episode_0009

“What do you mean?”

Yeji asked, pretending not to know.

“Why, you guys are working so hard these days, you must know, right?”

Sujeong almost let slip the word ‘slacking off’ but managed to swallow it.

It wasn’t a curse or something inappropriate to say to a student, but there was no need to make the atmosphere here more hostile.

Yeji, who had a puzzled expression, chuckled and replied.

“Oh, that? But why?”

Sujeong sensed the possibility from Yeji’s reaction. First, she didn’t feel a strong resistance to the topic of conversation, and she seemed to take the action as a joke.

“Aren’t those students too pitiful?”

“Pitiful… well, they must be enduring it considering their circumstances, right?”

“Even so…”

Sujeong took a sip of her herbal tea, organizing her thoughts for the next words.

The fragrant scent of the herbal tea calmed her mind and helped her formulate her next words.

“Too many students have dropped out. I’ve been working here for a long time, but this is the first time so many students have dropped out in such a short period.”

Yeji waited silently for Sujeong to continue.

“Could it be that they were too harsh on other kids?”

In truth, Yeji didn’t harbor any ill feelings towards the kids she had been stepping on. The humiliation of being a loser was more actively done by Ayeon than herself… So Yeji felt even more indifferent.

But still, she didn’t want to hear nagging.

“But what does that have to do with you as a teacher?”

It was important from here on. No matter how emotionally empathetic she approached, if she severed the relevance and connection, there would be no grounds to continue.

“At this rate… if the number of enrolled students decreases too much, I might lose my job, you know?”

Of course, it was a joke.

Although there were more students dropping out or transferring schools than before, the school was not at risk of closure. Even if such a thing happened, as a civil servant, she would simply be transferred to another school.

But looking at Yeji’s expression, she seemed to believe it for real. It seemed that all her efforts to appear mature since she was young had led her to believe such absurd stories.

Seeing Yeji lost in thought with a serious expression, Sujeong found her cute.

“And… those kids are pitiful.”

“…?”

Yeji looked at Sujeong, who was saying the same thing as before, as if asking what she meant.

“As you know, this is like the last line of defense for graduating from a special school. If they can’t endure it here and leave, those kids won’t even make it to high school, let alone college.”

“You can always transfer to a regular special school or vocational school, right?”

Certainly, dropping out or transferring schools was the student’s choice. If they chose to drop out, there was nothing she could do, but Yeji knew that there was a way to graduate by transferring to another school.

“Will those kids be able to adapt well to another school?”

Upon hearing that, Yeji’s eyes flickered for a moment.

“As a teacher, it’s a bit strange for me to say this, but it will be difficult for the kids who have lived their lives studying and stacking up achievements to adapt to a regular special school. There are more classes, more homework, environmental beautification, education office inspections, volunteer activities, and things they have to do even if they don’t want to.”

Yeji stared at the teacup filled with herbal tea, listening quietly to Sujeong’s words.

She wasn’t ignoring Sujeong’s words, but rather carefully pondering them.

“Not only that, but just the fact that you transferred from a vocational school to a regular school will make it difficult for you to fit in with the other students. Even the regular school students will have memories of being bullied by you guys.”

Taking a deep breath, Sujeong continued.

“And if you transfer to another vocational school, your life will become even more difficult.”

“…??”

Raising her head as if asking what she meant, Yeji looked at Sujeong.

“Those students understand the significance of transferring to a vocational high school. Naturally, they won’t just let it go. Plus, you guys have that ‘Dove’ app, right?”

Although she was aware of it, Yeji rarely used her phone, fiddling with it unnecessarily.

“Not only does it connect students from the same school, but it also connects with students from other schools, and you can post on bulletin boards and send messages, right? Why they transferred, what kind of situation they were in before transferring, it will all be shared, probably.”

“…!”

In reality, when a transfer student arrives, they would ask their friends from their previous school or simply ask anonymously. This would lead to the public disclosure of any humiliating information about the student.

Due to a sense of belonging to the same school, incidents that occurred within the school were usually kept within the school for student protection. However, when transferring, there was no need for protection, so information would spread immediately.

Regardless of how well one was doing or how determined they were to start anew with a fresh mindset, if the other person had humiliating information about them in a place where they had no close friends, they would become easy prey.

Yeji didn’t care about what happened to other students or how they were humiliated. She only thought about it at that moment and couldn’t imagine it continuing.

‘So what?’

But there was no significant emotional change.

‘Those kids are weak. If they don’t like it, they should have stayed here, or they should fight back.’

Just as she was about to say that it had nothing to do with her, Sujeong’s words came out a little faster.

“In the end, what will happen if they can’t even go to college or graduate from a vocational school and enter society? Surely there were kids who wanted to go to college without any trouble. Just like you, Yeji.”

“Did you know?”

“Well, it’s easy to guess. Every year, there are a few kids like you, with excellent middle school grades, choosing vocational schools. It’s advantageous for getting good grades and there are vocational school admissions. I thought you were one of them, but it turns out, your fighting skills are even better.”

At the sudden praise, Yeji’s ears perked up slightly.

Yeji ranked 5th in the whole school, with better grades than most students who focused on studying. It was thanks to the private tutoring she had received since she was young, but she also put effort into studying during class.

“For 3rd graders, it would be like throwing away 3 years of effort. Once they enter society, they won’t be able to work for big companies or do what they want.”

Perhaps because Yeji herself was thinking about going to a good university, a chilly atmosphere softened slightly when the topic came up.

Sensing the atmosphere, Sujeong mixed in a joke to lighten the heavy mood.

“Oh, in the worst case, you might end up selling your body on the streets.”

Seeing the other person’s expression, it seemed like the joke sounded more like a serious statement. But it seemed like her intentions were well received.

Yeji enjoyed fighting and was a delinquent student, but she only liked defeating strong opponents and enjoying the victory itself. Whether it was studying or competing with others, she enjoyed the sense of exhilaration and superiority when she won. She didn’t have much desire to dominate the school or enjoy humiliating others.

Just stepping on those who dared to challenge her so they couldn’t rise again, it was not easy for most students to find her interesting now.

After reaching the maximum level in an online game, she only bothered with necessary quests and boss monsters, not bothering to continuously hunt down every small fry in the field.

“Of course, I know I can’t interfere or force you. But I think if it’s you, you might understand my request a little.”

“Why do you think that? It’s my first time seeing you, teacher.”

“Hmm…”

Although not to the extent of Soojeong, Yeji knew she had some attachment to the society of school. Naturally, being in the top predator position now, school life could only be enjoyable, but she also felt a sense of maintaining the system of school.

Whether intentional or not, calming down the kids inadvertently helped the teachers a lot.

And at first, she managed to keep quiet without causing any trouble.

‘She seems to be unaware of it.’

Soojeong chuckled and said, “Well, your parents are the CEO of K Construction, right? I might need to impress them if I get expelled from school later, hehe.”

Yeji couldn’t hide her surprise at her absurd joke.

After the not-so-counseling session ended, Yeji made a suggestion to Ayeon who was waiting for her.

“Ayeon, do you want to come over to my house?”