Chapter 397: Hitching a Ride (2)
Yun Hye-Mi was holding her face while trying to 'bury' herself into her desk.
'What should I do? This is so embarrassing, I might really die!'
This was not something a sane person could do! If Park Yu-Min hadn't pleaded with her, Yun Hye-Mi would've never agreed to do this... this insanely embarrassing thing that had lit her face on fire!
Her mind wandered back to the moment of all those gazes landing on her, and Yun Hye-Min was nearly overcome with the impulse to jump out the classroom window.
'What am I supposed to do! Seriously!'
What were the grown-ups cooking up here, anyway! And if they were scheming something, shouldn't they do a better job? They weren't living inside a 70s movie, so why...! Should Yun Hye-Mi feel scared by the fact that some people still thought an archaic method like this would be effective in the modern era?
What was even more sorrow-inducing in this situation was that the female protagonist of this old-school movie was... Yun Hye-Mi!
When she first got into Kang Jin-Ho's car, her heart was still fluttering innocently enough. However, as they neared her school, she gradually realized something had gone wrong.
In movies, extras were strategically placed to produce the desired reactions, but this was reality. Yun Hye-Mi would have to deal with her peers' raw, unedited reactions now. Once she grew conscious of that, Yun Hye-Mi began shrinking into her seat.
'I should've stopped Jin-Ho oppa before it was too late...'
Even if Kang Jin-Ho was making a stern face, Yun Hye-Mi should've said, 'Oppa, I think this is as wrong as it gets!'?And not doing so was Yun Hye-Mi's biggest mistake in life!
While she was fidgeting nervously in indecision, Kang Jin-Ho's car stopped by the school's gates, and he exited the vehicle way too fast for Yun Hye-Mi to find a chance to stop him.
And she was feeling the brunt of her failure.
'I can hear you, you know!'
Yun Hye-Min could hear the hushed whispers of her classmates. Although she couldn't hear every word they were saying, the sensors in her back accurately detected all the sharp stares stabbing into her body from various angles.
'I might really die at this rate...'
Since it had come to this, there could be only one way out of this situation. Even when Yun Hye-Mi cried silently in her room at night because of Lee Mi-Yeong's bullying, she never thought about the extreme measure of 'transfer,' but today...! She resolved herself to sob and plead with Park Yu-Min later in the day to get transferred to another school far away from here.
That seemed so much better than dying of embarrassment like this!
While contemplating how to convince Park Yu-Min, Yun Hye-Mi felt someone poking at her back.
“...Ng?” Yun Hye-Mi hurriedly sat up in fright.
'...Min Ah-Ran?'
Yun Hye-Mi felt her heart tumble to the pit of her stomach. Min Ah-Ran was Lee Mi-Yeong's gopher, so her presence could only signify one thing. Yun Hye-Mi wasn't an idiot who couldn't figure that one out.
“Mi-Yeong wants to see you.”
“...M-me?”
“Yeah, you. Who else would it be?”
“G-got it. I'm coming…” Yun Hye-Mi got up while making a face of a cow being dragged inside an abattoir. Her large eyes seemed close to tearing up, too.
She was so grateful to Kang Jin-Ho and Park Yu-Min for thinking about her plight. In spite of her gratitude, however, Yun Hye-Mi couldn't stop resenting those two right now!
Yun Hye-Mi trudged toward the back of the class where Lee Mi-Yeong sat. The sight of Lee Mi-Yeong sitting there with her legs crossed and her arms tucked under her arms was reminiscent of an executioner waiting for her next victim.
For some reason, Lee Mi-Yeong seemed to be in an especially foul mood today. And Yun-Hye-Mi just had to cause a scene on a day like that, so she could already tell what was in store for her.
Tears kept threatening to burst out of Yun Hye-Mi's eyes, but she did her best to suppress them. Even a hint of a tear would prompt Lee Mi-Yeong to torment Yun Hye-Mi with a level of cruelty unimaginably worse than ever before while glibly saying something like,?'Other people might think I'm hurting you or something!'
While feeling like a death-row inmate putting her head on the chopping block, Yun Hye-Mi stood hesitantly before Lee Mi-Yeong's desk. “M-Mi-Yeong, did you want to see me...?”
“Yeah,” Lee Mi-Yeong replied curtly, then raised her head to stare openly at Yun Hye-Mi.
Yun Hye-Mi's heart pounded away like crazy.
Lee Mi-Yeong finally opened her piehole to speak. “Who was he?”
“E-eh? Who are you talking about?”
“That man you showed up to school with. Who is he?”
“Oh, him…”
And so, it begins...
Yun Hye-Mi squeezed her eyes shut before cautiously speaking up. She figured being honest now would make things easier for her. “H-he's an oppa who comes to visit us in the orphanage sometimes.”
