Chapter 1538 Reconsidering (3)

A certain sedan was gradually slowing down from its relentless march. The hour was well into the late evening, so the roads shouldn’t have been congested, but they were. Besides, it wouldn’t be smart to drive quickly in Seoul’s streets as if they were a part of the national highway system, anyway.

“Geez, look at this traffic jam,” said the driver.

His comrade riding shotgun tutted unhappily. “Eiii... And I wanted to wrap this up quickly and go home, too.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The driver glanced behind him, at the rear seats. That was where the blindfolded Jeong Myeong-Cheol sat still like a statue. Judging from his chest rapidly rising and falling, he wasn’t asleep. Even then, he hadn’t uttered a single word since they had departed from the Martial Assembly HQ.

“Hey, man. Take his blindfold off.”

“Would that be fine, though?”

“Yeah. Chief Lee said we can take it off once we enter Seoul.”

“Oh, he did?”

The martial artist in the front passenger seat reached back and pulled the blindfold off Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s head.

“Hey, you can open your eyes.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol cautiously opened his eyes, then scanned his surroundings in stupefaction. Soon afterward, his irises began quaking powerfully as the scenery of South Korea’s capital passed by the car windows.

“Huh. Look at him. Did he really think we were taking him to the ocean or something?”

“You mean, the ‘sleeping with the fishes in a barrel’ thing?”

“What era does that idiot think we’re living in, anyway? Who would dump you in an ocean inside a barrel these days? We already have agreements with crematoriums to dispose of evidence cleanly, after all.”

What these two martial artists said could be the truth, or jokes meant to scare Jeong Myeong-Cheol. But that didn’t matter as his mind was simply too occupied to process what the two men were even talking about.

Indeed, the cityscape veiled in the night’s darkness was the only thing taking up space in his brain right now.

Jeong Myeong-Cheol slowly covered his eyes.

I... I’m alive!

Those who had never experienced it wouldn’t understand. They wouldn’t know just how terrified he had been.

Lee Hyeon-Su repeatedly said Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s life was not in danger, but who in their right mind would trust him in such a situation? No, that wasn’t quite right; Jeong Myeong-Cheol did try to believe those reassurances. Desperately so. Even then, this gnawing anxiety always remained in the corner of his heart.

Anyone experiencing the same thing as Jeong Myeong-Cheol would’ve felt the same way, though.

But now, he was alive. He made it out alive from that place. And the sight of Seoul opened the floodgates of indescribable emotions in his heart.

“Oiii, is he actually sobbing?”

“That’s enough, you dumbass.”

“What? What did I do?”

“Sure, that bastard did something bad and deserved punishment. Even then, some things are still off-limits to a man.”

“I haven’t said anything, though...”

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror. He could see Jeong Myeong-Cheol in the backseat bawling his eyes out.

“Listen up. Think of what happened to you as learning about important life lessons, okay? If you can live like a good person from now on, wouldn’t you say that’s a good thing, all things considered?”

“Yeah, that’s right. We also used to be as conceited as you once upon a time. But then, getting pummeled and bullied like crazy straightened us up real good, okay? The world wasn’t our oyster, as it turned out. You should count yourself lucky for learning about that before it’s too late.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol didn’t respond and kept staring out the window.

The martial artists also stopped talking and focused on the road ahead. They didn’t have a reason to converse with Jeong Myeong-Cheol, after all. Besides, Lee Hyeon-Su had probably said all the things they wanted to say, anyway.

In that case, they shouldn’t carelessly run their mouths off and unwittingly leak information.

And so, the sleek sedan drove on into the city before gradually slowing down to a stop.

The front-seat passenger asked, “Huh? Where are we?”

The driver replied, “Our guest’s company building.”

“...? Why? Didn’t Chief Lee tell us to take him home?”

“Really? I thought it was his company building, though?”

“What the f*ck, you dumbass! You’re supposed to be the driver, yet you didn’t even know where we were supposed to go?”

The driver groaned, then snapped his head toward Jeong Myeong-Cheol. “Hey, you! Where is your home?”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol quietly replied, “No, it’s... fine here. You can drop me off here.”

The driver furrowed his brow. He could hear the tremor in Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s voice. However, he could also see the lucidity in Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s eyes, too.

“Will that be fine, though?”

The front-seat passenger groaned. “Haaah... Damn it. I’m sure nothing bad will happen. Whatever. We only have to drop him off somewhere he’s familiar with, right?”

“But I’m worried about Chief Lee biting our heads off.”

“How would he know what happened here? It’s not like this bastard’s gonna call Chief Lee and complain, anyway. Let’s just drop him off and go home.”

