* * *
When it was decided to settle the matter, Jihak wrote a statement agreeing not to pursue the issue further.
The parents of the other children then agreed to transfer 10 million won to Jihak, intending to conclude the exchange…
“I will never tell anyone about what happened with my friends today.”
“Good. The settlement money will be transferred soon.”
“Shall we discuss this now?”
“…?”
Jihak pointed to his left cheek with his finger.
It was the same cheek that had been struck by Kim Youngsik earlier.
“….”
Kim Youngsik, unable to make any excuses since everyone had seen what he did, just stood there, face reddening.
“What I agreed to was related to the matter with my friends. This is separate, isn’t it?”
“Sigh… Fine. We’ll settle this for another 10 million won.”
“Thank you.”
Jihak responded with a sly smile.
Thus, Kim Youngsik ended up writing another agreement, paying a total of 20 million won for both incidents, and the matter was settled.
‘Oh right, these people… they have an office in the building where my father used to work, don’t they? I wonder if they know anything about my father?’
Although he had succeeded in extracting money, Jihak still wanted to investigate what had happened to his father in that building.
He thought the quickest way to do that would be to ask those who had worked in the building at that time.
‘They won’t answer just by asking… I’ll have to use a different method, even if it’s a bit troublesome.’
There were many ways to extract information from people.
If it were up to Jihak, he would prefer to capture and torture them, but he decided to use another method since that wasn’t possible here.
As the parents of the other children left the principal’s office with their respective agreements and headed to their cars, Jihak decided it was best to seize the opportunity now rather than tracking them down later.
‘It’s better to get the information now while I have the chance.’
Jihak hurried to where Kim Youngsik’s car was parked.
‘Nice car. And yet he made such a fuss over 20 million won? I should have extracted more…’
Seeing Kim Youngsik in a luxury German car, Jihak regretted not squeezing out more money.
‘Well, I can always get money another way. Now then…’
Jihak approached Kim Youngsik stealthily to confront him privately.
“Damn it! This brat… I’ll deal with him when I get home…”
Kim Youngsik was muttering angrily, unable to tolerate the humiliation he had endured because of his son.
As he unlocked his car and was about to get in, Jihak appeared from behind and swiftly dragged him into a secluded space.
“Shadow Curtain.”
At the same time, he left a dummy that looked exactly like Kim Youngsik in the driver’s seat to avoid drawing attention.
“Argh! What… what is this place!?”
Kim Youngsik found himself in a dark space and collapsed in shock.
“Don’t be alarmed. I just have a few questions.”
“You… you are!?”
Kim Youngsik’s eyes widened in shock as he recognized Jihak.
Jihak then hypnotized him by looking into his eyes.
“If you answer my questions, you can return safely. Understood?”
Under Jihak’s hypnosis, Kim Youngsik nodded slowly, his eyes glazed over.
“Good. My father was the building manager where you have your office, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Under Jihak’s control, Kim Youngsik answered obediently.
“Did you know my father?”
“I occasionally saw him.”
“What was his reputation in the building?”
“He was known for being diligent and responsible.”
Jihak was pleased to hear that his father was well-regarded.
His father had always been conscientious, diligently inspecting the building to prevent any issues and promptly addressing any problems.
“So, how did my father end up being framed for murder?”
“A weapon was found in his office.”
“A weapon?”
“Yes.”
Jihak learned that the reason his father was framed was because a murder weapon was found in his office.
“His office? He wasn’t the only one using it. Was there any other reason to suspect him specifically?”
“…”
Kim Youngsik didn’t respond, indicating he didn’t know the details.
“Why weren’t others suspected?”
“…”
Again, no answer from Kim Youngsik.
Jihak sighed softly.
“Sigh… Then how did the news of my father being the culprit spread so quickly?”
The news of the murder and his father being the suspect had spread unusually fast.
The police had barely started their investigation when they arrested his father, and the investigation was hardly underway before everyone knew his father was the alleged killer.
