CH 415

Cheon Tae-Hun entered the Assembly Master's office and hurriedly called out to Bang Jin-Hun. “Sir! Assembly Master!”

Bang Jin-Hun raised his head to look. “Mm? What now?”

“We have a problem.”

“With what?” Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head.

Cheon Tae-Hun's expression stiffened as he approached Bang Jin-Hun. “We just received a call from the Yeongnam Group.”

“It's not Yeongnam Group but Yeongnam Branch, Tae-Hun.”

“Does that matter, sir?”

Bang Jin-Hun stared at Cheon Tae-Hun in dissatisfaction. The Yeongnam Group had already been integrated into the Martial Assembly's ranks, and it'd continue existing with the 'new' name of Yeongnam Branch under Lee Hyeon-Su's supervision until the reorganization could be completed. That was the current situation.

Trying to shuffle and reorganize that many people was never going to be an easy task. Even if Bang Jin-Hun was pretty good at managing an organization, he still needed a lot of time to straighten everything out.

“Okay, whatever. So? What's the problem?”

“The call came from Lee Hyeon-Su, sir. And it seems the former Yeongman Group's master has escaped.”

“Yeongnam Group's master? Former, too? You talking about Lee Hyeon-Su?”

“No, sir. I'm talking about the former master.”

“...Wait, you mean that bastard, Kim Seok-Il?”

“Yes, sir.”

Bang Jin-Hun loudly tutted. “What the hell, man! Say something that makes sense! Don't you know what state Kim Seok-Il is in? How can a man in his condition escape anything? He couldn't have escaped even if the doors were wide open.”

“That's what I thought as well, but...!”

“But?”

Cheon Tae-Hun grimaced deeply. “Our men monitoring him… were all killed, sir!”

“Say what?” Bang Jin-Hun shot up to his feet.

His men dying was no simple matter. Kim Seok-Il became a cripple after his cultivation base was destroyed. Monitoring him was strictly unnecessary.

In that case, why did Bang Jin-Hun station men near Kim Seok-Il? Simple. It wasn't to monitor that cripple but to protect him.

The bad blood between the Yeongnam Group and the Martial Assembly ran deep. Seriously deep. The two organizations had been at each other's throats for a long time. That meant folks with grudges against Kim Seok-Il were quite a few in number.

The guards were placed around Kim Seok-Il just in case those with scores to settle decided now was an opportune time.

And Bang Jin-Hun was also following Kang Jin-Ho's orders here. Besides, killing someone who couldn't even fight back was not Bang Jin-Hun's style.

But now… his men had been killed?

“...Sir, here are the photos sent from the hospital.”

Bang Jin-Hun sat back down while looking at the images on the screen presented by Cheon Tae-Hun, and his expression crumpled in despair and rage. “What the f*ck is this?!“

“...”

“What the f*ck! I said, what is this sh*t, you bastard!” Bang Jin-Hun shot back up to his feet again.

He wouldn't be Bang Jin-Hun if he could stay calm after looking at the images of corpses that used to be his subordinates. Especially more so when those corpses resembled sickening blobs of meat after a fly swatter had slammed down on them!

“You...!” Bang Jin-Hun was about to bite Cheon Tae-Hun's head off but stopped himself in time and clenched his fists tightly instead.

This matter wasn't Cheon Tae-Hun's or Lee Hyeon-Su's fault. Getting angry at them would only make Bang Jin-Hun a short-tempered idiot.

“...Kim Seok-Il isn't capable of doing this.”

“I agree, sir.”

“Which means someone else took Kim Seok-Il away… Did you confirm it, then?”

“For now, we've only received this report, sir. However, I've already ordered them to investigate thoroughly.”

“Go and find out immediately! Hurry!”

“Yes, Assembly Master!”

Bang Jin-Hun watched Cheon Tae-Hun leave the office and reflexively mouthed a fresh cigarette. Once the cigarette smoke filled his lungs, Bang Jin-Hun thought his racing mind had calmed down a little.

'Who could it be?'

It couldn't have been the Japanese. Those bastards pursued practical interests, after all. They wouldn't have kidnapped Kim Seok-Il since doing so wouldn't bring them any benefits.

“In that case, who else could it be?!”

Bang Jin-Hun slammed his fist down on the desk.

He was angry about his subordinates dying like dogs, but thinking about how Kang Jin-Ho would react after learning about this situation was...

...Bang Jin-Hun's brows shot up.

“Cheon Tae-Hun!” Bang Jin-Hun rushed outside his office while calling Cheon Tae-Hun's name. “Our men guarding Mister Jin-Ho's vicinity! What about them?!”

“Sir?”

“Hurry up and confirm their safety! Now!”

“...! Yes, sir! I'm on it!”

Bang Jin-Hun's expression crumpled hideously. He was convinced that this event couldn't have been caused by some random individual with no animosity toward Kang Jin-Ho. That meant Kang Jin-Ho had to be the ultimate target…

“Mister Jin-Ho must be fine, right...?”

