# Chapter 98
Being the subject of people’s gossip for something like this would do no good, and there was also the possibility that they might come back later to cause trouble, thinking their situation went badly because of others.
For this reason, there were more people than expected who tried to avoid such situations.
I thought it happened because the world is rough, so there was no reason to blame such people.
Still, I had to at least try to talk about it whether it worked or not, so when I went inside, people who had been focusing on what was happening outside were looking at me.
“Hello. I’m Kang Seomin from Grand Tamer. I apologize for troubling you unintentionally. Our actor has been involved in an unfortunate incident, and I was wondering if there are any working CCTV cameras so we could check the footage.”
“That’s something our boss would…”
The employees spoke, and a few people went inside.
Once people decide to help, things tend to progress very quickly after that.
Someone seemed to be making a call, then came back to me.
“This kind of thing happens frequently. Since people are drinking, rough situations often occur. But every time we show CCTV footage, the circumstances are revealed, and people who are disadvantaged by it try to harm us.”
One employee started explaining first, as if they had something to say about not providing CCTV footage.
Then others from various places also spoke about the matter.
“People bring minors, use someone else’s ID to lie about their age, drink, and then report us. After experiencing that kind of thing several times, we lose all compassion and wonder why we should get involved in other people’s business. The people we help don’t even come back or say thank you. We’re the ones being wronged, but we bear all the damages. I mean, how are we supposed to catch people using someone else’s ID? If we get our business suspended because of that, we’re the ones who have to take responsibility for the losses.”
At that moment, one person was using a smartphone app, seemingly looking for the time when the incident occurred.
“I didn’t know you had such experiences. You must have had a difficult time. Those laws should be changed.”
As I spoke, understanding the position of people who suffer from such situations, others also shared their unfair circumstances.
“Our boss told us to show you the footage, and since you’re the CEO of Grand Tamer, we trust you. Grand Tamer is known for not covering up for its own people. I’m a Crop Five fan.”
And finally, I was able to check the footage.
As expected, Cha Gaon had done nothing wrong.
All he did was push away hands to escape from people who kept touching his body and excessively approaching him.
“We can save just this part separately or send it to you. Would you like us to send it?”
I responded to the employee that I would be very grateful if they could do that, and handed over my business card.
“This is my work number. Could you send it to this number? If possible, I would also appreciate it if you could send it by email.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
“May I tell the police about this?”
“Yes. Since we’ve already decided to show you, I think it would be fine to tell them.”
Things proceeded smoothly after that.
The police also seemed to have a general idea of what had happened, and they said there was nothing to worry about now that the evidence had emerged.
“What will you do now? The CCTV footage shows Kim Suchul grabbing Cha Gaon. But if Kim Suchul continues to claim that he was assaulted by Cha Gaon, there will need to be an investigation. If you don’t want to press charges here, this will end now.”
Upon hearing the police officer’s words, the person called Kim Suchul grimaced as if things had turned out boring.
“Fine. Ah. F*ck.”
It seemed like he had been trying to have some fun by throwing mud on someone else’s life, but now he was frustrated, realizing he had picked the wrong person to mess with.
“You’ve had a hard time since dawn. You can take Cha Gaon and go back now.”
I smiled at the police officer’s words.
“That’s not right. Something happened to our actor here. If we just let this person go, what will he do in the future? I’ll report this. Please investigate this case properly. The victim is Cha Gaon, and this is a case where a person named Kim Suchul assaulted my actor.”
“CEO, I don’t think this is a matter that requires such action?”
The police officer looked like he was wondering why I was making a big deal out of this, but I didn’t see it that way.
“No. Grand Tamer’s legal team will handle the case, and depending on the situation, Seyoung Group’s legal team will cooperate. Anyone can see this is ridiculous, right? If there’s no punishment even for this, I’ll live like this too. Why work hard to earn money? I’ll go to places where celebrities are resting, pick fights, push them, cause trouble, and extort money. Isn’t that right, Mr. Kim Suchul?”
