“Sunbaenims, you’re here!”
I climbed up the back hill through the gap in the loosened fence.
During lunchtime the school gates were left open by custom, so the teachers didn’t really pay much attention.
Only troublemakers ever slipped out during that hour, but there had never been any major accidents.
But the teachers didn’t know that.
They didn’t know that poisonous mushrooms grow just fine anywhere as long as there’s a bit of shade.
And those young poisonous-mushroom brats were lined up, waiting.
About ten of them had gathered, probably because they’d all gotten the same phone call.
Just by looking at them, it was obvious they were trying to rally up by sheer numbers.
“Tae-san……”
“Haa.”
Because of his so-called loyalty(?), the guys who followed him all let out a breath of relief.
They were probably, somewhere deep down, tempted to run away.
But too bad. The bastard was already watching the mood, then came up behind me and stood at my back.
“Make sure you film it well.”
“Oh, okay.”
I wasn’t the me of the past anymore.
I handed the newly purchased phone to Do-jong.
I taught him how to shoot video with the phone.
“My beloved hoobaes, I’m sorry. Because of these unworthy guys, you’ve all had a hard time and even missed your meals.”
“No, sir! Sunbaenim!”
The bastard grit his teeth, exaggerating his show of strength.
They weren’t even the class of ’88; even these hoobae brats bent their backs at a ninety-degree angle.
Country bumpkins—
“Alright. Tonight my hyung is going to buy drinks. Look forward to it. I’ll call the timid ones too.”
“Thank you, Sunbaenim!”
“Sunbaenim, we love you!”
High schoolers… drinking? Girls? These stories were a great way to fire them up.
The video function was already running.
Holding Do-jong around the shoulders, I helped him film the boys.
It was good that my friends who always got picked on were still alive even now.
“Hong Seong-hyun. Let me ask you something directly.”
“Ask? Kukuku. Acting like you’re something special. Fine, I’ll grant you one wish. Ask.”
“Why do you torment weaklings like me and my friends? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
A textbook question.
Anyone could see he behaved like a straight-up bully.
The reason didn’t matter; he was already in the wrong.
But I needed the bastard to say it with his own mouth so I could record it.
“Reason? So many~. I hate that worthless punks like you go to the same school as me~ I hate that penniless punks stink like kimchi first thing in the morning when I’m eating~ I hate that dumb punks whining about grades roll around me~ I just hate seeing low-class trash.”
Okay! Perfect on-site evidence!
But damn, this guy’s personality was garbage to the core.
He was like the bottom of a Siberian trash pit!
“But still, we’re friends. Using violence on your friends and taking money from them isn’t right. I know your father, Attorney Hong Jang-hyeok, is successful and also a city councilman, but he wouldn’t stay silent if he knew this. Even if you hide behind your father’s face, you can’t behave like this!”
The bastard tried flexing by throwing out his father’s name and job.
At that moment, crude laughter spilled out of my mouth.
“Our father? Puhaha. You got all worried about something so useless. Don’t mind it, you idiot. My father told me this. Trashy losers have to be beaten down or they never learn a lesson.”
Ah! Look at this bastard’s family background.
It fit perfectly with the character of a feral mutt.
“So that’s why you beat up your sunbaenims and donggis? Because of your father’s backing?”
Evidence-gathering continued.
“Of course~ My father’s friend is the son of our school foundation’s chairman and the head of administration. If there’s trouble, he just tosses some money and it all gets solved.”
Oh? Really? This was a special bonus.
My friends’ faces, who had been listening, all stiffened.
They’d just witnessed an ugly side of the world.
In social life, you encounter these kinds of dirty little truths, but we weren’t quite there yet.
There was nothing good in this for my friends if we heard more.
Here I nodded once more, pretending to be sympathetic.
“Let the kids go. They didn’t do anything wrong.”
“They did plenty wrong. Where do spineless punks think they’re going? I should take this chance to beat it into them. Make sure they can never crawl back up again.”
