CH 349

Kang Jin-Ho stepped outside the hospital's front entrance, then mouthed a cigarette. Smoking while feeling frustrated didn't help anyone. Even then, why did Kang Jin-Ho or the other people insist on sucking on cigarettes whenever they felt lost and tight-chested?

Smoking cigarettes as a way to relax when they didn't have any calming effects was a laughable, ridiculous thing. Even so, many people in the world, not just Kang Jin-Ho, kept repeating this ridiculous action.

And another laughable, ridiculous person approached Kang Jin-Ho just then.

Click!

Bang Jin-Hun lit the cigarette dangling between Kang Jin-Ho's lips, then frowned slightly. “The front of the hospital is a no-smoking zone, Mister Jin-Ho! Where is your common sense?”

“...I didn't light this cigarette up, though?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. This guy…” Bang Jin-Hun chuckled before pulling Kang Jin-Ho away. “Let's hurry over to the smoking area around the corner before you become a shameless man who smokes in the middle of a street.”

'I think it’s too late for that, though…'

Kang Jin-Ho sighed, then stubbed the cigarette out on his palm before following Bang Jin-Hun to the nearest smoking area. He settled on a wide bench, then lit a fresh cigarette, but his expression remained a bit weird.

“I'm so happy to see you again like this, Mister Jin-Ho. If we were any slower, we would've become a remains-exhumation team instead,” said Bang Jin-Hun with a cackle. He wasn't trying to joke but couldn't help finding what happened rather amusing.

Kang Jin-Ho slightly bowed his head. “Thank you for saving our lives, Mister Jin-Hun.”

“No need to mention it. Actually, I should apologize for being so incompetent. If it was me being trapped down there and you were the rescuer, you probably would've needed only one day to pull me out of that place. I'm sorry for putting you through a wringer because of my lack of strength.”

“No, that's not true.”

Bang Jin-Hun shrugged his shoulders. “In any case, I'm genuinely relieved that it's over. You do know it was way too close for comfort this time, don't you?”

“Yes…” Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. He agreed with Bang Jin-Hun's assessment.

If Kang Jin-Ho's power were slightly lacking as the tunnel collapsed on top of him, he and Choi Yeon-Ha would've been buried in layers of dirt and rocks. And that... would've been a certain death.

Kang Jin-Ho would've died instantly. Or, as the price of possessing vitality that exceeded a 'normal' person's by several folds, he might have slowly died in that airless space as dirt gradually filled up his innards.

Just thinking about it made Kang Jin-Ho tense up.

“...What about those bastards?”

Bang Jin-Hun crossed his arms while leaning against the bench. “It seems the Yeongnam Group bastards haven't found out that you're still alive. They have withdrawn all of their men from your neighborhood.”

“They aren't monitoring me anymore?”

“Yes. They are probably confident about your death. They probably also think loitering in the area would only get them entangled with us,” Bang Jin-Hun mused quietly as he looked up at the sky. “If they knew you were still alive down there, they would've definitely tried to trigger a second explosion. A random grenade or two chucked on top of the dirt pile would've been enough to finish the job, I reckon. But they didn't do that, so…”

What a horrifying thing that would be, Kang Jin-Ho inwardly mused.

“So, what are you going to do now, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“...Did you just ask me what I will do?”

Bang Jin-Hun clamped his mouth shut.

'Yup, that was a dumb question.'

Even a moron could tell what Kang Jin-Ho would do next. Knowing his personality, Bang Jin-Hun figured Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't take this lying down.

Kang Jin-Ho freely slaughtered people during a fight that didn't really involve him. So, there was no freaking way he'd behave himself after he got so brazenly attacked like this. Bang Jin-Hun was actually amazed by the fact that Kang Jin-Ho managed to remain patient like this until now.

Bang Jin-Hun thought Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't just sit still and recuperate and choose to hit the Yeongnam Group right away, but the latter stayed his hands for two days straight. No wonder Bang Jin-Hun was slightly confused about this situation.

“Mister Jin-Ho. I know several ways to strike the Yeongnam Group where it hurts the most. But... If I ask you to wait, are you willing to do so?”

Kang Jin-Ho silently puffed away at his cigarette.

Bang Jin-Hun sighed. “I knew it.”

Although Kang Jin-Ho looked perfectly fine and composed on the outside, his blood must be boiling in pure rage.

'Gee whiz, should I prepare blinders for Mister Jin-Ho or something?'

Bang Jin-Hun imagined Kang Jin-Ho going berserk in the upcoming battle and felt his stomach churn. He thanked the heavens for granting Kang Jin-Ho the ability to differentiate between ordinary daily interactions and conflicts.

