Devil Returns to School Days - Chapter 133: Evil Begets Evil (1)

Hiring a lawyer was undeniably effective.

The school administration fully cooperated in disciplining Go Dong-su and his group, deciding to suspend them until the criminal issue was resolved. This left a chill in the school atmosphere. Kim Hyun-seong was already someone to be wary of, but now, with rumors spreading that he had even hired a lawyer to press charges against his classmates, no one dared to approach him.

In class, during lunch, or even in the hallways, students pretended not to see him, turning their heads as if he were invisible.

In the bustling classroom, no one came near Kim Hyun-seong. Some students murmured:

“Who wouldn’t be scared to be in the same school as Kim Hyun-seong?”

“Seriously. If we get into a fight, he’ll just call his lawyer. I didn’t like him transferring here in senior year, but what’s his deal?”

“Just avoid him. That’s the safest option.”

It was a natural reaction.

A friend carrying around a recorder, who wasn’t part of any existing circles, was bound to be off-putting. Whether the **Golden Circle** intended it or not, Kim Hyun-seong found himself isolated. For most people, such a situation would have been mentally draining, but Kim Hyun-seong remained unbothered.

He had never expected life in Seoul to be smooth. He knew it would be a thorny path, and in fact, he felt somewhat relieved that things weren’t going too well. The fact that the school was reacting so sensitively to his presence meant that his transfer was stirring things up.

He quietly prepared for class as usual.

But then, murmurs echoed from the hallway, followed by someone entering the classroom.

*Creak.*

*Thud.*

He didn’t pay attention.

Keeping his eyes on his textbook, he reviewed the material. The source of the commotion strode directly toward him and dragged a chair to sit in front of him. When they were face-to-face, Kim Hyun-seong finally looked up.

“So, you’re Kim Hyun-seong?”

The person smiled widely.

Even though they had never met, Kim Hyun-seong recognized him immediately.

During his preparation for the transfer, he had studied the files given to him by **Jung Chan-su** so thoroughly that they were almost worn out.

One of the names in those files stood out.

“S+ ranked **Choi Myung-hoon**.”

A top-tier member of the Golden Circle.

Evil had shown its face.

* * *

Choi Myung-hoon lowered his voice.

He spoke slowly and deliberately, ensuring the students watching from afar couldn’t overhear his unsettling words.

“You probably understand what’s happening, so I’ll get straight to the point. From now on, no one at this school will treat you like a ‘person.’ Sure, my words may scare you, but it’s not just that. Your national first-place ranking and the fact that you reported a classmate right after transferring—none of that sits well with the others. And the moment you break under this pressure and lash out, the teachers will rip you apart. So much so that your background from Dae-san will be useless.”

He smirked.

Choi Myung-hoon didn’t hide his connection to the Golden Circle or the malicious intent behind his visit.

He glanced down at Kim Hyun-seong’s chest, where the recorder was likely hidden.

“But you’re impressive. Not only did you transfer here, but you’ve got a recorder tucked away, ready to screw us over.”

This assignment had a hefty reward attached to it.

The order was clear: those who played a key role in dealing with Kim Hyun-seong would be compensated with a massive one billion won. Choi Myung-hoon and several others were eager to get to work. The entire school was buzzing like a volcano about to erupt, though most students didn’t know the full extent of what was happening.

“You should know this: everything that happens from today onward stems from me. If you can’t handle it, if the anger gets to be too much and you feel like you need to take it out on someone—come find me. As long as you’re willing to cross the line of the law, I’ll gladly take you on.”

He glanced around.

Groups of students milled about, pretending not to care, but Kim Hyun-seong knew the truth.

Everyone was listening.

Everyone was focused on what was happening.

Choi Myung-hoon turned back to Kim Hyun-seong.

“Welcome to Daesung Future High School, Hyun-seong.”

* * *

Choi Myung-hoon left the classroom.

One of the friends who had followed him sidled up next to him and spoke.

“Why didn’t you just take him out from the start? The teachers would’ve backed you up. What’s the point of just talking?”

This wasn’t how Choi Myung-hoon typically handled things.

Normally, when he received a task, he acted immediately.

Whether it was in this school or another, he would crush his target in front of everyone, then instruct the others to ostracize the victim completely. No one dared defy his orders. He had told Kim Hyun-seong about the law, but in reality, he didn’t care about legal consequences. His overwhelming strength made him a figure of fear.

As he walked down the hall, students parted for him like Moses parting the Red Sea.

He hadn’t even needed to say a word—people just moved out of his way.

Choi Myung-hoon answered.

“You know what kind of guy Kim Hyun-seong is?”

“Yeah, he took over Dae-san.”

“It’s more than that. The information I got from the Golden Circle says this guy isn’t normal.”

“How bad is he?”

His friend was surprised.

Though he knew about the Golden Circle through his association with Choi Myung-hoon, he had no idea how serious the situation was.

Choi Myung-hoon was different.

He had received warnings from a **broker** that were still fresh in his mind.

“The schools in Dae-san were just like here. The entire school was against Kim Hyun-seong, but he took them all on by himself. That much is possible, I guess—those are just country schools. How many tough kids could they really have? But what’s interesting is what came next. Kim Hyun-seong doesn’t just end things with a fight. Once he beats someone, he completely ruins their life.”

