Chapter 63
Kang Minjae hummed along at the wheel. "The weather's so nice. Hum, hum~ Sunny sunny day~"
The navigation had been blinking since they'd veered off the route, recalculating, but Kang Minjae treated even that as background music. The meetup spot in Jusan-gu wasn't far anyway, and they'd left early, so it didn't matter...
"Let's keep it quiet."
"Sunny sun— Got it. Oh, we took a wrong turn. Sorry about that."
Ever since Cha Juhan had told him to sit out the case, he'd shown up in drab shirts, but today was different. A bright shirt, leather jacket, and even sunglasses— the getup was ridiculous.
"Kang."
"Yes?"
"You sneaking off on vacation without me? Where to? Must be nice."
"What? I'm not going anywhere."
"You look ready to head straight to the airport. Why not set the nav for Incheon right now? It's not too late."
"Oh, this? Heh heh, figured you'd say that, so I packed a suit too."
Kang Minjae adjusted his sunglasses and pointed to the back seat. A suit case sat there neatly.
"You could've just worn it from the start."
"Went shopping after work yesterday, and it was too tempting not to."
He must've been in an exceptionally good mood. Cha Juhan shook his head.
Lowering the sun visor, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. His frayed nerves began to settle. He opened them just moments later, and they were already pulling up in front of Hanjun's high school.
They were set to meet Hanjun's mother at a nearby café.
"Go on ahead. I'll change quick..."
Kang Minjae said, clambering into the back seat. Cha Juhan clicked his tongue.
"Someone might think you're a perv, Kang."
"Argh, buttoned the shirt wrong."
He grumbled while hastily fastening it. Cha Juhan couldn't fathom why Kang Minjae was starting to resemble Jang Taesik more and more.
Inside the café, after ordering coffee and waiting, Cha Juhan spotted a middle-aged woman peering around the entrance.
Kang Minjae stood, and she confirmed him before approaching their table.
"Attorney Cha Juhan?"
"Ah, hello. I'm Cha Juhan, and this is Attorney Kang Minjae, who called you yesterday."
Kang Minjae handed her two business cards. She nodded and tucked them into her wallet. After ordering tea for her, a brief silence fell before Kang Minjae spoke.
"We could've come to your place."
"No, it's fine. I have to pick up my son after school anyway—this is convenient."
"Ah, you pick him up yourself?"
Hanjun's mother let out a deep sigh at Kang Minjae's question. Only after sipping her steaming tea did she reply.
"I'm worried about him."
Kang Minjae sighed in sympathy. Her son had already endured school violence, and she feared he'd be targeted on his way to or from school, so she drove him every day. It was much like how Jincheol's parents had assigned a tattooed uncle as bodyguard.
"Is Hanjun adjusting well to the new school?"
"Yes. Fortunately, there don't seem to be many bad kids... and he's made some friends."
"That's a relief."
"...On his first day of transfer, he said that. I know it's a terrible thing to say, but he was glad there's already a kid being ostracized in his class."
Her face clouded with pity.
"Hanjun must have been deeply hurt at Jangmyeong High School. As his mother, do you feel like he's healing at all?"
"...Not really. He's still in therapy, and he cries every time."
Her words sounded matter-of-fact, but they felt numb, as if the scars ran too deep. Over a year had passed since the incident, yet he still couldn't overcome it.
"You attorneys wanted to ask about Lee Hyeokmin, right?"
Hanjun's mother shifted topics with a sigh.
"Yes. We mentioned it briefly on the phone, but we're representing a student who was victimized by Lee Hyeokmin at school. We heard he did similar things before, so we hoped to hear more details."
At Kang Minjae's explanation, she squeezed her eyes shut.
"That devil is tormenting another kid... It's just... horrific."
They gave her a brief rundown of Jincheol's situation. Unlike with Kim Daesung, they needed more specifics from her. She didn't seem inclined to hide what Hanjun had endured. Still, knowing another victim's plight might coax out even more useful info.
"He fell from the second floor?"
Hanjun's mother gasped, hand over her mouth.
"Yes. He was hospitalized for two months because of it."
"What did the school say?"
"He was fooling around, his indoor shoes flew off, he chased them and fell."
"Ha, that's absurd. What parent would buy that?"
It reaffirmed how flimsy the school's excuse was—unbelievable to anyone.
She tsked and continued. "Is the boy okay now? That kind of accident must've been traumatic..."
"He was violent at first, but he's stabilizing."
"Good. Trauma like that lingers... Our Hanjun, that Lee Hyeokmin bastard tried to run him over with a motorcycle more than once or twice. Now he has panic attacks just seeing one..."
