Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 338

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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338. The real problem isn’t on my end—it’s on theirs.

Creak.
The two men who pushed open the bathroom door were Admont Jo and Josie McDaniel, Korean-American men with fathers who served in the U.S. military stationed in Korea.
Josie, standing over 180 centimeters tall and weighing 105 kilograms, had grown a full beard despite being only seventeen years old.
In contrast, Admont Jo, at 167 centimeters, appeared relatively small in stature, with his head shaved close and his eyes gleaming with menace.
After glancing around to confirm no one else was present, Admont Jo cracked his neck side to side and flared his nostrils.
Then he pulled a gleaming silver jackknife with a razor-sharp blade from the inner pocket of his jacket and gripped it in his hand.
Standing hip-cocked beside Josie, Admont Jo called out to the man standing before the urinal, chin slightly raised.

“Hey!”

The man, who had been zipping up and adjusting his clothes, turned his head at the sound from behind, then his eyebrows shot up in alarm.
It was impossible not to be startled—two men who looked like delinquents at first glance were standing there with a jackknife in hand.

“Uh… uh…”

As the flustered man stammered, Admont Jo flashed a cold smile and stepped forward, prompting Josie beside him to speak in a languid voice.

“You really going through with this?”

Admont Jo licked the gleaming blade of the jackknife lightly with his tongue and answered.

“Yeah. I need to show that bastard Michael I’m not all talk.”
“This could get messy.”
“It’s fine. Even if things blow up, the Korean police can’t touch me.”

Josie, whose pierced eyebrows had been furrowed, let out a snort of laughter at those words.

“That’s true enough.”

As Admont Jo advanced with the jackknife, the man’s face went pale and he spoke urgently.

“Why… why are you doing this? If you want money, I’ll give you my wallet. Don’t come any closer!”
“Stupid bastard.”

Admont Jo took a large stride forward, raising the jackknife in his grip, and was about to plunge it ruthlessly into the man’s chest when—
A thunderous shout erupted from behind, freezing Admont Jo in place.

“That’s far enough!”

As Admont Jo turned his head with an irritated expression, three figures came into view, now blocking the bathroom door.
Seok-won, Bockus, and Ju Geun-sung.
Admont Jo, robbed of his moment of satisfaction, spat out curses with a scowl.

“What the hell are you?”

Admont Jo’s gaze swept across the three men in turn.

“Annoying-looking bastards.”

The black man’s bulk was one thing, but seeing the handsome face standing in the center made me want to carve a blade across it.
Seizing the moment, Josie McDaniel behind them threw a massive punch directly at Seok-won.

“You punks!”

In response, Bockus—whose lean frame belied his strength—darted forward with surprising speed and easily deflected Josie McDaniel’s punch with one forearm.
In the same motion, he slipped inside the man’s guard and drove his opposite elbow into Josie McDaniel’s face with all his might.

Crack!
“Ugh!”

The sickening sound of bone shattering filled the bathroom as the massive Josie McDaniel, now drenched in blood, bounced like a ball and crashed into the left wall, losing consciousness instantly.
Bockus, a former Navy SEAL and essentially a human weapon, was simply in a different league from Josie McDaniel, who was nothing more than a low-grade thug at best.
Watching Josie McDaniel—known among his circle of friends for being able to throw a punch—subdued in the blink of an eye, Admont Jo’s face went deathly pale.

“You. What the hell are you!”

Admont Jo brandished the jackknife menacingly and retreated backward.
For all his posturing, his fear was unmistakable.
He was a textbook bully—strong against the weak, weak against the strong.
Thinking of how a promising young man had lost his life without ever fully blooming because of such a creature, rage surged within me.
Bockus kept his gaze fixed on Admont Jo, who still held the jackknife, and asked quietly.

“What should we do?”

Seok-won answered in a cold voice.

“Since he threatened us first with a jackknife, self-defense is clearly justified. I’ll make sure he never does anything wrong again.”
“Understood.”

Bockus, his face expressionless, stepped forward.
Admont Jo then began wildly swinging the jackknife through the air, shouting.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

Admont Jo’s eyes were clouded with panic and fear.
Even so, I could see him quickly scanning his surroundings—he was clearly ready to abandon his partner and flee at the first opportunity.
Yet Bockus didn’t even raise an eyebrow, continuing to advance steadily.

“Damn it!”

