Chapter 15
Seonghan noticed the faint smell of cigarettes from Min-young as she stepped closer to the door.
He also found the way she kept rubbing her sleeve suspicious.
As expected, a cigarette slipped out from inside her sleeve.
“No, no! That’s not mine! It’s not mine!”
Startled, Min-young shook her head and screamed.
Pyo Se-jin’s face hardened completely as she stared at what was in his hand.
Just moments ago, she had proudly insisted that her daughter was the victim.
Now, in front of the chairman, the principal, and a teacher, a cigarette had been found. Even for Pyo Se-jin, there was no way out of this.
“Mrs. Min-young.”
Seonghan called her calmly, without the slightest sign of agitation. Her face flushed red and pale by turns, but she could only gasp for breath, unable to argue.
“What will you do?”
“Excuse me? Do what?”
“Will you hold Min-young’s hands, or search her pockets?”
Pyo Se-jin frowned as if she didn’t understand, but when she saw Min-young trying to slip out of the principal’s office, she came to her senses.
Before Min-young could escape, Seonghan stepped in front of the door.
“According to school rules, a student caught carrying cigarettes will face disciplinary action. A cigarette was found in her sleeve. If she truly intended to smoke, I assume there may be a lighter and more cigarettes in her pockets.”
In other words, search her pockets. Or he would do it himself.
Pyo Se-jin looked at her daughter. Min-young shook her head desperately, as if begging her not to.
Her shoulders had slumped completely. She trembled like a mouse before a cat.
“My daughter says it isn’t hers.”
Pyo Se-jin spoke at last.
“Acting this forcefully toward a student is wrong. She’s shaking because she’s scared!”
“Then we will proceed with disciplinary action as it stands.”
Seonghan lifted the cigarette slightly and turned as if to leave the office.
“I’ll search her pockets!”
Pyo Se-jin cried out urgently.
She could not bear for her daughter to be disciplined.
She slipped her hand into Min-young’s vest pocket.
Her fingers brushed against something smooth and solid—but she pretended not to notice and searched the skirt pockets instead.
Then she withdrew her empty hand and forced a relieved sigh.
“There’s nothing. See? I told you it’s not hers.”
The principal’s face brightened with relief. Min-young’s tearful expression also eased.
That caught Seonghan’s eye.
“Teacher Han Se-ah, search Hwang Min-young’s pockets.”
He ordered.
“What? I already checked! There was nothing!”
“If you won’t, I will. Is that acceptable?”
As Seonghan stepped closer to Min-young, Pyo Se-jin’s face filled with shock.
He repeated the order to Se-ah. This time, even Pyo Se-jin said nothing.
Se-ah approached Min-young.
After checking the skirt pockets, she searched the vest pocket.
A lighter came out.
And not only that—another cigarette.
In front of everyone, the evidence was undeniable.
Min-young had nowhere left to run.
Neither did Pyo Se-jin, who had tried to hide it.
“This isn’t mine! Another student put it there! It’s not mine!”
Min-young screamed and cried.
Pyo Se-jin, glancing nervously at her daughter, spoke quickly.
“Min-young, it’s only community service, right? Mommy will clean with you. I’ll do it for you. You just focus on studying. Okay? Don’t worry.”
She patted her daughter’s back, her own face twisted as if she might cry.
The principal watched in confusion.
“Principal.”
Seonghan turned to him.
“If a student is disciplined, can the parent take the punishment instead?”
“N-No, that’s not possible.”
The principal scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Mrs. Min-young, disciplinary action can’t be carried out by a parent. I’m sorry.”
At that, Pyo Se-jin turned sharply toward him.
Moments ago, she had looked lovingly at her daughter. Now her eyes blazed.
“What? I’m not refusing the punishment. I’m saying I’ll take it instead. Shouldn’t you handle something like that, Principal?”
“There are regulations…”
The principal glanced nervously at Seonghan.
Seonghan folded his arms and simply watched.
Pyo Se-jin exploded.
“Regulations? Then you shouldn’t have taken my money either! How much have you taken, huh? And you work like this? What’s the big deal about cigarettes? Teachers smoke too! Why can’t students?”
The principal’s face turned pale.
