The Manager Hides His Regression (13): Blackmail Is Self-Harm Extortion, Damn It!
Goddamn it...
If that bastard had fallen off the bottom of society, he should have just gone home, mopped the floors, and gotten some sleep instead.
Why the hell was he coming here to poke his nose into someone else’s company and stir up all this damn racket?
“Kim Sia! Where is that girl! Bring her here!”
A deafening shout echoed through the lobby, and Lee Jong-seok, the CEO, shot out of his office with a face twisted in deep displeasure.
‘What the hell is this bastard doing here?’
The JBC building was swarming with hyenas, so how had he managed to get all the way in here?
Reporters must have been tailing him along with the reporters who’d been covering the event...
A wave of curiosity washed over me, but none of that mattered right now.
“You can’t act like this here!”
“I’m not coming out? I’m Director Kim of JBC!”
Even though the security team employees couldn’t lay hands on him simply because he was the director,
they could only grope him to check for hidden weapons; they didn’t dare use any stronger force.
“Ah, let go! Do you have any idea who I am?! I’m Director Kim!”
“Sir, if you continue like this, we’ll have to contact the police.”
“What?! Police?! Fine, call them! Go ahead and try!”
“Sir, please calm down...”
“Calm down?! Call the police or bring that girl Kim Sia here!”
Director Kim showed no signs of calming or backing down in the slightest, and the female desk staff watching the scene looked terrified.
They kept whispering to each other about whether to call for help or not.
“What do we do... should we call for help...? We might end up fighting.”
“Yeah... we have to... look at him, he’s pushing and manhandling people...”
The one-eyed Director Kim was causing absolute chaos in the JS Entertainment lobby.
And yet our CEO, Lee Jong-seok, was standing there in a daze, while the managers were just standing around watching nervously...
Of course, they couldn’t understand it.
They were all late thirties with barely three years under their belts at this new agency.
No matter how smart they were or how skilled they were,
this kind of situation was impossible without the vibe that only came from long experience.
‘That bastard Jeong Man-sik... what the hell is a guy who’s only schemed for opportunities doing here?’
Should I call him Deputy Jeong Man-sik...?
A classic opportunist who only watches for chances... and a bone-deep self-preservationist who only cares about his own ass...
That wasn’t a bad way to live.
Most people live like that, and I’d lived that way too...
Still, the one who should have stepped up in a mess like this was Deputy Jeong Man-sik, the most experienced.
That was why the company was paying him a salary...
“Haaahhh...”
Total disaster!
Experienced employees and upper management watching nervously...
And the passionate CEO pulling off a fantasy collaboration.
I sighed inwardly and stepped forward to handle the situation.
“Hey! Manager Kang, what the hell are you doing, man?! Get over here!”
Some managers tried to stop me by grabbing my arm, thinking I might be worried or something.
“I’m Sia noona’s manager, after all... I have to do something!”
“Hey, hey man! Just stand there...”
“Haha, don’t worry about it.”
Yeah... since I was Kim Sia’s manager, I had to clean this up myself...
I shook off the hands grabbing me and walked toward the desk staff, ignoring the puzzled looks from the CEO.
The first thing that needed to be stopped was the screaming Director Kim, not the phone in that woman’s hand.
-Tuk! I pressed the button on the phone she was holding. She jumped in shock and stared at me.
“D-Director...”
“It’s fine if the police are called later...”
“But...”
“It’s okay... call them later.”
For some reason, her charismatic voice made her lower her head and set the phone down.
‘Calling the police now? What for? Not yet.’
There were still no spectators or reporters around.
Once the situation was under control, it was fine to call the police then.
Calling them now would be completely pointless.
After calming the desk staff, I turned and looked at Director Kim.
With the brightest, friendliest smile on my face...
“Aigoo, Director Kim, how have you been?”
“...?”
In an instant, question marks appeared above everyone’s heads in the room.
Who the hell is this crazy bastard?
The biggest question mark in the CEO’s mind was about the same person.
The one-month-old newbie manager...
Who had the audacity to talk about a competitor idol’s huge success...
Everyone in the lobby was left frozen and bewildered.
What the hell was that new manager smiling so happily about?
“What the...?”
“Huh?”
Even the newly hired Deputy Jeong Man-sik was shocked, so why wasn’t this guy?
Born with a steel spine? Or was he just insane...?
It wasn’t a steel spine.
If it were a heart, he had one too, just like me...
Even I found the situation strange.
‘Then... is this new guy really insane?’
Was he a lunatic or a competent subordinate who would clean up the mess?
Either way, what mattered right now was that this rookie had stepped up while everyone else was frozen.
‘Interesting... Kang Minhyuk.’
The CEO’s face, still filled with confusion, began to show interest.
***
On the other hand, I was also feeling a bit tense despite my thoughts about the CEO.
‘It’s been a while since I did this kind of thing...’
I’d done it countless times in the past,
but this kind of situation still needed to be handled carefully.
One wrong move, and things could turn real bad...
