Devil Returns to School Days - Chapter 130: The Nuclear Bomb Dropped on Seoul (5)

**Senior year of high school.**

Even here in Gangnam, considered the frontline of education, there was no leniency on the first day of the new term. Neither the students nor their parents wanted any laxity. Apart from the new transfer student, everyone was familiar with one another, so classes started immediately without any need for a period of adjustment.

“For the upcoming third-year curriculum…”

It was a familiar scene.

The students quickly adapted to the lessons, but the teachers who entered the classroom all exhibited the same reaction.

The math teacher looked around the room, then spoke to someone he spotted.

“Are you Kim Hyun-seong?”

“Yes.”

“Wow—so you’re the one who ranked first in the national mock exams. No wonder you’re so tall and handsome. I’ve been curious about you for the past year. How could a student from a provincial school outperform all the prestigious schools in Seoul with such incredible grades? Well, let’s see some of that top-ranking skill. Come up here and solve this problem.”

It was only natural for the teacher to be curious.

Being first in the nation was no small feat. At this rate, Kim Hyun-seong might even score a perfect score on the college entrance exam. Calmly accepting the teacher’s interest, Kim Hyun-seong went up to solve the problem. He solved it effortlessly. In fact, it was a problem that would have been impossible without advanced study, but he handled it with ease, returning to his seat while the teacher applauded.

The issue was…

From first period until lunchtime.

Every teacher mentioned Kim Hyun-seong.

They all said the same things.

“As expected.”

“Impressive.”

“First in the nation is definitely on another level.”

The compliments kept coming. If Kim Hyun-seong had accepted the teachers’ applause at face value, he could have scratched his head shyly and felt quite pleased. However, instead of feeling proud, he felt a cold chill run through his veins. Being first in the nation naturally drew attention, but from the teacher who guided him earlier to all the other teachers, there was a common thread.

A peculiar sense of wariness.

It was not the gaze one would have for a student. If most of these teachers had indeed been swayed by the Golden Circle, their praise would have a blatant agenda behind it.

Think about it.

On the very first day of a transfer.

In Gangnam, where education is a matter of life and death, if a new transfer student appeared and received one-sided attention from the teachers, causing all the students who had been studying hard to drop in rank, even by one position…

What do you think would happen?

Sure enough, not even a day had passed since Kim Hyun-seong’s enrollment when he faced an uncomfortable reality.

* * *

It was lunchtime.

Kim Hyun-seong had returned to his seat after a simple meal, but a group of students forming a clique glanced at him with disdain.

“Man, this sucks.”

“Seriously. I mean, does this make any sense? A transfer in the third year of high school is already super annoying, but being first in the nation? What are we supposed to do about that? I’d accept it if a student who’s been competing with us for the past two years moved ahead of us, but this is just flipping us all off.”

“Is there nowhere we can file a complaint? This seems incredibly unfair no matter how I think about it.”

Their conversation was blatant.

They made no effort to lower their voices so Kim Hyun-seong wouldn’t hear; they openly criticized him.

**Inside the classroom.**

Apart from them, no other students were present. Most were either eating lunch or outside playing, and in the otherwise quiet classroom, the clique’s voices grew louder.

“When you think about it, the fact that he transferred just because it was allowed is the problem. Knowing full well how sensitive this school is about grades, he ignored all that just to save his own skin. Maybe he’s a sociopath or something. How else could someone be so selfish?”

“Sociopath or not, he only cares about himself. Did you see him during class earlier? When the teachers asked him to solve problems, he did it so easily like it was nothing. He probably thought he was hot stuff. I mean, he’s not just school number one; he’s number one in the entire nation. Of course, he wouldn’t give a damn about anyone else.”

They no longer glanced at him discreetly.

They stared openly and hurled insults.

It was as if they were waiting for Kim Hyun-seong to react.

It seemed they wanted him to stand up from his seat, driven by the insults he heard, and throw a punch right then and there.

‘Not yet.’

This wasn’t Cheonil, nor was it Daesan.

