Devil Returns to School Days - Chapter 169: Head-on Breakthrough (1)

Yoon Hyeon-min’s malice was immediate.

A few days later.

As usual, Kim Hyunsung went to school and was immediately summoned by the teacher.

‘Police?’

Inside the teacher’s office.

The police were there.

The same officers who had previously stood idly by during incidents now greeted Kim Hyunsung with an unsettling smile.

“Well, well, a famous guest has arrived.”

“What’s going on?”

The atmosphere was tense.

In response to Kim Hyunsung’s question, the new teacher answered.

“During your time at Cheonil, what exactly did you do? According to the police, victims of your school violence have filed complaints. The severity of the diagnoses is alarming. If this turns out to be true, forget suspension—you’ll face criminal charges directly. Do you understand what that means?”

In that brief moment, Kim Hyunsung gathered a few crucial pieces of information.

The new teacher, with all his theatrics, was a pawn of the Golden Circle, and the confident demeanor of the police confirmed that this was an unavoidable trap. Yoon Hyeon-min had finally unleashed his power in full force. Without wasting energy on a pointless argument, Kim Hyunsung calmly asked,

“Who filed the complaint?”

As if waiting for the question, the officer replied,

“Park Min-cheol and several others. Now, come with us. There’s a lot we need to investigate from here.”

—

At the time when he should have been in class, Kim Hyunsung found himself in the investigation room.

Having transferred to Gangnam, this place had become a familiar sight. Kim Hyunsung, keeping his composure, surveyed the people before him.

There were police officers.

And one victim.

The police conducted a face-to-face interview to substantiate the charges against him.

“Park Min-cheol, explain how Kim Hyunsung assaulted you.”

The victim was none other than Park Min-cheol.

He couldn’t even meet Kim Hyunsung’s gaze.

From the moment he entered the room, his eyes were downcast, and he spoke with a fearful, trembling voice.

“W-well… It’s… like…”

“Speak clearly. We need to punish the criminal, don’t we?”

“Y-yes, I understand.”

Their treatment of the victim was anything but appropriate.

The atmosphere was oppressive.

Park Min-cheol squeezed his eyes shut.

“T-there were times when I got into fights with Kim Hyunsung at school, and every chance he got, he would beat me. All the medical records from my time at Cheonil are proof of the injuries he inflicted on me. I know I’m not a completely innocent victim—I’ve bullied and hit other students too. But Kim Hyunsung tormented me like he was trying to kill me.”

“Kim Hyunsung, what do you think of the victim’s testimony? Did you really hit Park Min-cheol?”

The officers turned their gaze toward Kim Hyunsung.

He responded calmly.

“I don’t think there’s any need for this back-and-forth. Aren’t you just trying to overturn my suspension and expel me using these coerced victims? Go ahead and proceed with your plan. Drop the pretense.”

The officer chuckled.

As Kim Hyunsung suspected, this was all just a formality.

The moment the complaints were filed, there was no way for him to escape being labeled the perpetrator.

Click.

The recording was stopped.

From now on, the conversation would no longer be recorded.

The officer spoke.

“You’re pretty clever. How do you manage to figure things out so quickly? Well, it’s no wonder the Golden Circle is going to such lengths to deal with you. You already know, don’t you? None of the victims, including Park Min-cheol, will retract their statements. Want to know why? They were harassed to the point of breaking. Even though Park Min-cheol initially begged not to testify against you, we starved him, beat him, and threatened him with life outside juvenile detention until he couldn’t take it anymore. The fear you instilled in them? It wasn’t enough.”

Park Min-cheol trembled uncontrollably.

To him, Kim Hyunsung was a demon.

During his time in the juvenile detention center, he had vowed never to cross paths with Kim Hyunsung again, but even he couldn’t withstand the Golden Circle’s intimidation. Their malice was beyond anything he had ever known. Like a shrimp crushed between two whales, Park Min-cheol could only obey the Golden Circle’s demands and testify as they instructed, his lips dry and cracked.

And it wasn’t just him.

All the other victims were the same.

Through violence and relentless threats, they had all been coerced into labeling Kim Hyunsung as an unforgivable abuser.

Their testimonies were based on pieces of truth.

There was no escape route for Kim Hyunsung.

“If you’re expelled from school, you won’t just be another student—you’ll be a delinquent expelled for violence. Then, what will people think of you? If you die in a fight, will they see you as an innocent victim, or just think it’s what happens to someone like you? Whatever the case…”

The officer’s hostility was evident.

His blatant attitude revealed the extent of the corruption in the system.

“Try surviving out there. The world outside school is harsher than you think.”

—

Meanwhile.

Go Chang-beom found himself in a serious predicament.

Kim Cheol-jin, an executive, spoke.

“Chang-beom, something’s off. Myungjin Construction isn’t a failing company, but the banks just notified us they won’t extend any new loans. Not only that, they’ve refused to renew the existing ones. This doesn’t make sense. We’re one of the most profitable companies in the construction industry. Breaking off transactions like this without cause is unprecedented. Does this have anything to do with that kid, Kim Hyunsung?”

This morning, Myungjin Construction was thrown into chaos.

As Kim Cheol-jin said, *every* bank they were dealing with had declared their intention to sever all ties.

Construction companies and banks rely on each other.

It’s not just that construction firms borrow money—they also generate substantial profits for banks. For a bank to stop lending to such a lucrative business defies logic. Yet, these banks were willing to forfeit those profits and cut ties with Myungjin Construction. Even the ongoing contracts, which required more time to yield returns, were abruptly terminated by the banks.

