TCWS 14

Chapter :14

To think someone would dare strike up a conversation with a returning student so intimidating that people couldn’t even bring themselves to make proper eye contact with him.

Wasn’t that guy out of his mind?

Curious gazes followed them one after another.

“Suit yourself.”

At Taesin’s reply, Heerok grinned and spoke.

“You look too young to call you ‘mister,’ so I’ll call you hyung. We go to the same school, after all.”

“…….”

“Why’d you quit school, anyway? Got yourself into some big trouble? Like a gang fight or a woman problem?”

Gasp.
Sharp intakes of breath came from all around.

Should he call the kid cute for grinning and playing at being a grown-up, or just absurd?

Instead of answering, Taesin shoved his hands into his pants pockets and leaned back.

Perhaps he felt the chill radiating from Taesin, because the kid—who had seemed completely lacking in tact—grew a little more polite.

“Is it hard to answer? Then where are you from? You don’t seem like Future Faction. Are you from Seoul?”

“……?”

Lowering his voice, the kid scanned Taesin’s solid frame, now that he’d taken off his school jacket and was wearing only a short-sleeved T-shirt.

“I know some people from that world. You don’t have tattoos, but your vibe’s pretty similar.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Taesin replied calmly.

“Come on, you know. That scar on your arm—knife wound, right?”

Ha.

Because of this reckless kid who didn’t know his limits, Yoon Iseol was probably going to have a headache.

Taesin leaned forward and lowered his voice.

“Want to know how many scars like this I have?”

For the first time, the kid wiped the grin off his face and swallowed hard.

“That many…? Let’s see.”

“Did you say your name was Kim Heerok?”

“……?”

The kid’s narrow eyes widened.

He looked confused about how Taesin knew his name when he wasn’t even wearing a name tag.

“Remember this.”

A low chuckle sounded from somewhere.

“Fuck, remember what? What are you gonna do about it?”

“You’ll find out.”

“Iseol, you’re not going to lunch?”

“I don’t really have an appetite.”

“Can’t blame you. All right, we’ll go eat, then.”

“Yes. Have a good lunch.”

Just then, the door opened and Taesin stepped into the teachers’ office.

The teachers who had been about to leave stopped short, eyes widening.

They looked up at the tall man for a long moment and smiled awkwardly.

“Looks like you’re here to see Ms. Iseol. She’s over there.”

After giving the teachers a brief nod, Taesin walked past those who couldn’t seem to take their eyes off him and approached Iseol.

“You’re here. Did you eat lunch?”

“I didn’t feel like it.”

Eating surrounded by much younger students probably wasn’t all that comfortable.

After glancing around the mostly empty office, he spoke.

“So this is where you work, Ms. Yoon Iseol.”

“Yes. Have a seat.”

Iseol pulled over a chair and offered it to him.

Her desk was enclosed on three sides by partitions, neatly organized with a monitor, documents, and office supplies.

Taesin’s gaze passed over the cute character dolls from students, the pink tumbler, and the dainty stationery, then stopped at a photo pinned to the partition wall.

“That’s the grandmother from the snack shop.”

“You remember.”

“She seemed quite formidable.”

A smile appeared on Iseol’s lips.

“She curses like a sailor. Around here, she’s famous as the foul-mouthed grandma.”

“Then the customers must leave full—of scoldings.”

His deadpan joke made her laugh.

The tension she’d been carrying all day over the students’ fight eased a little.

“Speaking of which, you should be careful not to run into those gangsters again—the ones you dealt with back then.”

After checking that no one was entering the office, Iseol lowered her voice.

“As you probably know, they’re employees of a loan shark company called Future Credit. Their branch manager is a really scary man. He told me to pass along a message—if you step into his territory, he’ll show you exactly what happens.”

“Did he come looking for you?” Taesin asked.

“Yes. At the snack shop.”

Iseol watched Taesin, who seemed lost in thought, with concern.

He soon looked at her and reassured her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

“All right.”

Relieved by his calm response, Iseol handed him the midterm exam scope and performance assessment list that class president Sangwook had organized.

“And thank you for this morning. If you hadn’t stepped in, Haewon could’ve been seriously hurt.”

While checking the exam scope, Taesin looked up at her.

“Kim Heerok.”

“Why? What about Heerok?”

“It looked like they were betting on it.”

“What do you mean…?”

“…….”

“Don’t tell me…”

As she recalled the two students fighting viciously, and the glittering eyes of the kids watching, Iseol’s eyes widened.

“There seemed to be money involved. I’m not completely sure, but I thought you should know.”

Hearing this, pieces of events that hadn’t made sense before suddenly clicked into place.

Why fights had suddenly broken out among the third-years.
Why no one tried to stop them.
Why the students had kept their mouths shut.

Taesin said he wasn’t certain, but it seemed like the clearest explanation for the recent string of fights.

Kim Heerok was problematic, but not the type to orchestrate something this extreme.

Behind it all, Hwang Inwoo must be pulling the strings—and the kids were too afraid of him to say anything.

“…Thank you for telling me.”

Of course, Kim Heerok would deny it.

There was no solid evidence.

Lost in thought over how to handle the situation, Iseol snapped back to attention when she felt Taesin’s steady gaze.

“Look at me, spacing out. By the way, do you plan on going to college? Your grades up through sophomore year were excellent.”

Iseol had been genuinely surprised when she checked his transcript.

His grades were good enough to place him in the top ten of the entire school.

It seemed intelligence ran in the family—his younger brother too.

Contrary to appearances.

Not that she thought he looked stupid.

With just one look at his sharp eyes, it was obvious he was very smart.

Still, a man with that face, that body, and that dangerous aura being good at studying felt oddly unfair, like it went against the natural order of things.

The more she looked at him, the harder he was to figure out.

He was clearly connected to gangs, yet his grades suggested otherwise.

Was he with the police, maybe?

A uniform would probably suit him…

Realizing her thoughts were drifting, Iseol hurriedly spoke.

“There have been changes to the admissions system, but with grades like these, getting into a top university in Seoul shouldn’t be difficult. You could aim for early admission as well as the regular track.”

“Would it be good if I went to college?” he asked.

Blinking, Iseol hesitated.

“Ah… your grades are good, and you’ve reenrolled, so if possible, it’d be better to go.”

“Then I’ll go.”

“…What?”

“You said it’d be better.”

“Well, yes, but your age… and, I mean, learning doesn’t have an age limit, but there might be circumstances, so you should decide for yourself—”

Flustered, unsure how to take his words, Iseol began rambling.

Why did she always lose her composure around this man?

Feeling pathetic, she let out a quiet sigh.

Get it together.

“I saw in your student record that you’d chosen business administration as your major. Has that changed? With your strong math and science scores, something like computer engineering would suit you too.”

“Graduating from business school was my father’s dying wish.”

So his father had passed away.

Given that he and his brother were being chased by gangsters and had ended up hiding on an island, it seemed likely his mother was gone too.

Even knowing he was a man as big and strong as a mountain, Iseol suddenly felt an urge to hug him and comfort him. She avoided his gaze.

“I see. Ahem.”

Clearing her throat, she continued.