Get Schooled — Chapter 1¶
Complete Exceptionally Detailed Panel-by-Panel Transcription¶
Scope and completeness¶
This document covers the entire uploaded Chapter 1 MHT: all 33 embedded vertical image strips, arranged in their original reading order across 17 reader pages. It transcribes every clearly readable English dialogue balloon, narration box, caption, credit, legal quotation, chart label, and prominent sound effect, while also describing the visual storytelling in detail.
No dialogue has been invented. Where the scanlation uses awkward grammar, unusual wording, broken words, or inconsistent punctuation, the printed wording is preserved and identified when useful. Visual interpretation is kept separate from literal transcription.
Content note¶
This chapter contains severe school bullying, physical assault, institutional neglect, blood, discussion of suicide, and an interrupted suicide attempt.
Transcription conventions¶
- NARRATION: Rectangular narration or internal-monologue box.
- DIALOGUE: Speech balloon or clearly spoken line.
- SFX: Visible sound effect. Korean effects are described by their likely sound or function when exact romanization is unnecessary.
- ON-SCREEN TEXT: Signs, law text, charts, cards, credits, labels, or other printed material inside the artwork.
- VISUAL: Detailed description of composition, characters, expressions, body language, movement, setting, lighting, and transitions.
- INTERPRETIVE NOTE: A cautious inference that is not literally written in the image.
- TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: A note about unusual or ambiguous printed wording.
Recurring character labels used before or alongside formal identification¶
- Kim Kyung-min: A freshman boy with short brown hair and large round glasses; he is the chapter’s principal bullying victim.
- Na Hwa-jin: A tall, long-haired man in black, later identified as an officer of the Ministry of Education’s Office of Protection.
- Purple-haired bully: The most prominent student aggressor in the latter half of the chapter. The chapter does not unambiguously attach every spoken name to him, so this descriptive label is used where needed.
- Vice-principal: An older male administrator who confronts Na Hwa-jin near the chapter’s end.
Reader Page 1¶
Sequence 1 — Fiction disclaimer¶
VISUAL: The page opens on an entirely black field. Centered white lettering appears in an irregular, hand-drawn, all-capital typeface. There are no characters, objects, or decorative borders. The emptiness and stark contrast create the feel of a formal disclaimer before the story begins.
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
THIS WORK IS A
FICTIONAL STORY MADE VIRTUALLY.
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH
CERTAIN PEOPLE, ORGANIZATIONS,
RELIGIOUS GROUPS, ETC.
A substantial stretch of black negative space follows.
Sequence 2 — Introduction of the corporal-punishment ban¶
VISUAL: Against the same black background, a white rectangular narration box with a thin black border appears near the center. The box is isolated by empty space, giving the statement documentary weight.
NARRATION:
SINCE THE PASSAGE OF
THE BAN ON CORPORAL
PUNISHMENT IN 2011,]
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The closing square bracket after “2011,” is visibly present in the English lettering.
Beneath the box, a line of pale blue-white text glows faintly against the dark background.
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
ENFORCEMENT DECREE OF THE ELEMENTARY
AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT
Sequence 3 — Displayed legal provision¶
VISUAL: The background remains a dark blue-black gradient. The legal text is centered in pale blue-white all capitals. A dim mirrored reflection of the text extends downward, like lettering reflected on glossy glass or water. This is presented as an official quotation rather than character dialogue.
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
ARTICLE 31 (STUDENT DISCIPLINE)
(8) THE HEAD OF A SCHOOL SHALL PROVIDE GUIDANCE PURSUANT
TO ARTICLE 18 (1) OF THE ACT, HE/SHE SHALL DISCIPLINE AS PRESCRIBED
BY THE SCHOOL REGULATIONS. IT SHALL BE DONE BY MEANS OF ADMONITION,
ETC., BUT IT SHALL NOT BE USED TO INFLICT PAIN ON ANY STUDENT’S BODY
BY USING TOOLS, ARMORIES, ETC. (REVISED 2011.3.18)
VISUAL DETAIL: The legal passage fills most of the width, reinforcing the sense that a major institutional rule is being established.
Sequence 4 — Practical consequence for teachers¶
VISUAL: A large white narration box with a black border appears against black. The lettering is centered and bold.
NARRATION:
TEACHERS WERE, IN
PRINCIPLE, NO LONGER ALLOWED
TO BEAT STUDENTS.
Beneath it, in smaller handwritten white text, is a translator’s note.
ON-SCREEN TEXT — TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:
T/N: This is a work of fiction, so the law has been changed for the manhwa.
In reality, Article 31 constitutes the “Selection of Students”, not “Student
Discipline”. But in this Manhwa, it’s “Student Discipline”
Sequence 5 — Teachers struggle to control students¶
VISUAL: Another white narration box floats over black.
NARRATION:
SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF
THE BAN ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT,
IT HAS BECOME VERY DIFFICULT FOR
TEACHERS TO GUIDE STUDENTS.
Below it is the first full illustrated scene: a classroom with a broad dark chalkboard in the background. A Korean flag is mounted above the board. A teenage male student with short light-brown hair leans aggressively into the personal space of an adult female teacher.
The student wears an open white school shirt over a dark navy T-shirt. His shirt hangs loose rather than neatly buttoned, visually suggesting defiance. He bends forward from the waist with one hand planted at his hip. His mouth is open wide as though shouting or taunting, and his narrowed eyes and raised cheek lines give him a mocking, confrontational expression.
The teacher is shown mostly from behind. Her reddish-brown hair is tied in a low bun, and she wears a brown jacket. She sits or stands lower than the student and faces him at close range. Her posture is rigid, with little visible room to retreat. The student’s face is only inches from hers, emphasizing intimidation.
A second narration box follows beneath the classroom image.
NARRATION:
EVEN IF STUDENTS FREELY VIOLATED
THEIR RIGHTS TO TEACH, THERE WERE
NOT MANY WAYS TO RESTRAIN THEM.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The wording “their rights to teach” is reproduced exactly as printed, although the intended meaning may be “teachers’ right to teach.”
Sequence 6 — Students exploit the system¶
VISUAL: A white narration box appears in the black vertical space.
NARRATION:
STUDENTS WERE MUCH
SMARTER THAN WHAT ADULTS
ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.
Below, a courtroom or formal hearing room is shown. In the foreground, an adult male teacher is turned partly away from the viewer. He has short black hair, rectangular glasses, facial stubble, and sweat running down his cheek. He wears a light-blue collared shirt. His mouth is open in distressed protest, and his shoulders are raised tensely.
At the far end of the room, elevated behind a wooden bench, sits a formally dressed male authority figure or judge. He wears glasses and a dark robe or suit with a purple central panel and green tie. A laptop, microphone, and documents sit on the bench. The long distance between the accused teacher and the official makes the teacher look isolated and powerless.
DIALOGUE — distressed male teacher:
I’VE NEVER TOUCHED
A STUDENT’S HAIR!
BUT WHY AM I…
A separate narration box appears after the courtroom scene.
NARRATION:
THEY KNEW HOW TO
USE THE LAW TO THEIR
ADVANTAGE.
Sequence 7 — Nationwide teacher survey¶
VISUAL: After a long black interval, a white narration box appears.
NARRATION:
ACCORDING TO A
SURVEY OF 1,196 TEACHERS
NATIONWIDE,
A large three-dimensional pie chart appears on the dark background. The overwhelming majority of the chart is blue. Smaller red, yellow, and green slices are separated near the lower-left portion. White leader lines connect each slice to its label.
ON-SCREEN TEXT — CHART:
IT BECAME VERY
DIFFICULT.
1,026 (85.8%)IT HAS BECOME
GENERALLY DIFFICULT.
153 (12.8%)IT’S GENERALLY
EASIER.
6 (0.5%)IT BECAME VERY
EASY.
2 (0.2%)I DON’T KNOW.
9 (0.8%)
A white narration box follows.
