While the school opening ceremony continued, I had to suppress the urge to beat up Gong Young-bae. I used to think that bastard was just tactless and insensitive, but now I see he's a pure bully. I'm a gangster in a different sense than Han Seong-jin. When I was with Gong Young-bae, I felt even more sorry for the women who would never have their feelings reciprocated. There was only one answer left.
'I'll take them.'
I know what they like and what their tendencies are much better than Gong Young-bae does. In the end, I was going to have to play the role of the NTR villain, which is the ending of the original story I watched…
'This is different from back then.'
In the light novel, the villain just pops out of nowhere, declaring, "Ta-da! We've all been corrupted from the beginning!" But this is different. This is about giving what's owed to a person who deserves to be punished. Since I wasn't angry because of the NTR ending in the first place, I didn't really have anything to be upset about since I would be the one doing it.
After the school opening ceremony, I used the bathroom in the annex for a while, bought some bread at the store that opened early, and returned to the third-year classroom I was assigned to…
Roar!
'What? Why are there so many people in the hallway?'
There was a fairly large crowd of students near our classroom.
"Let me pass."
"Hey!"
When I raised my voice from behind, the students who were watching from afar recognized me, freaked out, and immediately cleared the way. I am tall, over six feet, and have a muscular build. Just by standing still, I have an overwhelming presence among the students, and I have a menacing look. Since I am such a large person and one of the most notorious gangsters in the area, it is impossible for them not to feel fear.
As I walked through the crowd, performing a modern-day Miracle of Moses with my body, I could see why there were so many people standing there. Lee Yu-ri and Gong Young-bae were standing with their backs to the wall outside the classroom. And around them were several people—more precisely, my followers.
"So you say nothing much happened?!"
"Ah, so did you overhear what we were talking about, huh?"
The gangsters were being sarcastic with Yu-ri Lee, who was yelling.
"That's not it…"
"I just wanted to find out what that bastard did to offend our captain on the first day of the semester. Why are you meddling? Hey, you. Come out when I speak, okay?"
"Y-Yu-ri…"
Gong Young-bae was hiding behind Lee Yu-ri again. What a pathetic bastard.
Judging from my memories and experiences from the past, those gangsters seemed to think that there was something they didn't like about me, so they summoned Gong Young-bae. They wanted to find out the reason and get points with me by doing something I didn't order. That was how it used to be. The previous Han Seong-jin secretly enjoyed watching them show off their power and authority. But there were two things they didn't know. First, Han Seong-jin is not the same Han Seong-jin as before. And second, I really hate that kind of thing.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
I walked right in front of them and asked quietly. In an instant, everything around me became silent, and the air felt as if it had completely frozen.
"Oh, Seong-jin! Hey, what did you come for? Just stay in the classroom, and we will take care of it."
"What am I doing? What are you going to do?"
"Uh? That is…"
"Is this because I called him out and talked to him?"
The little guys seemed to sense that something was different in the atmosphere and started to look at each other.
"Did I tell you to do this?"
"No, that's—"
"You're not answering?"
Han Seong-jin is the number one figure among the Jinsoo-gyo gang. With just one word from me, these guys can't even think of resisting. Because I'm not an opponent they can beat by fighting.
"Oh, no."
"But why are you doing something you weren't asked to do? Didn't I tell you that I just called him out because I had something to say?"
"We're sorry, sir."
"Or what, are you saying you're going to make a fuss about me from the first day of the semester by dragging me around? Huh? Even if you guys are crazy, everyone will think I ordered it anyway, right?"
"Hey, Han Seong-jin. Why are you so sensitive all of a sudden?"
Among the group who were threatening Lee Yu-ri and Gong Young-bae, the highest-ranking person came forward and stopped me. His gait was very rough, and his attitude was as if he considered me an equal. He was Hwang Seong-tae, who considered himself second-in-command among the Jinsoo-gyo gang. Although he was a character who never appeared in the original work, he remained in Han Seong-jin's memory. Thanks to this, I was able to treat him as if I were meeting him for the first time.
