[Private room inside the school's elite building – Late Afternoon]
Dae Hyun sat calmly on a leather couch, eyes locked on the phone showing a photo of Jin Gook standing at the school gate.
Min Jae-suk and Jun Hae had just walked in when Dae Hyun tossed the phone onto the table.
Dae Hyun:
"He's here…"
Min Jae-suk (confused):
"Who? That guy on the flashy bike?"
Dae Hyun (calmly):
"Jin Gook."
Jun Hae (face turning serious):
"The one who punched you back in freshman year? At the interschool festival?"
Dae Hyun (arms folded, smirking):
"And now he's Roby's friend. Funny how the past shows up when things at school start to fall apart."
Jun Hae:
"You want us to handle it?"
Dae Hyun:
"Not yet. Let's see how far Roby dares to go."
[Back courtyard – Almost evening]
Roby sat on a bench, one earbud in, reading from Ji Hoon's diary spread across his lap. The page was messy, full of anxious scrawls and cut-off sentences:
> "...if I disappear, maybe it's because of them… Dae Hyun isn't clean. But I can't say anything. Do Yoon's the only one who knows I'm scared."
Roby frowned. "So... Do Yoon knew all along?"
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed behind him.
Tae Yang:
"Who the hell are you, really?"
Roby looked up. Tae Yang and Seo Min Gyu stood in front of him, glaring.
Tae Yang:
"Your cousin shows up, causes chaos, talks trash about Dae Hyun like he's possessed. And you? Sitting here acting like nothing happened."
Min Gyu:
"Seriously, man. You're not just some transfer student."
Roby closed the diary slowly, stood up, and smiled.
Roby (flatly):
"Min Gyu, you're manipulative. I can tell by how you talk. But deep down, you're not a bad guy. So maybe stop playing interrogator. It's getting old."
Tae Yang (gritting teeth):
"You..."
He snatched the diary from Roby's hands and flipped through the pages—then froze.
Tae Yang:
"This… this is Ji Hoon's handwriting…"
Min Gyu:
"What the hell is going on…"
A voice cut in from behind:
Nam Do Yoon:
"He was Ji Hoon's childhood friend."
Tae Yang and Min Gyu turned in surprise.
Roby remained calm, leaning back, eyes on the sky.
Roby:
"Yup. Now you know."
[Flashback – A few minutes earlier]
Do Yoon stood with Ha Rin near the second floor hallway.
Do Yoon:
"Tell Tae Yang and Min Gyu to meet Roby in the courtyard. Say he called them."
Ha Rin:
"Why me?"
Do Yoon (coldly):
"Because they won't freak out if it's you. Roby needs them there now."
[Back to the courtyard]
Min Gyu:
"So you came to find out who bullied Ji Hoon?"
Roby (standing slowly):
"I came to teach them a lesson... not revenge. There's a difference. You'll get it later."
Tae Yang (clenching the diary):
"If my name's in here—"
Roby (cutting him off, sharp):
"You already know the answer to that."
Do Yoon stood behind them, silent but sharp-eyed.
Roby stared at each of them, eyes serious, no more mischief. The usual spark in his eyes was now cold and sharp. Tension wrapped around them in the back garden of the school.
Roby:
"So… you were involved."
Min Gyu:
"Are you crazy?! I didn't kill him! I... I just followed orders!"
Tae Yang stayed silent for a moment. His gaze was blank, before he finally spoke:
Tae Yang:
"We bullied Ji Hoon… because we were told to. Told to threaten him, shame him publicly. To shut him up."
Roby (softly):
"Shut up about what?"
Tae Yang (voice low):
"About the school's secret. The corruption in the system... the elite hierarchy... the dirty deals between rich families and the school foundation. Buying grades. Fake scholarships. Bribed teachers. And that 'project'... where poor students were being quietly erased."
Min Gyu:
"Ji Hoon knew everything. He had evidence. Notes, recordings. He was this close to handing it to Do Yoon's father."
Roby turned to Do Yoon.
Min Gyu added, clearly disappointed:
Min Gyu:
"And why didn't you tell Roby from the start, huh?! You knew everything!"
Do Yoon looked down, breathing hard.
Do Yoon:
"...Because I was scared. My dad's a lawyer. He's already been threatened once. Ji Hoon warned me. If I got involved… I'd be next."
Tae Yang:
"You were scared? So we were just... tools?"
Do Yoon lowered his voice, almost trembling.
