Chapter 1536 Reconsidering (1)

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression could only be described as unreadable while he stared at Jeong Myeong-Cheol standing before his eyes.

Huh... How should I explain this?

He scratched the back of his head.

Yeah, this feels weird.

He didn’t really have any plans to hurt Jeong Myeong-Cheol. What this man had done annoyed Kang Jin-Ho greatly, but when viewed objectively, his crimes didn’t warrant a more severe punishment.

Of course, he still wanted this man to pay the appropriate price for his actions. For that purpose, he chose to go with “education.”

Sparing Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s life wouldn’t change him from a walking, talking piece of human trash. But that didn’t mean he deserved to die, either. Since that was the case, the only way to minimize the harm done to his surroundings would be to rehabilitate him.

That was Kang Jin-Ho’s intention while embarking on this project, but this...

I wanted him to become a respectable person, not a pitiful person, okay?

This Jeong Myeong-Cheol was almost unrecognizable from the “old” Jeong Myeong-Cheol Kang Jin-Ho first saw a few days ago. The well-muscled body belonging to the wayward scion of the Taegwang Group had morphed into something much more skeletal. Several bald spots could be seen on his scalp.

Meanwhile, his expensive suit now resembled something worn by refugees fleeing war zones. The bushy, unkempt beard grew below his hollow eyes. Eyes, which were anxiously darting from one direction to the other constantly!

It’s like I’m looking at a war slave or something...

Even Kang Jin-Ho was surprised to see a person transform this much in the matter of a few days.

Just how intense was the bullying for him to end up this way?

Kang Jin-Ho was someone who would never forgive anyone daring to provoke him, yet even he couldn’t help but feel pity at Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s wretched state.

“Here...”

“...?! Hiiiieeeek?!”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol hurriedly curled up into a ball and shielded his head when Kang Jin-Ho reached out.

“N-no! Please! Don’t hurt me! Don’t kill me! Please! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“...?”

“I, I’ll do anything if you spare my life! Don’t kill me, please!”

Kang Jin-Ho tore his gaze away from Jeong Myeong-Cheol and stared at Seong Ju-Chan standing behind the pleading man. A layer of cold sweat could be seen on Seong Ju-Chan’s forehead.

Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “Did you beat him up?”

“Sir... That question is a little unfair, sir!”

“I want to know if you have beaten him up or not.”

“It was only a little bit, sir! Just a couple of slaps here and there! I swear to you, I did not beat him to the extent you’re thinking of, sir. I’m truly innocent!”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled hollowly. “When you said only a little bit, according to whose standard?”

“Sir, I swear to you, I didn’t act like a martial artist while slapping him around. I didn’t use my cultivation. And I even hit him where it would hurt the least.”

“Oh, really? With hands as large as yours?”

“...”

Seong Ju-Chan looked at his pot-lid sized hands before sneakily hiding them behind him.

Kang Jin-Ho groaned at this sight. Why was this so tricky?

Jeong Myeong-Cheol was a... truly strange enemy, for lack of a better description. Beating him to death felt excessive, but the idea of letting him go like this annoyed Kang Jin-Ho. Bullying him didn’t feel quite enough of a punishment, but he seemed too pitiful to deserve a smackdown, either!

It seemed Seong Ju-Chan had tried his best to maintain this tricky balance, but the end result curled up into a ball before Kang Jin-Ho didn’t look presentable at all. ℯℯ𝘭.

Then again, I’m guessing his physical state was a secondary concern.

Here was a pampered moron who got dragged into who-knows-where and got surrounded by hulking monsters who proceeded to bully and humiliate him and even roughed him up. Most people wouldn’t be able to withstand such a situation with a sane mind.

Kang Jin-Ho tutted again. “Rather than his body, it’s his mind that crumbled first, huh...”

Seong Ju-Chan sheepishly looked at the floor. “I did consider his fragile physique, but to think his mind would be even more fragile... We never expected that, sir.”

That made some sense. Most people wouldn’t really think about such a thing, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho scanned Jeong Myeong-Cheol, then glanced at Seong Ju-Chan. “So? How did the reeducation efforts go?”

“Well, uh, we’ve been working on him for a week now, so...”

“And? Have you had your fill now?”

“The thing is, I can’t bully him anymore in good conscience, sir. He’s too pitiful for that. He has more or less paid for his crimes. A few of us still are still annoyed with this bastard, but the rest of us are okay with letting him go.”

“Mm...”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. If that was the overall consensus of the franchisees, who had been impacted the most by this event, then it was fine to assume that Jeong Myeong-Cheol had indeed paid for his crimes. But that still left the slight issue of Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s current state.

