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Chapter 323: Counterattack (1)

With their short, square-cut hair, these hulking figures probably looked like actual gangsters to the local thugs.

The students probably wanted to run away immediately, but there was no escape from being in a dead-end alley.

Thanks to that, I focused solely on the burly men who had come for me. "Someone wants to see me? Who sent you here?"

The man at the front of the group smirked and stepped forward. "You don\'t need to know that. Just come along if you don\'t want to get hurt."

I took a closer look and recognized him: he was Lee Dong-Woong, a stuntman from DW Action School. He was a security studies graduate who would eventually become a well-regarded martial arts director in the film industry.

The parent company of DW Action School was none other than CK Entertainment, Director Jo Jae-Kyung\'s maternal family\'s business.

I immediately knew who had sent them and taunted them. "Let\'s see if you can take me."

There were no security cameras here. In other words, there would be no issues if I threw punches.

When I answered with a smile, Lee Dong-Woong looked at me in disbelief. "You know, I was trying to be polite but now you\'re getting too comfortable with me here."

"Don\'t be ridiculous. Should I really be polite to kidnappers like you?"

Lee Dong-Woong scowled at the word "kidnapper," and turned to his crew. "Ugh, fuck it. We\'re short on time, so just rough him up a bit and drag him over."

"Yes, hyung-nim!"

The three burly men approached with confident expressions.

"Let\'s keep it easy, man."

"Just come along for a bit, alright?"

When I got into my stance without a word, the guy at the front laughed smugly. After all, it was three against one with a significant difference in weight class.

I waited for them to let their guard down.

\'Attack first, win first,\' I thought.

"Look at this guy. It looks like you took some boxing lessons but with those weak punches..."

Smack.

As his jaw turned, the bulky guy who had been laughing playfully passed out on his feet.

Realizing what had happened too late, the thug on the right swung his fist reflexively.

However, my fist moved first.

Wham.

\'Another hit to the jaw. One shot, one kill,\' I remarked inwardly.

As the second thug also collapsed, the last one swung his fist with all his might. However, I dodged by slipping past his punch with a weaving motion before taking a backward step to create distance.

"Huh?"

The moment his punch swished through the air, the thug\'s expression turned to shock. Seizing the moment, I stepped forward and threw a left uppercut.

Thwack.

His head jolted like a punching bag from the solid punch.

I caught the dazed thug and gently laid him on the ground, then gestured toward Lee Dong-Woong. "Should I come to you, or are you coming to me?"

Lee Dong-Woong blinked in disbelief upon seeing his three men fall. "Y-you... who the hell are you?"

Lee Dong-Woong instinctively started to back away without realizing it.

"Aren\'t you coming? Then I\'ll go to you," I replied.

"Wait! Please, hyung-nim!"

I stopped just one step away from being able to land a punch. "What is it?"

"T-to be honest, we didn\'t want to do this either. We\'re not gangsters: we\'re stuntmen."

"I know that, idiot. You\'re Lee Dong-Woong from DW, right?"

"H-how did you know that?"

"Male actors\' talent agents usually know about decent stuntmen. But I didn\'t know you were into this kind of petty thug work," I remarked.

Despite his appearance, Lee Dong-Woong was 26 years old—a year younger than me.

When he realized I knew who he was, his face turned pale. Committing a crime in front of someone who knew your identity meant he was essentially done for in the film industry.

"Hyung-nim! Please, forgive me just this once!" Lee Dong-Woong begged.

Thud!

Lee Dong-Woong dropped to his knees.

"You better explain everything in detail," I demanded.

Lee Dong-Woong spilled everything about who he was and his circumstances. He said the order came from the action school\'s president, and that it was supposed to be a simple task: just scare me a little and take me to Jo Jae-Kyung.

Lee Dong-Woong said he had agreed without thinking much.

"Is that all?"

Lee Dong-Woong nodded. "Yes. He said just to bring you to the Gangnam office."

"Not \'bring,\' more like \'drag\' me there," I scoffed.

Thankfully, it wasn\'t because of Park Sun-Jae. It seemed they were after me because I mentioned the casino issue when I clashed with Jo Jae-Kyung.

