By Zephyria 
“Dissolution…?”
The classroom fell silent. Park Se-yong, who had been quietly observing the situation since Yeon Su-hwan’s arrival, walked forward. He ran a hand through his hair and clicked his tongue.
“Hah… I don’t understand why you’re acting like this all of a sudden.”
“Sunbae Se-yong.”
Yeon Su-hwan’s eyes crinkled kindly at the half-amused question. But his expression was merely superficial; his gaze was sharp as a blade. Park Se-yong, sensing this, felt his facial muscles tense. Yeon Su-hwan smiled and opened his mouth.
“You really lack perception.”
As soon as Yeon Su-hwan finished speaking, the class bell rang, as if timed perfectly. However, no one returned to their seats. The surrounding students who had been watching hesitantly shuffled their feet. I blinked.
I thought the situation would de-escalate once the bell rang, but it seemed far from over until the teachers arrived. Suddenly, Park Se-yong cursed under his breath.
“That bastard… He planned this from the start.”
Yeon Su-hwan, meeting Park Se-yong’s hostility head-on, grinned. This time, he turned his taunt not to Park Se-yong, but to Kim Un-gyeong beside him.
“Poor Sunbae Un-gyeong, having to follow the orders of someone like that because of his parents…”
“What?”
Kim Un-gyeong’s face turned fierce at the mention of his parents.
“That’s why I told you to dissolve it. Stop acting like guard dogs for your front yard.”
“You… you son of a bitch!”
Kim Un-gyeong lunged like lightning and grabbed Yeon Su-hwan by the collar. Even with his collar held, Yeon Su-hwan maintained a relaxed smile. Kim Un-gyeong, his eyes red, roared and swung his fist. Even while being grabbed by the collar, Yeon Su-hwan lightly turned his head to dodge the punch and immediately counter-attacked. A light impact sound was heard. Students scrambled back from the sudden brawl in the middle of the classroom.
“Krrrk-!”
He hadn’t been fighting carelessly; Kim Un-gyeong, narrowly avoiding a blow to the solar plexus, staggered back clutching his bruised ribs. Yeon Su-hwan casually brushed his hands as if dusting them off. My face contorted. I should break it up, but I anxiously looked around.
“Park Se-yong… you keep this kind of dog?”
His remarks had been crossing the line since earlier. As Yeon Su-hwan sneered at Kim Un-gyeong with a sickeningly unpleasant smile, Kim Un-gyeong, clutching his side, let out another roar and lunged at Yeon Su-hwan.
Thwack.
This time, the sound of impact was clear. Yeon Su-hwan’s head snapped to the side. His face was obscured by his disheveled, mane-like hair. The students watching gasped.
“Wh-what…”
Kim Un-gyeong, the one who threw the punch, seemed surprised that Yeon Su-hwan would actually get hit, and looked back and forth between his fist and Yeon Su-hwan. Students who had been heading back to their classrooms stopped and watched the commotion unfold in hushed silence.
“Hah.”
Spit.
After a moment of stillness, Yeon Su-hwan chuckled softly and spat on the classroom floor. It was mixed with blood. His face, glimpsed through his messy hair, wore a faint smile.
“Well now…”
Yeon Su-hwan murmured. The atmosphere was ominous. I flinched and rolled my eyes. No one seemed willing to step in given the menacing aura. I myself didn’t want to. But shouldn’t I call a teacher instead of just standing by? I gently nudged Seong Hae-min’s arm, which I had been holding.
“Huh?”
But Seong Hae-min’s face, when he turned, was frozen stiff like wax. Only then did I notice that the Four Heavenly Kings looked unwell. Seeing their faces clenched in what looked like betrayal, I was even more surprised.
Yeon Su-hwan strode towards Kim Un-gyeong. Seong Hae-min, his face a mask of confusion, muttered without taking his eyes off Yeon Su-hwan.
“On purpose… What on earth are you thinking, Sunbae?”
“You damn piece of shit!”
As I was about to ask what he meant, Yeon Su-hwan whispered something secretively into Kim Un-gyeong’s ear, and Kim Un-gyeong, as if his reason had snapped, rolled his eyes and charged at Yeon Su-hwan.
A sound like slicing wind, and then, before anyone could intervene, the loud thud of flesh hitting flesh followed in rapid succession. My heart sank. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the scene before me.
‘Why are they fighting in the classroom!’
Shouldn’t I call a teacher to sort this out? My feet twitched with anxiety. Seong Hae-min pulled me by the shoulder. I stumbled backward.
“Even now…”
Beyond Seong Hae-min’s murmur, a distant shout was heard, and then a subject teacher pushed through the crowd at the front door. The teacher, entering with an annoyed expression, screamed upon seeing the bloody scene unfolding in the middle of the classroom.
“It’s already well into class, why are you all gathered here…! Aaaah, what, what are you doing!”
Kim Un-gyeong, like a madman deaf to the surrounding sounds, swung his arms wildly even at the teacher’s scream, while Yeon Su-hwan, as if his easy counter-attacks earlier were an act, weakly cowered under the barrage of punches directed at him.
