In fact, the school’s ‘Disciplinary Committee’ is nothing special, contrary to the terrifying image that word carries.
After all, it’s merely an issue within the ‘school’.
It doesn’t even compare to disciplinary actions that could affect your paycheck, and of course, it pales in comparison to a court trial.
Moreover, all the students at this school are from wealthy families.
Among rich kids, the hierarchy sorts itself out, and rarely does anyone deliberately try to break that order.
It’s only natural, since the consequences of breaking the hierarchy after graduation are far more severe than any penalties for violating school rules.
Because of this, the Disciplinary Committee at this school is even more meaningless.
There’s a minimal display of respect between teachers and students.
But essentially, the teachers are the ones receiving bribes, and the students are the ones giving them.
Even if it’s the parents of the students who hand over the bribes, it’s the students who benefit from them.
In terms of ‘hierarchy’, the teachers are below the students.
It was for that reason that the well-known teaching staff from outside the school were treated like this within the school.
Although it was self-inflicted.
Naturally, the school’s disciplinary committee had no prestige.
It’s likely that teachers would stop it from happening before it even opened, and even if it did, it would just end with pointless chatter.
……‘That’s how it used to be.’
“At this rate, school’s unbearable, damn it~”
That was before a punk, who looked like he came straight out of a drawing, threw his legs up on the desk and leaned his right arm on the back of his chair while saying that.
And that punk was someone who had poured billions of won just to get into this school and sit next to me.
Honestly, while the hierarchy was mostly determined by wealth, my case was unique.
If it were based solely on wealth, this school would be completely dominated by Ye Sara.
……I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but that’s how it was in the original work as well.
Although, she ultimately falls at the end.
But how exactly did she fall?
Considering Ye Sara’s personality, I know it’s ‘difficult’ for her to reach the level where she can control the school.
But just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
If Ye Sara had truly lost her mind after her failed suicide attempt and tried again—or if her first attempt failed, leading her to attempt a second time—it could somewhat make sense.
But how could Ye Sara have ‘fallen’?
On the surface, she has assets worth 200 trillion won.
And it’s not just the 200 trillion; she receives dividends in the trillions every year.
And beyond that, there are her trust funds that the media doesn’t even cover, and private accounts full of cash that no one can access, making it even harder to comprehend.
Former Chairman Ye In-su truly loved his daughter.
And he didn’t completely trust Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung either.
That’s why he took countless precautions to ensure that Ye Sara’s actual wealth would surpass Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung’s.
Thanks to that, Ye Sara was at a level where her random punches could wipe out several mid-sized companies.
Even larger corporations had to be cautious, and conglomerates had to pay attention.
Even if she swung around trillions within the school, punishing teachers and students alike, she would still have hundreds of trillions left.
Could Ye Sara have ‘fallen’ because the Chairwoman abandoned her?
No matter how much Ye Sara’s assets were tied to Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung.
……It could be evidence that she was that broken.
Or perhaps it was all part of Ye Sara’s ‘plan’.
The game’s point of view is strictly from Yoo Ha-neul’s perspective.
Naturally, the player has no way of knowing what’s happening behind the scenes.
Maybe there was something hidden in Ye Sara’s route.
Anyway, returning to the current situation.
The disciplinary committee was really nothing special.
No matter how wealthy the school was, they didn’t have a proper courtroom, so they just pushed some desks around in an empty classroom to mimic a courtroom.
Honestly, it almost felt like a child’s play setup.
Still, things were turning out to be amusing, so I’ll let it slide for now.
“All the kids are ignoring me, isn’t this bullying? No matter what, isn’t it too much to treat someone as if they don’t exist?”
So-hee was talking about her situation, but at the same time, it was a metaphor for mine.
The situation she was in was exactly the same as mine.
By the way, the students accused of being ‘bullies’ couldn’t even all fit in the classroom.
There were over a hundred of them, so it wasn’t surprising they couldn’t all come in.
Honestly, they could’ve just gathered in the auditorium, but seeing as they didn’t, they were probably trying to downplay the whole situation.
It’s obvious.
Forget about it making the news, the thing that scares the teachers the most right now is Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung.
And the ones sitting in the offenders’ seats inside the classroom all had their heads down, trembling in fear.
I didn’t know every student’s name, but their behavior made one thing clear.
They weren’t the ‘rich kids’ in this school.
The ones accused of bullying were mostly first-year girls.
Among them were kids from Korea’s wealthiest families, daughters of small business owners, and even external students admitted solely based on their grades.
In other words, there were plenty of scapegoats to be chosen from.
For the record, I wasn’t an offender or a named victim, but I was in the room.
