Chapter 154: Purge Operation (4)

It all happened in a flash.

The education office, which had long ignored the corruption within the school, wrapped up the situation far too quickly.

> [After conducting an investigation, it has been confirmed that Vice Principal Jin Kyung-hee and teacher Jang Won-gi of Daesung Future High School were involved in illicit activities targeting parents. The education office has decided to dismiss both individuals and pursue legal action to set a strong example and prevent future incidents. We sincerely apologize for any concerns caused.]

This was posted on the official website of the education office.

For once, the education office appeared to take proactive action, as if it had swiftly dealt with the deep-seated corruption in the school.

But the truth was a mere facade.

During the investigation, some students had directly mentioned the *Golden Circle*, but all those parts were removed. The massive blackout incident, which sent dozens of students to the hospital, the atrocities committed by teachers under the orders of the Golden Circle, and their intimidation of students to keep silent—all these dark, festering roots were left untouched, while only a single, superficial issue was brought to light.

And that wasn’t the only problem.

Even though an official apology was issued, the general public remained unaware of the incident.

Think about it. How often does the average person visit the education office’s website?

With the Golden Circle blocking any media coverage, the education office’s apology lingered only in bureaucratic circles, never reaching the public’s attention.

Of course, *Jeonghan Ilbo* reported the incident. They published a major exposé, revealing the truth to the world. But the reactions of those who came across the story were indifferent.

“The world is really going downhill.”

“Seriously. Teachers blatantly taking bribes from parents? Unbelievable.”

“Well, schools have always been like that. Back in my day, if you didn’t slip the teachers some money, you’d get slapped in front of the whole class. Things are better now. These days, kids are smart enough to report everything by filming it with their phones. Look at it now—even the teachers who bullied kids back then are still living well, but now teachers like this are getting punished. What a great time we live in.”

People casually chatted about it after reading the article.

Just as the Golden Circle had predicted, the issue, confined within the boundaries of the school, quickly faded into the background of people’s everyday lives.

—

This incident did not end with mere dismissals.

As the education office emphasized, the case was handed over to the prosecution to set a strong example.

In the interrogation room, Jang Won-gi nervously watched the prosecutor, his eyes filled with anxiety, as he faced a situation he had never experienced before.

“…Call my lawyer. I won’t say a word until my lawyer gets here.”

After his encounter with Kim Hyunsung, Jang Won-gi had steeled himself. He had no choice now but to rely on the belief that the Golden Circle would protect him.

They would send a lawyer.

On the surface, they were pushing for criminal prosecution to avoid making any noise, but if they discarded someone like him too easily, it could create problems for the Golden Circle. He could always leak the truth later or even side with Kim Hyunsung entirely. So, he believed the Golden Circle would handle things appropriately.

The prosecutor didn’t respond. Instead, he silently examined the documents in front of him.

Jang Won-gi pressed on, “Excuse me, my lawyer…”

“You’re quite naive, aren’t you?” the prosecutor interrupted.

“What… what do you mean?”

“No lawyer is coming. If you’re trusting the Golden Circle, it’s time to face reality.”

In that instant, his heart sank.

What was he hearing? How could the prosecutor mention the Golden Circle so casually, and why was he saying this?

The prosecutor smirked. “We’ve been told to wrap this case up neatly. While it’s possible to sweep this under the rug, this case has already been acknowledged and apologized for by the education office. Even though the media exposure was limited, those who’ve seen the reports by outlets like *Jeonghan Ilbo* know that the case is being concluded properly. Therefore, you must be punished. To ensure this issue doesn’t reach the Golden Circle, a perfect resolution is required.”

“What… what are you talking about? We were just following orders from the Golden Circle…”

Bang!

“Hey.”

The prosecutor’s tone turned cold as he slammed his hand on the table. Jang Won-gi immediately fell silent.

“If you wanted to pick a side, you should’ve acted accordingly. Do you know what I received last night?”

The prosecutor threw something onto the table—it was a USB drive.

Seeing Jang Won-gi’s puzzled expression, the prosecutor explained, “It’s an audio file from Kim Hyunsung. It contains everything you said when you met him. I have to hand it to him, though. He knew this wasn’t enough to directly implicate the Golden Circle, so he deliberately sent it to me. But despite the obvious intent, it was perfect for sowing distrust. Why should we protect a mere pawn like you, especially when it would mean facing public backlash? We can simply cut you loose, and that’s the end of it.”

“This… this is a setup!”

Jang Won-gi’s face went pale.

Kim Hyunsung was a devil.

He had recorded their conversation and sent it to the Golden Circle. His warning about destroying him wasn’t just empty words.

This recording, though insignificant on its own, was powerful enough to ruin a mere pawn like him.

To both Kim Hyunsung and the Golden Circle, Jang Won-gi was nothing.

On the verge of tears, he heard the prosecutor’s calm voice.

“Now then, let’s proceed smoothly, Mr. Jang. Do you admit to all the corruption charges?”

“If… if I hadn’t gone to Kim Hyunsung, would the Golden Circle really have protected me?”

He shouted out before he realized it. His eyes were filled with desperation.

If the prosecutor’s answer was positive, he was ready to cling to that glimmer of hope.

