Chapter 24

In the end, something did happen.

Just by looking at the class president’s face when he came back, I could tell.

"Jin-Hyuk, so what happened?"

At my friend’s question, Kim Jin-Hyuk awkwardly smiled.

"Well... there was some conflict, but it’s fine. It’s all resolved."

It seemed like he smoothly brushed it off, but the others were still curious.

"Was it about Kim Byung-Jun?"

I asked casually, and Kim Jin-Hyuk’s face showed clear discomfort.

"How did you know?"

"I heard the noise earlier, so I went out into the hallway and saw Kim Byung-Jun there."

I had seen him with a frustrated look on his face, sweating as he entered his dorm.

It was obvious something had happened.

By the way, Kim Byung-Jun had grown unrecognizably large.

In the past, he had just been a chubby guy, but now... I didn’t want to get close to him.

It felt like heat was radiating off his body.

"Something must’ve happened during the march."

I said, and Kim Jin-Hyuk nodded heavily.

But we both shook our heads, as if to say we shouldn’t get involved.

"This has nothing to do with us."

I had felt a bit sorry for him when I saw him eating alone yesterday, but now I wondered what had really happened.

There was a slight trace of disdain on my face as I drew the line.

Kim Byung-Jun... was he the villain in this place?

Kim Jin-Hyuk relaxed his expression and awkwardly smiled again.

"It’s time to head out. Keep your belongings safe."

The soldier entered without warning, delivered the same announcement, and left.

His face showed visible annoyance.

If I were in his shoes, I’d be pretty annoyed taking care of a bunch of kids.

‘I totally get you, man.’

...I only understand, though.

After yesterday, I had become a bit closer with some of the others, so when I went outside, Ha Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo waved at me.

"Hey! Why didn’t you show up this morning?"

"That's pretty rude, telling me to die."

"Just kidding, hehe."

"Good morning, Eun-A."

"Good morning."

Choi Ye-Seo teased me from the start, and Ha Soo-Yul greeted me with a smile.

"But you two."

"? What?"

"Why? What happened this morning?"

I had to ask since I was curious.

When I asked, the mood between the two of them shifted.

"Well... haha."

Choi Ye-Seo hesitated to answer.

"Hmm."

Ha Soo-Yul seemed to be thinking about it.

"I guess there’s no need to hide it."

Ha Soo-Yul looked up at me as if she had made up her mind.

"Do you remember what happened at the cafeteria yesterday?"

She suddenly asked about yesterday, and I recalled the events.

"Ah, the fight between that girl and Kim Byung-Jun?"

"Yeah... how did you know it was about him?"

"I heard the hallway was noisy, so I went out and saw him, all angry and sweating, heading back to his dorm."

"...Really?"

Ha Soo-Yul’s eyes darkened, and her lips curled into a subtle smirk.

...Whenever she looks like that, I feel like someone’s about to get involved.

"Did you not sleep because of him?"

"No. I was already up by then."

She went back to her usual expression. What was that about?

"So? What happened?"

"Well, that Kim Byung-Jun decided to get revenge and joined the march this morning."

Choi Ye-Seo laughed cynically.

Once Ha Soo-Yul started speaking, she didn’t feel the need to hide it anymore.

"But something funny happened. During the march, he got so tired that he collapsed first."

Choi Ye-Seo laughed, no longer trying to hide her amusement.

"He couldn’t take it, so he went over to that girl and hit her."

This happened during a short break while they were marching.

"Really, don’t even talk about it. He even threw a rock, and now that girl’s in the ER."

...That really happened? So why did Kim Byung-Jun return alone earlier?

"He was told to gather his stuff and leave."

"He was alone? Shouldn’t the adults have been watching him?"

"I don’t know about that. All we heard was that he was just told to go back and grab his stuff."

...Was he thinking, or just acting without a clue?

What was going on with the Class 1 teacher? They just let a student who had committed assault return alone?

This is a mess. A real mess.

I’m lucky nothing happened until I left. If another incident occurred during that time, it would have been irreparable.

Maybe the Class 1 teacher will get a scolding when they return to school.

School’s a mess...

"Let’s move out!"

At the soldier’s shout, everyone started moving.

We headed to breakfast, but all we got were assembly-line hamburgers.

Seriously, why does the cafeteria suck so much?

After quickly finishing my meal, just like yesterday, we rested and then watched more videos before the next training session began.

I ended up chatting with the teacher again until lunch.

"So? What happened this morning?"

"Huh?"

"About this morning."

"Leave it. It’ll just turn into gossip."@@novelbin@@

"Tch..."

The teacher firmly kept their mouth shut.

But they answered my complaint.

"But seriously, does it make sense to send him alone?"

"It couldn’t be helped. It was a sudden situation."

"No, no. Then Kim Byung-Jun came back alone, right? What if something happened during that time?"