In front of the chairman—
“When did I ever take your money? You can’t say such things! When did I—”
“When? I have the bank records! Do you think that’s all? You took money from other parents too and wrote recommendation letters for their kids!”
“M-Mrs. Min-young, please, stop—please!”
“Stop what? You took money and sent those kids to university internships with fake recommendations! And now what? Discipline over cigarettes? Go ahead! I’ll expose all your corruption!”
As he watched the two of them shouting, Seonghan nodded slightly.
“So you received money from parents. Not only from Hwang Min-young’s family, but others as well. Is that correct, Principal?”
Only then did Pyo Se-jin seem to realize what she had said.
Looking between the pale principal and her panicked daughter, she hurriedly bowed to Seonghan.
“No, that’s not what I meant. Chairman, please, just this once. I raised my daughter without letting a single drop of water touch her hands. Community service? That’s impossible. She’s never even washed dishes at home.”
“Then perhaps you don’t realize that you are ruining your daughter.”
A faint smile curved Seonghan’s lips.
“I will not overlook this. Hwang Min-young will be disciplined. And you will also find things becoming difficult. I will not allow someone like you in my school.”
“What? What did you say?”
Pyo Se-jin’s eyebrows twitched.
“You think just because you were born into a good family and became chairman at a young age, you can look down on me? Among the parents, there isn’t a single person who doesn’t know who I am!”
“Yes, exactly. Someone everyone knows. That will make things easier. We’ll meet again.”
Seonghan then turned to the principal.
“And Principal.”
The man was in complete panic after his corruption had been laid bare.
“Don’t be too surprised.”
Seonghan shrugged.
“As long as I am scheduled to take office at this school, it was only a matter of time before I found out.”
The principal’s face turned white.
Seonghan then looked at Se-ah, who had been standing silently the whole time.
“Teacher Han, come see me.”
Se-ah was still struggling to process everything, but as always, she did not show it.
She looked up at him.
“Wait a moment.”
As Seonghan turned to leave, she called out.
He looked back.
“I’ll come shortly.”
Her steady eyes revealed her intention.
He gave a small nod and left.
Once the door closed, Se-ah turned to Pyo Se-jin.
In the meantime, Pyo Se-jin was coaxing her daughter, who was whining about not wanting to do community service.
“Mrs. Hwang Min-young.”
“What?”
She turned sharply, her expression vicious again—completely different from when she had bowed to Seonghan.
“Do you think you’ve won by shouting loudly and using violence against others?”
“What are you talking about?”
“No. That’s when you lose. You embarrassed yourself in front of your daughter. What can a child learn from a parent who doesn’t know shame?”
She did not realize that her attitude was ruining her daughter.
Those were exactly the words Se-ah had wanted to say.
“What nonsense—do you need to be slapped to come to your senses?”
Ignoring her shouting, Se-ah left the principal’s office without even saying goodbye.
Pyo Se-jin was someone who changed her attitude depending on the situation and the person in front of her.
The thought that she had almost been slapped by someone like that made Se-ah feel humiliated and degraded.
She was grateful to Seonghan for appearing at the right moment, protecting her, and thoroughly shaming them.
Yet at the same time, she felt ashamed that he had seen her in such a vulnerable state.
She bit her lower lip hard to stop the tears. At some point, it broke, and she tasted blood.
‘I can’t collapse here.’
She straightened her wavering steps as she returned students’ greetings.
Inside the chairman’s office, she took a deep breath.
Last night’s events had been completely erased from her mind.
“I apologize for causing trouble.”
Holding back tears, Se-ah spoke.
Seonghan stared at her, then frowned.
“Is that what you were taught?”
Se-ah looked up.
His expression was dark. He looked truly angry.
“To care about other people’s feelings before your own. And to apologize first, no matter what.”
At those words, her eyes filled with tears.
She didn’t want to cry. She really wanted to endure it.
“Take sick leave.”
Without looking at her, Seonghan returned to his seat.
“Start with a week. After that, we’ll see if you need more.”
“No. I still have lessons to finish—”
Bang!
“Stop it, Han Se-ah.”
Seonghan slammed his hand on the desk.
The chairman’s office fell into complete silence.
