Chapter 10
The One Who Remembers, The One Who Rages
***
“Are you telling me that bastard is coming here now?”
“Well, he knows she’s not at home, so he’ll probably look for places she might go. The closest place would naturally be my house, given the rumors that we’re dating.”
“That son of a….”
He seemed to be holding back a curse because his son was present. Just then, Roh Hyung-jin spoke first.
“He’s a real piece of work, isn’t he? How can someone like that be a teacher?”
“What do you plan to do? You’re not just going to let him keep coming here, are you?”
“Whoa, Dad, calm down.”
Seeing his father’s gaze drift toward the baseball bat in the corner, Roh Hyung-jin tried to soothe him. His father already disliked the fact that the man was a sex offender, and besides, this was a house with a daughter. If necessary, it looked like he was ready to beat the guy up.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier? This is a fight I started after preparing everything.”
“You’ve prepared everything?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
The father knew his son had recently taken an interest in the law, but he never thought his son had any particular legal talent. Still, he decided to trust him one more time.
“Fine. I’ll trust you one more time. But on one condition.”
“A condition?”
“Mi-young needs to leave this house.”
“What?”
Taken aback by the unexpected words, Roh Hyung-jin was startled. He never thought his father could be so selfish.
But it didn’t take long for him to realize that was a misunderstanding.
“She’s already been feeling anxious because of that bastard, and she’s been watching our reactions. I can’t stand the victim suffering like that. Besides, we have Hyun-ah here too; having a rapist come around doesn’t feel good.”
“But she has nowhere to go.”
“I’ll get her a hotel. A motel might have security issues, so for now, she can stay at a hotel, and I’ll help her look for a place later.”
“Dad.”
“As a father with a daughter, I don’t want to let a trash like that off the hook. Think about your sister.”
At those words, Roh Hyung-jin nodded.
His sister’s life was ruined because of that trash, and when she died abroad in Japan during the tsunami, his father had genuinely tried to kill that bastard. If people hadn’t stopped him, he might have actually done it.
“Don’t worry. This won’t last long.”
***
“Hyung-jin, the role of a teacher…”
This issue was bound to escalate. However, the school was doing everything it could to cover up the incident.
“I guess the role of a teacher includes raping students.”
“Roh Hyung-jin!”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Ugh.”
Normally, students aren’t included in teacher meetings. But today, Roh Hyung-jin was present. With Yoon Mi-young absent from school, he was the only connection to the situation.
“A teacher is…”
“Don’t tarnish the title of ‘teacher,’ Mr. Lee Gyu-seong.”
“What did you say?”
“I called you Mr. Lee Gyu-seong.”
“You little brat!”
Lee Gyu-seong, who had been trying to persuade him to settle the matter, flared up and rose from his seat. But Roh Hyung-jin just sneered at him.
“Frankly, there are only four known cases of him raping minors. But I honestly don’t understand why the school isn’t punishing him and is still letting him teach.”
“Ahem, Hyung-jin, the charges haven’t been proven yet, you see.”
So, they were going to keep a child rapist around children until the charges were proven.
‘This is complete and utter nonsense.’
To handle this properly, he should be suspended pending the trial’s outcome, and then reinstated only if cleared. And he’s not just a regular rapist, but a child rapist. While the recidivism rate for general rapists is 60%, for child rapists it’s as high as 80%.
‘They’re just sticking together, protecting their own.’
It was obvious. Even if they couldn’t see it outside, within the school they were bound to clash, meaning they were trying to pressure for a settlement. Of course, Roh Hyung-jin wasn’t unaware of this.
“Well, if you say so, there’s nothing I can do.”
“So, contact Mi-young and try to get an apology, then settle…”
As the principal brought up settlement again, Roh Hyung-jin pulled out a piece of paper.
“You’ll be hearing from the court soon, but I should inform you now.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a restraining order from the court. According to the court’s order, the perpetrator, Lee Gyu-seong, is prohibited from coming within 200 meters of the victim, Yoon Mi-young, and her witness, Roh Hyung-jin. This is effective immediately.”
“What?”
The teachers were stunned. It was understandable, as a 200-meter radius was larger than the entire school grounds.
“As of now, please remove the perpetrator from the school premises.”
“Roh Hyung-jin!”
“Now, now, Teacher Lee, calm down. Hyung-jin, even so, he’s still a teacher…”
“Are you refusing?”
“It’s not about refusing, it’s just…”
“I’ll take that as a refusal.”
Roh Hyung-jin picked up the phone and called the police station directly.
“What are you doing!”
“You might not know this, but for violations of a restraining order, I can request police protection.”
“What? You can’t do that to a teacher!”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking why a teacher is someone who rapes students.”
Losing your temper means losing the fight. That’s how it works in a legal battle. Keep your heart hot, but your head cold. That’s the art of fighting in court. The flustered teachers and the emotionally charged principal, who relied on the authority of being a teacher to bully others, could never win this fight.
“Excuse me.”
Finally, the police entered the conference room. Roh Hyung-jin showed them the court order and pointed out Lee Gyu-seong.
“That’s the person in question.”
“Ahem.”
The police seemed embarrassed but had no choice. The court order was clear.
“Please move outside the 200-meter boundary immediately.”
“What? We’re in the middle of a meeting.”
“If you don’t comply, we’ll have to take you into custody based on the court order.”
Stunned, Lee Gyu-seong looked at the police, Roh Hyung-jin, and the principal, then finally exploded.
