Chapter 65 "Lawyer, what did the homeroom teacher say?"
As soon as we got back in the car, Kang Minjae asked, "Lawyer, what did the homeroom teacher say?"
He was pretty curious too—he fired off the question before I even buckled in.
I shook my head as I fastened my seatbelt. "Isn't that the homeroom teacher lying?"
I'd hoped it was, but my ability has no blind spots. I'd wondered if there really wasn't even one, but here we were—reality had made it true.
"No, it isn't."
"How do you know that, Lawyer? If someone really commits to lying, even if you've seen a ton of liars..."
You might not know...
Kang Minjae trailed off, incredulous.
Instead of answering, I gestured for him to start driving.
The car smoothly merged onto the road and headed toward the office, but we didn't speak the whole way.
I had a lot on my mind too.
We had Park Jincheol's testimony, and Han Jun's too—he'd suffered the same abuse from Lee Hyeokmin. But there were way too many gaps.
We could prove Jincheol had been assaulted, but not that Lee Hyeokmin was the one who did it.
Han Jun's case showed the same problem—they'd reported it to the police and even tried to convene the school violence committee, but it all fell through.
We desperately needed witness statements, and the only possible witnesses were the kids in that class.
But none of those kids were talking.
"How do we crack this? No CCTV, no witnesses, no evidence."
Kang Minjae sighed.
The day Jincheol first gave his statement, he'd mentioned Lee Hyeokmin bringing up CCTV, so we'd checked it out. Sure enough, no cameras, just like he said.
"The problem is those kids in the class—they're totally under Lee Hyeokmin's thumb right now."
Kang Minjae nodded at my words.
"I thought he was like Eom Seokdae from Our Twisted Hero. How does it make sense that not one kid spoke up after seeing something that horrific? They were all too scared."
Eom Seokdae lost his authority to a new teacher, but Lee Hyeokmin had the full protection of the school.
Still, we had to find a way to topple his little kingdom.
Once the kids broke free from his terror, they'd start talking one by one.
The question was how...
"This is a real headache."
I muttered, staring out the window.
"Ah, why are you guys so late? No answer on the phone either. Lawyer, you treat your phone like an accessory, but shouldn't you pick up, Kang?"
When we pulled up to the office, we spotted Jang Taesik and Daechul squatting by the door.
Kang quickly unlocked the door, and Taesik grumbled as he flopped onto the sofa.
"What's up?"
"Why would I come if it wasn't important? Mid-mission report."
Taesik pulled a file from the bag tucked under his arm and slapped it down.
"That guy you told me to check out. Kim Hakseong. The tutor."
I picked up the file at his words.
The first page had everything: birthdate, address, phone number, family details.
"Married five years, one kid. But he's cheating right now? Total psycho. Always hits the sauna for a bath before heading home."
Taesik snickered.
The file even had photos of him kissing his mistress in his car.
Kang let out a hollow laugh as he looked them over. "Your background checks are no joke."
"Ain't cheating husbands our specialty? Specialty."
"Anything besides this useless crap?"
"Useless? Daechul here suffered for these shots!"
Taesik pulled Daechul into a hug and ruffled his hair, complaining.
"Flip to the next page. I dug into his tutoring gigs, just like with Lee Hyeokmin."
According to the report, Kim Hakseong was a star instructor at Sangjin Academy, a big name in online lectures too. He held a hefty stake in the academy's corporation.
As I flipped through, I found charts tracking the grades of his past tutees toward the back.
"That came from a broker, so it cost a fortune. We shelled out big, so treat it right, Lawyer."
Taesik grinned.
This guy had brokers in every field—with just a name and birthday, he could track down phone numbers and addresses. Off-target sometimes, but the skills were legit.
"All Jangmyeong High students."
Kang Minjae noted as he scanned the chart.
The list had fourteen kids, initials only for last names, but every single one from Jangmyeong High.
"Seems he only tutors rich kids at night, three or four at a time."
"Same MO as Lee Hyeokmin."
Next to each name were midterm and final exam scores per semester. All showed massive jumps.
"Their school grades skyrocketed."
Every chart showed huge gains. Kids who were already good became perfect scorers after him; the strugglers rocketed to the top ranks.
"Star tutor's got the goods. Insane."
Kang Minjae marveled. "I did pricey tutoring myself, but nothing like this. Whoa, this kid went from 50th to 1st after starting with Kim Hakseong. And this one—from 80th in first semester freshman year to 1st in the second."
"High-end tutoring pays off. Man, if my folks had been loaded when I was a kid, I'd have snagged a tutor like this and aced everything. Wouldn't be scraping by like this. Life's so unfair! Why'd my broke-ass family drag me into this dark path..."
Taesik thrashed dramatically, playing the victim.
Kang patted his shoulder sympathetically and turned to me. "Lawyer."
"Yeah."
"Did you ever get pricey tutoring as a student?"
"No."
Kang Minjae pointed at me triumphantly. "No excuses about being poor, man. He didn't even tutor and got into Seoul National Law."
"..."
Taesik glared at Kang Minjae without a word.
While they bantered, I pored over the charts, chasing that nagging sense of wrongness.
"Something's off."
"What?"
"Not just one or two things. Schools everywhere around here, but only Jangmyeong kids? Weird."
I traced the grade spikes with my pen tip.
The charts included school rankings too. Boosting just math scores shouldn't vault rankings this high.
Top students excel across subjects. Even weak spots are solid by normal standards. Rankings hinge on one or two points—conquering math alone doesn't explain jumps like this.
And the annual #1s? Perfect scores across the board.
"Does Kim Hakseong tutor anything besides math?"
Taesik shook his head. "Just math."
"When did Lee Hyeokmin start with him?"
"Freshman year, looks like."
I sank deeper into the sofa, groaning.
Lee Hyeokmin never missed #1, despite barely studying. Started with Kim Hakseong freshman year and dominated every exam.
And per the charts, one kid per year hits #1 after Kim.
Sure, grades can surge. Bottom-feeders turning top dog make headlines sometimes.
But in this area? Different story.
This was Korea's tutoring mecca—feverish study culture, stellar academics even in leveled high schools. Schools here rival special-purpose highs, cranking out ten-plus Seoul National admits yearly. Top kids grind sleeplessly.
50th here? SKY material nationwide. National rankings put mid-pack locals in elite territory.
News specials rave about it.
Yet Lee Hyeokmin beats kids, pulls stunts, wastes time—and still claims #1.
His edge? Weekly two-hour math sessions with Kim Hakseong, the guy minting Jangmyeong's annual top dogs.
Sure, maybe he studies like a maniac in secret.
But he's not alone. Other Jangmyeong elites get pinpoint tutors from legend teachers, cram elite academies.
"It's ridiculous that Kim Hakseong produces every single Jangmyeong #1."
Kang Minjae nodded slowly.
"Sangjin was around in my day, but not a big deal. Around here, fame means pulling top kids from every school."
"Exactly. A tutor this good at catapulting to #1 wouldn't limit to one school. He'd be flooded with offers."
"Right. Elite moms network—cross-school means no competition, so they refer tutors. For results like this, rich parents would kill for Kim Hakseong."
Kang Minjae's input solidified my thinking.
I set the file down and pieced it together.
Of course, we'd need mock exam scores from those kids and Lee Hyeokmin for proof.
But all signs pointed one way.
"This smells like exam leaks."