[One Stone, Five Birds]
Simultaneously with Choi Deok-bae’s shout, Yoon-gi protected his temple with his palm while deliberately crashing into the bathroom wall with a loud thud. Watanabe had expected to see Yoon-gi in a pathetic state, sprawled out with his lower body exposed, but Yoon-gi had already zipped up his pants, so that didn't happen. Still, the fact remained that he had landed a hit on Yoon-gi, and Watanabe sneered at him once more.
"You filthy Joseon-jing... How dare a weakling like you stand up to a Japanese man. This is what you get."
Instead of getting up, Yoon-gi deliberately provoked Watanabe even further.
"Is it because your name has 'nabe' (pot) in it? You really are a guy who boils over easily. Your parents gave you that name, right? Or was it your uncle? Oh, wait, since they’re the same person, I guess it was the same guy who named you."
Watanabe truly lost his mind. He had barely managed to hold back before, but the truth was that Watanabe’s parents were siblings. Because his family had significant influence, they had managed to manipulate the documents to make it look legitimate, but Watanabe had somehow discovered the truth about his parents. Having that raw nerve touched by a Joseon-jing he looked down upon was enough to trigger an explosion of rage. But for Yoon-gi, this anger was exactly what he had hoped for—even if he hadn't known the specific secret about Watanabe's family.
"Die! Die! DIE!"
Screaming like a madman, Watanabe kicked Yoon-gi, who was backed against the wall, with everything he had. As a result, Yoon-gi’s clothes were soon covered in deep, dark footprints.
'I guess he really doesn't work out at all.'
Since he was a model, Watanabe was on the extremely thin side. There are two types of male models: the muscular kind and the starving kind. Watanabe was the latter. Naturally, his kicks lacked any real power.
However.
"Argh! Ack! Aaaaah!"
Yoon-gi let out a deafening scream, putting on a show of intense agony. At the same time, he kept poking at Watanabe’s sore spot.
"So it’s true that your dad is your uncle!"
"You son of a bitch!"
Watanabe’s shrieks, Yoon-gi’s screams, and the sound of kicking echoing through the bathroom—it was more than enough to pierce the soundproofing and reach the hallway, finally drawing Yamada and his party out of the conference room.
"You son of a bitch, how dare you..."
When the door opened, Watanabe’s words were clearly heard by those who entered, and at that moment, Yoon-gi deliberately closed his eyes, pretending to faint.
"Yoon-gi!"
Seo Jong-hun, eyes wild with rage, rushed into the bathroom, practically threw Watanabe aside, and scooped Yoon-gi up into his arms.
"Ugh!"
Watanabe, suddenly tossed backward, tumbled onto the floor, crashing into the yakuza, but no one paid him any mind.
"T-this is a disaster!" Yamada shouted. Nakamura, his face deathly pale, also rushed toward Seo Jong-hun, who was holding the unconscious Yoon-gi.
"T-to the infirmary..."
"Shut up! Infirmary? What infirmary! We need to get him to a hospital!"
"B-but first aid..."
"I said shut up!"
Just as Seo Jong-hun was about to exit Hermes Japan, a sudden clicking sound rang out.
Click-click!
The shutter sound rang out twice more in succession. Everyone was startled and looked toward the source of the sound.
"Y-you, what are you doing right now..."
To Yamada’s trembling question, Jo Cheong-woo didn't answer but instead handed the camera to Cha Pil-gyu. Nodding, Cha Pil-gyu began to sprint out of Hermes Japan at incredible speed, and Seo Jong-hun followed, running hard. Jo Cheong-woo chased after them, giving it his all.
"C-catch them!" Watanabe shouted, finally grasping the situation, but all three had already cleared the building.
Hermes headquarters was in absolute chaos. They had gone to great lengths to secure a model for the Japanese branch, only for an assault to occur in the branch building. Furthermore, the perpetrator wasn't some third party, but the branch's own model, which only amplified the fallout. It was severe enough that Fabien had flown in from France.
"Is Mr. Yoon alright?!"
Fabien, who had rushed to the hospital where Yoon-gi was admitted before even stopping by Hermes Japan, couldn't help but gasp at the sight inside. There were large, burly American soldiers in military uniforms.
'The fact that the US military is here means...'
Fabien nearly fainted when he saw Guster.
"G-Guster-nim..."
Even if there was no direct relationship between Guster and Hermes, it was well known at headquarters whose granddaughter Merrill was, and Fabien’s mustache trembled.
"I came because I heard my future grandson-in-law had been assaulted, and what do I find here..."
Fabien felt dizzy. Guster had openly acknowledged Yoon-gi as his 'future grandson-in-law.' And seeing Merrill sobbing nearby, Fabien felt like he had been dropped into hell.
"Fabien, what on earth did you do? Hermes, of all places, doing this to Yoon-gi... How am I supposed to look Yoon-gi in the face now..."
Hermes headquarters had been wronged, but Fabien couldn't possibly say that in front of Merrill.
"I am sorry... I will go to the branch later to verify the details..."
"What is there to verify!"
