Chapter 78: Plagiarism (3)
Cha Sang-Taek was aiming for Lee Dong-Min.
Swoosh!
The fist of a former boxer swung toward Lee Dong-Min's jaw. However, I extended my right hand at just the right time and caught his fist.
Crack!
"Huh?"
Surprised that his fist was caught by me, Cha Sang-Taek's eyes widened. "H-how did you catch my fist..."
The confused Cha Sang-Taek staggered back.
"You're too slow," I murmured.
Cha Sang-Taek suddenly changed his target from Lee Dong-Min to me and lunged forward. This time, Cha Sang-Taek's fist swiftly aimed at my left jaw. But I easily dodged it by rotating my shoulder.
Swoosh.
"He dodged it...?"
Cha Sang-Taek's expression twisted once again as his punch missed me at close range. Biting his lips, Cha Sang-Taek continuously threw punches.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
As I continuously dodged his punches, Cha Sang-Taek's face turned red with anger.
"Urgh! Just get hit, will you!?"
I could easily counter and shatter Cha Sang-Taek's jaw if I wanted to. But I refrained from using my hands as I had a different purpose for being here.
"Huff huff huff!"
Despite being out of breath, Cha Sang-Taek relentlessly swung his fist again.
Swoosh.
"Alright. It’s time to stop."
Not wanting to continue this standoff any longer, I tripped his approaching leg slightly.
"Whoa!"
Cha Sang-Taek immediately lost balance and staggered forward.
That's when it happened.
"I brought some yogurt as you requested, sir~."
A huge man opened the door energetically. At that moment, Cha Sang-Taek, who was falling forward, hit his head hard on the corner of the open door.
Bang!
"Keuk!"
Caught off guard by the sudden shock, Cha Sang-Taek lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Simultaneously, the open door was flung back and it hit the burly man straight in the face.
Bang!
"Agh!"
At the same time, the huge man screamed while covering his face, and the black bag he was holding flew up into the air. Yogurt bottles exploded from the torn black plastic bag like a volcanic eruption and rolled around everywhere in the small office.
***
Lee Dong-Min, who had been watching blankly, snapped back to reality and started berating Choi Hyun-Oh.
"Hey! Choi Hyun-Oh! Are you a gangster or what? What was your intention? To silence us and then dump our bodies in the sea near Incheon? You son of bitch!"
Intimidated by Lee Dong-Min's shout, Choi Hyun-Oh stepped back hesitantly. "N-no, it's not like that..."
While Lee Dong-Min was screaming at Choi Hyun-Oh, I kept a close eye on both Cha Sang-Taek, who had lost consciousness, and the huge man, who was sprawled out on the ground with his limbs stretched.
"Ughhh..."
The huge man regained his consciousness first. Quickly assessing the situation, the huge man suddenly moved swiftly.
I stepped back, ready to defend myself at any moment. "Are you gonna attack me too?"
But there was no need to.
The huge man, who was next to the unconscious Cha Sang-Taek, raised his hands above his head as if to surrender.
"What are you doing right now?"
"W-well...since you knocked down Sang-Taek hyung-nim, I figured you're not someone I should mess with. I'll just stay out of the way."
Despite his intimidating appearance, he was kneeling before me even without being asked to. Soon, Cha Sang-Taek also opened his eyes. But he didn't think of attacking anymore and leaned against the wall while rubbing his forehead. He probably realized he couldn't beat me.
At that moment, Choi Hyun-Oh pointed with his finger to a spot in the top corner of the office.
Choi Hyun-Oh exclaimed, "Y-you guys are done for. The security camera caught you hitting us! I'm going to sue all of you!"
But I had already checked the security camera when I entered—the recording light was off.
"Stop lying. I know that’s just a decorative security camera with no real function. Moreover, I didn’t hit anyone."
‘Although I did trip him slightly.’
"But if you insist that I’ve hit you... shall I make your statement come true?"
As I stepped forward, Choi Hyun-Oh flinched and stepped back. Then, he pointed to Cha Sang-Taek, who was leaning against the wall. "Wait! If you want to hit someone, beat him up! He's the one who threw punches, not me!"
‘Wow, what a character. He's turning his back on the one who fought for him?’
