After a few days, In Hyuk received a message from Professor Kim Sang Woo with a picture of the context written in Chinese alphabets, saying, "After my husband passed away, the Royal Guard Kim Da Won, who was the son of Princess Kim Jung Ha, took over the throne. I wanted to stay in the Palace, and he allowed me to stay where the traces of my husband were left."
Tears filled up in In Hyuk's eyes, and he wiped his eyes, realizing, "Kim Da Won? But why?"
In Hyuk messaged the Professor, asking, "Kim In Hyuk had a brother named Kim Jiho. But why did Kim Da Won take the throne, and who was Princess Kim Jung Ha?"
The reply said, "There is no more information about it. About Princess Kim Jung Ha, she was the daughter of King Kim Jung Ung. She was supposed to be sent to Baekje to marry Baekje king for peace, but she denied it and was abandoned by her father. She got married to a royal in the Capital and lived silently there. She is recorded in history in many books, but there is no information about her family. Queen Ji An's diary is the only book that mentions her son Kim Da Won, the next king after Kim In Hyuk."
In Hyuk's pupils widened at that, "Did Jiho refuse to take the throne?" he thought. "But again, that's what he is like." But what shocked him the most was having a cousin who was none other than his loyal guard Da Won.
In Hyuk hired Da Won as a worker and was impressed by his loyalty and martial art skills. He decided to take him as a Royal Guard but never knew and never asked him about his past.
"So Da Won was a Prince!" he mumbled.
In Hyuk opened one of the drawers and unfolded a portrait of Queen Ji An. A beautiful face and attractive features with flashy ornaments and neatly made hairs. She truly looked like a Queen who came down from the throne in months.
"I never cared about Da Won much yet he took care of Queen." In Hyuk picked up his phone and messaged Professor, "Sir, could I get more information about Queen Ji An? Although I already know a lot about her and her death as she was fatally sick, I was wondering if I could get to know more about her."
"Sure, if I come across more stuff, I will send it to you."
Things settled down as time passed, but Raehyun didn't give up. Although his letters found their place in the dustbin. During that time, he once again hit the top rank in the University and got complimented by his father.
Raehyun's words left a strong imprint on In Hyuk's mind, and he tried his best not to get ahead of the law. There were times when his head felt like a ticking bomb, but he decided to endure all of that for Raehyun's sake or maybe it was for his own sake as he felt guilty to his brother and was trying to ease his guilt.
In Hyuk was sitting in his office, and his secretary Il Yong came in. "It's time to head out."
"Yes," In Hyuk responded politely, stood up, wore his coat, and took the lead. They took the elevator. In Hyuk's phone started ringing. He took out the phone from the pocket of his coat. His dad was calling.
"Yes, Father."
"Do a good job on the festival. Harmony Foundation is going to invest in our company in the future; we should show our loyalty," his father advised.
"Yes, I understand."
The phone hung up. "So Harmony Foundation is related to the festival. I thought so, why does father want me to attend some high school festival?"
"The Epicentre High school belongs to Harmony Foundation. Harmony Foundation has its feet in different businesses like hotels, restaurants, schools, and even investments in other companies," Secretary Il Yong explained.
"Ding" The elevator door opened, and they walked to the car.
In Hyuk was polite while he was meeting with the Principal and professors. They gave him all the necessary explanations while showing him different stalls in the festival.
After he completed the tour, Secretary Il Yong asked, "Should I get the car ready?"
"Yes, I will wait here."
Secretary Il Yong headed to the parking lot. While waiting for him, In Hyuk felt the need to go to the washroom. He headed to the nearby washrooms in the building, which he noticed earlier during the tour. While he was in the washroom, he heard the voices of high schoolers.
" Hey, I heard Minseok case was closed already as a suicide case"
" Really? "
" It must be because of the strings Jung Hyun parents pulled"
" But, we should stop hanging around with him. If he raped Minseok, he would be gay."