“An oppa...?” Lee Mi-Yeong narrowed her eyes.
“Yeah… He's a friend of another oppa in the orphanage, you see? They have been friends since high school. And he comes around often.”
“Are you a close friend to him, too? Since he's giving you a ride to school and all. Are you two dating?”
Yun Hye-Mi panicked and waved her hands. “N-no. No way. How can I do that? I know my place…”
“Oh? Then what?”
“...He was stopping by at the orphanage in the morning, you see? And he wanted to give me a ride to school. T-that's all.”
“Really?”
“Y-yeah…”
Lee Mi-Yeong's expression remained icy-cold as she stared at Yun Hye-Mi. “What does he do for a living?”
“Uhm... He's in university?”
“Which one?”
“I heard he's in Jaegyeong Uni…”
Lee Mi-Yeong swept her hair behind her ear, then laughed in dismay. “He's in Jaegyeong Uni? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, so... That man attends Jaegyeong? A man with a face like that and rich enough to drive a supercar... is attending Jaegyeong, of all places?”
“...Y-yeah.”
“You aren't lying to me, now are you?”
“N-no. Why would I lie about stuff like that?”
Lee Mi-Yeong placed her elbow on the desk, then rested her chin on her hand. “Yes, you certainly wouldn't.”
Yun Hye-Mi hurriedly nodded. “O-of course. I don't have a reason to lie about that, you know?”
“Hmm... Yes, you have a point. That can't be a lie…” Lee Mi-Yeong leisurely muttered. Just as Yun Hye-Mi began wondering where they were going with this line of questioning, Lee Mi-Yeong abruptly asked another question. “So... You said he visits the orphanage often?”
“Y-yeah. Maybe once a week?”
“I see, I see…” Lee Mi-Yeong mulled something for a long, long while, then suddenly nodded at Yun Hye-Mi. “Okay, got it. You can go now.”
“E-eh?”
“I said you can go.”
“O-okay…” Yun Hye-Mi quickly retreated from there. Even as she walked away, she couldn't help but steal several glances behind her.
'That's it?'
The 'usual' Lee Mi-Yeong would've said something along the line of,?'You are so arrogant, aren't you?'?And her stooges waiting for that signal would start showering Yun Hye-Mi with all kinds of demeaning and abusive comments.
That was how Lee Mi-Yeong and her gang usually operated. They would never resort to physical abuse but used subtler methods to trample their victims to the ground.
But now...
'Why... is she letting me go this easily?'
That Lee Mi-Yeong isn't the type to end things here, though?
Besides, even if Lee Mi-Yeong had backed off, other girls would never let Yun Hye-Mi off the hook that easily. Sure enough...
Before Yun Hye-Mi could reach her desk, several girls blocked her path.
“Hey, Yun Hye-Mi!”
“Y-yeah?”
“You. You were sticking out like a sore thumb this morning.”
“...Sorry.” Yun Hye-Mi's head faltered.
“I thought somebody was shooting a movie or something. So? How was it? What was it like to get out of a fancy car like that? Did you feel good and stuff?”
Yun Hye-Mi kept her head low and didn't respond.
“Woah, would you look at this bitch? What, talking to me isn't worth your precious time? Is that it?”
“Ohhh, I know. Us plebs who have never ridden a fancy car before won't understand. Is that what it is? If we're unhappy about it, we should also get a ride in such a car? Is that what you are implying, Yun Hye-Mi?”
“Is that it? Ah? Tell us! Is she right, Yun Hye-Mi!?”
Yun Hye-Mi chewed on her lips while thinking it had finally begun. However, a sharp and cold voice suddenly erupted somewhere behind her.
“Hey, you lot! You think our classroom is your backyard or something?”
“M-Mi-Yeong...?”
“Is it fun to start picking on a girl for some dumbass reason? Do you have to act so crass like that? Everyone in the class knows Hye-Mi has no money, so you think she drove up to school in a car like that to show off how rich she is?”
“N-no, of course not. That's not it, but…”
“Can't you think first before opening your trap? The sound of your empty can rattling around is really annoying from where I am, you see?”
“...Sorry.”
The group of girls planning to bite Yun Hye-Mi's head off got scared by the venom spewing out of Lee Mi-Yeong and hastily beat a retreat.
Yun Hye-Mi's eyes opened super-wide, and she stared back at Lee Mi-Yeong.
Lee Mi-Yeong cocked her eyebrow. “What are you looking at?”
“N-nothing…”
“Oh, by the way?”
“Yeah?”
“I wanna speak to you during the next break, okay?”
“...”
“You don't wanna?”
“N-no. I, I will.”
“Then, it's all good,” Lee Mi-Yeong coldly cut the conversation there.
