"......"
Let start by explaining the current situation.
"What the…?"
...There’s nothing to say. Really, what the…
"Ha-Eun, you’re here?"
Ha-Soo-Yul stood up from her seat and approached .
Normally, we’d have co to school together. But today was my regular check-up day, so I ca separately.
"How’s your body feeling?"
"Sa as usual. But more importantly, what’s with the mood in here?"
It’s lunchti. Usually, kids would be running around and playing.
But why is the atmosphere so gloomy? Did soone die or sothing?
Even the lively kids are quietly sitting at their desks.
‘What’s going on? Am I seeing things?’
"There was an incident this morning. Everyone got scolded, so… don’t even ask."
Choi Ye-Seo scrunched her face in frustration as she muttered.
"The horoom teacher and the vice principal both ca in this morning."
It must’ve happened during the morning assembly.
"And before you arrived, the teacher ca in and gave us all a lecture."
So that’s why everyone looks like they’re ready to cry. What did they even say?
"So, what happened?"
I asked for an explanation.
Choi Ye-Seo looked like she didn’t know how to put it into words.
Ha-Soo-Yul, who had been listening silently, stepped in to explain.
"School violence."
"Oh."
Was it about what happened yesterday? But was that really sothing serious?
Didn’t they make that up as a bluff?
"Wait, do you know sothing?"
Choi Ye-Seo looked at with curious eyes.
I deliberately shook my head and brushed it off.
"Not really. I haven’t heard much about it."
"Ugh. That’s disappointing."
What’s disappointing about that?
"But is it just our class that’s like this?"
Is it the sa in the other classes? It was quiet when I ca in, though.
"It’s not just our class. All the grades got scolded."
...Was the school violence really that serious?
As I tried to piece things together, I accidentally locked eyes with soone in the corner of the classroom.
"...?"
The kid I saw yesterday. The one with the chubby face in the teacher’s office.
As soon as he noticed , he quickly turned his head away. Hold on.
‘What’s up with his face?’
Yesterday, at worst, he looked a little swollen.
Now his face was covered in bruises and cuts. What the hell happened?
He looked completely fine just yesterday.
Following my gaze, both Ha-Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo turned to look.
Then they nodded and led to my seat.
Once I sat down, Ha-Soo-Yul leaned in close and began explaining in a low voice.
"That kid’s na is Kim Byung-Jun. He got beaten up on his way to school today."
Byung-Jun? That’s his na?
Half the sester had already passed, and I hadn’t bothered to learn anyone’s nas.
Why would I? I only knew the nas of kids the teachers frequently called on.
Kids like , who stayed in the back corners of the classroom, didn’t often get ntioned.
And Byung-Jun’s seat was right by the back door, near the cleaning supplies closet.
‘Oh no, I’m tearing up for no reason.’
But seriously, who gets beaten up on their way to school?
"You know there’s a middle school right next to ours, right?"
"Yeah. So?"
Choi Ye-Seo made a gloomy face.
"Apparently, Kim Byung-Jun has a habit of lying a lot."
"...And?"
"He lied to so middle schoolers, and unfortunately, they caught him."
What on earth were you doing, Kim Byung-Jun?
Neither of them knew the full details. Only Byung-Jun, the middle schoolers, and maybe so teachers knew what had happened.
"I can’t believe this is happening right before the end of the sester."
"Seriously…"
Ha-Soo-Yul didn’t seem particularly affected, but Choi Ye-Seo looked completely deflated.
"Why do you look so down?"
"Because of this, the end-of-term ceremony got postponed to next week."
Yeah, that’s a reason to be upset.
They probably had to delay it to hold a disciplinary committee or sothing. It’s only postponed by a few days, from Friday to Monday.
What’s the big deal? Just co to school one more day.
As we continued chatting, lunchti passed.
"Ha-Eun, you’re back? Feeling alright?"
"Yes, no issues."
That was a lie.
"Good. But if you start feeling unwell, make sure to visit the nurse."
The horoom teacher gave a concerned look as the bell for the fifth period rang.
Since exams were over, it was probably going to be a movie period.
According to Ha-Soo-Yul, they had been watching a movie just before lunch.
By then, the tension from the morning had eased, and the kids were enjoying themselves.
But then the vice principal ca back after the movie ended.
Once again, we were subjected to one of his ‘motivational speeches.’ Or was it scolding? I wasn’t there, so I couldn’t say.
Sothing must’ve happened with the middle school next door. How would I know?
Anyway, the kid who got beaten up was from our school. No matter how much he lied, hitting a 10-year-old like that?
Kids protected under juvenile law are terrifying. Ugh.
As expected, the teacher started the movie again, and the kids either watched or chatted.
At this age, kids can bounce back pretty quickly once the tension eases.
Not that everyone does, but most of them do.
We didn’t have much to do either, so we just watched the movie.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the classroom door, and an elderly man entered.
He whispered sothing to the teacher and then called for Kim Byung-Jun.
"Huh, what’s going on now?"
We watched him leave with the two n, but it wasn’t any of our business.
After a brief mont of silence, the classroom was lively again.
I was starting to get into the movie when—
"Ha-Eun, can I see you for a mont?"
The teacher returned and called out.
"...One strange thing after another."
Both Ha-Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo gave puzzled looks.
They stayed silent for a mont, then spoke.
"Go on."
"I’ll fill you in on the movie later."
That’s a spoiler, you idiot. I couldn’t help but laugh.
I waved my hand casually and left the classroom.
The horoom teacher gave an awkward smile and said,
"Um, Ha-Eun, you’re not being called out to get scolded, okay?"
