It was a somber mid-afternoon.
The main hallway was empty. The grey wall that surrounded the entire school was a playfield of graffiti. The grassy playground appeared so prosaic, it felt dead, considering how the long hours sitting on the wooden chairs before the board all day would feel brought about a contagious feeling of monotony to even me as I passed with low click-clacks down the tiled floor. The office was at the end of the hallway.
Momo: Y/NNNN
Y/N : Yeah
Momo: The annual dinner party date has been decided! Finally! Only you know how long I have been waiting to wear that dress!
Y/N : Oh I see
I'm busy now. At V's school. Ttyl
Momo: The weekly meeting will start now. Other's been saying there's something important to be discussed today. Drop by the base after you are done. I will save your card.
I locked my phone screen and stood straight to provide a bow.
"Hello, Mr. Ui Ha."
"Miss Song, I have been expecting you." The person looked up and greeted me, The straps with his black reading glasses hung down, a pure smile crept on his face. He pointed the seat before him to me to sit down.
"Thank you for giving me your time. When will the school end?"
"In about one and a half from now. I have time in my hand. Would you like to be shown around first?"
"That would be great."
Mr, Ui Ha escorted me around the school, getting me familiar with the rooms and clubs while elaborating on the rules and policy. I nodded to his words while throwing in small questions now and then to show that I was interested.
"Every student is encouraged to be a part of at least one club, it's held as a mandatory. The clubs usually have their own set of rules built in order to conduct their activities, we don't actually interrupt the students on this and let them have the freedom to lead and manage.'
I said, "Can I talk to the club managers then? It would help a lot with my survey."
"Of course. I will call them when the school ends. Let's go to the office."
Scraping the chair back, he sat on his leather chair and gathered around some files before the desk. "You may take a look at the club magazines and reports of the recent workshops and festivals they organized." I smiled at him while bringing those near to me.
"Speaking of that, Mr. Ui Ha, I actually need some of your help."
"Yes, how may I help you?"
"I needed to recall some of your students from a batch of 07 or 06 I think. Would be glad if you cooperated with me on this."
"7 or 6 you say?" His forehead creased, advancing towards the farther end of the office room he rummaged through a pile of files, "You must be lucky that the student directories were all brought out today from the locker room for cleanup.' It didn't take him much time to find out the right files. "Is there a name?"
"Kim Taehyung."
"Taehyung? Kim?" He would start to go through the small pile repeating the name, then he stopped momentarily, "Idol?"
"Yes. He is an idol now." He flipped over the pages from the directory and closed, smiling largely, "I remember him especially."
"Such a meritorious student!" He added, "From the time, he did really well in the singing classes, he was also a good grader, now he is glorifying the name of our school too, making us all proud."
"There is an additional reason for my appointment with you, sir." I hunched forward to the desk, "There were some matters he got involved to...during the high school time?"
I could see how he shifted on his seat, the way he was left off guard noticeably at my question. He composed himself no sooner, "I didn't exactly get what you are referring to?"
"When he had been in high school, he had got involved in a few matters along with his friends? Something bad?" He jerked his head at my words coming with a forced straight and formal smile, the facade which itself spoke about its falsehood, "No, nothing happened like that."
My stern but calm gaze at him held him at bars, still he said with an effort to avoid my question, "I don't know where you heard the rumors or what it is, he and his friends were all nice and studious. They never did anything as firebrands, their records were clean. Oh well, o-o-once they accidentally broke the homeroom's glass, I remember. But they themselves paid for it."
"Breaking the homeroom glass is nothing significant but you remember it still now?" I quirked my eyebrows slightly.
"I am sorry Miss Song, but," He said, "I can't help you on this. Whatever even if happened, it is confidential because he is an idol. I can't do anything that would tarnish his name and reputation, on that for something so trivial that happened years ago-"
His late reply to continuous negations blazed its mendacity. I earnestly persuaded to break it up to me, but he was a tough cookie to melt by my silvery words
"If you hear the reason, I doubt if you would go away without helping me," I said, "Taehyung had been seeing a psychiatrist. The company doesn't know about it. He's developing major depression to now getting suicidal thoughts."
Mr. Ui Ha didn't speak. His face slanted down to stare at the wooden surface. I continued,
"He's my distant cousin. I took him to see the doctor. He said about something that happened when he was here, but he is not opening-up wholly to him, the doctor needs to know everything in order to help him. Even I, being close, know nothing about it. I came here so as to assist. I am assuming the company forbode you to have it all secret. But considering the situation, I hope you would help me out. You care for him, don't you? Would you like to see him in this state?" I took a pause, "Tell me."
