The next day at school, the police comes and asks for Mr. Hong. All classes still go on as usual, but words spread quickly.

“I heard that Mr. Hong hacked into the schools system,” a girl says.

“Why would he do that,” another girl asks.

“Apparently to give himself a raise.”

“That’s so sad. He had to hack the school system to give himself a raise? Does the school not pay him enough?”

“This is a ratty school.”

Mi Joo can hear them pitying Mr. Hong, and she understands. He plays the poor victim, but what they don’t know is that Mr. Hong is a murderer.

“So what’s going to happen to him,” another girl asks.

“He’s getting one month suspension.”

“Poor Mr. Hong.”

Break comes. Mi Joo heads up to the rooftop. She is leaning on the edge of the building and looking down.

“There you are,” she hears a male voice says. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Mi Joo straightens up her posture and turns to see who is it.

“It’s the freak,” she tells herself.

He stands beside her and looks into the distance.

“How does it feel to have gotten Mr. Hong on a one month suspension,” he asks.

“How do you know it was me,” she asks.

“I figured it was you, since you seem to hold a grudge against him.”

“What does he know,” she asks herself.

Mi Joo walks away.

“What if I tell you that I know who Hui Ju’s murder is,” he asks.

She stops and turns around.

“Now I’ve got your attention,” he smirks.

Mi Joo turns around. “Who’s the murderer,” Mi Joo asks serious.

“The one you’re suspecting.”

“I was right all along. How do you know?”

“I was there.”

“You were what?”

“I helped him.”

“You what,” Mi Joo asks angry.

“Let me rephrase that: I was just guarding the door. I didn’t kill her.”

“It’s the same thing you freak!” She runs toward him and readys her fist. When she is at the right distance, she punches him in the eye with all her might.

He stumbles back and falls down.

“Don’t let me see you again you freak!!” She storms back into the school and runs to the principal’s office. Mi Joo knocks on the door.

“Come in,” she hears.

Mi Joo throws the door open and marches in.

“Mr. Hong,” Mi Joo starts. She stands in front of the desk and is fuming.

The principal is sitting behind his desk shocked by Mi Joo’s temper.

“Im Chang Kyun and Mr. Hong,” Mi Joo continues. “They’re Hui Ju’s murderers!”

“Now what makes you say that,” the principal asks calmly.

“Im Chang Kyun just confessed to me that he helped Mr. Hong murder Hui Ju! If you don’t believe me, call Im Chang Kyun!”

“Im Chang Kyun? He’s the top student. Why would he do such thing?”

“Ask him yourself.”

The principal calls Chang Kyun in. His eye is red from earlier.

“Why is your eye like that,” the principal asks.

Chang Kyun looks at Mi Joo, and Mi Joo glares at Chang Kyun. Chang Kyun looks back at the principal, and so does Mi Joo.

“I accidentally punched myself while trying to get a book out from my locker,” Chang Kyun lies.

“Be careful next time,” the principal says.

“I will, sir.”

“So tell me, Lee Mi Joo says you’re one of the Hui Ju’s murderers. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Chang Kyun says without hesitation.

The principal is in shock, while Mi Joo is holding in her anger.

“I guarded the door and made sure no one would disturb him,” Chang Kyun continues.

“Why in the world would you do such thing,” the principal asks.

“Because I’m a victim just like Hui Ju was.”

“What do you mean?”

“I knew that Mr. Hong hacked into the system, and he knew that I knew. He threatened me just like he threatened Hui Ju. I had no choice but to do as I was told.”

Mi Joo’s eyes widen. She misread him, and she hit him!

“Is what you’re saying true,” the principal asks.

“If you don’t believe me, check the security camera. There should be footage of him threatening me to look at the door and footage of him harming Hui Ju.”

The principal gets to work, and when he confirms that Mr. Hong is the murderer, he immediately calls the police.

Mi Joo and Chang Kyun walk out of the principal’s office. Chang Kyun closes the door while Mi Joo lingers around. He starts walking away, but she calls for him. He turns around.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I accused you and even hit you in the eye. I should’ve listened to your explanation, but I can get a little hot headed.”

“It’s okay,” he says. “I would be hot headed too if my friend was in the same situation as yours. I’m sorry for what happened, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t help her.”