Yun Hye-Mi stumbled back to her desk and plopped down on the chair. She dazedly stared at the desk, wondering what just happened here.
'No way...?'
That couldn't be it, no? But...
But, it... It actually worked?!
Yun Hye-Mi held her face as a completely flummoxed expression filled her face.
***
“Hello?” Kang Jin-Ho answered the phone call.
- Mister Jin-Ho, where are you?
“I've just finished dropping Hye-Mi off. I'm now on my way back to the orphanage to pick Ji-Su up next.”
- I see. Nicely done, Mister Jin-Ho. So, how are you feeling?
“...I feel like jumping into a lake, actually.”
- Did you smile refreshingly to your audience, just like I ordered you to?
“...”
- Eiii, don't be like that. Being uncooperative isn't going to help anyone, including the children.
Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head. He could already tell. Jo Gyu-Min, he... He was clearly enjoying this. Hints of barely-contained laughter could be heard in his voice.
“Mister Gyu-Min, will doing this show-off thing help anyone for real?”
- Why do you think this method won't help the girls?
“Well, how should I say this…”
- Mm? Do you think it's too cliched? Too archaic?
“Well, that's one way to put it.”
Kang Jin-Ho actually wanted to ask if it was okay to do this with a face like his. But he couldn't bring himself to do that, having already experienced the explosive power of his looks before. Even if Jo Gyu-Min started talking utter bollocks now, Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't have a way to defend himself.
- It's a cliche because so many people have relied on this method since time immemorial, Mister Jin-Ho. Classics are classics for a reason. And that's because they are so effective.
“...I guess you have a point.”
Jo Gyu-Min always seemed to have good-sounding points, though!
The way Kang Jin-Ho saw it, Jo Gyu-Min had chosen the wrong career path. Instead of joining Jaegyeong's Office of Secretaries, he should've applied for a job in its sales department. He was good enough to sell non-existent oil fields and convince people to open a canal in the Daedong River, after all!
“Anyway. Mister Gyu-Min, can we really solve the girls' bullying issue with this method?”
Kang Jin-Ho was confident of solving the boys' bullying problem. Things like indirect bullying wouldn't be a problem anymore after the physiques of the orphanage boys were sufficiently bulked up. Build their bodies to the level of adult athletes, and the bullies would have to think twice about tormenting or hitting the kids.
However, he couldn't think of any good ways to deal with the girls' problems. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kang Jin-Ho was a practitioner of gender equality. More correctly, he didn't believe in the concept of taking it easy because the opponent was a woman. Then again, that was how things were like in Zhongyuan. It didn't matter which gender you were, as everyone firmly adhered to the ideals of might ruling over everything back then.
However, Kang Jin-Ho was still aware of differences in inclinations between men and women. He knew that girls' problems couldn't be solved by strengthening their physiques.
- You mustn't think your single appearance will be enough, Mister Jin-Ho. Of course, it will still help us out tremendously.
“Are you saying I should be satisfied with this much?”
- Of course not. Mister Jin-Ho, you've merely set the ball rolling. And now, we will use that as a foundation to build our castle.
“When you said we, who did you mean?”
- Mm? Obviously...
For a moment there, Kang Jin-Ho thought he could hear Jo Gyu-Min's cackling.
- That'll be me. I'll take the stream of water you've opened up and turn it into a flood.
Kang Jin-Ho chuckled involuntarily at that declaration. He had full confidence in Jo Gyu-Min doing a good job. He couldn't tell when his absolute faith in Jo Gyu-Min had begun, but... Kang Jin-Ho was freshly reminded of his belief in the Chief Secretary of the Jaegyeong Corporation.
“What are you planning to do, Mister Gyu-Min?”
- You did what you could do best, so it's my turn to do what I do best.
“Huh? What would that be?”
- Please take a guess.
What Jo Gyu-Min did best? What could that be...?
Since Jo Gyu-Min was good at nearly everything, Kang Jin-Ho couldn't immediately think of something. Out of all the possible answers, the one thing Kang Jin-Ho acknowledged Jo Gyu-Min for was...
“...Using your head?”
- No, not exactly.
Kang Jin-Ho's mind pictured Jo Gyu-Min smirking deeply away while holding his phone. And a laughter-infused voice matching that smirk came out from the speaker to echo inside Kang Jin-Ho's car.
- It's the Donkey in the Lion's Skin, Mister Jin-Ho.
“Huh?”
The donkey in what now?
- And it's what I do best in this whole world, Mister Jin-Ho. So, don't worry about anything because I shall expertly utilize everyone.
Kang Jin-Ho couldn't help but chuckle hollowly.
Even underhandedness could become 'cool' at Jo Gyu-Min's level. Kang Jin-Ho laughed involuntarily and responded to Jo Gyu-Min’s confident declaration.
“I'm looking forward to it.”
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