Chapter 50

# 50 < I Caused Trouble (3) >

***

When Jin-hyeok first saw Yoon Seong-dong, he realized he wasn’t dealing with someone he could reason with.

‘Bond or butane gas.’

His dull, bleached-looking whites with vivid red veins, and even his properly fleshed-out pupils.

Jin-hyeok wondered how he even knew such things, but sometimes insights come naturally. His logic, senses, and even his sixth sense beyond the senses helped him make the judgment.

Moreover, Jin-hyeok had once lived with someone who regularly inhaled hallucinogens. It was Hwang Ga-yun, the eldest daughter of his aunt, who was seven years older than him.

‘It’s better this way.’

In the end, some people just can’t be fixed. He even thought it was unreasonable to blame Yoon Seong-dong, who hadn’t yet committed murder, using Shin Woo-sung as an excuse. But that thought was fleeting.

‘I’m not the sentimental type.’

Jin-hyeok wasn’t the kind of person to naively hope for the redemption of a kid who had been going off the rails since childhood, relying on his gangster father. And now, he had no choice but to confront the situation head-on to resolve what had already happened.

And so…

Surrounded by seven third-year students and first-year Park Yong-seok, making eight in total, he headed to the auxiliary playground. Some of them had been part of the Ssirum Club at the beginning of the semester but had been expelled.

Jin-hyeok looked at the people surrounding him, just an arm’s length away, and thought:

‘Damn, these kids really came in numbers. Is this some kind of gang-up?’

Was it a beatdown…?

Both words were unfamiliar to Jin-hyeok, a man of upright living, so he wasn’t sure. Anyway, it wasn’t the most important question right now.

As he furrowed his brow, wondering what the right term was, Yoon Seong-dong poked Jin-hyeok’s forehead with his index finger.

“Hey, you—”

A foul smell, whether it was bond or alcohol, wafted from Yoon Seong-dong’s mouth. More accurately, it was closer to the smell of partially decomposed acetaldehyde.

The sour, nasty stench made Jin-hyeok’s face scrunch up involuntarily.

Yoon Seong-dong, with both hands shoved deep into his pockets, spat and swayed.

He clearly had some experience with shaking his legs. Why do people even shake their legs like that?

“You little punk, no matter how good-looking you are, you can’t mess with the holy business of your seniors, you know—”

Senior? This guy, who’s running a loan shark operation targeting underclassmen, has quite the sharp tongue. Jin-hyeok smirked inwardly, raising one corner of his mouth while glaring at Yoon Seong-dong.

Yoon Seong-dong, who had been acting all relaxed, twisted his face into an ugly scowl.

“This punk’s laughing?”

You’re laughing too, you idiot. Isn’t this a country where we have the freedom to laugh? Maybe his serious, pondering expression made it seem like he was backing down.

Yoon Seong-dong sighed deeply and spoke in a softened, lecturing tone.

“This isn’t some martial arts novel, and we all know your rumors are just nonsense.”

What’s he talking about now? Ah, he must be referring to the incident with the Ssirum Club. There were guys there who witnessed it, and he’s calling it nonsense? Are their eyes just for show?

The slurred speech and the constant spitting made Jin-hyeok feel utterly disgusted.

Jin-hyeok clenched his fists, resisting the urge to punch Yoon Seong-dong, who was about the same height as him. He wanted to give him a chance, to resolve things through dialogue.

Barely holding back his revulsion, he spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll warn you just once. Don’t do that.”

It was an unexpected statement. Yoon Seong-dong and his gang’s expressions turned cold.

Yoon Seong-dong then smirked, twisting his face into a ridiculous expression.

“I’ll warn you just once~, don’t do that~”

Uhehehehehe.

Yoon Seong-dong and his gang burst into laughter. They looked like a bunch of unhinged zombies.

Jin-hyeok let out a light sigh.

‘It’s over.’

Jin-hyeok’s final attempt to resolve things through dialogue had failed.

Armed with a crooked smile, Yoon Seong-dong nudged Jin-hyeok’s chest with his shoulder.