“I sound like an idiot now,” she mumbles to herself.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s okay. I understand your situation. Is that the reason why you approached me the other day?”

“You can say so, but I had other reasons.”

“Like what?”

“They’re personal.”

She looks at him confused.

“Well, we should head to class,” he continues. “Everything is fine now. We know the culprit.”

“Yeah.”

He walks away, and she watches him.

The news spread like wildfire. Everyone is in shocked that the best teacher ever will even do such a thing while some were disgusted.

“This just shows you that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

“So disgusting. I actually thought of him as my role model.”

The students only had negative things to say.

The bell rings indicating that school is over. Mi Joo is the last person in the classroom. She is in the back grabbing her books from her locker and putting them into her backpack. After Mi Joo is done, she closes her locker and zips her backpack.

“You’re still here,” she hears a male voice says.

Mi Joo lifts her head up, and her eyes widen.

“What are you doing here,” she asks.

“Surprised?” He smiles and sits on top of a desk. “When I saw policemen in front of my house, I knew that something was up.” He chuckles. “How did I know it was you? You're her best friend. Of course it'll be you.”

“The police will find you eventually.”

“I won't let them find me until I'm done with you. By the way, how'd you know it was me? Was it that moron Chang Kyun? Gosh. You can never trust anyone. Once I'm done with you, I'll go get him.”

“You'll never get us.”

“Really? Okay. I'll give you a ten second head start. We'll see who wins.”

“You're insane.”

He smiles and shrugs. “One,” he counts. “Two. Three. Four.”

Mi Joo carries her backpack on her back and runs for it.

“Eight. Nine. Ten,” he finishes. Mr. Hong stands up and starts walking out of the classroom.

Mi Joo is running down the stairs as fast as she can. She can hear Mr. Hong running after her. Her heart is beating so rapidly. So many thoughts are running inside her head. What if he catches her? What will he do to her? She must not let him catch her. Mi Joo is running down the stairs to the first floor, but she misses a step and tumbles down the stairs.

“Ugh,” she groans in pain once she reaches the bottom.

Mi Joo can hear Mr. Hong’s distance footsteps. She picks herself up and starts running away. Mi Joo pushes the front doors open, but she is pulled back.

“Caught you,” Mr. Hong says.

She screams and tries to push him away, but his grasp on her is tight.

“You can’t run anymore,” he says.

“Let me go,” she screams.

She uses all her strength to push him away. Her backpack strap falls down her shoulders, so she takes the opportunity to swing the backpack at him, and she hits him on the face.

Mr. Hong curses and stumbles back. He has his hands covering his face.

Mi Joo takes the opportunity to make a run for it. She doesn’t look back.

“Get back here,” she hears him scream.

As she runs, she sees some boxes stacked on top of each other. Mi Joo runs behind the boxes and crouches down. She tucks her head in her lap.

“Where did you go,” he asks.

Mi Joo creeps her head up to see what Mr. Hong is doing. He’s looking around for her. Mr. Hong turns his head to Mi Joo’s direction and starts walking towards her. She ducks her head down again. Mi Joo can hear her heart pounding in her ears. She’s praying that he doesn’t find her. After awhile, she takes another peak and sees Mr. Hong running the other direction. Mi Joo calms down and gathers all her energy to start running again. She runs the opposite direction of Mr. Hong. Mi Joo keeps looking back to see if Mr. Hong is following her, and lucky her he isn’t. She takes the bus home and immediately tells her parents about Mr. Hong.

“Does the school know,” her dad asks.

“No,” Mi Joo says.

“We must inform the school immediately.”

“But no one is at school right now,” her mom says.

“We’ll call first thing in the morning,” her dad says.

“Please,” Mi Joo says. “I’m really scared.”

“Don’t worry, honey,” her dad says. “We’ll protect you.”

The next day, Mi Joo’s dad calls the school. They are as shocked as Mi Joo’s parents were. Mi Joo’s father hangs up the phone.

“The principal says he’ll definitely call the police and some security guards to school, but it’ll definitely take some time,” her dad says. “So be careful when you go to school. Don’t go any places that you’ll be alone. Always be with a group of people.”

“That’s kind of hard since I don’t have friends,” Mi Joo tells herself, but she nods her head.