Kang Minjae's eyes widened. "Tried to hit him with a motorcycle?"
"Yes. He and his gang would call Hanjun out late at night, park the bike far off, then charge at him like they were going to run him down. They'd swerve at the last second, he'd collapse in terror. They did it over and over. If he tried to run, they'd beat him and drag him back. Just thinking about it makes me shake..."
She swallowed hard, pressing her forehead. Even if they never intended to hit him, a motorcycle barreling straight at you was terrifying. One slip-up, and it could've been fatal.
"What a devilish kid."
Kang Minjae ground his teeth.
The rest overlapped with Jincheol's ordeal: beatings, extortion, public ostracism and humiliation. They'd lock him in a bathroom stall and mock, "Oh, the kid who shits the most stinky dumps at school," then dump mop water on him.
"Did the school say anything else about your client's fall?"
She asked with a hollow laugh, certain they'd done nothing.
"We went with the victim's guardian and demanded a proper investigation."
"They grovel, say they're sorry, promise to look into it?"
She knew the script all too well.
"Don't hold your breath. They 'investigate' and find nothing. Then they gaslight the kid as a liar. Like, maybe he has a grudge against Lee Hyeokmin and made it up."
"They said it outright?"
Kang Minjae asked, stunned.
"No, they keep up the humble act, apologize profusely, but skirt around it until that's the gist. Lee Hyeokmin's a model student, no bullying issues in the class per other kids, and he himself knows nothing. That's the crap spewed by Jangmyeong High teachers."
Her voice rose in anger as she downed her cold tea, hands trembling violently as she lifted the cup.
"Was there a specific trigger that made you decide to transfer Hanjun?"
"First, the police didn't investigate properly. Colluded with the school or whatever. No evidence of what happened to our kid, so it's tough. Even showing bruises, they can't prove it's Lee Hyeokmin. That punk was cunning—only hit where there were no CCTVs. Police said they tried, but no evidence surfaced."
The school violence committee, police—every standard recourse had failed. And the cops' attitude was worse than Cha Juhan imagined.
"Second, Lee Hyeokmin's dad is the superintendent. School was terrified. Plus, his dad's a Jangmyeong alum, and so's the principal. Turns out they're friends—went to school together."
This connection between the principal and Lee Hyeokmin's father was new intel. With the dad as superintendent alone, the school would cower; a personal friendship made cover-ups effortless. The father showered favors on his alma mater—his son's school. The principal repaid by scrubbing Lee Hyeokmin's record spotless.
"No matter how much I fought, it was hopeless. And if police or committee acted, they'd suspend him to protect the victim—but that wasn't happening. So Hanjun had to keep sitting in class with that monster."
Exactly. Suspension meant disciplinary marks, ruining the clean record the school owed Lee Hyeokmin's father. Nothing they could do for Hanjun. So, like Kim Daesung said, they'd kept him home until transfer.
"No choice but to transfer him. Bad parenting... Couldn't match his parents' power, so my kid suffered..."
Tears welled in her eyes. She dabbed them with a tissue and cleared her throat.
"I hope the boy you're representing doesn't end up like ours. Paralyzed by anxiety, unable to function... Not like that."
She gazed out the window, sighing deeply.
"At least that family has money. Hiring attorneys and all. We were in debt from his education just to live there... Couldn't afford that."
Composing herself, she finally bowed her head and wept. Kang Minjae fetched more tissues to comfort her.
"We'll make sure Lee Hyeokmin faces punishment. And if it's okay, can we use your conversations as evidence, maybe in court?"
She nodded vigorously at Cha Juhan's question.
"Of course. Please do. Let them know what that bastard did to our Hanjun... How he's living because of him. I'd be grateful. If you need a witness, I'll stand."
She stared at them with bloodshot eyes. "Oh, it's past four already. Hanjun's school should be out. Gotta go pick him up."
She grabbed her bag hurriedly, as if any delay was unthinkable. Probably the gnawing fear that even a moment's lapse could mean bullying.
"Yes, ma'am. Take care."
Through the café's glass wall, they watched her rush to her car in the lot.
"Lee Hyeokmin's a real demon."
Kang Minjae downed his coffee in one go. Cha Juhan nodded.
From his prosecutor days, he'd seen it often: elite kids who wreaked havoc grew up with no correction, only enablers. They never learned right from wrong. Lee Hyeokmin was no different. Left unchecked, his future was all too clear.
"Time to head to Jincheol's hospital."
Cha Juhan stood and stepped out. Now they had to find any good kid left in Lee Hyeokmin's kingdom.