Chapter: 214
“Hey, how could you raise your kid like that!?”
Filled with rage, Mother Ikryong shouted, causing Son Ikryong standing beside her to grin sheepishly. In response, Jess’s dad—let’s just call him the Gorilla—furrowed his brows and said,
“Isn’t it your son who was bullying my daughter?”
With her enormous build and fierce appearance, Mother Ikryong took a step back but quickly puffed up her chest in defiance.
“There’s no way our sweet boy would do such a thing! It’s probably your kid who doesn’t know any better and just hit him, right, son?”
“Right!”
The Teacher covered her mouth with her hand in amazement.
‘They say reality is crazier than fiction… But really, are there people like this out there? Aren’t they embarrassed to say such things directly?’
She glanced towards the teacher’s lounge door and the windows. A spectacle like this was rare amidst the monotonous grind of school life. The kids, no matter how much the teachers shouted for them to get moving, were sneaking around like little mice to watch the parents fight.
Ding – The sound of a video recording starting was just the cherry on top.
‘How has the world changed so much, yet there are still people like this… sigh…’
The Teacher realized that a viral video that would make headlines tomorrow morning was being filmed right in front of her eyes. She immediately slipped away to find a corner away from the eyes of others and the camera.
“Did you break the classroom door just from being brutishly strong? How can our delicate son not get hurt!?”
Using Jess’s strength as an excuse, Mother Ikryong painted her son as a poor little victim. Under such a stellar parental influence (?), Son Ikryong had already conspired with his friends to fabricate falsehoods.
“And who did you say he bullied? Ha, seriously! What do you mean bullied? It’s actually our son who’s being bullied!”
Could it be any more foolish?
Everyone—teachers, students, even the guards—knew that Lian was the one being bullied. How could they brazenly tell such a lie that would be exposed in no time?
The reason was simple.
“Right, Teacher!?”
“Oh, um, well…”
Lian was bizarrely unloved by the ‘world.’ Naturally, the beings living in that world felt a repulsion toward Lian. No matter how unreasonable the situation became, there was no one to protect him.
Yet, Lian still loved such a world, so the strength he gained through survival instinct wasn’t the power to kill someone; it was ‘adaptation’ to coexist in the world.
A world that clashed completely with his gentle nature.
Jess’s sharp senses recognized how unpleasant this world was and how rude and threatening it was toward Lian.
‘What if I could just run away with him?’
With a complete lack of remorse, Jess began imagining escaping back to the world where she and Lian lived together.
Seeing her so resolute must have annoyed Mother Ikryong, who loudly pointed at her,
“Look at that! Look at how rude she is!”
To express her grievances to the world, she had even started to whimper. Before a proper dialogue could happen, she unleashed her ultimate move.
When the opponent brings emotions into the fight, there’s a simple way to win.
“Let’s check this first.”
With a stoic face, Jess’s dad handed over a brown file. Mother Ikryong tried to ignore it, sobbing softly. It seemed like she thought she could just hold on, and it would all be fine…
“If you don’t want to read it, that’s fine. To summarize, we have secured evidence that your son is habitually assaulting, stealing, and sexually harassing other students. Parents from the students are preparing a collective lawsuit, so keep that in mind.”
“Eh…?”
If the opponent is bringing emotions to the table, then it’s just a matter of using reason to handle it. Facts are always painful, and the law can easily mess up people’s lives. Mother Ikryong, who was weeping as if the world were ending, stared blankly at the man.
Were those crocodile tears? Because there weren’t really any visible tear streaks. Only a yawn would get them to come out?
Ignoring her reaction, Jess’s dad turned back to Jess.
“Hey, did you get hurt anywhere?”
“Nope.”
He was just a parent created to help her merge into the world and be with Lian. It wasn’t that she was being heartless; she instinctively felt that the opponent was just an illusion.
The reason she could smile lovingly at such an illusion was that she felt Lian’s weak power emanating from it.
Just like the desire to protect Jess lingered in her body, maintaining a barrier, a part of that desire took dwelling in the illusion and actively tried to care for her.
Although it was a weak presence, just strong enough so that it couldn’t be easily dismissed.
“Next time, I won’t even let them speak. Dad will take care of it all, alright? Oh, my daughter’s doing great! Amazing, really! Helping out a friend being bullied!”
His large hand approached to pat her head, but Jess dodged like a liquid cat. Only a select few were permitted to pat her head.
Seeing him sulk made Jess pout a bit and, as if to say thank you, gently nudged his arm. Instantly, the sulking gorilla turned into a happy gorilla.
“Ha, ha…”
Mother Ikryong, utterly flabbergasted, could hardly string together a coherent thought. Just as she was about to initiate Round Two, he swiftly pulled out the brown file he had tucked away.
“Before you yap any longer, why don’t you take a look at this first?”
She felt the urge to shout but realized the terrifying word “class action lawsuit” and instead took the file with trembling hands. Her shaky fingers flipped through the pages roughly.
Flap, flap—the papers flipped, and she collapsed to the ground upon seeing a picture of who looked unmistakably like her son smoking and bullying kids.
She genuinely could not imagine her own child doing something like that. If she regretted it now and tried to smack some sense into him to turn him into a decent member of society, then she could finally fulfill her role as a parent.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t that smart.
“This… This must be photoshopped! No, even if it’s not…! Kids can get stressed out from studying!”
Denying reality, self-justification.
It was clear as day how she usually perceived and lived in the world. Jess, intrigued by how effortlessly she’d disarmed her opponent without throwing a single punch, tilted her head slightly.
Because her ears, which had been perched on her head, disappeared, the habit of pricking up her ears lingered as a head tilt instead.
‘But I want to see Lian.’
Because of the classroom destruction incident and the punk fainting episode, she had been dragged to the teacher’s lounge and separated from Lian. Having seen him collapse helplessly several times, her anxiety made it hard for her to sit still.
“Is it all over now? Can I leave?”
Suppressing the urge to jump in place, Jess looked at her dad. Seeing his cute daughter, he smiled warmly and nodded. Jess dashed off without looking back, searching for a place where Lian might be.
Creeeak, BAM!
As the door swung open violently, the noisy kids in the teacher’s lounge went silent in an instant. Startled eyes turned toward the wide-open door.
‘Found him!’
Lian was sitting near a trash can, all alone. Like he was some kind of germ, the desks around him were spaced out far away.
Jess’s sharp gaze scanned the classroom quickly. Aside from her overwhelming desire to hug and smother Lian with kisses, her keen mind assessed the room’s atmosphere, the situation, and the leader.
“Lian!”
On the surface, she was just like a puppy that had found its owner. Rushing toward Lian, Jess dove into his embrace. From the moment she appeared, Lian, who had been as stiff as a rock, was instantly sucked into her chest, flailing his arms around.
Jess seized his hands, wrapping them around her waist. The firm yet slightly soft curve of her waist made Lian freeze completely.
“What, what’s going on?”
“Who…?!”
“Wait, why is such a beautiful girl with that guy?!”
With a face and body beautiful enough to slap the cheek of a celebrity, Jess unleashed an explosive and heated attack right at the classroom’s most overlooked student, Lian, flipping the whole class upside down.
Author’s Note: The exploration of memories and the experience is set to wrap up sooner than expected! Thanks for always enjoying it. Have a happy day :3 Check out the next chapter!
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