"...Yeah, I should’ve gone with him."

The teacher admitted they should’ve stayed with him, at least with the girl.

But where were the other adults? Shouldn’t they have taken action to prevent any more harm?

"We should’ve sent him back immediately to calm the girl down. I got confused in the moment and didn’t handle it properly."

It was an excuse, but the teacher smiled bitterly after saying that.

"...It’s okay. At least no further harm was done."

"Yeah, it could’ve been much worse if it escalated."

It didn’t make sense, but looking at the outcome, we were lucky.

Well, what’s done is done.

"Adults are just people, they can make mistakes too."

"The one who was grilling us just now?"

"Well, if you look at the result, there’s nothing to be angry about. It would’ve been different if it was the other way around."

"Students really have no problem saying whatever to teachers."

We both chuckled and laughed.

"...But still, parents are the scariest thing in the world."

"What can you do? You need to watch out for them."

"It happened in the blink of an eye. And I was in the bathroom at the time."

The teacher had every right to be frustrated. It happened while they were in the bathroom.

It wasn’t their fault that the incident occurred without them being able to stop it.

If they made a mistake, it was sending Kim Byung-Jun alone.

"Yeah... it’s my fault. Happy now?"

I chuckled and gave them a thumbs up.

Teachers, adults... everything is new to them.

Being an adult isn’t just about age.

Can a teacher in their late 30s really be considered an "adult"?

I believe being an adult means being able to take responsibility, regardless of age.

Looking at it that way, my homeroom teacher was an adult.

"It’s time. Let’s go eat."

The teacher patted me on the shoulder and stood up.

As we walked out, I couldn’t help but think the teacher’s back looked like a massive mountain today.

Yeah. Adults have to take responsibility.

And most of the staff at our school...

"Not adults."

Is this just our school? Probably not. Most of society is the same.

Only a few people truly have responsibility.

The one who will probably have to bow their head after this is either the Class 1 teacher or the principal or vice-principal.

Or maybe it’ll be our homeroom teacher who takes the fall for everything.

Sure, other teachers are involved, but honestly, I don’t trust them much.

I’ve barely interacted with them, so maybe it’s just a hasty judgment.

"But still, I hope they have a little bit of conscience."

The principal and vice-principal will probably apologize, but will it be sincere?

To me, it seems like they’ll just lecture the teachers who stayed silent until something happened.

...Not my problem, though.

"Are we not going?"

The teacher turned their head and asked.

"Yeah, we’re going."

"Such an old soul."

The teacher chuckled, walking casually.

I followed them, thinking to myself.

If any parents come at the teacher, I’ll step in too.

What right do I have?

I’ll make up a reason, that’s easy.

My dad’s someone important, and power is there for moments like this.

At least innocent people shouldn’t be the ones taking the blame. Right?

"...What the hell."

"Eun-A, that’s a bad word."

"What is this?!"

Lunch was, well... not bad... just kidding. Instead of rice, we got military-style hamburgers.

Basically, we got military rations for lunch.

There was milk and some other side dishes, but I would have preferred rice, not this military burger.

"...It’s better than I expected."

Choi Ye-Seo was initially shocked, but after one bite, she started to like it.

"It does taste okay. But the place is the problem."

I could eat the bread, but I can’t say I enjoyed it in this setting.

"Here."

I handed Ha Soo-Yul the burger kit.

"Huh? Are you giving it to me?"

"Eat it all, then talk."

Gulp.

"Are you giving it to me?"

"Yeah. I’m not that interested."

I had eaten this so much in my past life. Why eat it again? Absolutely not.

"What’s this?! Then give it to me!"

"You’re an idol, so why do you have such a big appetite?"

"It’s survival, okay?!"

...What?

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Survival compressed fat. Don’t you know?"

I turned my head at her dramatic words.

I saw sauce smeared on Ha Soo-Yul’s lips.

"Hey, you’ve got sauce on your mouth."

I wiped it off with my pinky finger and put it in my mouth.

"Mmm..."

"What?!"

It was ketchup. As I was tasting it, I noticed Choi Ye-Seo had an appalled look on her face.

Ha Soo-Yul, on the other hand, finished her bread as if nothing was wrong.

"What are you looking at?"

"No, no? Huh?"

Did something break? What’s going on?

"You guys... why is no one reacting?"

"What?"

At my question, Choi Ye-Seo’s eyes spun.

"No, why... why...?"

"Is this new to you?"

"Is it too late to react now? We’ve known each other for 12 years."

I even did this in front of her several times.

"Wait... yeah? Is it?"

She paused and thought for a moment, as if multiple memories passed through her mind.

Then she looked at the burger in her hand.

"Haum."

She made a mess with sauce around her mouth.

"...Why didn’t you do it for me?"

"Why should I?"

Tears rolled down Choi Ye-Seo’s eyes at that moment.