"If I didn’t do anything wrong, then I wouldn’t be, right?"
"Exactly~."
To reassure , the teacher ruffled my hair gently.
"You just need to go, listen, and figure things out."
It sounded like Kim Byung-Jun and so middle schoolers would be there.
But why would they need ? My question was answered as the teacher continued.
"...Byung-Jun dragged your na into this."
It wasn’t a literal "dragged" situation.
In other words, he’d ntioned sohow. But had I even had any interaction with him?
‘Wasn’t yesterday the first ti I ever talked to him?’
Well, I’d figure it out once I got there.
The teacher took to a place I had never been before: the principal’s office.
She knocked twice before opening the door, and inside were several people.
There was the old lady I’d seen yesterday, Kim Byung-Jun, a man who looked like his father, the principal, and the vice principal.
There were also important teachers from each school, middle school students, and their parents.
The first sound I heard was Kim Byung-Jun’s mother. Just like yesterday, she was absolutely furious, yelling at the top of her lungs.
The only difference was that her face was now so red it looked like it might burst.
Surprisingly, the man who seed to be Byung-Jun’s father sat silently.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward as I entered.
Wow, this is kind of scary.
So… are they just going to make stand here?
Luckily, the principal approached and spoke to at just the right mont.
"Are you Ha-Eun?"
"Yes, I’m Ha-Eun."
The dignified principal continued.
"You’re not here to be scolded. We just want to confirm so facts, that’s all."
"Sure… I’ll answer anything I know."
"Thank you."
The principal began asking questions, one by one.
None of the questions were particularly noteworthy.
‘How am I supposed to answer when I don’t know anything about this?’
Most of my responses ended up being, "No," or "I don’t know."
As I was answering, though—
"Stop lying! You’re the one who did it!"
Kim Byung-Jun suddenly shouted. What did I supposedly do now?
I asked with genuine confusion.
"What are you talking about? When did I—"
"It was you! Last week, you told —"
"Speak clearly, my friend. This is the first ti we’ve ever spoken."
"That’s bullshit! You—you told last week to bring a phone!"
…Last week?
"When last week?"
"On… Wednesday—no, Thursday evening!"
What a sha. If you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing.
"I was at my little sister’s daycare performance that evening."
"L-lies—"
"Byung-Jun, that’s enough."
The man behind him—his father—stepped in and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"This has nothing to do with this student. Byung-Jun kept bringing him up, and I’m truly sorry for that."
The man bowed his head apologetically toward .
"It’s fine," I said, raising both hands to stop him. "I’ve got nothing to hide."
I helped him back up. Despite having a wife and son like that, he seed like a decent person.
Byung-Jun probably thought I was an easy target to pin this on.
After all, I’m weak, quiet, and always sitting in a corner.
The perfect prey, at least on the surface.
But what can I say? There’s a 20-sothing-year-old man living in my head.
No matter how elaborate a 10-year-old’s sches are, they don’t scare .
If you’re going to lie, at least think about the consequences.
"Ha-Eun has nothing to do with this," the teacher confird. "We already figured everything out this morning."
So why drag into this? Why even entertain Byung-Jun’s baseless claims?
"I thought if Ha-Eun clarified everything, it might finally get through to him," the horoom teacher sighed.
"Instead of stopping, he’s…"
She didn’t finish her sentence, but I could tell it wasn’t a good sign.
"I’m sorry, Ha-Eun. I didn’t an to put you through all this. But he kept demanding to see you…"
"It’s fine. Can I head back to class now?"
"Of course. I’ll walk you back."
Since Byung-Jun is in my class, he’ll have to co back down anyway.
Even so, my teacher took on the extra trouble of escorting .
Getting dragged into sothing I had no part in.
You don’t experience this every day~.
"Huh?"
As we walked back, the teacher suddenly checked her phone.
"…Ha-Eun. This might be getting bigger than we thought."
"What do you an by that?"
"Here, look at this."
She handed her phone.
[Mom: Your dad says he’s taking a half-day off to co. He wants to hear what’s going on himself.]
[Mom: It’ll take about 30 minutes for him to get there. See you soon.]
The tone was so formal. Since when was Mom this cold?
Scrolling up, I saw the previous texts. It seed the teacher had already inford her about yesterday and today.
"Um… this feels like trouble."
"Watch your language, Ha-Eun. But yeah… you’re right."
We exchanged a look and sighed in unison. Why couldn’t things just go smoothly?
The teacher finished texting my mom back.
"I guess we’ll have to go back down, huh?"
"Yeah… I guess so."
She escorted back downstairs.
As soon as we re-entered the principal’s office, all eyes turned to again.
The principal and vice principal gave the teacher puzzled looks, and she quickly explained the situation.
After hearing her explanation, both of them smacked their foreheads in frustration.
"Of course, we needed to inform Ha-Eun’s parents as well."
The principal’s face darkened as he spoke.
When I thought about it, was this really sothing worth notifying my parents about?
"Regardless, Ha-Eun is also a victim here."
…? A victim?
‘Well, in so ways, I guess I am.’
Lost ti. What a waste. Ah, and now Choi Ye-Seo’s probably spoiling the movie.
"I’m fine, really," I said.
But my words didn’t seem to make much of an impression.
Once the adults got involved, there was no room for to interject.
‘…Dad’s probably going to be pissed about this.’
I slumped into a corner of the noisy principal’s office.
No point in saying anything further.
Once Mom and Dad arrived, they’d talk it out, and that would be that.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Turns out, I was wrong. Very wrong.
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