Chapter 142: The Fall (1)
One day, my girlfriend said, “There seem to be no new videos these days.”
“Huh?”
“You spread a video of Kim Yul at least once a week. Is there a delay because you are carefully selecting the next episode? Quite a lot of students in our group are waiting for it. They really liked the last video of him getting his nails cut.”
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My girlfriend looked nonchalant. I narrowed my eyebrows for a moment.
Video. Right. I filmed using a camcorder whenever we went to bully Kim Yul, but why did I do that?
“I’ll wait. Kim Yul and Director...”
Why?
[Your immersion level is 100%.]
Ah, yes. I remember now. I filmed it to give the guys something to watch as entertainment.
Shinseo Middle and High Schools were filled with children of prestigious families from the local region. Due to their prestige, the children were forced to always behave well, which stressed them out quite a lot. Among them, some chose to take the lead in bullying to relieve stress, but that was dangerous. Most students weren’t willing to take that risk. So, I provided videos of Kim Yul for guys like them, on quite a scale, too.
J: Director, I want an episode of cutting Kim Yul’s fingernails with scissors!
7: Please let him grow his hair and tie it with a yellow rubber band.
11: The kids in the last video beat him way too much. How distasteful...
This school had something called the Student Council Suggestion Box. The students used it whenever they wanted to send a note or letter directly to the student council, but I used it for a slightly different purpose with my girlfriend’s help.
It was now known as the Kim Yul Request Box. Even the teachers didn’t touch it. If someone was caught putting a note in the submission box, there were no issues. No one thought this whole deal was very strange. My girlfriend had been in the student council for a year, so she had access to the request box.
I really think I’m smart.
It wasn’t a genius idea, but the box had turned out to be a huge success. The noble students relished in the ability to participate in bullying with almost no risk as the request box guaranteed anonymity. They submitted their requests using initials such as A, K, Q, and J, as if they were playing cards from a deck.
Q: Please have an episode consisting of slapping his cheeks for twenty minutes straight.
Q was my girlfriend’s initial.
7: I like seeing his shabby clothes, but sometimes I want to see him wearing different clothes!
7 was the head of the broadcasting club.
8: Director, I enjoyed watching your last video. Forcing Kim Yul to talk respectfully was a brilliant idea. I think Kim Yul is popular because he has an unbreakable pride, so, unlike some sponsors who like to humiliate him physically, I believe mental humiliation is the better approach. Director, one way to break someone’s mental state is to harm them physically, but...
This guy was in middle school, a member of a band. He always wrote long comments and put them in the submission box. Long story short, he was batshit insane. His ID was 8 because he was suffering from main character syndrome. Of course, even if he was a crazy second-year middle school student, he was still from a chaebol family who was quite influential in the region. That made him a valuable customer.
Those were the customers of the so-called Trump Card Club. Their wish was to have their subtle sadism quenched. By providing entertainment of vicarious satisfaction to my customers, I managed to maintain my status
The number of friends who started favoring me openly or subtly had increased since I started providing entertainment for them. That was how I had met my girlfriend too.
Without the bullying, there was no way I could have dated a rich girl. I had never won any writing contests in middle school like my mom and dad. It wasn’t like I could be an idol like my older brother because I didn’t have such a pretty face as him. If I were to climb the social pyramid, I would need to pay tribute to the higher-ups.
“Sorry.”
That was why I apologized for the delay. I was late in delivering the tribute. However, I also wondered why I hadn’t filmed a video of Kim Yul lately. I had no reason to stop, but a good excuse immediately came to mind. I was really good at coming up with excuses.
“You’re running for the student council president position. I’m going to refrain myself during the election.”
“What? You were being considerate of me?”
“We have to be careful. People might start talking...”
My girlfriend raised her eyebrows and stroked my head. “Now, who’s a good boy? I like a smart puppy.”
Even though she blatantly treated me like a dog, I didn’t care. Rather, I played along. “Woof, woof! Woof! Woof!”
“Haha.”
Finally, my girlfriend laughed. I was the only one in this school who could make her laugh. I jumped up and down like an excited dog.
“You know, Hwang Eun-Seo, you’re really funny.”
Her words proved my worth. I was a fun guy to be around. She could always laugh out loud when she was around me, the most popular guy who set the tone in school. My brother used his looks to find dates, but there was a limit to that. True love depended on how good a person was at talking...
