The large and heavy palm that struck Ari's face went by so rough and quickly, that it made her lose balance and fall to the floor. The aftereffect of the aggressive assault left a pinkish mark on her pale cheek, ruining her pretty face full of thick makeup.
The moment Ari regains her consciousness, her instincts tell her to duck and close her eyes when she sees Mr. Oh's hand in the air, ready to land another heavy blow on her injured face.
The startled nightclub hostess braces herself, expecting to get hit once more since she couldn't react fast enough to fight back. However, after waiting for no longer than five seconds, nothing happened. The brunette now with disheveled hair slowly moves her arms away from her face and opens her eyes only to see someone standing with his back facing towards her.
She is paralyzed with shock and relief when she recognizes the familiar aura belonging to a certain man-it was Ren Hawk.
He stood there gallantly like a knight in shining armor, ready to protect her with all his might. She would have never expected to meet the chairman here of all places. She carefully peeks over the suited man to see what had happened to her assailant.
The pervert is on the ground, groaning and shaking in pain while cupping his left jaw. A thin trail of blood drips down from his busted lips. It was evident in the way he groaned that he was in deep pain.
Ari's eyes widened when she realized that her former potential employer had just assaulted the perpetrator. While running away from him just earlier, they had passed by at least two bystanders but they didn't even move a wink to acknowledge her tragic situation.
"Y-You! How dare you!" Mr. Oh screams when he tastes blood in his mouth. His fury sprang to life, furious that his harassment over the defenseless woman was now failing. Never in all his years has he experienced such defiance before. His ego was in pain. He scrambles up and charges towards the two, but Ren wasn't going to allow anything to happen to Ari again.
The composed guest stands in a steady position, unfazed by the sudden threat of the heavy but short stranger. Mr. Oh was at least ten years older than Ren, so there was nothing for him to fear, except for maybe his weight. Perhaps if Ren was shorter, he might be a little intimidated by the assailant's body crushing him if he had successfully tackled him. However, the chairman was someone who frequented the gym often and was well trained in self defense. He was not a stranger towards physical altercations, so he is well prepared for these types of unpleasant situations.
Ren's feet are open wide with the left foot slightly forward. His left arm is partly extended and the right arm is held close to the body with his fist near the chin. Once his opponent is within proximity, he throws a hard cross punch which successfully knocks Mr. Oh out cold.
Ari watches the captivating scenario happening right before her eyes. The sight of the crazy man crashing to the ground quite honestly cheered her soul. A quiet contentment spread through her face, visible in her smile. She would have never imagined that a classy and sophisticated man like Ren Hawk would ever harm someone for her sake. She was insignificant to him, almost undeserving of his sympathy after what had happened between them a few weeks prior.
Alarmed by the commotion, Mr. Shin and a few security guards finally come to take control of the rowdy mess. They see the unconscious man on the floor and recognize that it was their regular VIP customer.
The security guards were about to detain Ren because they mistakenly assumed that he was the one who initiated the fight since he was unharmed. However, due to Ari's quick but chaotic clarification, the manager stops his men when he recognizes the far superior first-time VIP guest. He quickly concluded that protecting and staying on Mr. Hawk's side proved to be much more favorable than to side with the injured man despite the years Mr. Oh had supported their business.
After watching the surveillance footage, the police are called to the scene. They file a report and cuff the perpetrator away.
Dumbfounded by the whole situation and still unable to process it, Ari was slightly trembling out of shock and anger. She was displeased at the fact that she was assaulted so mercilessly but there was nothing she could do to get back at her assailant besides having him in the custody of law enforcement.
Noticing her discomfort, Ren takes his coat off and wraps it over her tense shoulders. Not a word was said, but Ari appreciates his warm gesture. Gratitude flows through the nightclub hostess after remembering his heroic act. It had somehow calmed her down.
She looks over and tries to lift up a smile to thank him, but she couldn't. One, she was too embarrassed and two, she felt bad for disrespecting him before. She is barely able to mumble "thank you".
Ren also felt bad. He had originally despised Ari. Due to his extensive connections, he actually found out that she is working tonight so he came here with intentions to ridicule her somehow. Unfortunately, he didn't expect this awful situation to happen. Now he completely pities her.
Once he sees another girl accompanying the brunette, he finally exits the building while the manager walks him out and apologizes relentlessly to gain his affection.
Ari couldn't help but hold tightly onto the large coat as she watches Ren disappear from her view. She unexpectedly catches a whiff of his strong cologne-an alluring combination of power and freshness. It gives off a warm, woody fragrance; just to her liking and how she remembers it on the day of their first altercation. A quiet chuckle escapes her mouth. Somehow, holding onto his coat was warm and comfy... It felt safe.
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