Bang Jin-Hun's voice quaked nervously.

***

“Huh?”

“Ng? What's wrong?”

Jo Mi-Hye looked up at the ceiling with a slightly dazed face. "No, uh... I thought I heard something just now.”

“Get closer first.”

“Oh! Okay.” Jo Mi-Hye got closer to the person ahead of her in the queue for the sake of her friends behind her, then excitedly looked at the hot-air balloon-shaped ride in anticipation.

“Looks like we'll get to ride it. Just in the nick of time, I guess?” Choi Seon-Hui behind Jo Mi-Hye excitedly asked.

“Yeah. What a relief.”

“By the way, you think Yeon-Ha unnie will be okay?"

Jo Mi-Hye covered her mouth and laughed softly. What a weird experience it was to see a person's face getting paler and paler despite a mask and a pair of sunglasses blocking the view!

“I'm grateful toward Yeon-Ha unnie.”

“You too?” Choi Seon-Hui urgently nodded to say she agreed.

“But she can be such an airhead sometimes!”

“Yeah, that's what I said!”

The orphanage kids worked together to create an opportunity for Choi Yeon-Ha since she wanted to go on a date with Kang Jin-Ho, but to think she'd throw that chance away and stick to the kids and end up in that pitiful state...

The first impression Choi Yeon-Ha gave off was that of a smart, capable older sister, but the more the kids got to know her, the more of an airhead she became. So much so that the girls were no longer puzzled by the lack of a significant other in Choi Yeon-Ha's life despite her 'advanced' age!

“Still, she's with Jin-Ho oppa now, so there's that.”

“And we had to work so hard to create this moment, too!”

“You're so right. I don't even like amusement parks, you know?”

“Right, right. It's not like we're little kids or something.”

Even though Jo Mi-Hye and Choi Seon-Hui muttered like that, they couldn't hide the growing anticipation from their expressions.

The night had descended on Earth, prompting various colorful and bright lights to be switched on throughout the amusement park. The girls' hearts fluttered from excitement at the prospect of watching the spectacular display from high up near the ceiling.

“Unnie, unnie~!”

“Okay, okay. Let's not forget to take care of the little one, Do-Yeon. Don't let go of my hand, okay?”

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

The much-younger girl, Hwang Do-Yeon, excitedly nodded. “Ng, Unnie!”

Choi Seon-Hui scanned the surroundings before asking Jo Mi-Hye. “What about other kids?”

“They said they wanted to ride the roller coaster down there one more time.”

“Again?”

“Don't say that. They were too worried about Yeon-Ha unnie earlier to properly enjoy the ride, you know.”

“Mm, that's true... ”

Crack...

Jo Mi-Hye's head snapped to look behind her.

Choi Seon-Hui tilted her head. “What's wrong?”

“Not sure. I keep hearing this weird noise, you know?”

“Really? You sure have a great hearing, don't you? You can actually hear something weird when it's so loud in this place?”

“Well, yeah. It sounds like something is cracking apart... ”

“Calm down, Mi-Hye.”

“Y-yeah... ” Jo Mi-Hye sheepishly poked her tongue out while scratching the back of her head.

'Am I just imagining things?'

The park employee smiled and greeted the children. “How many people are coming onboard?”

“Four,” Choi Seon-Hui replied.

The employee confirmed the orphanage girls and smiled back. “Please come this way.”

“Okay!”

Anticipation and excitement bloomed in the girls' hearts. Once they cautiously climbed inside the ride, the employees checked the safety systems.

“Please refrain from running around or jumping inside the ride, everyone. And please don't try to open this door during the ride.”

“Okay!”

“I hope you will have a wonderful time!” The smiling employee closed the door and locked it from the outside. That prompted the ride to slowly set off.

“Unnie!”

“Yeah, I can see it. We're on the move!”

The girls hurriedly stuck to the windows and stared below them.

“So pretty!”

“Yeah, it is…”

Jo Mi-Hye looked below her as an enraptured expression floated up on her face. Buildings that didn't seem to belong to this world were glowing in a rainbow of colors by the ground below, and all around them were characters straight from fairy tales going on a parade. Jo Mi-Hye felt her mind settle down at this sight.

Suddenly, she could understand why people came to amusement parks. Objectively speaking, far too many people frequented amusement parks. Which meant these kinds of parks were dusty and dirty. Not very hygienic, in other words. If one wanted to enjoy a calmer, more peaceful day out, going somewhere else would've been a better option.

Even though she knew this, Jo Mi-Hye still felt at peace. And there must be a different reason for this.

'And that's because people are having fun…’

People came here in search of entertainment. Everything in this place was designed for that purpose. People knocked around by the headwinds of life could at least forget about their difficulties for a day while having fun in this place... At least, that was the amusement park's reason for existing.

