Chapter 29
"Wow, man. Did you see the recent post?”
"What post? Is it on Grandce?"
"Oh, that post on Grandce. That accusation post."
"Accusation post? Someone besides Sun-Woo?"
"No, no. It's Sun-Woo again. But I think the content was a little different.”
"Sun-Woo again? What the hell is he doing?"
The school was unusually noisy because of the post on Grandce. It was an accusation post, but it was also an appeal. The students read the contents of the post by sharing their phones with each other. All the students who read the text would react in the same way.
"Uh... Is this real?"
“...Wow.”
There wasn’t even an opportunity for them to get angry—they just let out heavy breaths and sighed. It was because the contents of the accusation post were too shocking. The students looked at each other with stunned expressions. No one opened their mouths, and silence filled the room.
Thump–!
Soon, the door opened.
The main character of the accusation post revealed himself and trudged into the room, but no one looked at him. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that they were unable to look at him.
* * *
I came to school early in the morning and studied. On any normal day, the classroom would have been noisy with nasty gossip about me. However, it was quiet today. It was obvious why. The students were not even able to make eye contact with me.
Eventually, when it reached a quarter past eight, Ye-Jin came into the classroom.
It was over. The children didn't even want to make eye contact with me. Her face, which would normally have a smiling expression, was currently filled with apprehension.
"I'll start homeroom."
Likewise, her voice lacked strength.
“As I always say, kidnappings targeting middle and high school students are rampant these days, so please be careful. There is nothing else I can tell you. Byung-Hoon, please come on in.”
Ye-Jin beckoned, and Byung-Hoon, who was waiting outside the classroom, walked in. His face was filled with bruises as if he had gotten hit by someone, and he had bandages on one of his ears. Nonetheless, Byung-Hoon walked with dignity. I could see that his eyes were filled with determination.
"Student Byung-Hoon is transferring to another school for health reasons. Byung-Hoon says he has one last thing to say to you all. Please listen carefully."
Byung-Hoon cleared his throat, and he chuckled with a bright smile on his face.
“Now that I’m on the spot, I can’t think of anything to say. Thank you all, and please take care from now on.”
That was the end of his final greeting. It was ridiculously short, but Byung-Hoon still looked relieved.
“Get ready for class, everyone. That’s it for homeroom.”
Just like that, Ye-Jin exited the class along with Byung-Hoon. As usual, the classroom soon became noisy. There was no gloomy atmosphere at all. Rather, it was much more lively than usual.
It was a matter of course. Out of the school's countless students, only a single one was leaving. Other than the few students who were close to Byung-Hoon, no one cared. I wasn't particularly close to Byung-Hoon, and in fact, we were closer to being enemies rather than friends. However, my heart still felt strangely uncomfortable. I felt quite stuffy and dizzy for no particular reason. The absurd reality seemed to make me sick.
"Sigh."
I told In-Ah I was going to the bathroom and exited the classroom. After going outside and getting some fresh air, I finally started to feel a little better. I admired the scenery of Florence once again. Beyond the clear blue skies that had not a single cloud, I could see lush green mountains.
Rustle—
The leaves rustled as a light breeze blew past, and the flowers that had bloomed in the garden were slightly shaking. The entire scenery felt alive, as if announcing that spring had arrived. It was a scenery that felt refreshing.
“Sun-Woo?”
It was then that someone called me. It was Byung-Hoon. He was fiddling with his short hair in an awkward manner. It was not long before he smiled brightly and said, “It looks like I’m right. Isn’t class about to start soon? Why are you here?”
"I'll be there soon. What about you?" I asked nonchalantly.
Byung-Hoon quietly looked around without answering. He looked around very slowly as if to capture every inch of Florence Academy in his mind.
“I just wanted to take a look. I feel a little sad when I think about how I can’t come here anymore. I felt a bit attached.”
“You can go to another school and get along well,” I said without thinking. Byung-Hoon tilted his head as if he was wondering about something.
And then, he laughed out loud for a long time.
I had no idea why he was laughing.
“Right, they said I was transferring. Truth is, I’m not transferring, but I’m dropping out,” Byung-Hoon said while maintaining his smile.
"Huh? Dropping out?"
“The reason why I came to Florence Academy was so that I could become a paladin.”
“Then why are you dropping out after going through all that effort to enter this school?”
“One of my ears is completely screwed up. I can’t become a paladin with this kind of injury.”
