Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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The word “in front of the school” is a phrase that students often use casually.
It can function as a sort of landmark, especially among kids who go to the same school.
The city of Seoul is as large as its long history.
It’s not just big in size.
There are also a lot of people living there.
Since there are many people living there, many buildings are built, and just as many are torn down.
It’s good to tear down and rebuild.
Old buildings can be dangerous in terms of safety and can greatly affect aesthetics.
The problem is that the process of tearing down and rebuilding is not very systematic, especially in older areas.
Among the buildings being torn down and built up like bamboo shoots after rain, narrow and long alleys spread out like a spider web.
No matter how much redevelopment is done or how many roads are reorganized, the shape of the land that old buildings originally occupy cannot help but become distorted, making the inside of the city more complex.
Therefore, in a place like Seoul, just going to a neighboring area can make you confused about the roads.
Without a smartphone’s GPS, you could be walking straight in a forest of tall buildings but somehow end up back where you started, or you might think you’ve turned correctly but not reach your destination.
In such a place, the best way to visit the house of a friend whom you met for the first time this year—especially one who lives in another neighborhood—is to meet up beforehand.
And if you are “friends,” you would naturally know the location of your school.
So, meeting in front of the school neatly solves everything.
The problem is people who aren’t “students.”
A school can become a fairly well-known landmark in the area, and since there’s a large floating population of students, it’s often famous enough to be the name of a bus stop.
But to those who aren’t related to the school, it can feel very exclusionary.
That’s understandable.
It’s a place where countless children who haven’t yet become adults walk around.
If an adult is lingering in such a place, it’s natural to think of them as suspicious.
Moreover, if your job involves “monitoring the area in front of a school”—
[Are you watching closely?]
“…Ha.”
She let out a small sigh as she looked at the text message.
—It means there’s no good option but to hold a camera with a huge lens and stay far away.
In fact, even this was risky.
Taking pictures of a school is bad enough, but secretly filming students from such a distance?
You could almost hear the cheers of the police celebrating another case closed.
That’s why she chose this location, far away.
She could somewhat make out the students’ silhouettes from this distance, but the quality of the video or photos wasn’t good enough to “do anything” with them.
Plus, since the students weren’t even in the center of the frame but caught on the edges, she could claim she was just taking landscape photos if she got caught.
That blonde, twin-tailed girl was much sharper than she had initially thought.
Not that it was a compliment—her sharpness wasn’t in line with what most teenagers would think about.
She used those photos as leverage to make her do dangerous things.
Of course, the reward was clear.
After some investigation, it turned out that girl wasn’t as powerful as Ye Sara, but she was still the daughter of one of the top-ranking companies in the country.
Actually, there was no need to investigate.
There were very few businessmen in Korea who were married to a blonde beauty, and since she had been photographing Ye Sara, she had already finished a rough investigation of the people around her.
The real mystery to her was the playful girl with the bleached blonde hair and the slightly tough-looking girl who always had her hair neatly tied.
She had no way to find out who they were unless she approached them first or used illegal means.
Even though their faces had appeared in the newspaper, they hadn’t really caused any big waves.
“My poor fate…”
Honestly, she thought she had chosen the wrong target.
She had assumed that a pretty-faced heir to the world’s richest corporation would definitely have fans, but after a brief bit of attention, it was already over.
People weren’t as interested in the business world as she had thought.
Still, the reason she kept pursuing them was—
Well, it was a kind of intuition.
She had a feeling that if she kept following this girl, she’d capture something worthy of a scoop.
…Even though now, she was just watching the school because of money.
She looked down at her camera again.
On the horizontally tilted LCD screen, there was a video from a telephoto lens bigger than her forearm.
“At least it’s a relief this model doesn’t have any limits on video recording.”
She sighed deeply, took out her smartphone, and snapped a picture.
She was on the roof of a nearby building.
It was lucky that she was acquainted with the building owner.
That relationship was, of course, also built with money.
“Really, not having money is a sin.”
She sent the photo to her employer, then sat down on the folding chair she had set up, rummaged through her bag, and pulled out a loaf of bread, tearing off a big bite.
“…Or maybe having too much money is a bigger sin?”
Watching the girl she had been observing for the past few months appear on her camera screen, she muttered to herself.
*
When Soo-ah saw the message, she was startled.
The message was from the photographer she had bribed with money at the amusement park—the one it was now hard to call a reporter—and the message she received had a picture of the photographer’s equipment.