Jo Mi-Hye watched the bright lights below while thinking how wonderful it might have been for everyone if they had come here sooner.

“Unnie, unnie! Look! People look so small!” Hwang Do-Yeon excitedly pointed out the window of their hot-air balloon-shaped ride.

“Aren't you scared?” Jo Mi-Hye asked the little girl.

“No, I'm okay!”

Jo Mi-Hye smiled at that energetic reply.

'I'm gonna do better starting from tomorrow.'

She suddenly gained a renewed appreciation. What she could see outside was the world her oppas, the orphanage workers and teachers wanted to create for her and other kids. A world without worries.

However, lots of people needed to work hard together to create such a world. And Jo Mi-Hye's time to innocently revel in this worry-free world and just have fun was slowly coming to an end. All the affection and attention she had received until now... The time to pass them on to the younger kids was slowly but surely approaching her.

“Your hair's come undone, Do-Yeon. Come here, let me fix it for you.”

“Can we do that later, unnie? I wanna look some more.”

“It's fine. You don't have to move. I'll fix it for you.”

“Okay!”

Jo Mi-Hye smiled gently at the sight of Hwang Do-Yeon making a face filled with innocent wonder and joy as she stuck to the windows like glue.

'I gotta thank oppas for today.'

One of the reasons the orphanage kids could come to an amusement park like this and have fun was that the problems at school had been largely sorted out. Jo Mi-Hye was mature enough to understand how difficult it must've been for others to be so hands-on with matters that didn't even directly concern them. She was so grateful to Kang Jin-Ho and Choi Yeon-Ha for caring about them so much. Of course, Park Yu-Min was included in that, too.

'Oh, and... What was his name again? That old bachelor-type uncle?'

That uncle with a scary face... Didn't his name start with Ju...?

Not only him, though. Everyone who came to help... Jo Mi-Hye was eternally grateful to them.

“Unnie?” Hwang Do-Yeon suddenly called out to Jo Mi-Hye.

“Ng?”

“You think oppa is down there somewhere?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Just as Jo Mi-Hye tried to look out the window to spot Kang Jin-Ho...!

CLUNK!

Suddenly, their hot air balloon ride descended without warning. Just as Jo Mi-Hye's eyes shot wide open, the ride clunked loudly before rocking violently up and down.

“Kkyaaaaaahk!”

The ride seemed to lose its balance and rocked viciously, causing the girls to fall and tumble on the floor. It eventually stopped shaking.

“W-what was that?!”

“What happened...?”

Jo Mi-Hye pushed her torso up from the floor with her shaking hands. She tried to look up, but...

'I can't see anything...!'

The large mock-up of a hot-air balloon obscured her view toward the ceiling, and Jo Mi-Hye couldn't see what happened up there.

“U-unnie!”

“W-what?”

“O-over there...!” Hwang Do-Yeon pointed outside the window.

Jo Mi-Hye's eyes quickly followed the little girl's point finger and looked at the spot on the ceiling, only for her entire body to freeze stiff like a stone statue.

The ride she was on was shaped like a hot-air balloon, and it moved around while dangling from a sturdy-looking rail installed on the large dome-shaped ceiling. But now...!

That spot in the ceiling Hwang Do-Yeon pointed at...!

The rail where the rides were suspended had come loose from the ceiling. And that was the direction the rides were inching toward, too!

“W-what's wrong with that? Is that supposed to look like that?” Choi Seon-Hui gasped in terror.

Jo Mi-Hye hurriedly pulled the trembling Hwang Do-Yeon close and hugged the girl tight. She closed her eyes and rapidly sucked in her breaths.

“Unnie?”

“Yes, I'm here, Do-Yeon. It's nothing, okay? Our ride will start moving soon, so don't worry about a thing. Okay?”

“Okay...”

“Even if there's a problem, people will come and help us soon, so everything will be fine. You believe me, right?”

“Ng. And we have Jin-Ho oppa, too.”

“Y-yeah, that's right.” Jo Mi-Hye replied with a cramped smile while doing her desperate best to speak in a calm voice. However, there wasn't a lot she could do about all the tears trickling down her cheeks or her weakened knees.

She didn't have to be a genius to imagine what would happen once the ride started moving again.

'Oh, dear Lord, please help us!'

Jo Mi-Hye was scared of dying. Terrified. However, what scared her even more was... If she and the other girls died from this accident, Kang Jin-Ho, Park Yu-Min, and other orphanage kids would forever blame themselves for what happened here.

That terrified Jo Mi-Hye the most.

“I, I should try to call someone first on the...”

CLUNK!

Even before Jo Mi-Hye could pull out her phone, the ride suddenly issued terrifying noises and sunk lower by another fifty centimeters.

“Ah... Aaaah...!” Choi Seon-Hui trembled in a daze before gripping the window sill to scream hysterically. “Opppppaaaaa!”

Their minds were about to crumble at that moment.