Disgusting. Hong Seong-hyun.
For you too, I’m already chanting Amen and Amitabul in advance.
“Let me apologize. Let them go.”
The acting continued.
“What? Apologize? Did this crazy bastard lose his mind? You’re apologizing now? Here? You insane bastard.”
Completely unaware of the spiderweb he’d walked into, the guy frowned.
An idiot.
“I’ll give you money, like always.”
A perfect moment to add more evidence.
When it comes to flipping someone, the more evidence the better.
“Money? Kuku. Fine! Just give me 100,000 won and I’ll forgive you cleanly.”
“……It’s my entire month’s allowance, including the transport money my parents earned with their blood and sweat.”
Pretending to suffer, he pulled 100,000 won out of his pocket.
He made a big show of trembling as he handed it over, claiming it was the allowance his parents had given him.
Do-jong recorded it meticulously.
Through the torn pocket of the school pants, the phone was clearly visible.
If everything ended well today, I might have to buy Do-jong another pair of pants.
“I’m sorry once more. Let them go.”
I walked up to him and handed him the money.
I made sure to show maximum awkwardness in my trembling hand.
The angle was perfect, too.
“Oho! Look at this bastard. You actually have money? More than usual? Kukuku.”
The guy laughed proudly.
The dumb bastard looked satisfied after extorting his poor sunbae.
This was exactly the usual pattern.
Whenever he felt bored, he’d go around taking money from friends.
He’d roam between classrooms and pick up small amounts from timid kids.
It wasn’t even “official” extortion.
He’d always say he borrowed it and would repay it soon.
But of course he never repaid anything.
Even if someone reported him, he’d just say “Sorry” and return the money, and nothing more would happen.
He must have gotten this tactic from his attorney father.
But today, he was properly caught.
Receiving money under threat of violence — this was undeniable evidence.
Anyone looking at this would call him a real extortionist.
“Now let them go.”
“Kukuku.”
The bastard’s eyes turned crafty as he accepted the money.
He even showed a sly, vile grin.
“Jjaaaak!”
My cheek burned hot.
“Aaargh!”
As if he’d been waiting, he screamed theatrically.
As expected, his dog-like hand had slapped my cheek.
“Ahh. Damn……”
Even though I knew it was coming, it still hurt.
I bit my lip lightly, and a bit of blood spilled out.
Even I had to admire my own acting.
I glanced at Do-jong.
He subtly lowered the phone.
It was the signal that he’d finished recording the video.
This much evidence footage was more than enough.
There was no need for any more patience.
Crack—
I loosened my jaw pleasantly.
Wiping the blood around my mouth, I lowered my expression coldly.
“Hey, Hong Seong-hyun~.”
I called out to the guy who had been grinning with satisfaction after hitting me.
I wiped the blood from my lips.
Then I smeared the blood onto my school uniform.
Another piece of evidence confirmed.
On a crime scene, nothing is more important than evidence.
“What? Where?”
“You bastard. The Hong family elders would roll in their graves if they saw you. Because of the sin of producing a worthless mutt like you.”
The guy flinched slightly.
“What did you say? You bastard trying to die? Don’t laugh, you little rat!”
His eyes flipped.
A guy who’s lived his whole life unchallenged probably never heard such curses before.
“You dumb piece of shit.”
Ah! The curse had a good ring to it.
After entering university in my past life, I couldn’t swear like this anymore.
Swearing rolled off my tongue like tearing tissue paper.
“You son of a bitch!”
Whoosh.
His fist came flying fast toward my face.
A punch without hesitation.
A dirty method aimed right at the eyes — typical of him.
He’d always done cheap tricks like this.
As his fist came flying, I threw my own punch straight toward his incoming fist.
Crack!
A gruesome sound came from his fist as our punches collided.
Sorry.
I failed to regulate my internal strength.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The guy screamed like he was possessed by demonic pain.
I jumped lightly in place.
