Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 83: Wake Up

"Hey, Kaija Sepala, wake up."

The photography studio was dimly lit by faint silver light pouring in through the window, more from the moon than the streetlights below, given it was on the 18th floor.

Not a single light in the room was on. If it were, it would give away that someone was inside of that room right now, when every other room in the building sat in absolute darkness.

Lying unconscious on the couch beneath the windows was Kaija, her long black coat now serving as a blanket over her body, along with another black leather jacket.

Standing by the window, leaning against the wall, was the owner of that jacket. He looked down at her unmoving figure, a weary sigh slipping out.

He had only cut off her airway long enough to stop her from screaming. How had that made her pass out for two hours straight?

While she was knocked out, he’d locked the studio door and finished delivering the remaining orders for the night. When he returned an hour later, she was still motionless on the couch exactly as he’d left her. Now, another hour later, she still showed no sign of waking.

"Come on, Kaija, wake up," he murmured, one hand cupping the side of her face and nudging it gently.

No response. She remained perfectly still, like a sleeping beauty.

He checked the time, impatience rising. By now, people at the concert hall had certainly noticed her absence. If she didn’t wake before they announced the winner, they’d soon send people searching the entire campus for her.

Still, he couldn’t just leave her here or dump her somewhere random. Given how long she had been out, he was starting to worry he might’ve choked her a bit too long and accidentally damaged something in her brain.

No, he couldn’t leave yet. He had to make sure she was still okay.

Five minutes later, his phone rang. He cast a wary glance at the girl on the couch, then at the name on the screen, debating for three seconds before answering right where he stood.

"Yes, Father?" he said, eyes trained on Kaija’s unmoving form for the slightest change.

"Is everything alright, son? All orders delivered?" a hoarse, drawling voice asked. It was none other than Simo Isota.

"Everything’s fine, Father. I’m all done with the orders now. I just decided to stay to watch the show. It’s pretty amazing this year, so I might come back later than I planned," Juho replied smoothly without batting an eye.

"Oh? Laid eyes on some pretty ladies again?" his father mused, voice turning lazier. "A singer this time?"

"A model, Father," he answered fluidly. "A young one. Long legs, blue eyes, absolutely gorgeous."

A guffaw burst from the speaker, followed by the thump of a hand smacking a table. "You’ve got a thing for blue eyes, son, just like your old man! Just don’t bring the chick home, alright? Have your fun wherever you want, drill her senseless as many times as you like, no need to come home tonight. Just make sure to disappear first thing in the morning before the woman wakes up. Got it?"

"Don’t worry, Father. I’m the fastest when it comes to running," Juho replied nonchalantly. His face remained utterly uninterested, yet his voice matched his father’s vulgar tone perfectly.

The older man hung up after another loud round of laughter.

The room returned to utter quiet.

For a full minute, Juho didn’t move at all. He stood exactly where he was without making a single sound, emerald eyes fixed intensely on Kaija’s peaceful face, as if he were in the middle of some breath-holding competition.

Five minutes passed, and his lips finally curled into a mischievous smirk. He lowered himself to his knees beside the couch, leaning in closer to that serene face. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Wake up now, sleeping beauty," he murmured. "Time to stop pretending."

His voice came low and hoarse, breathing warmly against her ear. Yet the tone was no longer soft and desperate like before. It now dripped with vicious amusement.

Kaija’s fingers trembled faintly beneath the two layers of coats. Since when had Juho noticed she’d already awaken?

She’d only followed him into the emergency exit out of curisosity. How could she possibly predict that he’d try to choke her to death the moment she saw him down those basement stairs?

When Juho’d carried her here, she thought he was gonna get rid of her to cover up whatever secret doings he’d done down there. She’d remained perfectly still, waiting for the right opportunity to run, before Juho got to do that.

And yet, he just brought her to the studio room, left her there on the couch, locked the door and left without doing a thing. He even came back later to check on her and kept waking her up, making her heart almost jump out of her chest.

But now that she’d heard him confirmed that he’d delivered "orders", she could be sure that the "secret doings" he was up to was delivering drugs to his clients on the campus, on behalf of the drug network his father was running, and he definitely had more reasons to exterminate her on the spot for real now.

No, better not flinch and give in right now, after having endured for so long. She kept her eyes closed tightly shut, and decided to pretend all the way till the end.

Juho didn’t relent easily, either. His smirk deepened as he suddenly yanked both coats off her body and tossed them coldly to the floor.

"Want to know what sort of things I’ve done with the girls who come to this room for shoots?" he whispered, one hand gliding slowly along the porcelain of her thigh until his fingers reached the hem of her dress.

"Once I start, they just can’t stop moaning and begging for more," he finished quietly, deliberately sliding his hand beneath the satin.

Now Kaija could no longer stay still.

"What the hell, Juho?! I don’t want to know any of that!" she recoiled instantly from the dangerously placed hand.

Her back hit the armrest, nearly sending her toppling backward. But Juho moved quicker. His hand shot out to the back of her neck, catching her right in place.

"When did you wake up?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice. His face had darkened with restrained anger, fingers tightening around her neck.

"How did you know I was already awake?" she shot back, frowning.

"Answer me first," he snarled. "When did you wake up?"

Her gaze dropped along with her voice. "When you were... carrying me here."

A faint smirk tugged at his mouth. So it had been long before he even reached this room. He’d always thought she was just a cute, harmless pretty thing, yet he never imagined she could be such a cunning little fox.

"You flinched," he replied at last. Her eyelids had twitched, so slightly, so subtly, but not subtly enough to escape his eyes. "First when you heard me say Father. Then again when I mentioned the orders were done. That was when I knew for sure."

"Tsk." She turned away, pulling her neck free from his hand. "Your father is out now? How is that even possible?"

"Like I told you, my old man has connections," he said nonchalantly. "It was only a matter of time before he got out." Then his brows knit. "But why did you pretend you were out all this time?"

Her gaze lifted back to his, darkened with frustration. "I was waiting for a chance to run away from you, duh."