Seoul Central High School.
Seoul Central High School.
After what happened at the pool, Kim Tae-oh stuck right by Da-yeon's side.
And following the meeting with my dad and Lee Jin-seok, we took our own measures with the school.
The next day, the class president told me Mr. Jeong Da-woon wanted to talk. I couldn't guess why I was being summoned, but I agreed and headed to where he was.
An empty room.
Mr. Jeong Da-woon sat alone, radiating a gloomy air.
"You called for me?"
"Yes... have a seat for a moment."
He looked haggard, like he hadn't slept, and something about his condition looked seriously wrong.
He looked as if he might commit a crime at any second.
Seeing that, I had a strong hunch something pretty interesting was about to happen.
So I pretended to read the room and casually took a seat.
"Why... did you call me in...?"
"Just for a moment... shut your mouth... looking at you makes me want to puke..."
Mr. Jeong Da-woon was acting completely different from the last time we met.
Eyes filled with blatant killing intent, rage, and hostility.
Oho... the look of someone genuinely ready to throw down stoked my interest even more.
An expression that wanted to rip me to pieces then and there... how long had it been since I'd been on the receiving end of that kind of killing intent?
One thing was certain: it was the first time in this life.
Even Oh Tae-hyeon looked at me with fear...
To provoke Jeong Da-woon further, I put on a slightly frightened expression.
"...Why... are you... doing this? I'll just... go..."
The moment I lifted myself to stand, he reacted instantly.
"Sit."
"...Yep..."
Jeong Da-woon suddenly slammed his head hard onto the desk, then lifted it just enough to meet my eyes.
"...Why... why on earth did you end it to this extent?"
"...End what?"
"I know about your ties to Hanseong. Why... why!!! Did you end it to this extent... without turning the school upside down..."
What was he talking about...?
I found myself wondering if he was even in his right mind.
And then, it suddenly hit me that this killing intent and hostility weren't solely directed at me.
My interest began to wane the moment I realized the hatred wasn't aimed at me, so I sighed and propped my chin on my hand.
As if satisfied by my reaction, the killing intent refocused on me.
So he radiated murderous intent whenever I acted brazen and cocky...
"Is there another reason? I'd love it if you told me what's bothering you~"
I smiled alluringly and looked at him.
I caught a glimpse of fear toward me in Mr. Jeong Da-woon's expression, and it seemed he had no real intention of confronting me head-on.
My interest, steadily dropping...
"Monsters like you... it's only natural for you to feel ecstasy when you destroy your opponent..."
What kind of bullshit was that?
A different kind of interest suddenly sparked.
"I'd rather die than bow my head and beg to monsters like you... so... this is how I'll ask."
Jeong Da-woon suddenly pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed it into the back of his own hand.
Clang!
The box cutter pierced through the hand and struck the desk, and it must have shattered into fragments inside the hand.
Maybe even to the point where he'd never be able to make a fist again.
His pupils dilated from the sudden, immense pain, yet even then he kept staring at me.
'How the hell is that supposed to be begging? He's just a lunatic. Nobody here, kids or teachers, is in their right mind...'
To avoid getting soaked by the dripping blood, I smoothly pushed myself away from the desk with my foot.
"Please... please... destroy this school for me..."
It felt jarring, but Mr. Jeong Da-woon was pleading with me in complete sincerity...
Watching that, I rested my chin on my hand and smiled.
"How should I destroy it for you? Kill everyone?"
"...Nothing could be better..."
"But... nah, I don't want to..."
"..."
"Why would I? It's a pain in the ass."
With a gritty sound, Jeong Da-woon pulled the knife out.
His eyes were already unfocused.
I understood his resolve to some extent, but if I was going to play the hero of justice, I should at least know why, shouldn't I?
I snapped my fingers to get his attention.
"That arm, lift it above your heart. I'm not taking responsibility if you pass out from dizziness before we even get a proper talk in~"
Jeong Da-woon nodded at my words and raised his arm.
"Get treatment first, then come back. That might just make me inclined to hear the reason."
"...You really are a monster."
"Bullshit, who are you calling a monster? You pull crazy shit in front of a schoolgirl and don't even think about your own actions."
"Ha..."
"Hey! Ji-hoon!!! Get in here!"