He looked at me dolefully.
A sigh escaped his lips. He scraped back his chair and stood up.
"Let's take a walk outside."
"Taehyung was a really good boy. When he was first admitted to the school, his mother herself came to my office and told me to take care of him. She told me so keenly that it had been her dream to see him successful and a topper in the class. But, those spoiled rich kids, A rotten sheep infects the flock. Or a sheep rotted because of a whole infected flock...' The gardener eyed us two walking around the playground once then concentrated back on his doing. I listened to the principal attentively as he continued speaking.
"I was worried at first to see Taehyung hanging out with them. I thought maybe they forced him to, but seeing the smile on his face when he was around them made me think that no, he actually was a good friend with them. He still topped at the class, I thought maybe they are not of a bad influence like I assumed they would be. But soon things changed, his grades started to fall. Teachers complained to me about him skipping their classes. I called him to my office and gave him a talk, but to no avail. He was still deteriorating. His mother sent me presents, expressed how happy she was for him doing well in the exams and thanked me for taking good care of him, that's why he was doing excellent in his exams. Then I realized he had been feeding his mom with lies about his results. I told her the truth, her mom was heartbroken. She scolded Taehyung a lot in front of the whole school. In the next exam, there was an incident of stealing of question papers. The guard was patrolling at night, he heard some sounds from the teacher's office then later cursory saw some people running down the playground. As he searched in the teacher's office, he found the window open. Next day we interrogated all the students and searched their bags. We found the photocopy of question papers in Taehyung's bag, and something else. A packet. Inside, weeds."
He halted for a second to catch his breath, then continued again.
"Taehyung was cross-questioned more than once, he denied it every time though his alibi was not strong. But his statement was unchanged. It was his friends who gave him those saying that those were suggestions copied from question guides to prepare well for the exam. The security guard also gave witness that the one guy he saw in the dark that time was the same guy Taehyung was accusing of giving him the papers. About the weeds, he said it was his friend too who gave the packet to pass it to someone else. He didn't know what was inside. We couldn't take it as verified truth, because some of the classmates told that they saw the peer group smoke together at times, not sure if Taehyung was there at that time with them.
There were enough pieces of evidence about the friend of Taehyung proving his guilt of stealing the papers, but his father was a big influential person. He talked with us and the authority to settle down the matter paying a big amount of money. What he told us to do is to put it all on Taehyung, the boy who was caught for it.
I tried my best to bury the part and rescue Taehyung, I did as much as I could. The authority was about to rusticate him, but I saved him from getting kicked out and persuaded to assuage the conviction and let him off with some social welfare and cleaning works for three months. But it was not the punishment which affected the boy, it was the guilt, and his friends, the real perpetrators who left him on bad time leaving it all on him.
He didn't come to school for six months. Later his mom came and told that he won't be attending the school anymore. I didn't hear from him for a long time after that. Then I saw he debuted with the idol group, so I thought he must be doing well. It's good to let go."
It was a minute of silence for both of us, to settle with the spoken long past.
"I see. It must have been hard for him."
"I don't know how much of a delinquent he was, but I know he was a good boy by heart. You're the only one who I told about this. Please don't let it spread around, I trust you."
"I won't break your trust." I assured, "It's safe with me."
"And can I ask about another boy, Park Jimin? He was in the same batch as Taehyung."
"I remember him too!" He smiled gleefully, "They are now in the same idol group, right? It's good that they are together."
"Was he involved in the incidents with Taehyung too?"
"No no. He was never a part of this. He was an incredible student. He never had a bad record. But after his father died, he dropped out of school. He could have done well, but, it's serendipity that got him as famous as now."
"He had dropped out after his father died?"
"Yeah," He nodded at me.
"Oh..." We walked for another minute around the school campus. The bell had rung a minute ago, the school which seemed empty a while back was now getting crowded with rushing schooler teenagers with their school bags. The gardener was done with his work, he eyed us for another round before scraping his broom against the ground while he walked towards his cabin at the corner. I stood in front of Mr. Ui Ha then smiled bowing, "Thank you so much, Can I make a request? I hope you will keep this interaction a secret, I don't know how Taehyung will react if he gets to know that his doctor and I had been doing this, but it's eventually to try to help him."
"I completely understand. Don't worry. I am glad to come to any help."
"And one last thing, can you please tell me some whereabouts about that friend, who had framed him with the case, apparently?"
"He is still around here, the same. Rich and with fame for his spoiled bratty attitude. Living his life," He frowned at the mention.
"Oh Sehun. And...you may find him...here-"