Byung-Hoon tapped his right ear with his finger, indicating that he had problems with his hearing. The reason was evident. That day, Sung-Hyun had repeatedly hit his ear.
“So that’s why I decided to take a break for now, at least until I can fix my ear. I’ll have to take the qualification exam later.”
“...I see.”
I simply nodded. I wanted to console him a little, but for some reason, I couldn’t formulate the words. Perhaps there was no need to console him in the first place.
Byung-Hoon looked happier than ever.
For a brief moment, there was silence. The wind carried the scent of grass.
"I'm sorry."
Byung-Hoon's apology broke the silence, and the wind calmed down.
"What’s with the apology all of a sudden?"
“I swore at you behind your back, spread rumors, and that kind of thing. So yeah. Sorry for everything.”
“You didn’t need to apologize. Anyway, the post you wrote was well written.”
In the first place, there was no reason for Byung-Hoon to apologize to me. He had already completed his apology in the post he had written.
Last night, a post was uploaded onto Grandce.
The post stated that Sun-Woo was not a perpetrator of school violence and that the true perpetrator was Sung-Hyun. It said that Sung-Hyun was the one who forced Go Jun-Min to upload false accusations about Sun-Woo. It also said that Sung-Hyun was still committing school violence and that he was beating innocent students and extorting money.
That was a rough summary of the contents of the post. Byung-Hoon was the author. He had not anonymously posted the message, but he had posted it with his real name in order to increase credibility.
In addition, Jin-Seo wrote a comment on Byung-Hoon’s post, saying that she could testify that this was the truth. Thanks to this, the rumor that I was a school violence perpetrator had disappeared.
To be exact, it hadn’t disappeared, but it had calmed down. That was enough.
"Well, it’s not like it had any real effect.”
However, the accusation post that Byung-Hoon had bravely written had done no damage to Sung-Hyun.
"I guess you could say that's true."
Still, that was enough.
I glanced at the sky and took a deep breath. The smell of grass filled my lungs. It was spring, but the air was still cool. A trace of winter still remained.
"But don’t you have to go? Class will start soon," Byung-Hoon asked. I checked the time on my phone. It was about time for me to go back to class.
"Looks like I’ve got to go.”
"Yes. I need to go now, too.”
With that, we completed our conversation and parted ways. I went toward the classroom, and Byung-Hoon walked out of school.
The wind felt cool but warm at the same time. It sounded strange, but it was the truth.
Soon, I arrived at the classroom. Two seats were empty. One of them was Byung-Hoon’s seat, who had dropped out. The empty desk felt especially lonely.
And the owner of the other desk was currently being investigated for intervention and manipulation of the Jun-Min case. He had countless other charges, such as suspected collusion with Satanists, school violence, and extortion.
The results of the trial had not yet been released, but based on the evidence and the circumstances, it was clear that he was guilty. Thus, it was determined that he would be stripped of his title of ‘Holy Name of Charity’ and that his qualifications as a proud student of Florence Academy would be revoked.
In other words, he was going to lose his Holy Name of Charity, and he was going to get expelled. This was the punishment that was decided as a result of a meeting between faculty members. All this was posted in bold letters on the bulletin board in the front of the main building this morning.
That was why Sung-Hyun's seat was empty.
I stared blankly at the empty seats.
"Sun-Woo. They have something to say.”
In-Ah approached me. Her tone and expression were cold. She stood proudly with her arms folded and her legs crossed as three students walked behind her. They were Byung-Hoon’s friends who had previously gossiped about me. They were all unable to make eye contact with me.
"Well, um."
One kid who had been hesitating and fidgeting with their fingers was the first to speak up.
"I saw the post. Sorry."
"That’s it?" In-Ah glanced fiercely at the trio.
"Is that really all you’re going to say?" she added as she slowly stalked toward the trio. It looked so threatening that even I felt scared.
"You talked so confidently behind our backs, but in front—"
“In-Ah, I’ll speak to them.”
“Ah? Oh, sure.”
In-Ah, who had been criticizing in a cynical tone, quickly went quiet with my words. Nevertheless, her glare at the trio was as sharp as ever. She seemed angrier than me for some reason as if she was trying to be angry in my stead.
[That kid must have been frustrated by you, too.] Legba said in a low voice. Legba was correct.
