Life, Once Again!

Chapter 977. Crank Up 8

When he came to, it was 2 a.m. Giwoo looked down at his hand. He had been clenching so hard that nail marks remained on his palms. He had the upper hand. Regardless of what Maru said, he just had to ignore it all and just wait for him to get impatient. He thought that it was a game that couldn’t be reversed by any means.

He emptied the cocktail that had turned completely transparent because the ice had melted. That guy actually came out with a strong move. He uttered a fact that he must not and turned the tables around. As the balance shifted to that guy’s side so rapidly, Giwoo was unable to get a chance to take action. He felt like he was swept up by a large tide. The only thing he could do was wait for the waves to calm down.

In the end, everything went and ended as that guy wanted. That guy probably had the expression of a victor when he stood up. This was how it always was. When Giwoo got involved with him, everything always went wrong. Even though he thought he had prepared for everything, that guy always managed to attack the right spots as though he was making a fool out of him. How much must that guy have behind his back? Giwoo’s legs started shaking. It was anger that he could not calm down. His defensive attitude had backfired instead. He should have forged ahead even if he was dealt a blow. He tried to make a fool out of that guy but was made a fool instead, which made him extremely angry. Now, that guy had no secret that he had to protect. He was free.

Giwoo quietly got up and got on the elevator. Before he opened the door with his key card, he looked at Maru’s room, which was across the corridor. He turned around to stand in front of that guy's door. He then grabbed the doorknob with all of his strength. He stood like that for a whole minute before letting go. If his reason did not whisper to him that the door would lock automatically, if the door was open, he would have walked straight inside. He would’ve gone in and grabbed whatever he could reach and smashed the head of the guy who must have fallen asleep by now.

The first thing he did when he returned to his room was to take out a book from his carrier. He placed the thick bible on his lap and ripped out page by page starting from the beginning. He focused completely on ripping, praying for his destructive tendencies to calm down.

When he ripped the 12th chapter of Numbers, he uttered a stifled sigh. He finally felt like he had regained the sanity that he had lost in the hotel lounge. He closed the bible and put it inside the carrier before putting the pieces of paper strewn across the floor in a plastic bag. He smiled when he looked at the plastic bag that was full of ripped bible pages. When was it that he was consumed by his public image? When he was young, he wasn’t so obsessed with the ‘goody two-shoes’ image. He would glare back at directors and sometimes whine. However, ever since he reached twenty and it became more commonplace for him to stand in front of the camera, he wrapped up the real Kang Giwoo and tossed him to some corner where no one would be able to see, to the point that it became a form of consolation to take it out from time to time.

Ironically, the only one who found the ego that he had hidden deep inside the shade and looked straight at it was Han Maru. Han Gaeul probably knew about it now, but it was very likely that Han Maru was the one who provided her with the clues about Kang Giwoo’s true self. That guy discovered everything he had been hiding as though he could see right through him. If he got to know that guy through some other opportunity, perhaps they would have become friends like no other, friends that could with their hearts. However, no such thing happened. Even if such an opportunity displayed itself, Giwoo would refuse. If the almighty God told him that he would listen to any wish Giwoo had, he would unhesitantly ask God to shove the soul of the person right across his room to a place deeper than hell.

He rubbed his face and got a hold of himself. Han Maru had declared war. By announcing the fact that he and Han Gaeul were dating, he managed to both attack and defend. The phone he had been fiddling around with during that time also got on his nerves. That guy was a cautious one, so he might have recorded the whole conversation. If something unfortunate happened to Han Maru, then there would be an investigation around his surroundings, and the voice recording would put Kang Giwoo as a prime suspect. Although he had used a smokescreen tactic that he was dating another girl, the forceful actions he took towards Han Gaeul would reduce the reliability of his statements. He was originally going to call for some men as soon as he returned to Seoul, but it seemed that he had to think again.

He put on some relaxing music. It was some classical piece he did not know the title of. Before he went to sleep, he had to wrap his mind up. How did he have to treat Han Maru now? What was he going to do when facing Han Gaeul who would be coming in a few days? By now, he should have transmitted the conversation they had in the lounge to Gaeul, that he had revealed that they were dating to Kang Giwoo and that she should act accordingly. Once those two started putting on a show for real, Giwoo would have no choice but to watch. There wouldn’t be any gaps to exploit after all.

