NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17.2
The important thing was that the bullying had started again.
“Hey. Gwak Jo-yeong. You bitch. Do you think senior is a joke?”
“No, ma’am…”
The bullying wasn’t directed solely at Gwak Jo-yeong.
“Jo-yeong, because of you, we’re suffering too.”
“Yesterday, we were called by the seniors again.”
The backlash also affected her peers.
They even hinted that she should take a leave of absence.
Another yoke that would only end if she quit, despite having done nothing wrong.
Gwak Jo-yeong cried.
“Hey, why are you crying?”
That’s when Jung Saein appeared.
A student from the same year but a different major.
Or in other words, just strangers.
“College student? Bullying? Haha.”
She was a cool person.
Her confident attitude and expressions were exactly what Gwak Jo-yeong wanted to emulate.
“Let’s gather evidence first.”
Jung Saein quickly collected evidence of the bullying.
After making several phone calls and sending messages, people lined up to testify.
Of course, the messages and call recordings Gwak Jo-yeong received were also included as evidence.
“Now, where should we report this?”
They reported it to the counseling center and the student human rights committee with the attached evidence.
However, the school seemed intent on covering up the incident, probably concerned about tarnishing their reputation.
“If they do this, should we go public? Should we tip off the newspapers and broadcasters? And post on the internet while we’re at it.”
“That… that can’t be done.”
Gwak Jo-yeong didn’t want things to escalate.
She hoped it could be resolved quietly, with only the perpetrator disappearing.
“Hmm. If that’s what you want, then there’s no other choice.”
Jung Saein used her ‘connections’.
She seemed reluctant, but she did it ‘for a friend’.
I don’t know exactly what she did.
But suddenly, the education office took an interest in the matter.
It quickly became a major agenda for the school board.
The school faced criticism for trying to conceal the violence.
The media started to take notice.
Eventually, a disciplinary committee was held, and the expulsion of the bullying ringleader and three accomplices was decided.
It was an unusually swift decision for a simple case of school violence.
“Why… why did you go this far for me?”
They weren’t particularly close.
They were from different majors and different high schools.
Just strangers who happened to catch each other’s eyes.
But Jung Saein went out of her way more than for her own matters to help Gwak Jo-yeong.
“Someone I respected once told me this: ‘Don’t tolerate injustice,’ and ‘If a friend gets hit once, go and hit back twice.'”
And isn’t this fun?
Jung Saein said this while laughing heartily.
Gwak Jo-yeong fell for Jung Saein.
She was dazzling just by existing, not of the same kind as herself or other kids.
One could say she was closer to a deity than a human. At least, that’s how she appeared to Gwak Jo-yeong.
Naturally, people gathered around Jung Saein.
Like planets orbiting a star, girls were positioned around Jung Saein.
Gwak Jo-yeong wanted to stay by Jung Saein’s side.
She didn’t want to lose her place.
As more people gathered around Jung Saein, she tried desperately to maintain her spot.
She wanted to be one of Jung Saein’s friends.
She dressed up more, acted tougher to keep others in check.
The former weak and timid self was gone.
Her way of speaking also became confident and strong like Jung Saein’s.
And then, the day finally came.
“Jo-yeong, do you want to sleep with me?”
Gwak Jo-yeong knew that Jung Saein had special relationships with a few particularly close friends.
So, when she heard those words, Gwak Jo-yeong was ecstatic.
She thought she could finally be one of Jung Saein’s special ones. And if her first experience was with Jung Saein, it was the best she could hope for.
And so, she slept with Jung Saein.
It was as beautiful and sweet as she had imagined, a night of wonder.
Thus, Gwak Jo-yeong became one of Jung Saein’s special people.
This fact gave her new strength.
But there were side effects too.
She started to wield this power around, especially against those lower in the hierarchy within Jung Saein’s group.
It was the same kind of behavior the bullies had inflicted on her during her time as a victim, although she herself didn’t realize it.
“Gwak Jo-yeong, isn’t she kind of annoying?”
Naturally, talk began behind her back.
However, no one openly criticized Gwak Jo-yeong, who was one of the key figures in Jung Saein’s faction.
Then, ‘that incident’ happened.
-Smack!
“Get lost. You’ve ruined my mood.”
Gwak Jo-yeong was slapped by Jung Saein.
“Se, Saein…”
Rumors spread in no time.
Gwak Jo-yeong’s standing within the faction fell to the ground.
“I knew this would happen eventually. Gwak Jo-yeong.”
Women who had always disliked her ‘showing off’ unanimously condemned her.
At this rate, she was done for. She could no longer stay by Jung Saein’s side. She would be pushed out of the faction.
And become prey.
Without understanding why she had fallen into this abyss, Gwak Jo-yeong tried desperately to undo the situation.
She made dozens of calls to Jung Saein and sent hundreds of apology texts.
There was no reply.
While waiting for an answer that never came, Gwak Jo-yeong spent sleepless nights.
And then, at dawn, just as the day was breaking:
“Jo-yeong, do you want to sleep with us?”
She received such a message from Jung Saein.