Chapter 31: Preparing to expose

Truthfully, a pen is better than a fist for properly teaching Joo Wonyoung a lesson.

Joo Wonyoung is a student who helps Ojakgyo by consolidating his position within the academy based on his outstanding grades.

With his excellent grades, Joo Wonyoung distributes TT Academy’s content to Dowon High students, and students from other schools resent this.

The academy isn’t a volunteer organization.
Since they invest intensively in promising schools, many privileges go to students affiliated with Ojakgyo.

To abolish this discrimination by the academy, a superman on a white horse must appear and overwhelmingly crush Joo Wonyoung with superior grades.

The problem is that such a superman hasn’t appeared until now.

But it doesn’t matter.

I just need to take on the role of that superman.

‘I’ll become the superman….’

“Was his name Kim Maru? That handsome guy.”

“Ah, him? He got a perfect score on the quiz this time.”

“He solved the last problem? Seriously living life alone….”

“Doesn’t this mean the academy rankings will change this time?”

The academy students buzzed while looking at the bulletin board.
The list of top-scoring students was posted on it.

It stated that students listed would receive limited quantity mock exam sets or secret manuals personally created by the instructors.

I looked up at my name posted at the very top.
Below it, familiar names like Kim Noeul and Joo Wonyoung were visible.

“Wow, student Maru, you’re a complete rising star. A lot of content will be released this time, please donate generously to the Haneul High students.”

“I should. The opportunity to learn should be fair for everyone.”

This statement was a provocation aimed at Ojakgyo.

Perhaps hearing my conversation with the teacher, Joo Wonyoung, who was watching us from afar, ground his teeth.
He ground them so hard that a grating sound could be heard.

Dowon High students nearby also glared at me disapprovingly.

But they couldn’t harm me.
Because rumors about me had spread among the Dowon High male students.

It seemed the incident where two Dowon High male students smoking got beaten up by me had leaked.
Since that day, no matter how much Joo Wonyoung instigated them, the guys didn’t lay a finger on me.

The situation was the same for the female students.
With the twin pillars of Kim Noeul and Han Doa standing by my side, they couldn’t recklessly attack.

Han Doa was already famous, and Kim Noeul gained notoriety as the Counseling Club president who made Je Galhwarin’s gang retreat.

Dowon High students couldn’t complain openly to Haneul High and instead gathered among themselves to vent their frustrations.

“Why is Han Doa hanging out with Kim Maru?”

“You didn’t know? The Counseling Club and Disciplinary Department joined forces and crushed Je Galhwarin. Now, no ordinary force can mess with Haneul High.”

“Isn’t Ojakgyo fighting back? If they lose the academy district interests, Eun Yuri will raise hell.”

“I don’t know. What is Joo Wonyoung even doing…. I thought he might be smart since he’s a direct line to Lee Jihye, but he can’t do anything and just keeps getting pushed back.”

They even started directing their complaints towards their own upper line instead of Haneul High.
Joo Wonyoung couldn’t get a grip amidst the public opinion that had changed in an instant.

His ordeal didn’t end there.

“Today is the mock exam day before the finals, right? Your grade will be calculated based on this and one future mock exam, so do your best.”

The Premium Mock Exam, a very important test that determined the TT Academy rankings.
Ojakgyo needed to achieve good results on this mock exam to maintain its position.

‘Damn it, I can’t lose to Haneul High.’

As Dowon High’s academic ace, Joo Wonyoung felt a heavy sense of responsibility.
He glared at the back of Kim Maru, who was taking the test in the same classroom.

‘Still, Dowon High has received far more study materials so far. What can the likes of you possibly do.’

Joo Wonyoung took the mock exam with a confident smile.

After the mock exam ended, students wandered around the hallways until the scores were calculated.

“Hey, Joo Wonyoung. You can get first place, right? If we get pushed back here, we won’t even be able to face Lee Jihye.”

“Don’t make a fuss. We received so much material, you think we’ll lose to those Haneul High kids? You guys just focus on doing well.”

Joo Wonyoung snapped at the complaining female student and grabbed her phone.
The score report is sent via the academy app installed on the phone.

‘Yeah, it’ll be fine. I solved so many problems.’

Vzzzing.

“Oh, the notification came.”

“Sh*t. I think I marked something wrong.”

The surrounding students became noisy as they checked their scores.
Joo Wonyoung opened the score report with trembling fingers.

