episode_0053

The elementary school principal’s office that Seo Jae-hoon attends.

What Seo Jae-hoon said to me yesterday was a huge shock to me.

You hit the kid you hit three times for no reason?

If that were true, I couldn’t help but understand it to some extent.

I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to endure it if I had been hit three times by one person.

And I’m not sure if it was acting or real, but the Seo Jae-hoon I saw over the past two days was incredibly quiet, just like Mr. Kim said.

Since you weren’t my student for two years, I didn’t have a reason to get to know you.

No, I didn’t even think to find out, but I feel like something is wrong right now.

Now it was time to know the truth.

I went to work, sat in the teachers’ office, and waited for Mr. Shim, who had picked up the child who had met Seo Jae-hoon two years ago.

“Hello, Mr. Sim.”

“Ah! Hello, Mr. Na.”

“I have a question for you.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Do you remember the incident two years ago when Jaehoon Seo hit a kid?”

“Ah! Shihoo? Do you remember? Why is that?”

“I’m curious about what happened when I became Seo Jae-hoon’s homeroom teacher.”

“Um… That kid was in first grade at the time, right? He came to meet a female student and Shihoo hit him on the head for no reason, right? ”

“Has anything like that happened to Sihoo again?”

“Haha. Since I was the homeroom teacher, I feel like this is like cursing at a student, but it was really frequent, right?”

“…..”

“Do you have any more questions?”

“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Shim.”

“Haha. Okay. I’ll go in first.”

Honestly, I didn’t believe Seo Jae-hoon’s words.

But if the kid who got hit did that a lot, wouldn’t that make Seo Jae-hoon’s words more credible?

No. You shouldn’t believe it yet. It’s obvious that he’s a clever kid.

“Good morning teacher!”

“Oh yes, good morning Mr. Kim.”

At that very moment, Mr. Kim, who was Seo Jae-hoon’s second-grade homeroom teacher, came over to say hello.

“Mr. Kim, do you happen to know who Seo Jae-hoon’s close friend is?”

“Hmm. What’s strange about Jaehoon is that he doesn’t have anyone he can say he’s close with? Oh! There’s Han Sae-ah. She’s in the 5th grade, but you can tell she likes Jaehoon and comes to class a lot. But why is that?”

“I have a question about student Seo Jae-hoon.”

“What is it? Isn’t Jaehoon so polite and well-behaved?”

“Haha. I’ll tell you later.”

Surely not.

If Seo Jae-hoon is truly a good kid, then what was the point of my two years of looking out the window?

Finding the truth comes first. Let’s not think too hastily again.

If we find out what kind of student Han Sae-ah is, we will be able to find out the truth about Seo Jae-hoon.

I went straight to where the fifth grade teachers were gathered and was able to find Han Sae-ah’s homeroom teacher.

“Hello. Are you Han Sae-ah’s homeroom teacher?”

“Oh, yes. Hello. Why Saea?”

“Do you happen to know who Sae-ah’s homeroom teacher was last year?”

“Why are you asking me to look at your student records?”

“I’m close with a student in my class, so I have something to ask you.”

“Oh really? Just a moment.

”

After finding out who Han Sae-ah’s homeroom teacher was last year, I approached that teacher.

“Hello, teacher.”

“Oh, hello. What’s up?”

“Can you tell me about student Han Sae-ah?”

“Are you a new child? She was pretty, kind, good at studying, and quiet, right? Why?”

“Huh? No, that’s not it. I’m just curious about what kind of student he is since he’s close with a student in my class. Was he a student who caused trouble?”

“No. I’ve never had an accident and I was a good student?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

No, not yet.

Just because the people around him are kind, we can’t assume that Seo Jae-hoon is a good kid.

Still, he’s a good kid, so I guess we can ask him.

There are still ten minutes left until morning assembly, so that’s plenty.

I headed straight to Han Sae-ah’s class.

“Student Han Sae-ah?”

“Hello? ”

“Are you close with student Seo Jae-hoon?”

“Yes, you’re close with Jaehoon, right? Why?”

“Can you tell me what kind of student Seo Jae-hoon is?”

“Um. Jaehoon is handsome, cool, kind, has a good body, is smart, has good manners, is considerate, and oh! There are so many things, but I’m confused because I’m trying to say them all at once?”

“…..”

“But why?”

“No. Thank you, Sae-ah?”

“Yes.”

What the heck? How can someone’s eyes change like that in an instant? Did Seo Jae-hoon make them like that? First of all, that student is no help.

It’s still not enough. I haven’t found any evidence that Seo Jae-hoon is a good person, so I need to look into it more.

First, I headed to the classroom for morning assembly.

As I opened the door and went in, many children were looking at me.

As I head to the podium and look around, Seo Jae-Hoon always stands out.

The problem isn’t his handsome face that stands out compared to other students, but his facial expression.

How can a third grader make such an expression as if he’s seen everything in the world?

When I look at other children, I feel all kinds of emotions like sleepiness, joy, excitement, and sadness.

Seo Jae-hoon is just colorless. He doesn’t feel anything.

Although my teaching career has not been that long, I am proud to say that I have seen many children.

This is the first time I’ve seen a kid like Seo Jae-hoon.

