Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Do-yeon's Ordeal
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Do-yeon looked to be in pretty good spirits.
It seemed she'd been getting treated like a liar by her friends, knowingly or not.
...Honestly, it was a story that was hard to believe easily.
Especially back in elementary school when she knew nothing, she might have been swayed by tales like that... but Do-yeon was a middle schooler now.
Imagine a middle schooler suddenly saying one of the people on TV was a relative of theirs.
Who would believe it?
And there wasn't any immediate proof to verify it either.
So naturally, among her friends, she'd end up labeled as someone with a compulsive lying disorder.
"If only I'd just asked my sisters for your number back then."
"Mom said not to bother your sister when she's busy."
My sisters had gone too far with that one. How long does it take to make a single phone call...?
"But isn't class over now?"
"No, when I told the kids you were coming, they said to bring you by."
Truth be told, Do-yeon used to call me Uncle or Big Bro.
We were fifth cousins, but she was as close as real siblings with my cousin sisters... and while "uncle" was common, hardly anyone used "fifth cousin once removed."
But suddenly switching to "sister" felt awkward somehow.
She didn't show it, though.
"So, where are we going?"
"School! The kids are waiting now that I said you were coming!"
"After school, and they're still in the classroom?"
A sudden suspicion crept over me.
Kids who had just entered middle school sticking around after classes?
By middle school, plenty would have cram school to attend, right?
No matter how chaotic society had become with mutations and the integration of Paradise, parents' zeal for education wasn't going anywhere.
On top of that, with research jobs in new materials gaining attention lately, middle schoolers were right around the age to start signing up for one or two cram schools.
And cram school schedules usually kicked off right after school.
No matter how curious they were about me, would any kid disobey their parents and stay at school?
This felt like it might be some kind of malicious bullying...
Well, that was just my harsh imagination at work.
They could just be genuinely curious and waiting.
It felt ridiculous saying it myself, but there wasn't anyone in Korea with as much influence as me right now.
"They'll be waiting...?"
Right then, Do-yeon's smartphone rang.
She looked puzzled at the sudden call, then picked up the phone.
Her eyes went wide.
At the same time, I could feel her expression harden.
"What's wrong?"
My hunch seemed to be spot on.
By middle school, the sly ones form cliques right away, picking out someone easy to target in their class—someone vulnerable or who stands out.
There are all sorts of reasons they do it.
But I couldn't be sure...
Maybe it was because girl-on-girl bullying could stem from the pettiest excuses.
That age group's girls could fall out and fight over the tiniest things.
"Yeah... no, sis. I don't think we need to go after all."
Called it.
This was just them luring her in to mess with her.
Do-yeon must have been marked by one of those sly kids.
"You call me out and now they all bailed? And they call you a liar?"
"Uh, yeah? No, that's not it."
Sure it wasn't.
Her confident expression had frozen in an instant—how could I miss that?
"Tell me what's going on? At your age, there are things that are hard to tell your parents."
I gently coaxed her along while scouting for a spot without people around.
And so her story began.
There hadn't been any issues at the start of the semester.
But the problem was Do-yeon's pretty appearance.
From what I heard, she'd gotten along well with everyone at first.
But... one of the girls she'd been close with had a crush on a boy.
The issue was that boy suddenly confessing to Do-yeon outright.
Hearing a story straight out of some rom-com manga in real life left me a bit stunned.
Was this what they called youth or whatever?
Anyway, that's when cracks started forming with that girl.
A classic tale.
Once jealousy toward someone takes root, everything about them starts looking grating.
That girl had been friendly with everyone in the class, so she'd been spreading subtle gossip about Do-yeon behind her back.
And as for revealing I was her fifth cousin, it was just that someone at school had overheard her muttering "Oh, my relative" while playing one of my videos, asked about it, and she'd answered truthfully.
So today, with me conveniently coming by, she'd tried to prove it—but to those kids, the truth didn't matter.
Their goal was just to isolate this girl named Do-yeon.
Once you slap on the "liar" label, it's incredibly hard to shake it off.
Was there some plausible way to resolve this?
Going to the school myself the only option?
"For now, let's keep this our little secret. You don't want to upset Mom, right?"
"Yeah..."
Maybe unburdening herself to me had lightened her load a bit—her expression softened some.
Impressive how composed she stayed despite the heavy sense of betrayal.
Most girls her age would've been bawling their eyes out.
Anyway, I'd have to find some solution later...
Unless Do-yeon flipped the table herself, that situation wasn't improving anytime soon.
The moment someone becomes a target of malice, they grow vulnerable, and then other kids are more likely to pile on.
If they at least knew I was really her relative, no one would even dream of bullying her.
While I pondered if there was a good way..., my eldest cousin sister—the big sis from my aunt's house—called me out cautiously.
"Hey, Seo-hyun."
"Yeah?"
