
He passed the floor.
At a moment when the mood was chaotic.
Jeong Min-ho's statement would seize control in an instant.
* * *
All eyes turned to him.
The people wouldn't know.
That Jeong Min-ho had rehearsed his lines in advance, even from his hospital bed.
Jeong Min-ho spoke.
“…The situation I experienced is completely different from Teacher Kim Young-cheol's statement. When I went to Class 1-1, I saw Kim Hyun-seong unilaterally beating Park Min-cheol. I heard from friends that Kim Hyun-seong suddenly picked a fight with him. You can call witnesses on this. Anyone you ask will confirm Kim Hyun-seong initiated the violence.”
It was the truth.
Park Min-cheol had hit Lee Jung-min first, but Kim Hyun-seong was the first to strike Park Min-cheol.
He wove in the truth.
Just like Kim Young-cheol, Jeong Min-ho embellished the story in his favor.
“As a friend, I couldn't just stand by watching him get beaten. So I rushed in, but Kim Hyun-seong used a locker as a weapon to overpower us. Of course, ganging up on one person was wrong. But Kim Hyun-seong had already been violent first, and we had no choice but to fight back to stop him. I honestly don't understand why Teacher Kim Young-cheol is blaming us. Right after the initial incident, Kim Hyun-seong was called in by him, got lectured, and it was settled there. Yet as soon as the lecture ended, Kim Hyun-seong came after me for revenge. I hadn't done anything after it was resolved, but he beat me blatantly. Is this really my fault?”
The blame was clear.
Using a weapon in the fight.
Retaliation after the lecture.
There was no escaping responsibility.
Even if deemed self-defense, this was excessive by any measure.
Seizing the momentum, Kim Sun-ja raised her voice.
“Everyone! Look at our child's face. We raised him so preciously, terrified of even a scratch, and now it's ruined like this. Is this acceptable? We parents cannot stand by while such barbaric violence happens in our sacred school. It ended with our Min-ho this time, but who knows when it could be another child. We must punish decisively—decisively!”
“I agree. No matter what, you don't beat someone like that.”
“Punish him.”
Kim Sun-ja's people.
They chimed in.
With a majority already secured, igniting the crowd was like pouring oil on a fire—it blazed up.
Kim Young-cheol's statement?
Long forgotten.
He had addressed Park Min-cheol's gang's misdeeds, but regardless of context, the visible scars of violence couldn't be denied. The undeniable truth: Kim Hyun-seong's violence sent four students to the ER. Debating punishment on that premise made his inescapable.
It was an uphill battle from the start.
The moment violence occurred, Kim Hyun-seong was inevitably the perpetrator.
The mood heated up.
As everyone piled on condemning Kim Hyun-seong, a gruff voice suddenly cut through the din.
“What a load of bullshit.”
In an instant.
All eyes locked on the source.
* * *
The owner of the voice.
Go Chang-beom.
Kim Young-cheol and Park In-hwan recognized him immediately, but the others didn't know he was the eldest son of Myeongjin Construction.
Go Chang-beom spoke.
“Are you all pretending not to know when you do, or do you really not know? Our Hyun-seong is Cheonil High School's top student. Check his records—top grades from elementary through middle school, never a single issue, always diligent. Why do you think this happened? Doesn't it scream that those devil bastards in human skin started it?”
“What nonsense is that! Devils?”
“Then what the hell are those bastards if not devils!”
Bam!
He slammed the desk.
Ignoring the startled parents, Go Chang-beom bellowed on.
“Before attending this disciplinary committee, I looked into Park Min-cheol's gang myself. They're scum. Assault is baseline—they extort money too. Just hearing the name makes kids tremble. If you think I'm lying, verify the truth yourselves. And remember: anyone denying it tooth and nail got paid off by the perpetrators' parents.”
Gradually.
His words crossed the line.
His overly aggressive speech left the parents too shocked to retort.
“Let's be real, everyone. Back in school, if thugs bully you, do you just take it? Of course you fight back. Jeong Min-ho brought his crew and ended up in the ER, but this incident happened while our Hyun-seong defended himself. Didn't his homeroom teacher, Kim Young-cheol, say it? We need to see the essence of the incident!”
“Hey, you punk! Thugs? Why are our sons thugs?!”
Kim Sun-ja snapped back.
Having listened silently until now, she couldn't tolerate the sharp barbs at Jeong Min-ho any longer.
“Who the hell are you? I thought Kim Hyun-seong had no parents. Who are you to spout this crap!”
The atmosphere turned hostile.
Glares sharpened.
Go Chang-beom's demeanor.
It was wrong.
His message was valid, but mixing in profanity invited backlash.
Go Chang-beom grinned.
‘The stage is set perfectly.’
He hadn't expected reason to prevail here.
To topple those with predetermined outcomes, he had no reason to stay reasonable himself.
“Who am I? I'm Hyun-seong's guardian. And…”
He locked eyes with Kim Sun-ja.
Raising his voice so she and everyone else heard clearly, Go Chang-beom enunciated each word.
“Myeongjin Construction. I'm their eldest son.”
No explanation needed.
Myeongjin Construction.
That single name left shocked expressions etched on every face.