Chapter 35: Time to Make a Decision (2)
Jang Moon-Ki also hurried back to his car when he saw Choi Jun-Woo leaving. However, Choi Jun-Woo's Ramborghini was already heading onto the road.
I spat out curses without realizing it. "Wow, seriously. That son of a bitch."
I quickly started the engine and began to follow Choi Jun-Woo. Although I didn’t know the woman in his car, I knew that she would be in big trouble if I let him go like this.
As I followed Choi Jun-Woo, I could see the woman in the passenger seat swaying around. At that moment, it dawned on me that Choi Jun-Woo must have drugged her, causing her to move in such a manner.
I called Kang Gam-Chan right away after capturing the scene on video.
"Mr. Kang! This is Yoon-Ho!"
-Yes, Yoon-Ho? What's going on?
"I'm currently following Choi Jun-Woo from Club BLUE, and there is a woman in the passenger seat who seems to be unconscious. I think she's been drugged?"
-What? Where are you right now?!
"I'm on my way from Club BLUE to Nonhyeon Station. We don't have much time, Mr. Kang. I'll send you the photos and video right away!"
-Yes, okay, do that.
I urgently sent the files via KkTalk to Kang Gam-Chan.
-What, what is this? Did she take some kind of drug?
The video I sent showed the movements of a woman who was clearly unconscious.
"Mr. Kang, what should I do?"
After a brief moment of silence, Kang Gam-Chan opened his mouth.
-Keep following him and keep me updated on your location for now. Leave the rest to me.
"Yes, sir. I'll continue to stay on his tail."
Suddenly, I found myself transformed into a pursuit unit, relaying Choi Jun-Woo’s location to Kang Gam-Chan in real time.
Looking through the rearview mirror, I saw that Jang Moon-Ki had switched lanes a few times, swiftly closing in on my tail.
I followed Choi Jun-Woo's Ramborghini with sweaty palms, determined not to lose sight of it. However, the sluggish pace of my van made it challenging for me to keep up with his speedy car.
"Argh, this damn van!"
Rumble rumble rumble.
"Come on, Super Vroom! Please don't give out on me now!"
I fervently hoped that my van, affectionately named Super Vroom by Miso, would not fall behind the Ramborghini. For the first time in my life, I found myself wishing for all the roads in Seoul to be completely jammed.
At that very moment, the traffic on Bongeunsa-ro miraculously began to congest, as if a deity had heard my wish.
***
Choi Jun-Woo was infuriated with the traffic jamming up the road—and that was when he spotted two familiar vans in the rearview mirror.
They were the vehicles that left the parking lot at the same time as he did.
Worried they might be reporters, Choi Jun-Woo started to drive faster.
"Damn it! They didn’t get me on camera yet, did they?"
Choi Jun-Woo knew there would be no problem as long as he arrived home because the high-end Luchen Villa in Cheongdam-dong, where he lived, strictly prohibited external entry.
Choi Jun-Woo immediately swerved into the back alley and stepped on the accelerator.
Vroom!
The Ramborghini jerked noisily each time its low chassis hit a speed bump.
Crunch!
"Ah! Fuck!"
Choi Jun-Woo heard the sound of the car's undercarriage breaking apart, but he couldn't stop.
‘I have to get out of here.’
That was all Choi Jun-Woo could think about.
At that moment, Han Yi-Seul, the rookie actress who had been drugged by Choi Jun-Woo with GHB, was about to open her eyes.
"Ugh..."
The multiple jolts from the speed bumps seemed to be bringing her back to consciousness.
Choi Jun-Woo cursed without realizing it. "Damn it!"
In the meantime, Han Yi-Seul, who had been unconscious from the GHB, began to fumble around with her feeble arms.
"Ah, damn it!! Why does this bitch have to wake up now of all times!?"
Choi Jun-Woo began to drive even more recklessly to get home as soon as possible.
Vroom!
The more he swerved, the more the car shook. And the more the car shook, the quicker Han Yi-Seul came to her senses.
"W-where... where am I?" Han Yi-Seul asked with eyes barely opened.
Choi Jun-Woo panicked and responded. "You’re fine! Just sleep a little more! Please!"
"Huh? Choi... Jun-Woo sunbae-nim? But why am I here...?" Han Yi-Seul looked around in confusion.
In response, Choi Jun-Woo hastily spat out a lie. "You said you wanted to see my house, right? That's where we're heading. I'll wake you when we get there, so sleep for now."
"When did I say I wanted to see your house...?" Han Yi-Seul groggily questioned as her head began to spin in confusion.
Han Yi-Seul had just reached adulthood and had visited the club for the first time to celebrate a sunbae actress' birthday. Although she only drank juice, she found herself waking up next to the top star Choi Jun-Woo.
Han Yi-Seul felt a chill down her spine. She couldn't grasp the situation but had a hunch that something terrible would happen if she stayed in Choi Jun-Woo’s car.