If he caused trouble on the first day of his transfer, the trash at this school, unlike Oh Dae-hwan and Kim Young-chul, wouldn’t cover up the issue. Even a minor incident could escalate. Just as Shin Young-min almost faced punishment even though Kim Hyun-seong struck first, this school would operate in the opposite way from Cheonil.

He proceeded with the next class calmly.

Because his future plans were clear, their blatant provocations didn’t stir his emotions at all.

But then.

Thud.

Someone slammed the desk with both hands.

When Kim Hyun-seong looked up, the person met his gaze with a sneering grin.

“Hey. Can’t you hear my voice?”

* * *

The opponent.

He was one of the students from the gossiping clique.

A fellow third-year, third-class student named Go Dong-soo, stared at him with cold eyes.

“Listen. I’m genuinely curious, what were you thinking when you decided to transfer here?”

“Do I have to explain that to you?”

“Heh.”

Go Dong-soo straightened his back and exchanged glances with his friends.

Kim Hyun-seong could hear their sneering laughter.

“Seriously, you’re such a jerk. I mean, think about it. Because of you, how many students are suffering right now? So, at the very least, you should keep your head down during class, or not act like such an ass like you are now, right?”

He laughed.

From that laugh, Kim Hyun-seong realized that Go Dong-soo hadn’t approached him out of mere jealousy.

“Whatever happens next, you brought it on yourself.”

Slap!

Suddenly, Go Dong-soo slapped his own cheek.

Instead of hitting Kim Hyun-seong, he repeatedly slapped himself.

Slap!

Slap, slap, slap!

His face swelled.

The blows were so genuine that his lips burst, staining red with blood.

Watching this.

Kim Hyun-seong didn’t intervene.

He stared coldly and asked indifferently.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think? Trying to screw you over.”

Go Dong-soo smirked.

Then he collapsed to the floor and began to scream at the top of his lungs.

“Ahh! Aahhhh! The transfer student is hitting me!”

His screams pierced the silence and echoed down the hallway.

Soon enough.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s happening?”

Students gathered, murmuring in confusion.

To their eyes.

The scene of Go Dong-soo lying on the floor and Kim Hyun-seong standing over him made it easy to identify the victim and the perpetrator.

* * *

Kim Hyun-seong and Go Dong-soo were immediately summoned by a teacher.

Their homeroom teacher for Class 3, Year 3, Jang Won-gi, the same teacher who had shown Kim Hyun-seong to his class, asked coldly.

“Go Dong-soo, explain. What on earth happened?”

“Well…”

Go Dong-soo hung his head low.

The crazed look Kim Hyun-seong had seen was nowhere to be found.

With his pale face and constantly trembling body, he seemed every bit the victim of school violence.

“After lunch, I was chatting with my friends when suddenly Kim Hyun-seong shouted at us to keep quiet. Since it was still lunchtime, I responded curtly, saying we could laugh and talk if we wanted. Maybe he got angry at that, because he told me to come over. I was scared, but I didn’t want to back down, so I went over and… sniff… Teacher, I really don’t understand why I had to be hit like this. Was it really that wrong to talk during lunch or to respond curtly?”

He raised his head.

The marks of violence were clear.

Jang Won-gi whipped his gaze around and stared fiercely at Kim Hyun-seong.

“You little punk. You hit a classmate?”

“I didn’t do that.”

“Then what about his face? How do you explain this?”

“Teacher, I’m telling you clearly, I didn’t do it.”

“Ha—”

Jang Won-gi let out a chuckle.

He called another student over.

“You, bring in the witnesses who saw the situation.”

“Yes, sir.”

The student scurried out.

Soon.

The friends who had been gossiping with Go Dong-soo earlier arrived.

“Explain what happened. Did Kim Hyun-seong hit him or not?”

They glanced at Kim Hyun-seong.

Their eyes glistened with malice, and it was clear what they would say.

“Kim Hyun-seong hit him unprovoked.”

“That’s right. Dong-soo didn’t do anything wrong, but Kim Hyun-seong picked a fight and suddenly slapped him.”