I’ve been waiting for you, Gong-Ja.”
I narrowed my eyebrows. What?
[Your immersion level is 100%.]
My mind went blank again, even though it was only for a moment. Was I hearing things? It seemed this was happening more frequently these days.
I cleared my throat. “Anyway, I’m going to take a break from filming for the time being. We might run into problems during the elections. If any of our customers have complaints, please tell them that I’m slowing down at the moment because Kim Yul might not come to school at all if I mess with him too m...”
Just then, I heard a voice from the speakers.
—This is an announcement from the broadcasting club.
The voice was familiar. Of course, it was 7’s voice. Yes, he was part of the Trump Card Club, but he was also the head of the broadcasting club. Surprisingly, he sounded less energetic than usual, which unsettled me for some strange reason.
—Hwang Eun-Seo from Year 2 Class 5.[1] Hwang Eun-Seo from Year 2 Class 5. Please come to the broadcasting room immediately. This is an announcement from the broadcasting club. Hwang Eun-Seo from Year 2 Class 5. Please come to the broadcasting room immediately.
That was the end of the announcement.
My girlfriend looked at me. “Is everything okay?”
I didn’t understand either. “I don’t think I did anything to get called to the broadcasting room... I would understand if I had to go to the teachers’ office.”
“It’s the broadcasting club leader, so he may have just called you for personal reasons. Maybe he wants to know why there hasn’t been a new episode lately. He’s a little crazy,” my girlfriend muttered. “Go. I’ll be fine on my own.”
After thinking for a bit, I kissed her cheek. “Okay. Thank you.”
I was pretty good at acting cute today, and the lie that I was acting considerate of my girlfriend also worked. A kiss on the cheek would probably be allowed.
Above all, I had a duty to pretend that we were the perfect couple in the eyes of all the students. My girlfriend chuckled, probably reading my thoughts.
“You’re cute.”
Look, everyone. The princess laughed again.
I said, “I’ll get going. I’ll text you once I find out what’s going on.”
I was much smarter than other students. As I walked down the hallway, I replayed today’s events. Were there any mistakes in my social interactions? Did I talk strangely? Did I make the other guys laugh and laughed back moderately? The result of my retrospection was...
... today was perfect, as expected from me.
I was talented. I could not only bully someone, but also turn it into a game. The upper class students had learned how to have proper fun from me, so they would keep in touch with me even after they left to attend university. They might even invite me to their league.
Still, I don’t care if they invite me.
They would remember that they pulled off some naughty pranks during their school days alongside me and my girlfriend. She would probably dump me as soon as she enrolled in university, but she would still remember her ex-boyfriend who had once made her happy.
Hwang Eun-Seo would forever remain in their memories as a delightful nostalgic guy that could bring a smile to their faces. This alone was a huge reward for me.
Unlike students who were clueless about their future, I already had a roadmap planned out.
I’ll become a movie director.
I didn’t have to become very successful. The goal was to film a few indie films and build a decent career and a social network. This would be enough to open many doors for me since no one disliked a struggling young director.
Next, I would help new actors meet those from the upper class. As a party designer[2], I was going to satisfy the brilliant actors and actresses in ingenious ways like I was doing right now. Since my older brother worked in the entertainment industry, I could branch out in that field as well.
Good.
I was going to have a hell of a great life. Clearly, I was on a completely different level from those who did nothing but study and thought about their career path only after getting into a university.
“I'm here. You called for me?”
As soon as I entered the broadcasting room, I stopped in my tracks.
“St-stop.”
There was only the broadcasting club leader inside. That wasn’t strange. The broadcasting room had soundproof walls, with thick curtains covering them. That wasn’t strange either.
“Hw-Hwang Eun-Seo.”
But the broadcasting club leader was holding a camcorder and filming me. Now that was very strange.
“Close the door.”
I did no such thing.
“Hurry. Close the door. If you don’t, you and I are going to get in trouble.”
The broadcasting club leader was trembling like a cornered rat. I didn’t know why he was doing that, but there was no benefit in provoking someone in that state. Slowly, I closed the door.
“Close the curtains.”
I did as he asked.
“Hey, now look at me.”
I turned around.
