God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 219

A figure a head taller than me stood right in front. His bloodshot eyes were flushed red.

The atmosphere was ominous.

I quickly assessed the surroundings.

'No people around, it'll take time to reach the car. If I run, I'll be caught.'

Objective facts entered my mind first. This was a secluded area of the parking lot, and I was carrying a lot of luggage.

Even if I threw down my belongings and ran, my body, tired from standing and working all day, didn't seem capable of running well.

If Kim Jun-seo harbored ill intentions and attempted to harm me, it meant there was no other way to prevent it.

Trying not to appear tense, I spoke with feigned composure.

"What brings you here? Do you have something to say?"

"......"

"It's a bit problematic for you to approach me privately like this."

I smiled gently while expressing my refusal. Until then, Kim Jun-seo stood motionless.

Just as I was beginning to wonder about his purpose, wanting to escape this uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible, I turned around swiftly.

"If you have nothing to say, I'll see you at the next filming. Then, I'll be..."

Thud!

That's when it happened.

When Kim Jun-seo grabbed my wrist.

'I've been caught.'

I had been hiding my phone behind my back, dialing 112.

The impact from having my wrist grabbed caused me to drop my phone. I glanced down at the cracked screen, then shifted my gaze back to my captured wrist.

"...Ugh."

I tried to shake off his hand, but even that wasn't easy. It was obvious that there would be red marks left, even without looking.

"Kim Jun-seo-ssi. What are you doing?"

When I asked in a sharp tone, Kim Jun-seo gritted his teeth and muttered.

"...Who do you think you are?"

The moment our eyes met, I realized.

'This person's eyes are unfocused.'

Recognizing that he wasn't in his right mind sent a chill down my spine. Run. A warning alarm sounded in my head.

"Who are you to look down on people?"

Squeeze.

"...!"

My captured wrist ached. I tried to escape, but with my wrist held, it was futile.

"You're just someone who got lucky and succeeded. Humiliating people like that."

"Hey, come to your senses. Do you even know what you're saying right now?"

"You did it on purpose, didn't you? To ruin me. If this place fails, I've got nothing left to lose...!"

Kim Jun-seo acted as if he couldn't hear my voice.

I didn't understand why he was acting this way, but it seemed I had triggered some kind of psychological trauma. It wasn't a good sign.

"You think I'll die alone?!"

Suddenly, my body swayed as my throat was tightly gripped.

Gak, a rough sound escaped as my airway constricted. The sudden grip on my collar made it difficult to react properly.

I saw his eyes, which seemed to have lost all reason.

"I won't let that happen. Absolutely not."

The blazing look in his eyes clearly contained hostility.

A chill ran down my spine at the thought that I might actually die here if things went wrong. Amidst the chaos, I realized that if I just stayed passive, something terrible could happen.

I mustered strength in my trembling arm.

Whack!

"Argh!"

As I swung my bag full of luggage hard, hitting his elbow, his grip on my collar loosened.

I hurriedly stepped back a couple of paces. Kim Jun-seo's face looked even more inflamed.

His anger seemed to say, "How dare you attack me?" But who grabbed whose collar first?

I think I've heard somewhere that when encountering a wild animal, you shouldn't turn your back and run.

I backed away cautiously while facing Kim Jun-seo. Then I suddenly turned and ran towards where my car was parked.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Kim Jun-seo closely pursued. I ran until I was out of breath, but before long, my clothes were grabbed.

"Ugh!"

As my body turned, I found myself facing Kim Jun-seo again. By now, I was utterly fed up.

Fortunately, if that's the right word, Kim Jun-seo seemed a bit calmer than before. His eyes were clearer than earlier.

"Ah, that thing earlier. If that gets broadcast, everyone around will see it. W-what am I supposed to do?"

Now, fear seemed to outweigh anger.

"What am I supposed to do! Huh? Go to the PD right now and tell them. Tell them to edit out that scene."

Kim Jun-seo pressed aggressively.

"We can film again! If you say so, they'll listen, won't they!"

He seemed terrified of being humiliated on national television. The mere thought of it appeared to blind him with panic.

While I understood his feelings, it didn't justify his violent behavior towards me. Regardless of the reason, this was coercion and intimidation.

"I can't do that."

"Why not? You think I won't hit you? Do you need to get hit once to understand the situation? I'll just...!"

He made a gesture of hitting me with his other hand. But I didn't even blink.

Unlike earlier, the current Kim Jun-seo was unlikely to cause serious harm, even if it was to intimidate me.

'Besides, this is the underground parking lot of the broadcasting station. Although it's secluded, if I hold out a little longer, someone is bound to pass by.'

