# Chapter 32
However, backing away inside the narrow bathroom stall didn’t help much. No matter how far he retreated, there was nowhere to go. The unknown person seemed to be deliberately grabbing the door handle, not by mistake, shaking it several times until the door rattled, then pounding on it a couple of times with their fist.
At the gesture that seemed to signal “come out right now,” Seowoo hesitantly clenched his fist. At that moment—
“Hey, I know you’re in there!”
A voice completely different from what Seowoo had expected came from beyond the door. The opposite of Dohyun’s low and plain tone, it was a somewhat tense, sharp male voice.
For a moment, several faces quickly flashed through Seowoo’s mind, but none of them had this kind of voice. It didn’t seem to be anyone related to Dohyun. The unidentified man knocked on the door once more.
“You’re already caught, you know. Hiding in there is pointless! Come out quickly, or I might just break this door down and come in!”
Though his tone was sharp as if threatening, for someone who claimed to know everything, his voice lacked composure. If it wasn’t Dohyun or one of Dohyun’s subordinates, there was no need to hide like this. Causing an unnecessary misunderstanding would be more troublesome.
When Seowoo carefully opened the locked door, the man blocking the doorway stepped back with a gasp.
“Whoa, don’t… don’t come any closer!”
“…Excuse me?”
The man hunched his shoulders, lowered his body, and stretched both hands out in front of him. He clearly seemed prepared to pounce if Seowoo made any strange movements, but his posture was so scattered that every movement was visible, suggesting he wasn’t someone who specialized in physical activities.
The man, who appeared to be in his late 40s at face value, was slightly shorter than Seowoo but quite stocky. Initially showing signs of fear, not knowing who was hiding in the bathroom stall, the man completely let go of his fear when he saw that Seowoo looked quite slender at first glance. He seemed to think Seowoo was someone he could subdue.
“I’ve seen people like you before! Punks like you always cause trouble in peaceful neighborhoods when things get chaotic.”
“…Look, I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but I…”
“It’s obvious just from seeing you hiding in here! Trying to hide and then run away? We’re all too familiar with those obvious tricks.”
The man, now openly pointing his finger, grabbed Seowoo’s wrist firmly and forcibly pulled him.
Running away? What obvious tricks? Having just come to make a phone call, what kind of trouble was this? Surprised by the unrefined, strong force of the adult man, Seowoo jerked his arm away forcefully.
“Who said I was hiding?!”
“Oh? Are you trying to fight me now?”
“I think there’s been some misunderstanding. I’m currently filming…”
“Right, the guy who snuck in last time also used filming as an excuse. Are you in cahoots with that bastard? Just because we bow and accommodate when we’re on TV, all sorts of people try to take advantage of it.”
Last time? That bastard? The man, who had thrown out incomprehensible words, snorted roughly and grabbed Seowoo’s arm tightly again.
“Save your excuses for later.”
“No, I need to get back to the filming set right now…!”
“Filming set or whatever, those lies won’t work!”
As they confronted each other tensely, the man suddenly yanked Seowoo’s arm, causing him to collapse with a thud. Landing on his bottom, Seowoo’s back hit the narrow stall, and his ankle twisted as it folded to the side.
“Ugh…”
Simultaneously, a commotion arose behind the two of them. Villagers had followed and rushed into the bathroom entrance. The narrow, shabby public restroom was filled with about a dozen people.
“Did you catch the criminal?”
“Yeah, I did. Why did you all rush in like this? I told you I could handle it on my own.”
“What if the robber goes berserk with a knife like last time? After you got beaten up so badly.”
Knife? Berserk? Robber? As several uncommon words came out in succession, Seowoo couldn’t grasp the context and just blinked slowly.
“Beaten up? It was just a minor injury. Even then, I subdued him with my bare hands like this and handed him over to the police.”
The man roughly pulled Seowoo’s arm again. Seowoo’s body, which had been leaning against the wall, staggered as it was led by the man’s forceful pull.
“…!”
“First, let’s take him away and find out where he hid the money.”
“No, wait, just a moment!”
Seowoo’s eyes met directly with the woman standing at the front of the group. Though the woman showed a not-so-friendly gaze, she didn’t try to stop him, as if she wanted to hear him out. It seemed she knew he was firmly restrained and couldn’t pose any threat.
“You keep talking about criminals and robbers, but I have nothing to do with any of that…”
“Oh, come on. Then why were you on the phone in the bathroom without even using it?”