NARRATION:
98.6% SAID THAT TEACHING
STUDENTS BECAME MORE DIFFICULT IN
COMPARISON TO THE PAST… 85.8%
SAID IT BECAME VERY DIFFICULT.
Sequence 8 — Collapse of school authority¶
VISUAL: A white narration box appears in a broad black field.
NARRATION:
DAY AFTER DAY,
THE PROBLEMS OF SCHOOL
AUTHORITY AND CLASSROOM
COLLAPSE KEPT BEING
POINTED OUT…
Below is a stylized television-news image. A blurred classroom fills the background. On the left, a student in a white shirt appears to be striking or looming over an adult in dark clothing. In the center, a dark red silhouette of a seated person bends forward with their head in their hands, a pose associated with grief, shock, or despair. Several indistinct students stand to the right as witnesses. Their faces are blacked out, as in anonymized news footage.
At the top-right is a broadcaster-style watermark.
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
JBSN
A burgundy news ticker runs across the lower part of the image.
ON-SCREEN TEXT — NEWS TICKER:
TEACHER ASSAULTED BY A STUDENT… EVENTUALLY DIES
A white narration box directly follows.
NARRATION:
SEQUENTIALLY, ONE
TEACHER WAS KILLED BY A
STUDENT DURING CLASS.
VISUAL TRANSITION: The first reader page ends on black, leaving the institutional crisis unresolved.
Reader Page 2¶
Sequence 9 — The crisis reaches the government¶
VISUAL: The page opens on black with a white narration box.
NARRATION:
THE SERIOUSNESS
OF THE EDUCATIONAL
COLLAPSE WAS FELT.
Beneath is an exterior view of the South Korean National Assembly building. The structure is rendered in bright daylight under a saturated blue sky with soft white clouds. Its broad colonnade, white façade, and central dome make the institution look monumental and distant. A carefully maintained green lawn fills the foreground.
A second narration box overlaps the transition toward another government building.
NARRATION:
THE NATIONAL ASSEM-
BLY AND THE MINISTRY
OF EDUCATION,
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “ASSEMBLY” is visibly line-broken with a hyphen as “ASSEM- / BLY.”
The Ministry of Education building is shown from a low upward angle. Its façade is white and gray with repeated rectangular windows. A tall orange-edged sign stands in front. Korean characters run vertically down the sign, and the English words “Ministry of Education” appear near its lower portion. Black security fencing crosses the foreground.
A long gray-to-white vertical fade follows, creating a pause before the next development.
Sequence 10 — Public attention and an unnamed man¶
VISUAL: A white narration box enters over a pale winter cityscape.
NARRATION:
FOLLOWING THE
SCANDAL,
A second box appears over the same scene.
NARRATION:
AND WHILE THE MEDIA WAS
FOCUSED ON THE ENTERTAIN-
MENT INDUSTRY,
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “ENTERTAINMENT” is visibly line-broken with a hyphen as “ENTERTAIN- / MENT.”
The setting is a broad modern boulevard in winter. Tall glass-and-concrete office buildings line both sides. Leafless trees border the pavement, and patches of snow remain along the roadside and landscaped areas. Numerous pedestrians walk in both directions.
At the center, seen from behind, is a tall adult man in an all-black suit. He has shoulder-length, slightly messy black hair and walks with both hands in his trouser pockets. His clothing is sharper and darker than that of the crowd, making him the scene’s focal point.
Around him, people are absorbed in screens: a masked man in a bucket hat looks down at a tablet; a young couple reacts with surprise to something on a smartphone; two schoolgirls look at a phone together; other pedestrians drift through the background. The visual supports the narration’s point that public attention is elsewhere.
Sequence 11 — A politically acceptable solution¶
VISUAL: A large white narration box appears after a substantial area of blank white space.
NARRATION:
FOUND A SOLUTION
THAT PEOPLE CAN SEN-
SITIVELY ACCEPT.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “SENSITIVELY” is visibly line-broken as “SEN- / SITIVELY.”
A close-up shows a polished black lace-up dress shoe stepping onto dark pavement. The shoe is formal, clean, and sharply lit, implying the black-haired man’s purposeful arrival.
The following panel looks over the man’s back as he stands outside the Ministry of Education. His long black hair falls over the collar of his black jacket. The ministry building and its tall vertical sign rise before him. Snow remains beside the fence and pavement.
A narration box overlays the lower part of this government-building image.
NARRATION:
A REVISION TO THE
ACT ON THE PROTECTION OF
TEACHERS’ RIGHTS WAS
PUSHED THROUGH.
Sequence 12 — Close-up of the unnamed man¶
VISUAL: A full-width close-up reveals the black-haired man’s face. He appears to be an adult in roughly his thirties or forties. His hair is long, layered, and untidy, with thick strands falling across his forehead and partly over one eye. He has dark, heavy-lidded eyes, pronounced shadows beneath them, a faint mustache, and short stubble along the chin and jaw.
His expression is unreadable but intensely fatigued: the eyes are flat and watchful, the mouth held in a firm neutral line. He wears a black collared shirt and dark outerwear. The framing crops tightly around his face and upper chest, establishing him as a central figure without yet naming him.
There is no dialogue or narration over the close-up.
A long blank white stretch follows, ending the government-policy prologue.
Reader Page 3¶
Sequence 13 — Time skip¶
VISUAL: An almost entirely white field. In the center is a white rectangular box outlined in black, separated from the background mainly by its border.
NARRATION:
2 YEARS LATER…
The wide emptiness slows the pacing and marks a clear temporal break.
Sequence 14 — Korean title card¶
VISUAL: A navy silhouette of the long-haired man stands with one hand at his hip and a long rod or baton resting across one shoulder. Two additional rod-like shapes cross behind him diagonally. Red, white, gray, and dark-blue chevrons form a badge behind the silhouette.
Large metallic Korean lettering overlays the badge.
ON-SCREEN TEXT — KOREAN TITLE:
참교육
TRANSLATION / TITLE NOTE: The Korean title is commonly rendered literally as “True Education”; this edition is titled Get Schooled in English.
At the lower-right is a red rectangular production mark.
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
YLAB
Sequence 15 — Creator credits¶
VISUAL: The lower portion of the title card becomes mostly blank white space. Dark navy Korean credits are centered beneath the logo.
ON-SCREEN TEXT — KOREAN CREDITS:
글 채용택 그림 한가람
TRANSLATION:
Story: Chae Yong-taek Art: Han Ga-ram
Reader Page 4¶
Sequence 16 — “I’m going to school”¶
VISUAL: The page opens with an enormous white expanse. A single oval speech balloon appears high in the frame. No speaker is initially shown, so the line reads as an ordinary off-panel departure call.
DIALOGUE — off-panel young male voice:
I’M GOING
TO SCHOOL.
Below, an establishing view shows a dense complex of modern high-rise apartment buildings under a bright morning sky. Sunlight flares at the upper-right. The towers are pale gray, white, and brown, with repeating windows and balconies. The clean architecture and clear weather establish an apparently normal residential morning.
Sequence 17 — Student leaves his apartment building¶
VISUAL: A smaller panel shows the entrance to an apartment block. A partial sign above the doorway reads “103 B.” A teenage boy in a school uniform descends the exterior steps.
He has short reddish-brown hair cut in a neat rounded style and wears oversized round glasses. His uniform consists of a black blazer, white shirt, red tie, charcoal sweater vest, dark trousers, and black sneakers. A dark green backpack hangs from one shoulder. He looks down at a small rectangular object in his right hand—most likely a smartphone—while walking, giving the moment a routine, distracted quality.
An adult woman exits behind him. She has shoulder-length light-brown hair and wears a dusty-pink cardigan over a white top, a beige knee-length skirt, and dark shoes. A large red shoulder bag hangs at her side. Her relaxed posture suggests that she, too, is beginning an ordinary day.
Sequence 18 — Sudden impact¶
VISUAL: The boy abruptly turns his head to the side. His eyes widen behind his glasses, and his mouth parts slightly. The woman behind him also turns sharply, her brows lifting as she notices something outside the panel.
