A narrow escape

"What the hell are you doing?!"

A man's booming voice came from somewhere above Su-Jin's head, causing her ears to ring. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear her mind from the muddled state it succumbed in.

But wait a minute. Why did she feel that something was wrong with this situation? Wasn't that voice way too familiar?

'Why does it sound like Director Kang's voice? It can't really be him, right?' Su-Jin wondered silently.

As soon as she thought of that name, though, her brain instantly helped her envision the person's face as well.

'Based on that shout just now he must be super angry.' she reasonably concluded.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a second yell came from above her head.

As soon as that timbre resounded in the room again there was no doubt left in Su-Jin's mind. It was unmistakably Director Kang's voice. And based on what she could pick up from his tone, he really was very angry. So angry that he could probably freeze an entire lake just with the iceness from his voice.

Su-Jin's arms trembled and she gradually withdrew them from around her head. She tilted her head, looking up, but the next second she almost cussed out loud. At that moment she really regretted ever opening her eyes, for the picture that assaulted her vision was simply too astonishing.

Director Kang was currently looming over Su-Jin's fallen form, causing an enormous shadow to be cast on the floor. Both his arms were raised above his head, holding onto the falling rack. His brows were furrowed and the corners of his mouth were twitching.

Based on the way his suit jacket was currently tightening around his upper body, it was clear that his muscles were strained from the effort of catching, as well as holding onto such a heavy object. If she looked closely, Su-Jin could probably see the veins on the back of his hands bulging from the strain.

To her utter astonishment, Su-Jin next saw Director Kang taking a half a step forward, bending his body slightly in order to keep the rack farther away from her. This image caused both her eyes to widen until they resembled two saucers. Any more and they would be on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

On the other hand, the hero who had inspired such a strong reaction was so furious that his eyes almost turned red. A smouldering fire seemed to have been lit inside his pupils, a strange mixture of feelings churning within them. Due to the intensity of his emotions, Ji-Won's gaze almost solidified as he continued to stare at the fallen woman's speechless appearance.

Just a few minutes earlier, Kang Ji-Won was on his way to the kitchen to get a coffee. His gait was leisure and he was lost in thoughts, when he suddenly heard noises coming from the archive room.

At first, he ignored them thinking that it was probably just an employee searching for some documents. However, just as he was about to turn into the small hallway that took to the kitchen, a loud thud reached his ears, followed by a sharp yelp. The combinations of sounds made him jump in fright.

At once, Ji-Won forgot all about his coffee and instead hurried towards the archive room. He reached there just in time to see the tall rack falling towards Su-Jin. She was cowering on the floor, her arms raised to protect her head. But these attempts were futile. Ji-Won knew that once that rack hit her body, it wouldn't make a difference how she protected herself.

With his body reacting instinctively, Ji-Won leaped inside the room and grabbed the rack a short distance before it touched Su-Jin's arms. All the boxes stacked on the shelves fell, crashing down like projectiles. Some ended up hitting his arms and back, while others simply fell heavily on the floor, their contents spilling everywhere.

Watching the papers inside those boxes being scattered all around the floor, caused Ji-Won's face to darken. He groaned inwardly, viciously cursing his bad luck.

It had taken him a month to organize that archive room and to get the entire paperwork catalogued properly. Now, all his hard work was reduced to utter chaos, just a big messy pile of paper that covered the entire floor. And all because of her.

As though he was grinding them through his teeth before speaking, Ji-Won's words came out slowly and almost painfully.

"I asked you a question."

While he talked, he was trembling in fury, yet, his hands were still conscientiously holding onto the heavy rack. Ji-Won continued to speak, carefully enunciating each word.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Director Kang… I… I was…" Su-Jin stuttered.

Her mind was in a mess, both from the earlier scare, as well as from the apprehension Director Kang's presence caused her.

Seeing the Director look so furious made her words falter. Her throat suddenly went dry, making it impossible for her to utter a single syllable. Ji-Won's black eyes were burning with fury and even his hair looked as though an electric shockwave was coursing through his entire body.

A second later, Ji-Won cursed under his breath. Mustering all his strength, he finally pushed the rack back into its place. Once empty, the frame wasn't so heavy and he was able to move it by himself quite easily.

Su-Jin, on the other hand, continued to remain on the floor. Her entire body was limp and she was afraid to make a single sound. The air was coming in and out of her lungs in erratic breaths, making her feel lightheaded. Just like that, she was slowly working herself closer to a small panic attack.

Finally, after a few moments of forcing herself to calm down, Su-Jin's heartbeat slowly returned to normal and her breathing eased somewhat. She tried to stand, but she didn't even get to take a single step before her legs gave in. Under the weight, she staggered to the side and almost fell.

To Su-Jin's astonishment, Director Kang reached out an arm and swiftly caught her by the waist.

"Do you have jelly legs or what?" Ji-Won snapped at her.

Then, unexpectedly remembering her staggering from the previous team dinner, he added in an undertone.

"Why can't you ever stand properly?!"