#4
The counseling room fell silent again after Lee Min-jae left. In front of Han Seo-jun, the blue system screen still hovered in the air, displaying a neatly formatted PDF document stamped digitally with the name Haneul Educational Foundation.
Seo-jun swiped across the screen with his fingertip. The figures inside were extremely detailed: 1.2 billion won allocated for scholarships for underprivileged students, sourced from a government grant. Yet according to the internal audit report stored in the system, more than 60 percent of those funds had been funneled into a holding account under the name of a shell company.
And Yoon Chae-won's name appeared there as one of the "full-scholarship recipients," with a fantastical nominal amount, even though Chae-won's family had never received the money in full. The funds had been cycled through to cover the operating costs of the hospital where Chae-won's father was being treated—which, ironically, was also owned by one of Cha Dong-hyun's subsidiaries.
This system is incredibly airtight, Seo-jun thought. Dong-hyun isn't just controlling the finances. He's got Chae-won by the throat so the girl can't run.
Seo-jun tapped the new option that had opened in his system: [Teacher's Eye Level 2: Connection Visualization].
In an instant, Seo-jun's vision changed. When he looked out through the counseling room window, thin golden and red lines stretched along the school corridors, connecting one point to another like invisible threads.
A deep red line extended from the foundation building on the top floor, plunged straight toward the principal's office, then branched out toward several senior teachers, including Mr. Choi and Mr. Kang. Meanwhile, a faint golden line that was almost severed connected Yoon Chae-won and Lee Min-jae, showing that their mental states and fates were influencing each other within this school environment.
"So this is what 'See Connections' means," Seo-jun murmured. With this ability, he no longer had to guess who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. He could clearly see the power map at Haneul High School.
The bell for the afternoon session rang. Seo-jun headed to Class 11-3 to teach Sociology.
The moment he opened the classroom door, the students' chatter abruptly died down. Several eyes turned toward him with curiosity, especially after the incident by the lockers that morning. In the very back row, Lee Min-jae sat in his seat. His uniform was still slightly rumpled, but his black tie was now neatly fastened beneath his collar. Min-jae stole a glance at Seo-jun, then gave him the slightest nod.
Seo-jun returned the nod with a small smile before turning toward the blackboard.
In the second row by the window, Yoon Chae-won sat alone. The desk beside her was empty. She stared blankly out the window, her fingers constantly twisting the end of her sleeve.
"All right, open your Sociology books to chapter four," Seo-jun said in a calm voice that filled the room. "Today, we'll be discussing Social Structure and Power Inequality in Society."
Several students let out bored sighs, but Seo-jun didn't care. He wrote three large keywords on the blackboard: Power, Legitimacy, and Deviance.
"Does anyone know what happens when the person holding the highest power in an institution starts legitimizing their actions with lies?" Seo-jun asked, turning to look at his students.
The classroom fell silent. No one raised a hand. "They create new rules to protect themselves," Seo-jun answered quietly, his gray eyes fixed on Chae-won. "And when those rules aren't enough, they sacrifice the weakest people around them and use them as shields."
Chae-won suddenly straightened her back. Her fingers stopped moving. She looked up, her dull eyes meeting Seo-jun's directly.
Seo-jun saw a thin red line suddenly emerge from Chae-won's chest and point straight toward the foundation office. A status blinked red along the line: [Under Direct Intimidation Pressure: 88%].
"But," Seo-jun continued as he walked down the aisle between the students' desks, "that inequality can only last as long as the victim doesn't realize the truth is in their hands. Sociology teaches us that absolute power collapses not because of an attack from outside, but because of a small crack from within."
Seo-jun stopped right beside Chae-won's desk. He placed the worksheet for that day's material on top of it.
In the bottom corner of the paper, Seo-jun had written a small note in extremely fine pencil: "Haneul Severance Hospital, VIP Room 402. Your father's treatment costs aren't Cha Dong-hyun's kindness. They're your family's rightful money, stolen from you. You're not alone anymore, Chae-won."
Chae-won read the words. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her breath caught as she stared at the paper with wide eyes. She looked up at Seo-jun, who had already walked back to the front of the classroom, his back to her as if nothing had happened.
Tears welled in the corners of Chae-won's eyes, but this time they weren't caused by paralyzing fear. They came from a shock that shook her entire awareness.
That afternoon, after the dismissal bell rang and all the students scattered from the school grounds, Seo-jun was still at his desk in the teachers' lounge.
The laptop screen before him displayed a report draft ready to be sent to the personal email of an acquaintance of his—an independent architect willing to provide Lee Min-jae with freelance work drawing digital sketches.
Suddenly, a tall shadow stood beside his desk.
Mr. Kang, the senior teacher who had ordered him to organize documents that morning, stared at Seo-jun's laptop with a probing expression.
"Mr. Han, you're not heading home yet?" Mr. Kang asked coldly. He was holding a thick folder bearing a special stamp.
"Just about, Mr. Kang. I have a few teaching documents to finish," Seo-jun replied pleasantly without closing his laptop screen.
Mr. Kang tapped his fingers on Seo-jun's desk. "About Lee Min-jae this morning... don't meddle too much in Student Affairs Department business. He's from a troubled family. If you get too close to him, you'll be the one in trouble if something happens."
Through Teacher's Eye Level 2, Seo-jun saw a thick red line connecting Mr. Kang directly to the foundation's account. A small window appeared above Mr. Kang's head: [Recipient of Routine Foundation Bribes - Compliance Category].
Seo-jun smiled very slightly, a smile that made Mr. Kang take a small step backward in discomfort.
"Thank you for the advice, Mr. Kang," Seo-jun said calmly. "But as a teacher, I don't think there's such a thing as being 'too close' when it comes to making sure a student doesn't drop out."
Mr. Kang snorted softly and looked at Seo-jun with contempt.
"Suit yourself. Don't blame anyone if the foundation reviews your contract position next semester."
Mr. Kang set the thick folder down on Seo-jun's desk with a soft thud.
"These are the physical examination and background check documents for this year's scholarship recipients. The principal wants you to enter the data into the main system before tomorrow morning."
After Mr. Kang left the teachers' lounge, Seo-jun opened the folder. Inside were Yoon Chae-won's medical records and personal information, along with her family's entire financial history.
Seo-jun stared at the sheets of paper, then glanced at his blue system screen.
[New Quest Notification!] [Main Quest - Part 2: CUT THE TRAP'S THREADS] [Objective: Secure physical evidence of the manipulation of Yoon Chae-won's father's treatment funds and establish a secure line of communication with the subject.] [Time Limit: 48 Hours.] [Reward: 200 Teacher Points & System Store Feature Unlocked.]
Seo-jun clenched his fist on the desk. His gaze sharpened as it pierced the darkness of the corridor outside the teachers' lounge.
"Two days," Seo-jun murmured to himself. "Cha Dong-hyun, you think you've locked down every opening. But this game has only just begun."