Chapter 1569 Scolding (4)

A car carrying Kang Jin-Ho glided down the road.

Lee Hyeon-Su behind the steering wheel hummed joyfully away before sneakily glancing into the rearview mirror. He could see Kang Jin-Ho sinking deeply into the rear seat cushion while looking as if his soul had escaped his body.

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled softly. “Sir, you should just accept your fate.”

“...”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t understand what’s there to think about. This is an offer to take over the one and only Jaegyeong, you know? Who would say no to that?”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned deeply without saying a word.

“Sir, I know you’re not like other people. But does that mean you must walk a different path from everybody else every single time?”

Kang Jin-Ho jerked his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I’m not trying to be different, okay?”

“Yes, I get that, sir.”

“It’s just that I’m not confident of running Jaegyeong. Besides...”

He had no reason to do so, either. Kang Jin-Ho didn’t say this part out loud, since it felt like he’d be insulting Jaegyeong by doing so.

“Hmm...” Lee Hyeon-Su scratched his nose. “I think I get what your thought process is.”

A strange grin slowly spread on Lee Hyeon-Su’s lips just then.

“Even so, you should just say yes. This was your destiny since the beginning, after all.”

“Since the beginning?” Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow.

“Yes, sir. You can swap the ‘beginning’ with ‘long time ago’ if you want. What’s important is that Chairman Hwang didn’t arrive at this decision lightly. He had set his mind on leaving the company to you for a very long time.”

“Really? That was his plan?”

Lee Hyeon-Su coolly nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Did you know about it, too?”

“I did.”

“Then... How come I didn’t?”

“...”

Why do you ask me that, sir? Why!

“Sir, if you don’t mind me saying this... You can be utterly clueless in things you should’ve been clued up about, but you can also be preternaturally sharp in weird things.”

“...”

That had to be an insult, no? Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and stared weirdly at his driver before asking another question. “But why does he want me to become his successor?”

Lee Hyeon-Su shrugged. “But you already heard the reason, sir.”

“Well, I just don’t get it, that’s why.” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “Whatever his reasons are... Expecting me to run Jaegyeong is too unreasonable.”

“But sir, everything that has happened to you so far has been pretty unreasonable, wouldn’t you agree?”

“...”

“You’re only here as the Assembly Master because you mastered martial arts and became stupendously strong, sir. Had you pursued an ordinary life, you would’ve become a hikikomori and never left your room. You can’t think of everything life throws at you as too unreasonable, you know!”

“...?”

Uh? I don’t remember telling him about that, though?

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced, unable to refute Lee Hyeon-Su, as he really was a hikikomori in his first life.

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to lay out his case. “Yes, I understand that the timing isn’t ideal, sir. Right now, we don’t have the energy to spare on this matter, since all of our attention is focused on China.”

“That’s right,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded.

“However, do you think Chairman Hwang doesn’t have long to live?”

“...”

“The way I see it, I think he’d live for a decade or more. With how greedy he is, I believe he’ll try to hold on to the control of Jaegyeong riiight up until he doesn’t have enough strength to pick up a pen, sir. Since he’ll be around for another decade or so, what are you worried about? By then, either we would have finished beating up the Chinese, or they would have killed us all.”

Rather a cynical way of viewing things, wasn’t it?

“That’s why you should just say yes. It’ll be a problem in the future, but not the present. Leave tomorrow’s problem to tomorrow’s us, sir. Why should today’s us worry about that?”

“...Wow. What a wonderful solution that is.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned wryly. “Chairman Hwang isn’t a youngster, sir. He thinks of you as something like his grandson.”

“But my age is...”

“That’s not really important, wouldn’t you say? If you have a problem with the idea of being his grandson, then how about his son... No, how about his friend? He views you as his friend, sir. Someone like that is trying to put his mind at ease, so waving your hands in his face in denial isn’t a cool thing to do, in my opinion.”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned deeply. Geez. Why does he have to be so stubborn, though?

Once Hwang Jeong-Hu had set his mind on something, the odds of him changing his mind were nearly zero. As an example, he still hadn’t accepted his sons back into the fold even now.

