In fact, the ‘Disciplinary Committee’ at the school was as terrifying as it sounded, but actually just a big load of nothing. sigh
I mean, come on, it was just a little drama going on within the ‘school.’
Compared to the disciplinary measures that could maybe cost a salary, they were not worth comparing, and certainly not when stacked up against a real trial.
Plus, all the kids at this school were from rich families. Among rich kids, hierarchies were established naturally, and there weren’t many who actively tried to disrupt that order. Why would they? The disadvantages of breaking the hierarchy post-graduation were way worse than the petty punishments for violating school rules.
So, the school’s disciplinary committee was particularly irrelevant.
Some minimal etiquette was maintained between teachers and students. But in essence, the teachers were just bribe collectors and the students were the ones handing out bribes. Even if the actual briber was the student’s wealthy parents, it was the students reaping the benefits.
When it came to ‘hierarchy,’ teachers were lower than students.
Clearly, outside the school, the teachers might have been hailed, but inside, they were treated that way for a reason.
It’s a case of self-inflicted doom, really.
Naturally, the status of the disciplinary committee in this school was rock bottom.
There’s a high chance the teachers would just stop it before it even began, and if it did start, it would probably just dissolve into meaningless chatter.
…That was ‘originally’ how it was.
“Ah~ I can’t handle school anymore~”
Before a delinquent, who had thrown his legs up on the desk and casually draped his arm over the chair’s backrest, made such a statement.
And that delinquent was someone who had dumped hundreds of millions to get into this school and sit next to me.
Seriously, the hierarchy was mostly based on money, but I was a special case. If wealth alone determined the rank, Ye Sara would be the queen bee of that hierarchy.
…Whatever happened, it’s hard to say, but it seems it was the same in the original story. She fell from grace in the end, though.
But how exactly did she fall?
Considering Ye Sara’s personality, it’s hard to believe she would let the school slip out of her grasp without a fight. Still, it’s possible, though it might be difficult. If she tried to commit suicide and failed, that might lead to some breakdown—Or maybe after a failed first attempt, she went for a second round.
But how could Ye Sara have ‘fallen’?
On the surface, she had 200 trillion in assets. Not just that, the dividends she got every year were in the trillion range. Not to mention the untouchable trust assets and her personal accounts bursting with cash that outsiders can’t look at—it’s downright ridiculous. Ye In-soo, the Chairwoman, genuinely loved her daughter and didn’t fully trust Choi Na-kyung.
So, with many safety nets in place, she ensured Ye Sara’s actual wealth surpassed Choi Na-kyung’s.
Thanks to that, if Ye Sara threw a punch, a few small-to-medium businesses could go belly up. Mid-sized companies would have to bow down, and even large corporations would need to tread lightly.
Even while tossing around trillions within the school, fooling the teachers and punishing students, she still had hundreds of trillions left.
Could it be that Ye Sara ‘fell’ because of Chairman’s reckless spending?
No matter how tied her memory is to Choi Na-kyung, right?
…Or maybe it’s a sign of just how far gone she was.
Or perhaps it was all part of Ye Sara’s ‘plan.’
The game unfolds strictly from Yoo Ha-neul’s point of view. Naturally, the player wouldn’t know what was happening behind the scenes.
Maybe there was something in the Ye Sara route after all.
Anyway, back to the current situation.
The disciplinary committee was really nothing to worry about. No matter how rich the school was, there wasn’t a court set up on campus, so they just arranged desks in a vacant classroom to imitate a courtroom.
Honestly, it felt like some kids’ play. But um, let’s just ignore that since things were getting even more ridiculous now.
“All the kids are ignoring me; isn’t this bullying? Seriously, treating a person like they don’t exist is too much, don’t you think?”
Sohee was talking about her situation, but it was also a metaphor for mine. Sohee’s situation was exactly the same as mine.
By the way, the students labeled as ‘perpetrators’ weren’t even allowed to enter the classroom. With over a hundred of them, it wasn’t strange they couldn’t all fit inside.
Honestly, it could have just been held in the auditorium, but the fact that they were doing this shows they wanted to downplay the incident.
Naturally. Aside from appearing on the news, the thing the teachers feared most was Choi Na-kyung right now.
And in the classroom, those sitting in the ‘perpetrator’ seats had their heads bowed and shoulders trembling.
Though I didn’t know the names of all the students, one thing was clear from their attitude.
They weren’t ‘the rich kids’ at school. Those labeled as bullying perpetrators were mostly first-year female students. Naturally, that included those in the top ranks of Korea’s wealthiest and the daughters of small business owners, even the transfer student who got in purely based on grades.
They could easily pull in any number of scapegoats if needed.