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

If Kang Jin-Ho started emitting killing intent already, holding a conversation with him would've been quite challenging, even for Bang Jin-Hun.

“Shall we get going, then?” Bang Jin-Hun got up first.

“Okay.” Kang Jin-Ho stubbed the cigarette out, then stood up.

This place wasn't ideal for their kind of discussion. The two men headed to the hospital's parking lot, then climbed into Bang Jin-Hun's new car.

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the interior. “You got a new car, then?”

“Yes. I had to shed some manly tears while saying goodbye to my last car.” Bang Jin-Hun rubbed his face with his hands. “Those motherf*ckers! I swear, I'm gonna beat the living sh*t out of them, then make them pay for my car. No matter what it takes!”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. “Would be great if you get the chance.”

After buckling in, Bang Jin-Hun began driving in silence. The big man didn't say a word until the car entered the national highway. “I get that you're furious, Mister Jin-Ho. However, this problem isn't as simple as it sounds.”

“Yes, I know.”

“The only thing remaining is open warfare. The hostile emotions are far too entrenched for us to resolve this any other way.”

“I also know that.”

“However, a war like that poses a serious risk of exposing us to the public. We can suppress the media and whatever. That's not a problem. It's not an exaggeration to say half of the Martial Assembly's forces have taken over that part of society, after all. As a matter of fact, it should be the same for the Yeongnam Group, as well. However, with the current era being what it is, avoiding the eyes of the public will be near impossible.”

“Mm…”

Bang Jin-Hun sighed before continuing to argue his case. “Our boys all resemble goddamn gangsters, you see? If I get some buses to drive a few of our boys around, people will immediately call the cops thinking gangs are about to have a throwdown in their neighborhood. In fact, it has already happened before, you see? Some time ago, a group of our boys was going on a training trip only to get surrounded by the members of the riot police. Geez, why do they all have to look like criminals?”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Bang Jin-Hun while thinking, 'You shouldn't be the one to say that, though.' He summoned a super-human level of endurance to continue listening to Bang Jin-Hun's yapping.

“That's why this isn't as easy as it sounds. Can you give us some time to prepare first? Don't worry, I have no desire to end things here. But... If you start a fight right now without any preparation, problems will quickly rear their heads, Mister Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded slowly as if he fully sympathized with Bang Jin-Hun's points before finally breaking his silence. “Yes, it's not a bad idea to wait for the correct timing.”

“...Sorry?”

“And it is also a good idea to think about optimal conditions. However, obsessing over them tends to delay what has to be done.”

“M-mm…” Bang Jin-Hun's expression grew slightly gloomy. He now knew for sure that Kang Jin-Ho had no thoughts of listening to his advice.

“The perfect timing and conditions everyone could be happy with will never happen, Mister Jin-Hun. Waiting for such a thing means you'll end up missing the right timing instead. What we need to do isn't wait for the right time to come but turn the 'now' into the right time.”

“That's easier said than done, though…”

“Most importantly…” Kang Jin-Ho suddenly flashed a grin.

Bang Jin-Hun chose to look away. Kang Jin-Ho began smiling a lot lately, but the one he was flashing right now was not something Bang Jin-Hun wanted to see.

Whenever Kang Jin-Ho smiled like that, Bang Jin-Hun seriously wondered if he had joined hands with an actual devil.

Kang Jin-Ho finished his sentence regardless of what Bang Jin-Hun was thinking. “...It will cool down when enough time passes by us.”

Bang Jin-Hun didn't have to ask what 'it' was. Obviously, it was Kang Jin-Ho's rage.

Kang Jin-Ho was implying that he'd punish the Yeongnam Group before his rage had a chance to cool down.

'Yup, persuading him now is not gonna happen.'

Then again, Bang Jin-Hun didn't hold much expectation on that front, anyway. Still, he was hoping to buy a little more time before the bomb went off, but the only thing he got for his troubles was the knowledge that 'buying time' from Kang Jin-Ho was incredibly hard.

“Besides,” Kang Jin-Ho glanced outside the window. “Don't try to solve everything through the Martial Assembly's strength, Mister Jin-Hun.”

“Eh? Why not?”

“The... external matters will be handled by Mister Gyu-Min.”

“...Oh!” Bang Jin-Hun nodded. He hadn't thought about getting help from that side.

'Right. With Jaegyeong, things might be different.'

Nothing could stand in their way if they combined Jaegyeong's might, which existed outside of the martial world, with the Martial Assembly's power. The sole uncertainty regarding this arrangement, though, would be if Jo Gyu-Min possessed enough authority to mobilize Jaegyeong's strength. However...

