You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 59

It took a while to hear all the details of Jin-cheol’s story.

After Hyuk-min encountered a student from his old school, Jin-cheol gradually found himself excluded from their circle.

Initially, their actions were subtle, almost like testing the waters.

The situation escalated as they began asking to borrow Jin-cheol’s clothes, never returning them, or making him foot the bill after group meals without contributing their share.

When Jin-cheol started to push back against these demands, they began to ostracize him in earnest, saying things like, “I didn’t know you thought of us that way.”

The other students in the class, either envying or fearing Hyuk-min’s group, stood by and did nothing to help Jin-cheol.

Whenever something went wrong in the classroom, a member of Hyuk-min’s group would invariably sneer, “Ah, Jin-cheol!” subtly blaming him for the incident.

The emotional abuse was also escalating significantly.

It wasn’t until much later that Jin-cheol’s mother finally realized what was happening.

Kang Min-jae and I visited Tae-sik’s office the very next day.

“Lawyer, you’re here. So, how did it go… did the visit go well?” Tae-sik asked cautiously.

He explained that before our visit to the hospital yesterday, he and the employee in charge of Jin-cheol’s case had visited Jin-cheol’s room.

Since Jin-cheol hadn’t opened up to us yet, their visit probably didn’t go over well.

“It went well. Jin-cheol told us everything that’s been happening,” Kang Min-jae replied.

Tae-sik sighed in relief and slumped back onto the sofa.

“Ah, that’s a relief, really.”

“Anyway, your method didn’t work out, so you’ll need to cooperate fully with our approach,” I said.

Tae-sik nodded vigorously.

“Of course! I’ll cooperate unconditionally. Absolutely! Those gangster-like punks are bullying their friend. We need to punish them. Just tell me what to do. Should I go rough them up?”

As Tae-sik said, “Should I rough them up?”, the employees in the office seemed to tense up, ready to spring into action.

“You still haven’t shaken off your gangster habits. Who are you planning to rough up?”

“Of course, those bullies. I’ll give them a taste of the real world…”

“Absolutely not. I think you’ll ruin everything if I leave it to you.”

As I stood up, Tae-sik rushed toward me.

“Ah, come on! Please tell me. What do I have to do! I promise I won’t rough them up!”

“I don’t think I gave you permission to speak. Right, Attorney Kang?”

“Yes. I usually take the president’s side, but this time I’m with the lawyer on this one.”

Tae-sik pouted at Kang Min-jae and sat down again.

I also sat back on the sofa and rubbed my forehead.

“First of all… we need to find out more about Lee Hyuk-min, that student. Considering how brazen he’s acting, it seems likely he has a history of offenses. Investigate his past.”

“Should I assign some guys to it?”

“Assign them. Find out everything about where they go and what they do after school until they get home.”

Jin-cheol is in the hospital, so he’s safe for now, but those kids might find new targets in his absence.

If that happens, we can intervene and gather evidence.

“And look into his family background too. His father is the head of some public institution, but I don’t know which one.”

“Yes, I’ll find that out too.”

“Lawyer, Jin-cheol mentioned another student, the one Hyuk-min transferred from his previous school, right? I think we should look into that student as well.”

I nodded at Kang Min-jae’s suggestion.

The fact that he consistently bullied the same classmate before would definitely be useful in court.

“It was before Jin-cheol transferred, so I need to find out who it is…”

I listened to his words and slowly recalled what Jin-cheol had said.

Jin-cheol mentioned that the student tried to initiate a school violence committee [a formal body in Korean schools to address bullying], but the school never convened it, so he gave up.

And, when the drawing contest and literary contest were held and everyone went outside to play, he went to another school alone, crying.

If that’s the case…

“Bring me the laptop.”

Tae-sik scrambled to grab the laptop from the side of the office.

He nearly tripped over the cord, but he pretended nothing happened and placed it in front of me with a serious expression.

I turned on the internet and accessed Jin-cheol’s school website.

I closed the pop-up ads and navigated to the bulletin board where the academic calendar was posted.

“Drawing contests and literary contests are usually held in the spring, right?”

“Yes, it varies from school to school, but it’s usually around April or May.”

It was listed as May on the academic calendar.

If I ask the school directly about the transferred student, they won’t give me the information.

“Can you find a student who transferred from this school in May?”

When I asked, Tae-sik groaned.

He answered lukewarmly, “I’ll try.”

“And we need to win over at least one student in the same class who can provide testimony…”

At my words, Kang Min-jae sighed.

“I doubt we can get a student in that class to cooperate. Hyuk-min has a tight grip on the class right now, so I don’t think they’ll give detailed testimony…”

“First, we need to find out exactly how the homeroom teacher assessed the situation that day. If there’s a problem, we’ll raise an objection. Then we need to see if there are any students we can approach.”

If we approached the students too aggressively at first, it might seem like we were being heavy-handed.

The school wouldn’t completely ignore our concerns either.

This area is known as a good school district.

Of course, the influence of parents is significant.

