Chapter 295: The Monologue of One Perpetrator
Chapter 295: The Monologue of One Perpetrator
Point of View of a Certain Soccer Club Member
Why…?
The words slipped out as I watched the news reporting Aono Eiji’s award. I used to look down on him, but now our positions have completely reversed. No… it’s not even something that simple anymore. He’s already gone so far ahead that there’s no way I could ever reach him now.
And yet, I…
The lawyer told me that once the school finalizes its disciplinary decision, I’ll most likely be suspended for a long period of time. If that happens, I won’t even be allowed to take exams, and repeating a year is basically inevitable. To take such a devastating hit at the most important stage of high school… over something this stupid.
As for the criminal case, I ended up on probation. Juvenile law was applied, so technically I don’t have a criminal conviction, but honestly, I don’t even understand the difference anymore. From now on, I’ll have to live forever with the fear of this stain hanging over me. What if it affects my college applications? My future job prospects? If I ever get married someday, what happens if they find out? Even my own family looks at me with disgust now.
Apparently, my lawyer fought desperately, trying to negotiate a settlement and get the complaint withdrawn, but the other side refused completely. Even though I panicked and deleted the posts, archived copies had already spread all over the internet. They can never truly be erased now. I never imagined this would become such a massive issue. It’s turned into a scar I’ll carry for the rest of my life. Just repeating a year in high school is enough for people to question you at important moments later on. What am I even supposed to tell them?
Compared to the other soccer club members, I got off lightly. I was only involved in the online slander. The students who directly participated in the bullying are apparently facing even harsher punishment.
Especially the ones involved in that dangerous assault incident.
I wasn’t part of the harassment involving his desk and belongings because we were in different classes, and I was too terrified to take part in the attempted assault. That alone ended up dividing our fates.
“What a pathetic little person I am…”
Aono, the guy I treated like he was beneath me, keeps becoming more and more successful. I convinced myself that someone with real talent was inferior to me, and all I got out of it was a cheap sense of superiority. In exchange, I threw away the irreplaceable years of my youth and branded my future with a mark that will never disappear.
Even in civil court, my parents will have to pay hundreds of thousands of yen in damages because of me. The meaningless confidence I used to have before all this vanished the moment reality came crashing down on me, and now all that remains is anxiety about the future. I was supposed to be the guy who worked hard at soccer and earned everyone’s admiration.
If I had just done nothing, those shining days probably would’ve continued.
Now I’ve fallen so far that words like “school caste” don’t even apply anymore. Even if I go back to school, I’ll just be someone everyone keeps their distance from. And if I end up in the same class as underclassmen, they’ll probably look at me like some kind of criminal and stay on guard around me.
Even if I somehow make it into college, I’ll probably spend every day terrified that my past will come out. Maybe someone from my high school who ends up at the same university will expose everything.
The ordinary life I lost looks dazzling to me now.
And far beyond that, there’s Aono Eiji…
How did I end up falling this far…?
This can’t be real.
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I loved this chapter, I'd like to know more about the perpetrators, especially the named characters.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, there were a lot of people who liked to belittle Eiji to feel superior, now they're getting what they deserve.
But I don't remember any aggression... maybe because of how long ago I read it, but were there any aggressions against Eiji? Besides Kondo hitting him, I don't remember any.
Not physically, but they wrote threats to him or against his family, in addition to sending or telling him things that they were going to kill him if he didn't leave the school, they broke his things, they put trash in his backpack and desk, etc.
DeleteSo what does that assault incident refer to?
DeleteEri's incident
DeleteI'd forgotten about that... I thought it was against Eiji, then I was thinking... "when does this happen?"
DeleteDidn't you mention in previous chapters that it wasn't necessary to describe every person involved in the harassment campaign?
DeleteWell, this chapter summarizes very well how each member of the football club is being punished, with the punishment varying according to the severity of each individual's actions, which I think is appropriate.
As for the random narrator, it's clear he received one of the mildest punishments, since it was limited to online harassment. However, it's worth noting how scared the narrator is, and rightly so, because the academic future is seriously compromised. Countries like Japan, South Korea, and China define the rest of his life, and even if he doesn't have a criminal record, the narrator will have a dirty thing on his school record. In Japan, that can determine which universities you can get into, since even the most prestigious ones, like University in Tokyo, can reject you for the slightest thing.
