The Villainous Director Is Raising a Child!

I paused a moment, letting the silence draw out, and turned my gaze away.

"Of course…."

"……?"

"Deputy Director Park Wonjin knew all of this. Every last bit."

"……!!"

At my words, Park Wonjin thrashed as if seized by a fit.

"Lies!! I don't know a thing about this! Everything that bastard is saying is a lie!!"

While the security officers roughly bore down on him, I ignored his raving completely and calmly went on.

"Bring up the screen, please."

The picture on the screen changed, and an old document appeared, enlarged.

[Test Subject Gate Assault and External Operation Authorization]

And in the final approval box at the bottom of the document was the decisive piece of evidence Lee Jinwoo had seamlessly forged.

[Deputy Director Park Wonjin (seal)]

A red seal, stamped clearly.

Undeniable proof that the final authorizer of every one of these 'Gate assaults' was none other than Park Wonjin himself.

"But… Deputy Director Park Wonjin would never have dreamed that Bawi Guild was protecting the children. I deliberately left it out of the reports."

"…Why?"

"I was afraid — that he might somehow find out."

"Afraid? What do you mean…?"

"If he'd known the children had a safeguard as sturdy as 'Bawi Guild' behind them… he would have found some other underhanded way to hurt them."

"Ah…."

"So I hid it. Letting him believe 'the children were being driven into death traps bare-handed' was the only way to keep them safe."

The moment my confession ended, the hearing chamber turned in an instant into a cauldron of fury.

"My god… so he stamped his seal telling them to die, knowing everything?"

"He approved it wanting the kids to die?! That's a murderer, plain and simple!"

"The gall on him! Pulling that and then playing dumb, accusing the Director?!"

As the furious shouting rolled in wave after wave, Park Wonjin, ashen, sprang up from his seat.

"N-no! It's a frame-up! It's all forged! I — I never stamped that seal! That bastard's lying!!"

He raged, veins bulging, screaming himself hoarse, but it wasn't nearly enough to turn public opinion, which had already hit rock bottom.

If anything, it was pouring fuel on the fire.

"Hey, you murdering son of a bitch!!"

It got to where one worked-up spectator yanked off a shoe and made to hurl it at Park Wonjin.

"Stop him! Hold him back!"

The guards rushed in and held him down.

"Let go of me! Let go, I said! Those bastards are all frauds!"

"Silence! Sit down! Quiet, please!"

The chair shouted himself hoarse and hammered the gavel like a madman.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Only after the storm had swept through did the hall finally begin to settle.

Clutching his throbbing head, the chair looked at Han Jewoon, who stood alone, aloof and untouched, in the middle of the bedlam.

"Is your testimony… finished there?"

Han Jewoon smiled easily and nodded.

"Yes. That's all. My partner's innocence seems to be proven, so I'll take my leave."

He shot me another wink and, waving with easy grace at the pouring cheers of the fans, made his way out of the hearing chamber.

"Kyaaaa!! Oppa! Don't go!!"

"I love you! Han Jewoon!!"

His exit set off another fierce round of chaos, but fortunately the security detail on standby moved in fast, and the uproar was quickly put down.

The chair mopped the cold sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and let out a deep sigh. It was plain from his face that he wanted this mess over with, and fast.

"Ha… honestly. I've served for decades, and I've never in my life seen a hearing this chaotic."

He tapped the gavel lightly to draw the disorderly hall's attention.

"As you're all aware, this hearing is not merely about establishing the facts. Given the gravity of the case, it's a solemn proceeding, one that will also hand down summary judgment and administrative sanctions."

He picked up the papers on his desk, his face set, as if there was no reason to drag this out further.

"With all testimony and examination of evidence now complete… after thirty minutes of deliberation with the committee, I will hand down a final ruling."

Just as the chair was about to lift the gavel.

"Wait! Wait a moment! I have more to say! There's still testimony I haven't given!"

Park Wonjin shot up out of his seat and cried out, his voice nearly a scream. But the chair firmly shook his head.

"Denied. Mr. Park Wonjin, you've already been given ample opportunity to testify. There's nothing more that needs to be heard."

"No, please! Please, just listen to me! It — it can't end yet!"

Even as the guards restrained him, Park Wonjin thrust out his hands and flailed at the air.

His eyes had lost focus and were darting wildly.

"Time! Give me more time! Anything, ask me anything more — it can't end like this!"

I furrowed my brow, watching that strange spectacle.

Why the hell is he acting like this?

It made no sense at all.

His guilt was already plain, and public opinion had run to the worst possible extreme.

In a situation where sitting quietly was the barest minimum, kicking up a fuss like this would only pile extra hostility on top. It was a self-inflicted wound that did him no good at all.

And yet Park Wonjin was acting… as if his life were on the line.

As if he were someone who couldn't afford for this hearing to end….

For a mere raving fit, the desperation written on his face was too raw — too strange.

"F-fine! I'll call one too! I want to call a witness!"

Park Wonjin shouted at the top of his lungs, grasping at any straw within reach.

"Chae Junhyeok called witnesses who weren't on the pre-approved list, so let me — let me call one too! Give me a fair chance!"

The hall stirred at his claim.

He wasn't entirely wrong.

Kim Sunja's and Han Jewoon's appearances had been so shocking that everyone had let it slide, but calling in witnesses without prior agreement was, undeniably, one-sided.

"Hmm…."

The chair narrowed his brow, looking put on the spot, and rubbed his chin.

"Certainly… if we're going by fairness, there's a point in what he says, but…"

Committee Chair Number One thought for a moment, then looked around at the members to either side of him.

"Very well. Given the gravity of this case and the sheer number of unexpected developments piling up, we'll settle it democratically."

