Devil Returns to School Days - Chapter 163: The Moment Evil Overflows (7)

His heart sank.

As if the situation wasn’t already dangerous enough.

The responsibility he’d have to bear for the plan’s failure wasn’t insignificant, and Choi Myung-hoon’s eyes widened in response to Park Hyung-joon’s words.

This was clearly a trap set by Kim Hyunsung.

To survive, he had to say something, anything.

“This… This is definitely a trap! How could I have leaked information? You know that doesn’t make any sense! If the plan failed, I’d be the first one they’d get rid of. Why would I do something that crazy? And I even used a knife to try to stop Kim Si-woo—if I were going to betray you, I wouldn’t have gone that far!”

He was desperate.

Like someone grasping at straws, he pleaded with raw emotion.

Park Hyung-joon let go of his hair.

Rising to his feet, he looked down coldly.

“I know.”

“…What?”

“I know you didn’t betray us.”

Choi Myung-hoon looked up with a puzzled expression.

Then why…

Why was he pushing him into such a corner?

Park Hyung-joon continued.

“If you had truly betrayed us, like you said, you wouldn’t be standing here in front of me now that everything’s over. It makes sense that Kim Hyunsung would set a trap to frame you. I sincerely admire Kim Hyunsung for that. He created a trap that even knowing it was a trap, you still couldn’t avoid.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

“Myung-hoon, think. I failed. I’m in a position where I fear punishment from those above. So, what would I do to lessen the blame? There’s only one answer, right? I’d claim that there’s a traitor within our ranks, causing things to go awry. Jeong Chan-soo, Choi Myung-hoon—perhaps the reason we keep failing is that Kim Hyunsung has already gotten to someone on the inside. If I say that, I might be given another chance to root out the traitor.”

“Ah…”

He was speechless.

He had fallen into the trap completely.

Thanks to the justification Kim Hyunsung had laid out, Choi Myung-hoon had lost his one remaining lifeline—the protection of the Golden Circle.

In the end.

He was nothing but a disposable pawn.

With a tone like a death sentence, Park Hyung-joon coldly spat out his words.

“You should’ve succeeded.”

With that, he ended the conversation.

*Smack!*

*Bam, bam, bam!*

With brutal punches, Choi Myung-hoon passed out.

—

**One hour later.**

Park Hyung-joon arrived at the arranged meeting place.

He had already rehearsed the scenario in his mind.

The traitor Choi Myung-hoon had been dealt with, and he would pledge to take the lead in uncovering other traitors if he was given one last chance.

However.

When he arrived at the Korean restaurant, his mind went blank.

“…I, I greet the master.”

Master.

There was only one person in the world to whom brokers would refer with that title.

Park Hyung-joon immediately bowed his head.

The man whose face he had seen a few times in the media was calmly enjoying a well-prepared meal.

“You’re quick on the uptake.”

Park Hyung-joon didn’t reply.

Yoon Hyun-min, heir to the Taeyang Group.

The fact that a man famous for being a chaebol heir had appeared in front of him made it clear—Yoon Hyun-min was the true master of the Golden Circle, a secret he had managed to keep hidden until now. The real question was: why was he revealing himself now? Even within Cheonsang, only a select few knew the master’s identity. Yet, Yoon Hyun-min had shown his face to Park Hyung-joon, someone who had failed.

Calmly.

Yoon Hyun-min continued eating, each bite precise and neat.

The sound of him chewing and swallowing seemed deafening in Park Hyung-joon’s ears, like thunder.

Yoon Hyun-min spoke.

“What do you think has allowed the Golden Circle to last this long?”

“…Secrecy.”

“That’s right, secrecy. This organization has maintained complete control over its secrets, which is why it’s remained hidden for so many years. But that’s reaching its limit. The size of the Golden Line has grown like a web, to the point where it can’t be hidden anymore. And with so many agents involved in carrying out the Golden Circle’s tasks, the leaks are becoming more frequent. Eventually, we’ll be exposed. People will discover that this cartel of the elite—this evil that preserves wealth and power through inheritance—exists.”

*Gulp.*

Park Hyung-joon swallowed dryly.

What was his intention?

He couldn’t grasp it at all.

*Clink.*

Yoon Hyun-min set down his chopsticks.

His gaze shifted to Park Hyung-joon.

“We need to prepare for the future when our identity is revealed. A future where people know who we are, but like blind men with their eyes open, they turn a blind eye because they have no choice. And when that time comes, the moment of exposure will be crucial. If we establish an overwhelming image from the start, no one will have the courage to challenge us later. So, I’m giving you one last chance. Take responsibility for everything that happened in this incident. You’ll be the villain, the mastermind behind the malice, and show the world that no matter how much they dig, the Golden Circle will always be able to sever its ties. Do that, and when you get out of prison, I’ll make sure you have a suitable place.”

Park Hyung-joon hesitated.

He had tried to kill a student.

If he went to prison…

Would he ever come out?

10 years? 20 years? 30 years?

He didn’t know.

Was this really the right thing to do? He even considered whether he could use Yoon Hyun-min’s revealed identity to his advantage. Yoon Hyun-min was the heir to the Taeyang Group. If Park Hyung-joon played his cards right, he might be able to flip the script instead of taking the fall.

At that moment.

“Hey.”

A cold, harsh voice interrupted his thoughts.

When Park Hyung-joon snapped back to reality, Yoon Hyun-min was staring at him with piercing, icy eyes as if he could see right through him.

“Do you know why I revealed my identity?”

“…No, sir.”