A large gray Korean sound effect hangs diagonally across the white gutter and overlaps the reaction panel.
SFX — Korean:
쿵
SFX — English sense:
THUD / HEAVY IMPACT
The next panel is a violently motion-blurred close-up of a black-clad body dropping into frame or striking the ground. The exact anatomy is obscured by the speed and tight crop. Dark trouser fabric and bent limbs fill most of the panel. A vivid red trail of blood cuts diagonally across a pale concrete or tiled surface. Vertical black speed lines emphasize the downward force.
CONTENT NOTE: The imagery depicts the immediate aftermath of a fatal fall and includes visible blood.
Sequence 19 — Witnesses scream¶
VISUAL: A huge jagged speech balloon or scream effect fills most of the frame. Heavy black vertical lines darken the background, conveying shock and panic.
DIALOGUE / SCREAM:
AHHHHHH!
A large amount of white space follows, allowing the scream to hang before the scene is explained.
Sequence 20 — Morning suicide at the apartment complex¶
VISUAL: A tall panel returns to the apartment entrance and surrounding high-rises. A large dark, out-of-focus mass dominates the lower-left foreground, representing the fallen body without showing it clearly. The woman stands farther back near the entrance, both hands clamped over her mouth, eyes wide in horror. The schoolboy stands rigid on the pavement at the right, feet apart and arms lowered. His glasses reflect white, obscuring his eyes, while his open mouth and frozen posture show stunned disbelief. The small rectangular object remains in his hand.
The bright daylight and ordinary residential backdrop sharply contrast with the death in the foreground.
A white narration box overlays the upper portion of the panel.
NARRATION:
IN THE EARLY
MORNING SCHOOL
HOURS.
A final white narration box appears beneath the image.
NARRATION:
A SOPHOMORE
COMMITTED SUICIDE.
Reader Page 5¶
Sequence 21 — A scream becomes entertainment¶
VISUAL: The story cuts away from the apartment death and into an extreme close-up of another teenage boy’s face. This is Kim Kyung-min, identifiable by his short brown hair and oversized round glasses. His face is compressed by pain: his eyebrows knot sharply, his eyes squeeze shut behind the lenses, and his mouth opens in a scream. Sweat beads and sharp stress lines surround his cheek and temple.
A larger hand enters the frame and pinches or twists the flesh near his face or upper body. The crop is so tight that the exact point of contact is partially obscured, but the hand’s force and Kyung-min’s reaction make the intent unmistakable. The image is not framed as a fight between equals; it is an experiment being performed on someone who cannot safely resist.
The next view widens to an outdoor area on the school grounds. Several male students have gathered around Kyung-min near benches, desks, or low outdoor fixtures. A vending-machine area and paved courtyard are visible behind them. One student holds up a smartphone as though recording or measuring the volume of the scream. The group’s relaxed posture contrasts brutally with Kyung-min’s distress: they are laughing, comparing results, and treating his pain as a game.
DIALOGUE — excited bully looking at the phone:
OH! AMAZING! OVER 100!
DIALOGUE — bully announcing the result:
KIM KYUNG-MIN’S SOUND OF HURTING HAS REACHED A NEW WORLD RECORD!
VISUAL DETAIL: The phone functions like a decibel meter or recording app. The bullies’ language turns the victim’s involuntary scream into a scored competition, stripping it of any moral meaning for them.
Sequence 22 — Betting on how to hurt him¶
VISUAL: The boys argue over which method produced the louder reaction. Their body language is casual and animated: one gestures sharply, another leans toward the phone, and others watch with amusement. Kyung-min remains physically lower than everyone else, reinforcing the hierarchy.
DIALOGUE — dissatisfied bully:
NO, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE FUCKING GONE FOR PINCHING. WE HAVE TO GO FOR THE STRIKE!
DIALOGUE — another bully:
HEY, DO IT AGAIN!
DIALOGUE — student collecting a bet:
GIVE ME 10,000 WON, SHIN.
DIALOGUE — celebratory announcement:
WINNER, WOO HYUNSIK!
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Woo Hyunsik” is announced as the winner, but the paneling does not make it completely safe to assign that name to every later appearance of the purple-haired aggressor. This transcript therefore continues to use visual labels unless the identity is explicit.
Sequence 23 — Forced to scream on command¶
VISUAL: Kyung-min is now face-down on the tiled ground. His glasses have been knocked away or displaced, and his body is flattened against the pavement. A sneaker presses into the area of his upper back, shoulder, or neck. The sole occupies a dominant portion of the frame, visually reducing him to something beneath the aggressor’s foot.
The boys continue watching the phone. Rather than reacting to his injury, they complain that the measurement was contaminated by another person’s voice.
DIALOGUE — bully standing over Kyung-min:
SHOUT OUT OUT LOUD, YOU LIT-TLE PRICK!
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The duplicated “OUT” and the line-broken “LIT-TLE” are reproduced as printed.
DIALOGUE — student objecting to the score:
IT’S NOT VALID BECAUSE YOUR VOICE IS BEING MIXED WITH HIS.
SFX: Korean strain and impact lettering surrounds Kyung-min’s body and the pressing shoe, indicating continued force against the ground.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: The sequence establishes that Kyung-min is not merely disliked or occasionally harassed. He is being systematically used as an object of entertainment by a group that feels entirely safe doing so in an open part of the school.
Reader Page 6¶
Sequence 24 — Kyung-min identifies himself as the freshman outcast¶
VISUAL: The bullying scene recedes into a reflective internal narration. Kyung-min’s battered face and isolated position remain the emotional center while the page begins explaining how the situation developed.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
IF THE SOPHOMORE OUTCAST WAS A PARK DAE-SEOK, THEN THE FRESHMAN OUTCAST WAS ME.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “A Park Dae-seok” is preserved as printed. The wording likely identifies the sophomore who died as Park Dae-seok while contrasting him with Kyung-min, the freshman victim.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
OF COURSE, I DIDN’T STAY STILL AT FIRST.
VISUAL: The page shifts into a flashback. Kyung-min stands in a teachers’ office or consultation area before his homeroom teacher. He is timid but has made the effort to report what is happening. The teacher is a slim, middle-aged man with neat black hair, rectangular glasses, a burgundy cardigan, a shirt, and a tan tie. His soft smile and composed posture initially make him appear approachable.
Sequence 25 — The “kind-looking” teacher promises action¶
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
THE KIND-LOOKING HOMEROOM TEACHER,
DIALOGUE — homeroom teacher:
YEAH, WELL SAID. I’LL GIVE THE STUDENTS A WARNING.
VISUAL: The teacher’s expression remains reassuring. He does not dismiss Kyung-min outright, and the wording sounds like an official promise to intervene. Kyung-min’s later narration, however, places this kindness in quotation marks through hindsight.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
HE BOASTED THAT HE WOULD BE WILLING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Boasted” gives the promise a self-satisfied quality in the English scanlation, suggesting that the teacher took credit for helping before doing anything effective.
Sequence 26 — A public reprimand that exposes the victim¶
VISUAL: The setting moves to the homeroom classroom. The teacher stands at the front while the entire class watches. The purple-haired student who appears to lead the bullying faces him. Other students sit at their desks, creating a public audience for what should have been a protected intervention.
DIALOGUE — homeroom teacher:
WHAT MADE YOU THINK IT WAS OKAY TO PICK ON HIM?
DIALOGUE — homeroom teacher:
YOU, CLASSMATES, SHOULD GET ALONG WELL WITH EACH OTHER.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
OF COURSE, THE TEACHER WARNED THEM.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
AT OUR HOMEROOM PERIOD WHEN ALL OF OUR CLASSMATES COULD SEE.
VISUAL DETAIL: The teacher’s method publicly confirms that Kyung-min complained. He treats sustained abuse as a quarrel among peers and frames the remedy as everyone simply “getting along.” The class can now identify Kyung-min not only as a target but as someone who reported them.
