Chapter 53
It was already 3 PM.
School had ended, so it was time for all the kids to prepare to go home.
I met up with Jung-seok at the library.
"Ha Young-won. Are you ready?"
We might have to fight with seniors today. For high school students, seniors just a few years older can be more intimidating than adults.
In a rough school like Yeongji High, being targeted by seniors meant a nightmare. It was the same as saying you'd have trouble walking around this Gaeryong City in the future.
Bong Ji-yeon, the Class C bully who had been acting recklessly under the seniors' influence, was now about to be targeted and lynched by those same seniors.
I didn't know the exact details of how it came to this, but I could guess the gist of it.
Bong Ji-yeon had the quirk of 《Androphobia》.
There was no way Bong Ji-yeon, who feared half the world, could endure well in the bully group that was the epitome of the popular crowd. Naturally, discord and conflict were bound to arise.
And Jung-seok seemed unable to accept what was about to happen.
Jung-seok said,
"Ha Young-won. You might not know since you lived in Seoul, but Bong Ji-yeon's group is quite infamous in this Gaeryong. They can be considered really vicious. They're truly scary guys."
Vicious. What an old-fashioned word.
"How scary are they? Scarier than the ghosts we've met?"
I was someone who had survived encountering a tiger. Would I be scared of wolves now?
But Jung-seok pondered quite deeply.
"In some ways, they might be scarier than ghosts."
I see.
Even wolves, though not as fierce as tigers, were still beasts that could eat people.
Jung-seok explained about the gang Bong Ji-yeon was involved with.
Extorting money from peers was basic, and there were stories of them breaking into cars, speeding on stolen motorcycles, or luring adult men through compensated dating and then beating them with clubs and blackmailing them.
They were a gang of juvenile criminals you'd see on the news.
The "Suho Fam", Bong Ji-yeon's gang, seemed like a collection of urban legends all rolled into one. At that point, it was no different from a supernatural phenomenon.
"Are there really kids like that? Is that possible?"
What are the police doing, and what are the adults doing instead of guiding these kids?
I wondered how such messed-up kids could exist, but Jung-seok added an explanation.
"Kwon Suho is at the center of the gang. That's why even adults tend to hush up and overlook most incidents. They don't want to make a big deal out of it."
"Ah. So it's called Suho Fam because of Suho. But who's Kwon Suho?"
Jung-seok looked at me with an expression that said, "What's with this guy?"
"Hey. Ha Young-won. How can you be at Yeongji High and not know Kwon Suho? Is that even possible? I'm not looking down on you, I'm just surprised. Kwon Suho from Class 3-A. He's the grandson of Osung Electronics' chairman."
Osung Electronics was where my mom worked hard as a cleaner, sweeping and wiping. So he was the grandson of the chairman of one of Korea's top conglomerate companies.
"He must be incredibly rich."
It was strange that such a rich person was attending this rough Yeongji High, and even stranger that he was playing gang leader with other kids. The world truly had a diverse array of human characters.
"Bong Ji-yeon used to date that Kwon Suho. That's when she became part of the bully gang. I don't know the exact details, but... if Bong Ji-yeon gets on Kwon Suho's bad side now... It won't end well."
A bully group backed by a third-generation chaebol. It was like a bomb that even adults couldn't handle.
"There were rumors that Kim Geonho was acting up in class to try to get into Suho Fam. From what I know, all the graduated seniors who were Kwon Suho's lackeys got jobs directly at Osung Electronics or its affiliates."
The more I heard, the more surprising it was. Is this really happening in 21st century South Korea? On the other hand, it gave me chills.
"Hey. Jung-seok. If what you're saying is true, getting on Suho Fam's bad side doesn't just ruin your school life, but your entire life, right? Are we really capable of doing anything about this?"
It seems like a problem that wouldn't be solved even if we reported it to the police. Can I really do anything?
"Young-won. You have your status window, right?"
"I do, but it's not omnipotent. If this Kwon Suho guy was on the player list, I might be able to do something, but I've never even met him."
If Jung-seok can't be rational, I should be.
"No! Ha Young-won! In terms of potential, you're the worse guy! Have confidence! They're just playing at being bullies, but you could become a real psycho! Bullies are no match for you!"