“…We wanted to stop Kim Hyun-seong, but seeing how fiercely he was hitting, we couldn’t do anything. We’d heard some rumors about Kim Hyun-seong. That he wasn’t just some model student excelling academically, but that he was truly scary. How could we possibly stop him?”

It was as if they had rehearsed their responses.

Kim Hyun-seong calmly scrutinized their faces.

Had they all received the Golden Circle’s request?

Go Dong-soo was definitely one of them.

The malice needed to lead the gossip and slap himself so recklessly could only be explained by a request, but he couldn’t be sure about the others who were blaming him. The uncomfortable situation driven by the teachers and the image Go Dong-soo had tarnished—these might have made them think alike when faced with a choice.

Ah.

This is an opportunity.

With Dong-soo taking the lead, and since there were no other witnesses around.

If they coordinated their testimonies, they could take down Kim Hyun-seong.

They could eliminate a competitor who was ranked first nationwide.

On their way to the teachers’ office after being summoned by Jang Won-gi, they might have discussed something like this.

Whatever the reason.

‘This is the Golden Circle’s home base, isn’t it?’

He had walked right into a trap on the very first day of his transfer.

He hadn’t done anything yet, but just as Jeong Chan-soo’s call had warned, he was immediately exposed to malice as the Golden Circle’s target. This revealed a crucial fact. Clearly, parents like Jo Hye-joo had submitted a request, exposing his presence, and the Golden Circle must have learned all the truths Kim Hyun-seong had been hiding. They would have understood that his transfer to Seoul wasn’t just due to a failed request but had a blatant agenda.

This was an all-out war.

Both sides were fully exposed now.

With Jeong Chan-soo having tidied up the Golden Circle and immediately gone into hiding, Kim Hyun-seong had no way to find out about the internal movements of the Golden Circle. He had no idea they would use such dirty tricks from the first day of his transfer, nor what might happen next. To achieve the revenge he sought, he would have to rely solely on his own strength.

Jang Won-gi spoke.

“Even now, you’re still denying it? There are clear witnesses here.”

“Those guys aren’t suitable witnesses. Since they’re friends, they could be biased. Why not find other witnesses who were passing by in the hallway and ask them? If I’m truly guilty, I’ll accept any punishment.”

“This little punk is shamelessly making excuses.”

Thud.

Jang Won-gi slammed his hand down on the desk.

He had no intention of hearing any excuses.

Neither Go Dong-soo nor Jang Won-gi.

They were the same kind of people.

They dismissed any claims of innocence outright.

“What other witnesses? What nonsense! Look at his face—that’s evidence enough. Who else would do this if not you? A brat like you, lying through your teeth already. We can’t have that. Nationwide number one or not, a kid like you is—what are you doing now?”

Jang Won-gi’s face twisted in confusion.

In the middle of speaking.

Kim Hyun-seong suddenly pulled out his phone and started making a call.

Even Go Dong-soo and his friends were bewildered, their eyes widening in surprise.

“I’m calling the police.”

“What?”

“The teacher seems to have lost his sense of fairness, so we should call the police to resolve this. Oh, hi, is this the police station? Yes, this is Daesung Future High School. There’s been an incident of violence on campus. Yes, yes, it’s quite serious, so could you please come over?”

It all happened so fast.

Like beans cooking on a hot stove.

Jang Won-gi didn’t have a chance to intervene.

After he hung up.

Jang Won-gi asked, “What the hell are you doing?”

“You said I was the perpetrator, right? Then shouldn’t the facts be made clear, and shouldn’t I be properly punished? Oh, and…”

Thud.

He pulled out something.

It was a pen-shaped device that didn’t quite fit the situation.

“This has a recording of what happened a little while ago.”

For a moment.

Their eyes met.

Seeing the wavering in Jang Won-gi’s eyes.

“I’m a very cautious student, you see. You don’t mind, right?”

Kim Hyun-seong flashed a bright smile.

(TL Note: This is what I love about this MC!)