Sure enough, Cha Sang-Taek dropped his head in disappointment. But Lee Dong-Min stopped me and said something unexpected.
"Yoon-Ho, are you okay? He hit your leg earlier. Are there any bruises? You also bumped your shoulder, didn’t you?"
It was true that my shoulder and chest got brushed a few times by Cha Sang-Taek’s fist while blocking and dodging.
Lee Dong-Min secretly winked at me. 'Act like you’re hurt.'
'You want me to act?'
'Yes. You know what bluffing is, right?'
At that moment, I leaned against the sofa and started screaming loudly as I rolled around ‘in pain.’
"Ow, ow. Now the pain is rushing in. Mr. Lee, please call 112 or 119![1] My leg! My shoulder! Ahhh!"
Cha Sang-Taek and the huge man looked dumbfounded. But it didn't matter.
‘What can you do when your boss gives you orders? If he says roll, you roll.’
As I rolled around on the sofa, Lee Dong-Min took out his phone.
"Jeez. How could you beat up someone who came for a peaceful conversation like this? I'll make sure you all get jail time!"
As Lee Dong-Min fumed and took out his phone, Choi Hyun-Oh clung to his clothes. "W-wait. Let's talk this out! Let’s talk!"
"Let go of me. I said let go!"
"Ch-Chief Lee. Let's negotiate the amount, huh? I can drop the price to 10 million, no, 5 million won. We need to make something out of this too!"
Choi Hyun-Oh was utterly ridiculous. Even now, he was talking about money.
Fed up, Lee Dong-Min shouted, "Stop the nonsense and call the association by tomorrow to withdraw the copyright application. And send a document to our company by 12 tomorrow stating you acquired our composer’s file, causing damage.'"
When Lee Dong-Min drew a firm line, Choi Hyun-Oh gauged his reaction. "So, you won't sue if I do that?"
"You're joking, right? The legal team has already filed a lawsuit."
"Damn it. Then why should I do what you say? Huh?"
Choi Hyun-Oh was angry but kept glancing at me.
"Do as you're told, and we'll consider a settlement. You better think carefully if you want a settlement. I'm being generous enough to make it a suspended sentence."
Choi Hyun-Oh seemed to be pondering over the offer.
"You have until 12 o'clock. Don't forget. Of course, if this story leaks before that, it's all over."
I followed closely behind Lee Dong-Min, who had become several times more confident than when we first entered Uncle Music and left the office.
***
Choi Hyun-Oh watched Woo Hyung-Jun pick up yogurt scattered on the floor and raised his hand. "Ah! This bastard. You’re big for nothing! You are absolutely useless when needed! You eat so much for nothing!"
Woo Hyung-Jun flinched. "I've told you several times that I can't fight, boss."
Choi Hyun-Oh vented his frustration on him. "What a waste of size! And why did you buy exactly as much yogurt as the money I gave you? Did you think it would all fit in the fridge, huh?"
There were 20 thousand won worth of yogurt bottles on the floor. The bill he threw at Woo Hyung-Jun was a 10 thousand won bill, but another bill must have been hidden inside. The yogurt that burst out of its packaging was spreading a sweet smell in the office.
Choi Hyun-Oh scratched his head in exasperation. He didn't want to comply with any of the conditions Lee Dong-Min had set.
Choi Hyun-Oh harshly chided Cha Sang-Taek, who was still holding his head. "And you—Cha Sang-Taek, you damn fool. Weren't you a national boxing champion?"
"That was ten years ago."
Choi Hyun-Oh started to get angry again at Cha Sang-Taek's calm response. "But still. You were so easily beaten by that ordinary guy. Didn’t you say you were unbeatable? I was a fool to believe your words!”
Choi Hyun-Oh raged, but Cha Sang-Taek frowned, looking dumbfounded. "Boss, that man is not an ordinary guy. He has been properly trained."
"What?"
"He's not at an amateur level! Even if my punches have dulled over time, there’s no way an ordinary person can dodge them. Look at this!"
Swoosh!
Cha Sang-Taek quickly threw a punch which stopped right in front of Choi Hyun-Oh's nose. The swift air ruffled his hair.
"Ugh! A-are you trying to hit me just for scolding you?"