I patted the shoulder of the stiffened Lee Dong-Woong. "Let\'s not do anything unnecessary that tarnishes the film industry\'s reputation next time, okay?"

"Y-yes! Absolutely not!"

"When you get back, tell your boss that you lost after a fierce fight. They\'ll believe it since your guys are hurt, right?"

Appreciating my generosity, Lee Dong-Woong bent at the waist in a deep bow. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Lee Dong-Woong nervously glanced at me as he began waking up the fallen guys. "Hey, hey. Get up."

The thug who had fainted flailed his hands in front of him. "Ugh!"

"It\'s me, Dong-Woong!"

The thug blinked his eyes. "Dong-Woong hyung?"

"Yeah, you\'re alright now. Relax."

The thug stared at me and scooted backward while sitting.

"Now that it\'s over, wake up the others too."

One by one, Lee Dong-Woong helped the guys into the car as they woke up. Then they quietly backed out of the alley.

Just then, I slowly turned my head at the sound behind me.

Rustle.

The group of high school thugs who had come looking for me were lined up against the wall, trying to climb over it.

\'Come to think of it, I completely forgot about them,\' I realized.

"Hey, you kids! Freeze!" I yelled.

Instantly, all five high school thugs froze in place.

***

"Duck walk!"

"Quack quack!"

"Live honestly!"

"We will!"

"H-hyung-nim! We won\'t do it again! So please!"

"Oppa, I was just following them. I swear it\'s true."

"Quiet, and do five more rounds back and forth!"

I couldn\'t bring myself to hit these kids who had lost the will to resist. As such, I decided to punish them this way instead.

With their hands behind their backs, they were on the verge of tears while hopping and waddling like ducks under my instruction.

"Stop!" I called out.

The kids collapsed to the ground in an instant. Sweat was pouring down their foreheads like rain, their clothes soaked, and they were all gasping for breath.

If I had enough time, I would have kept them at it until the morning sun came up. Unfortunately, I didn\'t have that kind of luxury.

"Try to live honestly, okay?" I urged them.

"Yes, yes."

They all nodded their heads frantically, but I didn\'t really trust them. I took their IDs and contact information, took photos of them, saved their numbers, and then handed the IDs back.

I gave them a warning. "If I catch you doing this crap again, I\'ll send your IDs and contact info straight to a prosecutor I know. And of course, you\'ll have a chat with me too. I guarantee it won\'t go easy for you then."

As I clenched my fist and made a cracking sound, the high schoolers shook their heads vigorously.

"N-no, we\'ll never do it again!"

"Alright, I get it. Now get out of here."

The kids staggered to their feet before bowing deeply once more and apologizing. "W-we\'re sorry, sir! Goodbye!"

They slowly slunk away while glancing at me, then ran off at full speed.

I let out a sigh and finally headed to my parked car.

"Seriously, Jo Jae-Kyung. Trying to pull off a kidnapping?" I muttered under my breath.

I knew he had a reckless side, but I didn\'t expect him to try something this crazy.

After getting into my car, I immediately called Seo Jae-Ill.

-Oh, Mr. Jung. What\'s up?

"I have something to report."

I quickly reported Jo Jae-Kyung\'s habitual gambling at the LCM Casino in the U.S. and also mentioned that Park Sun-Jae hadn\'t been paid.

For a moment, Seo Jae-IIl\'s voice quivered with a hint of satisfaction.

-So that young brat from CK Inc. is pulling this crap, huh?

"Yes. As soon as it\'s morning, I\'m planning to proceed with filing a complaint for the unpaid wages."

-Got it. It won\'t be easy, but let\'s give it a try. I\'ll push things on my end as well.

"Thank you, Mr. Seo."

-By the way, how\'s the issue with Assemblyman Park\'s photos coming along? That\'s the main thing we need to deal with...

Five days from now, I had to take photos of Park Sang-Gon\'s aide. Since the scheduled event in my diary remained unchanged, I responded confidently, "I\'m preparing for it. I\'ll contact you as soon as the date is confirmed."