Do Yoon:
"I pretended to be clueless... because I knew Roby would come. I believed he'd shake this place in a way we couldn't."
Roby closed his eyes. His fists clenched.
Roby:
"Who gave you the orders... directly?"
Silence.
Min Gyu stared at the ground, then growled:
"Damn it... Hae Jun."
Tae Yang:
"He's the mastermind. Told us what to do—with silent backing from Kang Dae Hyun and Jun Hae."
Roby opened his eyes. His gaze sharp, yet calm, burning with something deeper.
Roby:
"So… this isn't just bullying. This is a system. And Ji Hoon... died because he dared to fight it."
Tae Yang turned to Do Yoon:
"You knew all this. And you stayed quiet."
Do Yoon (softly):
"I stayed quiet... so Roby would hear it from you. If it came from me, he might not believe it. But now—"
Roby interrupted with a faint smirk:
"Now, I don't need trust. I need the truth. And you just gave it to me."
Roby looked up toward the main school building.
Roby:
"Time for Hae Jun to know… this game doesn't belong to him anymore."
In the quiet school garden, the wind gently brushed through the falling leaves, scattering them around their feet.
Tae Yang stood with his arms crossed, eyes sharp as he looked at Min Gyu.
Tae Yang:
"So... where exactly is the evidence Ji Hoon gathered?"
Min Gyu:
"Gone. No one knows. Not even Yoon Ji knows everything. But..."
He glanced at Roby, then continued in a quieter tone.
"The final recording—taken in the cafeteria right before Ji Hoon died—that's in Yoon Ji's hands."
Roby:
"Yoon Ji... she's keeping it?"
Min Gyu nodded slowly, his voice weary and frustrated.
"Yeah. But only she has it. I can't ask her for it. She knows I'm pissed at Hae Jun... and she won't give me anything. But you... you might have a chance."
Tae Yang turned quickly toward Roby.
"So...?"
Min Gyu stared at Roby with intensity.
"You're going to meet her. I'll make sure it happens. But don't mention Ji Hoon right away. Don't make her suspicious. And most importantly..."
He leaned in, almost whispering.
"Don't let Hae Jun find out. If he knows you're approaching Yoon Ji, he'll crush you. Or worse... he'll silence her."
Roby stayed quiet, thinking. His eyes narrowed. Then... he nodded slowly.
Roby:
"When?"
Min Gyu sighed.
"Tomorrow after school. At a small book café near the Gyeongui Line station. She goes there a lot. I'll make sure she shows up alone."
Tae Yang:
"And why would she come?"
Min Gyu smirked slightly.
"Because I told her... you have Ji Hoon's last message."
Roby didn't respond. But inside, he knew—this wasn't just another step.
It was a turning point. A fight not with fists... but with truth.
Seoul Police Station – Temporary Holding Cell
The light flickered. The air was cold and stale.
Ji Seok sat on a metal bench, hands clasped, face pale from sleepless nights.
Suddenly, the clicking of heels echoed through the hallway.
A woman dressed in all-black entered—long coat, hat low over her face.
Ji Seok squinted.
"Who are you? A new lawyer?"
The woman said nothing at first. She slowly took off her hat, letting her long black hair fall. Her eyes were sharp, unreadable.
Ji Seok frowned.
"...Who are you?"
The woman stepped forward and placed a smartphone on the small metal table. The screen showed a red blinking dot: Recording.
Hye Mi (calm, cold):
"I'm no one special. Just a mother who doesn't appreciate threats circling her son."
Ji Seok froze.
"Your son…?"
Hye Mi leaned slightly closer.
"The foreign kid. Roby. Ring a bell?"
Ji Seok's eyes widened.
"Ro…by?"
Hye Mi's lips curled into a faint smile.
"I know you're not the real culprit. You're just a pawn. But pawns… even pawns can speak, when they know the game's collapsing."
Ji Seok trembled. His voice cracked.
"Why… why do you care? You're not even from here."
Hye Mi's voice dropped into a chilling whisper:
"I didn't just come to Korea for my son. I came for a boy who should never have died—Kim Ji Hoon. A better kid than most adults in that school of yours."
She straightened again, cold fire in her eyes.
"And now, I'll make your school system shake. Because I'm not just some ordinary mother."
She grabbed her phone, ended the recording, and turned away, heels clicking softly as she walked down the hallway.
She glanced at her screen:
[Recording Saved – Cell 1: Ji Seok]
Ji Seok whispered to himself, stunned:
"Roby… That kid… his mother…"