Chapter 11: Disciplinary Committee in Chaos (2)

Kim Youngcheol’s statement—

Left everyone in stunned silence.

Oh Daehwan had clearly said the teachers were all on his side, yet Kim Youngcheol had suddenly pointed to Jung Minho as the perpetrator. Up until that moment, Oh Daehwan had looked calm, but now he was visibly flustered and quickly spoke.

“Mr. Kim Youngcheol. Please speak clearly to avoid any misunderstanding.”

“Understood.”

The reply was brisk.

But having gone this far, Kim Youngcheol had no intention of acting as Oh Daehwan wished.

“To understand this incident, we need to look back on how it all started. From the beginning of the semester, there were numerous reports about the group known among students as the Park Mincheol gang—Park Mincheol, Jung Minho, Jo Yongtaek, and Kang Changseok. At first, we tried to handle things gently to avoid conflict. But over time, their behavior grew increasingly vicious.”

Oh Daehwan stomped his feet in frustration.

Kim Soonja shot daggers at Kim Youngcheol with her eyes, but he subtly shifted his gaze to the rest of the room.

“It was the same that day. Park Mincheol had been bullying Lee Jungmin for a while. He assaulted him simply because he hadn’t properly leveled up his game character. That’s where it all began. Kim Hyunsung didn’t intend to attack the Park Mincheol gang. He simply couldn’t stand by while Lee Jungmin was being beaten and stepped in courageously. He said, ‘Stop it! We’re students, aren’t we?’—he genuinely tried to stop their actions. But Park Mincheol, acting as if he were the victim, attacked Kim Hyunsung instead.”

It wasn’t the full truth.

A partial fabrication—

One that mixed truth and lies with devastating effectiveness.

“Think about it. If someone were hitting you, could you just stand there and take it? Kim Hyunsung struck back, and that was clearly self-defense. So why is Jung Minho here? As I said before, they were a group. When Park Mincheol was being hit, they all jumped in to attack Kim Hyunsung. Naturally, he had to defend himself again. Outnumbered, he lashed out desperately—and that’s how all four students ended up in the hospital.”

His voice was impassioned.

As if narrating a hero’s tale, Kim Youngcheol poured energy into every word.

Some said—

If he weren’t a teacher, he could’ve been a con artist.

The disciplinary committee attendees—at some point—began to find Kim Youngcheol’s words persuasive.

“I’m not trying to say violence is justified. But I do want to question whether it’s right to label Kim Hyunsung as the perpetrator and Jung Minho as the victim based only on what’s visible. Kim Hyunsung should be held accountable for the violence. However, if his punishment is severe while Jung Minho receives none, then we, as adults, are ignoring the root of school violence and becoming garbage ourselves.”

“Watch your words, Mr. Kim Youngcheol!”

“That’s all.”

Kim Youngcheol sat back down.

He blatantly ignored Oh Daehwan’s outburst.

There was no going back.

The board was set—now, all he could do was trust whatever plan Kim Hyunsung had prepared.

Murmurs filled the room.

The crowd was stirring.

In particular, the parent group attendees—who knew nothing of the true story—began to murmur that Kim Hyunsung might not deserve punishment. After all, Oh Daehwan and Kim Soonja hadn’t swayed every attendee. They had only secured a few key individuals. The regular parent attendees, upon hearing that the so-called Park Mincheol gang had been vicious bullies, couldn’t help but feel outraged.

The mood was shifting.

Caught off guard, Oh Daehwan’s face flushed red.

‘You bastard, Kim Youngcheol. I let you slide even though I knew you were taking bribes, and this is how you repay me? Just wait. Once this is over, you’re finished at Cheonil.’

For now—

He had to regain control.

Though visibly shaken, Oh Daehwan forced himself to appear calm as he spoke.

“Mr. Kim Youngcheol’s remarks reflect only his personal views and are not the position of the school. There is no confirmed evidence that Park Mincheol, Kang Changseok, Jo Yongtaek, or Jung Minho instigated school violence. That is a separate issue from the matter being discussed today. Please stay on topic. We are here to address the unprecedented event of four students being hospitalized—an incident without precedent in Cheonil High School’s history. Regardless of the reason, such brutal violence is unheard of among students.”

He steered the conversation.

Using terms like “unprecedented brutality,” the supposedly neutral principal was now obscuring the heart of the issue.

“It breaks my heart. All of us here are from Cheonil, and it pains me that we have to assign blame. But to prevent this from happening again, we must identify the problem clearly and apply firm punishment. Only then can our parents trust Cheonil and feel safe sending their children here.”

He made eye contact with Kim Soonja.

A silent signal that they would proceed as planned.

“So, let’s first hear from Jung Minho. It’s best to listen to the person involved to understand what happened. We’ll hear from Kim Hyunsung afterward. Jung Minho, you may speak.”

The floor was handed over.

In a moment of unease—

Jung Minho’s testimony was certain to tilt the atmosphere once more.

* * *

All eyes were on him.

No one knew—

That Jung Minho had rehearsed his statement while still in the hospital.

Jung Minho spoke.