"Um... you busy these days? Ah, no. Of course you are..."
"Why the sudden question?"
"Well, there's this parent observation class..."
"Parent observation? For who?"
"Do-yeon. My husband and I both have unavoidable commitments that day, so we can't make it... I was wondering if you or Seo-ah could go instead."
With Aunt or Mom around, asking me specifically must've been that maternal intuition.
Sis wasn't oblivious either.
I'd gotten tons of help from her sharp instincts growing up, so I doubted she'd miss her own daughter's state.
A kid who'd been lively at the semester's start now looking downcast? She'd suspect something was up at school.
Yet not confronting Do-yeon directly was probably because parents meddling in kids' drama rarely ends well.
It could even make the bullying worse.
And not giving her my number was likely to avoid burdening me.
"Hmm... that day shouldn't be too packed for me."
"Thanks. I'm really sorry..."
"No worries. After all you've done for me."
Sis was genuinely apologetic.
She seemed to be mulling over some way to repay me, but I waved it off.
How many times had she looked after me as a kid?
This was nothing.
Plus, one visit from me could squash most of Do-yeon's issues.
Not just any parent stepping in, but someone with real social clout—kids wouldn't dare mess around.
Parents would foam at the mouth if they knew their kids were subtly bullying her.
"Are you insane?"
That was the level of status I held now.
* * *
Do-yeon let out a sigh.
She knew the class atmosphere around her lately wasn't great.
At first, she'd thought about blowing up over the frustration.
But... with parent observation coming up soon, she didn't want to cause a scene and make her parents hear bad news when they came.
Truth be told, asking Seo-hyun to come along had been her own desperate struggle.
To prove she wasn't a liar.
She believed that alone would ease the insidious bullying.
But she'd even missed that chance to prove it.
They'd never intended to face her, whether she brought Seo-hyun or not.
The facts didn't matter; it was about framing Do-yeon as a liar and eroding trust in her words.
Do-yeon's head throbbed.
'Why'd he confess to me of all people...?'
In the end, all she could do was harbor pointless resentment.
If not for that, the stifling vibe probably wouldn't have gotten this bad.
One loose button, and everything below unraveled.
Arriving at school, she sighed again.
Graffiti was scrawled messily on her desk.
Calling her a liar.
Truth be told, "liar" was just a flimsy pretext.
The graffiti was a warning to the rest of the class.
Get friendly with her, and you're next.
Thank goodness her friend from elementary school had been secretly looking out for her; otherwise, Do-yeon would've really struggled.
That friend had even offered to help outright, but Do-yeon refused.
No point dragging her down too— it'd just make more victims.
As she painstakingly erased the desk graffiti, a voice called out.
"Hey, liar."
It was Kim Ji-yu, once Do-yeon's friend but now one of her tormentors.
"You all scatter when I say I'm bringing my sister, and then call me a liar?"
"It was a lie in the end, wasn't it? You're cousins but don't even have her number? Come on."
A mocking sneer hung in the air.
But Do-yeon already knew facts weren't what mattered to them.
"Fine, whatever. You wouldn't believe me anyway."
"Of course not. It's a lie from the start."
Hearing that, Do-yeon wondered if she should hold back any longer.
But she did.
She hated wasting all the endurance so far.
"...Whatever. Think what you want."
"Liar bitch can sure talk big."
She could've fired back worse, but it'd just drag her down to that girl's level.
Do-yeon just endured.
A year wasn't that long anyway.
If it got worse... she'd flip then.
And from that day, the bullying turned more overt.
Her belongings went missing now and then, and someone even threw filth at her.
Do-yeon endured each time.
She knew it was foolish, but she hated worrying those around her.
* * *
"Who did this to you?"
"Mom..."
Lee Jeong-in, Seo-hyun's eldest cousin sister, asked.
Her daughter's clothes were filthy beyond belief—clearly something dumped on her.
"Tell me the truth. Who's bullying you?"
"It's..."
Do-yeon hesitated.
Jeong-in could guess why.
Her sweet, naive girl. She'd just swallow it down alone.
Sighing, Jeong-in pressed.
"Even if you don't want to say, you have to on this, Do-yeon. Someone's hurting you—how can I just watch?"
"Mom..."
Do-yeon started sniffling.
Realizing she had no choice, she spilled everything to Jeong-in.
"Ah, those bitches."
Jeong-in was furious. They were bitches, no doubt.
Do-yeon gawked, stunned to hear her mom—who never swore—curse like that.
"Do-yeon, parent observation's tomorrow, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Those bitches won't be able to show their faces starting tomorrow."
"But Mom, you said you were busy that day..."
"Of course your dad and I are tied up. But... when parents can't make it, another guardian can step in."
"Huh? Who...?"
"Seo-hyun says she's free tomorrow, conveniently enough."
Do-yeon's eyes went wide.