He adjusted his glasses and declared, solemn.

"By show of hands, we will decide whether to allow Deputy Director Park Wonjin's 'additional witness summons.'"

……!

"Committee members in favor, please raise your hands."

Snap—!

The first hand up was, naturally, Number Three's.

"Of course we should hear the other side! He says he's been wronged!"

He glared at me, breathing hard through his nose. And then….

Slowly—.

At the far right, Number Five raised her hand with grace.

She looked at me, her eyes curving into a smile.

The chair nodded.

"That makes two. Not a majority, so the request for an additional witness is denied, and we'll proceed to the ruling—"

Just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief.

"Hmm…."

Number Two, who had been sitting composed, toyed with her glasses and spoke, low.

"The function of a court is to leave not an inch of injustice unaddressed, so I'll raise my hand as well."

Slowly, but surely, she raised her hand.

Three to two. Majority in favor.

"…It can't be helped."

The chair couldn't hide his discomfort, but he nailed it down in a firm tone.

"But I will not tolerate wasted time. I'll hear no rehashing of what's already been covered, and no baseless assertions. Without concrete evidence, I'll revoke your right to speak on the spot."

Even at the chair's razor-edged warning, Park Wonjin let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Truly, thank you for granting me the chance."

The life had come back into his face to a degree you'd never believe of a man who'd gone ashen only moments before.

……?

I narrowed my eyes.

What in the world is he plotting?

"I request the 'decisive witness' who can speak most surely to the truth of this case."

"Decisive witness? And who might that be?"

Park Wonjin looked at me and said it clearly.

"The institute's test subj — no, the children. Bring those kids in here."

For a moment the hearing chamber froze, as if cold water had been dashed over it.

"Wh-what did he say?"

"Has he lost his mind? He wants to put the victim children up here?"

The stunned murmurs of the crowd rolled out in waves. Paying no mind, Park Wonjin raised his voice.

"At the end of the day, aren't the children the heart of 'Project R'? Then it's simple — ask the children themselves, the parties involved!"

I kicked back my desk and shot to my feet.

"Absolute nonsense! It has to be denied!"

"Witness Chae Junhyeok!"

"Putting children who've suffered horrific abuse in front of hundreds of cameras and strangers — that's plain secondary victimization! Are you trying to reopen their trauma?!"

Park Wonjin shot back, his eyes burning.

"If you're truly in the clear, there's no reason not to call them! What surer evidence is there than the victims' own firsthand testimony?!"

"Why, you son of a—!"

I leaned forward as if I might charge out any second, and Park Wonjin, not to be outdone, glared back with wide, murderous eyes.

The air between us crackled with bloodlust.

"Enough! Everyone, calm down!"

The chair finally let out a long sigh and looked at me.

"Witness. Are the children… present, by any chance?"

I bit down hard on my lip and slowly nodded.

"…Yes. They're in the waiting room."

The moment my answer landed, Park Wonjin's eyes went wide.

"Wh-what did you say? The children… are here right now, not at the institute?"

What flashed across his face was not triumph, but plain 'confusion.'

He's thrown here?

It was clearly Park Wonjin himself who had asked for the children as witnesses.

So shouldn't he have been pleased to hear they were in the waiting room?

But his reaction was the exact opposite.

As if… he'd wanted the children to stay at the institute, not here.

The chair, as if his mind was made up, lifted the gavel.

"Very well. We'll hear the children's testimony. However."

He looked around the hall with a firm gaze and declared.

"For the protection of the children, all reporters and spectators will be removed. From this point forward, this becomes a closed session with only the witnesses and committee members present."

The moment those words left him, the hall descended into pandemonium.

"What?! Closed session?!"

"That's a violation of the people's right to know! Let us stay too!"

Reporters, on the verge of losing their scoop, waved their cameras and protested fiercely; the spectators, too, raised their voices in outrage.

But the chair was firm. He brought the gavel down with even more force.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"The safety of the children comes first! I will hear no objections. Bailiffs! Clear the hall at once — get everyone out! Now!"

At the chair's roar, the bailiffs moved in, and the storm of protest and clamor that had lashed the hall was swept out.

Ten minutes later. In the empty hearing chamber, only a heavy silence lingered.

Creak.

The heavy door opened, and six children came in escorted by the bailiffs.

You could see plain on their faces that they'd been brought here with no idea why.

"Um… why did you bring us here?"

The chair took off his glasses, set them down, and spoke.

"I'm so sorry we startled you. We're not here to scold you."

His voice, unlike before, was astonishingly gentle.

"We're conducting a very important trial right now, and to get to the truth we really need help from you, who were there — that's why we called you in."

Just then, two from among the children stepped forward, as if to shield the younger ones.

It was Sea-ah and Yul.

"……What kind of help?"

At that, Number Four leaned his upper body forward and jumped in urgently.

"You don't have to think of it as anything hard. Just tell us what you went through when you were at the institute, and…"

Number Four glanced over at me.

"Just tell us honestly how Director Chae Junhyeok — right over there — treated you. If the Director was good to you, then just say he was good to you — no need to be nervous."

At that, Number Three sprang up and jabbed a finger.

"What do you think you're doing?! Don't lead the witness so openly! You're pressuring the children into a specific answer!"

"What?! Pressuring?! The children are nervous — I was just trying to put them at ease!"

"That is exactly what leading the witness is!"

Voices rose in an instant and the hall was on the verge of turning ugly when the chair brought the gavel down hard.

Tang! Tang!

"Both of you, enough! Are you going to make a spectacle of yourselves in front of the children?!"

I watched the scene until I couldn't take any more, then shot my hand up and called out.

"Mr. Chairman!! I have a request!"

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