Chapter 97: The Teacher Who Fights

Finally, filming for < Fight School > began.

Like many dramas, the First Act of < Fight School > focused on explaining the unique worldview of Mobeom High, where students with money, connections, and good grades reigned supreme.

Within Mobeom High, there were two main groups that held and wielded power.

One group was composed of the children of high-ranking public officials, and the other consisted of the successors of Large Corporations and the children of their executives.

The teachers watching the conflict between these students were categorized into three types.

Those like Kim Eun-ha, who possessed a sense of justice but could not express it; those who believed the problem had nothing to do with them in the first place; and those who deliberately encouraged this atmosphere.

Ultimately, Mobeom High was a place as hellish as it was glamorous on the surface, where the desires of many people—both students and adults—were messily expressed in one spot.

It was a structure where ordinary students attending Mobeom High continued to suffer as victims.

< Fight School > told the story of a single teacher who shattered such a school and provided true education.

It was a story that one couldn’t help but think of as a fantasy mixed with excessive exaggeration and fiction.

However, it wasn’t entirely a fantasy.

It couldn’t be dismissed that easily.

[… In other news. Last month, it was revealed that a Teacher at Mobeom High took their own life due to the controversy surrounding the power trip of a parent who is a high-ranking official, which caused a great shock. During the investigation, circumstances of an initial cover-up were discovered, sparking a major controversy. In response, the investigative authorities are denying these facts and….]

This was because the First Act, Scene One, began with a story that brought such real-world situations to mind.

In the end, < Fight School > was essentially denouncing this society, where educational authority has plummeted endlessly in a world of mammonism.

It also pointed out the fatal flaws of public education by exposing widespread school violence and the excessively overheated entrance exam war.

The reason Taeha was fascinated by < Fight School >, which could feel somewhat childish due to its overly fantasy-like nature, was also for this reason.

He felt it was a story that was absolutely necessary for this society.

Furthermore, the character Ian’s actions in the work were cathartic, even though they contained unrealistic levels of provocation.

In the First Act,

“Stop.”

“I am Ian, the teacher appointed to this school as of today. And consider this a warning: back off while I’m still being nice. I’m a teacher who hits students, too.”

This was a representative example of Ian speaking like that.

Of course, Ian wasn’t actually a teacher who hit students.

Because they knew this, the students also looked down on Ian.

They didn’t think he could actually exercise violence against them.

However, the atmosphere shifted as a single piece of news was delivered.

“Hey, hey! That new weakling teacher! He’s the successor of the Chaeseong Group!”

The background of Ian being the successor to the group ranked first in the Republic of Korea’s business world became known.

At the same time, Ian flashed a smirk.

He spoke toward the shocked students.

“Well, now you know who I am, right? In that regard, I will hand all of you over to the School Disciplinary Committee.”

It was a disciplinary committee that had never been properly held before because people feared the parents’ power.

The students tried to deny it, thinking there was no way the successor of the Chaeseong Group would be a teacher, or that Ian wouldn’t actually hand them over to the disciplinary committee.

But Ian truly did hand the students over.

That marked the end of the First Act.

And the real story of < Fight School > began here.

Hearing the news of the disciplinary committee, the parents began to move.

It was only natural, as they would face disadvantages in university admissions if the disciplinary committee were held this way.

The Second Act involved the group consisting of the Large Corporation successor and its executives.

It contained the contents of one of the parents from this group threatening Ian.

“Do you know what kind of relationship I have with your father? Hmm?”

The opponent making the threat was certainly not to be trifled with.

It was only natural, as she was the wife of the chairman of the group ranked second in the business world.

At this rate, the disciplinary committee was certain to fizzle out.

Here, another incident occurred.

Relieved of tension, one of the students from the Large Corporation group bullied another student.

Of course, it was something that always happened at Mobeom High.

Although it was slightly different in that the violence was strong enough to burst blood vessels in the eyes, it was clear that this level of incident would normally be hushed up.

However, the ending of the Second Act was Ian witnessing the scene and catching the hand of the student swinging his fist to stop him.

In the Third Act, the conflict reached its peak.

Ian also faced strong pressure from the Principal.

He was told to give up on holding the disciplinary committee immediately.

The Principal pushed Ian just as he had done to Kim Eun-ha before.

However, Ian countered the Principal’s words with a calm expression.

“Did you say ‘always’?”

“What?”

“I’m asking if you’ve always been like this, like a dog.”

“Teacher Ian!”

“I’m just a bit curious. Who is your master, Principal? Money? Or power?”

“You… you!”

“No matter how I look at it, unfortunately, I don’t see a leash around your neck. If I could see the leash, I could see the master holding it.”

After delivering that stinging rebuke to the Principal, Ian began to move in earnest.

Ian, who seemed to be taking it lying down, was actually not doing that at all.

He had been making preparations to handle this matter.

