Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Chaos in the Disciplinary Committee (3)
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A few days earlier.
At Kim Hyun-seong's request, Go Chang-beom looked flustered.
“……You want me to be your guardian?”
It was unexpected.
He had assumed the boy would approach him demanding material things, but the sudden mention of a guardian threw his mind into disarray. It made him realize anew just how young Kim Hyun-seong was. At 17, he was still at an age that needed an adult, but he couldn’t help wondering why a kid with such profound schemes beyond his years would want a guardian.
“Why? It would’ve been simpler to just ask for money and get compensated that way.”
“It’s true that I’ll need your financial power for what I plan to do going forward. But if I only needed money, I had other options.”
There were plenty of ways.
Future knowledge.
It meant endless possibilities.
But lying in his hospital bed, replaying his plans countless times, he had realized that money alone couldn’t solve everything. His ultimate goal lay at the center of power. To topple an opponent with not just wealth but everything else, he needed to rise to that same level himself.
Go Chang-beom.
A key piece of the puzzle.
In the distant future, he had lived as a nobody, but the Go Chang-beom of this life had to be entirely different.
“I’ll be honest with you. I plan to cause a lot of trouble at this school. Not the petty school violence kids usually pull, but big incidents that could lead to legal problems. I’d like you to handle all of it for me whenever that happens. Your position as the eldest son of Myeongjin Construction and your immense wealth—those qualifications should definitely carry weight around Daesan at least.”
His eyes turned fierce.
Memories of his past life surfaced.
In those hellish moments he had relived endlessly, Kim Hyun-seong showed killing intent.
“I don’t want our relationship to be a one-off. If you faithfully play the role of my guardian, if you show me results I’m satisfied with, I promise you right here: I’ll do whatever it takes to put you in the chairman’s seat at Myeongjin Construction. And beyond that, I’ll hand you even greater power and wealth with both hands. That way, no matter who I’m up against, you can stand tall.”
Go Chang-beom smirked.
It was an absurd claim.
He could dismiss it as childish nonsense, but Go Chang-beom had already witnessed some of Kim Hyun-seong’s abilities.
He was the real deal.
The look in his eyes as he stared.
The results he had shown against Go Chang-seok.
They proved Kim Hyun-seong was genuine.
Go Chang-beom spoke.
“Hyun-seong. Don’t worry about that.”
Kim Hyun-seong’s request.
It was the one area where the incompetent Go Chang-beom had true confidence.
“Back in school, no one in Daesan didn’t know me. How do you think I graduated unscathed after causing all sorts of chaos? I’m an expert at leveraging Myeongjin Construction’s halo effect. Just trust me. No matter what trouble you get into with me watching your back, it won’t be a problem.”
* * *
Back to the present.
Go Chang-beom tossed his business card onto the table as if to make a show of it.
Thud.
“Take a look. Do you know who I am? Truth be told, I wanted to settle this quietly, but people don’t seem to know their place. Hyun-seong is like a little brother I truly cherish. He’s not the type to cause trouble without reason, but when I heard you were calling a disciplinary committee, I personally convinced him to attend.”
Cherished little brother.
Hyun-seong.
He put emphasis on the words.
Highlighting their special relationship, Go Chang-beom habitually tapped the business card with his finger.
“In fact, I was planning to support Cheonil High School under Myeongjin Construction’s name. Cheonil is Daesan’s prestigious school, and since I want our Hyun-seong to have a good school life, I was putting together my own plans. But this is truly disappointing. I had no idea Cheonil was such a shoddy, insignificant place.”
“Are you threatening us right now…….”
“Threatening? I’m just stating facts.”
He cut off Kim Sun-ja.
She tried to smooth things over somehow, but the moment Myeongjin Construction was mentioned, her mind went blank.
“What is the duty of educators? Isn’t it to guide students toward the right path? So what reason is there to punish our Hyun-seong? If you plan to punish him for raising his fists against school violence, then why didn’t Cheonil address the rampant violence before that? Explain yourselves clearly. If it’s because you didn’t know or because Jeong Min-ho’s parents have money and you let it slide, I won’t stand by. For the sake of justice, I’ll gladly mobilize everything I have.”
It was deliberate.
If they punished Kim Hyun-seong.
He warned he’d bring Myeongjin Construction’s backing to bear.
It deserved rebuke as blackmail, but no one in the room could stop Go Chang-beom.
They had no choice.
Go Chang-beom had consistently made his intentions clear.
“My father once told me never to do business with rotten bastards, not even for 10 won. I’ll remember every face here. If I end up leading Myeongjin Construction, I won’t deal with anyone who pointed fingers at our Hyun-seong. Take it as a threat if you want. This is about upholding justice. The past clearly shows who the perpetrator and victim are, and those who plug their ears and stick to their opinions can only be seen as bought off in my book.”
It was blatant blackmail.
Sophistry.
They should have focused on the incident, but Go Chang-beom actively muddied the waters, dividing lines between good and evil.
The opponents were evil.
Kim Hyun-seong was good.
Even if the opponents ended up in the hospital, punishing evil was the right response.
If anyone opposed his view, they’d be cut off from Myeongjin Construction dealings going forward.
People glanced at each other warily.