“Aigoo! Director Kim, if you’re visiting, please let us know in advance~”
The security team members who had been trying to stop Director Kim looked at me with blank expressions.
“Hey, Manager... it’s dangerous...”
“It’s fine~ I know the guy well.”
“...?”
“There’s no need to stop him... Don’t you get it?”
My expression turned a little stern, and the security guard started fidgeting.
“Go on, do your business... I’ll handle Director Kim myself.”
Even though my voice was cold and flat,
he only looked back at the CEO with a puzzled face and didn’t step aside.
‘Damn... this company. How come the only one who can do his job properly is the security guy.
What now? Are you just going to let it happen, CEO?’
I stared at the CEO with a blank look. He nodded with a mischievous grin.
Once the burly security guard’s interference disappeared,
Director Kim finally stepped forward and yelled at me with a furious face.
“You bastard... you still remember that Parka’s story from back then?”
“Aigoo, Director Kim! I’m so glad to see you!”
I hugged him like I’d just met a long-lost brother,
warmly and with obvious longing.
“Wh-what... you bastard... what are you doing?! This...”
And I cut him off, whispering quietly into his ear.
No one could hear... only the two of us.
“Hey... Kim Kyung-tae...”
“What...?”
“You fucking bastard Kim Kyung-tae. If your life is ruined, you should have just stayed home and minded your own business. Why are you causing this ruckus here?”
“You fucking piece of...”
“Don’t open your mouth and listen! Why? Are you angry? You’re such a fucking asshole...
If you’re angry, the actresses you molested should be angry, not you...”
Director Kim’s face turned bright red from the sharp insults pounding against his ear.
“Yeah, you bastard. All of that was reported by me... the recordings... the actresses you hurt...”
“You... you fucking bastard!”
“Wh-why? Are you angry~? Then don’t hold back~ I dare you not to hold back! You’ve been holding it in~”
If I had been that dumb pig from the past, I would have taken a hit at that timing.
But looking at my current stats—188 cm and 87 kg—
this bastard wasn’t the type I could hit even if he scratched me.
‘...This part is better than the past.’
In the end, despite his rage boiling up to his head, he just kept cursing and yelling...
and never threw a punch or shoved me.
‘Too bad if we just let it go like this...’
If I let it end here, I’d be the idiot who stepped forward to clean it up.
And the bastard would definitely drag it out with lawsuits and hurt the victims.
Of course, I wasn’t kind enough to care about all of them,
but the important thing was that Si-a noona was in there.
‘I can’t just watch my actress suffer because of this pathetic bastard...
Since I’m already charging him with one prior offense, why not add a violence charge too, Director Kim...?’
If I was ending this, I was ending it properly.
I didn’t want to do this, but sorry, Director Kim!
I deeply apologized to him and grabbed his arms.
“Eh... w-why are you doing this?! Director, let go... eh, eh!”
“Wh-what are you talking about, you crazy bastard?! You...”
“Don’t do it, don’t do it, Director!”
Just in case something weird came out of his mouth,
I pulled his locked hands up to my collar while yelling even louder.
“Kehek! I can’t breathe, Director! Let go... let go~!”
“Ah, no, that’s not...”
“Don’t shake! You’ll fall... you’ll fall!”
Self-harm extortion was important from now on.
If he fell too hard or hit something, a bloody incident could break out.
A moderate injury... and my safety! That was the key.
I pretended to sway in his grip while looking for a place to fall.
‘The desk side is better, right...? Close to the CCTV.’
Damn... still, that side was a bit risky...
Lots of things to grab: tables, and on top of them, the decorative flower pots...
There were too many things that could make falling there dangerous.
But if I fell that way, the picture would definitely be pretty...
“Aah... damn it. You bastard, Director Kim... you made me go through all this crap!”
Still, since I had already decided to end it, I couldn’t let it go like this, could I?
I closed my eyes tightly and, like a stunt actor, threw myself onto the table in the lobby.
“Eh, eh Director... why are you doing this... k-kuaaaa!”
“It’s not me! I’m not doing anything like that!”
-CRUUUNGH! Along with Director Kim’s scream, I flew and slammed into the table with my back.
“Kuhek... D-Director... you...”
A perfect lie... my ultimate acting method poured out completely!
But was this the line people used when acting was perfect...?
I raised my trembling arms and pointed at him.
“Kim... Director...”
“Be careful! You’ll get hurt!”
Huh? “It’s not me!” became “Be careful! You’ll get hurt!” Why did that pop out...?
Instead of the words I wanted to hear from him, a scream of “Be careful!” came out of his mouth...
“What...?”
“Be careful! Hey Manager Kang, be careful!”
Hyung Jong-seok... what’s dangerous...? Say something...
I looked at the ones shouting “Be careful!” with a puzzled face.
What the hell was dangerous...?
Why the hell were they screaming like that...?
“Be careful, man!”
I still didn’t know at that moment.
That the decorative flower pot on the table had fallen right above my head.