Even though it wasn’t serious, it looked like he wouldn’t be using his right hand for a while.
He’d be able to go to the bathroom on his own only with his left hand.
It was a perfectly justified situation.
I’m not stupid.
I had prepared my excuse in advance.
Inside a situation where the law couldn’t protect him, I used my fist openly.
“What the hell is that bastard?!”
“Hey! Do something! Beat those bastards up!!!”
“Senior, what are you doing?!”
Hong’s friend Mun-cheol’s group of second-year kids came running like a pack of wild dogs.
Fine. Let’s finish quickly and go grab some chocolate pies for snacks.
Believing in their numbers, they rushed toward me in a chaotic charge, so I rushed at them head-on.
Ssaeaeaeak.
Fists and kicks flew everywhere.
Each time, I lightly responded with my fists—
Bam! Thud-thud.
I landed one precise hit per bastard.
Those idiots who only believed in strength in numbers could never handle someone who had actually mastered real martial arts.
Even just the basic level of the Taeguk Five-Elements Internal Fist was excessive for these ground-level creatures.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
Bones broke and screams exploded everywhere.
“Argh! Aaaaagh!”
Screams echoed throughout the mountainside.
The battered bastards crawled while clutching their legs, still trying to swing their fists.
These idiot bastards — with those flimsy hands, they thought they had dominated me up until now?
Smack-aagh! Smack!
An opportunity like today would never come again.
I vented everything I had into the scum trembling miserably.
My insides felt refreshed.
“Aaaaaghhhh! Senior! Please, stop hitting them!”
“Ow, it huuurt huuuuurt!”
“Aaaaaaagh!”
They were fine when beating others, but when it was their own bodies being hit, they acted like the world was ending.
Chaos erupted in the mountainside.
“…….”
The pack of trash, momentarily stunned, slowly retreated and disappeared.
The first-year bastard who stayed behind, the one who looked like a wannabe bully candidate, panicked.
He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
As Hong Seong-hyun clutched his stomach and screamed, his friends also screamed and scrambled away.
Ah, seeing those small-fry bastards run away… it soothed the last trauma from my previous life.
“Look at you cowards. Get on your knees!!!”
The remaining kids dropped to their knees with a thud.
Suddenly, they began acting like innocent sheep.
“Hey, Jang Tae-san, you bastard. Do you think you can get away with this…?”
I turned my head.
Crack-aagh!
Then I smacked Mun-cheol right in the cheek as he tried to say something.
“Aaaaagh!”
His scream rang out.
Mun-cheol rolled across the ground, sliding like a slab of meat.
Corn kernels scattered everywhere.
He wouldn’t be eating properly for a while either.
“Don’t make me say it twice. Before I hit you again.”
I recited the line that Hong Seong-hyun used often.
I really wanted to say this line at least once.
Before I finished speaking, the trembling bastards all fell to their knees and bowed their heads to the ground.
Fear flickered in their eyes.
If you’re going to discipline them, you need to be decisive.
“Kuh… you bastard… you’re dead! My dad won’t stay quiet about this!!!”
Wow… still so arrogant even though he’s been beaten.
Hong Seong-hyun’s forehead veins bulged.
Holding his broken hand, he shed hot tears and mucus.
Thinking that I had suffered at the hands of a loser like him in my previous life made me furious.
“That so? Would be disappointing to end it like this. I still have one last card left. Do-jong. Give me your phone.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Do-jong and the other friends looked at me as if I were some kind of monster.
Don’t worry, kids.
I don’t beat my friends.
The weak, powerless me who used to play with them must now look completely different.
Beep-beep.
I took the phone and dialed the number every citizen of Korea knows.
And then…
In a very urgent voice, I said:
“1, 112 please! A large-scale school violence incident has occurred! The location is the mountain behind Jangju High School! Including myself, around twenty people have been injured! Please send 119 together! Hurry, please hurry!!!”
I poured righteous rage into the report.