Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: 4. Changes (1)
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While preparing for the disciplinary committee, Kim Young-cheol had gone to see Lee Jung-min.
At that time, he had no idea about I Hak-beom's existence, and to shut Kim Hyun-seong's mouth, he felt he had to do anything.
“Jung-min, can you testify at the disciplinary committee? If Park Min-cheol hadn't messed with you in the first place, Hyun-seong wouldn't have had any reason to fight Park Min-cheol's gang. It's not a difficult thing. Just tell them exactly what you experienced, factually, and Teacher Lee will handle the rest.”
Lee Jung-min.
He was a victim related to this incident.
Since Kim Hyun-seong had stepped in after seeing Lee Jung-min getting beaten, if Lee Jung-min exposed Park Min-cheol's gang's misdeeds, there was a chance to turn the situation around. For Kim Young-cheol, it was a desperate grasp at straws. Overturning the stage led by Principal Oh Dae-hwan and Kim Sun-ja would be tough, but at least he needed to prove to Kim Hyun-seong that he had tried this hard.
It was the best he could do.
He had assumed Lee Jung-min would naturally help for Kim Hyun-seong's sake, but the response was different from what he expected.
“……I'm sorry.”
“Sorry? What do you mean by that?”
“…….”
Lee Jung-min bowed his head silently.
Kim Young-cheol's request.
He understood fully what it meant.
He did think he should help Kim Hyun-seong, but the problem was after the disciplinary committee ended. Park Min-cheol's gang had the solid backing of Jeong Min-ho's parents. They would return to school without issue, and then the bullying from Park Min-cheol's gang would start up again.
His own future?
It was obvious.
Back to the pathetic state of being relentlessly bullied.
If he helped Kim Hyun-seong, Park Min-cheol's gang would bully him even more cruelly than before. Just imagining that future made his body tremble like an aspen leaf. He didn't know if other friends went to school happily, but for Lee Jung-min, it had been hell since the moment Park Min-cheol first approached him.
He was truly sorry, but.
He wanted to survive.
Seeing Lee Jung-min say nothing, Kim Young-cheol vented his frustration in anger.
“No way. Kim Hyun-seong got dragged into the disciplinary committee and caused all that chaos to help you, and you're just going to pretend you didn't provide the cause of the incident? Jung-min, this isn't right. I get what you're feeling, but this is no different from abandoning Hyun-seong to save yourself. What if Hyun-seong gets expelled because of this? Could you live with the guilt? Who else would help a kid like you?!”
“…….”
There was no reply.
Kim Young-cheol had lashed out harshly to make him see reason for survival's sake, but Lee Jung-min, gripped by fear, couldn't think rationally.
“Damn it.”
Bam!
He kicked the desk.
Breathing heavily, Kim Young-cheol left Lee Jung-min alone and headed to the teachers' office.
At that time, even Lee Jung-min hadn't anticipated it.
That the disciplinary committee would end with four members of Park Min-cheol's gang being expelled.
* * *
Lee Jung-min's face turned pale.
Faced with criticism of his actions, he had no excuse.
Honestly, he had thought naively.
Since Kim Hyun-seong was a kind friend who helped him, a thank-you would keep their good relationship.
But.
Reality was different.
Kim Hyun-seong looked at Lee Jung-min with a fierce expression.
“This incident is on me. Even if I stepped in seeing you get beaten, sending four guys to the ER is my responsibility. So is it right for you, who got scared and refused to testify at the disciplinary committee, to come here now and say thanks? Why? Did you think I didn't know?”
After the disciplinary committee ended.
Kim Young-cheol had said a lot.
While asking him to watch over him from now on and such, he sharply criticized Lee Jung-min's cowardice. It had wrapped up well thanks to I Hak-beom's appearance, but hadn't Lee Jung-min turned his back on the one person who could have turned the situation around? Even from a delinquent's perspective, Lee Jung-min had made a cowardly choice.
“……S-sorry.”
Lee Jung-min bowed his head.
It was the same.
Just like with Kim Young-cheol, he was too scared to even make a proper excuse.
His appearance.
It reflected Kim Hyun-seong's own past.
At first, Kim Hyun-seong had resisted fiercely, but endless bullying gradually broke his will, and at some point, he showed the same powerless demeanor as Lee Jung-min. Because he knew nothing worked. Even while refusing to give up on his studies, no matter how hard he struggled, there was no way to fight Park Min-cheol's gang.
Fighting skill was meaningless.
He could beat one or two, but they outnumbered him, and even if he took someone down, the punishment fell on him.
A harsh reality.
Back then, Kim Hyun-seong had been negative.
If someone had tried to help him in his previous life and gotten dragged into a disciplinary committee, there was no guarantee he would have risked his school life for them. His only hope had been graduating with top grades. But one thing was certain: if he had acted just like Lee Jung-min, he would have accepted the blame that came his way afterward as natural.
That was separate from understanding.
Lee Jung-min was cowardly.
The kind version of himself from his previous life might have overlooked that cowardice, but not the current him.
“Bullshit. From now on, whoever bullies you is none of my business. So get out of my sight. I don't want to see you.”