If that happened, Kim Jun-seo wouldn't be able to act recklessly.

"Oh, you're not backing down?"

Seemingly irritated by my defiant attitude, Kim Jun-seo shouted "I'll just...!" once more, raising his hand high.

This time too, I looked at Kim Jun-seo with an unfazed expression.

"...!"

This seemed to provoke something in Kim Jun-seo again. His face flushed red with shame, and anger slowly rose.

"This time I'm really going to hit you. You think I won't? Let's see. Let's see who wins."

I really don't understand why he's taking this as a competition.

But his demeanor was so menacing that this time, I prepared myself mentally, anticipating the incoming pain.

Whoosh!

I even heard the sound of wind. Just as I was about to tightly close my eyes.

Click!

Along with a flash, the sound of a camera shutter echoed.

The click sound reverberated throughout the wide parking lot. I slowly turned my head to look at where the sound came from.

There stood Do-kyung, holding a mobile phone.

"Stop it."

While we were frozen stiff, Do-kyung intervened between me and Kim Jun-seo.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Do-kyung faced Kim Jun-seo and looked down at him. Startled by the sudden appearance of a third party, Kim Jun-seo hesitated.

"Don't interfere. Get out of the way."

"I've called the police. You're the one who should step aside."

Do-kyung spoke in a chilling tone. It was the first time I'd seen this side of him.

"Ugh...!"

Kim Jun-seo, who had been so menacing just moments ago, was now busy backing away in front of Do-kyung.

Then, as the sound of other people approaching and murmuring was heard from afar, he quickly ran away.

The sight of him fleeing with his tail between his legs was laughable.

"Haah......"

Do-kyung watched his retreating figure until the end, then slowly turned around. The fierce expression from earlier had completely vanished, replaced by his usual innocent look.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, right?"

"Yeah. For now, at least."

My wrist was a bit sore, but more importantly, why was he here?

As I looked at him with curiosity, Do-kyung answered as if he had read my mind.

"I was moving for the photo shoot, and I saw that person entering the parking lot. I felt uneasy for some reason, so I followed him in..."

So he happened to witness this scene. The timing was good. It was also thanks to him not ignoring that slight uneasiness and coming to check in person.

"Thank you. You saved me."

As the tension suddenly dissipated, my head started to throb. I hadn't noticed until now, but it seemed my whole body had been tense.

My entire body felt sore.

"I never expected him to act like this."

A bitter laugh escaped involuntarily. It was a complete miscalculation. I thought only a complete fool would do something like this.

But such fools do exist in this world.

Closing my eyes seemed to alleviate the fatigue a bit. As I pressed my fingers against my brow, the cool temperature of my fingertips improved my mood.

"It's fortunate that nothing serious happened. Let's report this to the police first. I took photos, so we can use them as evidence..."

Do-kyung stopped mid-sentence. His gaze was fixed on my wrist.

Ah. Between the rolled-up sleeve, vivid red marks were clearly visible. It looked like it would bruise.

I clicked my tongue and said,

"Of all places, it had to be somewhere so visible."

"Is that what you're worried about right now?!"

Do-kyung shouted and then, seemingly surprised by his own outburst, covered his mouth with his hand. It appeared to have been a reflexive response.

"It's important, isn't it?"

"No, that's not... You said you were fine earlier."

"I don't have any major injuries."

It was just some bruising and a sore wrist. Don't you get injuries like this even from intense exercise?

"You're saying this after getting hurt like this... Hah, never mind."

Do-kyung heaved a deep sigh.

"What can I say to someone who even goes to the jungle with such injuries?"

"Why are you suddenly bringing up that story?"

"If you don't understand, I have nothing more to say."

I went to the jungle because I could handle it. If I hadn't gotten caught up in the commotion that followed, the fact that I was injured that day would have remained a secret.

"You're not saying you won't go to the hospital, are you?"

"Of course not."

At my words, Do-kyung's face brightened.

"We need evidence to press charges, right? Evidence of assault."

"......"

Was it my imagination, or did Do-kyung's face turn cold?

But that wasn't important. My mind was finally starting to clear.

As my consciousness sharpened, my first thought was that I needed to deal decisively with Kim Jun-seo, who had dared to use force against me and escaped unscathed.

"...Will it be okay? He attempted to hit, but it ended as an attempt, and the only injury is the bruise on your wrist."

The reality was that under our country's current laws, it would be difficult to impose severe punishment. While the situation just now was certainly threatening, the actual injury was minor.

However.

The world doesn't always operate strictly according to the law.

"Just wait and see."

I showed a slight smile.

"I'll make him deeply regret what he did today."