-Understood. Since we need to do a raid that day, please notify me at least a day in advance.

Seo Jae-Ill promised to protect me from Jo Jae-Kyung, but I told him it would be fine.

By tomorrow, things would progress so quickly that Jo Jae-Kyung wouldn\'t be able to make a move anyway.

***

CK Entertainment was the top ranking entertainment company in South Korea, covering management, film production and distribution, music, and even owning half of the nation\'s theaters.

However, in the president\'s office at CK Entertainment\'s headquarters, the president was nowhere to be found. Instead, Jo Jae-Kyung was sitting there.

"How could a mere talent agent... find out my secret?" he mumbled.

There were only a few people who knew he habitually frequented the LCM Casino in the U.S.

He only went to VIP rooms, so no one at the casino would spill the beans.

Jo Jae-Kyung had asked DW Action School\'s President Jo Dae-Won to bring Jung Yoon-Ho to him, but that plan had failed. Despite sending four highly skilled martial artists, they couldn\'t even bring one person back and ended up getting beaten instead.

Infuriated to the core, Jo Jae-Kyung swung a golf club and struck Lee Dong-Woong and his crew. As a result, Lee Dong-Woong and his group ended up with worse injuries than what they had gotten from Jung Yoon-Ho and were taken to the hospital.

Due to the commotion, Jo Jae-Kyung was summoned by Son Hyung-Tae, who was the president of CK Entertainment and his uncle.

Jo Jae-Kyung sat alone in the empty president\'s office and let out a deep sigh.

Just then, the door creaked open and Son Hyung-Tae walked in. Beside him was his secretary, Choi Sung-Hee, who was a former beauty pageant winner.

"Jae-Kyung, why did you beat up the boys like that yesterday? It was a hassle to cover it up," Son Hyung-Tae remarked.

Jo Jae-Kyung frowned and kept his mouth shut.

His uncle, Son Hyung-Tae, was furious when he found out that Jo Jae-Kyung had used the production budget for The Thousand-Year Fox to gamble in casinos during filming.

Jo Jae-Jyung had no desire to bring that incident up again and get scolded. "I, well...had my own reason..."

"Is it a girl problem? Alright, let\'s just talk business today then."

As Son Hyung-Tae extended his hand, Choi Sung-Hee handed over a tablet and began her report. "Mr. Jo Jae-Kyung\'s The Thousand-Year Fox is set for release next Friday in all CK theaters. We\'re currently negotiating with theaters outside of LT, and it seems we\'ll secure 65% of the theaters nationwide by next week and up to 70% by the following week."

Son Hyung-Tae smiled contentedly as he touched Choi Sung-Hee\'s hand. "Secretary Choi is really good at her job. Looks, skills—she\'s got it all. That\'s why I can\'t let her go."

"Thank you, Mr. Son. But there\'s a risk involved."

"What risk?"

Choi Sung-Hee maintained a blank expression and mentioned Jo Jae-Kyung\'s name. "Mr. Jo still has unpaid dues from his time in the U.S."

Son Hyung-Tae\'s face twisted immediately. "Hmm... I thought we dealt with all that back then, did we not?"

"I thought so too. But it turns out Mr. Jo was hiding the biggest one."

Hearing that Jo Jae-Kyung had verbally promised to pay Park Sun-Jae 100 million won, Son Hyung-Tae began trembling as his eyes shifted toward the nameplate on the table.

"U-uncle, please calm down!" Jo Jae-Kyung pleaded.

"Shut up! You\'re getting hit today!"

Son Hyung-Tae grabbed the nameplate. However, just before he could throw it, the office door swung open.

"Hey, Son Hyung-Tae! Who do you think you\'re throwing that at?"

A high-pitched and shrill voice cut through as a woman in her fifties appeared.

It was Son Yung-Im, a consultant for CK Inc. and also Son Hyung-Tae\'s older sister and Jo Jae-Kyung\'s mother.

"Mom!" Jo Jae-Kyung cried out.

Son Yung-Im smiled gently at her son. "Yes, my boy."

Son Hyung-Tae slowly put the nameplate down and tried to calm his anger.

