CH 449

Bang Jin-Hun smirked faintly. “...Are you mad about something, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“No, I am not.”

“Really? You seem mad, though?”

“No, I am not.”

“Eii~, you sure look mad about something, you know?”

“As I said, I'm not... Assembly Master Bang.”

Bang Jin-Hun cackled at that curt response coming from Kang Jin-Ho.

'Argh, dammit! If I laugh anymore, I might get stomach cramps!'

This was a special privilege only Bang Jin-Hun could enjoy. One could search the world high and low and still wouldn't find someone as strong as Kang Jin-Ho, who also happened to be so... naive, too.

Gently ribbing Kang Jin-Ho from the side and watching his response was one of the few joys in Bang Jin-Hun's life currently.

Bang Jin-Hun forced himself to stop laughing and asked Kang Jin-Ho. “I mean, this isn't something to get angry about, is it? This shows just how many people are willing to learn from you even at the risk of dying, you know? They are all willing to bet their lives for this chance.”

“Betting their lives, you say?” Kang Jin-Ho muttered back, his expression unreadable.

Did these people actually know what it meant to risk their lives?

Maybe Kang Jin-Ho was making a mistake here. These people lived in a different era. A different world, basically. The concept of 'risking one's life' to become stronger might be like trying to catch a wandering cloud to them since they hadn't been living in a world of kill-or-be-killed.

Even if that was the case...

'Was what I said that difficult to understand?'

The concept of half of the applicants dying should be no laughing matter, yet so many people still chose to show up? Kang Jin-Ho couldn't comprehend this situation at all.

Bang Jin-Hun smirked at Kang Jin-Ho. “Is there a need for us to rack our brains about this?”

“What do you mean?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“We can always ask the folks themselves, right?”

The smirk on Bang Jin-Hun's face deepened.

***

“...Why does it have to be me again?” Yi Myeong-Hwan grumbled loudly. He felt like jumping outside the window of a tall building's top floor right now.

Of course, his head could understand why. The higher-ups, especially ones with some years behind them, had this weird habit of picking on only the same characters they had singled out before. And Yi Myeong-Hwan was already branded as a 'brat who is more willing to listen than his peers' in Bang Jin-Hun's mind.

Which meant he had the dubious honor of being called out whenever matters pertaining to the younger generation reared their heads.

Yi Myeong-Hwan knew all this. Yes, he sure as heck did. Even so, why...

“...Why does it have to be me?!”

This was all the fault of that damn Gong Yeong-Gil! If only that idiot hadn't run off his bloody mouth when Kang Jin-Ho showed up in the Martial Assembly for the first time! Yi Myeong-Hwan wouldn't have said something dumb to get noticed by Bang Jin-Hun, too!

“Fuu-woo...”

However, what was the point of regretting the past now? Yi Myeong-Hwan grumbled inwardly while walking furiously in the corridor. He felt his breath get stuck in his throat at the sight of the Assembly Master's office at the end of the passageway.

'Mister Kang Jin-Ho must be inside that office, right?'

That thought sent shivers down Yi Myeong-Hwan's spine.

'But... What got him so pissed off earlier?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't figure that out. Shouldn't a teacher feel happy about so many prospective students showing up to learn from him? So, why did Kang Jin-Ho visibly get angry like that?

“Fuuuuu-wooooo...”

All Yi Myeong-Hwan could do was sigh again and again. And grimace from stomach cramps. While feeling the sharp, painful twitching coming from his innards, Yi Myeong-Hwan sucked in several deep breaths while standing before the office's doorway.

'And what is up with this punk?'

A martial artist was standing next to Yi Myeong-Hwan, also groaning and sighing endlessly like him. This unfamiliar dude was kind of getting on Yi Myeong-Hwan's nerves a bit after joining him in his journey toward his doom a short while ago, and... Well, it seemed this poor sucker was in the same boat as Yi Myeong-Hwan.

