Chapter XLIX – Consequences

Due to his injuries, Don skipped school the next day. Considering his performance during PE, the story that he fell down the stairs was believable enough.

It was the first period and Irene was late for class. They hoped for a normal day at school to ease the tension, but the teacher called out to the boys who were summoned to the principal’s office.

Apparently, the Livestream from last night had reached the school. Many of their classmates were talking about it, the big fight between West High and J High. The whole fight wasn’t streamed, so the victor remained unknown to the viewers. But the fact that the boys were okay when they returned was a clear sign of who won.

“Words cannot describe how disappointed I am to hear that our students caused such a scene,” Chang Ji-Min the Principal of J High said with a stern look on his face while sitting behind the desk.

The three stood still, remaining quiet through his monologue. Tjay averted his gaze, disinterested in what he had to say. Meanwhile, Max was feeling anxious about what he might end up deciding. For Arthur, this was the first time he had gotten into trouble. In the past, there were situations where he disobeyed orders, but regardless of what he did, the most they could do was yell at him. At the end of the day, they always needed him to fight. However, this time around Arthur had no such benefits.

“Sir, if I may?” Max lowered his voice.

“Silence!” he yelled out, jumping out of his chair. “Your families have already been informed of the current situation. To think that you’d engage in a fight unprovoked, and for it to be even streamed online. . . Outrageous!”

“Unprovoked?” Arthur questioned as he formed a fist in annoyance but quickly relaxed knowing it wouldn’t help the situation.

Tjay interrupted by clicking his tongue. “It wasn’t unprovoked. . .”

“Then what was the reason?” he crossed his arms gazing at the three.

It was a dead end. To provide a proper reason, they’d need to tell what really happened to Don. If they did that, then he’d end up in trouble. However, if they didn’t then it would be even worse for them. Had Don known they’d end up in such a situation, he would’ve told them to tell the truth. But knowing that made it even harder for the boys to back out on their word to remain quiet about it.

“We. . .” Max mumbled but remained silent.

“Right. . .” Principal Chang said after not hearing any valid excuses. “And you Arthur. . . It seems that the school has misjudged you. Seems to me like you’ve gone from a quiet kid to quite the troublemaker.”

“We knew our actions would have some consequences, so I’ll accept them for what they are. However, it wasn’t unprovoked. We just can’t tell you the reason. . .” Arthur spoke up.

“Am I supposed to believe that? Even if you were provoked, violence is never the answer. Were you three taught nothing? Besides. . . One of you is known for fighting. It was about time it caught up to you. . .” he looked towards Tjay.

“Can we just get this over with?” Tjay rolled his eyes. “I don’t even see why you’re so mad. . .”

“Tjay. . .” Max whispered in an attempt to silence him.

“What?” he turned to Max. “I’m just saying how it is. This whole situation is just overblown.”

“It seems that you don’t understand the gravity of the situation the three of you are in,” Principal Chang said sitting back down in his chair. “As I’ve mentioned, your families have already been informed.”

“Great. . .” Max sighed.

“And as of now, the three of you are officially expelled from J High,” his words shocked the three.

“Expelled?” Max whispered looking at the ground petrified.

“You can’t be serious?” Tjay protested.

Arthur pinched his nose bridge with his eyes closed, taking a deep breath to calm down.

“Surely you didn’t think that your actions would go unpunished. You’ve broken the law, attacked students from another school, got it all live-streamed and thus ruined the school’s reputation, and on top of it all you act like children in front of me. . .”

“You can’t just expel us like that!” Tjay finally got invested in the conversation, knowing his father would get furious with him.

“As you can see, I very much can. . .”

“I’m fucked. . .” Max ran his fingers through his hair, grabbing on tightly while letting out a desperate chuckle.

Arthur was completely lost for words, not knowing what to do or what he was going to say to both Sophie and Ryung. However, his attention just like everyone else’s was stolen away by Irene who suddenly burst into the office.

“What’s going on here?” Irene asked angrily.

“Irene?” Principal Chang looked at her confused. “What do you think you’re doing, storming into my office like that?”

“Irene?” Arthur whispered in confusion.

“I heard that the three of you were in trouble over what happened yesterday.”

“Trouble? That’s putting it lightly. . .” Tjay chuckled. “We’re getting expelled.”

“Expelled?” Irene was taken by surprise. “You can’t be serious. . .”

“Irene Jones! I’ve asked you a question,” Principal Chang raised his voice, furious at her behavior.

“You can’t expel them!” she yelled back.

The office doors slowly shut themselves.

“I just did,” he looked at her sternly. “It is none of your concern.”

“Of course it is!” she argued.