Cold words spat out.
Lee Jung-min, who had said nothing, could only turn away with a devastated face.
* * *
The commotion ended quickly.
He didn't bully anyone for taking down Park Min-cheol, nor did he raise his voice after Lee Jung-min.
When the teacher came in and started first period, Kim Hyun-seong focused on class like the studious image his friends remembered.
‘For my future plans, grades have to keep up no matter what.’
Grades.
They were the starting point of the turmoil.
The main reason the Golden Circle chose bullying targets was to drag down students who outperformed the members they managed. His previous life's bullying had started that way. Kim Hyun-seong, with his excellent middle school grades, was an eyesore, and right before high school first-year midterms, Shin Young-min, who had taken a commission, had Park Min-cheol bully him.
So.
Somewhere in this classroom, or this school, was the real culprit.
Someone jealous of Kim Hyun-seong's grades, trying to knock him down to claim a higher rank.
There were a few suspects, but without solid evidence, he couldn't act rashly now. For the time being, he planned to maintain his current position. If he kept top-tier grades enough to remain an eyesore, the Golden Circle would have to step in to fulfill the commission.
That moment.
Would be the opportunity.
He would smash them all into the ground.
Anyone connected to the Golden Circle, not a single one would escape ruin.
‘My ultimate goal is to conquer Daesan and advance to Gangnam. And to make the Golden Circle wary of me even in Gangnam, I need not just force, but grades that mess up their situation enough to enrage the clients into pressuring them. Overwhelming grades.’
It wasn't hard.
In his previous life.
Kim Hyun-seong's grades had dominated nationwide.
That's why he fell from the rooftop right before the college entrance exam, and the material he was studying now was perfectly ingrained in his mind. Even so, Kim Hyun-seong didn't get complacent. Recalling his previous life's memories once more, he aimed to surpass national level and claim the absolute top spot this time.
Soon.
Midterms.
The moment his grades were revealed, Daesan would erupt in chaos.
“The content I'm explaining now will be on the midterms…….”
The teacher's explanation.
While some students dozed off bored, Kim Hyun-seong kept his venomous gaze fixed without blinking.
* * *
Lunchtime.
As kids who ate lunch played on the sports field, one student smoked on the school rooftop.
“Whew.”
“Young-min, what are you planning from now on? With Park Min-cheol's gang expelled, the plan's completely derailed.”
“Yeah.”
Flick.
He tossed the cigarette on the ground.
The ground already had several butts piled up, but the boy called Shin Young-min lit another one.
Sizzle.
“Fucking hell. I took the commission thinking it was no big deal, and now it's all fucked up. The Golden Circle bastards are the problem. They lowballed the price saying the guy had no background, but when we open the lid, he's got Myeongjin Construction's eldest as a guardian. No way to crush Kim Hyun-seong by pulling strings in Daesan now.”
“……Yeah. No matter how great they are, can't beat Myeongjin Construction in Daesan. So you're giving up?”
“No.”
He inhaled deeply.
He couldn't give up.
The advance payment for this commission was five million won.
He had already spent it all.
He was set to get ten million more upon success, so Shin Young-min planned to seize it all, no holds barred. Of course, the situation was complicated. A monster who single-handedly sent Park Min-cheol's gang to the ER wouldn't be easy to wear down with bullying.
But.
Since he was just a high schooler too, there were ways.
Shin Young-min said.
“From the moment we took the commission, we had no choice. If it's a situation we have to resolve somehow, we can use the changed conditions as an excuse to demand a better payout. It's shitty, but not a bad situation. High school level's obvious. If we can pull tens of millions for dealing with one high schooler, we should be grateful.”
The method was simple.
Direct approach.
Handle it with school violence.
No matter the backing, he couldn't handle bullying from friends right beside him.
Shin Young-min grinned slyly.
“So, who's the first-year boss now? Tell him to come up to the rooftop right away.”
* * *
School ended.
It was a quiet day.
Attending classes, breaks, lunch, more classes.
No one spoke to Kim Hyun-seong amid the routine.
The friends he had been close with were the model student types, so after the Park Min-cheol gang incident, they looked at him awkwardly. To them, the overnight change in Kim Hyun-seong was alien. It wasn't just resisting violence—he had shown more than usual cruelty.
He accepted reality.
The anger boiling inside him was too great to yearn for everyday life with friends.
Today, he didn't go home.
He had a new destination.
‘For my future plans, along with studying, there's one thing I must acquire: my personal power. If I can't overwhelm opponents in face-to-face situations, all my other advantages are meaningless. In the world of young high schoolers, immediate violence is absolute. And if Shin Young-min is definitely the one who took the Golden Circle commission, my current strength can't match him.’
Already.
He had laid the groundwork.
To build personal power, Kim Hyun-seong judged he needed one person from Daesan.
He started walking.
He stopped.
And arrived at the place.
Looking up at the faded sign, a familiar name appeared.
[Jeong Du-cheol Gym]
Jeong Du-cheol.
A mixed martial artist, the first Korean to claim the UFC world championship.
And now, a name forgotten by people.
He was the missing puzzle piece Kim Hyun-seong desired.