Sequence 27 — The punishment is almost nonexistent¶
DIALOGUE — homeroom teacher:
IT’S THE FIRST TIME, SO I’LL LET IT SLIDE.
VISUAL: A wide classroom panel emphasizes the number of witnesses. The teacher occupies the official position at the front, but his words surrender that authority. He declares the conduct forgivable without investigating whether it really is a first offense or what Kyung-min has already endured.
DIALOGUE — homeroom teacher, addressing the bully:
IF YOU DO THIS AGAIN, YOU’LL GET A PENALTY.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully, smiling:
YES~ SIR!
VISUAL DETAIL: The bully’s elongated “YES~” and smiling expression make the response sound theatrical rather than repentant. He understands that the teacher’s intervention has no meaningful force.
Sequence 28 — Reporting makes Kyung-min even more isolated¶
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
I WAS PROMOTED TO A GLORIOUS SEPARATE RANK.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
I BECAME A HALF-OUTCAST FROM THAT DAY ONE.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “From that day one” is preserved as printed; the intended meaning is likely “from that day on.”
VISUAL: Kyung-min sits alone at his desk, physically separated from the social life of the room. Bruises or marks remain on his face. Nearby students avert their eyes, leave empty space around him, or continue their own conversations without acknowledging him. His isolation is now communal: even students who are not directly attacking him participate by refusing contact.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
WHY WOULD HE DO THAT WHEN HE KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN?
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: Kyung-min is not asking why the bullies retaliated; he already understands them. He is asking why the adult who claimed to help chose the one method most likely to expose him and worsen his status.
Reader Page 7¶
Sequence 29 — Kyung-min discovers the teachers’ real philosophy¶
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
SOONER OR LATER, I COULD SEE THE REASON.
VISUAL: A red drink can rattles or rolls near a vending-machine area. The small object and its sound draw Kyung-min’s attention toward a partially concealed group of adults. He is close enough to overhear them but not openly included in the scene.
Several male teachers are hiding outdoors near vending machines or a sheltered edge of the school grounds. They smoke cigarettes away from the students. In the distance, student bullying continues, visually linking the adults’ conversation to the behavior they are choosing not to confront.
SFX: A small Korean rolling or rattling effect accompanies the can.
Sequence 30 — Teachers complain about having nowhere to smoke¶
DIALOGUE — male teacher:
I~ DON’T KNOW IF WE SHOULD BE HIDING LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME…
DIALOGUE — another male teacher:
I KNOW. WHEN WILL THE TEACHERS MAKE A SMOKING ROOM…
DIALOGUE — male teacher:
NO SMOKING, NO CORPORAL PUNISH-MENT. I DON’T THINK THERE’S A PLACE FOR TEACHERS ANYMORE.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Punishment” is visibly broken as “PUNISH-MENT.”
VISUAL DETAIL: Their first concern is their own inconvenience. The framing places cigarette smoke, idle posture, and casual grumbling in the foreground while vulnerable students remain part of the larger environment.
Sequence 31 — Fear of recordings and parental complaints¶
DIALOGUE — male teacher:
A FEW MONTHS AGO, THERE WAS A FRESHMAN TEACHER. HE YELLED AT SOME STUDENTS AND HE WAS DISCIPLINED BECAUSE THE RECORDING FILE SPREAD ONLINE. WHAT KIND OF HUMAN BEING IS A TEACHER THESE DAYS?
VISUAL: The men exchange cynical looks. One holds his cigarette loosely; another hunches as if sharing workplace gossip. The story they tell is not about a teacher investigating abuse but about a teacher being punished after students recorded him yelling.
A third teacher, wearing glasses, responds with less frustration and more calculation.
DIALOGUE — bespectacled teacher:
REALLY? IT’S EASIER FOR ME.
DIALOGUE — another teacher:
WHAT?
DIALOGUE — bespectacled teacher:
IT’S GOOD TO BAN CORPORAL PUNISH-MENT BECAUSE OF STUDENT RIGHTS. SINCE THERE’S NO ALTERNATIVE.
DIALOGUE — bespectacled teacher:
AT BEST, PENALTY POINTS? AND WHAT, IF YOU GIVE ONE WRONG, PARENTS WOULD JUMP IN AND MAKE A RUCKUS AT SCHOOL?
DIALOGUE — bespectacled teacher:
IN FACT, THIS IS TANTAMOUNT TO THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION TELLING TEACHERS NOT TO GUIDE CHILDREN. YOU SEE?
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: He is not praising student rights in principle. He is treating the absence of corporal punishment as permission to withdraw from pastoral responsibility altogether.
Sequence 32 — “Just teach them how to study”¶
DIALOGUE — bespectacled teacher:
THEN THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE.
VISUAL: A dark-haired teacher wearing a red tie is framed more ominously than the others. His face is partially shadowed, and the composition isolates his conclusion from the casual chatter that preceded it.
DIALOGUE — dark-haired teacher:
IF YOU MESS WITH A BUNCH OF STUDENTS FOR UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL END UP BEING LIKE THE ONE WHO GOT BEATEN TO DEATH TWO YEARS AGO.
DIALOGUE — dark-haired teacher:
DON’T TEACH CHILDREN HOW TO LIVE AND JUST TEACH THEM HOW TO STUDY.
VISUAL DETAIL: The teacher murdered two years earlier—the event that drove the legal reform in the prologue—has become an excuse for surrender rather than a reason to build a safer form of authority. The page ends on the adults rationalizing nonintervention as self-preservation.
Reader Page 8¶
Sequence 33 — The school abandons students to one another¶
DIALOGUE — teacher:
IT’S THE STUDENT’S BUSI-NESS NOW.
DIALOGUE — teacher:
I’M LETTING THE STUDENTS TAKE CARE OF IT ON THEIR OWN.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Business” is visibly broken as “BUSI-NESS.”
VISUAL: Kyung-min watches from nearby. His reflection appears in the dark glass of a vending machine, creating a layered image in which he, the teachers, and the bullying environment occupy the same surface. He is physically present but socially invisible. The adults do not realize—or do not care—that the student most endangered by their policy is hearing it directly.
Sequence 34 — Kyung-min understands the homeroom performance¶
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
I SEE. THAT DAY’S HOMEROOM PERIOD IS A KIND OF PERFORMANCE…
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
IT WAS A MESSAGE FROM THE HOMEROOM TEACHER TO NOT MEDDLE IN EACH OTHER’S BUSINESS.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
NO ONE WAS ON MY SIDE.
VISUAL: The page revisits Kyung-min’s isolation through close views of his bruised face and withdrawn posture. His glasses create a barrier between the viewer and his eyes. He no longer reads the teacher’s public warning as a failed rescue; he reads it as a display designed to satisfy procedure while warning everyone that the adults will not truly intervene.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
THE ONLY THING LEFT FOR ME NOW WAS TO TRANSFER OR ENDURE THE REMAINING THREE YEARS.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: “Transfer” is presented as uncertain or unavailable, while “endure” means accepting daily abuse. Both choices leave the burden entirely on the victim.
Sequence 35 — The police arrive after Park Dae-seok’s death¶
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED NOW.
VISUAL: A police car enters or stops on the school grounds. Its rooftop lights and bold markings break the visual routine of the campus. Students gather at classroom windows, craning their necks and reacting with excitement or anxiety.
SFX: Siren lettering accompanies the vehicle.
DIALOGUE — student at the window:
WOW! THE POLICE ARE HERE AGAIN TODAY!
DIALOGUE — another student:
WHAT IF ALL THE SOPHOMORE STU-DENTS END UP LOSING THEIR LIVES?
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Students” is visibly broken as “STU-DENTS.” The line’s exaggerated wording reflects rumor and nervous speculation rather than an established fact.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
THE POLICE BEGAN TO INVESTIGATE THE DEATH OF THE STU-DENT IN EARNEST.
