V3C1

[Disclaimer: The story has scenes of bullying and violence. Please read at your own discretion. ]

I saw Min Jae-hee for the first time in the spring of 2006.

The youngest of three sons and one daughter, Yoon Jung-hoo, was born in YS, one of Korea’s leading companies. He grew up without a shortage of anything. There was only one rule to follow in the house. “One must follow his mother’s words.” She was widowed a long time ago. His mother was strict and kind. “Children who are similar to each other can study in the same school,” she said, adding that all her children were admitted to a general school. His older brothers and sisters also graduated from general school, and Yoon Jung-hoo, who was younger than them, went on to general school as well.

The bodyguard and the driver always followed him due to chances of attempted kidnapping, but he didn’t feel any inconvenience.

It was just a random day. He had heard enough of the words to be kind to everyone and to be a role model. Even so, his mother’s severity was at the end of its term, and she was generous to her youngest son, Jung-hoo. He had a lot of fights, but she wouldn’t say much if it was reasonable. Jung-hoo knew that if he had acted like a real delinquent, he would have been beaten by his eldest brother mercilessly.

Rumors spread that the youngest son of YS Group would be admitted to a general high school even before he went to school. The beginning of the semester was almost like a war. Even if he didn’t want to laugh at the situation he was smiling, dealing with his friends, and being kind. The so-called friends while being kind. The so-called fearless children who played a little came to him for a fight. The reason was trivial at most like they didn’t like him or he was just living too well than them. One day one of their girlfriends confessed to him, but he rejected her. Well, that was the reason.

How do you want me to trample on a group of five or six fearless people who smoke and threaten in a deserted backyard during cleaning hours?

This time, he concluded in his mind that he would not be able to avoid being beaten up by these thugs.

“Get out of the way.”

The unexpected sound from behind the crowd made Junghoo weak for a moment.

The thugs were also taken aback when they saw Min Jae-hee with neatly bobbed hair and a second-grade badge.

“Who are you?”

“This is my cleaning area.”

“And?”

“Oh, my!”

One of them spat out phlegm and told the girl, she could have slowed down, but she spat out without moving.

“Go away, if you don’t want to lick what you spat, wipe it and get out of the way.”

“This is to die fearlessly!”

He raised his palm. Jae-hee glared at it and opened her mouth casually.

“The school principal will be here soon. And if you hit me, I’ll sue you guys. You should pay for it.”

“Hey, let’s just go. It’s Min Jaehee.”

Someone tapped the shoulder of the child who raised his hand. He made a face as if he had stepped on the poo.

“Who is that?”

“The girls told me not to touch her. It’s the real poison.”

Jae-hee’s expression did not change much even though they spoke those words about her right in front of her.

It was Min Jaehee. Min Jaehee.

Junghoo recited the name from behind and remembered one right away. Not long ago, the second-grade girls were suspended from school for cheating. Min Jae-hee got caught in the crossfire. The group assaulted her severely because they suspected she had told on them.

In particular, the so-called children who played severely beat her. Despite being punched in the face by a teenager, she remained still. In the end, most of the students were suspended because they were caught by the principal, who was sensitive to school violence. It is true that Min Jae-hee, who was assaulted, became more famous than those who were suspended. Jung-hoo also heard that her silent appearance without crying, screaming, or praying was creepy.

“Oh, this is that, really!”

“Hit me.”

When the children heard that “ the principal” was coming, they cursed and fell apart.

“Thank you, Sunbae.”

Jung-hoo greeted Jae-hee with a smile. She’s the one who stopped the trouble anyway. He liked girls chasing him.

He greeted her with a smile that died when Min Jae-hee only looked at him expressionlessly.

“Okay.”

With that one word left, she flashed past him and started pulling the grass from the flower bed. People only treated him in three ways. The first was unconditional goodwill, the second was uneasy hostility, and the third was yearning. Min Jae-hee belonged to none of them. Because it was unusual, Jung-hoo first remembered her existence.

A month later, he ran into Min Jae-hee again. It was after the cherry blossoms had faded and it was officially late spring. He was tired that day, so he was late for school. All supplementary classes and self-study hours were omitted using privileges. If he got home at this time, his tutor would be waiting for him. All grade students were required to study. Min Jae-hee was walking to the school gate with a bag.

“Hello, Sunbae.”

Min Jae-hee passed by pretending to not have seen Jung-hoo. He followed her, he was on his way out anyway.

“Here you are.”

Man-jae, Jung-hoo’s bodyguard, took his bag. He couldn’t see Min Jae-hee cross the street but he heard a buzzing sound coming from the person who had vanished. He cocked his head just before getting into the car when he caught a fleeting glimpse of her short hair.

“What do you think she’s doing?”

“Well.”

Jung Hoo needed to go there because he had a strange premonition.

“Whoop!”

A middle-aged man waved his fist at Min Jae-hee. Min Jae-hee’s body flew and hit the wall.

“Uwaaaa!”

A child started crying when Jae-hee got hit. It was the first time in his life that he saw a woman being beaten and flying away. No matter how much he liked to fight, he never hit a woman. The person who hit him stopped for a while and shouted instead, perhaps because he could not control his strength.

Stea