“There were rumors in the building…”
Logically, it seemed that once the police began their investigation, rumors spread, and these rumors quickly became accepted as fact.
‘But it was too fast. If I remember correctly, it only took a couple of days.’
It seemed as if everyone moved in perfect sync, like pieces of a prearranged plan.
Despite more questions, Jihak didn’t get the answers he wanted.
‘Is this all? There doesn’t seem to be any useful information.’
Without direct involvement from the investigating officers, it was hard to get detailed information.
“Then how was my father treated afterward? Did others who worked with him believe the story?”
“I didn’t believe it… but they kept their mouths shut by splitting his unpaid retirement money among themselves.”
“What!? Those fucking bastards…”
It was impossible to manage the building alone.
Moreover, since his father was affiliated with a specialized company that managed the building as a whole, the company had to deal with the aftermath of the accident separately.
However, after his father’s incident and then Jihak’s major accident at school, which left him in a vegetative state, it seemed the company slyly pocketed the retirement money they were supposed to pay out.
His mother, overwhelmed by the accident involving her son, hoped it would just pass, and a few people swallowed up his father’s retirement money.
“Alright. When you get back to the company, contact the building management company and make sure my father’s retirement money is processed. And include the settlement money you owe me in the amount sent to my mother’s account.”
“Understood.”
“Forget everything except what I instructed.”
Through hypnosis, Jihak controlled Kim Youngsik’s actions, then immediately released the Shadow Curtain and placed him in the driver’s seat.
“Oh, one last thing…”
Smack!
Jihak struck the back of Kim Youngsik’s head hard and disappeared into the shadows.
“Huh? What was I about to do?”
Kim Youngsik, released from hypnosis, couldn’t remember what had happened.
“Ugh… my head.”
The throbbing pain at the back of his head made him grimace, but something more important was etched in his mind.
“Yoo Jintae’s retirement money.”
Ensuring Yoo Jintae’s retirement money was paid out.
Kim Youngsik, forgetting the pain, drove to his office, and Jihak, watching from afar, sighed with a bitter expression.
“Seriously… even the lowest demons should be sent here for training. There are worse humans than those in hell. How dare they try to steal my father’s retirement money?”
Jihak, who had used hypnosis to get more information, was relieved yet furious to learn about his father’s retirement money.
“I wish I could just use hypnosis to punish them all…”
But he couldn’t do that.
If Jihak used hypnosis, he could manipulate Jihyun or other kids, or achieve better results in negotiations.
However, using it every time was risky.
Regardless, if he used hypnosis, the people around might find it suspicious, even if he could control the subject.
Sudden changes in behavior or large sums of money given to Jihak could draw unwanted attention to him.
Therefore, Jihak preferred to control situations rather than relying on hypnosis.
“Anyway, the money should come in soon. I hope we can reopen Mom’s café with it…”
The café had to close because of his medical expenses.
Jihak wanted his mother to run the café again so she could enjoy life once more.
Having resolved the situation, Jihak needed to return to the classroom.
“Let’s head back to class. I’ve taken care of the basics.”
Feeling unexpectedly pleased with the legal extortion, Jihak was in a good mood.
He hadn’t expected such luck on his first day back at school.
As Jihak headed back to class, he found his desk and chair already set up, as if someone had anticipated the incident.
But three other seats were empty—those of the kids who had picked a fight with him.
“They’re probably writing apology letters.”
As Jihak thought, they were busy writing apology letters in the teacher’s office.
When Jihak sat down, the other students, curious about what had happened, glanced at him.
“They look like they’re dying to know what happened.”
They wanted to ask but couldn’t.
They had kept their distance from Jihak from the start.
It wouldn’t be easy for them to approach him now.
Class ended, and it was break time.
“Hah…”
Jihak had promised himself countless times that he would study harder than anyone if he could just go back to school.
But reality was different.
Struggling to keep his head up, Jihak closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, class was over.
“Damn it… this life is screwed too.”
* * *
Interesting
Ty
Thank you
Thanks
slay
Thanks
nice
Thanks