Before he knew it, Kang Mo had grabbed Chang Joo’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back with a swift motion that didn’t seem to take much effort. He then pressed on Chang Joo’s back of the knee, forcing him to kneel.

Could it be any easier than this? It literally happened in the blink of an eye. Like father, like son indeed. Kang Mo was the spitting image of Seok Hoon in his younger days.

Chang Joo was trembling with anger at being in the exact same humiliating situation he had been in with Seok Hoon long ago.

“Argh. Hey, hey! You’re not letting go? You little prick, you have no idea what you’re doing, argh.”

“Have you ever heard of self-defense?”

Kang Mo snorted as he looked down at Chang Joo, who was struggling with his arm twisted behind his back. When Chang Joo’s subordinates approached threateningly, Kang Mo warned them by twisting the arm further.

“Hey, don’t come any closer. Argh. Let go. Let go of this. Let go while I’m still being nice.”

If the angle was changed even slightly, Chang Joo’s arm would break. No, his shoulder would be dislocated first. If Kang Mo had his way, he would have done it already. In his mind, he had already done it more than a dozen times.

Kang Mo tightly gripped Chang Joo’s wrist with one hand, and with the other, he firmly pressed down on his shoulder. He then personally bent down and brought his mouth close to Chang Joo’s ear.

“You keep calling me a little prick, a little prick, but is your thing as big as mine, Director Kim? Pfft, you’re even shorter than me, yet you keep calling me little. It’s ridiculous.”

Unlike Kang Mo, who spoke quietly into Chang Joo’s ear so only he could hear, Chang Joo was shouting at the top of his lungs, drawing attention to himself.

“Hey, you bastard. Let go and talk. I said let go of this arm and talk!”

“As a CEO, you should watch your words and actions. You’re so reckless, tsk tsk.”

Chang Joo, whose already dark face had turned even darker, exhaled raggedly and called out to Kang Mo.

“Lee Kang Mo. Ma- Ma- Managing Director.”

“You should know that I’m not avoiding you because I’m afraid. Huh? Did you look down on this place as an unguarded rabbit hole and decide to barge in here? What, were you going to cause a scene here, make me get into real trouble, and then use that to blackmail me into taking over the ready-mix concrete business?”

Chang Joo’s shoulder twitched.

“I can see right through your plan. It’s so obvious that it’s boring. You still don’t know me well. Those cheap tricks won’t work on me. Do I still seem like a novice to you? Despite appearances, I’m more serious about work than anyone else. I don’t work as sloppily as some people. That’s why our company is where it is now, and that’s why you’re still stuck there, in that position, because you use such shallow tricks.”

Kang Mo’s hand pressing down on Chang Joo’s shoulder tightened. As if in pain, Chang Joo’s one shoulder began to collapse little by little.

Chang Joo was seething with humiliation at having suffered this indignity not only from the father but now also from the son. He wanted to beat Kang Mo’s smug face to a pulp right then and there, but the reality was that he couldn’t move an inch with just one arm held hostage.

Having said his piece, Kang Mo straightened his back that had been bent over and looked down at the trembling Chang Joo. He spoke not in a quiet voice, but in a strong tone that everyone around could hear.

“Then, I will assume there will be no further violence and let go of this hand.”

As soon as Kang Mo let go without hesitation, Seung Ho quickly approached his side, while Chang Joo’s subordinates swarmed around him in a flurry.

“Managing Director, shall we go up now?”

Kang Mo nodded and stood up from his spot. As he looked at Chang Joo’s back, who was clutching one arm, he nonchalantly bid farewell.

“Well then, Director Kim, take care on your way out. I’ll be going now. I have quite a lot of things to take care of.”

Chang Joo’s back heaved rapidly. He must be furious that things didn’t go his way.

As Kang Mo calmly surveyed Chang Joo’s subordinates glaring at him, he leisurely turned around and walked forward side by side with Seung Ho.

“Han Seung Ho, stay alert.”

Seung Ho, who had been grinding his teeth at Kang Mo’s words, raised a question.

“Pardon?”

“I said stay alert.”

Just as Seung Ho looked at him with puzzled eyes and a slanted smile appeared on Kang Mo’s lips, they heard the sound of something rolling powerfully on the lobby’s marble floor.

Kang Mo and Seung Ho, their expressions hardening, quickly turned around at the sound. Seeing the large men running towards them, they exchanged a quick glance and smirked.

The lobby instantly turned into a chaotic scene.

The atmosphere in the Management Support Division office was chaotic. That was because the incident that had just occurred in the lobby was already the talk of the employees.

“Our Managing Director is really, wow. I’m speechless.”

“We had only heard rumors, but this is the first time seeing him actually fight, right?”

“Who says otherwise? With that face and physique that are to die for, on top of his brilliant mind, he’s also good at fighting? Hey, does it make sense that a person like this exists?”

“It doesn’t make sense. But our Managing Director pulls off that difficult feat.”

The employees who happened to be in the lobby earlier all shook their heads as if on cue, while most of the employees who didn’t witness it sighed in disappointment.

“You saw it too, right? The back kick that knocked out the gangster in one hit.”

“Is that all? The knee strike to the solar plexus, bam! The flying kick off the pillar, bam!”

“The situation was resolved in an instant, without even a chance for the security staff to intervene.”