For the first time, a tense expression appeared on Kim Suchul’s face.
“This… According to your claim, if Cha Gaon is the assault victim, then Cha Gaon should file the complaint.”
I looked at Cha Gaon, and he looked back at me.
Whatever happened, I would follow Cha Gaon’s decision.
Then Kim Suchul, who had shown no signs of apologizing until that moment, suddenly seemed rushed and changed his attitude.
“Um… I was drunk, so I don’t remember the details, but when I saw someone who appears on TV, I was excited because I was happy to see them, and I’m normally a fan. It was because I liked them, but filing a complaint over something like this won’t do either of us any good. So let’s just let it go.”
“Let it go? If I lightly hit Mr. Kim Suchul and said let’s just let it go, would you let it go? Let’s hear what you have to say. If you say you would, let me hit you once.”
“…!!”
Kim Suchul seemed not to have expected me to go that far, and as people around us criticized him with harsh words, he appeared to be at a loss.
The number of people recording this scene gradually increased, and loud voices were heard from various places.
“What a complete thug, that guy!”
“If this had gone wrong, the articles would have been terrible, and only the actor would have suffered. The vultures would have happily torn him apart.”
“Those vultures have nothing to lose by doing that. If the company asks them to take down the article, they can get money in exchange for doing so. The only one who bleeds is the celebrity.”
Hearing such talk, the antipathy of the people present seemed to grow even more, and Kim Suchul gradually appeared to realize that he couldn’t handle this situation so casually.
“I’m sorry. I really don’t remember well what I did because my memory is unclear, but I’m sorry. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’m sorry. I would appreciate your leniency. This will absolutely never happen again.”
When I looked at Cha Gaon, he seemed to be wavering.
If the case was actually filed and we had to keep going to the police station, Cha Gaon’s name would continue to be talked about.
And since that wasn’t desirable, I decided to follow his wishes.
Still, by now many people had seen what happened, so it didn’t seem likely that the incident would be distorted in a strange way when reported later.
Since we had also obtained the CCTV footage, it seemed we wouldn’t have to worry about this spreading in a negative direction.
“I think it would be fine to end it here, but what do you think is best, CEO?”
“If that’s what you think, then that’s fine. Since we’ve obtained the CCTV footage, there shouldn’t be any concerns.”
“Then I’d like to end it here. I’m sorry for making you come out at this hour and causing you trouble.”
The police officers who were listening to Cha Gaon’s words looked relieved.
Kim Suchul, apparently thinking there was no longer any need for him to be there, left, and Cha Gaon’s group approached me to express their thanks.
“If you’ve had a lot to drink, I’ll get you a taxi.”
But they all shook their heads.
“We didn’t drink much, and what little we did has worn off. We’ll catch a taxi and go back ourselves. We’ll take good care of Gaon. Thank you for coming, CEO. As you saw, Gaon really did nothing wrong.”
“Alright. Gaon is now a public figure, and there’s no guarantee that something like this won’t happen again, so it would be good to be careful. If you ask if that means you shouldn’t drink at all, I have no answer, but perhaps it would be better to be cautious and drink at home or something like that.”
“Yes. I will definitely be careful from now on. I’m truly sorry. And thank you.”
I parted ways with them, thinking it was fortunate that Cha Gaon had such people by his side.
It didn’t seem like I had done much, but before I knew it, the morning had passed.
I was thinking it was good that things ended well, but somehow I felt strange.
Thinking “I shouldn’t be here, what was I doing?” I first called Team Leader Hyun and Hyung.
Team Leader Hyun, who had informed me about Cha Gaon’s situation, was busy managing schedules with other people without even having time to call back, and when I called, he asked with surprise how things had turned out.
When I said it had been handled well, Team Leader Hyun said I would be late and told me to quickly go see Sijin, and only then did I realize that I had been on my way to pick up Sijin.
