Transmigrated as the Side Top used as an Emotional Trash Can - Chapter 31.1
Not long afterward, the mother of the boy involved in the commotion came to the school.
After her, Kim Jihwan’s mother came in place of my mother, who was away on a distant business trip, and my father, who was probably somewhere in the skies above Istanbul.
“Right, Hanrim isn’t the kind of child who would do something like that, so why would he have done it?”
The teacher asked as he brought over instant coffee. The parents, the boy, and I had been seated facing one another in the counseling room.
“I really didn’t hit him. Today was the first time I’d ever seen him.”
Kim Byeongjun.
It was truly a name I had never seen or heard before.
“…Baek Hanrim has been hitting me and taking my money for a long time. I have bruises too.”
For a long time? Since when was he talking about?
The boy named Kim Byeongjun stared only at the floor. Then he listlessly poured out one absurd lie after another.
“Teacher, I’ve known Hanrim since he was a baby. Hanrim would never do something like that.”
Jihwan’s mother pulled me tightly into her arms while still seated. I was grateful, but at the same time, complicated emotions surged inside me, making it difficult to control my tears. The warmth of her body against mine was comforting, and the hand holding mine tightly was so soft and delicate that a small wave of panic came over me.
I thought of Mom. This hand was more delicate than Mom’s, but it was trying just as firmly to anchor me to life. I…. Suddenly, my nose and throat stung, and my stomach churned.
“Byeongjun has been saying lately that he keeps running short on allowance. Were you taking it from him?”
The other parent asked me in a sharp voice. There was no way. Baek Hanrim’s family wasn’t wealthy, but they were a fairly comfortable middle-class household. I regularly received more than enough allowance on my card, and whenever I had time, I worked part-time jobs myself, so I had never experienced any serious financial difficulties.
“Byeongjun-ah, you answer. Is it really true?”
The teacher between us asked as though attempting to mediate. Everyone’s gazes focused on him at once, and we all waited with the same feeling for the words that would come from Kim Byeongjun’s mouth.
“Yes.”
The single word that came from Kim Byeongjun’s mouth.
My mind went blank.
Everything before my eyes turned white.
“If Hanrim is lying, that will put him at a disadvantage before the School Violence Committee. The side that admits the truth and shows remorse will receive a lighter punishment.”
The School Violence Committee.
Punishment.
That couldn’t happen. I had to compete in the summer swimming competition.
“I, I….”
I tried to stammer something out, but it felt as though my lungs had shriveled. I couldn’t breathe well enough to speak.
“Even now, the two of them could reconcile and quietly bring this to an end….”
“Reconcile? Do you think that kind of reconciliation can compensate my child for being hit and bullied?!”
My hands trembled.
I knew that too.
Reconciliation couldn’t serve as compensation. It was compensation for the adults forcing them to mediate.
“Apologize! Don’t just stand there shamelessly!”
The demand from Byeongjun’s mother was like the crack of a whip. It struck me, and I flinched into a violent full-body shudder.
“Ma’am, please calm down….”
“Let go of me! Hey, you! Apologize! I said apologize!”
Every word struck me painfully. It hurt enough to make me want to surrender. I didn’t want to hear any more. Should I apologize? Would it end if I apologized? Could I escape this situation just by doing that?
“I said apologize sincerely!”
Right, I should.
That seemed like the right thing to do. I knelt in front of the boy whose head was lowered.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me….”
Had I wanted to hear these words from ■■■ too? What expression would I have made back then if I had heard them?
Still on my knees, I looked up at Kim Byeongjun’s face. Kim Byeongjun’s eyes were so empty and revealed so little emotion that calling them black pits seemed more fitting than calling them eyes.
They were a hopeless black darkness that made it seem as though nothing I said would ever reach him. Kim Byeongjun’s mother left with Byeongjun after saying there would be no leniency. The teacher told me to prepare myself.
A School Violence Committee hearing would be held.
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