* * *

Just then, the door to the principal’s office flew open, and a group of people entered, decked out in luxury brands and jewelry.

“What is this nonsense about Hyuntae being a bully? What on earth is going on here?”

The middle-aged woman at the front crossed her arms confidently as she strode into the office.

“Is there any proof my son hit or bullied his classmate?”

“Are you the one responsible for that scumbag, Park Hyuntae?”

As if expecting this, Jungseo stood up, advancing toward the woman he assumed was Hyuntae’s mother.

Even she took a step back, seemingly startled, before sneering and pointing at him.

“Who do you think you are to call my precious son such names? Do you even know who I am?”

“And who exactly are you?”

“Oh, I see; you must be the older brother standing in for the parents. So, the brothers are here instead?”

Hyuntae Park wondered if his stupidity was inherited, suspecting it came from his mother.

Could he not see the lawyers standing behind the eldest brother?

If it were him, he’d be terrified.

Jungjin calmly stood, approached Hyuntae’s mother, and took out a business card from his inner pocket, offering it to her.

“I’m Lee Jungjin, the older brother.”

“To make such a fuss over a mere kids’ fight suggests you’ve prepared for any outcome—”

With a slight scoff, the woman’s gaze twisted as she looked at the card, processing his words.

“… Hyun Group? Then the boy Hyuntae bullied must be…”

“He’s my youngest brother. By the way, did you bring any lawyers? Oh, the others may want to prepare as well.”

Scanning the people lined up by the entrance, the eldest brother continued in a calm voice.

“As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t intend to let this go lightly, so it’s best if you prepare thoroughly.”

“Chairman.”

Adding strength to his brother’s words, he flinched, took a long breath, and addressed the chaiman.

“Handle it according to school regulations. Don’t force a settlement if the victim’s side doesn’t want it.”

“But Executive Lee, the families of the other five students…”

“What does family background have to do with law and justice?”

In response to Beomhyun’s warning, the Chairman, now projecting an air of fairness, rose from his seat and spoke to the other teachers.

“No one involved in this matter will be let off the hook. If you can’t handle it properly, be ready to submit your resignations!”

At this, the other parents, excluding Hyuntae’s mother, finally began to speak up, realizing the gravity of the situation.

“Well, it’s just a kids’ fight; do adults need to get involved…”

“True, our child did something wrong, but he’s not inherently bad.”

“It might seem odd for adults to interfere in children’s matters, but dealing with such absurdity is my specialty, especially when it involves my beloved younger sibling. How could I do less?”

Though Jungjin maintained a composed demeanor, it became clear to Jungjin just how furious he was.

There was no chance he’d overlook anyone who hurt his younger brother.

As discussions continued in the principal’s office, a nervous Hyuntae received a call while pacing anxiously outside.

Seeing his father’s name on the screen, he quickly answered with a smile.

“Dad, could you help—”

“Are you insane? What do you think you’ve been doing at school? What did you do to make Hyun Group cut off all support for us?”

“What? What are you talking about…?”

Hyuntae’s legs wobbled as his father’s words struck him.

He barely managed to steady himself against the wall, hands trembling as his father’s voice continued.

“Do you realize how badly we’ll be hit if we lose semiconductor supplies from Hyun Group?”

Even Hyuntae, who’d never cared about the family business, knew that Hyun Group was essential to numerous tech firms both domestically and internationally.

“Do you have any idea how much it will hurt us without Hyun Group? We can’t rely on lower-quality parts from China, and importing from Taiwan or Japan would multiply costs. What do you plan to do now?”

They’re making such a big deal over one illegitimate kid?

He clearly saw it himself—at that charity party in Shanghai, how Chairwoman Jang of Hyun Group had slapped him, with Chairman Lee standing there doing nothing.

He’d seen Jungjin alone at gatherings, often berated by Hyun Group members, leading him to believe he was an unwanted outcast, someone he could torment freely.

Despite being born into wealth and privilege, Hyuntae always fell one step short.

Even though he emerged as an Alpha, he was recessive, not dominant. He studied relentlessly but only reached the second rank, and the elite heirs seemed to tower over him from the top of a pyramid.

Jungjin became a way to fill that void.

He started by spilling juice on him, then tripping him, even pushing him down the stairs.

Each time, Jungjin’s parents scolded him, and he silently endured their strikes.

But now, after ignoring it for years, why was everything suddenly blowing up?

And that kid stayed quiet the entire time!

He clearly recognized him at school yet pretended not to.

“Park Hyuntae! Are you ignoring me, you miserable brat?”

His father’s furious voice brought him back, making him feel a chill down his spine.

His mother’s confident voice inside the office was growing weaker.

With his father’s words and the strange vibe in the office, Hyuntae began to realize something was terribly wrong.

“D-dad!”

“I don’t care if you beg or grovel; go apologize to that boy. Or I’ll disown you!”

As the call abruptly ended, Hyuntae clutched his phone, his face turning pale.

Around him, other bullies’ phones began buzzing one by one.

“What did you do at school?”

“Are you trying to ruin our business? We’ve received notice that both Hyun Group and Yeonhwa Group are halting joint projects!”

“Forget school, get home right now! How could your mother even show her face there?”

They, too, received similar phone calls.

With Hyun Group and Yeonhwa Group exerting business pressure on their families, trouble began to mount, and all blame fell on the ringleader, Hyuntae.

“Hey, Park Hyuntae, how are you going to fix this? You said it was no big deal, that his parents abused him, so it was fine! You said you saw it yourself!”

“Damn it, I did! I saw it with my own eyes!”

“And this is the result? If our company shuts down, what are you going to do about it?”

Surrounded by former friends now berating him, Hyuntae clutched his head in confusion, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Park Hyuntae.”

His usually loyal friend Taejun grabbed his collar, his expression hardened.

“If this mess doesn’t get fixed, I won’t let you off.”

“T-Taejun…”

“I’ll kill you if it comes to that.”

A commotion erupted outside the principal’s office as Taejun grabbed Hyuntae by the collar.

Just then, the office door opened.

“What are you waiting for? Follow me immediately!”

With a flushed face, the middle-aged woman was about to pull on Hyuntae’s arm when she was stopped by Jungseo.

Suppressing his anger at his older brother’s words to stay out of it for the bigger picture, as soon as he stepped out of the principal’s office, Jungseo caught hold of the mother who was hurrying to leave and spoke up.

“Hey, aren’t you going to apologize to our little one… no, to Jungin?”

Before the meeting had begun in the principal’s office, their eldest brother quickly sent Jungwoo back to the main office.

Thanks to that, Jungseo had already learned that they had decided to cut business ties with the families of the bullies.

The Hyun Group might not be able to avoid some losses, but Jungjin had firmly decided he could handle it on his own terms.

“That lady’s kid can’t just walk away like this.”

“W-what did you say?”

But Jungseo had no intention of letting things end like this.

* * *