It was irrational.

Kim Cheol-jin couldn’t help but suspect an unusual reason behind it all.

‘Damn it.’

Go Chang-beom swallowed his frustration.

It was clear.

The Golden Circle was retaliating against him for helping Kim Hyunsung by systematically dismantling Myungjin Construction.

‘Since their tax audit failed, they’re trying to strangle Myungjin Construction by cutting off its finances. Despicable bastards. Going to such lengths to deal with a single high schooler… Are they even human?’

Appealing to emotions alone was not an option.

Go Chang-beom was an executive.

As the future successor to lead the company, he needed to make rational decisions to overcome the crisis.

“Yes, this situation is related to Kim Hyunsung. However, I’ll need to discuss with my father how to respond. And…”

It was at that moment.

Bzzz.

Bzzz, bzzz.

His phone buzzed loudly.

Seeing “Police Chief” displayed on the screen gave Go Chang-beom a sinking feeling.

—

As expected.

When he got up to take the call, the police chief’s voice came through, heavy with guilt.

[…I’m sorry, but I can’t hold them back any longer. This isn’t just pressure from above. This is pressure from a level far beyond what someone like me, a mere police chief, can handle.]

The situation was this:

People who had once been involved in violent incidents with Go Chang-beom were now coming forward en masse with lawsuits.

His head throbbed.

The loan issues had already left him overwhelmed, and now the lawsuits were tightening the noose even further.

“If all these charges stick, what will happen to me?”

[You’ll likely face prison time. Multiple separate incidents have been reported, which means heavy penalties are inevitable. Additionally, some of the women you were involved with at bars have filed sexual assault complaints. I know you didn’t do it, but once these charges are bundled together in court, the likelihood of you being branded a criminal is high.]

“…Those bastards.”

Looking back on his past, Go Chang-beom knew he wasn’t innocent.

He had lived a life beneath the standards of a decent human being, to the point that dozens of complaints could easily be drummed up against him.

But this was malicious beyond belief.

Every fight he had been involved in had been mutual, and he had already received punishment at the time of each incident. Sure, he had started a lot of conflicts. But he never assaulted or bullied anyone without reason, and most of the people he clashed with were just as rotten as he was.

And the allegations involving women?

He had been with many, but he never forced anyone. All his relationships were consensual, even with women he met at karaoke bars. In fact, he had once told his father that he wanted to marry a woman he had met at a bar, only to get beaten for it. There had never been any coercion or assault.

Go Chang-beom asked,

“Is there really no way to resolve this within Daesan?”

[Unfortunately, no. I’m sorry, sir.]

He clenched his teeth.

If the situation had reached this point, there was no use digging any deeper.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll contact you again later.”

Click.

—

After dismissing Kim Cheol-jin, Go Chang-beom sat alone in his office.

Hostility pressed in from all sides.

Loan issues, lawsuits.

Even with Daesan’s influence, the problems created by the Golden Circle were too overwhelming to manage.

‘In the end, I’ve just been a frog in a well.’

The local community.

Its closed-off nature had once been his greatest weapon, but there was no defense against the full force of an entity like the Golden Circle.

Even the police chief—despite being a near-absolute authority in Daesan—was powerless against higher orders. In the police hierarchy, a provincial chief was nothing.

Suddenly, Kim Hyunsung’s words came to mind.

“You can’t be relieved just because we stopped the tax audit. This time, we disrupted their plans by choosing to go down with them, but if the Golden Circle comes at us full force, there’s nothing ‘Daesan’ can do to stop them. The Golden Circle is an organization where South Korea’s most powerful figures are entangled, wielding overwhelming influence throughout the country. Myungjin Construction, the local community—everything can be swept away by their whims.”

The Golden Circle had never shown its full strength before.

They had always been cautious, hiding their true power. But now that they had decided to act, there was no way to measure the extent of their strength.

That was why Kim Hyunsung had warned him:

“If you ever feel like you can’t endure any longer, if you find yourself drowning in despair, be honest with me. I won’t hold it against you. It’s only natural to kneel in the face of overwhelming despair. Just let me know in advance, so I can prepare for it. No matter what choice you make, I’ll understand.”

Those words stayed with him.

If Kim Hyunsung had begged him, it would have been easier. But Hyunsung’s calm demeanor, always anticipating the worst, made things more complicated.

“…What a miserable situation.”

Go Chang-beom.

Kim Siwoo.

Everyone who knew Kim Hyunsung felt the same way.

Why?

Why was Kim Hyunsung so desperate?

There had to be a way to live more comfortably by submitting to power. What had happened to make him so tenacious?

No one knew the reason.

But one thing was clear.

The only way to survive was to abandon Kim Hyunsung.

If Go Chang-beom kneeled to the Golden Circle now and promised to cut ties with Hyunsung, they would surely spare him. The reason the Golden Circle was attacking Myungjin Construction wasn’t out of hatred for the company—it was because they wanted to crush anyone supporting Kim Hyunsung.

Just turning his back on Hyunsung would solve every problem before him.

Memories of the past flickered through his mind.

Meeting Kim Hyunsung.

Everything that had happened until this very moment.

He thought for a long time.

Then.

“I wonder if someone like me is even fit to run a company.”

He stood up.

And then he made a call.

Click.

“Hyunsung, what should I do from here on?”

Unable to abandon people.

As always, Go Chang-beom made the foolish choice.