He thought about methods to remove Han Maru, but he couldn’t think of anything adequate. Even if doing something required him to put a leg deep into a shithole, he would have done it immediately, but that guy would not let go, so Maru would definitely try to bring him down as well. No matter how big Giwoo’s desire was in wanting to monopolize Han Gaeul, it was not to the point that he was willing to give up the reputation he had formed until now. In this industry, even actors who had a firm path ahead of them would have to waste years if a scandal erupted. It did not matter who was in the wrong. Being controversial was bad in and of itself.

It would be for the best if that guy just rolled down the stairs and became half-crippled. If that happens, Han Gaeul should give up on him as well. No matter how much she loves him, she should not want to live the rest of her life with a disabled person after all. He was stuck in a dilemma. If he removed that guy with the risk that he might receive harm, then what would come after that? If he was to do it, he had to do it thoroughly. If he used some awkward tactics to make Han Maru step away, it was possible that Han Gaeul would approach him instead. There had to be a terrible incident that was beyond the scope of what Han Maru could handle so that she would give up on him willingly.

Giwoo would only get his opportunity by splitting the two up. At this rate, a standstill without progress or regress would last forever. He wanted to avoid that at all costs. Being in a standstill was the worst kind of punishment. Whether he succeeded or failed, change was a necessity. If he succeeded, then she would stay by his side, and if he failed, he would send the two of them off. As for where, Valhalla was a pretty good option. Both of them loved fighting after all.

The classical music came to a stop. It seemed that his phone had run out of battery. He inserted the charger and checked the time through the TV. It was almost 4 a.m. It seemed that he was not going to get any sleep tonight.

* * *

Gaeul’s phone was still off. Her business phone was on, but she did not pick that up. Though, it would be strange for her to do so since that phone was left in her car.

Maru placed his phone on the table. This was no urgent matter that required waking up a sleeping girl. There shouldn’t be any problems while Giwoo was still in Ulsan. He just had to give her a call tomorrow morning, telling her that he had revealed that they were dating and that they should talk about their future course of action.

When he spent time in a daze while walking around, he realized that it was already 4 o’clock. Considering the shoot he had to do tomorrow, he had to get some sleep. When he lay on the bed and closed his eyes, he recalled the face of the guy he saw in the lobby. The expression that he displayed at the end contained a hint of unwilling defeat. He was practically saying that he had a scheme in his mind. From how he was so shaken when he told him that they were dating, it seemed that he had to pay more attention to this matter in the future. That guy was definitely not the kind of great person to give up on his unrequited love. Now, he could no longer rule out Hong Janghae’s henchmen appearing in front of him.

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

Dongwoo had given him a call.

-I called you just in case, but you aren’t sleeping, huh?

“I was thinking about various things, and it’s already 4. What about you?”

-Me? I was doing various things.

“You’re working hard.”

-There seems to be an end to all this hard work. You know lawyer Park, right? President Lee’s friend.

“I do.”

-He’s next to me right now. He said he’s going to help out on this one.

“That’s great. He’s very reliable.”

Maru heard a voice asking for the phone in the background.

-Is this Maru?

“Yes, lawyer.”

-Now, you stay out of this. This is for your sake, but for the case to be clean, there have to be as few people involved as possible.

“Okay. I should listen to the expert.”

-I’ll update you on the case. Well, it’s something that’ll end soon, so you might see the results right away.

“Is it something simple?”

-It’ll probably be like that. The chairman on that side dislikes blemishes just as much as I do.

Dongwook got back on the phone again. Maru quickly threw a question,

“Are you going to be pressuring Hong Janghae right away?”

-We should be able to begin right away. We’re planning to do under-the-waters deals after exposing it a little.

“That’s one less worry on my shoulders.”

-Worry?

“It’s nothing much. Anyway, I’m glad that we have a reassuring ally on our side.”

-It has only been a couple of hours since the lawyer came to my house, but things are taking shape already. We might be able to give them prison food as a gift for New Years.

“That will be for the best. Still, though, be careful. They are willing to kidnap and confine people.”

-I’m being very careful even without you telling me. I told you everything I have to, so I’ll hang up now. Stop thinking about useless stuff and go to sleep. You have a shoot, so you should look after your health.

As soon as the call finished, sleep overwhelmed him. The thing he was most worried about was dealt with. With this, the worst scenario of Kang Giwoo dragging Hong Janghae into this case was no longer possible. Hong Janghae should have his hands tied facing lawyer Park.

No matter how vile Kang Giwoo was, he did not cross the line. The reason Maru was afraid of Hong Janghae was that he frequently stepped across the line like it was nothing. Now that Giwoo would not be able to get help from Hong Janghae, the danger level should have been lowered considerably.

Maru sighed in relief and closed his eyes.

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