“Stop! Stop it! What are you doing fighting in the classroom, you brats! Aren’t you going to stop?”
The teacher tried to intervene by hitting the walls and desks with a switch, but it was useless. The teacher, with a flustered expression, pointed at the Four Heavenly Kings and shouted.
“You boys over there! Someone go and stop them!”
Presumably, seeing the tall and well-built male students standing together, she thought they would be suitable for the task. But I didn’t want Seong Hae-min to get caught in the crossfire. I firmly pulled back Seong Hae-min’s arm that I was holding.
Despite the teacher’s orders, the Four Heavenly Kings remained still. They seemed to have no intention of stepping in. Min Si-hu, his face pale, even shook his head, indicating it was impossible.
“Someone… call another male teacher!”
The teacher staggered and clutched her head. The switch she was holding fell to the floor uselessly.
As the commotion continued unabated, male teachers from other classes rushed in, and with the intervention of the late-arriving Mr. Kim Gwang-yong and the student dean, Kim Un-gyeong’s rampage was finally halted.
“Everyone be quiet and return to your classrooms!”
The students, scattered like broken glass shards in the hallway, were quickly dispersed by a single sharp reprimand from the student dean. The Four Heavenly Kings, who had been surrounding me, were no exception. With a somber expression, I patted Seong Hae-min’s back as he worried about me and sent him back to our classroom.
It was not a situation conducive to learning. The students were sent back to their respective classrooms, and the teachers, talking with serious faces, took Yeon Su-hwan, Kim Un-gyeong, and Park Se-yong, a third-year student watching from the side, with them. The teachers, who said they would talk for a bit and asked us to wait during self-study, did not return until the end of class, and the chaotic situation passed uneventfully.
As a result of this incident, despite the sluggishness of the school in the face of media reports and strong public opinion, a decisive action was taken. Kim Un-gyeong, who had unilaterally committed violence within the school, was expelled, while Park Se-yong and the other seniors involved with the Iljinhoe received suspensions and mandatory special education.
Considering that the disciplinary targets were third-year students with only 100 days left until the college entrance exams, it was a bold decision for a school that had been dragging its feet on resolving school violence and trying to distance itself by claiming it couldn’t be held responsible for incidents outside school grounds.
If it had been a simple, isolated incident of school violence, such a conclusion would never have been reached. However, with recent pressure from the Ministry of Education regarding Iljinhoe and the media’s attention, the situation became urgent to resolve, making this outcome possible. Kim Un-gyeong’s timing in causing trouble was precisely what was needed for a disciplinary example.
Perhaps emboldened by the expulsion from Yeonmyeong High School and the current disciplinary actions, numerous reports were filed both inside and outside the school, and the Iljinhoe students were placed under strict management by the Ministry of Education, including counseling and community service. With the Four Heavenly Kings declaring their withdrawal and Yeon Su-hwan proposing dissolution, it didn’t take long for the Iljinhoe organization to completely collapse.
I heard from Min Si-hu that some individuals who attended political and business social gatherings (the fact that such gatherings existed and that Min Si-hu attended them was even more surprising) had decided to pursue studies abroad as a form of escape, with the college entrance exams just 100 days away. It seemed to be a choice made to protect their parents’ reputation.
The resolution was surprisingly swift, making all the tension and prolonged struggle feel futile.
❖ ❖ ❖
I stood before the hospital room door with a simple drink set. Honestly, I didn’t want to go in, but I had too many unanswered questions swirling in my head. Hesitating, I reached out.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
As soon as I knocked, a voice replied.
“…Hello.”
“Hello, Hae-jun.”
Opening the door, I saw Yeon Su-hwan, who had been lying propped up in bed, place the book he was holding face down.
I slowly approached and placed the drinks on the bedside table. Yeon Su-hwan gestured to a folding chair, as if inviting me to sit.
“……”
“……”
Sitting on the chair, we remained silent for a moment. I had many things I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t easily bring myself to speak. The silence was heavy. Yeon Su-hwan broke it first with a low chuckle.
“What brings you here for a hospital visit? I didn’t expect you to come.”
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Well, I’m fine.”
Yeon Su-hwan winked and lifted his bandaged arm. He didn’t look fine at all. I winced in sympathy.
I might not be knowledgeable about fights, so all punches looked the same to me, but Seong Hae-min had said Yeon Su-hwan deliberately avoided vital spots, so I didn’t need to worry too much. Moreover, knowing that Yeon Su-hwan had provoked and incited Kim Un-gyeong, deliberately getting hit, I didn’t feel inclined to pity him.
Even though I thought that, seeing his face covered in gauze made me uneasy. Regardless of his intentions, I couldn’t deny that the school’s disciplinary action was a result of Yeon Su-hwan directly instigating the conflict.
So, the question that remained was his motive.
“Why did you do that?”
Finally, the question trapped in my throat escaped my lips.