Kang Jin-Ho saw himself as probably one of the most stubborn people he had ever known, yet even he had to throw his hands up in the air in defeat against Hwang Jeong-Hu’s stubbornness.

In that case, what was Kang Jin-Ho supposed to do to stop this catastrophe now?

Kang Jin-Ho massaged his temples. Damn it. This migraine...!

Lee Hyeon-Su saw Kang Jin-Ho’s cramped expression through the rearview mirror and grinned.

What a peculiar man he is.

Other people might look at Kang Jin-Ho’s dilemma and think of it as privileged whining. Ordinary people would jump at the chance to take over Jaegyeong even if they knew nothing about running a massive corporation. And that would be the correct mindset, too.

However, Kang Jin-Ho’s situation was somewhat unique.

First of all, he didn’t need the extra wealth Jaegyeong would bring. In fact, he also didn’t need MK’s wealth, either. He wouldn’t be able to finish spending all the money accumulated in his bank account before he died of old age, so what good would all the additional wealth do for him, anyway?

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t have any ambitions to make lots of money and transform his life. Considering his spending habits, he might not even spend one percent of the money currently sitting pretty in his bank account.

So, for him to take over Jaegyeong, too?

This must be so troublesome for him.

Hwang Jeong-Hu’s wish was for Kang Jin-Ho to look after Jaegyeong as he would. But that very wish was what troubled Kang Jin-Ho so much. Because it felt like he was being forced to do something he thought he was terrible at.

“If the idea is troubling you so much, how about not thinking about it for now? Chairman Hwang probably knew that he wouldn’t wrap this matter up with one conversation, anyway.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. “Ng?”

“At the start of his construction business, he had to fail dozens of times before finally finding success. I’m guessing that he probably has a grand ten-year plan designed to gradually change your mind, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho shuddered in dread. This had to be one of the scariest things he had heard recently.

“If you think you can withstand all the pressure for that long, keep rejecting his offer, sir.”

“Hah-ah...”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned loudly. Nothing in life was easy, no?

“Sir, it must’ve been a tough decision for Chairman Hwang as well. You could be more considerate of his feelings, you know.”

“I sure have to be considerate toward lots of things, don’t I?”

“But that’s the sign of people expecting great things from you.”

“No thanks.”

Kang Jin-Ho really wanted to say no thanks to them all.

“In any case...” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled. “Please think it over, sir. I’m in no position to tell you what to do, but in my opinion, you can’t escape from this one.”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at the passing scenery outside.

Yup, nothing’s easy.

The greater his status and position became, the more the people expected from him. When he looked back to his past, he couldn’t help but wonder what ballsiness had driven him to become the Demon Cult’s leader back then.

I’m so sorry, Azure Demon.

Remembering his past naturally made him recall Azure Demon’s face, too. And that man’s half-dead face, obviously worn-out from constant overwork, roused this inexplicable desire to apologize profusely in Kang Jin-Ho’s heart.

Back then, Azure Demon handled pretty much everything on behalf of the cult leader. Kang Jin-Ho was only the cult leader in name; in reality, he was more like a field captain who picked up a sword and chased after the enemies if something happened to the Demon Cult.

Kang Jin-Ho thought that was all he had to do back then, but now...

“...Yeah. This is why a man must educate himself.”

Lee Hyeon-Su looked through the rearview mirror again. “Sorry?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su in the driver’s seat.

Maybe I should treat Chief Lee better from now on.

Lee Hyeon-Su was working his butt off to assist Kang Jin-Ho, although not to the extent of what Azure Demon did back then. As the boss, Kang Jin-Ho should be more cognizant of such things, but it felt like he had been bullying Lee Hyeon-Su for being too cheeky lately. Even though such cheekiness could only have come from sharing a close bond!

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression crumpled slightly in guilt, but just before he could say something about no longer docking Lee Hyeon-Su’s pay...

“By the way, sir?”

“Yeah?”

“I hope you’re not thinking of leaving me out in the cold after taking over Jaegyeong, sir.”

“...Eh?”

