Chapter Seventy-five "Phoenix in His Arms"

 

The Evidence

Taehyung remained eerily calm despite the woman's threats. Without a word, he pulled out his phone and made a quick call. Within minutes, the door to the office swung open, and Min Yoongi strode in, a sleek laptop tucked under his arm.

"You called?" Yoongi asked, setting his laptop down on the principal’s desk.

Taehyung nodded. "I need you to recover any available footage from the cafeteria yesterday and the library today. Someone erased it, but I know you can work around that."

Yoongi smirked. "Easy enough. Give me ten minutes."

As Yoongi got to work, silence filled the room, thick with tension. The girl and her mother sat stiffly, the older woman’s confidence unwavering. Jungkook fidgeted, his hands clenched into tight fists, but Taehyung’s reassuring hand on his shoulder kept him grounded.

Exactly ten minutes later, Yoongi turned the laptop toward the group. "Found it. The footage isn’t the best quality since it was partially deleted, but it’s enough."

On the screen, the scene in the cafeteria played out. Jungkook was seen picking up the chocolate from his chair and eating it absentmindedly. His friends returned, panicked, and snatched it away. Then, the confession letter was discovered under him. Then in the library, Jungkook explained everything—he had never sought out the girl, nor did he kiss or harass her. The footage was damning proof of his innocence.

The girl gasped, her face draining of color. "Mom… I…"

Her mother, however, wasn’t ready to back down. She scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "So what? It doesn’t matter. My daughter likes that Jungkook boy, and she will have him. Name your price."

The room froze at her audacity.

She smirked and crossed her arms. "Besides, I’m a shareholder of this university. I can make life difficult for you, Professor Kim. You’d do well to cooperate."

Taehyung let out a low chuckle, tilting his head as he finally gave her his full attention. "What’s your name?"

Thinking she had piqued his interest, the woman straightened her posture and confidently stated her name.

Taehyung hummed in acknowledgment before making another call. "Dad, is there a shareholder by the name of Miss Min-ha?"

A brief pause. Then, a sly smile crept onto Tae’s lips. "Oh, she’s not a major shareholder? Her husband had been the one who died. Hmm. I don’t want her to be a shareholder of this university anymore. Can you arrange that?"

The woman’s smirk faltered. "W-What?"

Tae continued, ignoring her growing panic. "Can you make a call to her now? Hmm? No, everything is fine. Just business."

With that, he ended the call, his expression completely neutral. Before the woman could fully grasp what was happening, her phone buzzed. The caller ID displayed the university president himself.

Her hands trembled as she reached for the device. Everyone in the room watched in silence as reality crashed down on her.

She picked up the call, and within seconds, her confident demeanor crumbled. "Sir, please, I… I didn’t mean—" Her voice wavered, but the other person on the line showed no mercy. A moment later, the call ended, and she stood there, frozen in shock.

Turning to her daughter with rage, she raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face. "You foolish girl! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? It was the only income we were living on after your father died! We lost everything!"

Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes as she held her cheek, unable to speak. Desperation filled her mother’s voice as she turned back to Tae. "Professor Kim, please! Forgive me! I will transfer my daughter from here! Please, just… don’t do this!"

Tae folded his arms and stared at them with cold indifference. "I would have considered that if you had the slightest bit of remorse. But you only care about what you lost, not what you tried to do."

The girl trembled, realizing the gravity of the situation. Fearful of making things worse, she stammered, "Professor Kim… it wasn’t just me. I… I met Sia after leaving the library. She told me that since you and Jungkook are so close, we could separate you. I’d get Jungkook, and she… she’d be there to comfort you until you belonged to her. She also said that she knew someone who would delete the CCTV footage if needed."

A tense silence settled in the room as everyone processed the revelation. Tae’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening. He exhaled slowly, his sharp gaze flickering with dangerous intent.

"Sia…" he muttered under his breath. "So she was behind this as well."

Yoongi closed his laptop with a smirk. "Well, well. Seems like we have another snake to deal with."

Jungkook, who had been silently watching, clenched his fists. "Hyung… what are we going to do?"

Tae straightened his posture, adjusting his suit. "We deal with her accordingly."

With that, Tae turned to Namjoon and made another call. "Principal Sir, I need you to summon Sia and her parents immediately."

Namjoon’s voice was firm on the other end. "Understood. I’ll call them right away."

Not long after, Sia arrived, flanked by her parents, who appeared confused and slightly nervous.

Namjoon wasted no time. "Sia, we have evidence that you conspired against Professor Kim Vantae and his ‘cough’ ‘brother, ’ Jungkook, fabricating false claims that could have ruined a student’s life and a professor’s reputation. Do you deny it?"

Sia paled, darting her eyes around in search of an escape. "I… I was just—"

"Enough," Namjoon cut her off. "Due to your actions, we have no choice but to terminate your student ID immediately."

Her parents gasped, her father stepping forward. "Principal Kim, please reconsider—"

Namjoon’s voice was unyielding. "No exceptions. Additionally, your daughter’s academic records will reflect her misconduct, and she will be expelled."

Sia gasped, her legs giving out beneath her. "No… no, you can’t…"

Her mother clutched her father’s arm, tears forming in her eyes. "Please, our daughter—"

"She made her choice," Tae said coldly. "And now she faces the consequences."

As security escorted the disgraced student and their sobbing parents out, Jungkook let out a deep breath, feeling the weight of the past few hours lift slightly.

Yoongi stretched and glanced at Taehyung. "That was satisfying. Now, who wants food?"

Taehyung shook his head with a small smirk. "Let’s go. I think Jungkook needs some comfort food after all this mess."

Jungkook groaned, rolling his eyes. "If you mean forcing me to eat vegetables, then no thanks."

Everyone chuckled as they finally left the principal’s office, knowing that at least this battle had been won.

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