The boys were confused as to what they were witnessing.

“Irene. . . Don’t,” Arthur whispered, not knowing what was going on anymore.

“Art, stay out of it,” Irene shut him down, leaving him speechless. “Did they even tell you what happened?”

“Irene, don’t!” Arthur interrupted her.

“It’s fine. . . I’m not letting the three of you get expelled!”

“Irene, if you continue acting this way, then I’ll have no choice but to-”

“Do whatever you want, but don’t punish them for defending their friend!”

“Defending their friend?” even though he was interrupted, he was shocked to hear what she had to say.

“Irene. . .” Max mumbled and Tjay looked at her disapprovingly.

“Guys, just trust me. . .” she looked at the three before looking back at Principal Chang. “Arthur’s sister and another classmate of hers, Ha Ari, were getting picked on by the West High students that the three fought. However, to get the two out of it, Dang Dong-Sun stepped in to save them. They took that opportunity and beat up Dong-Sun relentlessly.”

“Student Dang fell down the stairs. Don’t use your friend’s misfortune to save your own necks. . .”

“It’s true though!” she yelled out slamming her hands against his desk. “He was beaten up so badly that he couldn’t stand on his own. We made up the story so that his father wouldn’t transfer him to a different school back in his hometown. Are you really not going to believe me?”

The two stared at each other as Irene spoke passionately about what happened. Anyone could tell that she was telling the truth. However, none of this changed the fact that she spoke up about Don’s situation, meaning he’d get in trouble for it with his father.

“Fine. . . Let’s say I believe you. So, all of this happened in the club?”

“No. . .” she averted her gaze. “It happened in a park, but they went to get revenge afterward. . .”

“Revenge?” he leaned back into his chair. “So they are at fault regardless.”

“Principal Chang. No. . .” she paused for a second, taking a deep breath. “Uncle. . . If it was me who got beaten up, would you stand there and watch?”

Tjay let out a prolonged whistle of surprise. Much like him, both Max and Arthur were shocked to learn that Irene called Principal Chang Uncle.

“Irene. . . That’s not-”

“Uncle, please. . . Try and understand,” she clenched her fists. “I know and so do they, that what they did wasn’t what you’d call the right thing to do. We should’ve reported it to the police, but we’d be the ones losing our friend. Had Don, I mean Dong-Sun. . . Had he not stepped in and risked his life for the sake of his friends, who knows what would’ve happened to those girls. I could’ve been one of those girls easily. Watching their friend be beaten to the point where he can hardly stand and speak, can you imagine how infuriating that was?”

“Irene. . .” her uncle mumbled.

“I’ll do anything. . . Just let this go, please?” she averted her gaze, forcing herself to look at the desk to further express her sadness.

It was obvious that the Principal was conflicted.

“You love causing me trouble. . .” he said with a lowered tone. “What am I gonna do with you. . .”

“Does that mean you’ll let this go?” she looked up at him.

“You boys are lucky. . .” his words eased the tension as a wide smile appeared on everyone’s faces. “However, I can’t just let this go completely.”

“I’ll talk to mother about it. . .” Irene mentioned, thinking that was the issue he still had.

“Sena has nothing to do with this. . . If she wants to have a word with me, she might as well come back to Korea,” he sounded awfully annoyed, letting out a sigh. “However, the school still has a reputation to uphold. The fact that the three of you were in a fight still causes a massive blow for us. If it were to go unpunished, it would look bad for us. So, I’ll be changing your punishment from expulsion to a three-week suspension starting immediately.”

“Three weeks?” Max interrupted. “Isn’t that around the same time as the finals?”

“It is,” he answered looking towards them. “You’ll be coming back just a day before the finals. This decision is final.”

“Isn’t that still a bit much?” Irene asked raising one eyebrow.

“Whatever. . . Basically an early holiday,” Tjay chuckled.

“It’s the best I can do without being too lenient. Luckily for you, the ones who made the Livestream can’t press charges due to the content shown in the video such as drugs. Well. . . They can, but they’d be in trouble of their own as well.”

“So we’re basically forbidden from coming to school for three weeks?” Arthur asked confused, not really seeing the downside of it.

“That’s not a good thing though. . .” Max looked at Arthur. “It’ll affect both our reputation and grades potentially.”

Max’s explanation cleared up why Tjay didn’t care at all, but neither did Arthur since his reputation was already non-existent and his scores weren’t dependent on his attendance since he learned everything at home while everyone was busy.

“I guess I won’t be showing up for three weeks either,” Irene commented with a smile on her face.

“Oh yes you will. . .” her uncle shot down the idea immediately. “I can still send you back to London. . .”

