Lee Jaehyun got off work and immediately took a taxi headed for Incheon.
He just couldn’t help but worry about Song Aram.
If it weren’t for her help during the Park Chunbeom case, it would have been nearly impossible to prove that bastard’s crimes.
Yet compared to what he’d received, Lee Jaehyun had never properly repaid Song Aram.
Naturally, a sense of debt lingered in his heart.
The unresolved School Violence incident involving Song Aram was also something he couldn’t get off his mind.
Because he felt responsible for the AS, it was only natural for Lee Jaehyun to head to Incheon.
“Welcome.”
He arrived at Incheon Seobu Police Station, and the moment he stepped out of the taxi, Sergeant Oh Seohyun, who’d been waiting, greeted him.
Her black hair was tied up in what people called a “poop bun,” practical and out of the way, and she wore a light flight jacket and t-shirt—clothes chosen for mobility.
It was the typical “detective fashion.”
Without even having time to feel glad to see a familiar face, Lee Jaehyun got straight to the point.
“What exactly is happening right now? Are those kids bullying Aram again…?”
School Violence isn’t something easily rooted out.
The perpetrators only get more cunning, and the adults who should protect the victims can’t possibly be with them twenty-four hours a day.
Inevitably, there would be times when the victim was exposed to retaliatory threats from the perpetrators.
Lee Jaehyun’s face was openly worried as he asked.
Fortunately, Sergeant Oh Seohyun shook her head as she replied.
“No, that’s not it. I talk with Aram a lot, and just the other day, we even went to a jjimjilbang together, but I haven’t noticed anything like that.”
“Then…”
“But it doesn’t seem like those kids are just lying low, either. I think they’re bullying someone else now.”
“So they just changed their target.”
Lee Jaehyun’s face hardened.
This is exactly why eradicating School Violence is so difficult.
No matter how much you preach about preventing it, there was almost nothing police could do, institutionally speaking.
All they could do was protect the victim.
Even that method was full of holes, and there were hardly any means to restrain the perpetrators.
Even if you protected the victim, if the bullies changed their target like this, there was almost nothing you could do.
“Yeah, I think Aram’s safe because I’m watching over her. But realistically… when it comes to hakpok, the victim has to be brave enough to report for any real punishment to happen.”
That’s an unavoidable part of it.
No matter how much evidence you have…
If the victim doesn’t report, or says, “We were just messing around as friends,”
All that evidence is useless.
But the strange thing is, Song Aram has evidence, and Sergeant Oh Seohyun is right by her side, so she can file a complaint at any time.
And of course, Song Aram seemed more determined than ever to bring the School Violence perpetrators to justice.
He didn’t know who the new victim was, but if Song Aram decided to file a complaint against them,
The school would have to get involved and try to contain things.
With Sergeant Oh Seohyun standing firm, it wouldn’t be swept under the rug, and the incident would be properly addressed.
If trouble broke out twice, the teachers would also start paying much closer attention to those kids.
Then the perpetrators would have a much harder time running wild like before, and the victims would naturally find relief.
“But Aram is…”
“She started filing the complaint… then suddenly said she wanted to drop it.”
“So something did happen.”
Hearing Oh Seohyun’s words, Lee Jaehyun’s face grew grave.
If Song Aram, who’d already become estranged from her father because of School Violence, suddenly withdrew her complaint, there had to be a reason.
“Yeah, she hasn’t actually withdrawn it yet, just stalled for time…”
“Has Aram changed her mind?”
“Not sure. She’s also been avoiding talking to me about withdrawing the complaint, so I don’t know the reason.”
“Well, I guess we’ll only know if we talk to her directly.”
“That’s why I called you. I want you to try talking with Aram.”
Even Sergeant Oh Seohyun probably had no choice.
If Song Aram herself wanted to drop the complaint, there was nothing anyone could do.
She wouldn’t have just decided that for no reason, so they had to find out what happened.
“Understood. Then… let’s go see Aram first.”
With that, Lee Jaehyun stood up with Sergeant Oh Seohyun.
Naturally, the place they headed was Song’s Gukbap.
***
“Welcome. Ah!”
As soon as Lee Jaehyun entered the Gukbap Restaurant, Song Aram, who had been about to greet him, stopped in her tracks as she saw Lee Jaehyun and Sergeant Oh Seohyun’s faces.
She looked hesitant, approaching with reluctant steps to greet them.
“Hello.”
“Yeah, have you been well?”
Song Aram’s voice was low and listless.
Lee Jaehyun forced a smile as he replied.
To be this obviously guarded…
It was clear she wanted to hide something.
Lee Jaehyun turned his head toward the kitchen, where the sound of clattering dishes came.
“Manager, two hot bowls of gukbap here, please!”
“Sure! Oh? Inspector Lee Jaehyun?”
Song Sajang poked his head out from the kitchen to answer, and when he saw Lee Jaehyun’s face, he took off his rubber gloves and rushed out to the hall.
“Oh my, welcome! You should’ve called before coming.”
Song Sajang clasped Lee Jaehyun’s hand with a bright face.
The moment he saw this, Lee Jaehyun realized that Song Aram was keeping this matter secret from her father.