They had the numbers, and he and his friends had plenty of experience.

Even though Son Jin-hyeok had a certain presence, dealing with a kid like him was easy.

A mocking laugh, a menacing glare, and a single curse word.

If he lost his temper and attacked first, it would only make things easier.

As usual, Yoon Seong-dong loaded up his verbal ammunition.

One word, and this first-year would be trembling.

Just as Yoon Seong-dong was about to let it out—

“You little bastard, your mom—”

*Crack!*

It happened in an instant.

No one saw Jin-hyeok twist his upper body like a tiger and strike Yoon Seong-dong’s jaw with his elbow.

‘How dare you!’

The price for uttering the one thing you should never say in front of Jin-hyeok was steep.

A fist slammed into Yoon Seong-dong’s solar plexus, causing his body to reflexively bend over.

Jin-hyeok didn’t even give him a chance to fall, delivering heavy blows to his side, his philtrum, and his chin. He felt the ribs cave in, the gums sink, and the jawbone crack through his fists. Finally, he drove his elbow into the back of Yoon Seong-dong’s head.

Only then did Yoon Seong-dong collapse, face-first.

“Ugh—”

It had all happened in a single breath.

Blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and broken teeth, some still intact, rolled across the dirt.

Yoon Seong-dong writhed like a dying man, unable to even scream properly.

Jin-hyeok wiped his forehead with his hand.

‘As expected, I feel nothing.’

Even though it was uncharacteristic of him, his breathing remained calm, and his mind was clear. He had a similar experience when he grabbed the fat real estate guy by the collar.

‘This is confusing.’

Does strength make you numb the more you use it? For Jin-hyeok, who had never actively used violence before, it was utterly bewildering.

“You bastard!”

“Oh! You’re dead!”

It had all happened so quickly that Yoon Seong-dong’s gang only now realized what was going on and rushed at Jin-hyeok. If they had stayed farther away, maybe one of them would’ve been spared. But Jin-hyeok had no intention of chasing anyone down to hit them.

‘Well, what’s done is done. Come at me.’

Jin-hyeok bent his upper body slightly, then one leg shot out behind him.

A guy swinging a punch from behind had his head jerked back as his chin was hit. There was a dull thud.

A guy attempting a bear hug was thrown down with a hip toss. He didn’t know how to break his fall, so he landed hard on his back.

A guy trying to throw a front kick had his supporting leg swept out from under him, and his head slammed into the hard ground. A solid thump echoed.

The auxiliary playground was uneven and hard, as it hadn’t been maintained.

But that wasn’t Jin-hyeok’s concern. The guys sprawled on the ground, suffering secondary impacts from the terrain, had their own problems to deal with.

He hadn’t intended to break any bones.

But he clearly felt the ribs crack under his fists.

‘I held back, but it’s strange.’

This shouldn’t be happening. He knew better than anyone the terror and pain of being hit.

It’s okay, they’re still growing, they’ll heal quickly.

Even as his inner voices clashed, Jin-hyeok’s fists and feet didn’t stop.

As if determined to leave no one standing in front of him, he only stopped when everyone was down.

Only one person, Park Yong-seok, whose legs gave out and made him collapse on his own, was left untouched by Jin-hyeok. Park Yong-seok’s pupils were dilated, and his lower jaw trembled uncontrollably. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

Jin-hyeok scanned Yoon Seong-dong’s gang. They were sprawled on the ground, writhing like worms, with no intention of getting up.

He walked toward Park Yong-seok.

“You. You should’ve come when I called.”

“Uh-uh-. I, I made a mistake—”

What’s he even saying? Jin-hyeok’s intention to punch him vanished with a sigh.

Tears streamed down Park Yong-seok’s face. The reflexive reaction to fear was beyond human control.

*Sigh—* Another sigh escaped.

Images of his parents and younger brother flashed in his mind. The last remnants of his anger faded, and he finally fully realized the reality of the situation.

‘This isn’t why I was sent back to the past.’

Feeling miserable, he nervously wiped his face.

In the distance, he saw teachers running toward them.