After completing all preparations, Ian went to see his father.

“I heard you’ve been making quite a stir.”

“Yes. And I’ve come to seek the Chairman’s help.”

“I hope you didn’t come empty-handed. I’d be disappointed if you did.”

“When have I ever disappointed you, Chairman? Exclusive trading rights with the Frantz Group. How does that sound?”

The exclusive trading right with the Frantz Group was the most powerful source of funding for the group ranked second in the business world.

Ian had offered this as a condition of the deal to the Chairman of the Chaeseong Group.

Ultimately, in the Fourth Act, the chairman’s wife who had threatened Ian realized what had happened.

“Mom, what if I can’t get into Korea Medical School because of the disciplinary committee? What do I do?”

“Shut up! Korea Medical School isn’t even the problem! Our entire group is about to go bankrupt! Do you understand?”

The chairman’s wife, who had stood up to Ian so confidently, backed down.

However, Ian still had many mountains to climb.

***

That didn’t mean Ian was just charging forward blindly.

The existence of Kim Eun-ha was proof of that.

Kim Eun-ha was Ian’s first love from high school.

Ian, who was good at everything, would turn into a fool whenever he stood before Kim Eun-ha, which was another fun point of this drama.

However, Kim Eun-ha didn’t know that Ian was an incredible person; she only saw him acting like a fool in front of her.

That was why she worried when she first heard Ian had been appointed to this school.

She thought that the Ian she saw—naive and kind—would not be able to adjust to Mobeom High, which was no different from hell.

But as she watched Ian get involved in various incidents and refreshingly solve the problems of Mobeom High, she realized her thoughts were wrong.

And she gradually became curious.

Why Ian only became a fool when he stood before her.

Because of this curiosity, Kim Eun-ha felt a greater interest in Ian and discovered herself gradually changing.

Both as a teacher and as a woman.

However, as Ian’s feelings deepened, he actually kept his distance from Kim Eun-ha.

He didn’t want to see Kim Eun-ha get hurt because of him, as he had decided to walk into the storm.

But Kim Eun-ha was a much stronger person than Ian thought.

Ian was scheduled to realize this through an event that occurred in the latter half.

And another fun point of < Fight School > was the change in the adults and students.

The first to show signs of change were the teachers.

Watching Ian’s actions, the teachers gradually realized once again what kind of educator they had dreamed of being.

Furthermore, the students who had to suffer bullying while trapped under the label of being ordinary also learned.

They also learned, while watching Ian, that they didn’t have to stay huddled up.

Of course, that didn’t mean they had to fight.

Demanding the victims to fight was too much of a burden.

If that were the goal in the first place, the character of Ian, an existence who fought on behalf of such people, would not have been born.

What the students came to know was the small but important fact that it was okay to dream and move toward those dreams.

And it was the belief that adults were protecting this fact.

Finally, those influenced by Ian were the parents of the students who had been bullied.

Parents who thought their children had to suffer because of their own inadequacies.

Ian informed these parents as well.

The ones doing wrong were not the parents, but this society where the essence of education had gone astray.

Therefore, there was no need to obey such a society.

In this way, < Fight School > progressed in a direction where one person’s fight expanded into a fight for everyone surrounding the school.

This complexity was the power that prevented this drama from simply remaining childish.

The fortunate thing was that the actors appearing in < Fight School > understood this complexity and were acting accordingly.

While filming Acts One through Four, Taeha could see this fact.

The reason such filming was possible was due to Taeha’s presence.

‘Of course, there were no problems with the acting skills of Han Seul-gi or the adult actors playing teachers or parents from the start.’

In particular, the passionate acting of the veteran actors was so incredible that even Taeha was surprised.

However, the acting of the students was different.

In terms of both age and experience, there were bound to be deficiencies.

It was only natural, as they didn’t have much acting experience.

The problem was that the students’ acting was extremely important in < Fight School >.

For that reason, this part had to be a concern, but thanks to Taeha, the worry could be lessened.

Taeha stayed at every scene where the students were acting and captured the details of their performances.

This was something that had been agreed upon in advance with the rookie Director, Shin Seong-jin.

As it turned out, Shin Seong-jin was a school junior of Im Kyung-ho, and he had received advice that it would be good to grant Taeha some directing authority.

In this way, Taeha could freely involve himself in the students’ acting, and the results were clearly visible.

It was only natural, as his Immersion Ability influenced the students’ acting.

It wasn’t just the students, either.

Taeha also frequently showed his face at scenes where the adult actors were performing.

Although it wasn’t acting coaching, just showing his face like this brought them under the influence of his Immersion Ability, so he couldn’t just stand still.

Thanks to Taeha, the atmosphere of the filming site heated up, and the quality of the filmed results improved.

However, Taeha had one concern.

It was,

‘How should I practice the song?’

It was a concern about the OST.