"Hey, Hwang Seong-tae. Did you order it?"
"I just wanted to hear the situation for a moment."
"But why are you making such a fuss and raising a commotion? Are you messing with me now?"
"Hey, it's not like that. It's really not a big deal. We'll just take care of it, so you can go and— Wow!?"
I just kicked Hwang Seong-tae in the stomach, and he fell, screaming, and rolled backward. The surrounding students screamed at the sudden situation.
"Aaaah!"
"Damn, this guy has a knack for putting me in a bad mood in the morning. You guys figure out what to do. Did I even tell you to do this? There's something in it. Look for it."
When I kicked Hwang Seong-tae, the rest of the gang froze in place and watched me. Hwang Seong-tae grabbed his abdomen and let out a groan.
"I was fine just a moment ago, but now you guys are making me feel like shit. Hey, you guys stop talking and get out of here until the count of three. Three, two…"
Before I could count to one, they helped Hwang Seong-tae and quickly left. Then I turned to Yu-ri Lee, who was still looking anxious.
"Hey, Yu-ri Lee."
"What, what?"
"I didn't order this, but I'm sorry."
I didn't even care about Gong Young-bae, who was hiding behind Lee Yu-ri anymore.
"What… What?"
After hearing my apology, Yu-ri Lee muttered with a confused expression and twitched her eyes. The same went for the surrounding students.
"Did Han Seong-jin just apologize?"
"Did you hear that wrong?"
"Hey, you're too loud! What if he notices us? Speak quietly!"
I could hear it all.
"You may not believe it, but I really didn't know those bastards were doing this here. I'm sorry you must have been surprised. And if they come and mess with you again without me knowing, tell me. I'll kill them all."
"…Did you really not order them to do this?"
"No."
"…Then that's enough. I hope things like this don't happen to me or Young-bae in the future."
Perhaps because she was the student council president, or because she had a surprisingly powerful will, even though she looked scared and surprised, she still said what she had to say. She soon returned to the classroom with Gong Young-bae. I laughed to myself as I looked down the hallway in the direction where the gangsters disappeared.
'You guys are trash, but because of what you just did, you might surprisingly be of some help.'
A New Punishment
When something like that happens in the morning, rumors spread very quickly within the academy.
"Who is that guy who fought in front of our class this morning?!"
Our class teacher, who was in charge of the second period, said with an angry expression as she put down her class materials on her table. All the students in class three knew who the culprit was, but none of them dared to speak up and just watched. Before the awkward silence could get any longer, I gently raised my hand.
"Me."
"What is your name?"
"My name is Han Seong-jin."
"Han Seong-jin, you're doing very well from the first day of the semester! Why did you fight?"
"We got into a fight because the guys from other classes were arguing with the student council president."
I explained the situation in detail. The teacher's expression changed slightly when he heard the words 'student council president.'
"With Yu-ri? Yu-ri, is that true?"
"Yes? Well… I can't say it's completely false, it's true, but what can I say…"
Since I was the leader of the gang that had threatened her, Yu-ri Lee seemed to be in a somewhat complicated mood. The teacher, unaware of the context, patted her head and sighed.
"Ha… I know you were trying to help your classmate, but you have to use your words. Who gets to punch first? This is the first time I have seen a fight in front of the classroom on the first day of the semester. Han Seong-jin, as punishment, you will be on duty to clean up after school for the next week. I would have made it longer, but I'm letting you off easy because you were trying to help your classmate."
"Yes."
"And Yu-ri, I'm sorry, but could you please check from time to time to make sure Seong-jin is properly cleaning up? In your spare time after working at the student council."
"Huh?!"
I was the one who was punished, but it was Yu-ri Lee who jumped up.
'I thought it was going to be like this.'
I didn't expect my gang to threaten Yu-ri Lee, but I knew that I would be punished like this after my act of violence.
Come on, Yu-ri Lee. From now on, let's spend some quiet and private time together.