“Damn it!”
Lee Gyu-seong stormed out in a rage. Confirming this, Roh Hyung-jin looked at the principal.
“Principal, will you suspend him? Or should I file a complaint for professional negligence?”
“Professional negligence?”
“The principal has a duty to protect minor students from criminals. However, you’ve already refused a court order once because the criminal is a teacher and an acquaintance. If you don’t suspend him, I will not only formally charge you with professional negligence but also file a complaint with the Office of Education for defending a child rapist. Whichever you choose is up to you.”
“This is…”
In the end, the principal had only one real choice.
***
“It’s quiet.”
“Yeah.”
A storm had hit the school. Once the rumor spread that a teacher was a child rapist, parents started coming to pick up their children every day.
“Are the kids bothering you?”
“Thankfully, no.”
“That’s a relief.”
Perhaps because they weren’t yet jaded by society, the children felt sorry for Yoon Mi-young, the victim, and tried to protect her. And rumors were spreading about the numerous instances of sexual harassment and advances Lee Gyu-seong had made toward female students.
“What about you?”
“Me? I’ll be fine.”
“Because of me…”
“I told you, it’s not because of you. I wasn’t planning on staying here much longer anyway.”
Openly, the teachers at school disliked Roh Hyung-jin. They had no choice. From their perspective, he was just a disrespectful student challenging the authority of teachers.
“I don’t want to attend a school where a rapist is teaching.”
“But…”
“Are your transfer preparations going well?”
“Huh? Ah…”
In the end, Yoon Mi-young decided to transfer. While the children currently felt sorry for her and looked out for her, in this damn country, the parents were also a problem. There were already rumors that some crazy parents were telling their kids to stay away from her because she’d been raped.
“Wherever you go, don’t forget me.”
“How could I forget you?”
He was the one who saved her life when she was struggling in hell.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Seriously, you have nothing to be sorry about. Even without you saying anything, I’ve lost all affection for this damn school, really.”
And that was no joke.
***
Roh Hyung-jin headed to the police station. Today was the day for Kang So-young and Yoon Mi-young to give their statements. Of course, he also had to give a statement, but his was relatively minor and actually scheduled for a different day. Nevertheless, he went to the police station with them. For one reason: to protect them.
“Who are you?”
As they entered the police station, the detective in charge looked at him askance.
“Me? I’m a friend and a witness.”
“Ah, you’re that guy. Today isn’t your day to give a statement. Get lost.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Why won’t you listen to the police, you little punk? I said get lost.”
The irritated detective. Roh Hyung-jin shook his head. Frankly, fighting with the police was tiresome, and he had considered leaving quietly after seeing the situation, but their attitude was clearly not friendly.
‘They’ve already been bought off.’
It was obvious at a glance. Then again, from Lee Gyu-seong’s perspective, he was desperate enough to try anything.
“I refuse.”
“Tch, you standing there won’t make us do it today. Fine, whatever. Name.”
Thus began the interrogation. But after watching for a moment, Roh Hyung-jin was too appalled to speak.
‘Damn, what would have happened if I hadn’t come?’
The two girls, unaware, were answering questions, but the questions themselves were cleverly framed to steer the narrative toward consensual acts. And very blatantly at that.
“So, Lee Gyu-seong told you to suck it, so you did?”
“Huh? That is…”
“You did it, right?”
“…”
“Answer.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Oral sex performed at the perpetrator’s request…”
While it was technically true, the report being written for the court was using phrases that clearly suggested mutual consent.
*Slam!*
Roh Hyung-jin, who was listening to Kang So-young’s investigation—no, interrogation—slammed the desk with a bang.
“What is it? Why are you interfering with our work?”
“Did you use the police department’s sexual assault case handling guidelines as toilet paper?”
“What?”
“As far as I know, there are clear guidelines for handling sexual assault cases.”
“Well, that…”
The police officer flustered by the question. And for good reason; the guidelines existed, but most officers didn’t follow them. Or more accurately, they weren’t informed about them, because it would just make their jobs harder.
“First, such explicit descriptions and questioning are prohibited in a public place like this. Second, if the victim requests it, the investigating officer must be female. Third, if there are minors among the victims, precautions must be taken to prevent psychological trauma, such as having a child psychologist present.”
“…”
“Shall I continue?”
The officer made a face like he’d eaten something rotten. He had been assigned this case and received a substantial sum to sweep it under the rug; he hadn’t expected this kind of opposition.
“Well, I’m just a witness, so I can’t really say much, but shouldn’t you have informed the two of them about these rights?”
“Ahem, we’ve been busy, so…”
The officer tried to play dumb and look away. Roh Hyung-jin looked at the two girls.
“What do you think?”
“If such rights exist, of course we should be informed.”
“Ugh, fine.”
The officer finally gave up and stood up. Shortly after, the three were led to a small interrogation room. A female police officer and another woman entered.
“Hello.”
Just as they were about to start with a brief introduction, the female officer looked at Roh Hyung-jin.
“I’d like you to leave.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because we need to conduct the investigation, of course.”
“Ah! I see.”
“Yes, so please leave.”
“Yes, but here’s the thing. Is this an interrogation or an investigation?”
“What do you mean?”
“If it’s an interrogation, then I should leave. But if it’s just a victim statement, I’m not obligated to leave. The victim is free to choose a companion for emotional support, right?”