'I got an ample demonstration this time, didn't I?'

To prevent the outsiders from learning about the rescue operation, Jo Gyu-Min shifted the collapse of the tunnel to Jaegyeong even though the corporation had nothing to do with it. Then, he quickly gained full control of the operation through wily dealings with the government using his authority.

Since the tunnel collapse seemingly didn't have any casualties, the public's interest waned pretty quickly. The government was left wondering what to do about this costly incident, but Jo Gyu-Min suddenly swooped into the scene with an offer to rebuild the tunnel at half the cost in exchange for the right to restrict movements in the surrounding area.

The government people had no reason to refuse the offer to slash the budget expenditure and so, they ordered the officials to cooperate with Jo Gyu-Min to their fullest.

Everything clicked into its place at a lightning-fast pace after that.

Bang Jin-Hun rubbed his chin.

'Since he wields that much power, I guess dealing with what's about to come will be child's play for him.'

“When it comes to handling official matters, you can trust Mister Gyu-Min,” said Kang Jin-Ho. “Although the same can't be said for more personal matters…”

“...Mm? What do you mean?” Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head in confusion. He had evaluated Jo Gyu-Min as a very capable man, so Kang Jin-Ho's statement slightly surprised him.

“...Incompetent.”

“Sorry?”

“No, don’t mind me.”

Bang Jin-Hun continued to tilt his head while accessing his phone's contacts to dial a number.

***

“Okay, so... To attack the Yeongnam Group, we need to move lots of people, and once the battle starts, the surroundings will turn into a warzone? Is that what you're saying?” Jo Gyu-Min asked with his forehead deeply creased.

“Yes, basically.” Bang Jin-Hun nodded.

“However, you don't want the public to find out, so you want it all covered up somehow?”

“Yes, that too.”

“And that's what you want me to do?”

“Yes.”

Jo Gyu-Min suddenly burst into laughter.

Trying to float in the air was easy in principle. One only needed to swing their arms as fast as possible to achieve lift, after all! Of course, whether a human being could actually do that or not was a separate issue, wasn't it?!

“Do you honestly think that's possible in this day and age? Besides, where is the Yeongnam Group's HQ located?”

“In Yeongnam.”

“...Wow, that's one hell of useful information, that.” Jo Gyu-Min groaned aloud while leaning his head back.

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled loudly. “That place is still a martial arts hall, so it's located in the middle of a mountainside. That should lessen your worries a little. However, when you flip that meaning around, the situation might not be as easy as it sounds. Since it's in the mountainside, completely shutting people out will be tough. And people will notice when lots of rough-looking men suddenly enter a mountain all at once.”

“That makes sense, but... Tell me, Mister Jin-Hun. How many members of the Martial Assembly can you mobilize?”

“If we get as many people as possible, around two thousand.”

“Two thousand? That many?”

Bang Jin-Hun looked surprised by Jo Gyu-Min's surprise. “Mister Gyu-Min, the Martial Assembly is the largest martial arts organization in this country. I can confidently say around forty percent of Korea's martial artists are affiliated with us. Don’t you know how many people live in this country? Did you honestly think there were less than ten thousand martial artists in Korea when the population number for our country is at fifty million?”

“...Wow, that's a lot. But, how come I have never noticed anything until recently when there are so many of you?”

“Well, the truth is…” Bang Jin-Hun suddenly smiled awkwardly. “Yes, I can mobilize around two thousand heads. But, uh, about half of them are no better than local hoodlums, you see…”

“Local hoodlums? How so?”

“Well, even though they are cultivating, they could get their asses handed to them by an expert in MMA if they get unlucky? Does that make sense?”

“Huh? What kind of a martial artist is that?”

“It takes time for a cultivating martial artist to properly use their internal energy, you see? So, uh... Since our martial arts are built on the foundation of qi usage, our techniques without qi will be worse than MMA techniques. In the eyes of an MMA expert, qi-less martial arts might resemble quaint folk dance moves, probably…”

“...Like Tai Chi?”

“You got it.”

When explained that way, it all sounded rather... understandable?

“Mm. In that case, I think there might be a way…” Jo Gyu-Min groaned before glancing at Kang Jin-Ho. “...Eh?”

Kang Jin-Ho was staring back at Jo Gyu-Min with a very unconvinced look on his face.

Jo Gyu-Min tilted his head. “What's the matter, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“...Mister Jo. Gyu. Min.”

“Y-yes?”

“You should strive to be better at your job.”

“...Sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho gritted his teeth. “If we were strangers, I'd have already...!”

“...”

Without knowing why, Jo Gyu-Min suddenly felt depressed about life in general.