Sequence 36 — Kyung-min allows himself to hope¶
VISUAL: Kyung-min is shown in close-up. His face still bears signs of abuse, but the corners of his mouth lift into a faint, fragile smile. The expression is not joy at the death; it is relief at the possibility that an outside authority might finally expose what the school has hidden.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
I MEAN, IF YOU WERE IN THIS SCHOOL, THEN YOU’D KNOW THAT HE’S BEEN SLAUGHTERED…
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Slaughtered” is metaphorical in context: Kyung-min believes relentless bullying drove the sophomore to suicide.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
BULLYING CULTURE WILL DISAPPEAR FROM THIS SCHOOL AND THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN BULLIED LIKE ME WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO LIVE PEACEFULLY.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
SOON AFTER, EVERY DETAIL OF THE VIOLENCE AT THIS SCHOOL WILL BE REVEALED.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HARASSED OTHER STUDENTS WILL GO TO JAIL.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: His expectations are sweeping because his need is desperate. He assumes that once police look closely, the truth will naturally become visible and justice will follow. The next page immediately dismantles that belief.
Reader Page 9¶
Sequence 37 — The investigation is closed without exposing the bullying¶
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
I ANTICIPATED AS MUCH.
VISUAL: The hopeful expression from the preceding page is violently interrupted. Kyung-min is knocked or kicked down again. His body pitches toward the tiled floor, and his glasses sit crooked across his face. A small “!!” reaction mark captures the instant of surprise before pain.
The bullies continue their conversation above him as if his body were furniture. Their topic is the police investigation, but their tone is relieved and almost celebratory.
DIALOGUE — bully:
HEY, ABOUT SOPHO-MORE WHO KILLED HIMSELF. THEY JUST CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS SUICIDE DUE TO ACA-DEMIC STRESS.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Sophomore” and “academic” are visibly broken as “SOPHO-MORE” and “ACA-DEMIC.” The printed sentence omits an article before “sophomore.”
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min, startled:
OH! REALLY?
DIALOGUE — bully:
I WAS SCARED BACK AND FORTH. ESPECIAL-LY WHEN THEY DID A SURVEY WITH ALL THE SOPHOMORE STUDENTS.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Especially” is visibly broken as “ESPECIAL-LY.” “Scared back and forth” is preserved as printed.
Sequence 38 — The school ordered witnesses to remain silent¶
DIALOGUE — bully:
NO ONE~ NOBODY TOLD THEM THAT THE BASTARD WAS BEING PICKED ON.
DIALOGUE — bully:
TURNS OUT THE TEACHERS TOLD THE SOPHOMORES TO KEEP QUIET ABOUT IT.
VISUAL: The students’ expressions show relief at having escaped scrutiny. The purple-haired bully smiles with the confidence of someone who has just received proof that the institution will protect the status quo.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
ONLY THOSE GOD-LIKE BASTARDS…
DIALOGUE — another bully, noticing Kyung-min’s reaction:
WHAT’S THIS?
VISUAL: Kyung-min stares at the floor in disbelief. His pupils are small, his breathing appears ragged, and the panel repeats his words as though his mind is stuck on a single broken thought.
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE… IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE…
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: The official conclusion does more than disappoint him. It destroys his belief that an outsider will inevitably recognize the abuse. Even a student’s death can be translated into “academic stress” when witnesses and teachers cooperate in silence.
Sequence 39 — His disbelief becomes another pretext for violence¶
VISUAL: A shoe or leg drives into Kyung-min. His body jolts against the ground while the aggressor mocks the words he was repeating.
DIALOGUE — bully kicking Kyung-min:
YES, YOU FUCKER! IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!
SFX: Large Korean impact lettering punctuates the kick.
The attack continues without any transition to privacy; it remains part of ordinary school life.
DIALOGUE — bully:
YOU CAN’T EVEN LET ME HOLD A CIGARETTE FOR AN HOUR?!
DIALOGUE — bully:
THE POLICE HAVE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH LATELY, SO I’VE BEEN CAREFUL, BUT I’LL LET YOU HAVE A TASTE OF MY FULL POWER!
VISUAL DETAIL: The bully openly states that the police presence did not stop him; it only made him temporarily cautious. Now that the investigation appears harmless, he feels licensed to resume at full intensity.
Sequence 40 — Kyung-min is treated as a servant¶
DIALOGUE — bully, after exerting himself:
AH~ SINCE I’M WORKING OUT, THE MEAL I ATE IS NOW GONE!
DIALOGUE — bully ordering Kyung-min:
GET ME A FIRE CHICKEN! POUR WATER AND GET IT HERE WITHIN THREE MINUTES!
VISUAL: Kyung-min’s cheek is crushed against the tile. Tears, saliva, or both collect near his mouth. His glasses are bent and displaced, leaving his face exposed and vulnerable. The command is absurdly specific and time-limited, designed to create another guaranteed failure and therefore another excuse to punish him.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Fire chicken” likely refers to an extremely spicy chicken-flavored instant noodle dish. The order to “pour water” suggests the bully expects Kyung-min to prepare and deliver it immediately.
Reader Page 10¶
Sequence 41 — Kyung-min concludes that the bullies’ world is untouchable¶
VISUAL: The page opens into broad white negative space, separating Kyung-min’s internal conclusion from the noisy bullying scene. His narration appears in isolated boxes, giving each sentence the finality of a verdict.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
THEIR WORLD IS A SANCTUARY THAT NO ONE CAN INVADE.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
THIS COUNTRY IS TOO TOLERANT TOWARDS ITS YOUTH.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
I DON’T HAVE THE POWER TO SOLVE EVERY-THING BY MYSELF.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Everything” is visibly broken as “EVERY-THING.”
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: “Sanctuary” is bitterly inverted. The bullies enjoy the protection that a sanctuary should provide to the vulnerable. The legal and institutional reluctance to restrain students has become, in Kyung-min’s experience, immunity for aggressors.
Sequence 42 — On the school roof¶
VISUAL: Kyung-min’s scratched and bruised hand grips the concrete edge of the school rooftop. His fingers curl tightly around the parapet. The view widens to show him climbing onto or leaning over the boundary wall. Wind lifts parts of his uniform and hair, and the empty sky around him emphasizes exposure and height.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
THIS WON’T CHANGE ANYTHING.
VISUAL: A close-up shows him sweating and crying. One side of his damaged glasses hangs awkwardly, and the lenses no longer shield his eyes. His face combines terror, exhaustion, and resignation. He understands that his death may be misrepresented just as Park Dae-seok’s was, but he no longer believes survival is bearable.
Sequence 43 — He prepares to step off¶
VISUAL: The perspective looks down over the school buildings and grounds from the roof. The distance below is rendered with steep vertical depth, making the potential fall immediate rather than abstract.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
BUT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I CAN SCREW UP THIS SCHOOL,
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
IT’S A WAY FOR ME TO FINALLY BE COMFORTABLE AT THE SAME TIME.
VISUAL: One foot moves beyond the safe edge. The sole leaves the rooftop surface, capturing the irreversible fraction of a second in which he commits to the fall.
NARRATION — Kyung-min:
I HAVE NO REGRETS.
CONTENT NOTE: This is an active suicide attempt. The following page reveals that another person is present and interrupts it.
Reader Page 11¶
Sequence 44 — A polished shoe reveals an unexpected witness¶
VISUAL: Before Kyung-min can disappear over the edge, the image cuts to a polished black dress shoe positioned on the rooftop structure. Its formal appearance sharply contrasts with Kyung-min’s battered school shoes and the rough concrete around them.
A small reaction mark appears.
SFX / REACTION:
!
The view widens to reveal the long-haired man from the government-building prologue. He is perched or standing with unnerving ease on the parapet itself, dressed entirely in black. A cigarette rests in his mouth, and smoke drifts across his face. His posture is relaxed enough to seem almost inappropriate for the crisis unfolding beside him.
This is Na Hwa-jin, though the chapter does not print his name until his identification card appears later.
Sequence 45 — Na rejects Kyung-min’s method, not his pain¶
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
NO, NO, NO. THAT’S NOT IT.