“…How?”

“Park Min-cheol, Kang Chang-seok, Jo Yong-taek, Shin Young-min. Every single person who went up against Kim Hyun-seong ended up in juvie. And here’s the creepy part: there’s this kid named Jung Min-ho, and he’s in a coma. Want to know something more interesting? Jung Min-ho was one of the Golden Circle’s targets. At first, we thought someone else had made the request, but after everything blew up, the truth came out. Kim Hyun-seong had hidden his identity and used the Golden Circle to take down Jung Min-ho. Creepy, right?”

Their eyes met.

Choi Myung-hoon’s friend was wide-eyed in disbelief, but Choi Myung-hoon’s gaze was filled with a strange intensity.

This was all information only a few brokers knew.

As an S+ ranked member, Choi Myung-hoon was given special treatment and knew how things worked behind the scenes. Most people would’ve been scared by now. What Kim Hyun-seong had done wasn’t something a high school student should’ve been capable of.

But.

Choi Myung-hoon was different.

As someone who had fully integrated into the Golden Circle, he felt as though his final days of high school had just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

“Kim Hyun-seong’s not the type of guy who’ll break just because we snap his arms and legs. Even if he loses a fight, it won’t stop there. Just like he used the Golden Circle and transferred here openly, he’s definitely got some other scheme going. You think I’d treat someone like that the same way I treat all those other idiots? No, we have to take our time with him. We’ll keep chipping away at him, pushing him to the edge until he finally snaps. And when he pulls something reckless, like he did at Dae-san…”

He smirked.

Choi Myung-hoon had always thought this.

This work.

The Golden Circle’s assignments.

They were his calling.

“We’ll make sure he knows that this place is a far more brutal hell than Dae-san ever was.”

Total defeat.

In Choi Myung-hoon’s mind, a thrilling picture was already forming.

* * *

After the storm passed, class resumed.

Kim Hyun-seong sat quietly, focusing on the lesson, unaffected by Choi Myung-hoon’s threats.

Though he could have been rattled by the warning, his eyes remained steady on the chalkboard.

Then.

*Thud.*

Something hit his head.

At first, he thought it was just a mistake.

But then.

*Thud, thud.*

Throughout the lesson, someone kept throwing things at his head.

Glancing down, he saw small bits of an eraser scattered on the floor.

He turned his head.

He didn’t need to look hard to find the culprit.

“What?”

The offender mouthed silently, taunting him.

It was a face he hadn’t seen before.

A classmate, sure, but not someone worth remembering. If that were the case, then his actions only meant one thing: this was one of **Choi Myung-hoon’s** moves. Just as Choi had warned, someone was “testing” Kim Hyun-seong, pushing him little by little.

It wasn’t much.

It wasn’t enough to anger him, but Kim Hyun-seong turned back to the board and thought.

‘Just as I expected.’

Though the **recorder** had given him an initial victory, the Golden Circle wouldn’t be cautious enough to stop at that. They had countless pawns at their disposal. Just as Vice Principal Jin Kyung-hee had discarded Go Dong-su and his group, Kim Hyun-seong knew that even she was a mere pawn to the higher-ups in the Golden Circle.

Taking out these people wouldn’t stop anything.

Defeating them was just an exercise in futility—they were expendable, and the true power of the Golden Circle lay beyond them.

‘They probably see the midterms as the deadline. The point where my grades start affecting the school ranking, where the Golden Circle’s clients start getting uncomfortable. So, I’ve got about a month. Should I just endure it? No. Just like Go Dong-su tried to frame me and this random kid is tossing eraser bits at me, their tactics are only going to escalate.’

This was a test.

How long could he endure? How far could they push him?

They were trying to provoke him, chip away at his patience.

And when he finally snapped and acted out, that would be the perfect outcome for them.

They could expel him for violent behavior, and Choi Myung-hoon had the strength to crush his rage.

They knew Kim Hyun-seong was dangerous, but they were so confident in themselves that they were still using these basic methods to get at him.

He chuckled.

Do they have any idea?

What I’m thinking?

What kind of life I’ve resigned myself to?

From the start, he had never planned to solve everything with a recorder.

The recorder was just a stepping stone for a much bigger plan.

And at school, he was going to handle things in a completely different way.

‘I need to become an absolute thorn in their side. I need to stir things up so badly that they have no choice but to feel pressured.’

Taking down Choi Myung-hoon?

That wasn’t the solution.

No matter how many enemies he defeated, replacements would always come.

What he needed was to prove that the system within this school couldn’t break him.

“All right, class dismissed. Enjoy your lunch,” the teacher said, leaving the room.

Kim Hyun-seong stood up immediately.

He made his way to the back of the classroom and stopped in front of a particular student.

“…What?”

It was the boy who had been throwing eraser bits at him.

His face showed a hint of fear.

Still, perhaps emboldened by Choi Myung-hoon’s backing, he lifted his chin defiantly.

Kim Hyun-seong stared at him.

“Is this fun for you?”

He pulled something from his pocket.

It was the recorder.

And then.

*Click.*

He turned it off.

The boy’s face morphed into confusion.

*Smack!*

Kim Hyun-seong’s fist landed squarely on his face.