Whispers of Autumn Wind (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
What’s going to happen to Gyeo Wool…? Of all people, why did he have to touch *that* one…? Upon spotting a familiar face in the principal’s office, Ga Eul squeezed her eyes shut.
The situation was utterly hopeless—evident from the fact they’d been summoned directly to the principal’s office. As she entered, someone shot her a piercing glare: Hong Su Jin, chairwoman of the parents’ association.
The child Gyeo Wool allegedly hit must be Hong Su Jin’s son, Yoo Sung Mok. Gyeo Wool sat directly opposite Hong Su Jin, head bowed low. Seeing him like that, Ga Eul’s heart tore apart.
Why did Gyeo Wool hit Sung Mok? The two had once been inseparable friends—though admittedly, only until before their father passed away.
Having quickly assessed the room’s tense atmosphere, Ga Eul first bowed respectfully to the principal and Gyeo Wool’s homeroom teacher, then also to Hong Su Jin.
“Ga Eul, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
The principal, himself an alumnus of this school, knew Ga Eul well—she’d been one of its most distinguished students. A banner congratulating her admission to Korea University had once hung prominently at the school gate.
Had her mother not passed away, she might even have achieved a perfect score on the College Scholastic Ability Test. Indeed, the principal still lamented her mother’s death, which occurred just before Ga Eul’s crucial college entrance exams.
Gyeo Wool’s homeroom teacher merely acknowledged her with a facial expression. He had taught Ga Eul mathematics back in her first year of high school.
He’d also been the one most disappointed when Ga Eul chose the humanities track, repeatedly urging her to reconsider—arguing that someone with such exceptional mathematical talent would be wasting her potential in the humanities.
Thanks to a subtle gesture from the homeroom teacher, Ga Eul was able to sit beside Gyeo Wool.
Thus, with the principal acting as judge, the seating arrangement split neatly into plaintiff and defendant: Ga Eul, Gyeo Wool, and the homeroom teacher on one side; Hong Su Jin alone on the other. Yet despite being solitary, Hong Su Jin’s presence completely overwhelmed the trio opposite her.
Hong Su Jin—the very person Ga Eul had once called “Auntie” when her mother was still alive. The wife of the hospital director at the hospital where Ga Eul had once stayed for a single day.
There had been a time when Ga Eul’s family, Woo Jin’s family, and Sung Mok’s family frequently visited one another’s homes, almost like a single extended family. But after Ga Eul’s father’s business failed, they gradually drifted apart—until eventually, they became more distant than strangers.
At some point, Hong Su Jin began treating Gyeo Wool like a contagious pathogen: not only strictly isolating her son from him, but also repeatedly sabotaging Gyeo Wool at every turn. It was clear she viewed Gyeo Wool as Sung Mok’s primary rival.
“Gyeo Wool, now that your older sister is here, please explain: why did you hit Sung Mok?”
The first to speak was Gyeo Wool’s homeroom teacher—unexpectedly, since Ga Eul had anticipated Hong Su Jin launching straight into accusations. Though truthfully, Hong Su Jin had already lashed out with just her eyes.
Gyeo Wool remained silent, sitting utterly motionless.
“Just look at him! He doesn’t show the slightest sign of remorse. What on earth possessed you to beat Sung Mok into such a state? If you’ve got a mouth, say something! At this critical time, right before the College Scholastic Ability Test—you’ve even disrupted his studies. Was that your intention all along?!”
Hong Su Jin aggressively alternated her scolding between the principal and Gyeo Wool. When still unable to elicit any response from Gyeo Wool, she finally issued an exhausted ultimatum.
“I won’t let this slide quietly. Principal, please file a formal request with the Ministry of Education to convene a School Violence Deliberation Committee.”
Ga Eul’s face turned deathly pale. A School Violence Deliberation Committee? Just hearing the phrase sent shivers down her spine. With great effort, she managed to speak.