Is he praising me or insulting me right now?
I became curious about what kind of person I was in Jung-seok's mind.
"Hey, man. Talk some sense. Are you telling me to throw them into the corridor and kill them? If they become third-generation chaebol ghosts and come after me, I'll be really screwed."
Hearing my cold judgment, Jung-seok seemed to be deep in thought and reduced his words. Then he said quietly,
"Should we ask Yang Juhee? Wouldn't she do something if we ask?"
Jung-seok seemed to think of Yang Juhee as some kind of ultimate weapon.
Certainly, Yang Juhee would probably be able to beat up a few of the bully gang members.
But could Yang Juhee win against Kwon Suho, who had Osung Electronics backing him?
No, I didn't think so.
"Hey. Yang Juhee also has her own problems to worry about."
"What did I do? You bastards. Why are you whispering and cursing in a place with no people?"
Yang Juhee appeared in the library when she and the library were a very mismatched combination.
***
"Kwon Suho Fam? You guys are going to take them on?"
Yang Juhee frowned after hearing our story.
"Are you crazy? They're complete psychos. What can two weaklings like you do?"
So the Suho Fam bullies were such psychos that even the brave Yang Juhee was taken aback.
As a former bully herself, Yang Juhee seemed to know a lot.
"If Bong Ji-yeon got on their bad side, her life is over. What a stupid girl. That's what she gets for bragging about dating someone like Kwon Suho. Geez. I knew this would happen eventually."
Yang Juhee said she went to the same middle school as Bong Ji-yeon, Yeongji Middle School.
"Bong Ji-yeon started acting like a jerk after she injured her leg while showing off about doing track and field. That's when she got noticed by the older kids. The bullying was pretty severe. Hiding her chair, making her bag disappear."
Jung-seok was surprised by Yang Juhee's explanation.
"That happened in middle school?"
Jung-seok seemed unaware of the details about Bong Ji-yeon since he attended a nearby all-boys middle school, not Yeongji Middle. As I was thinking this was quite an interesting story, Yang Juhee added more.
"Yeah. After about a month, Bong Ji-yeon couldn't take it anymore and started dating a popular senior from Yeongji High. That was Kwon Suho. Once she was with Kwon Suho, other bullies couldn't touch her."
Is this the story of a promising young athlete's fall from grace? However, Yang Juhee looked like she couldn't understand something.
"I think I vaguely heard that things weren't going well between Bong Ji-yeon and Kwon Suho, but it didn't seem bad enough for her to be targeted by the group... Why did it turn out like this?"
"I don't know either."
Jung-seok shook his head.
Nobody knew why Bong Ji-yeon ended up like this. I was the only one who knew the reason because I hadn't explained to everyone about Bong Ji-yeon's 《Androphobia》. This was a fact I hadn't told even Jung-seok.
For some reason, it seemed better not to mention it in the future either.
I pretended to go to the bathroom and manipulated my status window to remove Bong Ji-yeon's quirk. It cost 100 points, but... I felt a bit better!
"Whatever it is, I wonder if we can finish this before dinner time."
I sat in the bathroom and quietly calculated the time.
Ms. Hong Mi-ri said that the chairman of the Yeongji High School Foundation had invited us to dinner tonight. It was almost a one-sided notification, but it would be impossible to refuse.
My plan was this:
First, get Bong Ji-yeon out today and somehow make contact with that "Suho Fam" group myself.
Then they'd appear on the player list, and I could mess with them through the Mercenary Group. If we stall for a few days, we might even be able to throw them into the Nightmare Corridor.
It was also an opportunity to see the effects of the "Mercenary Group" that I had deployed once for Yoo Dahee more clearly.
Bad guys need to be taught a lesson by even worse ghosts to come to their senses.
"Then let's call Bong Ji-yeon and keep her with us."
I left the bathroom and rejoined my friends in the library. Jung-seok asked,
"You mean just keep her with us? What are you planning to do?"
"We're supposed to have dinner at Yoo Dahee's house today, right? From what Ms. Hong Mi-ri said, it seems we can bring friends. Why don't we bring Bong Ji-yeon, saying she's our friend too? Even those bullies can't do anything in front of the chairman, right?"