But it wasn’t them who needed to apologize to me. It was Jun-Min who had posted the article and Sung-Hyun who had instigated him to post. Jun-Min was dead, and Sung-Hyun had been expelled, so there was no way that either of the two would ever apologize to me.
"It's alright, so go. Class is about to start." I sent them away with a smile. In-Ah looked at me like she couldn't believe it.
"Wait, what? Why did you send them away? You said you were going to speak to them?” In-Ah's voice trembled. She seemed quite angry. Whenever In-Ah was angry, she would reveal her scary side. It looked like she was angrier than I had initially thought.
"Just because. I'm just grateful that they even came to apologize.”
"Ha. Seriously? Wow. You’re really something... I can’t believe this." In-Ah was speechless. She seemed to be so frustrated that she was struggling to form proper sentences.
Eventually, she sighed deeply and spent a long time cooling off her anger. Nevertheless, her anger did not completely subside, and she continued to mumble complaints to herself.
“Idiot. Seriously, what an idiot. And I can’t believe those guys are really leaving after he told them to leave. This is ridiculous–”
It seemed like the only curse word in In-Ah’s dictionary was the word ‘idiot.’ She continued to mumble to herself for a long period of time before eventually sighing deeply.
"...Well, as long as you’re satisfied with the result."
It looked like she still couldn’t quite come to terms with how things worked out, but it was far better than before.
"I don't see Jun-Hyuk."
Seeing that her anger had somewhat cooled down, I used this opportunity to change the subject. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Jun-Hyuk since earlier. At first, I thought he was just arriving late, but he still hadn’t arrived even though class was about to start.
"Ah, that guy. He said he was sick and that he was resting at home today. I think he said he had a cold.”
"Sick? That guy?"
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it either. I kind of think that he just lied so that he didn’t have to come to school. I’m not entirely sure, though.”
I couldn’t believe that Jun-Hyuk had caught a cold. That meant that the superstition that stupid people were immune to colds was just nonsense[1].
“I was annoyed when he was here, but now that he’s not here, it feels kind of–”
"I'm sorry!"
At that moment, someone suddenly cut off my sentence. It was the trio from Byung-Hoon’s friend group. It looked like they came back to apologize because their hearts did not feel at peace.
There was really no need for an apology, though.
"It’s all good."
“Still. I’m sorry I suspected you. It must have been hard for you...”
“I’m also sorry for blabbering without knowing anything. Um... I blindly believed the rumors without knowing the truth. Sorry...”
After one person apologized, the others followed suit like a chain of dominos.
Unlike his threatening appearance, Byung-Hoon was soft-hearted and nice. The trio had similar personalities. Since they were children who were always around Byung-Hoon, their personalities naturally became similar.
The apologies felt like a burden, but I smiled and accepted them.
“Right, Byung-Hoon told me that he’s going to miss you guys. I saw him outside for a brief moment earlier.”
"Oh, really? What else did he say?"
"By any chance, do you know where he’s transferring to?"
When I mentioned Byung-Hoon, his friends asked me this and that with shining eyes.
The truth was, Byung-Hoon never said anything like that. I lied to cleanse the awkward atmosphere.
“I’m not sure either. He only told me to deliver that message to you guys.”
“Ah... Okay. Thanks for telling us.”
Byung-Hoon’s friends’ expressions returned to that of disappointment. Actually, Byung-Hoon was dropping out instead of transferring, but I felt that it would be better not to tell them the truth.
Watching the scene from the side, In-Ah said bluntly, “You look like you’re about to become friends with them.”
"It’s good to make friends.”
"Oh, come on. Whenever I see those guys, it pisses me off so much that it drives me crazy.”
"Pisses you off? Why?"
“It’s because they swore behind your back, and they are only apologizing now. They’re so brazen.”
I could understand where she was coming from as well. Byung-Hoon’s friends had spoken ill of me behind my back. They had blindly criticized me and had contributed to spreading the rumors. And they were only able to apologize after the truth had been revealed. From a third-party point of view, it was understandable that they might have appeared to be brazen.
"At least they apologized."
However, I was rather grateful to them for coming to apologize, even if it was late.
In-Ah's eyebrows twitched. She looked at me with disapproval for a long period of time and then burst into laughter.
“Sometimes, you really seem like an idiot.”
"If I'm stupid, then you’re–"
"Huh? I’m what?"
"Never mind."
I hurriedly shut my mouth. I intuitively felt that I shouldn’t complete my sentence.
