ISS 13

Chapter 13

“‘Come in,’ not even ‘Please come in’—just ‘Come in,’ huh.”

Se-ah took a deep breath and opened the door.

She immediately understood what was going on.

Inside the principal’s office sat the principal, Hwang Min-young—the student Se-ah had scolded yesterday—and a woman who appeared to be Min-young’s mother.

The white handbag resting on the woman’s lap was the newest release from the luxury brand “Gucci,” which had recently launched in Korea.

Se-ah recognized it because, on her birthday, Lee Dong-jun had proudly gifted her a “Gucci” bag.

It had been fake.

This is the new release. You know Gucci that just launched at Jeongwoon Department Store? This one.

At first, he hadn’t even mentioned it was fake. Just that explanation. So Se-ah had felt burdened and asked why he would buy her something like that.

But Dong-jun had insisted she keep it, so she carried it around.

Three days later, the zipper broke.

What kind of luxury brand makes something this flimsy? We need to exchange this right away, oppa. You have the receipt, right?

She had complained angrily, and only then did Dong-jun awkwardly reply:

Well… it’s not from Jeongwoon Department Store. There’s this factory in China that makes almost identical ones. I got it from there.
China? But Gucci is a French brand. And what do you mean “almost identical”?

Se-ah was normally sharp and straightforward, but when it came to Dong-jun, she had been surprisingly soft and naïve.

Even after that explanation, she hadn’t realized it was fake. Dong-jun had grown frustrated.

It’s a place that makes them exactly the same.

Only then had Se-ah noticed that the English spelling on the bag didn’t say “Gucci” but “Cuci.”

It’s fake?

When she asked in disbelief, Dong-jun had frowned instead.

Hey, it’s the thought that counts. The thought! I bought you something like a luxury bag for your birthday—shouldn’t you appreciate that? If you’re already that obsessed with money, what are you going to do later in life?

With that one question, Se-ah had instantly become someone obsessed with money.

It felt unfair, but she had thought Dong-jun must be embarrassed about being exposed for buying a fake.

I’m sorry. But that’s not why.
No, you do that sometimes. You care about money more than you think. You need to fix that attitude.

In the end, the “fake bag incident” concluded with Se-ah being told she needed to fix her money-hungry personality.

She never understood how it ended up that way, but arguing further would have led to a fight, so she had let it go.

And now, the real Gucci bag sat before her.

As if to say that her life was fake and worthless, while the woman sitting here wrapped in luxury and expensive accessories lived the real one.

“Sit down.”

The principal still spoke informally.

Se-ah sat across from Hwang Min-young’s mother. Steam still rose from the tea in front of the principal, Min-young, and her mother. There was nothing placed in front of Se-ah.

“Han Se-ah.”

The principal even dropped the honorific.

“Are you going to keep ‘playing teacher’ like that?”

Se-ah’s eyebrow twitched.

“Do you think being a teacher means you get to throw your weight around like in the old days? How did you treat a student for the parent to personally come all the way here?”

The principal shouted while clearly watching the parent’s reaction.

What if she had gone to the Office of Education instead? the scolding continued.

Se-ah clenched her fists.

There was a student in this room. Yet the principal mercilessly belittled her.

“Principal.”

Se-ah stood up.

She couldn’t listen any longer.

“Yes, hurry and apologize first.”

The principal assumed that was why she had stood.

His flushed, swollen face looked like an overinflated garbage bag.

Se-ah took a deep breath. Once she steadied herself, she spoke.

“Shouldn’t I apologize only if I’ve done something wrong? In fact, I believe I deserve an apology from that student.”

She looked at Hwang Min-young. Min-young stopped chewing her gum and pressed it to the roof of her mouth.

“She said something disrespectful, so I merely gave her a few words of advice. Have you asked the other students? If you’re scolding me based solely on what the parent said, then I find that unfair.”

Her tone was firm.

The principal’s eyes widened, and his face puffed up even more.

That was when “Gucci” stood up.

“What is this woman saying?!”

The cultured act she had been putting on disappeared. She threw her bag onto the desk and strode toward Se-ah.

“Do you know who I am? Do you have any idea how much money I’ve donated to this school? How dare someone like you act up in front of my daughter!”

The large woman grabbed Se-ah by the collar and shook her violently.

Se-ah looked around in shock.

No one stopped her.

She felt humiliated and terrified. She couldn’t understand why she had to endure this.

“Let go of me!”

Her shirt was disheveled, the buttons at the front nearly torn off.

“Disrespectful? Apologize right now! Apologize to my daughter! If you don’t, I’ll make sure your teaching career is finished!”

The woman grabbed her arm and shook her again. In the struggle to break free, the jacket Seonghan had given her slipped off.

It crumpled onto the floor.

‘No!’

It wasn’t hers. She had meant to return it neatly.

Before Se-ah could pick it up, the woman was faster. “Gucci” grabbed the jacket and examined it repeatedly.

“Isn’t this Hermès?”

Se-ah knew little about luxury brands. She had only worn what Seonghan prepared in her rush. She had thought it looked expensive—but didn’t realize it was designer.

“No way a teacher’s salary could afford Hermès.”

Only then did the woman properly look at Se-ah’s outfit.

“Everything’s Hermès?”

She flinched and stepped back.

Someone dressed head to toe in Hermès was clearly not living on just a teacher’s salary.

Unless she came from a powerful family, such clothes would be unimaginable.

Se-ah’s confidence was suddenly reinterpreted.

“Ha… well, please be more careful in the future.”

“Gucci” tried to sound composed as she picked up her bag.

But as she tried to leave with her daughter, Se-ah stepped in front of them.

“You’re leaving like this?”

“What are you doing, Teacher Han?”

The principal finally intervened, as if he had been blind earlier.

Se-ah didn’t even look at him.

“Apologize.”

“What?”

“Gucci’s” face flushed red.

“Apologize? For what? Think about what you did to my daughter!”

“I did nothing to deserve this treatment. I was grabbed by the collar in front of a student. My authority as a teacher has been trampled. If you don’t apologize immediately, I will not let this go.”

Her voice trembled. Her body trembled.

She had never faced something like this before.

But she couldn’t let it pass.

What happened to her wasn’t just her problem. If she let this go, all teachers—including herself—would be treated as jokes.

That could never happen.

“Apologize!”

She shouted at the frozen woman.

“This bitch—who do you think you’re talking to?!”

The woman had rarely been one for deep thought.

She had stopped the violence only because she now believed Se-ah might come from a powerful family. But she had no intention of tolerating defiance.

Born into wealth, always catered to, later becoming the wife of a National Assembly member—she had never needed to endure or yield for anyone.

And Se-ah, who refused to bow, was someone who needed to be taught a lesson.