In that emptiness, is there ever a dull moment? Could that kid really be a psychopath?

First, we finished the morning assembly and the first period class was over.

If you ask a kid who was in the same class as Seo Jae-hoon, you’ll probably be able to find out if he bullied other kids.

I checked the child’s record and approached him.

“Kyungmin. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Yes.”

I took student Lee Kyung-min and headed to a place where there were no people.

“You were in the same class with Jaehoon for two years, right?

“Yes. But?”

“Has Jaehoon ever hit or bullied Kyungmin or his friends?”

“No, never? Jaehoon is so kind? Why?”

“No. I asked because I heard Jaehoon is good at fighting?”

“Oh, I know that!”

“Huh?”

“When I was in the first grade, a kid from another class suddenly challenged Jaehoon to a fight, but Jaehoon avoided it and fell down, winning!”

“Huh? You dodged but won?”

“Yes.”

“Without even hitting that kid?”

“Yes!”

“Have you had any other fights?”

“I heard that you fought with another brother once, but I don’t know the details.”

“Thank you, Kyungmin?”

“Yes.”

I guess that’s because the kid who was in the same class as me for years never did that and was good.

What have I been doing for the past two years? And what have I done to Jaehoon Seo for the past few days?

For the first time in my teaching career, I had a time to realize reality.

I still couldn’t understand Seo Jae-hoon’s characteristically psychopathic, colorless, and empty expression.

It’s true that I followed and watched you for several days while lost in my own delusions.

If you make a mistake as a teacher, you should apologize.

***

Today, I went to school and entered the classroom with Ye-eun and Sae-ah.

The homeroom teacher came in when it was time for morning assembly.

Is it because I said that yesterday?

The gaze is definitely less cold than yesterday.

I guess if someone has a complaint, the right thing to do is to go and talk to them directly.

Break time after first period.

Today, unlike yesterday, there are no stares at me whenever I have the chance and I feel comfortable.

Isn’t this the school life I’ve been hoping for? I hope it continues to be this comfortable.

The teacher is no longer in his seat, but he won’t be looking at me anymore.

After a while, the teacher came in and our eyes met.

Huh? What is it?

Something changed in those cold eyes.

I’ve seen that expression somewhere, but what was it?

The look on my mom’s face when my dad’s pranks go too far?

Sorry? Why are you sorry?

I’ve only seen that teacher for a short time, but he’s definitely not normal.

I wonder if I’m bullying my friends or if I’m mentally ill or something.

Will we be able to endure it later when the authority of the church collapses and the number of parents who are in the truth overflows?

Well, I guess it’ll be okay since I’ll be close to retirement by then.

Is the teacher’s retirement age older? I don’t know. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.

While I was thinking about the mud, class ended and the teacher called me.

“Jaehoon, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Yes.”

After hearing the teacher’s title change from Seo Jae-hoon to Jae-hoon, I followed him.

“That Jaehoon?”

“Yes.”

“Did the teacher find out a little bit about Jaehoon?”

“Yes. What?”

“I think the teacher misunderstood a little bit? Sorry?”

“Yes. Well, you only looked at it for three days. It’s okay.”

“Haha… Okay anyway, I’m sorry and I’ll ask you to take care of me for the next year?”

“Yes. I will ask you to take good care of me too.”

“Okay. Let’s go in.”

After hearing the teacher’s apology, I went into the classroom and sat down, and the teacher’s cold gaze was no longer there.

I feel like I’m the only one having such a hard time at school.

As I sat back down and meditated hard, lunch time arrived.

While I was thinking about whether to go see Ye-eun, my partner called me from behind.

“Jaehoon.”

“Huh?”

“Who came looking for you?”

“Who?”

“Don’t you know?”

When I went back, thinking it was Sae-ah’s older sister, I saw a young-looking boy standing there, whom I had never seen before.

I guess I knew why you came the moment I saw you.

So I tried to act as scary as possible for an eight-year-old.

“Did you call me?”

“Yes, brother.”

“Why.”

“Yeeun asked for permission from her hyung and it took a long time.”

“What.”

“…..”

I know what it is, but I absolutely cannot allow it.

How can you look down on eight-year-old Ye-eun when she’s only been at school for a few days?

You seem very scared, but I don’t know what gave you the courage to come all the way here.

I went back into the classroom, leaving the crying child behind, unable to continue speaking.

I think this is enough.

It might be harsh on an eight-year-old boy, but no one can give it to Ye-eun.

If you want it, you’ll have to beat me in a fight.

As I sat there quietly, school finally ended and I headed to the main gate.

“Jaehoon!”

“Oh, unnie, are you here? Where’s Ye-eun?”

“Not here yet.”

After waiting a little while with Sae-ah, Ye-eun arrived with her friends.

“Brother!”

“”Hello.””

“Yeah, bye. Ye-eun, I’m tired. Let’s go quickly.”

“Yeah!”

Today, I headed home as usual, dragging my tired body.

“Did a guy leave today, oppa?”

“Yeah, why can’t you say anything?”

“I sent it to you because you confessed to me!”

“Yeah, good job.”

From the perspective of a ten-year-old me who had been single for 29 years in my previous life, there were so many kids who were acting like idiots.

It’s 20 years too early for an elementary school student to be dating.