" Right, it's so disgusting "
The boys footsteps and voices started to fade away . In Hyuk came out and washed his hands thinking " School teacher raped a student? But why it was closed as a suicide case?"
He went back outside where Il Yong in the car was already waiting for him. He sat in the car and searched about Epicentre High school suicide case. There were a lot of articles on a suicide case of a student named Minseok with his picture. He looked so gorgeous with beautiful features even in his school ID picture.
"A high school student committed suicide by deliberately standing on the road in front of the car and died on the spot."
" What? But they were talking about rape" In Hyuk said in hushed voice. He closed the tablet and put it aside.
"Il Yong?" In Hyuk called.
"Yes."
"Get me all the reports about Epicentre High School's recent suicide case."
"Yes," Il Yong replied, "but why do you want them?"
"I just want to make sure it will not cause any problems in the future," In Hyuk replied and looked out of the window at city lights. His head was wandering off, thinking, "What exactly happened to Minseok?"
In Hyuk was eating dinner and received messages from his secretary.
There were videos of a boy from two different angles.
"How did you get them?" In Hyuk questioned.
"The videos are circulating online, although most of them were taken down," Il Yong explained.
In Hyuk clicked on it. A boy in battered condition slowly walked out of the alley and stood in the middle of the road. A car hit him, he flew in the air, and fell down at a distance. The video ended.
"He was limping," In Hyuk noticed right away. "He seemed to be in bad condition."
He was reminded suddenly, "It must be because of the strings Jung Hyun's parents pulled."
"Oh right, Jung Hyun! Who is he?"
He opened the tablet and searched for the articles about Minseok again. He went through all the articles and wrote down the important things. When he was done with the articles, the sheet looked like this:
Name: Minseok
Family: Dad, Mom
Parents have been protesting in front of School
Regardless of suspicions, the case was overlooked
The school tried to compensate parents, but they refused
In Hyuk took the note, put it on the table beside the bed, and went to bed. He closed his eyes, and Minseok's face appeared in front of him. "For being a boy, you are too pretty, and for dying like this, you are too young," he whispered.
In the morning, In Hyuk got ready and went to the office like any other ordinary day. After school, he took the keys and headed to the school. He changed into the uniform of the school that he bought earlier.
He got out of the car and jumped over the wall in the backyard of the school. He quietly observed the CCTV camera location and surroundings before standing up and moving confidently to the school front yard.
He started asking random students questions. "Do you know Minseok?"
Student: "No."
In Hyuk: "Do you know where Minseok lived?"
Student: "No."
In Hyuk: "Do you know Minseok?"
"Minseok from Class 1? Lee Minseok?" a female student replied.
In Hyuk: "Yes, do you know him?"
Student: "It's not like I know him. But I have heard about him, like he committed suicide, and his parents kept protesting for justice until the police arrested them for business obstruction, and the rumors that Jung Hyun was bullying him."
"Right, who is Jung Hyun? Is he Minseok's homeroom teacher?" In Hyuk asked.
Student: "No, he is a class fellow of Minseok."
"Huh? Class fellow?" In Hyuk asked, thinking, "How could a class fellow __assault?"
Student: "Yes, he is from a rich family. Maybe that's why he got out of it."
In Hyuk was dazed, and the student walked inside. In Hyuk ran to her and said, "One last question, can I see a picture of Jung Hyun?"
The student searched and clicked on an Instagram ID named @Nam_Hyun. "This is Nam Jung Hyun's ID; you can look at his pictures here," and headed to a classroom.
In Hyuk headed to a corner and searched for him on his phone. Jung Hyun looked like an ordinary person with black hair and a middle body build. In Hyuk headed to the backyard , avoiding CCTV cameras, jumped over the wall. He changed his clothes in the car and started waiting for school to end while looking through Jung Hyun's Instagram account.
His account wasn't out of place and looked so ordinary. Just pictures with friends, at restaurants, and in school. His account didn't suggest any hobbies or things he could be interested in.