No one could complain that I was there since I was essentially invisible to them.
They glanced at me with fearful eyes, but that was it.
Yes, these people couldn’t ignore the money they had received from Shin So-hee, which was why the committee had been opened in the first place.
And ‘victim’ Shin So-hee was out there, giving her testimony.
But to be exact, the words So-hee was saying weren’t really hers.
She was just saying what I wanted to say on my behalf.
In a tone and voice that felt refreshingly rebellious.
“Uh… hmm, so.”
The bald-headed teacher sitting in the center of the group of teachers cleared his throat.
He was the one I had poured water on.
It seemed he held a higher position than I thought.
The principal and vice principal didn’t even show up.
Were they not called?
Or did they ignore it on purpose?
I’ll figure that out later.
“Um… Shin So-hee? Our teaching staff believes there was clearly a misunderstanding.”
Whether he was using formal language because it was a ‘committee’ or because he was wary of So-hee, I couldn’t tell.
“A misunderstanding?”
So-hee, who had been blatantly using informal speech with the teachers up until now, suddenly asked in formal language.
The attitude felt like she was saying, ‘I’ll let it slide this time’.
……Considering how bad she was at faking tears or anger, her natural ability to act like this must be a sign of her true nature.
Well, she wasn’t really a bully who beat kids up or took their money.
“I experienced it myself, yet it’s a misunderstanding?”
“Well…….”
The teacher glanced at me.
“The students actually wanted to get along with you, So-hee……”
“…….”
So-hee turned her gaze toward the offenders lined up.
I could see some of my classmates.
Mostly the ones who used to sit near me.
Some of the kids who sat closest to me were missing, though, so they were probably unfortunate enough to get chewed up by money as well.
Or maybe they aren’t so unfortunate?
After all, they were still accomplices.
Maybe they couldn’t help it because of the pressure, or because of money, or because they just wanted to get through school life properly……
There are always plenty of excuses.
But just because you have an excuse doesn’t mean it’s justified.
Ye Sara crumbled because of that.
How many of these students came from our previous school?
“I-I’m sorry……!”
One of the offending students, perhaps their representative, suddenly stood up and bowed deeply.
“We didn’t know you were so hurt! We judged you on our own and distanced ourselves, sorry……!”
It was an unexpectedly heartfelt apology.
It was certainly more sincere than the fake crying So-hee had done earlier.
But I knew all too well that what they felt wasn’t ‘remorse’ or ‘guilt’z
The true emotion behind those words was ‘fear’.
If you were the child of one of Korea’s wealthiest families, a little punishment and bad grades wouldn’t be a big deal.
Even after graduating from school, there would be plenty of ways to make a living.
Worst-case scenario, you could live off the interest from the money in your bank account and still live a life most ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.
But it was different for the children of small business owners who take subcontracting work or for the children of those ‘professional’ occupations that weren’t quite that level—or especially for those external students admitted purely on their grades.
Especially the students who were admitted on their grades; they had to forge connections here no matter what.
It was essential for getting a good job after graduation.
There’s no better guarantee for entering a big company than having the right connections.
So if they were expelled from school here, the consequences would be massive.
Especially if the reason was because they were bullies in a group harassment case, it would seriously impact their chances of getting into university.
They’re the perfect targets to use.
Since they didn’t offer bribes, there’s no reason to protect them.
But at the same time, there’s no reason to fear them either.
They were full of weaknesses, and there was a valid reason.
On top of that, they were desperate, making them easy shields to use.
What a remarkable school this is.
But of course, our goal wasn’t to end things here.
As I’ve said many times, the goal wasn’t to find and punish the offenders.
Our true objective was—
“They should be arriving soon.”
As I looked at the watch on my wrist and mumbled that, a tense silence fell over the classroom.
Everyone was watching me with anxious faces.
Who did I call?
It seemed they were all wondering that.
A new witness?
Another victim?
They were probably thinking that whoever I called must have something that could turn this case upside down.
Well, if they’re worried about a new witness or victim, I want to tell them to stop.
The person I called is—
At that moment, the doorknob clicked, and the door slowly opened.
“Ah, I’m sorry for interrupting.”
The person who entered while saying that was Team Leader Han Garam.
She was dragging a large suitcase with one hand.
“……You are……?”
The teachers must have recognized her.
Team Leader Han Garam said she had a lot of clients at this school.
She probably managed the money the teachers received too.
“You’re late.”
I pouted as I spoke, and Team Leader Han Garam shrugged her shoulders and responded.
“Ah, sorry. It wasn’t easy to withdraw a large sum of money while avoiding the attention of the financial authorities.”
Her wide smile as she said that froze the entire classroom solid.