Cornered at last, Admont Jo lunged forward, extending his arm to drive the jackknife into Bockus’s abdomen.
Just as the sharp blade was about to pierce flesh.
Bockus twisted his body slightly to the side, evading the strike, then drove a fist like a boulder hard into the back of Admont Jo’s head as his momentum carried him forward.

Crack!
“Aaagh!”

With a dull thud, Admont Jo staggered, the jackknife slipping from his grasp and clattering to the floor.
Bockus gave him no chance to recover, driving his solid knee upward into his opponent’s abdomen with brutal force.

Thud!
“Gahhk!”

With eyes wide open and breath caught short, Admonte’s body bent into a sharp angle.
Bockus seized him by the nape of the neck and slammed his face hard against the bathroom wall with all his strength.

Crack!
“Ughhhh.”

As Bockus released him, Admont Jo—his nose and teeth completely shattered from the violent impact, drenched in blood—collapsed limply to the floor, his eyes rolling back white.

Bockus picked up the jackknife from the floor and crouched beside the unconscious Admont Jo.
He had demolished both thugs in an instant, yet his breathing remained perfectly steady, as though nothing had happened.

“Kid, that’s not how you use a blade.”

Bockus, his face expressionless and his tone dry, drove the jackknife in his hand mercilessly into the back of Admont Jo’s right hand.

“Aaaahhh!”

The searing agony of cold steel piercing flesh jolted Admont Jo from unconsciousness, and he screamed.

“W-what’s happening?”
“Kyaaahhh!”

Hearing the screams, the Male Server and Female Customer rushed to the bathroom door, only to freeze in horror at the chaos before them, their own cries of alarm escaping their lips.

“B-blood!”

The Male Server, looking as though he might collapse at any moment, pointed at Admont Jo, who writhed on the ground bleeding, the jackknife still embedded in his hand.
Seok-won, standing at the doorway, smiled reassuringly at the terrified Male Server and Female Customer, trying to calm them.

“It’s all resolved, so don’t worry.”

But the two remained frozen, trembling uncontrollably.

“They’re quite shaken. Let’s take them outside first and call the police.”
“Yes.”

Ju Geun-sung, responding calmly, immediately escorted the Male Server and Female Customer out of the bathroom.
Turning around, Seok-won addressed the Unknown Photographer, who stood half-dazed in front of the urinal.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

The Unknown Photographer startled and looked up, then quickly nodded.

“Y-yes.”
“Your girlfriend seems very worried. Go comfort her.”
“W-will that be alright?”

The Unknown Photographer hesitated briefly, then bowed respectfully.

“I… thank you for saving me.”

If Seok-won hadn’t intervened, I had no idea what kind of trouble I would have faced.
The man, whose courage had belatedly turned cold, was about to offer another word of thanks when Seok-won gestured with his chin toward Bockus.

“He’s the one who saved you, so thank him instead.”
“Ah. Yes.”

The man, covered in blood, glanced nervously at Bockus, who stood motionless beside the two fallen thugs, then bowed deeply.

“Thank you.”

Bockus nodded slightly without a word.
Though his massive frame exuded an intimidating presence, the man was relieved to sense that he was a good person, and he felt his heart settle.

“Then I’ll be going….”

The man carefully stepped around the two thugs sprawled across the bathroom floor as he made his way toward the exit.
That’s when Seok-won suddenly spoke, as if remembering something.

“Right. You’ll need to testify to the police that we acted in self-defense. So please wait here and don’t leave the restaurant.”
“Of course.”

The man quickly nodded in agreement.
After watching the man’s back as he hurried out, Seok-won approached Bockus with both hands thrust into his pockets.
I gazed down at the two mangled thugs, my brow furrowing slightly at the sight of Admont Jo, whose hand was pierced by a jackknife, staining the bathroom floor with crimson blood.

“He’s bleeding quite a bit. There’s no risk to his life, is there?”
“I didn’t touch any vital blood vessels like arteries, so he won’t die.”
“That’s fine then.”

In the first place, these weren’t people whose deaths would have mattered much anyway.
Given that they’d tried to stab an innocent stranger with a knife, the lives they’d lived up to now were probably garbage as well.
My only real concern was for the restaurant staff who would have to clean up the blood-soaked floor.
Bockus stared at me with a composed expression and asked.

“Were you planning to catch these guys from the start? Is that why you’ve been eating hamburgers for late-night meals these past few days?”

Otherwise, there would be no reason to deliberately come out for hamburgers every evening.
If I’d simply wanted a late-night snack, there were other options, yet I’d deliberately planted myself in this restaurant.