“So, what do you think?”

“I’m sorry, sir?”

“Your idea of this man paying for his crimes. Does it also include him staying like this forever?”

“...No, sir. This was an honest mistake on my part.”

“So, it wasn’t part of your plan.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize.” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled, then closed the distance to Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

Despite still being in a curled-up state, Jeong Myeong-Cheol flinched and trembled nastily after noticing Kang Jin-Ho’s approach. “N-no, please... Don’t... hurt me...”

Even though Jeong Myeong-Cheol trembled like a man gasping for air, Kang Jin-Ho walked up to him without hesitation and grabbed the curled-up man’s head.

“Kkeuh-uh...”

He then injected his qi and blew away all the turbid qi filling up Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s head.

“...?”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol looked utterly confused even as Kang Jin-Ho took his hand away.

Kang Jin-Ho mouthed a cigarette, then lit it up with a lighter.

“Fuu-woo...”

He leisurely puffed away for a while, then took out another cigarette before placing it between Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s lips.

Jeong Myeong-Cheol dazedly raised his head a little. Despite his confused expression, some semblance of vitality had returned to his previously blurry eyes.

“It’s for you. Smoke.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol forced his trembling hands to reach up and steady the cigarette dangling between his lips.

Click!

Kang Jin-Ho finished igniting the tip of Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s cigarette, then put his lighter away. He glanced at his captive and smirked.

“So? How does a cigarette taste after a week?”

“It’s... the worst,” said Jeong Myeong-Cheol. He sounded hushed, timid—but also clear-headed.

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “That’s how it is.”

“...”

“When you smoke constantly, you don’t realize how disgusting cigarettes actually are. However, if you don’t smoke for a while, you’ll realize the truth right away. How acrid it is. And how intensely unpleasant the idea of smoking itself is.”

After saying that, Kang Jin-Ho chuckled hollowly. Despite knowing the truth, though, the species called humans still wouldn’t be able to quit smoking. However, they would at least become aware of what they were doing.

“And just like that, you will realize it. Realize what you have been enjoying in your life until now.”

“...!”

“But you need realize one more thing.”

Kang Jin-Ho looked into the eyes of the still-squatting Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

“You need to realize how pathetic you are without the background called your family protecting you.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s eyes quaked powerfully.

“Fuu-woo...”

Kang Jin-Ho silently exhaled a puff of smoke before crouching to match Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s eye line.

“Keep smoking.”

“...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol somehow willed his trembling hand to hold the cigarette in place, then slowly sucked the smoke in. But then, he began coughing and retching as if his throat hurt.

Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze grew colder, more withdrawn. “You becoming a changed person should be a good thing.”

“...”

“However, I don’t care about that. Even if you start acting like a brat again and cause all sorts of grief after leaving this place... I still won’t give a damn about that. Because, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve paid for your crimes against us. Do you understand what that means?”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol quickly nodded, hints of urgency clearly visible in his actions.

“However!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression crumpled slightly. “Do not ever get involved with us again.”

“...!”

“I’ll assume that you won’t do something unwise like talking about your experience in this place or trying to butt into our business again. Can I believe you on this one?”

“Y-yes, sir. Of course, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho coldly smirked. “I guess you trying to get even with us wouldn’t be a bad thing, either.”

“I... I will... never...”

“No, it’s fine. Try it.”

“...”

“Because that will make things easier for us, too. By coming after us again, you’d be removing all the pretexts and burdens preventing us from eliminating you for good, you see? Honestly, I hope you will come after us soon.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol powerfully shook his head. He wasn’t merely lying to get out of this situation, either. After all, hadn’t he seen it already? He had seen enough to understand now that these people were monsters. And Kang Jin-Ho was at the apex of all these monstrous people. That alone made him unfathomably terrifying!

The entire world was being misled by this man. The “Kang Jin-Ho” appearing on TV screens was not the real him. Worse still, Kang Jin-Ho the entrepreneur wasn’t the real him, either!

No, the real him was right here, crouching before Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s eyes!

How was someone like Jeong Myeong-Cheol even supposed to fight against these people?

No, that’s f*cking impossible!

With what Jeong Myeong-Cheol had, he wouldn’t be able to do anything. The power his family wielded? What about their wealth?

That might mean something if money could stop the incoming blades. However, to these people, money was nothing more than some bits of paper.

“N-never, sir! I’ll never do things like that! Never! I swear it!”