On the camera screen in the photo, a school building appeared.
Lee Soo-ah hurriedly closed the messaging app.
“Huh? Did you see something?”
Ha-neul, who had been watching the front of the school with her, asked.
Ha-neul had been eagerly taking pictures for a while now.
Some passing students had looked suspiciously in their direction, and a few who had become acquainted with them after Sara’s interference even asked what they were doing.
But Ha-neul just brushed it off, saying she was taking pictures because the sky was beautiful.
“Oh, no. I think I just saw wrong.”
At that moment, a woman got out of a car.
She looked to be about the same age as Choi Na-kyung, though closer to her actual age, rather than what Na-kyung’s youthful appearance might lead you to believe.
A student, who seemed to be her son, got out of the car right after.
“That can happen.”
Ha-neul nodded as she looked at the car Soo-ah had pointed to.
Honestly, there was no need for them to be out here keeping watch.
She didn’t know exactly where, but she had already called a reporter who was sure to be capturing this scene from somewhere.
…Though she didn’t have the courage to reveal that fact yet.
Even if they were being watched, Lee Soo-ah had already started acting on her own.
Of course, it wasn’t in her own name but anonymously, through that reporter.
In addition to the photos of Sara that had been taken before, she had systematically organized pictures of Sara by time.
Whenever possible, she recorded videos, too.
She backed up all the original footage on several hard drives and stored them in various places.
And she anonymously sent these organized photos and videos to the board members of the Eugene Group.
She hadn’t sent them to just anyone.
Within the range of people Soo-ah could identify, she sent them only to those related to Sara by blood, those known to be in conflict with Choi Na-kyung, and those identified as former Chairman’s close associates.
Although she only sent photos with no other content, she was certain they would understand what it meant.
…Yes, it was undoubtedly dangerous.
If even one person was trying to use Sara for their own gain, they would surely try to push Na-kyung aside and take Sara for themselves.
But she also knew it wouldn’t be easy.
Just the combined shares of Sara and the ousted Na-kyung were enough that Sara’s shares couldn’t be ignored.
Moreover, neither Sara nor ‘Sara’ were pushovers anymore.
Soo-ah could also help them from behind.
If a marriage was necessary, she would even make that happen.
No, if anything, she hoped for that.
Even if Sara or ‘Sara’ used her and then discarded her—
Even then, it would at least be a way to atone for her sins.
“…Soo-ah.”
“Huh? Uh, yeah?”
Lost in thought, Soo-ah must have had a dazed expression.
At some point, Ha-neul had come closer and was looking at her.
“Oh, I’m fine—”
But before she could finish,
“Are you hiding something?”
Ha-neul, staring at Soo-ah intently, asked.
“…”
For a moment, Soo-ah was speechless.
Ha-neul had hit the mark so accurately.
“…I see.”
But Ha-neul just shrugged.
She seemed to understand without needing an answer.
“You must have a lot on your mind, too.”
Ha-neul sighed softly and let her shoulders droop.
That made her look extremely pitiful.
“…No.”
“Huh?”
When Soo-ah shook her head, Ha-neul looked up.
Her slightly upturned eyes, different from the usual confident Ha-neul, made Soo-ah feel like she had to say something.
“Thanks to you, Sara and ‘Sara’ are here now.”
So she spoke.
She had done many things that she regretted, but she was sure she wouldn’t regret saying this.
“Because you started it, we’re all able to be like this.”
All she had been able to do was talk to Sara
.
Ha-neul had run alongside her.
The thought of saying “I liked her first…” no longer applied.
Not when she thought about the weight of the mistakes she had made and the things she had been able to do.
Ha-neul had been overwhelming compared to her.
“R-really?”
Upon hearing Soo-ah’s words, Ha-neul blushed with embarrassment.
“Yeah, that’s right. So, you can have more confidence.”
Soo-ah smiled as she said that.
“I-I see…”
A brief, awkward silence followed.
It was awkward, but Soo-ah didn’t think it was an uncomfortable silence.
“Hey, guys!”
In the distance, someone called out to them.
When she looked up, she saw So-hee waving from afar.
Behind her, Sara and Yang Hye-in were walking together.
“Hi!”
Ha-neul waved her hand dramatically, as if trying to shake off the awkwardness, and greeted them loudly.
Seeing that, Soo-ah couldn’t help but burst out laughing.