“Yeah, I guess. Hey, you. Get out.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol reached out to the door handle. But his trembling hands couldn’t open it, eventually prompting the martial artist in the front passenger seat to climb out of the car, then open the door from the outside.

“Now, get out.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol unsteadily slipped out of the car and looked up at the familiar building. It was... definitely Taegwang P&D’s head office.

“It was our displeasure to make your acquaintance, okay? So let’s never meet again.”

After saying those parting words, the martial artist unhesitantly climbed back inside the car. The sleek vehicle roared off the line and rapidly distanced itself from Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

“...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol dazedly stared at the car in the distance. His still-trembling hands reached into his pockets, eventually pulling out a crumpled packet of cigarettes.

He somehow succeeded in pulling out a cigarette and mouthed it. Using a lighter proved just as difficult, but he still got the tip of the cigarette burning soon enough.

“What the hell...?”

“In the middle of the street?”

“Geez, some people can still be so inconsiderate these days.”

The passersby all furrowed their brows deeply in displeasure, but no one dared to stop Jeong Myeong-Cheol from smoking in public. Because, they could all tell that he was not in a normal state.

Jeong Myeong-Cheol began coughing in fits to spit out the cigarette smoke filling his lungs, then trudged dazedly toward his next destination. Which was his intimately familiar company building. But it didn’t feel familiar at all for some reason today.

Trudge, trudge...

His steps taking him into the foyer of the building could only be described as labored. He entered the building with the cigarette still dangling between his lips.

“...! Oiii! Stop! Stop right there!”

A security guard manning the front desk unhappily dashed toward Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

“Where do you think you’re... Eh?”

The security guard recognized Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s face and hurriedly rubbed his eyes. He had to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating multiple times, then tilted his head.

“Sir, c-could you be... President Jeong?”

“...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s hand, now no longer trembling, brought the still-burning cigarette to his lips. Now resembling a junkie from head to toe, he absentmindedly puffed away at the cigarette.

Knowing who this was, the security guard didn’t dare stop Jeong Myeong-Cheol and could only stand back in stupefaction.

“B-but, sir? Why... do you look like this?”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol ignored the security guard and headed to the elevator. The company employees still walking around the foyer stopped in stunned silence and hurriedly parted ways.

Tting!

When the door slid open, Jeong Myeong-Cheol wordlessly stepped inside the elevator.

Only when the door slid shut again did the employees begin whispering urgently to each other.

“What the hell was that?”

“Was he really doing drugs all this time? Did you see how filthy he looked?”

“Yeah! I thought I was looking at a refugee or something!”

They stared at the elevator with confusion and suspicion.

***

Thunk!

The door to the conference room was abruptly shoved open.

The executive director of Taekwang P&D, Kim Sang-Ho, grunted in displeasure. Without looking up from the documents, he voiced his annoyance.

“Why aren’t you knocking on the door first?”

“...”

However, there was no response. Realizing that something didn't feel right, Kim Sang-Ho finally looked up.

“Mm?”

That was when he noticed the weird expressions of the directors in the room. They were all dazedly staring at the exit, as if something too unexpected and unthinkable was standing there. Naturally, Kim Sang-Ho followed their gazes and turned his head, too.

“...? Uh? Uhh-hut?!”

Kim Sang-Ho shot up to his feet. At first, he thought that a vagrant had wandered into the office. Anyone with eyes could tell that the filthy-looking man standing by the doorway didn’t belong in this place. But that man’s face gave off this strong impression of familiarity.

And, most of all...

Wait, those clothes?

Not only that, but even the expensive watch on that man’s wrist, too...!

When Kim Sang-Ho confirmed the timepiece that didn’t match the man’s appearance, guessing who the unannounced visitor could be became much so much easier.

“I-is that you, President Jeong?!”

Indeed, that was none other than Jeong Myeong-Cheol. He had finally returned to the company after seemingly transforming into a hobo!

The directors all erupted in shouts of concern and consternation.

“P-president?!”

“W-what happened to you? Why do you look like this?”

“Are you alright, sir?”

Kim Sang-Ho’s expression crumpled. What has this stupid bastard been doing for the past few days?!

Judging from his appearance, this fool must’ve gone through some kind of incident. A big incident, no less. The problem with that was that Jeong Myeong-Cheol was the type to cause incidents, not get sucked into one against his will!

Without a doubt, he must’ve caused a big mess somewhere during his drug-induced madness. That much was fine. What was not fine, however, was...

Did he let go of his senses, too?!

At the very least, he shouldn’t have waltzed into the head office in that state!

If he had any brain cells left, he should have tried his best to avoid being seen by the employees. Kim Sang-Ho couldn’t even guess how many loose-lipped people must’ve seen Jeong Myeong-Cheol as he made his way to this office.

