V3C2

[Disclaimer: The story has scenes of violence, extortion, and mention of prostitution. Please read at your own discretion.]

“No, so where’s your uncle?”

“I can’t tell you right now!”

“What are you going to do with my money, my money!”

“I can’t reach your aunt either, and she raised you since you were a child, so you pay me back!”

“I know you’re in touch with your uncle. Hurry up and blow it. Do you have the nerve to go to school after spending other people’s money?”

“You should at least sell your body and pay back the money! Do you know what kind of money is that?”

The mere mention of that story made the situation clear. Min Jae-hee stood up and shook off her school uniform after lying down for a while. Her face quickly swelled. Jung-hoo froze at the sight of her eyes, expecting a terrible bruise the next day.

Elegant and calm. He could see in her eyes that no words could ever hurt her. It even appeared to be clean. Jae-hee did not shed a single tear or bend down. She stood up from her seat, put on her dirty school uniform, and bowed to them.

“I got in touch with my aunt, but she wants a little more time. She said she couldn’t show up because she was embarrassed, and she asked me to wait a little longer because she wasn’t going to take the money away. After that, I couldn’t get in touch with my aunt.”

Perhaps the inside of Jae-hee’s mouth was torn, and blood flowed down her mouth. Jung-hoo covered his mouth with one hand.

“Do you want me to believe that? I’ve been waiting for three months already! Where’s the money coming from? How do you two who don’t have any money live? Do you eat, sleep, and go to school?”

“I’m sorry.”

Jae-hee bowed her head again. Then people were calmed down by her calm attitude. A woman, who couldn’t hold back her anger grabbed Jae-hee’s hair. Closing lips and not screaming. She must have looked like this even when she was beaten by second-grade girls. Jung-hoo got angry at her attitude of calmly enduring all of it.

“Mr. Manjae.”

With that call alone, Manjae and the bodyguards came forward. They removed Jae-hee from the woman’s hand and surrounded her as if protecting her.

“I called the police.”

Jung-hoo opened his mouth from behind coldly.

“What’s this! We’d be better off if you called the police!”

“I’m going to sue you guys!”

However, those who knew that it would be difficult to get money back if they sued, soon pushed Jae-hee’s younger brother in front of her. They got in their car and disappeared.

“Thank you.”

Jae-hee bowed to Manjae. He was annoyed to see Jae-hee expressing her gratitude to Mr. Manjae and not to him.

“Sunbae, it’s similar to the situation you saved me last time, right?”

Jae-hee’s face softened as she knelt and hugged her younger brother. Jung-hoo had never seen her make such a relaxed expression. She embraced her younger brother as if she knew how to soothe him, whispering that he was fine.

When he imagined her whispering in his ear, he coughed.

“You’re right.”

Min Jae-hee gave an indifferent answer to Jung-hoo’s words. However, she was still friendly to her younger brother. The more Jung-hoo looked at her, the more difficult it became.

Third, he saw Min Jae-hee when the school was empty.

It was two months after that. The first and second-graders’ group school trip dates were set just before they entered a short summer vacation following the final exam. The school reduced the time-consuming event to once every two years and sent all first and second graders on a school trip at the same time. Due to his grandfather’s memorial service, Jung-hoo was unable to attend a school trip and was forced to spend three nights and four days at school.

The total number of people who did not attend the school trip was five. Most of the students were in the first grade, and Min Jaehee was the only one in the second grade.

Five people were driven into each class and made to study on their own. Junghoo unexpectedly encountered Min Jae-hee sitting in his classroom when he went to school. Since the last time he met her, he tried to look for her on purpose, but he couldn’t find her. He learned later that she hardly ever came out of the classroom.

It bothered him oddly. He was reminded of her eyes when she stood up quietly and shook off her school uniform. For the first time, he saw a woman and thought she was pretty. She looked good, but to him, who had grown up watching celebrities, she appeared to be an ordinary person. He was proud of his high beauty standards, but he couldn’t get Min Jae-hee’s face out of his mind.

“Hello, Sunbae.”

“Yes, hello.” *informal greeting*

With a casual greeting, Jae-hee focused on the book she opened again. No matter how much Jung-hoo looked from the side, she didn’t turn her head. When the lunch bell rang, he didn’t take his eyes off her without mixing with the children rushing to the cafeteria.

“…Are you not going to eat?”

“What?”

With a deep sigh, Jaehee’s eyes suddenly turned to Junghu. Junghoo was surprised because she answered him first.

“You’ve been doing that for a while. Honestly, it bothers me.” Jae hee said.

“Am I getting on your nerves?”

“Yes, very much.”

That sentence made him feel good. Jung-hoo smiled and brought a sticky note next to Jae-hee’s desk and pasted it.

“Then, do you want to go eat with me?”

“No. I didn’t apply for school lunch.”

“Isn’t that an obligation?”

Jung-hoo realized he had made a slip of the tongue when he noticed Jae- hee subtly smiling at those words. After hearing her situation, he was sure the homeroom teacher or anyone else would remove her.

“Senior, are you good at studying?”

Jung-hoo asked, as if unaware, that Jae-hee had won first place in science.

“No.”

“You’ve been reading so many books, but you can’t?” Did I mishear that you placed first in science”?

Stea