VISUAL: Na’s expression is calm and mildly disapproving rather than panicked. He appears to have caught, blocked, or otherwise prevented Kyung-min from completing the fall. The exact mechanics are partially hidden by the vertical composition, but Kyung-min remains on the roof and turns toward him in shock.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
YOU SHOULDN’T DIE WHEN SOMEONE’S WATCHING YOU.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
THAT’S GONNA TURN INTO A REAL-LY BAD DREAM, ISN’T IT?
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Really” is visibly broken as “REAL-LY.” Na frames his intervention with dry, selfish humor—he does not want to become the witness haunted by the death—but the intervention itself is decisive.
Sequence 46 — Kyung-min mistakes him for an ordinary teacher¶
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
WHO ARE YOU? ARE YOU A TEACHER?
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
IT’S ANNOYING TO EXPLAIN, SO I’LL JUST SAY THAT I AM.
VISUAL DETAIL: Na does not offer reassurance, credentials, or a conventional introduction. His answer is intentionally imprecise. He is connected to education, but he is not presenting himself as part of the school’s normal faculty hierarchy.
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
WHAT IS A TEACHER DOING UP THERE?
VISUAL: A close-up frames Na through drifting cigarette smoke. His heavy-lidded eyes look down toward the grounds. The shadows beneath them and his unhurried expression make him seem exhausted, observant, and dangerous at once.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
I CAN SEE EVERYTHING WELL FROM HERE.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: The line is literal—his elevated position gives him a view of the campus—but also announces his role in the chapter. Unlike the school’s teachers, Na has deliberately placed himself where the abuse is visible.
Reader Page 12¶
Sequence 47 — The rooftop view exposes a campus-wide pattern¶
VISUAL: High overhead panels look down on several parts of the school grounds. The abuse is not confined to Kyung-min’s group. In one area, boys crowd or corner a female student. Elsewhere, a male student is surrounded and struck by a cluster of classmates. The victims are physically enclosed while open space remains around the aggressors, showing how freely they operate.
The repeated bird’s-eye perspective makes the school resemble a map of simultaneous predation. Na’s claim that he can “see everything” is immediately substantiated.
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
I DON’T KNOW WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL THIS IS.
VISUAL: Na drops from the parapet to the roof with casual athletic control. His coat and hair trail behind the motion, but he lands without distress. Kyung-min, by contrast, remains shaken and physically fragile.
Sequence 48 — Na asks Kyung-min to guide him¶
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
I’M GONNA DO SOME SCA-VENGING TO-MORROW.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Scavenging” and “tomorrow” are visibly broken as “SCA-VENGING” and “TO-MORROW.” In context, Na means that he intends to investigate or look around the school.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
SO, WHY DON’T YOU SHOW ME THE TEACHER’S OFFICE TODAY?
VISUAL: The two move from the roof into a school corridor. Na walks with his hands in his pockets, still projecting casual confidence. Kyung-min leads or walks slightly ahead, uncertain why this stranger has chosen him as a guide.
Sequence 49 — Na’s first attempt at advice is badly misjudged¶
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
BULLYING? GRADES?
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
WHATEVER IT IS, IT’S GONNA BE GONE IN THREE YEARS. AND YOU CAN’T STAND IT? YOU’RE GONNA NEED TO REFRESH YOUR MIND IN THE MARINE CORPS!
VISUAL DETAIL: Na speaks with a flippant, old-fashioned toughness. His posture remains loose, as though he assumes the problem can be reduced to endurance. The remark is deliberately jarring after the reader has seen how completely Kyung-min has been abandoned.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
BUT WHY DID YOU WANT TO DIE?
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
WHAT…?
VISUAL: Kyung-min stops or turns partly away. His shoulders tense. Na’s question forces him to articulate something that the adults around him have never seriously asked.
Sequence 50 — Kyung-min rejects the command to simply endure¶
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING.
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
I’M JUST GONNA HAVE TO HOLD ON FOR THREE YEARS?
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
DO YOU THINK I HAVEN’T EVER THOUGHT OF THAT?
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
BUT WHAT SHOULD I DO? I REALLY CAN’T LAST A DAY A-NYMORE…
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Anymore” is visibly broken as “A-NYMORE.”
VISUAL: Kyung-min’s composure breaks. His face twists with anger and anguish; tears and sweat remain visible, and his damaged glasses heighten the sense that he has been pushed beyond ordinary embarrassment. He is not asking for motivational advice. He is explaining that the time horizon of “three years” is meaningless to someone who cannot imagine surviving the next day.
Na’s expression changes sharply. A sweat bead and a “!!” reaction mark appear as his eyes widen. For the first time, his sardonic confidence drops away.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: This is a corrective moment for Na. He intervened physically but initially repeated the same basic demand the school had imposed: endure it yourself. Kyung-min’s answer makes the cost of that attitude impossible to ignore.
Reader Page 13¶
Sequence 51 — Kyung-min states the central failure plainly¶
VISUAL: Kyung-min turns fully toward Na. The corridor behind them stretches into hard institutional lines, but the composition closes tightly around Kyung-min’s face and upper body. His restraint gives way to a shout. Tears, bruises, and panic coexist with anger; he is no longer speaking politely to an adult.
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
NO ONE’S HELPING ME!
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
HOW THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO HOLD ON?
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: The words summarize the chapter’s argument to this point. Kyung-min’s inability to “hold on” is not presented as a private weakness. It is the consequence of teachers, administrators, classmates, and investigators repeatedly declining to help.
Sequence 52 — The bullying intrudes before the conversation can continue¶
VISUAL: A violent motion enters from behind Kyung-min. The purple-haired bully charges down the corridor and launches himself forward with one knee raised. The pose is exaggerated like a professional-wrestling attack, turning casual hallway violence into spectacle.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
FLYING KNEE KICK!
SFX: A large Korean impact effect explodes across the panel as the knee connects with Kyung-min’s back, shoulder, or head.
VISUAL: Kyung-min is driven forward and collapses. His conversation with Na is not merely interrupted; the attack demonstrates his claim in real time. The bully does not hesitate because an unfamiliar adult is standing nearby. That confidence reveals how completely the school has taught him that consequences are negotiable.
Na remains upright a short distance away, watching the assault begin.
Sequence 53 — The bully demands the food he ordered¶
VISUAL: The purple-haired student crouches or kneels over Kyung-min, who is down on the floor. His face is contorted with exaggerated annoyance, as though Kyung-min has inconvenienced him by failing to complete an errand.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
I WAS FU-CKING CRAVING FIRE CHICKEN, BUT WHY ARE YOU JUST CRAWLING…
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The profanity is visibly broken as “FU-CKING.”
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
WAIT! WHY ARE YOU EMPTY-HANDED, YOU FUCKER? WHERE’S MY CHICKEN?
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
THE FOOTMAN HAS HIT THE FUCKING BACK-UP BELL.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “The footman has hit the fucking back-up bell” is preserved exactly as printed. The English phrasing is unclear, but the visual context suggests that the bully is mocking Kyung-min for returning without the demanded food or for seeking an adult’s protection.
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min:
AH…! THAT’S…
Sequence 54 — Na watches the bully manufacture excuses to continue¶
VISUAL: Before Kyung-min can finish explaining, the bully strikes him again. A fist drives into his face or body, and repeated Korean impact effects crowd the panel.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
YOU’RE CRAZY?! AREN’T YOU?
SFX: Repeated Korean punching and smacking effects.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
KYUNG-MIN NEEDS TO GET A HOLD OF HIMSELF, OR DOES HE WANT TO GET HIT MORE?
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
NO? YOU’RE NOT GONNA AN-SWER? SHOULD I JUST BURY YOU?
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Answer” is visibly broken as “AN-SWER.”
VISUAL DETAIL: The bully uses the language of correction—Kyung-min must “get a hold of himself”—while inflicting the very violence that has driven him toward suicide. It grotesquely echoes adults who frame punishment or endurance as being for a student’s own good.