From what I heard, the chairman of the Yeongji Foundation was a complete bastard whose ancestors were pro-Japanese collaborators and even drove people to suicide. And he seemed to have enough power to control local elections.
No matter how vicious these bullies are, could they be worse than the real villain, the chairman?
In other words, this was using one evil to combat another. Even I thought it was a brilliant strategy. Jung-seok greatly admired my subtle strategy.
"Wow, Ha Young-won. You really are a model villain. How can you naturally come up with such ideas? I guess it's not for nothing that you got that status window. I really respect you."
Jung-seok had a talent for making compliments sound like insults.
Anyway, we decided to head to Class C to meet up with Bong Ji-yeon.
Bong Ji-yeon was still in the classroom, not having gone home yet, probably scared of the seniors.
"Hey. Jung-seok. You go and call Bong Ji-yeon. Ask her to have dinner with us tonight."
"Me?"
Jung-seok trembled. He was the type who couldn't perform when actually given the chance.
"Hey. Jung-seok. If she doesn't listen, go and slap her cheek once. Then Bong Ji-yeon will probably fall for you. You have to do it."
"What kind of crazy talk is that? Why would I slap her? Juhee, can't you go and talk to her? It might be easier since you're both girls."
"What? I don't want to either. She said some really harsh things to me when she cut ties with me to join Kwon Suho's group in middle school. Until she apologizes for that, I want nothing to do with Bong Ji-yeon."
Yang Juhee disliked Bong Ji-yeon. Naturally, that left only me.
"Fine. I'll go. I guess it's right for the leader to take the lead in times like this."
I entered Class C. As I entered, the eyes of the few students who hadn't gone home yet turned to me. It was natural since a student from another class had suddenly entered.
I approached Bong Ji-yeon, who was sitting in the back, staring out the window, and said,
"Excuse me, are you Bong Ji-yeon?"
"......"
Flinch-
Bong Ji-yeon was startled, looking away from the window. Soon, like a cat with its fur puffed up, she looked at me and backed away slightly.
"...What, asshole?"
"......"
How can someone's personality be this sharp-edged? Does Jung-seok like this kind of thing?
Now that I think about it, Jung-seok was a complete masochist.
Come to think of it, I think I've heard that people who like horror generally have masochistic tendencies. That must be why he's in our ghost-filled party, suffering along with us.
In the end, all things were connected by a single line.
I gained an unexpected insight in an unexpected place. Perhaps because of this insight, I was able to ask with a slightly more relaxed attitude.
"Bong Ji-yeon. Let's go have dinner together tonight."
"Is he crazy?"
"These days, Bong Ji-yeon goes crazy when guys talk to her."
The atmosphere was tense in many ways.
However, I knew that Bong Ji-yeon's 《Androphobia》 quirk was gone. She should be fine with me talking to her.
"Are you flirting with me right now? I just broke up with my boyfriend, you know?"
"What, flirting?"
"What you're doing right now! No matter how I look, do you think I'd date a loser like you? You're Yang Juhee's lackey, aren't you? I get it. Yang Juhee put you up to this, right?"
It was a very scathing insult.
I'm trying to save Bong Ji-yeon for Jung-seok's sake, and she's not being cooperative. However, I could notice fear and terror in Bong Ji-yeon's eyes.
She must still be under the influence of the quirk. She probably needs a big shock to come to her senses, like Jung So-jin.
I didn't even need to slap her cheek. I slowly raised my hand and clapped once in front of Bong Ji-yeon.
"Kyaa!"
Thud-
Bong Ji-yeon fell as if her legs had given out. I spoke to the fallen Bong Ji-yeon.
"How about it? Have you come to your senses now? Are you still scared of me?"
Bong Ji-yeon, fallen on the floor, looked up at me. Then, she frowned.
"W-Who said I was scared of someone like you?"
Bong Ji-yeon's face turned red, either from embarrassment or fear. Remembering Jung Sojin's case, I decided to give her a warning, just in case.
"Let me tell you in advance, don't fall for me. It would be troublesome."