“You know who I am. You’re fully aware that you can’t do anything to me. If you tried to expose me, someone else would take the fall for my crimes, but you…you wouldn’t make it out alive.”

Yoon Hyun-min smiled faintly.

“That’s the future I envision for the Golden Circle.”

—

Park Hyung-joon left.

In the end, he accepted the orders.

The public’s curiosity would be satisfied once Park Hyung-joon’s involvement as the mastermind was revealed.

A proxy stepped in.

“Are you sure this is alright? There was no need to reveal your identity.”

“It’s time. A cell-structured organization has its advantages—its members can’t trace the leader—but that also means it can’t fully wield its power. By revealing who I am, those who might dare to challenge the Golden Circle will hesitate. This is the future I’ve accepted.”

He accepted reality.

The problem posed by Kim Hyunsung had forced Yoon Hyun-min to acknowledge that he could no longer completely hide his identity.

Even so.

He had no intention of giving up the organization.

The Golden Circle had grown too large, and it had already secured a substantial network. Slowly, he was preparing for the “new future.” If it was just Yoon Hyun-min, heir to the Taeyang Group, the Golden Circle might collapse with him. But the organization was so deeply embedded with politicians, chaebols, and power brokers across various fields that when the time came, revealing its identity would only serve to reshape the power structure.

At that point.

Even knowing the truth wouldn’t change anything.

People would close their eyes, plug their ears, and pin the blame on some scapegoat.

As he’d told Park Hyung-joon.

The timing was everything.

Once the initial shock passed and they established their dominance, no one would dare oppose them.

“By the way, what’s the deal with that high school kid, Kim Hyunsung? Why does he go to such lengths?”

“…We still haven’t figured it out. At first, we thought it was just revenge for becoming a target of the Golden Circle. But from what we’ve seen so far, it seems like there’s more to it.”

“More, huh.”

Kim Hyunsung.

He was an intriguing figure.

From the Blackout incident to the latest scheme.

He had perfectly countered malice on a scale no ordinary person could handle, and Yoon Hyun-min was genuinely curious.

At first, he thought the kid was nothing.

But now, regardless of age, he acknowledged Kim Hyunsung.

“Look into him. Find out everything—his life, who he is. And if there’s a reason he’s attacking the Golden Circle, and if it’s something that can be resolved…”

His eyes glimmered with greed.

Yoon Hyun-min had always…

Gotten what he wanted.

“I’d like to make him mine.”

—

Two days later.

The article was published.

**[The Truth Behind the Gangnam Group Assault Revealed: Choi Myung-hoon, Jealous of Kim’s Academic Success, Plots with His Uncle]**

The scenario seemed believable enough.

Choi Myung-hoon and Park Hyung-joon.

The two of them took the fall for everything.

Along with them, several others involved were sent to prison, and schools in Gangnam, including Daesung Mirae High, faced the expulsion of dozens of students. They had no choice but to accept it. After all, it had nearly led to the death of an innocent student. It was impossible to let such dangerous individuals remain in school.

Of course.

Not everyone believed the article.

Some insisted that there was a conspiracy, but public interest quickly shifted.

**[Celebrity A Caught with Drugs!]**

**[Shocking Double Life of Celebrity B?!]**

Drugs, affairs.

Scandals rocked the entertainment industry.

The focus shifted.

The Gangnam incident was already forgotten.

After all, the public’s interest in the event had been primarily driven by its sensational nature. With new scandals offering fresh distractions, they moved on.

In an instant.

School violence.

As always, it had been an issue in the past, and it didn’t hold the public’s attention for long.

—

At that moment.

Kim Hyunsung sat in his officetel.

The place was still a mess, and he sat in a chair, staring blankly at the TV.

**[Regarding the Gangnam Incident…]**

This case.

He had put it on display for the world to see.

He had shown that there was a victim—himself—and that there was clear malice behind it.

But after about 15 seconds.

That was it.

The event, which had briefly attracted public interest, was over. A short mention, quickly brushed aside. It felt like they were making excuses, blaming everything on Choi Myung-hoon and Park Hyung-joon. Thinking back, it had been like this in the future too. A student had died to expose the truth, but even after the Golden Circle’s identity was revealed, they hadn’t suffered much damage.

The key figures.

They all survived unscathed.

Was it because their identities hadn’t been fully uncovered?

No.

They knew.

Prosecutors and police were thorough in their investigations. They must have identified key members of the Cheonsang group and others involved. And yet, in the future, nothing had changed. The fact that the Golden Circle continued to operate suggested that they had become untouchable.

Even after the exposure.

School violence persisted.

Perhaps, even ten years into the future, the Golden Circle was still thriving.

*Tighten.*

“What a shitty world.”

It was laughable.

Everything had gone as expected.

He had known this would be the outcome, even if the truth was exposed.

That’s why he hadn’t directly mentioned the Golden Circle.

‘In the end, I’ll only have one chance to bring down the Golden Circle. If I don’t strike while public interest is at its peak, if I don’t sever the head in one blow, they’ll recover just like they did in the future. They’ll spin some convincing lie, put up a scapegoat, and the real masterminds will escape the flames. If that happens, there’s no going back. Once they overcome the vulnerability of being exposed, they’ll grow into a force I can’t contend with.’

Therefore, it was crucial.

He had to find out the identity of the mastermind behind the Golden Circle.

Not just from below, but to simultaneously strike both top and bottom to achieve his goal.

*Creaaak.*

He sank into his chair.

He was exhausted.

He just wanted to close his eyes for a while.

‘Tomorrow is the real beginning.’

He had already mapped out his next steps in his mind.

Finally, tomorrow.

The starting point—midterm exams.