1st in Class Hides Regression - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Top Student Hides Her Regression
Episode 34
Kim Ga-eun, second-year student in Class 2-B, was at the Police Station for the second time.
Twice in a single month at a place she’d never imagined visiting in her entire life.
Lost in thought, her friend’s voice pulled her back.
It was someone she’d first started talking to after becoming a second-year student. At first, she’d seemed like one of those people who showed off their good grades, but now Ga-eun trusted her more than anyone.
Kang Da-hye.
“What do you want to do? Your decision is what matters most.”
“……I hope that man gets destroyed.”
“Understood.”
Da-hye paused for a moment before speaking.
“Remember that day when Seo Jae-gyeom came? The KakaoTalk messages between you and me—you still have those, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. When the police question you later, tell them everything—when that man came, what he said, what he did, how disgusted you felt. Show them your diary if you have one. If you don’t remember clearly, say you’re looking at notes you wrote down and tell them based on that.”
Da-hye’s warm hand squeezed Ga-eun’s gently.
“After you give your full statement, they’ll show it to you at the end for verification. Take your time, even if it takes a while—read through everything carefully and ask them to correct anything that’s wrong. It’s your right.”
“…Okay.”
“Don’t be nervous.”
“I won’t.”
“…Well, getting to the point of a statement might be the real problem.”
Don’t worry. I studied up on this.
Da-hye said this with conviction.
Ga-eun nodded numbly, as if entranced.
* * *
“Students, let’s just settle this peacefully.”
“Yeah, these things happen all the time in life. Are we gonna call the police every single time?”
“We’ll have a serious talk with the man and make sure he never goes near the students again. That should be enough, right?”
“Ugh.”
If they’re going to say things like that, why not just fire the police altogether?
Sure, there are good cops in the world, but I’m certain our neighborhood’s aren’t among them.
What infuriates me is that even knowing the police would react this way, I still thought of them first when I was in crisis—that the only person I could turn to was the police.
It frustrates me every time, and every time the only thing I can do is call the police.
And the fact that things like this happen often enough to say “every time”—that makes me furious too!
If you’ve eaten that much sweet potato, you can’t drink cola without something to cleanse your palate. Is cola expensive? It’s two thousand won at the convenience store! Someone pour some for me! Gush, gush, gush!
“Those girls are con artists! The way they immediately call the police isn’t their first rodeo—they’re professionals, professionals!”
I don’t even want to call him “mister.” The bald dwarf and I were temporarily separated, but from the room being used as some kind of conference room, his angry shouts came pouring out so clearly we could hear every word.
Every time his voice got loud, Ga-eun sitting next to me flinched, her shoulders trembling.
“Look at them—eyes wide open, cursing up a storm, mouthing off—and the moment the police show up, they act all scared! These girls need to be investigated!”
Whether it’s the police or the perpetrator, where do all these people study? How is every single thing they say exactly matching my predictions?
Seo Jae-gyeom scared off the dwarf before, but just to be safe, I studied a bit afterward.
About what kinds of nonsense certain police and perpetrators spout in cases like this.
And now I’m amazed that they’re staying perfectly within my expectations.
‘Actually, this is good. It means those people will act within the range I predicted.’
I’m all prepared.
Bring it on.
“If we file this case and start investigating, the students are going to get dragged around—additional statements, possibly court appearances. Are you sure you want to go through with it?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Yes, we’re going through with it. We have a strong intent to press charges, so please file the report.”
“…….”
“And I believe the victim isn’t required to appear in court except as a witness. Is there really any chance this case would go to trial?”
Honestly, almost none. Next.
“The thing is, the man is very angry. He’s strongly denying it ever happened. If we investigate and conclude there’s no crime, the man could file a counter-suit against the students for Crime of False Accusation.”
(Ga-eun’s face went pale)
“The man actually mentioned filing for Crime of False Accusation himself, so… we’re worried the students could face trouble. We have a legal obligation to inform you of all possibilities, which is why I’m telling you this.”
There it was. Crime of False Accusation.
‘If you file a report and it goes to trial and they’re found not guilty, then they could counter-sue you for Crime of False Accusation,’
‘If you don’t file now and leave, there’s no report to begin with, so they can’t sue you for False Accusation.’