That realization triggered a bout of a powerful migraine in Kim Sang-Ho’s head.

“F-for now...”

His priority was now with minimizing the number of witnesses to Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s state as much as possible.

“Sir, please come this way. Instead of standing there...”

Kim Sang-Ho urgently approached Jeong Myeong-Cheol. The first order of business should be to get that idiot out of those rags and clean him up, so that he would...

That was when Jeong Myeong-Cheol shoved away Kim Sang-Ho’s hands reaching out to him.

“...?”

Kim Sang-Ho couldn’t bring himself to reach out again after noticing how firm that shove was.

Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s dazed eyes were now locked on Kim Sang-Ho’s face. “How many...”

“I’m sorry?”

“How many... days?”

Kim Sang-Ho grew puzzled. Was Jeong Myeong-Cheol asking about how long he had disappeared for?

“Sir, it’s been a week since you last came to this office. Why haven’t you contacted us until now?”

“...A week?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then why...” Kim Sang-Ho’s expression grew even more dazed. “You... Even though... You couldn’t reach me for a week... You didn’t even report me missing?”

“Sir...? But something like this has happened often in the past. We did think you’ve been absent for a little longer than usual this time, but we were also certain that nothing bad would happen to you, either.”

Kim Sang-Ho had a lot he would love to get off his chest. Yes, he belatedly realized that maybe he should’ve sent out a search party or alerted the police sooner after taking a good look at Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s current state. However...

Why are you blaming us for not doing that?

Shouldn’t the family search for their missing member? Why should the subordinates do that?

“So, what you’re saying is...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol pulled out the crumpled cigarette packet from his pocket and mouthed a cigarette.

“P-president? You’re in the confer...”

Click!

After lighting up his cigarette, Jeong Myeong-Cheol slowly scanned the faces of everyone in the office, his eyes lacking focus.

“For one whole week, you... None of you tried to find me. You just carried on as if it’s business as usual.”

“P-president...?”

“For one whole week... Hah.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol began laughing hollowly. But then, he suddenly stopped laughing, his expression shifting just as abruptly. His dazed eyes flickered menacingly, and his facial muscles crumpled into something much more hideous.

“For! The! Whole week! You sons of b*ches!!!!”

BANG!!!

Jeong Myeong-Cheol suddenly kicked the nearest chair with strength he shouldn’t even possess and sent it flying. Not stopping there, he rushed to the table and angrily overturned it.

“P-president Jeong! Sir!”

“P-please calm down, sir!”

“Calm down!? Did you really tell me to calm the f*ck down?! Listen here, you son of a b*tch! You were having the time of your lives in this cushy office while I was stuck in Hell! But what was that?! You dare tell me to calm down!? You motherf*cker!”

BANG! SHATTER!

Jeong Myeong-Cheol kicked the overturned table, then began throwing anything and everything within reach.

A notebook PC clattered against the sturdy window frame and cracked apart. Glass cups met the floor and quite literally exploded into pieces.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!!! Uwaaaaaah!!!”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol grabbed the chairs next and threw them at the frightened directors. With his eyes now bloodshot, he roared at the top of his lungs.

“I! I’m going to kill them all! Those motherf*ckers, I’m gonna kill them all!”

“S-sir!” Kim Sang-Ho hurriedly grabbed Jeong Myeong-Cheol. “What’s gotten into you? Why? And who are you talking about?! Who?”

“...Who?”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s expression transformed once more. His complexion was instantly drained of color, then he began trembling pathetically again.

“N-no, no, no, no! I, I... I haven’t said anything. It’s true! I... I am not telling anyone!”

“...?”

“I... I’ll kill them! Yes, I will! N-no, wait. I swear I haven’t told anyone. I haven’t! N-no, please... Please don’t hurt me... No! Don’t hurt me! I’ll keep my mouth shut! Please! Uwaaaaahhhh!!! Sons of b*tches!!! I’ll kill them all! Stab them! Skewer them! Tear them apart! Uwaaaaahhh!!!”

Kim Sang-Ho backed off as his own complexion grew pale. He’s gone completely nuts!

“Aaaaahhhhk! Ahhk! Aaaaaahh...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol suddenly went stiff on the spot. As foam gushed out of his mouth, he fell backward and dropped to the floor with a thud.

“...?! Sir!”

Kim Sang-Ho lifted Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s head off the floor and urgently cried out. “Ambulance! Call for an ambulance, right now! Nooow!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Kim Sang-Ho’s expression crumpled hideously while looking at the unconscious Jeong Myeong-Cheol. Just what could have happened to this idiot?

Of course, he had no way of knowing that.