‘I really caused trouble this time.’

***

Jin-hyeok’s homeroom teacher, Kim Seon-sook, had a thin voice.

If you closed your eyes and listened, it sounded like a child’s voice. With her oversized glasses, she made students chant, “Teacher, you’re so cute!” during class.

Having taken on her first homeroom class just two years after graduating from teacher’s college, she was still inexperienced in many ways, but thanks to class president Son Jin-hyeok, the kids didn’t rebel or try to challenge her, which she was secretly grateful for.

She wanted to be a friendly teacher, so she never stopped thinking and researching ways to make her classes fun. The class’s test scores were good, which made her happy. She hummed a tune.

“Hmm-hmm~. Today, let’s have a fun explanation about the principles of lightning, shall we?”

The kids are curious, so as a teacher, it’s my duty to explain.

As she happily prepared for class, a bolt of lightning struck.

“Kim Seon-sook! Your class president got into a gang fight!”

“Wh-what? What did you say?”

It was clearly Korean, but it was hard to understand.

It was a good thing she hadn’t witnessed the scene herself. Hearing that a gang fight had broken out and that her class president, the top student, was involved made her hands tremble in shock.

“Wh-what should I do?”

“Don’t contact his home yet. Let’s investigate first—”

“Yes, yes. Home—. Thank you.”

Her colleague, who reminded her of the role of a homeroom teacher, was a blessing. Contact the home after investigating, got it!

Taking a deep breath, she called Jin-hyeok’s home.

A woman, presumably Jin-hyeok’s mother, answered the phone.

Kim Seon-sook’s heart was still racing from the shock.

“Is th-th-this Jin-hyeok’s residence?”

She should’ve said hello, but what do you say when it’s not a situation for pleasantries? They didn’t teach this in teacher’s college.

– Who is this?

Thankfully, the voice on the other end asked.

How grateful is it when someone steers the conversation when you’re at a loss for words?

“Uh, it’s the school.”

– Oh my— Hello, teacher. Your voice is so pretty, I thought it was a prank call. I should’ve greeted you properly, but I haven’t had the chance to meet you yet.

Right.

“We’ve got a chance to meet now, Jin-hyeok’s mother.”

Oops.

Is this how a teacher should talk? A wave of self-loathing washed over her. Why am I such an inadequate human being?

Tears suddenly welled up.

“Sniff, Jin-hyeok. Well, Jin-hyeok was—. A gang fight—. Sniff—”

Lee Byeong-se, who had been silently listening, frowned.

He irritably snatched the phone from Kim Seon-sook.

“Uh—, your son is fine, but could you come to the school—? Hello? Hello?”

Lee Byeong-se let out a deep sigh.

No doubt Jin-hyeok’s mother was also in shock. She must’ve misunderstood terribly. Hearing the word “gang fight,” she might show up with the police. Jin-hyeok’s father was a local figure whom even the military, government officials, and congressmen visited to pay their respects.

“Sigh—, damn it.”

If the police came to the school, it would be reported to the education office, and all hell would break loose. Another sigh escaped. As the panic subsided, reality finally settled in. A natural curiosity also arose.

‘How the hell did one kid manage to do all that?’

There wasn’t even a mop at the scene. Even though he was bigger and more athletic than most high schoolers, Yoon Seong-dong was a troublemaker who relied on his backing, and even the school couldn’t handle him. Plus, there were quite a few former Ssirum athletes mixed in.

Helplessly, Lee Byeong-se put down the receiver and called a young male teacher.

“What happened to those guys?”

“They were all taken to the hospital. Only Park Yong-seok here is unharmed.”

“Is that what you call unharmed?”

He’s drooling like a kid with hand, foot, and mouth disease.

“Which hospital did they go to?”

I should go check.

It’s a case involving track team members, so I can’t just ignore it.

“Central Orthopedics.”

“Ah, that money-grubbing quack… Ugh, damn it.”

Nothing’s going right.

Lee Byeong-se’s face twisted again. He scratched his head irritably.

It was the biggest incident since the school’s founding, involving the sons of two big shots.