And his eyes widened.

“Uh…?”

3rd place in the grade.
He, who had always been 1st, was pushed down to 3rd.
Joo Wonyoung looked around for the Haneul High group with a confused expression.

“My score went up thanks to Maru-hubae.”

“M-Me too! I want to keep getting tutored from now on.”

The gloomy-looking cow-girl and the Haneul High disciplinary head were praising Kim Maru.
Kim Noeul, standing beside them, bit her lip upon seeing Kim Maru’s score.

“You’re first again.”

“Because I didn’t make mistakes. You’re second?”

“…It’ll be different next time.”

Contextually, it seemed Kim Maru and Kim Noeul took the top and second spots.
This made things very difficult.
The system Lee Jihye and Eun Yuri had built in the academy district was collapsing.

“Um… Wonyoung? I think we’re f*cked? How do we tell Lee Jihye about this?”

“Sh*t, I can’t tell her. Who knows what will happen if I tell her that.”

“…Shut up.”

“What?”

Joo Wonyoung, shouting nervously, left the spot.
Everyone watched him walk away due to the loud noise.

The Dowon High students who were unexpectedly cursed at frowned.

“Why is that crazy guy telling us to shut up. He told us to trust him but ended up getting crushed.”

“Ah, we’re screwed if we don’t get the final exam materials. I don’t know why Joo Wonyoung was put in Lee Jihye’s line.”

“Isn’t Joo Wonyoung servicing Lee Jihye?”

“Is he crazy?”

Laughing amongst themselves, the Dowon High students badmouthed Joo Wonyoung.

Han Doa frowned hearing their conversation.
Kim Noeul stared at Joo Wonyoung’s retreating back with a dry expression.

And I took out my phone and sent a message to someone.

[Me: Contacting you after seeing the business card]

[Gu Miho: Huh? Maru-sunbae?]

Gu Miho replied immediately.

[Me: You said you were looking for a scoop]

[Me: It’s about Ojakgyo, you can run away if you’re scared]

[Gu Miho: This yellow doggie eats anything! Hurry and give me food!]

[Gu Miho: (Emoticon of a dog sticking its tongue out)]

[Me: I’ll give you a rough map and timeframe, try some stakeout reporting]

[Gu Miho: Woof woof!]

Having finished my business, I put my phone away.

“Dowon High… They wouldn’t do anything strange, would they…?”

Na Yuna muttered with an anxious expression.
I replied simply to her muttering.

“I really hope they do.”

Joo Wonyoung entered the men’s restroom far from the lecture hall and stepped into the stall in the furthest corner.

He locked the door, slumped onto the toilet seat, and chewed his lip.

‘How did it end up like this?’

He had been confident.

He was affiliated with Ojakgyo and received much support from the academy.
He lacked nothing, yet he ended up cornered like this.

With a hollow expression, Joo Wonyoung checked the last message Lee Jihye had sent him.

[Lee Jihye: Cook it up nicely for me to eat]

He didn’t know exactly what Lee Jihye wanted, but he had to figure it out himself.

Because one person had questioned Lee Jihye’s order and gotten severely chewed out by her.

Cooking it up must mean suppressing rebellious forces like Haneul High.
But far from suppressing them, Dowon High was about to be suppressed instead.

Lee Jihye’s face surfaced in Joo Wonyoung’s mind.

Usually, she had a quiet rabbit-like face, but once provoked, she turned into a crazy lioness.

Anyone who directly witnessed her brightly smiling while beating up people regardless of age or gender would inevitably be terrified.

Would he be any different?
If he lost his usefulness, he too would suffer terribly at Lee Jihye’s hands.

‘Why is this happening to me….’

Suddenly, his eyes grew hot.

Disliked by the girl he likes, pointed at by students, surpassed in grades by a guy he ignored, and about to get beaten up by Lee Jihye.

‘Sh*t, what did I do wrong for this to happen!’

Gritting his teeth and swallowing his tears, he desperately pondered ways to find a way out.

Ultimately, the key was content.
Being an academy district, grades were crucial.

Reason could no longer be found in Joo Wonyoung’s eyes.
Pushed into an extreme situation, he scanned Hakdogal with crazed eyes.

And found a familiar post.

