You Are Defended - Chapter 518



Only Noblemtl

Episode 518

“As you know, we have been taking great care of the heart that will be given to your grandson. From the very beginning, we have made every effort to make it in the best condition.”

“That… … . What house was it? Sir, what house was it?”

Onodera frowned as if he didn’t remember and looked back at Oda Satoshi.

“This is the home of angels, sir.”

“That’s right. It’s a daycare center anyway. There’s no need to make a fuss about it. I bet they said they’d pay enough.”

Go Yoon-soo laughed inwardly at the words he spat out while looking at himself.

When Onodera first requested surgery for his grandson, he said, “I cannot accept the organs of a child whose whereabouts, food, and how he grew up are unknown, so I am leaving them to you.” However, it seems that he does not remember what he said.

“I said this with the hope that you would realize that we are working hard for you and your grandson, and I apologize if you felt that I was being pretentious.”

“So? Didn’t you say that you were being watched by college students and that it was a problem? Then you should clean them up or something! It was stupid to bring college students into Angel’s house in the first place… … .”

“As you know, the lawyer has been sending college student volunteers to Angel’s House to keep a close watch. I’m ashamed to say this, but Angel’s House also did not know in advance that college student volunteers had approached the house under the lawyer’s direction… … .”

“Tch!”

Onodera, who had been quietly listening to the story, clicked his tongue.

But Go Yoon-soo was not shaken and continued speaking.

“You may think that this is an excuse, but there was no reason to send them back after going through extensive reporting. Especially since Angel’s House has been promoting itself as a place to provide quality education through overseas study opportunities, if there is no plausible excuse, it is like giving them something to chew on.”

“I knew that Wooshin had a different image in the 21st century, but if you had just sent him back saying that internal circumstances had changed, I would have stopped making a fuss about it. You guys are being overly scared.”

Satoshi Oda rolled his eyes as if to say,

It seemed like he got a big scolding from Onodera.

It is said that he told Ko Sang-jun to please Onodera because he was a narrow-minded person, but now he seems to be taking the lead and pressuring him more, as if he were Onodera’s spokesperson. It is very odd.

It seemed like he wanted to show Onodera whose side he was on.

“What Representative Oda said is correct.”

And Onodera seemed very satisfied, perhaps thinking that Satoshi Oda had made his position clear.

Of course, what Satoshi Oda said is not wrong.

Woosin, which had focused solely on rapid growth since its founding in the 1990s, was now striving to improve its image.

Wooshin could no longer ignore the public eye as it pushed ahead as a group that only pursued profit, and was forced to adopt a more strengthened set of ethics in line with the changing times.

In order to continue to grow in the future, we must at least pretend to be considerate and appease the public, even if we do not like them, so as not to be perceived as hostile.

Don’t politicians, like themselves, say things they don’t mean and put on a show that people can’t watch with their eyes open in order to win votes?

You don’t know how funny it is that politicians lie flat on their stomachs and pant like dogs in front of voters only during election season.

They say that they don’t need to listen to Woomin’s opinion, but they are the ones who pay more attention to the public’s opinion than anyone else.

That’s why I was trying to build a sense of empathy and appease her, but I didn’t expect that she would even become objective like this.

Besides, Cha Ju-han is a master at stimulating public opinion.

If I vaguely answered that internal circumstances had changed, they would have insisted on that statement until the end, somehow found out that there had been no change in policy, and made a complete disgrace of me by saying, “We are a group that doesn’t care about children’s education.”

In the process, the Angel’s House will receive more attention.

It’s the worst case scenario.

“… … Those college students would notice right away if even one of their children was missing, and it was obvious that this would soon reach the lawyer’s ears. I was worried that if there was any unnecessary noise, it would affect you, too. I think we were overly worried. I apologize again for any concern this may have caused.”

In fact, that wasn’t the only problem.

Even before that, I had been receiving reports from the Ilbo reporter that he had been gathering at the Angel’s House for a long time, and I had been keeping an eye on him to see if he had smelled anything.

But then, suddenly, Cha Ju-han teamed up with the reporter, and they quickly uncovered the existence of KDL Company.

Even if we assume that KDL Company is actually a smokescreen, if L&B found out, this is an issue that could lead to the investigative authorities taking action.

“Now that enough time has passed, we will prepare to get rid of those guard dogs as you said. Once the guard dogs are gone, we will give your grandson a healthy heart right away.”