“Mrs. Sung Mok, I’m truly sorry. That Gyeo Wool hit Sung Mok—I beg your understanding while I speak with him first. I still haven’t fully grasped the situation… I’ll talk to Gyeo Wool right away.”
“Talk all you want at home. What more do you need to ‘understand’? The facts are clear and objective: Gyeo Wool hit our Sung Mok, and many students witnessed it. Sung Mok, injured by Gyeo Wool, is now hospitalized.”
Hospitalized? Ga Eul whipped her head toward Gyeo Wool, her eyes demanding answers: *Just how badly did you hit him? How hard did you hit him to land him in the hospital?* But she quickly composed herself—right now, her focus needed to be on Hong Su Jin, not Gyeo Wool.
“Principal, surely you’re not planning to sweep this matter under the rug? This is an obvious case of school violence—physical assault occurred inside the school, and in front of numerous students.”
Foam practically formed at the corners of Hong Su Jin’s mouth. Her determination to force a School Violence Committee meeting was unmistakable.
Ga Eul abandoned any intention of pleading with Hong Su Jin. The words *“for old times’ sake”* hovered on her tongue—but she swallowed them. She now understood Hong Su Jin’s true motive for pushing so aggressively for the committee.
It all came down to university admissions. Hong Su Jin was utterly fixated—blinded by ambition—on sending her son to Korea University’s medical school.
She intended to secure Sung Mok’s admission through the principal’s recommendation track. But to qualify, he needed the school’s sole principal’s nomination—and standing in his way was Gyeo Wool, the undisputed top-ranked student.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Gyeo Wool would inevitably receive the recommendation. Thus, Hong Su Jin was determined to force a School Violence Committee meeting to ensure Gyeo Wool received disciplinary action—disqualifying him from the recommendation and clearing the path for Sung Mok, ranked second, to claim it instead.
Ga Eul felt her world go dark. Disciplinary records would be permanently noted in his academic file.
Once that happened, admission to medical school would become an impossible dream. And Gyeo Wool had always wanted to become a doctor—after witnessing his mother endure years of suffering from cancer.
For now, Ga Eul decided she first needed to calm Hong Su Jin down. Figuring out *why* he hit Sung Mok could wait.
“Gyeo Wool, no matter the reason, hitting someone was wrong. Please apologize first.”
“Yes, Gyeo Wool—apologize.”
The principal chimed in—he, too, wished to avoid escalating this to the Ministry’s School Violence Committee. After all, this school had never before produced a student admitted to Korea University’s medical school; he surely wouldn’t want to jeopardize that historic opportunity. Ga Eul clung to that sliver of hope.
But how could anyone possibly placate Hong Su Jin in her current state? As head of the parents’ association, if she insisted on convening the committee, the principal would have no grounds to refuse. And Gyeo Wool’s continued, obstinate silence only deepened Ga Eul’s frustration and resentment toward him.
“I’ll apologize on his behalf. I’m truly sorry. I’ll properly counsel Gyeo Wool—and make sure he apologizes to Sung Mok as well.”
“What good is *your* apology? He shows zero remorse. Han Gyeo Wool—do you even realize what you’ve done? How could you assault another person? Does your family actually *teach* you that hitting people is acceptable?!”
“I’ve done nothing wrong. And no, my family never taught me it’s okay to hit people.”
Gyeo Wool, who had remained silent until now, suddenly lifted his head and spoke.
“Gyeo Wool!”
“Gyeo Wool, what are you doing?!”
His homeroom teacher and Ga Eul shouted in unison—alarmed, as though he’d just shattered their final, fragile hope. At a moment when even groveling might not suffice, what on earth gave Gyeo Wool the confidence to stand his ground like this?
“Principal, please just listen to what *he* says—and look closely at his eyes! Even if Sung Mok recovers and is discharged, how could he possibly return to school? How can you possibly guarantee this violent incident won’t happen again?!”
The principal watched helplessly as Hong Su Jin grew increasingly agitated. This would have been so much easier if Gyeo Wool had simply apologized meekly. But no amount of scolding or reasoning made him budge.