But the answer was cold.

“No. They paid you all this time so they could discard you when necessary. In fact, thanks to you, we now have the perfect reason to let you go without causing any internal discord.”

“You… you bastards!”

At that moment, Jang Won-gi finally realized the truth.

Between the Golden Circle and Kim Hyunsung, he was nothing but a shrimp caught in the clash of two whales.

As he stormed out of the room, shouting, officials came rushing in to drag him away.

In that moment, Jang Won-gi saw something that made him stop in his tracks—Jin Kyung-hee being carried out on a stretcher, unconscious.

Unlike him, Jin Kyung-hee had no role to justify her existence. She must have found it unbearable to accept her fate, being discarded like this.

Exhausted, Jang Won-gi stopped resisting, his body limp.

Even as he was dragged away, he couldn’t take his eyes off Jin Kyung-hee’s lifeless figure.

—

The atmosphere at the school was tense.

With the principal’s position still vacant, it was a massive scandal to lose both the vice principal and a teacher.

Especially with the prosecutor’s actions coming to light, the teachers at Daesung Future High School were clearly on edge.

“…Do you think we’re next?”

“Hey! Watch what you say! You might speak it into reality!”

“I can’t help but worry. Sure, Vice Principal Jin and Teacher Jang took the lead, but wasn’t everyone in this school complicit? Not only did we all stand by and do nothing, but some actively participated. If the blame spreads to us and students start pointing fingers, none of us will escape unscathed.”

“Will you keep quiet already?!”

One teacher glanced around nervously, ensuring no one was listening, then lowered his voice.

“Do you really think they’ll punish all of us? If anything, the fact that the entire school was involved works in our favor. The Golden Circle won’t be able to blow up the whole school without facing consequences. They’ll probably close the case with Jin and Jang. So just keep your mouth shut. If we stir up trouble now, we might turn what could have been a smooth conclusion into a bigger issue.”

The logic was sound. The anxious teacher fell silent.

Everyone at this school was an accomplice—some more actively than others, but no one was entirely innocent.

If you were the only dirty one in a clean environment, you’d feel the pressure. But in a situation where everyone was complicit, there was a strange comfort in not standing out.

The teacher across from him, with a seemingly good-natured face, had been working at Daesung Future High for ten years. For now, his priority was survival.

Feeling somewhat reassured, the teachers continued chatting as they entered the faculty office, only to be met with a disturbing sight.

“…!”

Kim Hyunsung was there.

The faculty office fell silent, as if cold water had been poured over it.

Despite the presence of many teachers, everyone was keenly aware of the presence of this one student, unable to speak a word.

Then, Kim Hyunsung spoke.

“Call all the teachers to the office immediately.”

It was a command that no student should ever give.

“I’ll give you ten minutes.”

Yet, not a single person dared to argue.

—

The door to the faculty office clicked shut.

As the last teacher nervously took a seat, all eyes turned to Kim Hyunsung.

It was a bizarre sight—every teacher in the school was deferring to a single student.

Kim Hyunsung let the silence stretch for a moment before calmly beginning to speak.

“As you all know, Vice Principal Jin Kyung-hee and Teacher Jang Won-gi will never return to their positions. The charges are clear, and instead of worrying about their jobs, they should be worried about their futures. So why are the rest of you still here? None of you are innocent in what happened.”

“…”

No one spoke. They only glanced around nervously, waiting for someone else to make the first move.

“Even if some of you didn’t actively participate, none of you can claim you didn’t stand by and let it happen. No one here can confidently say they are blameless. Would you like to know something interesting? I was the one who reported this to the education office. I was also the one who provoked the Golden Circle to ensure Jang Won-gi was punished. Your futures are in my hands. And don’t think the Golden Circle will help you. Both Vice Principal Jin, who believed until the end, and Teacher Jang, who began to doubt them, met the same fate.”

“What… what should we do? There must be a reason you’ve called us here like this,” one brave teacher finally spoke up.

Kim Hyunsung’s gaze turned to him, seeing the desperate glint in his eyes—the will to survive.

This was what he had hoped for.

By eliminating Jin and Jang, Kim Hyunsung was shaping the scenario he had envisioned in his mind.

“Turn a blind eye.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. No matter what the Golden Circle orders, no matter what happens in this school, shut your eyes and ears and pretend you don’t know. That’s my only request. If you don’t get in my way, I won’t have a reason to remove you.”

The teachers’ eyes widened with disbelief.

No one had expected such a demand from Kim Hyunsung.

But the weight of his presence, the dominance of this one student, silenced them all.

“Remember, I’ve shown through my actions that I don’t make empty threats.”

And with that, Kim Hyunsung left the faculty office.

How the teachers responded was now up to them.

With this, the first stage of the purification process was complete.

The teachers had been handled.

From this point on, it would be difficult for the Golden Circle to exert any outside influence. Kim Hyunsung had created a stage where he could act freely, and now he would move on to the second phase of the purification process.

The remnants of the Golden Circle.

Choi Myung-hoon and the other students would soon return.

And when they did, they would find that the school had changed significantly.

‘Daesung Future will soon meet the same fate as Cheonil.’