'Hmm. He seems to be from the Yeongnam Group...?'

Even though it should be called the Yeongnam Branch now...

Yi Myeong-Hwan put aside this weird sense of camaraderie, then knocked on the office door while gulping nervously. The two people inside the office should be able to sense Yi Myeong-Hwan's presence as soon as he stepped into the corridor, so wasting any more time loitering outside would be against manners.

“Assembly Master, sir. It's Yi Myeong-Hwan.”

“Okay. Come inside.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan opened the door and inadvertently frowned at the sight greeting him.

'Gee whiz. Is this inside a chimney or something?'

The office's occupants had been sucking on their cigarettes so much that the interior looked hazy from all the grey smoke. These two had produced a minor miracle of creating fine particulate matter with nothing but cigarette smoke!

Of course, they were martial artists at the peak of their strength, so smoking wouldn't negatively affect their health or anything like that.

'However, it's gonna be bad for me, you know!'

As Yi Myeong-Hwan was still a frail little martial artist, he couldn't help but worry about his health. Still, he bowed briefly before bravely stepping across the doorway. The Yeongnam Branch dude also bowed and followed him inside.

“Take a seat, you two,” said Bang Jin-Hun.

Yi Myeong-Hwan settled down on the couch as pointed out by the Assembly Master, then tried to suck in a deep breath before hurriedly giving up. Sucking in a lungful of this place's air would probably have a similar effect to smoking a cigarette!

“Okay, so. The reason why I called you two here is because...” Bang Jin-Hun glanced at Kang Jin-Ho briefly before resuming his explanation. “We just wanted to find out what you were thinking of while applying.”

That question didn't seem so out of place from Bang Jin-Hun's and Kang Jin-Ho's perspectives, but Yi Myeong-Hwan was taken aback... No, utterly flabbergasted by it.

'They aren't joking, are they...?'

Weren't they the ones asking for applicants in the first place? So, if they asked him why he applied, how was he supposed to answer them?

“Don't worry. We're not trying to criticize you or anything like that. It's just that…” Bang Jin-Hun smiled wryly. “You know what, let me be honest with you two. The truth was, we figured the number of applicants would be much lower. And we panicked somewhat after way more people than we anticipated showed up. That's why we wanted to know what you lot were thinking of while applying. You should have good reasons since you applied despite the grave threat to your lives.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan slowly nodded. He now understood Bang Jin-Hun's intention. However, that wasn't the problem here. No, it was more like... Did Yi Myeong-Hwan have a sound-enough reason to satisfy Bang Jin-Hun's curiosity?

“Sir... If I'm being honest, I'm not sure what to tell you.”

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So, Yi Myeong-Hwan decided to be honest. Trying to package himself with some grandiose-sounding words would only get him into a messy tangle, anyway. His guts told him that the right thing to do was just speak what was on his mind.

“The truth is...” Yi Myeong-Hwan sighed. “I didn't want to do this. Honestly, I was planning to stay home and get some sleep. A fairytale-like story where I overcome deadly trials and tribulations to become strong? That sure sounds great. Yes. Wonderful, in fact. But... I'm not too keen on becoming a protagonist in such a tale. Such a story is only entertaining when I'm sitting on a couch and watching it on my TV.”

“That makes sense,” Bang Jin-Hun nodded theatrically.

“And, uh... I honestly had no desire to go through that crazy hardship. No, wait... Let me revise that and say that I still don't have the desire even now. I'd love to run away from here. I seriously don't want to do it. That's how I feel but with Mister Kang Jin-Ho here…” Yi Myeong-Hwan stopped talking there and sneakily glanced at Kang Jin-Ho, trying to gauge the latter's mood first. After hesitating slightly, wondering if he should say this, Yi Myeong-Hwan squeezed his eyes shut in resignation and ran his mouth off. “I'm not sure why, but Mister Kang Jin-Ho here looks angry for some reason. And that made me doubly unwilling to participate in this training. I'd love nothing more than just forget about this whole thing and go home.”