Choi Hyun-Oh was startled and collapsed on the sofa. Although it was done in anger, Cha Sang-Taek continued talking as if nothing had happened. "You see how fast my fist is? That guy dodged this fist and didn’t even blink. He was only on defense too. He's better than me."
"Th-then, how about we ask your friends for help?"
Cha Sang-Taek sighed. "There's no one among my friends who can fight better than me. And it seems like even a bigger opponent can’t stop someone like that guy. One hit in the jaw is all it takes for a human to lose consciousness."
Choi Hyun-Oh said in a frustrated voice. "Th-then what do you want me to do?! Just pay them for everything and go to jail?"
Cha Sang-Taek silently picked up a yogurt from the floor. He tore off the green cap and drank the sweet yogurt.
'Whether you go to jail or hell, it's none of my business.'
Cha Sang-Taek had been serving Choi Hyun-Oh as a 'boss' for over two years, but Choi Hyun-Oh tried to abandon him without a moment of hesitation. Cha Sang-Taek thought about looking elsewhere for a new job.
'Perhaps I should actively cooperate with the police and save myself instead.'
Rather than getting entangled in the mess, Cha Sang-Taek was thinking of suing Choi Hyun-Oh first.
***
"Achoo."
As I was driving, my ears itched and a sneeze burst out at the same time.
‘Is someone cursing me right now or something?’
But Lee Dong-Min, who left Uncle Music with me, remained silent ever since we got in the car. Sighing at his changed attitude, I asked.
"Why are you suddenly feeling so down like this? Is something wrong?"
"M-me, what? No, I’m not feeling down at all. Nothing's wrong."
Lee Dong-Min pretended to be fine, but this man had no talent for acting.
"If it's about what happened earlier, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stepped in."
Lee Dong-Min turned his head toward me. "Yoon-Ho, you didn't have some kind of gang life before joining the company, did you? Tell me it's not true!"
"Of course not. I just learned various things here and there."
"So, what is it that you learned!?"
Lee Dong-Min asked me earnestly. After contemplating for a while, I shared a bit of my life story with Lee Dong-Min. To stand up against the kids who bullied me in the orphanage and those at school who teased me for not having parents, I initially started with fighting in the streets. Then, thanks to a boxing club teacher in middle school, I dreamt of becoming a professional boxer. But when boxing wasn't profitable enough, I turned to mixed martial arts next.
However, after a few people from the orphanage tried to 'scout' me into a gang, I decided to chart a new course in life. I realized if I didn't make a firm decision, my life could end up in complete disarray. Moreover, there was, ironically, a hierarchy in the gang world. Being good at fighting only made you a human shield and you could never rise to a leadership position.
In a world where you couldn't survive without backing—whether in the light or the shadows—I wanted to start everything from scratch. That's how I ended up in the entertainment industry.
I calmly shared my past life story. I used to hate talking about my past. But after having a second chance at life, sharing my past no longer felt difficult.
Lee Dong-Min awkwardly cleared his throat and then praised me. "You've been through a lot, Yoon-Ho. I’m proud of you."
As I shared deep conversations with Lee Dong-Min, I felt a bit lighter. When we arrived at the company, Lee Dong-Min asked, "But do you think those guys will really do as we asked?"
I shook my head firmly. "They definitely won't."
"...Then what was the whole point of what we did at their office?" Lee Dong-Min sighed.
But I showed him the smartwatch on my left wrist. "I turned this on before we entered Uncle Music."
When I activated the voice memo app, the recordings at Uncle Music started to play back.
[Go ask Epil K. You think that bastard, Kim Pil-Seok, will tell you honestly he received songs from me? You’re making me laugh. We've traded over 30 songs, dumbass! ...And me stealing Bang Seon-Woo's songs? How are you going to prove that?]
The moment Choi Hyun-Oh's clear voice came out of my smartwatch, Lee Dong-Min burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha. He has no way out of this now. Come on, let's go up. We need to report this to Ms. Kang."
"Yes, sir."
We took bold strides toward the company, reminiscent of victorious generals.
1. In Korea, 112 is for the police and 119 is for Fire and Ambulance ?
New novel chapters are published on fr(e)ewebnov(e)l.com