Chapter 3
The snappish question jolted me fully awake. I sprang up from where I’d been slumped over.
“N-No... Oh gosh! CEO, why would you handle something like this yourself...? Y-You’re not hurt, are you...?”
My survival instincts kicked back in with a vengeance. If I messed this up, I could end up the same way. That danger alert blared loudly in my head. I pulled a handkerchief out of the inner pocket of my jacket and wrapped it around Yoon Taeo’s hand. I could still vividly feel the sticky, warm liquid coating his skin.
It was even worse up close. I didn’t know how he’d smashed the guy’s head, but thick streams of blood ran down the entire face like a curtain. It wasn’t just terrifying—it was sickening.
“U-Urgh...!”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back the wave of nausea and stumbled into the alley to throw up. Thank god I hadn’t eaten breakfast.
“S-Sorry... I’m sorry....”
The first thought that hit me after vomiting was: I’m so fucked...
“C-CEO, I’m feeling a bit under the weather today...”
Yoon Taeo didn’t even touch the handkerchief I’d placed on the back of his hand. He just stood there, exactly as he was. His eyes still looked half gone, like they were rolled back in his head. The only difference now was the cigarette butt in his left hand, and the thick, white smoke curling out of his mouth. If anything, he might be in an even worse mood.
“You saw me sweating earlier, right...? Hah... I was dizzy...”
I scrambled to make excuses, but Yoon Taeo’s expression remained completely unchanged. And then, with a flick of his hand, he stubbed the barely-smoked cigarette out on that bloody mass—no, Director Kim’s smashed-up head. His gaze was still locked onto mine, unwavering. Judging by the faint twitch in Director Kim’s body, he hadn’t quite passed on yet.