In-Ah tilted her head and looked at me. "What? Why did you stop talking? What were you going to say?”
“It’s nothing. When’s the teacher coming? Is there no class today?” I calmly changed the subject.
“That’s a good point. I wonder why she’s not here yet.” In-Ah expressed her puzzlement. Someone rushed into the room through the front door and shouted at that moment.
“Hey! Apparently, it’s self-study for this class–!”
“Oh, self-study.” I nodded.
After hearing an apology from the trio and talking to In-Ah, I wondered why the teacher was not coming. I thought it was strange, but after I heard that it was self-study, it made sense.
* * *
After school, I immediately went to the underground chapel. Uncle Jin-Sung was unable to take his eyes off the dBP corporation’s stock price. His eyes were moist, and his nose was red.
"Uncle, are you crying?”
My uncle raised his head in surprise. Then a tear that had accumulated in the corner of his eye flowed down his cheek.
“Oh. Why am I crying...?”
“Now you’re even mumbling nonsense. You should have just sold when I told you to sell.”
My uncle wiped away his tears with a handkerchief. His eyes were still red. He must have been crying long before I arrived here. He didn’t shed a single tear even when my father died. But now he’s crying just because a single stock crashed. I didn’t really want to say this about my uncle, but he looked like a madman.
He was a madman who was obsessed with money.
"Sun-Woo. What should we do now? We’re seriously screwed...."
“What do you mean ‘we?’ It’s not like it’s my money.”
“It is ‘we.’ I’m sorry....”
My uncle dropped his head. There was no strength in his voice. For a moment, an ominous premonition flashed through my head.
No way. No way. No way. There was no way that he would do that, right?
"You didn't touch the donations or the Voodoo Cult management funds, did you?"
“...”
My uncle didn't answer. He just looked at me and smiled sadly.
Ah.
[You son of a bitch!]
Beyond my hazy consciousness, I could hear Legba’s voice. He sounded very angry. His voice echoed in my head so loudly that it hurt.
[Repeat exactly what I say from now on. Now, exactly two weeks from today.]
"Uncle, exactly two weeks from today."
[If you’re unable to make up for the loss, then.]
“If you’re unable to make up for the loss, then.”
[I’ll turn you into a zombie and then sell you as a slave to make up for the loss.]
“I’ll turn you into a zombie and then sell you as a slave to make up for the loss. That is what Legba said to you.”
My uncle looked at me with despair in his eyes.
“Master Legba said all that?”
“Legba seems to be very angry at the moment.”
“Ah, what do I do? Seriously, ha...”
My uncle tore at his hair and lamented. Usually, my uncle was rational and calm, but he often lost his rationality in front of money, just like right now.
"Uncle, aren’t you really good at making money, though? Can't you make up for the losses quickly?"
"Well, ah."
"How much did you lose?" I asked. My uncle lowered his voice to tell me how much he had lost.
"What, really? No, don't joke around."
"How could I make a joke in this situation? Haaaaa...”
It was such a large amount that I wanted to believe that it was a joke. I didn’t think he would lose this much in my wildest imagination.
“Um, then how about just turning into a zombie? It’s going to be impossible to make up for this.”
I just said it honestly. My uncle's face was contorted in despair.
[Are there still slave traders in this day and age? Or at least something similar?]
“No, there are no slave traders. I think the closest thing is probably work for the ocean fishing business?”
[It's not a bad idea to sell him to an organ dealer.]
“That a bit... We’re still family, though.”
While I was talking to Legba, Uncle Jin-Sung was busy preparing something. He dressed himself up in a suit, waxed his hair, and put on gold-rimmed glasses. It looked like he was thinking about going out.
"Where are you going?"
“Sigh, two weeks. Legba said that I had to make up for the loss within two weeks, right?”
I nodded. I couldn’t think of a method to make up for the loss within two weeks. Even if he went to the casino and won the jackpot, it still probably wouldn’t be enough.
It was a desperate situation—a truly desperate situation with not even a single ray of hope.
Nevertheless, Uncle Jin-Sung was smiling. He seemed to have an idea.
“I’m going to pick up the Altar soon, so come get it when I contact you.”
My uncle quickly climbed upstairs and left the underground chapel. I stared at his back for a long time.
Altar.
Uncle definitely said that.
1. Apparently, it’s a common Japanese superstition as well. Perhaps it was bought over to Korea during the colonial era. ?
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