Gyeo Wool outright refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing—and then, with a single statement, he further provoked Sung Mok’s mother. Now even the principal would find it far harder to defend Sung Mok.
“Principal, you know exactly what kind of student Gyeo Wool is—you’ve watched over him all this time. You know he’s not the type to attack someone without cause.”
“No cause? So are you saying our Sung Mok *deserved* to be hit? That he did something to warrant it?!”
Hong Su Jin instantly blocked Ga Eul’s appeal to the principal. She now seemed seconds away from flying into a complete frenzy. Ga Eul suddenly realized her mistake—she’d only succeeded in fueling Hong Su Jin’s anger further.
While Ga Eul frantically searched for a way to undo her blunder, a knock came at the door. At the principal’s “Come in,” the door opened—and someone Ga Eul recognized entered.
“Lawyer.”
Relief flooded her at seeing a familiar face in such dire circumstances, and she sprang to her feet. Behind Jeong Se Hyun, several students followed.
“I am Jeong Se Hyun, legal representative for student Han Gyeo Wool.”
Se Hyun placed a business card in front of the principal, the homeroom teacher, and Hong Su Jin—one each. His presence radiated such reassurance it felt like grasping a lifeline in the midst of despair.
“I met these students outside the principal’s office; they said they had something important to tell you. I suggest we hear them out first.”
Jeong Se Hyun stepped aside. Behind him stood three students in a row. One of them—whom Ga Eul recognized—glanced briefly at Gyeo Wool before beginning to speak.
Kwak Su Geun, Gyeo Wool’s long-time friend—the son of a pharmacist, who’d helped when CEO Gi Dae Woong had been injured recently.
“Gyeo Wool had a reason for hitting Sung Mok. We’re not trying to excuse the act of violence itself—but isn’t there such a thing as extenuating circumstances? We’re asking the principal to consider those circumstances.”
“Are you representing the student body?”
“Yes—we held an emergency student council meeting and gathered the students’ collective opinion.”
Hearing that, Ga Eul’s eyes widened. Now that he mentioned it—Kwak Su Geun *was* the student council president.
“I see. Then, please tell me what the students’ opinion is.”
“First, please listen to these students—they witnessed everything.”
Kwak Su Geun gestured toward one of the two accompanying students, who then began speaking.
“Yoo Sung Mok provoked the incident first. At the entrance, Gyeo Wool and Sung Mok collided—but anyone could see Sung Mok deliberately slammed into Gyeo Wool. Gyeo Wool simply tried to walk away, but Sung Mok grabbed him, demanding, ‘You’re just going to leave without apologizing?’”
Even to Ga Eul’s ears, it sounded as though Sung Mok had deliberately picked a fight with Gyeo Wool.
But why? Though their families had grown distant due to his mother, Gyeo Wool and Sung Mok *had* once been close—and while Sung Mok could be arrogant, he wasn’t inherently a bad kid.
“Gyeo Wool tried to leave again, but Sung Mok—emboldened by all the attention he gets at school—blocked him, saying, ‘Because everyone else bows to you, do you look down on everyone else now?’ Gyeo Wool just told him to go on his way. Then Sung Mok called him a ‘disgusting bastard,’ saying, ‘Just because you’re good at studying, do you think you’re somebody special? People like you only hold power inside school—in the real world, you’re absolutely nothing.’”
The student hesitated, clearly struggling to continue. Ga Eul braced herself for worse—Gyeo Wool wouldn’t have snapped over mere insults like those.
“Gyeo Wool replied he already knew all that without being told, and told Sung Mok to just go his own way. Then Sung Mok said…”
The student faltered again, unable to bring himself to speak. So the student beside him continued.
“Sung Mok said, ‘Well, seeing your older sister, I get it now—your sister, who used to be famous nationwide, turned out to be absolutely nothing after graduation. Nowadays, she’s working under some local thug—and at night, she even gives her body to that CEO. They do shameless things together in the office,’ he said. That’s why Gyeo Wool hit him.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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