* * *
A group assault incident occurred at school.
This issue became a significant matter within Hope High School because the same victim had nearly died and miraculously survived just over a month ago.
Bang!
“This can’t be overlooked. What kind of reputation will this school have?”
Na Intae, the principal of Hope High School, couldn’t tolerate such events happening, especially since Yoo Jihak returned to school.
“Principal, but…”
Na Intae shouted at Jang Hoyeon, the homeroom teacher, who was trying to smooth things over.
“But what? There’s a witness who saw everything!”
This time, the school’s security guard witnessed the incident directly from the CCTV and intervened.
The school had been ignoring the bullying of Jihak, labeling him as the son of a murderer.
However, since Jihak was determined not to let it go this time, the situation was escalating and needed to be resolved quickly.
“Contact the parents of the ringleaders immediately. We must reach a settlement.”
Na Intae tried to inform the parents of Kim Jihyun, Kang Hyunmin, and Park Doogi, urging a settlement with Jihak.
While this was happening, Jihak headed to the computer room with the security guard.
“Is this the computer room?”
“Yes. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
The security guard, who had witnessed the group assault, asked Jihak, who had been beaten severely, with concern.
“It’s fine. Compared to usual, this is nothing.”
“Okay… Just sit here. I’ll bring you a copy of the CCTV footage.”
With age comes wisdom.
The security guard felt sorry for Jihak, who was being bullied, and offered to copy the CCTV footage for him.
“Evidence is crucial these days. With this, they won’t mess with you easily.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Jihak had planned to get the CCTV footage himself, but with the security guard’s help, things were going smoothly.
‘They won’t be able to delete the footage later and mess around.’
Having concrete evidence meant that Jihyun and the others wouldn’t be able to deny anything later.
“Here. The copy.”
“Thank you.”
“Hope this gets resolved well. You’ve been hurt badly before too.”
The security guard genuinely seemed to feel sorry for Jihak.
“But… don’t you dislike me, sir?”
“Dislike? Why?”
“You know about my father.”
At school, even the teachers avoided Jihak, trying to stay away from him as much as possible.
But the security guard seemed to genuinely care for him.
“That’s not your fault.”
Just because his father had committed a crime didn’t mean Jihak should be blamed too.
‘Hmm… There are good people after all.’
Jihak, who was used to being bullied or ignored, felt a bit better knowing there were decent adults out there.
“Anyway. Make sure to visit the hospital. You don’t want to suffer from health issues later.”
“Yes. Thank you for your care.”
Jihak left the computer room, carefully keeping the USB with the CCTV footage in his pocket.
‘Now that I have this weapon, it’s time to strike back.’
Securing the CCTV footage was easier than he expected, and it felt like having a strong weapon in hand.
While Jihak secured his weapon, the parents of Jihyun and the other kids arrived at the school and headed to the principal’s office in a hurry.
Upon reaching the principal’s office, they questioned Na Intae aggressively.
“What is going on? Who did our child hit?”
“Kids fight and grow up. Why call us for this?”
They defended their children, insisting they wouldn’t do such things, but Na Intae had a point.
“There is a witness. This cannot be overlooked.”
“Where is our child? Let me ask him myself.”
Kim Youngsik, Jihyun’s father, refused to believe anyone else’s words and was looking for Jihyun before the victim, Jihak.
“Jihyun is in the staff room…”
“Bring him here. Or should I go?”
The parents of the kids involved were being unreasonable, and Na Intae was sweating and glancing at the homeroom teacher in confusion.
“Let’s talk to the victim first. What are you doing, Teacher Jang Hoyeon? Bring Jihak quickly.”
Following Na Intae’s order, the homeroom teacher hurriedly looked for Jihak, sweating and rushing through the school.
Finally spotting Jihak coming out of the computer room, the teacher quickly approached him.
“Jihak! Come with me.”
The homeroom teacher, Jang Hoyeon, took Jihak straight to the principal’s office.
“Here he is. This is Yoo Jihak.”
Seeing Jihak in the principal’s office, Na Intae covered his face with his hands.
‘He’s a mess. Bruises and scratches everywhere, and his uniform…’
In reality, Jihak wasn’t hit at all.
He had manipulated the CCTV to make it look like he was beaten, and when he deactivated his shadow curtain, his appearance changed to match the dummy that was beaten.
Kim Youngsik, seeing Jihak’s battered appearance, frowned.
“Hello. I am Yoo Jihak.”
Jihak greeted politely upon entering the principal’s office.
Acting aggressively wouldn’t help him.
“Was it you? Framing my son for nothing!?”