As a reference, I wasn’t a perpetrator nor a designated victim, yet here I was.
Honestly, no one could say anything about me being here since I was practically invisible.
They were glancing at me with scared eyes, though.
Yep. These people couldn’t ignore the money they received from Shin So-hee, which ultimately led to the committee being convened.
And the ‘victim,’ Shin So-hee, was currently out there testifying.
But, strictly speaking, what So-hee was saying wasn’t her own voice.
To put it accurately, she was just saying what I wanted to say.
With a tone so bold it was refreshing.
“Uh… Ahem, so…”
Among the teachers gathered in that classroom, the balding one at the center cleared his throat.
The guy I had splashed water on earlier. He seemed to hold a higher status than I thought.
The principal and vice-principal didn’t even show up. Were they not called? Or were they just ignoring all of this?
We’d figure that out later.
“Uh… Shin So-hee? We believe there must have been some misunderstanding…”
Considering this was a so-called disciplinary ‘committee’, it was hard to tell whether the politeness was sincere or simply a wariness of So-hee.
“Misunderstanding?”
Just moments ago, So-hee had been openly using informal speech to the teachers under the pretext of talking to herself, now she was speaking formally. Her tone implied a strong ‘I’m letting this slide this time’ vibe.
…Not being able to act pathetic when crying or getting angry but naturally exhibiting such an attitude? Is that just her true nature?
Well, she wasn’t really a delinquents or someone who extorted money.
“I’ve gone through something. A misunderstanding?”
“That is…”
The teacher sneaked a glance at me.
“Actually, the students really wanted to get along with you, So-hee…”
“…”
So-hee turned her gaze toward the side where the perpetrators were lined up sitting.
There were a few kids from our class in there. Mostly those who sat near me. However, seeing some of those who normally sat close by missing, those kids were probably just unfortunate losers out of the bunch.
Not that I felt too sorry for them. After all, they were participants.
There were countless excuses like the atmosphere forced them to, or they had no choice because of money, or they just wanted a proper school life…
Yet, that doesn’t justify their actions.
Ye Sara collapsed because of that.
How many of those kids actually transferred here from their previous school?
“Sorry…!”
One kid stood up, presumably the representative of the perpetrators. He bent deeply at the waist as he spoke.
“We didn’t realize you’d be hurt like this! We’re sorry for judging and keeping our distance…”
It was surprisingly heartfelt. At least it felt much more sincere than the act of crying Sohee had displayed.
But I knew all too well, that the ‘sincere’ sentiment wasn’t about ‘apology’ or ‘guilt.’
The real emotion hidden in those words was ‘fear.’
Being the child of a top-tier rich family in South Korea, a little disciplinary action and bad grades wouldn’t matter much. After graduating, they’d find a way to make a living; there’s a world out there where they could just live off the interest of the money they had.
However, for a child whose parents ran a middle-sized company under someone else’s contract, or those from low-end jobs, or students entering based solely on grades, the story was different.
Especially those who entered based on grades had to build connections in this school. Naturally, it was to secure a good job after graduation. There’s no better way to get into a big company than establishing connections.
So if they ended up dropping out, the repercussions would be significant. Especially if they were labeled as a perpetrator of bullying, it would severely impact their chances of getting into college.
They were truly useful pawns.
Since they hadn’t paid any bribes, there was no reason to protect them. But at the same time, they had no reason to be scared either. They were a bunch of weak links with real justification. Plus, they were desperate, making them easy to use as shields.
What a remarkable school.
But of course, our purpose didn’t end there.
I’ve said it multiple times; identifying and punishing the perpetrators wasn’t our goal.
Our true aim was—
“It’s about time.”
As I glanced at the watch on my wrist and muttered, a tense silence fell in the classroom. Everyone was looking at me with nervous expressions.
Who was I calling?
They were probably thinking about it. A new witness? A new victim? Either way, they’d think I called someone with the potential to turn the incident upside down.
Well, if they were worried about new witnesses or victims, I wanted to tell them to put that aside.
Who I was calling was—
Just then, clunk, the sound of the doorknob turning echoed.
“Ah, pardon the interruption.”
The person who walked in as they said that was Team Leader Han Garam.
She was pulling a large travel bag with one hand.
“…Who are you?”
The teachers probably recognized her face. Team Leader Han had mentioned that there were many clients at this school.
The teachers must have been managing the money they received as well.
“Sorry for being late.”
When I nudged my seat slightly, Team Leader Han shrugged and replied.
“Oh, my bad. It’s just that it’s not easy to withdraw large sums without drawing the attention of the financial authorities.”
As she smiled brightly, the atmosphere in the classroom went dead cold.