Sequence 55 — Na’s irritation becomes physical intervention¶
VISUAL: Na’s face is shown in close-up. Repeated Korean tongue-click effects appear around him, conveying mounting annoyance. His expression does not become heroic or tender; it becomes cold and fed up.
He reaches into the attack and clamps one hand around the bully’s cheek and jaw. His fingers visibly compress the student’s face, distorting the skin. The bully’s eyes widen as his body is abruptly pulled off balance.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
WHAT THE…?!
SFX: A gripping or crushing Korean effect accompanies Na’s hand.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: Na’s intervention is deliberately invasive and humiliating. He does not request that the bully stop, identify himself, or threaten a future penalty. He immediately imposes a physical consequence in the same space where the bully assumed he had complete control.
Reader Page 14¶
Sequence 56 — Na throws the bully aside¶
VISUAL: With a single forceful motion, Na yanks or flings the purple-haired student away from Kyung-min. The bully’s body travels across the corridor, limbs thrown out of alignment by the sudden change in momentum. Strong speed lines make Na’s movement look effortless and the student’s body comparatively light.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
YOU’VE ONLY BEEN SAYING WHATEVER YOU WANTED FROM THE BEGINNING.
VISUAL: Na turns the bully’s own rhetoric back on him. His expression is relaxed, but the narrowed eyes and slight smile show that the mood has shifted from irritation to punitive interest.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
YEAH, DUDE~ YOU HAVE TO GET HIT TO GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: This is a deliberate parody of the bully’s claim that Kyung-min needed to be hit to “get a hold of himself.” Na makes the aggressor experience the rule he imposed on his victim.
Sequence 57 — Kyung-min calls him “sir”¶
DIALOGUE — Kyung-min, stunned:
SI… SIR?
VISUAL: Kyung-min remains on or near the floor, looking up at Na with a mixture of fear and disbelief. An adult has finally stopped the attack, but the method is far outside anything he expected from a teacher.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
YEAH, JUST CALL HIM ME TEACHER BECAUSE I’M TOO LAZY TO EXPLAIN.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The grammatically awkward phrase “call him me teacher” is reproduced as printed. The intended sense appears to be “just call me teacher.”
Sequence 58 — The bully invokes student rights as a weapon¶
VISUAL: The purple-haired bully recovers enough to sit up or rise. His initial fear turns into calculating confidence when he hears that Na is supposedly a teacher.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
WHAT, YOU’RE A TEA-CHER?
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
OKAY. YOU’RE A TEACHER, RIGHT?
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
YOU JUST HIT A STUDENT AT SCHOOL, DIDN’T YOU?
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Teacher” is visibly broken as “TEA-CHER.”
VISUAL: Other students gather in the corridor. Several raise smartphones and point their cameras toward Na. Small camera-click effects appear. Their instinct is not to document Kyung-min being beaten—which had been happening openly—but to record the instant an adult strikes the aggressor.
SFX: Korean camera-shutter and phone-recording effects.
Sequence 59 — The bully expects public exposure to protect him¶
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
YOU FUCKER! YOU’LL BE ALL OVER THE INTERNET. HIT ME IF YOU WANT TO BE FEASTED ON!
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Feasted on” is preserved as printed. The intended meaning is likely that the teacher will be publicly attacked, condemned, or ruined online.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully, provoking Na:
HIT ME, HIT ME AGAIN.
VISUAL: The student leans into the threat with a taunting grin, confident that the presence of cameras reverses the power relationship. He believes a teacher cannot touch him without destroying his own career.
Na’s face darkens. A rough black speech shape isolates his brief response.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
SO?
VISUAL DETAIL: The answer shocks the bully because it rejects the assumption on which his confidence depends. Na does not deny hitting him, ask the students to stop filming, or attempt to protect his reputation.
Sequence 60 — Na refuses to “go easy” because cameras are present¶
VISUAL: Na grabs the bully by the collar, throat area, or upper clothing and pulls him into striking range. The bully’s body lifts or jerks forward. Na’s hand and forearm dominate the composition.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
I WON’T GO EASY ON YOU, THEN.
VISUAL: Na delivers a rapid series of open-handed blows or strikes. In a deliberately comedic contrast, his face becomes blank and almost bored while his arm repeats the motion at high speed. The bully’s head whips from side to side under the barrage.
SFX: Dense Korean smacking effects repeat around the figures.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: The filming students are not a deterrent. Their cameras instead become witnesses to Na’s declaration that the existing balance of fear no longer applies to him.
Reader Page 15¶
Sequence 61 — The bully collapses but continues threatening exposure¶
VISUAL: The purple-haired student lies twisted on the corridor floor, bruised, disoriented, and temporarily unable to maintain his earlier swagger. His limbs are awkwardly folded, and his face shows both pain and disbelief.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
UGH!
He scrambles toward a doorway or classroom entrance and shouts at someone associated with the phones or recording.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
YOU FUCKER! AREN’T YOU GOING TO OPEN THIS?!
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The printed wording is preserved exactly. In context, the intended verb may concern uploading, posting, or activating the recording, but the visible English reads “open this.”
Sequence 62 — Na produces a telescoping baton¶
VISUAL: A compact black object shoots outward with long speed lines. Its nested metal sections extend into a full collapsible baton. The movement is sharp and mechanical, accompanied by Korean metallic effects.
Na catches or controls the extended baton with practiced ease. The weapon changes the visual language of the confrontation: what had looked like improvised slapping becomes an official-looking disciplinary instrument in his hands.
SFX: Korean metallic extension and whipping sounds.
Sequence 63 — Na invokes the punishment culture of his own youth¶
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND I WAS HIT BY A TEACHER
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
I SAID THANK YOU AND SAID HELLO!
VISUAL: Na raises the baton and brings it down with a massive arc. His hair and jacket trail the motion. A huge Korean impact effect fills much of the panel, dwarfing the bully beneath it.
SFX: Large Korean crash/strike effect.
DIALOGUE — purple-haired bully:
AHHH!
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: Na’s statement is intentionally extreme and culturally loaded. He is not presented as calmly restoring a conventional disciplinary system; he is announcing a forceful counterreaction to students who learned that teachers could be intimidated into passivity.
Sequence 64 — The baton strikes continue under the cameras¶
VISUAL: Tight action panels show the baton cutting through the air and connecting with the bully’s leg or body. The impacts are depicted through blurred arcs, compressed anatomy, and repeated Korean sound effects. The exact contact point changes across the sequence, creating the sense of a sustained beating rather than a single warning strike.
Students holding smartphones stare in shock. One female student covers her mouth. Others freeze with their devices still raised, their expectation of an adult retreat replaced by alarm.
SFX: Repeated Korean metallic whipping, smacking, and impact effects.
VISUAL DETAIL: No clearly readable additional English dialogue interrupts this portion. The visual rhythm is dominated by baton movement, impact lettering, and the witnesses’ changing expressions.
Reader Page 16¶
Sequence 65 — The bully is thrown over school furniture¶
VISUAL: The purple-haired student is flipped or driven upside down across a desk, bench, or similar corridor furniture. His legs point upward while his head and torso collapse over the surface. The pose is exaggerated and humiliating, visually completing the reversal between aggressor and victim.
He then sprawls in a heap, no longer directing the scene.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
K~ YOU MAKE ME SICK!
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The opening “K~” is reproduced as visible and may represent a clipped exclamation or translation artifact.
Sequence 66 — The vice-principal confronts Na¶
VISUAL: An older male administrator arrives with teachers or students behind him. He has the formal clothing, age, and indignant bearing of a senior school official. His mouth opens wide as he points or advances toward Na.
DIALOGUE — vice-principal:
WHO ARE YOU?!
DIALOGUE — vice-principal:
I’M THE VICE-PRINCIPAL OF THIS SCHOOL! WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO BE OUR STUDENT?!
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “What gives you the right to be our student?!” is preserved as printed. The intended wording may have been “beat our student,” but the visible scanlation reads “be our student.”
VISUAL: Na stands calmly with the baton still in hand. The battered bully lies nearby, making the cause of the confrontation impossible to miss.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
I’VE BEEN ASSIGNED TO THIS SCHOOL TODAY.