“That’s impossible. I’m not a god—how could I have known something like this would happen beforehand?”

Seok-won replied with perfect composure, not batting an eye.

“….”

Though he’d denied it, Bockus’s gaze made it clear he didn’t believe a word.
It was understandable to be suspicious—the moment those two thugs followed the photographer into the bathroom, Seok-won had immediately trailed after them.
But Bockus chose not to press further, simply keeping his silence.
He’d known for some time that the boss he served was a man of many secrets.
Just then, the wail of sirens pierced the air outside, and Seok-won shrugged as he spoke.

“Looks like the police have arrived.”

Shortly after, Seok-won’s group, along with the young couple and the Male Server, were transported by patrol car to the police station for questioning.
The two thugs, suffering severe injuries, were rushed directly to the hospital emergency room.

* * *

Yu Hyung-sik, a detective with the Violent Crimes Division at Yongsan Police Station, furrowed his brow as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips.
A case had to break out during his shift, robbing him of sleep in the early morning hours while he drafted statements—it was enough to irritate anyone.
Yu Hyung-sik lit the cigarette with his lighter, exhaled a plume of white smoke, and fixed his gaze on Seok-won sitting across from his desk.

“So you’re telling me you happened to go into the bathroom, witnessed those two guys who ended up hospitalized trying to stab the man in the back with a knife, and a fight broke out?”

Cigarette in hand, Yu Hyung-sik pointed toward the man sitting in the back with his girlfriend, asking once more.

“Yes. As I’ve stated, the other party threatened us first with a jackknife, so I acted in self-defense.”

At Seok-won’s measured tone, Yu Hyung-sik’s brow deepened.

“Self-defense? That seems excessive. You really did a number on them.”

Yu Hyung-sik lifted the diagnostic report sent from the hospital and deliberately read it aloud.

“Look at this. Facial depression, eight teeth knocked out… Did you stomp on their face with your foot or something? And one of them had a knife embedded in the back of his hand, requiring over thirty stitches. Even a cursory look shows this is at least eight weeks of full recovery time.”
“It seems they didn’t sustain as much damage as expected.”

Seok-won crossed one leg over the other and shook his foot slightly as he replied.
Yu Hyung-sik’s eyebrows twitched at his dismissive attitude, and he brought his palm down hard against the steel bookshelf with a sharp bang.

“Listen here. You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying, but even if it was self-defense, you should have shown some restraint. If they file a complaint, you could end up in prison on assault charges. You’re all in serious trouble.”

At his threatening words, I could sense a small, sharp intake of breath—a gasp of fear.
Seok-won and his companions seemed utterly unbothered, while the innocent couple bore the brunt of the intimidation.

“The serious trouble isn’t on my end—it’s on theirs.”

Seok-won spoke with an air of composure.

“What?”

Yu Hyung-sik had been trying to help the man in the back and had gotten caught up in the incident by sheer bad luck, so he’d been inclined to let it slide. But just as he was about to lose his temper, the door to the Violent Crimes Division swung open.
A middle-aged man in a tailored suit entered, carrying a leather briefcase in one hand.
Inside a police station where even the innocent feel intimidated, this man stood with his head held high, completely unaffected—a sight that stood out distinctly.
The middle-aged man glanced around the room, spotted Seok-won, and approached him directly.

“Who are you? This is a restricted area. You need to leave immediately.”

Yu Hyung-sik frowned, wondering what this was about now.
The expensively tailored suit and polished shoes gave him an uneasy premonition that something troublesome was about to unfold.
The middle-aged man standing before the desk pulled a business card from his wallet and placed it where Yu Hyung-sik could see it.

“I’m Seok Chang-geun, a lawyer at P&J Law Firm. I’ve been retained to represent Chairman Park Seok-won and his associates here, so I trust there’s no issue with me observing the statement-taking process?”

His voice was polite yet carried an unmistakable weight of authority.
Yu Hyung-sik was startled by the sudden appearance of a lawyer from P&J Law Firm, Korea’s top law firm, and picked up the business card to verify it.

[P&J Law Firm Partner Attorney Seok Chang-geun]

“…!”

This wasn’t just any lawyer hired by the firm—he was a partner attorney with a high rank.
Yu Hyung-sik lifted his head in bewilderment to look at Seok Chang-geun, then quickly shifted his gaze to the side.
When Seok-won, still sitting with that leisurely demeanor, made eye contact and smiled, a chill ran down Yu Hyung-sik’s spine—as if he’d just poked a hornet’s nest he should never have touched.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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