Myeongjin Construction.
Daesan’s representative company.
They couldn’t afford to fall out with them—especially not the moderately corrupt folks attending this meeting. No matter how furious Kim Sun-ja got, they couldn’t utter a word. The atmosphere flipped in an instant. In the frozen tension, Kim Sun-ja’s side had no choice but to pin it all on one person.
Oh Dae-hwan.
Only Cheonil’s principal could turn this around.
* * *
All eyes turned to him.
Oh Dae-hwan panicked.
Kim Sun-ja signaled with her eyes for help, but he was just as unable to speak rashly.
‘Myeongjin Construction? Since when did Kim Hyun-seong have their eldest son as a guardian?’
Every year.
Whenever new students enrolled, Oh Dae-hwan obsessively checked their backgrounds.
If they were from wealthy families, he intended to squeeze what he could, which was how he’d built ties with Jeong Min-ho’s parents. In that process, Kim Hyun-seong had fallen off his radar. He was necessary for the school’s average grades, but living with just his grandmother and no parents, there was nothing material to extract from him.
But now.
Myeongjin Construction out of nowhere.
If there had been even a hint of this connection, this disciplinary committee wouldn’t have been called in the first place.
‘The eldest son of Myeongjin is openly showing favoritism toward Kim Hyun-seong. If I side with Jeong Min-ho to protect him, I’ll have no ties to Myeongjin going forward. No, I’ll definitely face massive backlash in Daesan just for being on the opposing side.’
His back was soaked in cold sweat.
He was on the edge of a cliff.
In his anxiety, a sudden thought struck Oh Dae-hwan.
‘What if I abandon Jeong Min-ho?’
A shiver ran through him.
That single premise changed everything.
‘Come to think of it, this is a huge opportunity. Go Chang-beom said he planned to support Cheonil because of Kim Hyun-seong. If we back Daesan’s power, turning Cheonil into a nationwide prestigious school is just a matter of time. Jeong Min-ho’s parents or Myeongjin Construction—which side should I choose? I might get stoned as a traitor now, but thinking of Cheonil’s long-term future, it’s not even a question. And the people here wouldn’t dare throw stones if Cheonil seizes power.’
His expression changed.
He had made up his mind.
Under the watching eyes, Oh Dae-hwan spoke.
“I fully understand why Mr. Go Chang-beom is angry. I’ve tried to stay as neutral as possible, but I have heard that school violence has been rampant centered around Jeong Min-ho since the start of the semester.”
“Principal!”
“Jeong Min-ho’s mother. This isn’t the time for you to speak. I’m not judging right or wrong here. It’s just an objective fact I know, and I’ll consider all facts to reach the disciplinary committee’s conclusion.”
People murmured.
They knew too.
Oh Dae-hwan had switched sides.
Kim Sun-ja visibly panicked and tried to salvage the situation, but Oh Dae-hwan pushed forward boldly now that he’d decided.
“Kim Hyun-seong is Cheonil’s top student in my eyes. So let’s hear from him and decide this matter.”
He passed the floor.
The atmosphere had completely shifted.
Now it was Kim Hyun-seong’s turn.
* * *
What an amusing situation.
In his past life.
It had been the complete opposite.
Back then, Oh Dae-hwan and Kim Young-cheol had openly condemned him, but now they spoke up on his behalf.
‘They’re the reason I couldn’t escape school violence. If they had called out the perpetrators’ wrongs for my sake. If they had punished them and protected me, I wouldn’t have died so miserably.’
It didn’t bring joy.
Rage boiled within.
Their flip-flopping made Kim Hyun-seong reaffirm the purpose of his regression.
Kim Hyun-seong spoke.
“Before this incident, my friends told the teachers countless times that Park Min-cheol’s gang was leading the school violence. Each time, the teachers responded like this: The Park Min-cheol I know wouldn’t do that. It’s just kids messing around. Handle it like men. Some teachers even said they’d look into it, but they didn’t solve the root problem—instead, their warnings like ‘be careful’ just fueled the violence more. Yes, I hit Jeong Min-ho. I sent Park Min-cheol’s gang to the ER. But why is a disciplinary committee being held over my one act of violence? Why did the school, which ignored bruises on my friends’ faces all this time, jump at the chance to hold this meeting the moment I fought back against school violence?”
17 years old.
It wasn’t a child’s plea.
His fierce delivery overwhelmed the listeners.
“Is it because the level of violence was different? That’s no excuse. Even if I had suffered school violence and fallen from the rooftop, the school would’ve sided with the powerful students as always.”
That’s what had happened in his past life.
Vegetative state.
Lying in the hospital, Kim Hyun-seong had heard the perpetrators graduated without issue.
It was reality.
The rich are innocent, the poor guilty.
An unchanging truth.
If it was an unchangeable truth, then from now on, Kim Hyun-seong would revel in it as a man of power.
“I won’t bore you with excuses that I did nothing wrong. What I want is punishment for Jeong Min-ho and his gang. If you don’t punish them properly, even if it means expulsion, I’ll make this public. That’s my stance. My will.”
He looked at Jeong Min-ho.
To the shocked Jeong Min-ho, he emphasized fiercely.
“Only firm punishment can resolve this.”