* * *

“It’s so hot today. Should I buy some ice cream?”

The club leader who was guiding the college students who got off the bus at the stop in front of Angel’s House gestured toward the supermarket located at the end of the alley.

“I feel like I’ve been spending a lot of money lately. Is that okay?”

Thanks to God Jong-hyun’s endless support, the club’s finances have become quite affluent.

In the past, the person in charge of general affairs would keep a close eye on the students to make sure they didn’t spend money on frivolous things, but these days, even when they thought, “Did you spend too much?”, they would just let it go without saying anything.

“What if I buy the kids ice cream? But should it be the same flavor or should I put in a variety of flavors?”

“I don’t know. But there’s not that much ice cream? I guess I’ll just grab whatever I can and let the kids choose.”

The students roughly calculated the number of people and purchased enough.

As we walked to Angel’s house, each carrying a plastic bag full of ice cream, we quickened our pace in case it melted.

When we arrived, everyone was out of breath and gasping for breath.

“Oh my. Why are you so out of breath? Did you come running? It’s not too late.”

As the college students arrived, an Angel House staff member who had been waiting near the entrance approached them in surprise.

“Ah, I bought some ice cream for the kids… … . Phew, I bought it… … . Ugh, it’s heavier than I thought. Haha.”

“Why did you buy things like this? You didn’t have to go this far… … .”

“No. It’s too hot and we want to eat too.”

“Oh my. I’m grateful that I get to teach the kids, but it seems like the kids are contacting the teachers personally, so I feel bad about it… … What should I do?”

“Hey, how could that be? We are all students studying to become teachers. The fact that the children rely on us means that we are helpful. I am proud and happy.”

It seems that the news of the ice cream has reached the children as well, as the college students opened the door and entered, cheers erupted.

Each group leader spread out and distributed ice cream, and after cooling off together, they moved to their respective study rooms for each course and continued with the classes as usual.

For toddlers and elementary school students, classes are conducted according to a program planned by the club, and activities are carried out accordingly. However, for middle school students and above, who are under pressure for grades, the concept classes are often conducted in a way that they receive individual questions like private tutoring after the class.

That’s why there were naturally a lot of people involved.

“I tried to solve it like this, but I got stuck in the middle.”

“Oh, it’s an infinite geometric series problem. You were scared before and marked it with an asterisk, but you tried it this time. Great, that’s a really good attitude.”

“Then what should I do… … . I couldn’t even solve it.”

“Because the shapes are complicated and there are many 4-point problems, you can’t help but get scared once you get used to it. The teacher was the same. Now, look. If you have trouble finding the pattern, just put in the first five terms in the equation without thinking. Then, you’ll sometimes see it a little better.”

Although some students are enthusiastic about learning, in reality, not all are like that.

“But what if she’s my senior? Some third-year girl picked on me and I was like, ‘You should behave yourself,’ and she’s making a fuss and I’m shocked… .”

There were also many children who wanted to chat and tell in detail about what happened at school.

The volunteers’ goal was to coax these children and get them interested in studying, but for some reason, these children seem to think of them as older cousins ​​who are perfect for them to confide in.

“Seongyoon-ah.”

“… … .”

“Strictly correct.”

“……yes?”

“Did you eat ice cream earlier? The teachers bought some.”

And of course, there are children who are neither enthusiastic about studying nor eager to chat.

Such children are subject to special care.

Because they might be being bullied or might have something to complain about.

For college students who will one day become teachers and have to manage the entire class, this is a good opportunity to think about how they can take care of all the children together from now on.

“Ice cream?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you see what the teachers bought earlier?”

“I saw it, but I didn’t like it.”

“Really? Then, when I leave, I’ll ask the secretary to leave some for Seongyoon, so you can eat it later when you feel better.”

“……yes.”

Seongyun Eom is a second-year high school student.

It’s not a style that stands out.

He is not very talkative, but he is not very talkative either.

I’m neither bad at studying nor good at studying.

I also have close friends.

No, to be exact, there was.

He is a boy named Son Jeong-min, one year younger than Seong-yoon. He ran away from the Angel’s House a while ago and it turned things upside down.

I haven’t seen it here since then, and when I asked the staff, their answers were vague, so I couldn’t be sure.

Some people say they don’t know, some say it’s an internal matter anyway so don’t worry about it, and some say they find life here difficult and are looking into moving to another facility.