Despite Jihak’s disheveled state, Kim Youngsik didn’t believe it and only thought Jihak was causing unnecessary trouble.
The homeroom teacher intervened to calm the situation.
“Let’s all sit down and talk.”
“Sit? Because of this kid, we had to come here, wasting our precious time?”
“Mr. Jihyun’s father, please don’t be so harsh…”
The homeroom teacher seemed uncomfortable, clearly ignoring Jihak’s behavior.
‘Look at this guy, does he think he’s something because he has money?’
He was wearing an expensive-looking suit and shoes.
It seemed that earning some money had made him develop a habit of looking down on people.
‘I need to teach him some manners.’
Jihak didn’t like Youngsik’s attitude.
Jihak cautiously approached and said, “Here. The CCTV footage is on this USB. If you check this…”
Suddenly, Kim Youngsik slapped Jihak.
“You little punk! Who do you think you are, involving my son in such trivial matters and wasting his study time?”
Jihak rubbed his left cheek, where he was slapped, watching Kim Youngsik, who was now angrily blaming him.
‘If it were up to me…!’
Normally, Jihak wouldn’t have stood still, but he couldn’t cause a scene here.
He had something else he wanted.
“Sir! What kind of behavior is this!? Check the footage on the USB before you get angry!”
“…….”
Principal Na Intae scolded Kim Youngsik for suddenly hitting Jihak.
“Hmm… fine. Let’s check it. But if this turns out to be nothing, I won’t let it slide. I’ll consider suing both this student and the school for damages.”
Jihak quietly handed the USB to Na Intae, who immediately played the footage.
“Ugh…”
“Hmm…”
“Hoo…”
Sighs mixed with regret were heard as the footage played.
Although there was no audio, the video clearly showed Jihyun, Hyunmin, and Doogi knocking Jihak down and stomping on him.
‘Too bad there’s no sound. I yelled and everything. Should I carry a recorder next time?’
Jihak was a bit disappointed that the video lacked audio, but it was still solid evidence, so he turned off the video and looked back at the parents of the troublemakers.
“As you saw in the footage, Jihyun, Hyunmin, and Doogi attacked me as soon as I returned to school.”
At Jihak’s calm words, Kim Youngsik, who had been shouting moments ago, went silent.
“Well… kids do fight sometimes.”
“Indeed, this isn’t such a big deal…”
Hyunmin and Doogi’s parents tried to downplay the situation, framing it as kids roughhousing.
But the evidence was too clear to let it end like that.
This is why evidence is important.
“Would the media see it that way?”
“You little… what did you say?”
Kim Youngsik, startled by Jihak’s words, turned to look at him.
“It seems the people here think this is just kids fighting. I wonder if others would see it the same way.”
“…….”
The parents all had the same thought.
This had to be avoided.
The media would love this story.
If the scene of the murderer’s son being beaten by a group got exposed, it would reignite the quieted incident, and their sons’ actions would be broadcast nationwide.
“I heard that media outlets pay for such stories…”
Kim Youngsik, quick to grasp the situation and understand what the other party wanted, asked Jihak.
“Let’s settle this.”
“Yes, I don’t want my friends to get into trouble over this. Plus, I don’t want the school to become noisy either.”
Unlike the disgruntled parents, the principal and homeroom teacher seemed relieved.
If another incident occurred, the education office wouldn’t stay silent.
Jihak, satisfied with the outcome, thought to himself with a smile.
‘As expected of a businessman, he’s quick on the uptake.’
Jihak planned to extract as much money as possible from this opportunity.
His mother had to withdraw the cafe’s deposit to cover his hospital bills.
All because of the children of the people gathered here, causing both Jihak and his mother to suffer, so he intended to get proper compensation.
“How much do you want?”
“Well, I’m still young, so I don’t know how much to ask for.”
Jihak indirectly told them to name their price.
Since they weren’t short on money, Kim Youngsik knew he had to offer a sum that would appease the other party and resolve the matter.
“Five million won.”
For a student, five million won was a significant amount.
But Jihak wasn’t satisfied at all.
“Hmm…”
Kim Youngsik, thinking that amount would suffice, offered a higher amount when he saw Jihak’s lack of response.
“Ten million won.”
Hearing the doubled settlement amount, Jihak finally nodded.
“Alright. Then, how much will the other two offer?”
However, there was a problem.
The settlement amount offered by Kim Youngsik was only for his son, Kim Jihyun.
Seeing Jihak’s cunning smile, they gritted their teeth but had no choice.
They had to give in to his demands.
* * *
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