Rattle.
The door opened and Park Ji-hoon walked in.
"Whoa, what the hell? I was dying of curiosity—what's all this?"
"Call Tae-oh and get him to the ER first... he seems to have a lot to say."
"...Okay."
I looked at Jeong Da-woon and said,
"You definitely succeeded in piquing my interest. Get treated and wait. Maybe I'll hear the reason..."
Jeong Da-woon looked up at me with eyes that seemed ready to pass out any second.
"Understood..."
You had to hand it to HSW's capabilities.
Team 7, assigned to me.
Since Team 7 was made up of soldiers, once they were armed, they had firepower Team 5—the team assigned to protect Da-yeon—couldn't compare with.
You might wonder what business guns have in Korea, but they really do carry them on their waists, concealed from view.
Team 7 was a dedicated personal team assigned to look after me.
Which meant I could thoroughly cover up minor incidents and prevent information leaks.
Team 7 moved Mr. Jeong Da-woon to a Hanseong hospital.
And I sat beside Mr. Jeong Da-woon, peeling an apple with Ji-hoon in tow.
Ji-hoon shoved the apple into his mouth the second I finished peeling it.
The moment I reversed my grip on the knife, he smoothly moved to take what he'd put in his mouth out.
"Ah, that's fucking gross... you little shit."
Just then, Mr. Jeong Da-woon opened his eyes.
"Oh? You're awake?"
Mr. Jeong Da-woon glanced at Park Ji-hoon, nodded, and handed me his phone.
His room—one wall plastered with photos and drawings.
And the direction all the drawings pointed to held a picture of a single female student.
"What, is this a murder case or something?"
The moment Mr. Jeong Da-woon woke up, he started going from zero to a hundred.
"Murder... it is murder... the far right... it was done by those fucking third and fourth-generation chaebol heirs, starting with Choi Hyun-bin and the Go Ju-bin you saw..."
I snorted and grinned at the sight.
"Well, I'm second-generation, so I guess that makes me okay~"
"...Second generation included."
"Da-yeon is fifth-generation Hanseong, so she's out~ I'll have to congratulate her~"
"Ha..."
If I teased any longer, Jeong Da-woon looked ready to rip out his IV and lunge at me, so I got straight to the point.
"Let's hear the reason why you want to destroy the school."
Jeong Da-woon began to speak from the very beginning...
At the end of the story, I chuckled and said,
"You don't have to listen. I figured this was my last chance anyway, and I was planning to kill myself."
"Dying's pretty shitty, honestly. The pain aside, the feeling's a bit... well, whatever, I don't recommend it."
I meant it sincerely, but Jeong Da-woon let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha..."
"But hey, isn't it a total jackpot if you kick the bucket and wake up in the future? Admit it."
Park Ji-hoon, who was eating an apple, nodded vigorously.
From Jeong Da-woon's perspective, we must have sounded like we were spouting utter nonsense.
Anyway, I now had a full grasp of the situation.
"So what you're saying is you want the kids in these photos killed... well, if the opportunity arises, we can do it one by one. Though I don't really know much about contract killing. Hmm..."
As I was mulling it over, Park Ji-hoon spoke up.
"Couldn't you just ask Joo Do-hyeon?"
I transferred the information from Mr. Jeong Da-woon's phone to mine and said,
"Oh... you want me to at least put the word in then? Tell him to kill these twelve people here—not including Joo Hyun-bin, though."
"Won't you be losing a card to play then?"
"If you're the one making contact, he'll stay scared and you can keep using him, no?"
"That's true."
The two of us, casually discussing killing people.
Well, no wonder he looked at us like we were monsters.
I looked at Mr. Jeong Da-woon, who was still watching us with loathing in his eyes.
"You couldn't tell anyone about this—wasn't that the problem?"
Mr. Jeong Da-woon nodded silently.
"So then couldn't I just grab a mic and say it? You're making this complicated."
"..."
"I'm putting it simply, but if it goes that way, you'll have to leave Korea one way or another."
"...I'll handle that somehow... so what do you want in return?"
Mr. Jeong Da-woon must have expected us to demand something in exchange for taking action.