Choi Jong-hyun asked me to find out if I could about Son Jeong-min’s whereabouts, so I’ve been asking around to see what the mood is like, but I haven’t been able to figure it out yet.

Anyway, after that student disappeared, Seongyoon became noticeably quiet, perhaps because his close friend had disappeared.

“Teacher Hyeonjong.”

“ok?”

“… …Can you stop looking at me?”

Hyeonjong was a little embarrassed by Seongyoon’s words.

I was lost in thought for a moment, my gaze fixed somewhere, and I think Seongyoon felt that I was looking at him.

It seems like you’re in a sensitive state.

“Oh, sorry. I was just wondering if Seongyoon had a lot on his mind.”

“Suddenly?”

“No, that… … . Jeongmin still hasn’t contacted me. He didn’t say anything before he disappeared… … .”

“It’s not like I don’t have any close friends other than Jeongmin. I’m not an outcast either.”

“Oh, that’s not what I meant, but since we were really close, it’s natural to be worried if he suddenly disappears like that. If you find out later that your really close friend was struggling without telling you his worries, you can’t help but be upset. I think you wondered if I was that bad at times. I’m worried about Jeongmin, and I’m also upset, and I think his feelings are complicated.”

“What kind of man would do something like that… … .”

“Hey, then you’re a guy, teacher?”

Seongyoon chuckled.

“Teacher Hyeonjong.”

“Uh, why?”

“… … I have a concern. Is there a place other than here where you can talk about it?”

I wonder if the story of Son Jeong-min will come up.

Seongyoon said that until now, he had never thought that Son Jeongmin would disappear, and he had never even heard anything meaningful from him.

And he only said briefly that there had been no contact at all since he disappeared.

He hesitated for a moment, then pushed up his glasses and got up.

“Then let’s talk for a moment.”

I walked with Seongyoon to the end of the deserted hallway.

During that time, Seongyoon seemed quite nervous.

As soon as I brought up the Son Jeong-min story, he suddenly wanted to talk about it separately, so I think it must have something to do with that incident.

Maybe Son Jeong-min secretly contacted Seong-yoon.

“I don’t think anyone will be able to hear you here unless you speak loudly.”

Seongyoon muttered and glanced through the window at the children’s study room where they were playing noisily, then returned to the end of the hallway.

“Why are you doing that?”

“There’s something… … . I’m a little worried about something… … . Hah, shit. Seriously, why would I… … . Ah, really!”

Seongyoon’s gaze became more unnatural than ever.

He rolled his eyes anxiously, which had been downcast, and eventually started hitting his head with the palm of his hand.

I couldn’t figure out what was so frustrating about it, or why a child who was usually not rough at all was swearing like this.

Although he was embarrassed, he carefully grabbed Seongyoon’s wrist.

“Seongyoon, calm down.”

“No, let go. Fuck, fuck!”

But Seongyoon roughly pushed his hand away and started hitting his own cheek so hard that it made a clicking sound.

He hit me so hard that my pale face turned bright red and eventually swelled up.

He was so surprised that he couldn’t stop himself right away, so he grabbed Seongyoon’s hand in a hurry.

“Oh, what are you doing? Let go!”

But Seongyoon struggled and raised his voice and shouted.

But he couldn’t let go of Seongyoon’s hand because he felt like he would hit himself again if he left it like that.

I couldn’t understand why this child was unable to utter a single word properly and was engaging in self-harming behavior.

If you are a high school boy, your physical condition is no different from that of an adult.

It was at a level that could not be easily subdued even by the strength of an adult male, so in order to somehow stop it, he hurriedly pushed Seongyoon against the wall and grabbed both of his arms.

And I kept thinking about it.

What the heck?

“What the heck is this!”

And at the same time, a sharp voice rang out from not far away.

The director was someone who usually didn’t show himself.

The director approached with a flushed face and pulled the subdued Seongyoon to his side.

“Seongyoon, are you okay? No… … . What’s wrong with your cheek? Seongyoon. Why are your cheeks so swollen?”

“… … .”

“What’s wrong? Huh? No, why is your wrist like this… … .”

The director looked at Seongyoon’s wrist, where there was a red handprint, then closed his eyes tightly and sighed.

Seongyoon didn’t say anything, but the director looked back at him while holding the child in his arms.

And he asked in disbelief.

“… … Did you just hit the kid?”