Kang Jin-Ho stared into Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s eyes, then nodded slightly. He stood back up, then stubbed the cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

That was when Lee Hyeon-Su stepped forward. “Mister Jeong Myeong-Cheol?”

“Y-yes? A-ah, yes, sir!”

“The last few days must’ve been hard for you.” Lee Hyeon-Su smiled gently. “We’ll take you back to Seoul, so please, make your way back home from there. Unfortunately, we’ll have to blindfold you during our journey. Even though it’ll be inconvenient for you, please try to understand.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s face grew even paler as he stared at Lee Hyeon-Su’s smiling mug.

Looking at how good-natured that smile was, he... Jeong Myeong-Cheol genuinely felt his entire body go cold. It was as if he had been thrown inside an ice cavern or some such! This man seemed fully capable of murdering multiple people while smiling brightly like that.

“However, I must alert you to a few things you should be wary of,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Why don’t we talk on the way? Please, this way.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grabbed Jeong Myeon-Cheol by the sleeve and yanked him up before pulling him outside the office.

Jeong Myeong-Cheol, looking somewhat lost now, didn’t resist and let himself get dragged out.

Seong Ju-Chan watched the two men leaving the office, then sheepishly glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. “Is this alright, sir?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean... People don’t change that quickly, you know? His experience in this place will shut him up for a while, but he might have a change of heart in a few days.”

“Yeah. So?”

“I, umm, I’m not in a position to say this, but for the Assembly’s safety...”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. Of course, he wasn’t angry. Seong Ju-Chan was only saying this out of concern for the Assembly, after all. Even though he was no longer in any position to share the fruits of the Assembly’s labor, he still cared about the organization’s future.

“There’s a rule you should remember,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“...? May I ask what that rule is, sir?”

“It’s to never judge a person with ‘maybes’.”

“...?”

Kang Jin-Ho casually explained himself. “It all starts this way. You’re convinced that things would happen in a certain way. You don’t have to see it to know it.”

“...?”

“If a man with power starts punishing those who haven’t done anything wrong yet... That opens the door for corruption to take root in his heart. Eventually, he’ll lose himself.”

Seong Ju-Chan stared at Kang Jin-Ho in slight surprise. He and those who had quit... No, that wasn’t right. Not only those who had left the Assembly, but even the ordinary Assembly members had never really thought too deeply about Kang Jin-Ho.

Obviously, they all knew that Kang Jin-Ho was the Assembly Master. However, his leadership, his authority, stemmed from his martial prowess, while the directors or Lee Hyeon-Su handled things like decisions on the organization’s future. At least, that was what everyone thought, including Seong Ju-Chan.

But what Kang Jin-Ho had said was more than enough to overturn Seong Ju-Chan’s preconceived notion completely.

“I have no desire to kill someone just to make my life a little more convenient.”

“...!”

“Because, the moment I cross that line, even by one step... Too many things will change, after all.” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. “So, yeah. Jeong Myeong-Cheol might take this secret to his grave. Or he might get other ideas later. But, so what? Didn’t we, as an organization, grow stronger so that we could overcome any and all situations? We can definitely handle whatever that man throws at us.”

That was when a hint of regret suddenly crept into Seong Ju-Chan’s expression. That was because a thought had entered his head just then. He and other quitters were probably not included in the “we” Kang Jin-Ho mentioned.

Maybe I should’ve tried to stick around for longer?

Seong Ju-Chan had never regretted quitting the Martial Assembly until now, but this moment still made his heart ache ever so slightly.

Kang Jin-Ho noticed the look on Seong Ju-Chan’s face, then patted the latter on the shoulder. “Look. It’s not important where you’re affiliated with now.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Let’s not forget, MK is still a part of the Assembly. It’s just that you’re aiming for something different from us now.”

Seong Ju-Chan’s lips twitched in a barely suppressed grin. What Kang Jin-Ho said was a bit cliched, sure, but it was still enough to comfort him deeply. But then...

“By the way, have you thrown away that automatic grinder already?”

“...!” Seong Ju-Chan’s eyes powerfully quaked just then. “S-sir? I, uh, because, uh, I left the store to my part-timers, so...”

“Huh. So you still haven’t trained your employees on how to use the manual grinder?”

“...!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s cheeks twitched ominously. “You. Re-education.”

“...!”

“Go and ask Lee Hyeon-Su to include you in the reeducation program.”

Seong Ju-Chan squeezed his eyes shut.

Nope. I made the right call in escaping from this place.

Unfortunately for him, though, it seemed Seong Ju-Chan still hadn’t completely escaped this place yet.