“The chief secretary already has the looks that scream he’d be good at fighting, but our Managing Director seems like someone who has never gotten a single drop of blood on his hands. Wow…”

Whether it was the female employees who admired Kang Mo or the male employees who looked up to him, everyone couldn’t help but marvel.

“Seriously, his eyes changed in an instant, radiating charisma.”

“Did you see him giving orders to the head of security? ‘Did you contact the police? Submit the CCTV footage from the right corner as evidence, and the conversation we just had is all recorded on my cell phone, so I can provide that too if needed. If you require witnesses, find the employees who were watching from the beginning and ask them, got it?’ Wow, in the midst of all that, he identified the CCTV location and even recorded it. He doesn’t miss a thing, not a single thing.”

Everyone was too busy marveling to laugh at the male employee imitating the Managing Director in a nonchalant manner, even though it was quite amusing.

“What’s even more amazing is that even after fighting like that, he remains calm and unshaken. Without any signs of fatigue, he just brushed off his suit and leisurely went up to his office.”

The office was abuzz for a while, and the rumors quickly spread throughout the company via word of mouth and messenger.

The very person who set the company messenger ablaze remained as calm as if nothing had happened.

Seung Ho knocked on Kang Mo’s office door with a first-aid kit in hand. When he opened the door to the office where there was no response, Kang Mo was standing with his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his suit pants, looking out the window.

“Managing Director, are your hands alright?”

Kang Mo slightly turned his head and took his hands out of his pockets to look at them, then spoke as if it was no big deal.

“Just a little bruised, nothing much. What about you?”

“I’m perfectly fine, of course. As your secretary and bodyguard, my fists should be stronger than yours, shouldn’t they?”

Kang Mo chuckled and headed towards the sofa in the middle of the office. Seung Ho naturally approached and sat across from him.

“You may be a bodyguard, but you only know whose fists are stronger by clashing them, don’t you? Next time we have a chance, let’s have a proper match. Anyway, is my apartment all ready?”

“Yes. The cleaning was done in the morning, and the bedding has all been replaced with new ones. All other daily necessities have been prepared without any omissions. The fridge is also fully stocked. But why that apartment all of a sudden…?”

Seung Ho tilted his head, recalling Kang Mo who had been busy with matters other than company work since the morning.

As soon as he had an intense phone call with the seller of the studio apartment that Seo Hee’s mother had contracted, an order was given to immediately clean the empty apartment. To meet the occasional demands thrown at him, Seung Ho had to busily move around all morning.

Kang Mo’s apartment had been vacant for several years, but it was a place he visited when he drank or occasionally for no reason. So on the day or once a month when he visited, they would call someone to clean it.

It had only been a few days ago, and since Kang Mo hadn’t visited in the meantime, it should be clean even without specifically cleaning it today. Yet Kang Mo insisted on requesting another cleaning today. Seung Ho found it strange that he was unusually attentive to the apartment today and asked about it.

“Seo Hee will be staying there for the time being.”

An unexpected answer was heard.

“Oh? If it’s her, didn’t her mother already contract a studio apartment?”

“There was a bit of an issue with that studio apartment.”

Seung Ho grinned, having a feeling that the issue was not unrelated to Kang Mo. No wonder he had been busy all morning.

“If there’s anything else you need, please let me know.”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll tell you if I need something. Ah, and Kim Chang Joo. Did you assign someone to him?”

“Yes. They will keep a close eye on the ready-mix concrete business. If there’s any distribution instead of disposal, we will be notified immediately.”

“Good. You can go now.”

As soon as Seung Ho left, Kang Mo searched for ‘Hee Ya’ on his cell phone and tapped on it. Just as he was frowning at the rather long connecting tone that he didn’t like, the voice he wanted to hear tickled his earlobe.

― Yes, Kang Mo.

His mood, which had been ruined because of Chang Joo, instantly brightened at just one cheerful voice. For some reason, his heart felt ticklish. Kang Mo slowly rubbed the spot where his heart would be with one hand and asked bluntly.

“Why did it take you so long to answer the phone?”

― I couldn’t hear it well because I was sorting out my luggage.

“Sorting out luggage?”

― Yes. There are quite a few small things to prepare to take with me tomorrow.

“Everything is there, what are you packing? I told you to just bring yourself.”

She must be smiling, as the sound of her soft breathing through her nose sweetly penetrated his ear.

― Still, I need to pack some clothes at least. Not much else. Just cosmetics and personal belongings.

“I see. Around what time are you planning to go in tomorrow?”

― I’m going to have lunch here and then head over.

“Then let’s have dinner together tomorrow. I’ll come to the apartment.”

There was no response for a moment. He checked the phone, thinking the call might have been disconnected, but it was still connected.

― …I have a prior engagement late tomorrow afternoon. I think I’ll be eating dinner and then going, so what should we do?

She must have a lot of things to take care of, having recently returned to the country. Even though he knew that, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“You’re busier than me now. Do I need to make an appointment in advance to see you these days?”

― It’s not like that. I just have that one prior engagement tomorrow. Shall we have our meal the day after tomorrow instead?

“Alright, I got it. Let me know if your schedule changes tomorrow.”

Okay, stop working now. She said she would hang up right away, and as if it were a lie, the call was abruptly cut off.

Baek Seo Hee. Why are you so heartless? I’m doing all sorts of petty things just to win your heart, and yet…