You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 519

You Have Been Defended – Episode 519 (519/641)

As the director’s voice echoed through the hallway, loud enough to cut through the air, the noisy study room instantly fell silent.

It reverberated so loudly that it must have been heard deep inside the nearby study rooms.

“Mr. Kim Hyun-jong, did you hit the child? I’m asking you?”

The director began to corner the flustered Kim Hyun-jong.

He didn’t know what to say and looked at Sung-yoon.

*He’ll say no.*

When the director first asked, he must have hesitated because he was ashamed of hurting himself.

Even now, wouldn’t Sung-yoon realize that he was in an unfair situation?

“…….”

However, Sung-yoon remained silent.

As the silence stretched, Kim Hyun-jong, unable to wait any longer for the child’s answer, finally spoke.

“Sung-yoon, no… No, Director. I didn’t hit him.”

Then, the director turned Sung-yoon around and examined his cheeks and wrists.

“If these aren’t marks from being hit, then what are they? I saw you restrain Sung-yoon with both hands and push him against the wall. Even if I was mistaken, there are handprints like this!”

“No, that’s… That’s because Sung-yoon suddenly acted out, and I was trying to stop him. Sung-yoon, tell them. Did I hit you?”

Just as he began to voice his grievances, he noticed that the doors of the study rooms in the hallway had been slightly opened. He didn’t know when that had started.

Through the gaps, volunteers and staff from the House of Angels were watching them.

“You said you had something to tell me, so we came here. Did I hit you?”

Kim Hyun-jong tried to remain calm as he asked soothingly.

Then, Sung-yoon looked at him with trembling eyes, then turned his gaze to the director and hesitantly opened his mouth.

“It’s true that I came here with Teacher because I had something to say, but suddenly Teacher Hyun-jong started pressing me about where Jung-min went… I said I didn’t know, and then he slapped me, repeatedly…”

At those words, Kim Hyun-jong let out a dumbfounded laugh.

At the same time, the director hid Sung-yoon, who was a head taller than her, behind her back and glared at Kim Hyun-jong.

Then, she took out her phone and made a call.

“Oh, Ms. Kim Young-ji. I’m here… What floor is it? Ah, it’s the hallway in front of the third-floor bathroom. Please come here right now.”

The volunteers who were watching them took out their phones and quickly started typing.

Judging by the vibrations from Kim Hyun-jong’s phone in his pocket, they seemed to be asking what was going on in the group chat.

Kim Hyun-jong could only watch Sung-yoon, who was standing behind the director, anxiously rolling his eyes with his head tilted to the side.

He wanted to go to Sung-yoon right away, shake his shoulders, and ask why he was lying, but considering that Sung-yoon’s mental state seemed unstable from the beginning, he didn’t think he would get a proper answer.

More than anything, if he acted that way in front of the agitated director right now, she would definitely jump to the conclusion that he was a person who treated children violently.

It would only make the situation worse.

“Director.”

Soon, Kim Young-ji, whom the director had called, appeared.

The director sighed, touching her forehead, and spoke to Sung-yoon in a gentle tone.

“Sung-yoon, would you like to go to the counseling room with Ms. Kim Young-ji first? Ms. Kim Young-ji, please give Sung-yoon an ice pack. And it looks like there will be bruises on his wrist, so go to the pharmacy and buy a cream that prevents bruising. Apply it for him.”

“Yes, Director.”

Kim Young-ji took Sung-yoon and disappeared.

Then, the director instructed the people who were watching the commotion in the hallway.

“All classes are suspended here. Teacher, contact the other teachers and have the children moved.”

The staff member from the House of Angels, who was peeking out from the nearest infant study room, quickly replied, “Yes!” and began to make calls.

“And Mr. Kim Hyun-jong, I need to see you.”

Kim Hyun-jong heavily followed the director into her office inside the administrative area.

It seemed that the story of Kim Hyun-jong assaulting Um Sung-yoon had already spread among the administrative staff, as they glanced at the two of them and whispered.

As soon as he entered the director’s office, the director adjusted the blinds to prevent anyone from seeing inside, then plopped down on the sofa.

Kim Hyun-jong stood still and looked at the director, who gestured to the sofa opposite her.

“What are you waiting for? Sit down.”

“…Yes.”

As soon as Kim Hyun-jong sat down, the director crossed her arms and looked at him askance.

“Why did you do that? It’s understandable that you’re curious about Jung-min’s news. If you say you’ve grown fond of him, I can understand. But why did you have to go so far as to find out where Jung-min went, especially when Sung-yoon was already confused because his close friend had disappeared?”

“No, Director. I didn’t ask where Jung-min went because I was worried that Sung-yoon seemed to have become noticeably withdrawn after Jung-min disappeared. Therefore, I naturally didn’t hit Sung-yoon either…”

“So, you’re saying Sung-yoon is lying now?”

“I don’t know why Sung-yoon is telling such lies, but yes, I am.”

“Sung-yoon is not the type to lie. I’ve been watching Sung-yoon since he was three years old. There have been children who lied, but Sung-yoon has never lied.”

*By that logic, he himself had never hit students, even jokingly, while volunteering.*

Those words rose in his throat, but Kim Hyun-jong barely managed to hold them back.

He thought it would only lead to an argument.

“Mr. Kim Hyun-jong… No, Mr. Kim Hyun-jong, someone like you shouldn’t become a teacher. You know that corporal punishment by teachers has been banned since this year, right? No matter how wrong a child is, even real teachers shouldn’t lay a hand on a child. But Mr. Kim Hyun-jong is just a student, and he hit a child who didn’t even do anything wrong? Even slapping him instead of using a pointer… Do you know what year it is now?”