Even among siblings, he could never act recklessly toward this sister. From childhood, only his sister Son Yung-Im had ever taken the side of the ill-tempered Son Hyung-Tae.

"Noona, this idiot messed up again!" Son Hyung-Tae lamented.

"Idiot? Watch your mouth! Young people can make mistakes! Didn\'t you make mistakes too? Haven\'t I covered up things Dad shouldn\'t have known about?" Son Yung-Im retorted.

"Ah, how long are you going to keep bringing that up?"

"For life, maybe?"

Son Hyung-Tae sighed. "Sigh. Jo Jae-Kyung, pay that money and settle this quickly! You\'ve got plenty of cash, so why can\'t you figure out when to save and when to spend?"

Feeling the sting of his uncle\'s irritation, Jo Jae-Kyung flinched.

At that moment, Son Yung-Im sneered. "Pay, my foot! Jae-Kyung, you don\'t need to pay. When you pamper those with a humble background, they\'ll just keep pushing their luck! Never give in!"

Son Hyung-Tae clutched his chest in frustration. "Noona! Don\'t you get the risk here? The sooner we deal with problems like this, the better!"

"All this fuss over a small issue, and you\'re crying risk?" Son Yung-Im scoffed.

Just then Choi Sung-Hee, who had been standing quietly, handed over her tablet. "Mr. Son, you need to see this."

"What is it now?"

Articles were rapidly popping up on the tablet that Choi Sung-Hee handed over.

"This is driving me crazy. What the hell is this now?" Son Hyung-Tae cursed.

Son Hyung-Tae was beginning to think that maybe he should have smashed his infuriating nephew\'s head with the hard nameplate despite his sister\'s interference.

He screamed, "Hey! Jo Jae-Kyung! What are you going to do about this now?"

Son Hyung-Tae practically threw the tablet at Jo Jae-Kyung.

As Jo Jae-Kyung caught the tablet, his body started trembling. "Th-that damned low-life..."

The Assistant Director he had looked down on, Park Sun-Jae, was hitting him head-on.

***

[Director Jo Jae-Kyung giving false hopes! "Making excuses about producing the next film, but hasn\'t paid a dime."]

[The Thousand-Year Fox. 100 million won in unpaid wages to Assistant Director Park Sun-Jae!]

[The Thousand-Year Fox. What really happened in the U.S.? Proper wages for Americans but exploiting Koreans with passion pay!]

[Beyond the Boundary. Nationwide release today!]

[Beyond the Boundary\'s competing film, The Thousand-Year Fox, stumbles right from the start?]

......

Early in the morning, I took Park Sun-Jae and Ahn Yoo-Joo to LT Entertainment and finalized the contract.

As soon as the signing was done, LT Entertainment immediately deployed reporters to start an exposé interview.

An hour later, the entertainment section of every news outlet was plastered with the story.

Shin Jong-Gi of LT Entertainment read the articles and burst out laughing repeatedly. "Those CK bastards must be panicking now, huh? Hahaha!"

I told Assistant Director Park Sun-Jae—no, now Director Park Sun-Jae—and Ahn Yoo-Joo, who would soon become the Head of Planning at Sun-Jae Films, to giddy up.

This was just the beginning of the war, after all.

Soon after, Choi Sung-Moon and Pyo Eun-Mi also arrived at LT Entertainment.

Having read the articles, Choi Sung-Moon had a broad smile on his face. "Hahaha! That brat, Jo Jae-Kyung. He must be in real hot water now, right?"

"Indeed, sir."

Just then, Shin Jong-Gi\'s phone began to ring.

It was a call from Team Lead Lee Eun-Joo who was out in the field for LT Entertainment.

"Everyone, hold on a moment."

It was currently 11 a.m.—time for the morning movie audience counts to be reported.

"Oh, yeah?"

Shin Jong-Gi\'s face began to brighten as he took the call.

Still holding the phone, Shin Jong-Gi shouted, "All theaters in Seoul have sold out the morning shows!"

The first sign of Beyond the Boundary\'s success had just started to arrive.

A moment later, even better news came pouring in.