Sequence 67 — Na explains why the school was not warned¶
DIALOGUE — vice-principal:
WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! WHY HAVEN’T I HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THAT?
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
WELL~ IF I HAD TOLD YOU IN ADVANCE, THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE SET UP THE SCHOOL AS IF YOU WERE APPLYING FOR A GRANT. THAT’S WHY I CAME SECRETLY!
VISUAL DETAIL: Na’s loose posture and elongated “WELL~” make the accusation sound conversational, but its substance is severe: he believes advance notice would have prompted the administration to stage-manage appearances and conceal the school’s normal conditions.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
I’M THIS KIND OF PERSON.
Sequence 68 — Ministry of Education identification¶
VISUAL: Na presses or slaps an identification card directly against the vice-principal’s forehead. The gesture is disrespectful and comic, forcing the administrator to inspect the credential at humiliatingly close range.
ON-SCREEN TEXT — identification card:
CIVIL SERVICE CARD
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
NA HWA-JIN
OFFICE OF PROTECTION
DIALOGUE — vice-principal:
AH…! THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION?!
DIALOGUE — vice-principal:
OFFICE OF PROTECTION? WHAT’S THIS?!
VISUAL: The vice-principal’s anger turns into uncertainty. Sweat gathers on his face, and his posture contracts as the conflict moves beyond ordinary school authority.
Sequence 69 — The Office of Protection was created after a teacher’s death¶
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
SIR, DO YOU WATCH THE NEWS?
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
YOU KNOW THE CASE WHERE A TEACHER WAS BEATEN TO DEATH IN CLASS TWO YEARS AGO?
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
AT THAT TIME, THE REVISION OF THE ACT ON THE [PROTECTION OF TEACHERS’ RIGHTS] WAS PASSED AND IT WAS CREATED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: Square brackets around “[PROTECTION OF TEACHERS’ RIGHTS]” are part of the printed lettering.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
FOR MORE INFORMATION, JUST LOOK OVER THE OFFICIAL LETTER TOMORROW.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
IN SHORT, IT’S CALLED THE [OFFICE OF PROTECTION].
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: The prologue’s legislative development is now connected directly to Na. He is not a rogue teacher improvising authority; he is presented as an agent of a new government unit created in response to educational collapse.
Sequence 70 — Na defines the office’s target¶
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
WHAT WE DO IS ROUGHLY TO BE SENT TO ROTTEN SCHOOLS WITH INCOMPETENT INCUM-BENT TEACHERS…
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Incumbent” is visibly broken as “INCUM-BENT.” The sentence is awkwardly translated but describes dispatching the office to dysfunctional schools whose current staff have failed.
VISUAL: Na points the baton toward the vice-principal. His speech balloons become rougher and darker, and his expression loses its comic looseness. The vice-principal sweats heavily.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
LIKE YOU, WHEN THAT STUDENT DIED, YOU TRIED TO BURY AND HIDE IT FROM THE POLICE.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
IT’S A DE-PARTMENT THAT SPECIALIZES IN TEACHING SUCH GARBAGE-LIKE SCHOOLS LIKE THIS.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Department” is visibly broken as “DE-PARTMENT.”
VISUAL DETAIL: Na crowds the administrator face-to-face, erasing the distance normally granted to a senior official. The accusation identifies Park Dae-seok’s concealed bullying and misclassified suicide as an administrative act, not a mere investigative oversight.
Reader Page 17¶
Sequence 71 — The vice-principal denies the cover-up¶
DIALOGUE — vice-principal:
WHO TRIED TO BURY IT! WHEN DID WE…!
VISUAL: The vice-principal raises his hands and leans backward. His denial is incomplete, cut off before he can provide an alternative explanation.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
WELL, THAT’S WHAT I’LL BE TRYING TO FIND OUT AS I STAY IN THIS SCHOOL AND LOOK INTO IT.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
AND THIS IS PRETTY IM-PORTANT.
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Important” is visibly broken as “IM-PORTANT.”
Sequence 72 — A special exception removes restrictions on method¶
VISUAL: The vice-principal instinctively raises an arm to block or protect himself. Na swings the baton in a sudden horizontal or diagonal arc. The administrator ducks, falls, or recoils in terror as the weapon passes extremely close or strikes near him. Speed lines turn the corridor into a blur around the motion.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
OUR SCHOOL AUTHORITY STAFF HAS ONE SPECIAL EXCEPTION.
A dark, rough-edged speech balloon dominates the next beat.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
THERE ARE NO RESTRIC-TIONS ON HOW TO TEACH!
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Restrictions” is visibly broken as “RESTRIC-TIONS.” “School authority staff” appears to refer to personnel of the Office of Protection rather than the school’s existing administrators.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: The swing serves as both intimidation and demonstration. Na’s office claims freedom from the procedural paralysis that allowed students and administrators to manipulate the existing system.
Sequence 73 — Na formally announces his mission¶
VISUAL: Na settles the baton across one shoulder. His long black hair frames a wide, unsettling grin. His eyes are alert now, in contrast with the exhausted expression he wore outside the Ministry of Education. The corridor, students, and administrators fall visually behind him; he occupies the page like the newly arrived force around which the story will turn.
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
WITH THE RIGHTFUL AUTHO-RITY OF THE GO-VERNMENT,
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: “Authority” and “government” are visibly broken as “AUTHO-RITY” and “GO-VERNMENT.”
DIALOGUE — Na Hwa-jin:
I’LL TEACH THIS SCHOOL VERY WELL!
VISUAL: A final full illustration presents Na standing in the corridor in his black suit, baton resting over his shoulder, smiling broadly. The pose echoes the silhouette from the title card, now fully revealing the person behind it.
VISUAL INTERPRETATION: “Teach” is being used in the chapter’s punitive title sense. Na is not simply joining the faculty to deliver lessons. He intends to re-educate the school as an institution—bullies, teachers, and administrators included.
Sequence 74 — End-page scanlation and production text¶
VISUAL: The narrative art gives way to scanlation messaging and production credits.
ON-SCREEN TEXT — scanlation support message:
I PAY KOREAN TRANSLATOR SINCE I DON’T SPEAK KOREAN, SO HELP ME OR THERE WON’T BE ANY FOLLOW-UP…
ON-SCREEN TEXT — printed URL:
https://ko.fi.com/rectangle
TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: The URL is transcribed exactly as it appears in the image and is presented here only as on-page text. Its validity has not been checked.
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
STAFF
ON-SCREEN TEXT — Korean names:
이지영
송아라
ON-SCREEN TEXT — Korean production credit:
기획/제작
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
YLAB
End of Chapter 1¶
Chapter-level continuity summary¶
The chapter begins by presenting a legal and social crisis: after corporal punishment is prohibited, teachers report losing practical control over classrooms, students learn to exploit recordings and complaints, and one teacher is beaten to death. The government responds by revising protections for teachers and creating an unnamed mechanism that is revealed two years later as the Office of Protection.
At the school where the main story begins, sophomore Park Dae-seok dies by suicide after sustained bullying. The administration suppresses testimony and allows the death to be attributed to academic stress. Freshman Kim Kyung-min, who is being tortured and socially isolated by the same school culture, first hopes the police investigation will save him. When it instead demonstrates that even a death can be concealed, he attempts suicide from the school roof.
Na Hwa-jin interrupts the attempt. His first response is imperfect and dismissive—he suggests Kyung-min merely endure the remaining years—but Kyung-min forces him to confront the impossibility of endurance without help. Moments later, the purple-haired bully attacks Kyung-min directly in front of Na. Na responds with overwhelming physical force, ignores the students filming him, and exposes his Ministry of Education credential.
The chapter closes with Na announcing that the Office of Protection has been dispatched to investigate and “teach” a school whose students abuse one another and whose staff buried the circumstances of a child’s death. His authority, methods, and moral limits remain deliberately provocative as the next chapter is set up.