CAUTION: Love Ahead! | HAOBIN |

Twenty Four

"No. I don't think he could. As soon as they noticed me, I was surrounded by some other students, very few though as most of them were still in class -at least that's what my dad said was written in the report filed by the teacher who saw me." Zhang Hao muttered.

"Wait- teacher? Which teacher?" Matthew asked.

"Mrs. Yoon. Yoon Shinhwa. She was my arts teacher." Zhang Hao replied.

"Mine too, but she quit a few days after that incident if my memory serves me right." Gunwook said. 

"I heard that too. I felt sorry thinking she left because of me." Zhang Hao lowered his eyes. "It must have been traumatizing for her to witness her student lying half dead after falling from high. But I'm grateful to her for calling the ambulance pretty quick. The doctors said that I might not have made it out alive had I not reached the hospital on time..."

"Wait, what?! But it wasn't Mrs. Yoon that called the ambulance," Gunwook said, recalling.

"Huh?"

"It was Yoon Kyung-Jae, that's what Tae-Rae said." Gunwook responded, turning towards Tae-Rae who gave a curt nod.

"That's right. I got the report to be submitted to the principal about the incident, and it mentioned the first witness to make the call to the hospital and cops to be Yoon Kyung-Jae." Tae-Rae confirmed, but Zhang Hao looked doubtful.

"That doesn't make any sense," Zhang Hao said, shaking his head.

"Why not? We heard that he was pretty close to you. It makes sense for him to help you out." Jiwoong asked on behalf of everyone.

"Pretty close? That was the last thing we were! We weren't close at all; in fact, it was the opposite. Mr. Yoon Kyung-Jae has always hated me. He wouldn't ever help me." Zhang Hao answered.

"Why did he hate you, hyung?" Yujin asked, whose presence was nearly forgotten because he spoke so less, same with Gyuvin.

"I was close to his wife. He always used to accuse her of cheating on him with me. But it wasn't true; heck, I even had a boyfriend! But he didn't believe us..." Zhang Hao replied, casting his eyes downward.

Right...his boyfriend..., Hanbin thought, remembering Zhang Hao mentioning him before.

"Wait-wife? He's married? Who is his wife?" Gyuvin asked.

"Mrs. Yoon Shinhwa." Gunwook replied, eyes on Zhang Hao who nodded.

"But she's so young and way more beautiful, compared to that old man from the photos in our yearly magazine. She, surely, could've found a more better-looking and younger husband." Gyuvin argued as everyone collectively agreed.

"I mean, it isn't unknown to us that Mr. Yoon Kyung-Jae has power and money. I also heard from my father that he has some relations in politics." Hanbin said, sorting out things. "I wouldn't put it past him to get her married to him out of force."

"Exactly." Zhang Hao nodded. "Mrs. Yoon Shinhwa and Seunghee Noona were really close to me when I used to study here. Every time I got bullied and injured, I was sent to Seunghee Noona. She was really fond of me and always asked me to fight back, but I couldn't. Not against the entire school, at least."

"Mrs. Yoon was the second person I was close to. She knew I was being bullied and did try to warn my bullies, but could never do anything more than that. She told me that her husband had warned her against approaching the Principal with this matter. He held his threat against their kid. She couldn't do anything to help me, but tried to spend a lot of time with me after I was injured, in the clinic. She always used to tell me how she wished to expel Jae-Yun to make school life less miserable for me, but couldn't because of her husband. This is why I can clearly say that Mr. Yoon Kyung-Jae would rather have me dead; he would never have called the ambulance!"

"But why was Yoon Kyung-Jae against reporting it. If he isn't even blood-related to Jae-Yun, what is his reason for hiding the bullying?" Ricky asked, addressing the older with the honorific, evoking a small laugh from the youngest.

"I don't know..." Zhang Hao murmured, unable to find the answer to that.

"I think I know!" Hanbin exclaimed. "Mr. Yoon Kyung-Jae and Jae-Yun's grandfather are both part of the higher-up committee of the school! That's right! Iseul told me that his grandfather was the Head of the school, meaning Jae-Yun's grandfather was the person who had the CCTV's disabled on that day and masked the case as suicide. That explains why no action was taken against Jae-Yun!" Hanbin exclaimed, the memory of his talk with the fellow Council member hitting him like a wave.

"That seems right. He could've bribed or even bought the cops with a bit of money or a threat. He is the ideal person who could've easily hidden what actually happened only to cover it up with a lie and get away with it. No one would doubt or go against him!" Tae-Rae confirmed, fact-checking in his brain if their conclusion matched every detail they knew so far.

"But what doesn't match is the two different witnesses of the incident- who actually witnessed it first and called the ambulance, I think we all would have guessed that. 

But then why did the other person make it seem like they were the one who took action first?"

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Are the boys right in assuming the person who was the first witness? Who do you guys think it was? 

And why did the other person lie?