“You wouldn’t do that. . . You were the one who was exhilarated that I’ve decided to attend here. . .”

“Irene,” Arthur stopped her by grabbing onto her shoulder. “Don’t. You already saved us from being expelled. Thanks. . .”

She clicked her tongue before letting out a sigh.

“Thank you, Uncle. It means a lot to me when you hear me out,” she smiled at him having calmed down herself. “Maybe we could have dinner tonight?”

“I’ll have Dallia cook your favorite meal!” his mood lifted in an instant. “We can leave school together! I’ll give you a lift.”

“No. . . That’s weird,” she cringed at the idea. “I’ll go home, get dressed up, and then come around nine.”

The conversation completely shifted off-topic, and the group was forced to listen until dismissed.

“Anyway, you have a class to return to,” he cleared his throat. “The rest of you, pack your things and go straight home. Don’t let me catch you fighting again.”

The boys nodded and the four left the office.

“Phew!” Max sighed in relief. “I wasn’t expecting that!”

“Neither was I. . .” Tjay added.

As they walked back to the classroom, the bell rang signifying the end of the first period.

“I’m just glad we didn’t get expelled,” Arthur commented.

“Also, don’t worry about Uncle saying anything about Don. He’ll keep quiet about it.”

“You had me worried there for a second, not gonna lie,” Tjay chuckled. “You’re even cooler than I thought,” he winked.

“Still can’t believe you’re related to the Principal. . .” Max said, annoying Irene as she noticed a few students that were passing by that caught wind of what he said.

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag. . .” the four entered the classroom.

Nabi ran towards them as soon as she saw them. “What happened you guys?”

“Oh, nothing much. . .” Tjay teased. “We got expelled-”

“Expelled?!” she yelled out interrupting him.

“No, we didn’t. . .” Max stopped her. “I mean, we did, but then Irene here saved our asses.”

“Now we’re suspended for three weeks,” Arthur explained.

“It’s the best I could do. . .” Irene sighed.

“Far better than being expelled. . .” Nabi sighed pointing out the obvious. “You took the whole class by surprise when you entered and immediately stormed out. Rumors are about to spread like wildfire.”

“Let them, I don’t care.”

“Nabi,” Tjay spoke up. “Did you know that our dear Irene over here is related to Principal Chang?”

“Yeah?” she looked at him confused. “Her parents own the school. . . Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

“Own the school?” Max looked at her confusedly.

“You didn’t tell them?” Nabi looked towards Irene.

“Nope. . . You and Iseul are the only ones that knew,” she sighed.

“No wonder you do whatever the fuck you want,” Max said looking at her with his arms crossed, letting out a chuckle.

“Guess I finally know what the J in J High stands for. . .” Arthur sighed in disappointment for not figuring it out earlier. “Miss Jones.”

“Oh, I like it when you call me that,” she chuckled. “Sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“It’s alright. I should’ve asked.”

“I don’t get it though, aren’t your parents in England?” Max was still confused. “Why would they be there if they own a school here?”

“Well, my father is from England and my mother is Korean. He’s an investor and business owner and she worked as a professor at Seoul National University. It’s a long story, but when she moved to England after quitting her job, the two decided to open schools in both London and Seoul.”

“Damn, you must be loaded. . .” Tjay pointed out to which Nabi punched his arm. “Ouch!”

“Dickhead. . .” Nabi glared at him.

“Whatever. . .” Tjay mumbled.

“So why are you here in Seoul then?” Arthur asked.

“I wanted to live on my own,” she leaned against a desk. “I don’t really want to follow in their footsteps.”

“Understandable,” Arthur grabbed his bag. “Well. . . We should get going before we are kicked out. Might as well not make another scene.”

“Early vacation!” Tjay yelled out again.

“It’s not a vacation. . .” Nabi shook her head.

“It is when you don’t have to study,” Max took a jab at his cheating. “I on the other hand am dead. . .”

“I’m sure your parents won’t be too angry. . .” Irene tried to reassure him.

“I’ll be lucky if at least Nonna doesn’t rip into me for what happened,” he let out a sigh.

“Stay in touch you guys. . .” Irene waved at them with a feeble smile, worried about what’ll happen to them at home.

It’s weird being back so early.

Arthur approached the front door. As he inserted the key, he realized it was already unlocked.

Strange. . . There shouldn’t be anyone home. Did Ryung come home early cuz of the suspension?

He sighed, opening the door and walking in.

“I’m home!” he yelled out, staying alert just in case.

“In here,” Arthur heard Ryung’s voice coming from the living room.

Guess that answers that. . . This’ll be a pain in the ass.