With tears streaming down her face, Han Yi-Seul begged to be let out. "P-please... let me... out. Please."
However, her drugged body wouldn't cooperate and her attempt to scream for help only resulted in feeble sounds. "Ugh... ah."
Just as her cries went unheard, she saw a police car approaching the Ramborghini from the side. Gasping for breath, she managed to press the button to lower the window after several failed attempts.
Whirrr.
Han Yi-Seul mustered all her strength to shout when the window lowered.
"Help...please...help me..."
Though barely audible, her face protruding from the window caught the attention of the police.
"Hey! Are you crazy? Keep your mouth shut!"
The startled Choi Jun-Woo reached out his right hand to cover Han Yi-Seul's mouth.
However, Han Yi-Seul bit down hard on Choi Jun-Woo's right hand with all her might.
Crunch!
"Arghhh! Fuck! You crazy bitch!"
Choi Jun-Woo's Ramborghini, which had been swaying from side to side, started hurtling towards the guardrail at a terrifying speed.
***
I continued to update Kang Gam-Chan on Choi Jun-Woo's location over the phone.
Then, a police car that zipped past me spotted Choi Jun-Woo's vehicle and began to accelerate.
Vroom!
'Yes! Thank goodness!'
The police car, which was much faster than my van, stuck close to Choi Jun-Woo's car.
Just when I thought I could relax now, Choi Jun-Woo's Ramborghini suddenly began to weave erratically.
Screeech!
"Huh..? Nooo!" All I could do was scream helplessly from inside my car as the distance between my van and the Ramborghini widened to about 50 meters.
At that critical moment, the police car pulled up alongside the Ramborghini and deliberately collided with it.
Bang!
Screech!
The sound of tires dragging was followed by the Ramborghini pushing the blocking police car onto the sidewalk.
Thud!
Both vehicles only came to a halt after hitting a roadside tree. Thankfully, the police car managed to slow down the Ramborghini and prevented a major disaster.
"That crazy bastard, Choi Jun-Woo!"
Smoke began to rise from the front trunks of the two collided cars.
As the driver’s door of the Ramborghini swung open, Choi Jun-Woo stumbled out in an attempt to flee the scene.
Clunk!
The police also exited their car to catch Choi Jun-Woo. However, they were staggering, possibly due to the impact of the collision.
With a remaining distance of 30 meters between Choi Jun-Woo and me, I slowed down my van to block Choi Jun-Woo who was trying to cross the road.
Tap.
I managed to avoid hitting him by a narrow margin.
"Huh? What?"
Blocked by my car, Choi Jun-Woo tripped over himself and fell flat on his back.
"What the hell! You bastard, you just hit me! Police! You saw it too, right? I'm going to sue!"
But no one was listening to him.
The police officers who were pursuing Choi Jun-Woo caught up and forcefully twisted his arm.
"Huh? What? Let go of me! What did I do?"
"You have the right to remain silent..."
While the police officers were cuffing Choi Jun-Woo's wrists and reading him his Miranda rights, Jang Moon-Ki, who arrived late, incessantly snapped photos. He then immediately ran to the blue Ramborghini and began taking pictures of the woman who had not yet regained consciousness.
Click, click!
I was impressed by how he maintained his professionalism even in a situation like this.
‘Wow. How can he think about taking pictures amidst this chaos?’
I could finally relax now. After all, I was sure that Jang Moon-Ki would publish an exclusive article right away even before the sun rose.
With that, the event in my planner had also been deleted.
[Everyday V10]
[Date: January 15, 2020]
-11:05 PM <Deleted Schedule>
(Deleted Schedule: (Report) Weekly Star News Flash. Choi Jun-Woo, caught at the entrance of Club BLUE, intoxicated and causing a disturbance. Arrested on the spot.)
"Phew. It's over." Heaving a sigh of relief, I reported to Kang Gam-Chan that the situation was resolved.
-You really did a great job, Yoon-Ho.
"I just got lucky. But what should we do now? Jang Moon-Ki is here taking pictures and causing a commotion."
-Leave the rest to me. I've already spoken to the police there, so just pretend you don't know anything and slip away.
"But is that really okay?"
-Of course. I've taken care of everything already.
That explained why the police were not questioning me and were instead preoccupied with stopping Jang Moon-Ki from taking the photos.
"Okay, Mr. Kang. But you must make sure that the woman gets a blood test immediately. If I’m not wrong, traces of GHB disappear if you don't test within the same day."
-Wow. How do you even know that?
"Well, isn’t it something you can learn from watching American dramas?"
It was something that I couldn't help but know as there were a couple of top stars at Top Entertainment who had caused such incidents in my past life.
Of course, cleaning up after them had always been my responsibility.
"Please ensure that the victim is also taken care of without any harm, Mr. Kang."
-Okay, I got it. I'll take care of it.
After exchanging nods with the police, I quickly left the scene.
***
I considered joining the company dinner, but it was already midnight.