Lee Hyeon-Su fake-coughed. “E-hem! Let’s be honest here, sir. This is only possible because I’ve diligently played my part as the middleman, you know? I’m sure you had no idea, but I’ve been discussing this matter frequently with Chairman Hwang.”

“...”

“That’s why I feel like I deserve a good position within the company. If not, some company shares would be nice, too.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho smiled brightly.

Hard work, my foot.

It seemed Lee Hyeon-Su still had a long way to go!

***

Jeong Hong-Geun grabbed the collar of his grandson, Jeong Myeong-Cheol, and yanked the latter close.

It was unknown where such strength could have come from his frail, aging body, but Jeong Myeong-Cheol didn’t even resist and let himself get dragged very close to his irate grandfather.

“Now, speak!”

“G-grandfather, no!”

“Speak up! Tell me what you went through already! All this happened only because you’ve been keeping your piehole shut! If only you had called the cops, I could’ve resorted to every means at my disposal to throw them all behind bars! But how dare you clamp your mouth shut in fear?! When you’re supposed to be my grandson?!”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol began trembling pitifully, but not because he was scared of Jeong Hong-Geun. The mere mention of the police was enough to trigger the memories of those people again. Even a moment of recollection was enough to send him into a state of psychosis.

“I, I’ll die, grandpa! I will! But I don’t want to die!”

“You fool!”

Jeong Hong-Geun used his cane again to smack his grandson’s head. However, Jeong Myeong-Cheol didn’t just let himself become a target this time. He raised his arms and wrestled the cane out of his grandfather’s grip.

“W-what?! How dare you!”

Just as Jeong Hong-Geun roared, Jeong Myeong-Cheol threw the cane out of the open window.

“Have you gone completely insane?!”

“Ehehe, do you think I’m insane?” Jeong Myeong-Cheol asked back as his eyes grew bloodshot. “I’m not insane! No, it’s you who’s insane!”

“W-what was that?!”

Jeong Hong-Geun was astonished by what he had just heard and stared agog at Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

“You have no idea what those people are! Those people! Those demons! You think you can take them on?! Grandpa, do you really think you can take them on and survive?! Don’t f*cking make me laugh! Bullsh*t!”

Jeong Hong-Geun’s astonished expression was quickly replaced by rage that dyed his entire face crimson. Even his body began trembling uncontrollably, too. Never in his life had he ever imagined that one of his own grandchildren would swear at him like this.

Jeong Myeong-Cheol yelled and acted like a madman, only for him to suddenly freeze stiff on the spot like a statue. And then, he curled up into a ball on the floor.

“I, I’m sorry. So sorry. It’s my fault. All my fault! P-please don’t kill me. Let me go, please! I, I haven’t said anything. It’s all my fault, I’m sorry...!”

Jeong Hong-Geun watched his grandson ramble on like a lunatic before plopping down on the couch, an expression of hollowness on his face. Just who was he even speaking to here? Who was he even getting angry at?

“Am I... Am I... Against a mere brat...?!”

Just who was his opponent this time? Was it Hwang Jeong-Hu? Or a politician boasting incredible power? No!

It was a mere brat not even thirty years old! And not just any brat, but some random person nobody had heard of until recently. But this fight against a mere brat taught him how powerless Jeong Hong-Geun really was.

The politicians were siding with the brat, while his financial muscle proved useless. His connections were ignoring his calls, and his reputation had no currency in society.

Everything... had crumbled. Everything!

Jeong Hong-Geun bit his lip, hard. His skin tore, causing crimson blood to trickle down his chin.

“Crumbled?”

No, not yet!

Things like connections and power? Jeong Hong-Geun merely had acquired them, and he did so through his own strength as a man. By himself!

“No, not yet! I... I shall show you all how far I can go!”

Jeong Hong-Geun resolved himself and got up to leave, but then, his phone began ringing noisily. He frowned in annoyance and yanked the phone out.

“...! Huh?”

However, flabbergast quickly transformed his expression.

Why is he calling me like this?

The name appearing on the phone’s screen filled him with tension. He cautiously placed the phone against his ear and answered the call.

“Yes, this is Jeong Hong-Geun speaking.”