“…The situation I witnessed was completely different from what Mr. Kim Youngcheol described. When I arrived at Class 1, I saw Kim Hyunsung relentlessly beating Park Mincheol. My friends told me Kim Hyunsung suddenly picked a fight with him. If needed, please call witnesses. Anyone you ask will confirm that Kim Hyunsung initiated the violence. That is an undeniable fact.”

It was the truth.

Park Mincheol had assaulted Lee Jungmin—but Kim Hyunsung was the first to hit Park Mincheol.

It was a mix of truths.

Just like Kim Youngcheol, Jung Minho had twisted the story to favor himself.

“I couldn’t just stand there as a friend getting beaten. That’s why I stepped in, but Kim Hyunsung tried to take us all on and even used a padlock as a weapon. Of course, it was wrong for several of us to gang up on one person. But before that, there was already violence from Kim Hyunsung, and we had no choice but to respond with violence to stop him. Honestly, I don’t understand why Mr. Kim Youngcheol is trying to make this all our fault. Right after the incident happened, Kim Hyunsung was called in and scolded by Mr. Kim. That should have been the end of it. But then, he came to me afterwards and retaliated. I hadn’t done anything at that point, yet he hit me as if to make a point. How is that my fault?”

The blame was undeniable.

Using a weapon in a fight.

Retaliating after being disciplined.

There was no avoiding responsibility.

Given these clear facts, even if it were self-defense, it was a case that could easily be considered excessive.

The narrative quickly shifted in their favor, and Kim Soonja raised her voice.

“Everyone! Look at my son’s face. We raised him so dearly, so carefully, afraid he might get even the tiniest scratch—and now look at his face! Does this make any sense?! Such brutal violence committed in a sacred place of learning—no parent here should tolerate it. It’s only Minho this time, but what about next time? What if your child ends up like this? We must ensure proper punishment—absolute punishment!”

“I agree. No matter what, you can’t beat someone up like that.”

“Let’s punish him.”

Kim Soonja’s people—

Chimed in.

They had already secured the majority, so once the public sentiment was lit, it spread like wildfire.

Kim Youngcheol’s statement?

Long forgotten.

He had tried to highlight the core issue—Park Mincheol’s gang’s behavior—but no matter what the context, visible evidence of violence couldn’t be denied. The undeniable fact was that Kim Hyunsung had sent four students to the ER. If discipline was decided based on that fact alone, then there was no avoiding punishment for the main perpetrator—Kim Hyunsung.

It had always been a losing battle.

From the moment he laid hands on someone, Kim Hyunsung became the attacker.

The atmosphere was ablaze.

With everyone chiming in to condemn Kim Hyunsung, a harsh voice suddenly tore through the chaos.

“What a load of fucking bullshit.”

In that instant—

All eyes turned toward the voice.

The voice belonged to—

Go Chang-beom.

Kim Youngcheol and Park Inhwan recognized him immediately, but the others had no idea he was the eldest son of Myungjin Construction.

Go Chang-beom spoke.

“Are you all pretending not to know, or do you genuinely not get it? Hyunsung is the top student at Cheonil High School. Look at his records—top scores in both elementary and middle school, not a single problem on file. Why do you think something like this happened? Doesn’t it occur to anyone that those bastards pretending to be human might’ve started it?”

“What nonsense! ‘Bastards’? How dare you!”

“Then what the hell would you call scumbags like that?!”

BANG!

He slammed the desk.

The parents flinched, but Go Chang-beom shouted on.

“Before this meeting, I did some digging on that so-called Park Mincheol gang. They’re scum. Beatings, extortion—you name it. There are students who tremble just hearing their names. If you think I’m lying, go verify it yourself. And anyone insisting otherwise? I’ll remember you clearly as people who took money from those perpetrators’ parents.”

Bit by bit—

His comments crossed the line.

His intensity shocked the parents into silence.

“Let’s stop pretending. Back in school, if some thug was harassing you, were you supposed to just stand there and take it? Of course, you fight back! Sure, Minho brought a gang and ended up in the ER, but this whole thing happened because Hyunsung was defending himself. Even Mr. Kim Youngcheol said it—look at the essence of the incident!”

“You son of a bitch! A thug?! My son’s not a thug!”

Kim Soonja shouted back.

She had been silent, but the sharp attack on Minho pushed her over the edge.

“Who even are you? I heard Kim Hyunsung doesn’t have parents. Who the hell are you to speak like that?!”

The atmosphere turned violent.

Everyone’s expressions grew tense.

Go Chang-beom’s attitude—

Was a problem.

His point may have been valid, but the moment he started hurling curses, backlash became inevitable.

Go Chang-beom grinned.

‘Now the board’s set.’

This place—

Wasn’t one where reason would work.

To overturn the verdict the others had already decided on, he saw no reason to play fair either.

“You wanna know who I am? I’m Hyunsung’s guardian. And…”

He locked eyes with Kim Soonja.

Raising his voice clearly so no one could miss it, Go Chang-beom declared:

“Myungjin Construction. I’m the eldest son.”

No explanation was needed.

Myungjin Construction.

With that single phrase, every expression in the room froze in shock.