They say most naive ordinary people, when threatened like this, get scared and exhausted and just say, “Okay, then let’s just forget this happened,” and leave.
But now we all know better, don’t we?
A false accusation charge only stands if you knowingly filed a false report when you knew the person was innocent.
“But Officer, even if that man goes to trial and receives a not guilty verdict, we reported him because we believed he was a sexual harasser. So how can he counter-sue us for false accusation? It doesn’t even apply in the first place.”
Not every non-prosecution disposition or not guilty verdict qualifies for a false accusation counter-suit, does it? Next.
“I heard Kim Ga-eun cursed at that man. Don’t you know that cursing at someone in front of others is a crime of insult? Then the student is also guilty. Are you really going to file a report anyway?”
“Ga-eun didn’t insult him, though. She was cursing at herself.”
“(Jung Eun-sung suddenly interjecting) Excuse me, Officer. That sexual harasser over there is calling them a honeypot scam in such a loud voice that people outside can hear it. Isn’t that a crime of insult?”
“(Kim Ga-eun clapping her hands) Right! Sexual harassment, assault, and insult.”
“(The officer gritting his teeth) Kids these days are so bold…….”
Not bold. Smart.
Officer, you bastard… if I hadn’t regressed, I’d have a college junior just like you, wouldn’t I? Next.
The officer looked flustered.
Normally, at this point the victims would have backed down. They’d have their only source of reassurance—the police—using intimidation, after all.
If they’d added “We’ll make sure to warn them properly so they never do this again,” the game would’ve been completely over.
‘But we’re not backing down.’
So, shall we proceed with the statement——
“Students, we’ve heard what he has to say…… He was quite drunk. He wasn’t thinking straight, and since a student he’d been friendly with suddenly treated him like a pervert, he felt hurt.”
He’s not letting us file it.
The officer who’d come out of the conference room exchanged glances with our officer and then switched places.
The new officer continued, speaking in a coaxing tone.
“Actually, he can barely remember anything right now…… Anyway, it wasn’t intentional. He made a mistake while drunk. So couldn’t you students let it slide this time?”
Here it comes. Again.
The typical excuse of sex offenders.
He was drunk. He didn’t mean to. I don’t even remember.
It won’t work like that.
“That man wasn’t drunk.”
I held up the mobile phone I’d been holding.
“That man stood on his own the whole time and talked with us. About an hour ago, he even called our Hagwon and caused a scene. That entire call was recorded, and he spoke perfectly coherently.”
“A scene?”
“Yes. I just messaged the Hagwon director, and she said all calls are recorded there. She’s sending the file right away.”
“Huh.”
“That man may have had some alcohol, but he definitely wasn’t in an unconscious state when he did this. Ga-eun, show them the KakaoTalk message you sent me before, too.”
“KakaoTalk?”
“The day Seo Jae-gyeom came by.”
“Oh, right.”
Ga-eun quickly pulled out the mobile phone she’d tucked in her pocket.
“You can see it here. The date of the incident, what happened, his actions and how I felt—it’s all recorded. My friend’s refusal is documented too.”
“…….”
“We came here before because of that man, and asked for patrol checks because we were scared. That time, that time, and today. That’s at least three times, isn’t it?”
Continuous. Repeated. Despite the victim’s clear refusal.
Let’s say he was drunk today. What about those other times—was he drunk then too?
“When you call 112, it records automatically, right? That man was speaking clearly in the background, so it should be recorded. You can listen to it.”
“Huh.”
The officer dropped his pen with a sharp tap and leaned back in his chair.
Whether he listened or not, I’d said what I needed to say.
“You told us before that he only spoke to a passing student, didn’t touch anyone’s body or attempt kidnapping, so it wasn’t a case.”
“…….”
“So we couldn’t report it then, but this time something really happened. He touched her body, and I don’t know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t stepped in.”
“Student.”
“Fortunately, nothing worse happened and we survived safely, so we’re here to report it.”
“…….”
“Please file the report.”
This work is fiction. The police reporting and investigation process depicted in this episode does not reflect actual procedures.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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