Merrill threw three photos onto the floor. As they scattered, Fabien felt his head spin with every photo he picked up. One was of Seo Jong-hun holding Yoon-gi, another was of Watanabe sitting on the floor with the yakuza, and the last was a shot showing everyone. Anyone could see that Watanabe had beaten Yoon-gi, because the footprint on Yoon-gi’s body perfectly matched the shoes Watanabe was wearing.
"Ahhh..."
As Fabien’s hands trembled, Guster quietly retrieved the photos from him.
"Just in case, I’ll hold onto these."
"Um... if you give those photos to me, I can take them to headquarters..."
"Do you take me for some naive child who doesn't know how the world works!"
At Guster’s roar, Fabien’s neck retracted like a turtle’s. In fact, just as Guster had suspected, Fabien had been considering destroying the photos depending on the circumstances.
"Get out immediately!"
In the end, Fabien was kicked out of the hospital room and had no choice but to head to Hermes Japan. A moment later, the American soldiers Guster had brought also waited outside the room.
"Yoon-gi, you can open your eyes now."
At Merrill’s cheerful tone, Yoon-gi opened his eyes.
"Everyone’s acting was top-tier, wasn't it?"
Present in the room were not just Merrill and Guster, but also Seo Jong-hun, Jo Cheong-woo, and Cha Pil-gyu. In short, they had all performed their roles in Yoon-gi’s script perfectly.
"I was genuinely worried. I thought you were actually hurt..."
As Merrill stroked his forehead with her delicate hand, Yoon-gi closed his eyes and answered quietly.
"It was actually dangerous. His first strike was aimed right at my temple."
"What?"
Merrill was so startled that she must have tightened her grip, because Yoon-gi felt his forehead stiffen.
"Well, I blocked it, though. Anyway, because that guy is the type to get excited easily, things went smoothly. If we use this well, Merrill, you won't need to work as an exclusive model for Hermes anymore."
At Yoon-gi’s words, Merrill looked touched.
"Did you go this far for my sake?"
"Actually, I felt sorry that you signed the exclusive contract with Hermes because of me. I thought the choice should have been entirely yours."
"Yoon-gi..."
"And as a bonus, the people I don't like will be fired on their own. At the very least, Watanabe will be kicked out of Hermes, just like a boiling pot being removed from the stove."
"That is truly killing two birds with one stone."
Yoon-gi laughed at Guster’s remark.
"It’s three birds, actually. We’ve created a debt of conscience for Hermes."
Guster nodded, his trust in Yoon-gi deepening even further. 'If it's a guy like this, I can safely entrust Merrill to him later.'
In truth, Yoon-gi could have handled this alone. He didn't strictly need them to act. But by revealing all his cards to them, he had succeeded in gaining their absolute trust. So, in reality, it was four birds with one stone. Not only Guster, but Seo Jong-hun, Jo Cheong-woo, and Cha Pil-gyu felt their loyalty instinctively rise, knowing that the person they served possessed such brilliant depth.
"The MVP of this operation is my uncle-in-law. Thanks to you taking those photos in that situation, the case is airtight."
At Yoon-gi’s words, everyone looked at Jo Cheong-woo and smiled, clapping their hands.
"Actually, since it was my first time abroad, I had the camera around my neck to get into the travel mood. But when I saw the situation, I felt like we might need evidence, so I took the shots."
"As expected of a top graduate from the Judicial Research and Training Institute!"
When Yoon-gi gave him a thumbs-up, Jo Cheong-woo smiled shyly and scratched the back of his head.
"Look forward to a bonus later."
At the praise accompanied by a reward, Jo Cheong-woo’s face beamed, and the atmosphere grew even warmer.
"We’ll probably hear from Hermes by tomorrow. I’d like to rest until then, so could you all step out?"
At Yoon-gi’s well-timed request, everyone left the room. Except for Merrill, of course. Since even Guster didn't say anything, only Yoon-gi and Merrill remained in the private room.
"I missed you."
At Yoon-gi’s words, Merrill’s face turned bright red.
"We just met not long ago..."
"So, didn't you miss me, Merrill?"
"T-that’s impossible!"
"It must have been hard to act in front of people you just met, so thank you for your hard work. And thank you."
"Don't mention it... I can do anything for you."
If it were the usual Merrill, she never would have been able to pull off that performance in front of Seo Jong-hun, Jo Cheong-woo, and Cha Pil-gyu. But the power of love had allowed Merrill to overcome her complexes. Given the circumstances, even Fabien hadn't sensed that Merrill’s behavior was strange, which meant her acting had been incredibly effective. It had successfully signaled to headquarters that their exclusive model was extremely displeased.
"Then, give me a kiss."
"Huh?"
Merrill was momentarily flustered.
"Give me a kiss. You’ve only ever done surprise kisses until now. When we were ten, and just a little while ago. Those kinds don't leave a lingering feeling."
"N-no. That’s..."
Merrill’s face turned from pink to deep red, and she darted her eyes everywhere, not knowing what to do.
"You said you could do anything for me, I guess you were lying."
Seeing Yoon-gi pout, Merrill looked like she was about to cry, but then, as if she had no choice, she leaned her upper body toward Yoon-gi’s lips as he lay in bed. And then, silence. In the midst of that long silence, Yoon-gi grew.