Arthur walked in only to see Ryung sitting on the couch still in his work uniform. His gaze was penetrating, but Arthur remained unfazed.

“Sit down,” Ryung spoke with a disapproving tone.

“Alright,” Arthur answered, sitting down in a chair next to him.

“Your school called.”

“I’m aware. . .” he sighed.

“Quiet,” he crossed his arms and glared at Arthur for his carefree attitude. “You should realize what you’ve done. To think that I almost took you seriously when you said you could help out. Now I learn that you go out and start fights. Where did that come from? Was it my absence since you’ve lost your memories that have led you on the path of such aggression? I had to make enough for us to live.”

“Are you willing to hear me out?” Arthur asked, leaning back into the chair.

Astonishing. . . To think that all the adults are so quick to judge, yet they don’t ask questions first. Is this what having someone taking care of you is like? Not like I regret what I did.

“Whatever the reason might be, violence is never the answer. . .”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes I’m sure,” he sighed. “You ought to listen to someone who lived many lives longer than you.”

“That’s a funny choice of words,” Arthur chuckled shaking his head.

“Don’t act smug with me. . .”

“Grandpa, not everything in this world is black and white. I know you’re aware of that, but if you’re not going to listen to my side of the story, I guess there’s no point in explaining myself.”

“Don’t you understand what you’ve brought upon yourself? Your grades will plummet, and you’ll lose the leniency your teachers have for you cuz of the accident.”

“You think the teachers needed to be lenient towards me?” Arthur sighed.

It was obvious that Arthur knew how to care for people. To him, Sophie was an irreplaceable younger sister that he’d do anything for. She was there for him when he didn’t even know he needed it. However, Ryung was a different story. While Arthur held respect for him for taking care of the two, he still hadn’t developed a significant bond due to their lack of interactions. What Ryung was doing right now had a completely opposite effect compared to what he wished to do. He believed he was showing his parental side and trying to correct Arthur’s behavior, but Arthur’s beliefs and ideals were far different and already set in stone. He wasn’t a spoiled kid, but he grew to despise authority. Especially those who refused to listen. Since he never had a family, he wasn’t used to the idea of being nagged about wrongdoings.

“This is leading us nowhere. . .” Ryung sighed. “You’ve gotten too full of yourself. Reflect on it from this day on until the end of your suspension.”

“Alright,” he said, not caring for the meaning behind those words.

“In other words, you’re grounded. No leaving the house. You’re only allowed to go to the store and back. You must focus only on studying, and if your grades drop because of your suspension, then this punishment will be prolonged into the summer vacation.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Watch your tongue. . .” Ryung warned him. “Now go to your room. I have to return to work. . .”

Arthur took a deep breath while gazing out the living room window. Getting up from his chair, he proceeded towards the stairs. However, before he left he glanced at Ryung one last time.

“Next time when someone lays their hands on Sophie, do you want me to just watch?”

“What?” Ryung looked at him shocked, but before he could even ask follow-up questions, Arthur stormed to his room, locking himself in.

I know he means well. . . Maybe I went a bit too far but I can’t be asked.

He sat on his bed with his legs crossed.

How come every time someone does something bad, they get away without anyone learning about it, but the first time I do it, we get caught. . .

Arthur sighed, allowing himself to drop on his back as he sunk into the soft bed.

I guess they didn’t start that way. Probably started with minor stuff and then worked their way up to the point where nobody defied them. Still. . . How much more trouble will I get myself into?

Checking his phone, he saw multiple group messages.

Max – That was awful. . .

Tjay – Lol

Tjay – Get rolled

Max – Your dad didn’t say aything?

Max – Anything?*

Tjay – He did

Tjay – He wanted to meet the two of you tomorrow

Max – I don’t know if I can, my parents grounded me

Tjay – Rip

Irene – Well, at least they didn’t take your phone away

Max – Trueeee

Nabi – You guys gonna be ok?

Don – What happened?

Nabi – They got suspended for three weeks cuz of the fight

Irene – Would’ve been expelled had I not stepped up

Don – I’m sorry guys. . .

Tjay – Dude, not your fault that the Principal is a dick

Max – Tjay. . .

Nabi - . . .

Tjay – Oh right

Tjay – Nvm Im just pissed

Tjay – Im sure hes a cool guy

Irene – At least learn to type properly. . .

Tjay – Wdym

Irene – Never mind.

Irene – Any news from Arthur?

Max – Nope. . .

The messages were sent a few minutes ago. Arthur refrained from answering them just yet, as he was left feeling drained from the pointless discussions.

Dropping his phone to the side, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

It was going to be three long weeks.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.