“Director, it’s really a misunderstanding. I didn’t say it earlier because it was a place where many people could hear, but I was just trying to listen to Sung-yoon because he seemed to be under a lot of stress. But Sung-yoon couldn’t speak and started hitting his own head and slapping his cheeks, showing self-harming behavior, and I grabbed both of his arms to stop him.”

Kim Hyun-jong barely managed to hold on to his composure and continued to speak.

Hearing the director say that he shouldn’t become a teacher, it sounded like she was going to report him for child abuse.

However, he didn’t want to escalate things like that.

He was worried about the possibility of being investigated so close to graduation, but more than anything, he was concerned about Sung-yoon, who would receive unnecessary attention as an abused child from the orphanage.

“…If the problem is that I used force to stop the child, I am sorry for that, and I also feel sorry for Sung-yoon. But as the director saw, I couldn’t just stand by and watch him self-harm to the point where his cheeks were so swollen.”

“So, you’re saying you didn’t hit him at all?”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“Ha… If you think you can get away with denying it like this, you’re mistaken. I’ll have to talk to Sung-yoon thoroughly, but if Sung-yoon keeps saying that you hit him, we’ll have no choice but to report you.”

“…Director, to be honest, I volunteered for 봉사활동 [Bongsahwaldong – volunteer work] because I wanted to, not because someone forced me to.”

“Didn’t you volunteer to fulfill your education 봉사 [Bongsahwaldong] time as a student in the College of Education? It’s a graduation requirement, isn’t it? Do you think I haven’t seen college student volunteers before?”

“That’s right. I have to fulfill my education 봉사 [Bongsahwaldong] time to graduate. But I’ve already fulfilled it all, so I don’t have to come. I know that the House of Angels is working hard on the education of children, but it’s true that they have fewer educational opportunities compared to children who grew up in ordinary families. As someone who believes that there should be no blind spots in education, I really started 봉사 [Bongsahwaldong] with that one 마음 [ma-eum – heart/mind].”

“Ha, instead of reflecting, are you trying to lecture me now? Does our House of Angels not teach children properly? Listen. I’ve been in the education field much longer than you. I’m a senior, a very senior one. Are you saying this to me now because you don’t know that?”

*I added that I knew the House of Angels was working hard on education because I thought you would twist it like this, but it seems it was useless.*

“No, that’s not it… I’m just stating my position. I’m just saying that I came here with this 마음 [ma-eum], but I wanted you to know that there’s no way that could have happened. Even if there was some reason as you said… I wanted you to know that I had no reason to hit the child and no reason to jeopardize my own future by doing so.”

“Ah… I really don’t understand. Look, you know it in your head, right? Even if your ethical awareness is at rock bottom, you must have thought about not ruining your own future. But why are your thoughts and actions so different? Did you think you would never get caught? Why? Why are you acting so stupidly?”

The director hasn’t had a proper conversation with Sung-yoon yet.

Ms. Kim Young-ji took Sung-yoon to the counseling room to hear the details, but Sung-yoon may not be in a state where he can have a rational conversation yet.

So, it will probably take time.

In this situation, the director is the one who has to be on the child’s side, so it’s understandable that she’s reacting sensitively.

*No, she definitely should.*

But if the situation is so different, shouldn’t she at least not start by spouting nonsense?

But no matter what Kim Hyun-jong says, she always comes back to the same story and tries to suppress him, so he even gets the feeling that the answer has been decided.

“I can’t trust anyone anymore, including Mr. Kim Hyun-jong. I was lucky this time that I found out, but the club that accepted someone like Mr. Kim Hyun-jong as a member must be of a similar level, right? I heard it’s an old and fairly large club, but in the end, it’s just a college student club, right? In the eyes of people like us who have teacher qualifications, they’re just kids without qualifications.”

“…….”

“We’ll have to discuss internally what to do with Mr. Kim Hyun-jong. But if I think that such an incident happened, and that such an absurd thing might have happened in places we don’t know about, it’s too terrible. I don’t want to expose the children to danger because of my desire to provide them with quality education. I don’t even know if it’s quality education… I’ll talk to the club president about the details, so Mr. Kim Hyun-jong, please go back with everyone else. Let’s end the 봉사 [Bongsahwaldong] activity here. I think we should seriously consider whether to accept college student 봉사 [Bongsahwaldong] groups in the future.”

The director turned away as if the conversation was over.

Kim Hyun-jong hesitated for a moment, then took out his phone.

Hundreds of messages had arrived, but he didn’t read them all.

He just called one of the club members.

“Hey, Kyung-ah. Can you bring my bag to the director’s office? Yeah. Right now.”

Watching Kim Hyun-jong hang up the phone, the director frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll show you just one thing before I go.”

Not long after, there was a knock on the director’s office.

Before the director could even give permission, Kim Hyun-jong 벌떡 [beoltteok – abruptly/suddenly] stood up and opened the door, took the bag, and closed the door again.

Kim Hyun-jong took out his laptop from the bag.

Then, he connected a cable to the USB port and took off his glasses.

“…….”

He connected the cable to the bottom of the thick eyeglass temples and clicked a few times, then turned the laptop towards the director.

“─What’s wrong? Why are you doing this?

─I’m a little… I’m a little worried about something… Ha, 씨발 [ssibal – a Korean curse word, similar to ‘fuck’]. Why am I doing this… Ah, really!

─Sung-yoon, calm down.

─No, leave me alone. 씨발 [ssibal], 씨발 [ssibal]!”

The screen showed a video of Sung-yoon hitting his own head and cheeks.