If word got out that the school was openly covering up the incident, it wouldn’t be good for their reputation.

So they’ll likely try to convince us that they’ve done their best, but haven’t been able to get anywhere.

It’s from that point that we can start to move in earnest.

“Ah…”

And one more thing.

“If we interview the homeroom teacher, we might be able to get a sense of which students in the class might be willing to cooperate with us.”

“Yes? How?”

Kang Min-jae asked, but I didn’t answer and stood up.

Kang Min-jae also started packing his bag.

I said to Tae-sik, who was flustered and preparing to see us off, “Investigate and find a way to contact the transferred student, and keep tabs on Hyuk-min. Find out about the transferred student as soon as possible. Can you do it, CEO Jang?”

At my question, Tae-sik nodded solemnly.

“Just leave it to me.”

* * *

“Mother, if you’re tired, we can go a little later. We still have some time before the appointment with the homeroom teacher,” I said, glancing at my watch.

Following my suggestion, Jin-cheol’s mother had scheduled a meeting with the homeroom teacher for today.

I had told the homeroom teacher at the hospital that I was Jin-cheol’s uncle, so I was going to pretend that his mother was too shaken up and I was accompanying her in place of his busy father.

The reason for deciding to visit the school in person was not only to find out how the homeroom teacher had assessed the situation that day, but also to get a feel for the school’s atmosphere.

If the school was trying to protect Hyuk-min, as I suspected, they would be paying close attention to this meeting.

“It’s okay. The lawyer is working so hard for us, I shouldn’t be a burden.”

The mother opened the car door and stepped out.

The school at 2 p.m. was bustling with activity.

On the playground, students in gym clothes were running around during physical education class.

I suddenly looked up at the school’s main building.

Jin-cheol had fallen from the classroom on the second floor, landing in the flower bed below.

The school building was tall, and this school was no exception.

Seeing that the flower bed was filled with dense, stiff flowering trees, I realized that if Jin-cheol had landed even slightly differently, he could have been more seriously injured.

Jin-cheol’s mother must have had the same thought, as she gasped while looking at the flower bed.

“First of all, since I’m accompanying you as Jin-cheol’s uncle, please remember to refer to me as such in front of the homeroom teacher.”

“Yes, I understand.”

When we reached the main entrance on the first floor, the homeroom teacher, who had come out to meet us, spotted us and approached.

“Jin-cheol’s mother, hello. Thank you for coming. Oh, you came with him. You must be Jin-cheol’s uncle, right?”

The teacher turned to me and greeted me.

“Jin-cheol’s father is busy with work, so his uncle came instead. Jin-cheol’s father was worried about her coming alone.”

“Yes, Mother. Jin-cheol had a serious accident, so it’s understandable. Please, follow me.”

We followed the homeroom teacher.

However, we were led not to the faculty room or an empty classroom, but to the principal’s office.

Jin-cheol’s mother looked at the homeroom teacher with a slightly surprised expression, and the homeroom teacher added, “Given the incident that occurred at the school, the principal also wanted to meet you and talk to you.”

The principal.

Was he going to apologize, express the school’s responsibility, and try to appease her anger?

It was as expected.

The administration was stepping in to manage the situation and prevent it from escalating.

When the homeroom teacher opened the door, the principal, who was sitting at his desk, jumped up and quickly approached the mother.

“Ah! Jin-cheol’s mother, you’re here. I’m Han Kyung-cheol, the principal of Jangmyeong High School.”

“Ah, yes. Hello, Principal.”

The principal, who was greeting the mother, noticed me and glanced at the homeroom teacher, looking slightly embarrassed.

Then he carefully began to speak.

“Excuse me, but who is this person…?”

“Hello, Principal. I’m Jin-cheol’s uncle.”

The homeroom teacher approached the principal and briefly explained why I had come.

Only then did the principal guide us to the sofa with a slightly relieved expression.

“Jin-cheol’s mother, I am truly sorry for the concern caused by this accident at our Jangmyeong High School. You must be incredibly worried. We have decided to install fall prevention bars on the windows to prevent any further accidents. We should have provided proper safety education to prevent this kind of incident from happening… I am truly sorry.”

Offering an apology and outlining preventative measures is a standard way to express remorse.

Jin-cheol’s mother nodded and sighed deeply.

“Mother, I would like to apologize once again as Jin-cheol’s homeroom teacher. You mentioned that Jin-cheol will need to be hospitalized for about two months, and of course, this will be treated as sick leave. We will also provide all the necessary curriculum materials so that Jin-cheol can keep up with his studies. The students want to visit him in the hospital, so please let me know when it would be a good time. Everyone is worried about Jin-cheol.”

The two of them, having neatly presented their apologies as if they had rehearsed them, waited silently for the mother’s response.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Not at all. It’s the least the school can do.”

“I heard the homeroom teacher’s account of the situation on the day of the accident… I’d like to understand how you assessed the situation at the time.”

And Jin-cheol’s mother began her pre-prepared line of questioning.