"It's probably over by now."
The image of Hanwoo beef flickered in front of my eyes, but going now at this time to eat Hanwoo seemed too much.
Just as I was about to drive home, I received a call from Oh Deok-Gu.
"Yes, Mr. Oh."
-Yoon-Ho oppa, when are you coming?
I could hear Yoo-Jin's slurred voice over the phone.
"Oh? Is the dinner still going on?"
-Yeah~ It just started. Okay~ I’m coming!
‘Huh? Where is she going?’
A moment later, Oh Deok-Gu took the phone.
-Yoon-Ho. Come join us if you're done with your urgent business. The dinner's still in full swing. And try to calm Yoo-Jin down, please. She's starting to make a scene with her drunkenness.
"Yoo-Jin is drunk?"
-Yeah. She's been asking for you like crazy. Hurry over.
"Me?"
The news of Yoo-Jin causing a scene got me turning the van around immediately to head to the dinner location.
An actress’ drunken antics were the perfect fodder for the press.
My heart started to beat even faster than when I was chasing Choi Jun-Woo.
***
"Mr. Oh. Huff, huff."
"Oh, you made it." Oh Deok-Gu greeted me.
I was worried about Yoo-Jin's drunken behavior making the news, but Oh Deok-Gu quickly reassured me. He said the PD had firmly warned everyone from the start of the dinner not to recklessly take photos and leak them, or he wouldn't let them off easily.
"You should have told me that earlier, Mr. Oh. Do you know how hard I pressed on the accelerator because I was worried sick?"
Team Leader Oh Deok-Gu laughed teasingly. "Haha, were you that concerned? Well, I guess it makes sense since she's your first assigned actress. But hey, why worry when I'm here?"
‘Now that I think about it, he's right.’
I cleared my throat and subtly changed the subject.
"But how much has Yoo-Jin had to drink? She’s wasted."
"She became like this after just half a bottle of soju."
The drunk Yoo-Jin had somehow got hold of an apron and was bustling around the table with her sleeves rolled up to her forearms. It was hard to tell if she was an actress or a part-timer at the barbecue restaurant.
‘I mean, why is an actress holding tongs and a bottle of soju?’
"Enjoy your meal~."
"Hahaha. Wow, Miss Yoo-Jin. You're really good at grilling meat."
"How many part-time jobs do you think I've had~? Here, cheers~!"
‘Oh my goodness.’
Yoo-Jin picked up a well-cooked piece of meat with the tongs and placed it on the staff's lettuce wrap. She even poured them a glass of soju.
With her words slightly slurring and speaking with a lisp, Yoo-Jin was feeding the staff in a drunk manner.
The staff laughed brightly as they accepted Yoo-Jin's offers of soju.
"I didn’t know she had that kind of drinking habit."
"I'm seeing it for the first time too. Didn't you know?"
"Not really. Well, I’ve never had an opportunity to drink with her."
"It's better than her crying, though. Look at that. Assistant Director Choi Song-Hyun is a lightweight drinker but he's drinking so much because it's from Yoo-Jin."
Yoo-Jin was serving drinks fairly to both the actors and staff.
"Well, I’d rather choose this over a snobbish actress."
"That's why I left her be."
Unlike many others who would refer to the youngest staff members as ‘hey, you’, Yoo-Jin addressed them by their names and handed them drinks.
Thanks to her, the dinner proceeded in a cheerful atmosphere.
Then, Lee Ji-Yeon, who had been drinking with the PDs, approached me with Kim Soll-Ip.
"Yoon-Ho~."
I bowed my head to greet Writer Lee Ji-Yeon. "Ah, Ms. Lee!"
The reason we were able to book the entire restaurant for the dinner was thanks to Lee Ji-Yeon. She was treating everyone to dinner in celebration of the drama surpassing 20% viewership ratings.
Kim Soll-Ip also came over and sat down beside Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Hey, you made it! But why is Miss Yoo-Jin like that?"
I turned to look at Yoo-Jin. ‘Wait. When did Yoo-Jin slip into the kitchen again?’
Yoo-Jin was now carrying side dishes on a large silver tray over her head.
"Eat the beef as soon as the redness fades. Here's some salted sauce. And excuse me! Could we get some more soy sauce and onions over here~?"
‘Is she the owner of this place or what? Why is she so focused on serving the side dishes?’
"Hahaha. Got it, Miss Yoo-Jin. I'll bring it right away. Do you need any more lettuce?"
"We're good with lettuce. Just please bring seven more perilla leaves, ma'am~."
"Okay~."
Yoo-Jin’s energy in helping out seemed to rub off the restaurant staff who appeared to also be having fun.
Lee Ji-Yeon was amused and laughed at the sight but Kim Soll-Ip was observing Yoo-Jin with a sharp gaze.
‘Wait.’
The sight of Yoo-Jin serving food felt strangely familiar, like something I had seen before.
'Could it be?'
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