I hope the next chapter is like this one but from the point of view of a member of the literature club, since they face the same or worse, being more involved with Tachibana, who is receiving the worst punishment of all by being a trial as an adult, and she Will go to Jail.
I mentioned that there's no point in mentioning each team member by giving them a chapter, but you could mention the named characters, like two paragraphs each, and mention the others in a general way.
DeleteI agree with what you said about the narrator's fear; I wouldn't mind more detailing consequences like that. Everything the random narrator thought was true.
I'd like to see the random characters speak too, like Kondo's "named henchmen."
Every time one of these individuals appears and explains their motives, it becomes clear that they only acted because they believed themselves to be superior. "Doing the right thing" or believing they were defending an "innocent" person was never their motivation.
ReplyDeleteJust as they make it clear that they only acted because Eiji didn't have the "pseudo-popularity" they possessed, which made them feel important, or that they wouldn't have done anything against him if Eiji had achieved his professional goals first.
Considering how many people undoubtedly have a grievance with Miyuki, I’m surprised no one has tried to harm her and can’t help but wonder if something like that is going to happen or not.
ReplyDeleteI had already imagined this happening, but I think the author didn't plan it... well, I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
DeleteThey're probably too preoccupied with their own situation to think about anyone else. And frankly, these guys don't really have anything to criticize about Miyuki; she lied and justified the bullying, but she had no contact with most of those who carried it out.
DeleteWhich, it turns out, these guys harassed Eiji simply because they enjoyed attacking someone they considered inferior and defenseless.
I wonder how many Soccer Club members are being captured after they about to assault Eri, some of them are guilty of being involved of bullying Eiji for spreading false information.
ReplyDeleteI think all of them...? I mean, basically the soccer club of the school ceased to exist
DeleteIt was possibly disbanded that year, and a new one will have to be formed the following year. Or, depending on whether they have enough people, they might be without a football club for a few years. Which isn't such a big loss, since the school was good academically, but that club wasn't prominent externally. It wasn't, so to speak, the Kainan of football.
DeleteWell, this chapter summarizes very well how each member of the soccer club is being punished, with the punishment varying according to the severity of each individual's offense, which I think is fair.
ReplyDeleteAs for the random narrator, it's clear he received one of the mildest punishments since it was limited to online harassment; but it's worth noting how scared he is, and with good reason, since his academic future is seriously compromised. In countries like Japan, South Korea, and China, a student record can define the rest of one's life, and even if he doesn't have a criminal record, he will have a negative record on his school record. In Japan, that can even determine which universities you can get into, as the most prestigious ones, like the University of Tokyo, can reject you for a minor infraction.
I'll say it again, I'm surprised the autor haven't decided on a punishment for that b*tch Miyuki, since she's the central figure in this whole mess. Ideally, her punishment should be, in addition to her permanent expulsion from school (like Ritsu's), at least community service cleaning parks. Although, Miyuki's mother already promised to compensate Eiji with the money meant for Miyuki's university tuition, which I think is perfect since she knows her daughter has NO academic future and will have to earn a living like the average Japanese person, or even worse. Don't rule out her becoming a rental girlfriend like Chizuru or outright selling her body, though she doesn't want Ritsu to do the same.
I hope the next chapter is like this one but from the perspective of a member of the literature club, since they're facing the same or worse, being more involved with Tachibana, who's getting the worst punishment of all by being judged as an adult.
The author has grown fond of Miyuki, and that's why I think he changed something in his treatment of her.
DeleteIt seems he's buying time to devise a solid redemption plan for her, because he can't or shouldn't erase the consequences that still await her.
Part of true redemption is that a character has to suffer for their misdeeds and demonstrate their commitment to change. She can't expect the people she hurt to accept her again; she must accept that they will never forget what she did to them, or that, on the contrary, they will try to forget her and erase the place she held in their lives.
The author must also include the POV of the classmates (both those who participated and not participated in the bully and harrassment of Eiji)
DeleteI don't think anyone remembers this anymore, but I decided to comment anyway. Tachibana's motivation for sending Kondo after Eri hasn't been revealed yet; it's never been explained... I don't think the author will explain it.
ReplyDeleteI think she did say it. She realized she could manipulate people and wanted to test how good she was at it, so she chose a relationship that seemed strong to experiment with. There was no other reason, and in fact, she had almost forgotten about Eri.
Delete