“I was in the neighborhood and thought of your gukbap, so I dropped by.”
“Oh, have a seat. I’ll bring your food right away. Aram! Why are you just standing there when the Inspector is here?”
“Oh, uh… it’s nothing. Inspector, please sit here.”
Song Sajang only briefly tilted his head at Aram’s awkward expression, then told them to wait a moment as he went back to the kitchen.
Lee Jaehyun glanced at the kitchen, then spoke up.
“Aram.”
“Yes.”
“I’m here for your AS. Whatever it is, I’ll help.”
“It’s fine now. You don’t need to do any more AS for me.”
“Why did you suddenly change your mind?”
“Just because.”
Song Aram sounded both curt and, at the same time, somehow sad.
It was obvious something had happened, so Lee Jaehyun spoke calmly.
“Aram, it’s true I didn’t earn enough of your trust, and that’s my fault… but, if you trust me just once more and talk to me, I’ll do everything I can to help.”
“…You’ll get in trouble too, Uncle.”
Lee Jaehyun’s expression hardened subtly.
And not just him—Sergeant Oh Seohyun looked the same.
“‘Me too’…?”
That could only mean someone else had already gotten in trouble.
Lee Jaehyun furrowed his brows and continued.
“Aram, I’m a police officer. If you just tell me—”
“Those kids’ fathers don’t care about the police at all.”
“What…?”
To his question, Song Aram replied in an oddly brusque tone.
But Lee Jaehyun didn’t miss the subdued voice hiding behind those words.
It was a familiar tone.
The voice of the weak, trying to hide wounds suffered from unjust things they could do nothing about.
With his face stiff, Lee Jaehyun was about to ask again—
“Here’s your delicious gukbap!”
Song Sajang brought out the gukbap, and Song Aram quickly clamped her mouth shut.
She still hated worrying her father.
Sergeant Oh Seohyun stood up right away.
“Oh, right! Manager, could you step outside with me for a moment?”
“Huh? Why don’t you eat first—”
“Manager, let’s just step outside for a smoke and a chat.”
With that, Sergeant Oh Seohyun led Song Sajang out of the restaurant.
Seeing this, Song Aram let out a small sigh.
“…I know. Seohyun unni really cares about me. And I know Uncle only came because Seohyun unni called.”
“Yeah.”
“Haa… But seriously, those kids must be crazy.”
“Just tell me what happened, and I’ll do everything I can.”
Lee Jaehyun met her gaze as he spoke.
At last, Song Aram cautiously opened her mouth.
“Lately… the kids stopped picking on me, and with the article about the Gukbap Restaurant, I actually made some friends.”
“That’s good.”
“No, it’s not good. There’s a girl I became close with, Choi Sujin… now they’re bullying Sujin.”
Lee Jaehyun clenched his fist tightly.
So, as Sergeant Oh Seohyun said, the new target was Sujin.
“Then if Sujin also files a complaint—”
Just as Sergeant Oh Seohyun said, the kids wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment.
And they’d be watched closely by the school, so they wouldn’t be able to act out so easily anymore.
That’s what Lee Jaehyun thought.
At least, until he heard Song Aram’s next words, her voice trembling.
“They’re really awful… They said if I don’t withdraw my complaint, they’ll kill Sujin.”
She clenched her small fist as she spoke.
Had he underestimated today’s kids?
The bastards were even more devious than he’d thought.
Rather than threaten the victim directly, they’d targeted those around her.
Song Aram, who’d only just managed to clear her name, had finally made her first real friend—Sujin.
Threatening her friend struck Aram even harder.
“Retaliatory Threat…”
Lee Jaehyun ran through the criminal charges in his head.
Song Aram, her voice on the verge of tears, continued.
“Sujin… she wants to do something too, but Sujin’s dad is an employee at Hyeonjin Appa’s company…”
On top of that, they were using social status as leverage.
That poor student, Sujin, must have been suffering a lot as well.
Lee Jaehyun gritted his teeth.
But Song Aram wasn’t finished.
“The bullies even came to me face-to-face… said they’d set my dad’s store on fire.”
At that, a harsh grinding sound escaped between Lee Jaehyun’s tightly clenched teeth.
Retaliatory Threat, and now Special Threat.
And this time, they were using her only family and her first real friend as leverage.
How painful must it be, to have new wounds etched over ones that haven’t even begun to heal from School Violence?
Looking at Song Aram, he let his gaze fall to her hand, still balled in a white-knuckled fist.
She’d clenched it so hard, her small fist had turned white.
“Aram.”
He engraved that image in his mind, then raised his head.
Meeting Song Aram’s eyes, he gave her a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry.”
“Uncle…”
Yet, beneath the table, Lee Jaehyun’s hand was clenched so hard it trembled.
Still, he smiled.
If only the child in front of him could let go of her own clenched fist,
He could put on this kind of act as much as needed.
As long as he was the only one clenching his fist after hearing these stories, that would be enough.
Forcing a smile, he spoke again.
“Nothing you’re worried about will happen.”
Despite his gentle words, beneath the table his fist spoke of his true feelings.
You bastards… I really can’t let this go.