Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - 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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Awakener Special School Rank 0
Episode 34
A spacious Conference Room.
Every fluorescent light on the ceiling blazed, yet the space felt anything but bright.
The oppressive atmosphere saw to that.
At the far end of the long conference table.
Ji-woo sat there motionless, watching the teachers debate about her as though she weren’t present.
“Thinking it over again, I still believe Seol Ji-hyo deserves punishment.”
One teacher broke the silence.
“Even in just Class 2, we have five students who’ve been disciplined. All of them need medical treatment. Do you understand what that means? It means there’s no clear victim or perpetrator in this incident.”
…They’re being absurd. A bitter laugh threatened to escape her.
What do you mean there’s no victim? Seol Ji-hyo is the victim. So are Im Li-sa and Som-i.
We didn’t harm anyone.
“Park’s right. Setting aside Im Li-sa for a moment, the students there all said that Ji-hyo used violence too. If we’re going to hand down punishment, we should do it equally across the board.”
“But according to Im Li-sa’s testimony, Seol Ji-hyo’s actions were self-defense.”
“No, but even self-defense has limits.”
The teacher’s expression hardened with frustration.
“Do you not know, sir? Third-year Myeong-ju had her ribs crushed when Ji-hyo shoved her. Looking at the injuries alone, it’s almost like being hit by a car—how can we let Ji-hyo off without consequence?”
The spittle-flecked argument had been going on for thirty minutes.
It was like watching one of those parliamentary brawls on television.
With opinions so divided, a conclusion wasn’t coming anytime soon.
That’s why the Disciplinary Committee hearing regarding Ji-woo had been delayed in the first place.
“It doesn’t make sense from the start. A guy who got offers from elite squads, built like that, has his bones broken by a girl’s strength? Come on….”
“But all the students who were there testified.”
“It was practically a group assault. They could all be lying to protect each other.”
“No, they’re actually injured and went to the hospital. That’s the evidence! Because of you, Seol Ji-hyo’s punishment has been delayed four days, and you’re still saying this?”
The voices grew louder.
Seeing no end in sight, another teacher to Ji-woo’s right finally spoke.
“You—say something instead of sitting there silent.”
All the teachers’ eyes snapped toward her. Toward Ji-woo, who sat at the far end of the conference room with an unruffled face.
Being fixed with such sharp gazes made her feel like a suspect under interrogation.
“You admit you used violence on those kids too, right?”
The teacher beside him, clearly fed up, pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke.
“Never mind the others. Why did you do it to Bit-na? She didn’t physically attack you directly, as far as I can tell.”
“You knew that chocolate had poison in it, and you made a classmate eat it. Am I wrong?”
At the teachers’ words, Ji-woo opened her mouth for the first time.
“Well, she ate it first—gave it to the dog and to Im Li-sa.”
Ji-woo’s composure, bordering on defiance, seemed to add fuel to the fire.
The teacher’s voice rose slightly.
“What do you mean? That wasn’t Bit-na; it was someone else.”
“Yes, someone else. Someone under Jo Bit-na’s Core influence.”
Fine. She’d grant that she used rough methods in the Jo Bit-na incident.
But Ji-woo wasn’t ashamed.
It was self-defense, plain and simple. If she had to rewind time, she’d do exactly the same thing.
Most of the teachers here, though, seemed to disagree.
“Do you think you did something wrong?”
…….
“Not going to answer?”
“Why should I?”
“…What?”
“Whatever I say here won’t really change anything anyway, will it?”
“What, what kind of student—”
The teacher’s jaw fell open as if flabbergasted.
But the one truly flabbergasted was Ji-woo.
“I don’t understand why I was called here in the first place.”
A Disciplinary Committee? She’d never heard of it before.
If something like this existed, why wasn’t a hearing held the day Ji-hyo was hurt?
They’d buried and hushed that up, so why were they so quick to pounce on this?
‘Garbage.’
This school was truly garbage.
The teachers surrounding Ji-woo each wore their own expression.
Twisted gazes.
Annoyed expressions.
The attitude that being here at all was an inconvenience.
“Look at that. Dragged all the way here, and not a single ‘I’m sorry,’ right? Not once.”
“She has no intention of reflecting.”
One teacher placed a hand on Ji-woo’s shoulder.
“Ji-hyo, this might be hard to understand, but there are School Rules. You follow me?”
“…Follow what?”
“Regardless of circumstances, since you laid hands on those kids, it’ll be difficult to let this pass without any consequence. Of course, we consider severity, and we understand your position well enough. So for now, community service or—”
“Fine.”
“Huh?”
Ji-woo’s agreement came so readily that the teacher looked startled instead.
Community service? Sure. If she had to do it, she’d do it. What was the problem?
But.
“If I’m going to be punished, I’ll take it. But if you’re telling me to reflect, that—I won’t do that.”
“…What?”
“Honestly, I still don’t understand what I did wrong.”
“What we’re saying is, did violence have to be the answer? If they stab you with a knife and you stab them back with a knife, what’s the difference?”
“You have to stab back.”
Ji-woo looked directly at him.
“Why wouldn’t you? That’s why I came back.”
“You…”
The teacher trailed off, lost for words.
Dry laughs rippled across the room.
Others shook their heads as if throwing in the towel.
“What kind of student is this?”
“Ugh, how did Seol Pharmaceuticals raise a child like this?”
…What?
Ji-woo’s shoulders stiffened.
“In the first place, it’s not like the family matters when the kid causes trouble. Just because someone’s from a conglomerate doesn’t mean they had good parenting or anything.”
Flicker—
The fluorescent lights in the otherwise stable Conference Room began to flicker uneasily.
“The Seol Pharmaceuticals vice chair and his spouse died in an accident about ten years ago, didn’t they?”
“Tch, that’s why kids raised without parents—”
Flicker, flicker—
The flickering grew steadily faster.
Emotional disturbance.
A precursor to Core Runaway.
“Enough. Let’s just hand down a decision.”
“One student beat down more than five classmates that badly. Let’s just call it assault and be done with it.”
“But the student’s claiming self-defense. What about that?”
“What matters is the result. There’s no CCTV there anyway, right? This will never end at this rate. Just give her a punishment and let’s move on.”
Beneath the flickering lights, Ji-woo’s pulse quickened.
Ji-woo closed her eyes tightly. Without anyone noticing, she took a small, measured breath.
‘Stay calm. If I lose control here, it’s over.’
She tried to suppress the churning emotions, but it wasn’t as simple as it sounded.
Ji-woo cracked her eyes open slightly.
That’s when a fountain pen lying on the table came into view.
“But why is the light suddenly doing that? Do we need to change the bulb?”
“It should be in the supply closet. I’ll go grab it.”
One teacher hurried out of the Conference Room, as if worried about a power outage.
Crack—!
“Aaaaahhh!”
A scream rang out suddenly.
The teacher who’d risen from his seat spun around in alarm. Blood was flowing across the conference table.
It was blood.
“…! What’s happening—”
His eyes darted, landing on Ji-woo, who had blood trickling from the back of her hand.
Ji-woo gripped the fountain pen in her right hand.
‘She stabbed the back of her hand with the fountain pen?’
The horrified teacher’s gaze flickered between the pen’s bleeding tip and the clear wound on Ji-woo’s left hand.
Crimson blood spread across the white table like watercolor paint.
“What in God’s name are you doing?!”
One teacher erupted in a shout.

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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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