“Hwang Eun-Seo from Year 2 Class 5, you threatened me and forced me to take part in bullying Kim Yul, who is also from Year 2 Class 5. Right? Say it’s true.”
“Is this a hidden camera show or something?”
“Shut up and say it’s true!”
The broadcasting club leader was shaking out of genuine fear. An ominous feeling struck me. Normally, I would have joked and asked, “How am I supposed to speak if you’re ordering me to shut up?” but I couldn’t because I was genuinely shocked.
I frowned. “I don’t understand what’s going on. You should at least tell me what your deal is before you ask me to do something like that.”
“Y-you approached me first. I said no... but you tempted me, saying that you had something interesting to show me, and that I should take a look. Right? That’s what happened, so this is all your fault!”
Something was off.
“What are you talking about? When the videos were shared within my group, you heard the news and came to see me. You offered to introduce me to the middle school students. In exchange, you wanted to join the group, so why are you—”
“No! No!” The broadcasting club leader’s face turned pale. “It’s all your fault, Hwang Eun-Seo. You said we would never get caught because you guaranteed our anonymity. You said that you’ll take responsibility if something happens. W-why is there a video of me out there?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I only made an appearance once!”
Occasionally, customers volunteered to appear in my videos because they wanted to personally take part in the bullying. If I remembered correctly, the broadcasting club head did appear in a video once.
“Wait a sec. Are you doing this because you’re worried that the video may be leaked? Don’t worry. The videos are discarded after we watch them...”
The broadcasting club head grimaced. “Don’t lie! You son of a bitch.... You’re just a big bully who has nothing better to do. I shouldn’t have believed a bastard like you. Just spit it out already! You tricked me to get me involved in this whole charade! If you don’t say it, I’ll tell everyone what you guys have been up to!”
I was stunned, unsure what to say.
“Say it! I should show everyone what you’ve done!”
It was crazy. I had a feeling I wasn’t supposed to be here anymore.
“Sorry, but I can’t admit to something I haven’t done. That goes against my principles. I definitely showed it to you at your request, and although I no longer have the video of you, I have all the notes you put in the box. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but go cool off. Let’s talk later,” I said, turning my back to him.
The broadcasting club leader groaned. “S-stand right there! Don't go. Don’t go, Hwang Eun-Seo! If you leave, it’s over! It’s really over! I’m going to tell the other students and end your life! Don’t you understand? Hey, Hwang Eun-Seo! You son of a bitch, you’re done! Your life is over! Just wait and see. I’ll tell your parents about what you’ve been doing at school...!”
I closed the door, cutting off the broadcasting club leader’s voice. The curtains hid the soundproof walls that absorbed all the noises, so the broadcasting club leader’s shouting became a buzz at best. No one was around the second-floor hallway either.
“Fuck. What’s wrong? He wouldn’t make a damn fuss like that for no reason,” I muttered.
Maybe the video really got leaked. One of the customers may have really made a copy and kept it to threaten the broadcasting club head.
“Shit.”
I did hear that managing customers was more difficult than getting them. It seemed that was indeed the case. I picked up my phone and called my customers one after another.
Brrrrrrrr—
The dial sound rang for a long time before I was asked to leave a voicemail.
“What?”
I held back my temper and called the next customer, trying to ask if he knew anything about why the broadcasting club leader was making such a fuss.
Brrrrrrrr—
The next customer didn’t answer the phone either. After all, school was over, so I thought that was maybe why they couldn’t pick up. I tried to maintain my composure as I called the next person on my list.
Brrrrrrrr—
However, they didn’t answer either. Neither did the next one, or the one after. All twelve customers from the Trump Card Club, excluding my girlfriend, didn’t answer my calls.
Why?
I had a really bad feeling about this. It felt like an invisible hand was slowly gripping my nape.
What’s wrong?
Without thinking, I called a classmate who wasn’t a customer. I was the director, but he was my secretary. On my behalf, he delivered and retrieved the videos from the customers.
Brrrrrrrr—
He didn’t answer my call.
Only then did I realize that someone was trying to hunt me down.
1. Korean high school is a three-year system. Freshmen are 16, and there are multiple classes(반) in one grade. Some countries use alphabets like Class A, but Korea uses numbers. ☜
2. He’s talking about making a shady sponsorship deal that often happens in the field of entertainment. ☜