“What?”
“You were on the phone the whole time, right? Deliberately inside the bathroom. It seemed like you were talking for quite a while—are you an accomplice?”
Accomplice? What kind of nonsensical accusation was this? His words were stuck from absurdity, but then, out of indignation, a slightly louder voice came out without thinking.
“It was a friend! I was just talking to a friend. I don’t understand why that’s suspicious… And I’m not a criminal; I’m an actor who came to the filming set, as I told you!”
“Oh, an actor who came to film, deliberately hiding in this secluded place to talk to a friend? Is this friend perhaps your mistress?”
The man let out a scoffing laugh as if amused by his own words. Admittedly, it was an unusual situation by common standards. There was nothing to refute.
When Seowoo bit his lip tightly and couldn’t immediately respond, the gathered people started murmuring among themselves. The woman standing at the front of the group shook her head slightly.
“Such a decent-looking young man… But it’s no use. There’s a child who clearly saw with their own two eyes you sneaking in here.”
“…What nonsense is that?”
This was even more absurd. Seowoo had been on the filming set and had just entered the bathroom. Perplexed, his words came out sharply, causing the man to grip his wrist even more tightly.
“Are you saying the child lied?”
Well, from any angle, that seemed to be the case. Just as Seowoo opened his mouth to protest, suddenly a short scream erupted from the back of the crowd.
“Ah!”
“Excuse me.”
“W-what’s going on all of a sudden?”
The atmosphere inside shifted slightly. An unexpected intruder pushed through the crowd that was densely blocking the entrance and stepped inside. As he forcefully pushed his way in, people who had been standing without much thought had no choice but to be pushed aside like fallen leaves.
“What are you all doing in the bathroom? This is a place for people to relieve themselves. From outside, it looks like a marketplace.”
“President…!”
Being in such a tight spot, Seowoo unconsciously blurted out “President,” which he never usually said. If the situation had been any worse, he might have run to him the moment he saw him.
In response to Seowoo’s reaction, instead of his usual mischievous smile, Dohyun displayed a leisurely and even gentle-looking smile.
“I kept you waiting. Are you alright?”
With a movement that matched his smile, free of excess, Dohyun grabbed the man’s wrist.
“Excuse my rudeness upon our first meeting.”
“Who are you!”
“Who am I? Ah, my introduction. You must have seen the filming crew set up by the blue slate roof next to the beach? I’m from there.”
Dohyun’s tone remained relaxed and politely concise, but the hand that gripped the man’s wrist was firmly powered without the slightest gap. In fact, as he continued speaking, he applied more pressure, making the veins on his firm hand stand out prominently.
The man inadvertently let out a pained sound, then glared at Dohyun with wide eyes as if not to be outdone.
“This person is really… trying to trick me with such obvious lies…”
“Tsk, don’t you all watch TV? Or perhaps you have a memory issue that automatically deletes what you’ve seen… Either way, I’m not curious, and you’ll regret this later. Let go, will you?”
Despite his calmly persuasive words, Dohyun’s grip was so fierce that the man, regardless of his own will, feared his wrist would break and released Seowoo’s arm.
Finally freed, Seowoo reflexively took a step back. The unexpected situation had nearly made his legs give out. Naturally, someone supported his shoulder.
“…Are you alright.”
Strangely, Manager Gu’s voice sounded more comforting than ever. Seowoo glanced at him from the corner of his eye and nodded slowly.
“I should have grasped the situation earlier. It was a mistake. I apologize.”
Manager Gu apologized with excessive formality. Normally, Seowoo would have laughed and said there was no need to go that far, but this was neither the situation nor the mood to joke around or make witty remarks.
“CEO Seo! What’s happening in there? Suddenly…”
Soon after, several filming crew members who seemed to have followed Dohyun rushed in together. The man who had been in a confrontational stance with Dohyun hesitantly took a step back when the staff members appeared.
The staff members, who seemed to have entered mindlessly following Dohyun, belatedly noticed Seowoo’s presence and opened their eyes wide in surprise.
“Seowoo-ssi!”
“Seowoo-ssi, are you okay?!”
The residents couldn’t stop the staff members who entered pushing through the crowd with surprised expressions. Their attire clearly identified them as filming crew to anyone, and by that point, even the locals had to realize that these intruders were not clumsy accomplices but people involved in the movie filming.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