"Hm, just think of it as meeting a monster who at least upholds a shred of justice. And when this blows up, report in that you're alive every two months. I might have a use for you later."
"..."
Park Ji-hoon, who had just finished a call, flashed a sardonic smirk.
"Look at you being all tsundere. 'Might have a use,' my ass. So cringey. You basically just said, 'Please don't go dying on me~~' lol."
I lunged at Park Ji-hoon, and he pushed my head back with his hand.
My arms flailed at empty air.
I tried to bend his arm, which was holding me back, quickly enough to ram an elbow in, but Park Ji-hoon's thicker arm wouldn't bend under my strength.
"Ack, oh right. Joo Do-hyeon said he'd definitely do it, by the way. As a token of apology. But he wants about one to two months per person."
I cleared my throat, harrumphing, and reached for a nearby knife, but then sat back down, figuring what good would causing a scene do.
"That's whatever. Just tell him I want to see Go Ju-bin separately before he's dealt with."
I crossed my arms and legs, fiddling with my earring as I looked at Mr. Jeong Da-woon.
"You dying changes nothing. Well, I understand the whole situation now—why you couldn't say a word to those little kids."
"..."
"Honestly, you already knew, didn't you? That even if you died, it was obvious it'd get buried like before, and they'd think it was a win since the number of people who knew the truth would shrink."
"Yeah..."
"Once you're discharged, put all the footage you've gathered onto a USB and send it over."
"Understood..."
"Don't forget the survival check-in every two months. Let's go."
I set down the fruit I'd peeled, and left the hospital with Park Ji-hoon.
Starting that day, news reports about chaebol family scions being assassinated by ethnic Koreans from China appeared from time to time.
And, unintentionally, it served as good news for the security firm HSW, sending its stock price skyrocketing for a while.
After that, we applied for the golf class and spent our afternoons playing golf for a while.
I half-assed it and just whacked the ball around, while Da-yeon reached a skill level needing no one's instruction.
The teacher watching Da-yeon seemed dissatisfied with her slightly unorthodox stance, but they took one look at her swing and quietly walked away.
Having tagged along with me so often, Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon, who were playing with us, also knew how to play to some extent.
Time passed, and the blowback hit the school.
The footage of the molestation that Mr. Jeong Da-woon had gathered was more extensive than I'd thought.
The appearances of the third and fourth-generation chaebol scions in that footage were more than enough to ignite public outrage once again, and it erupted into massive protests both online and offline, driven by the kind of national character that can't stand by and watch such things unfold.
Somehow having gotten wind of this in advance again, the children of the powerful, including lawmakers and major conglomerate families, fled overseas.
But no matter what they did, they were in the palm of my hand.
Within JSM, there's a department that manages online news and reactions, and they publicly disclosed all of these people's family backgrounds.
And the wave set off by this brought yet another disaster in its wake...
The butterfly effect.
I watched the butterfly effect unfold in the Republic of Korea with my own eyes and smiled.
An endless stream of corruption scandals from the chaebol families and the elite ruling class began to explode all at once.
Once the atmosphere had shifted enough for people to pay attention, those who had been afraid to disclose what they knew began spilling their information.
News stories of "like father, like son"...
The controversy swelled endlessly, reaching a level that nearly shook the very pillars of the nation.
Seoul Jungang High, both the origin of this scandal and a gathering place akin to a hub for all the children of the powerful and chaebol families, was paralyzed, and a notice was issued that the school would be temporarily closed.
And then... the stock prices of major corporations plummeted in an instant...
The companies at the center of the corruption and controversy weren't just one or two, so it led to an overall market downturn.
The corporate feeding frenzy of Lee Gi-seok and Lee Jin-seok, who had planned this event together, began.
Hanseong intended to bulk up its size through this opportunity, and the aggressive management style characteristic of Lee Gi-seok and Lee Jin-seok's family began to shine.
The CH Group, the family of Choi Hyun-min, looked too huge to swallow comfortably.
The CH Group, which had long been responsible for the lifestyle and culture of the Republic of Korea through cinemas and department stores...
was devoured by the giant dinosaur that was Hanseong.
As if that weren't enough, Hanseong began gobbling up mid-sized companies related to future industries, rapidly fattening its gigantic frame even further.
So much so you'd wonder if it might burst...