[Saw Lee Jihye exchanging something with some academy teacher in the academy district (Views 1,921)]

It was a post he had seen before.
At that time, he assumed Lee Jihye was doing something under Eun Yuri’s orders and dismissed it as insignificant.

But what if it wasn’t insignificant?

Joo Wonyoung sent a message to one of Lee Jihye’s lackeys.

[Me: Yo]

[Moon Hyungmin: ?]

[Me: Lee Jihye met with a TT Academy teacher once, right? You must have been there too]

[Moon Hyungmin: Yeah]

[Me: Give me that teacher’s number.]

[Moon Hyungmin: Why? Gonna hit on her? Give it up, with your face]

[Me: Shut up and just give it to me quickly]

[Moon Hyungmin: ok wait]

After waiting a moment, Joo Wonyoung successfully saved the phone number.
Joo Wonyoung called the academy teacher using the number he obtained.

Only after quite a long time did the other party answer the call.

[Hello.]

[You’re the teacher who contacted Lee Jihye, right?]

[…Who are you.]

[Joo Wonyoung, Lee Jihye’s direct line. If you don’t believe me, check my phone number against hers.]

For a while, bustling sounds were heard from the other end of the line, then the voice echoed again.

[The academy ID matches, and the Jihye line phone number is correct too. So, why did you call?]

[I’ll keep it short. I absolutely must get 1st place on the next mock exam.]

[Asking for content? Dowon High should already have enough.]

[That won’t be enough. To deal with a monster, I need a special weapon.]

[This doesn’t seem like something to discuss over the phone. And since your identity isn’t fully confirmed, I’d like to see your face.]

[Then I’ll send the place and time, let’s meet today.]

Having arranged the meeting, Joo Wonyoung wiped his tears and left the restroom.

‘Haneul High, you b*stards, you made me like this. If you had just kept lying low, I wouldn’t have had to resort to this.’

A dark night.

On a street illuminated only by streetlight, Joo Wonyoung met with a female teacher.

“…Joo Wonyoung. Matches the photo.”

The teacher compared Joo Wonyoung’s actual appearance with the photo she brought and nodded.

“So? Tell me in detail. You want to get 1st place?”

“Yes. Just give me the answer key.”

“Is this agreed upon with Jihye?”

“…Lee Jihye told me to clean up the academy district. This is part of that.”

He didn’t lie.

“But the risk is a bit…. We need to not get caught.”

“Only the two of us in Ojakgyo know about this, who would find out? So, are you going to give it?”

“Hmm….”

Joo Wonyoung presented his account details before the contemplating teacher.
The female teacher’s pupils trembled upon checking the account.

“This is the down payment. If things go well, this much more.”

“…This is worth the risk.”

The teacher was inwardly satisfied.
Yes, it was for gains like this that she abandoned her ethics as a teacher and cooperated with Ojakgyo.

“Then Ojakgyo will handle the cleanup neatly, right?”

“That’s what I said.”

“I’ll send the file within today. It’ll be easier than you think since I know a few other teachers.”

The two finished their business and went their separate ways.
Only the sound of the quiet night wind swept through the street.

A moment later, the sound of someone’s footsteps was heard.
It was a student wearing headphones, watching a video on an app installed on her phone.

She was a female student with mischievous, fox-like features.
She sat on a bench and adjusted her phone’s camera position.
Consequently, the scenery on the phone screen changed as well.

“Ah…. So tasty…. This scoop is so tasty….”

Perhaps overly excited, her words slurred at the end.

Trembling all over with flushed cheeks, she sent a message to someone with shaky fingers.

[Me: Sunbaenim! Secured!]

[Me: (avi), (gif)]

[Me: Let me know if you need more materials!]

[Kim Maru: Sound quality is decent, video quality is good too]

[Kim Maru: Does Veritas have a lot of equipment like this?]

[Me: Compared to the chief, I’m just small fry!]

[Me: Ah, the chief is also a TT Academy student, would you like to cooperate with the chief too?]

[Kim Maru: Wouldn’t hurt]

[Me: By the way, how did you know the time and place? Your nose for scoops is amazing, are you perhaps thinking of joining Veritas?]

[Kim Maru: Stop talking nonsense and spread this as an article right after the academy mock exam ends]

[Kim Maru: I’ll handle things within the academy]

[Me: Yep]

Having finished the conversation, Gu Miho hummed a tune and left the spot.

‘Looking forward to tomorrow.’