“Mm?” Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head. “In that case, you can always walk away, you know?”

“...That's the thing, sir. That's even more terrifying.” Yi Myeong-Hwan slowly rubbed his face. “This thing that I'm too scared to do, someone else will definitely do it, right? I'm even more terrified by the prospect of acknowledging the growing gap between me and that someone else, knowing that it was because I chickened out at the last minute. For now... Mm... It's kinda like, some random punk I can't stand will become stronger than me. What if that bastard ridicules me later? What am I supposed to do about that...?”

A loud sigh escaped from Yi Myeong-Hwan's lips as he muttered in resignation.

“Yes, it's stupid and insane. I know all that, and if someone asks me if getting stronger and not getting laughed at are really important in my life, I wouldn't know how to answer that. But... In any case, that's what I think, sir. When nicely put, this competitive streak in me won't let me go. Strip away all the nice words, and it's like, my jealousy won't let me stay on the sidelines and watch others get ahead of me.”

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled at that candid revelation.

'Yup, this is why I like talking to this brat.'

Bang Jin-Hun could've asked others in the younger generation. Plenty of them could have given him the answers, but not many would've been as candid about their feelings as Yi Myeong-Hwan. Bang Jin-Hun was sure about this after watching Yi Myeong-Hwan 'accompany' Kang Jin-Ho during the invasion of the Yeongnam Group.

Bang Jin-Hun nodded. “I gotta say, I feel you, man. I get what you're saying. Seeing others get ahead of you in life does piss you off, doesn't it?”

“Yes, sir. That's it,” Yi Myeong-Hwan sighed in resignation. “I'm not sure if this is me being competitive or jealous, but... I can't stand the thought of some random bastards getting stronger than me.”

Bang Jin-Hun pursed his lips and nodded theatrically again before turning his attention to the young martial artist from the Yeongnam Branch. “Okay, so. Your name was...?”

“It's Choi Jin-Yeong, sir.”

“Right, Choi Jin-Yeong. What about you? After all, what you experienced was different, so I'm assuming your thoughts on this matter will be different, too.”

“Yes, sir. It's totally different.” The Yeongnam Branch martial artist, Choi Jin-Yeong, didn't even bother to spare a glance in Yi Myeong-Hwan's direction as he replied.

Bang Jin-Hun relaxedly sat back. “Before we ask you about your thoughts, let me ask you something else first. What is your impression of Yi Myeong-Hwan's response just now?”

“That sounded like an immature brat's whining, sir.”

“What did you say?!” Yi Myeong-Hwan shot a murderous glare at Choi Jin-Yeong. Words unsuitable for minors’ ears would have flown out his mouth had he forgotten where he was at the moment. Yi Myeong-Hwan wasn't a nice-enough person to brush aside disparaging remarks muttered by a Yeongnam Branch punk around the same age as him.

While Yi Myeong-Hwan began wondering if he should hurl some choice words at this rude punk, Bang Jin-Hun spoke up first. “Why do you think that way?”

Choi Jin-Yeong chuckled helplessly. “If you asked me this question a few months ago, I'd have replied pretty much the same as this guy, sir. However, after experiencing that calamity... Talking about who's stronger and whatnot sounds immature to my ears now, sir.”

“That calamity?” Bang Jin-Hun slightly tilted his head.

“You know, the calamity that brought the Yeongnam Group down.”

“Oh. Mm…” Bang Jin-Hun slowly nodded. Although slightly puzzled, he knew he'd soon get his answers by listening, anyway. “Okay. Tell me, why did you apply?”

“Because I want to become stronger, sir.”

“That answer doesn't sound all that different from Yi Myeong-Hwan's?”

“No, sir. It's completely different,” said Choi Jin-Yeong while resolutely shaking his head. “My desire for strength isn't coming from some misplaced superiority complex, sir. It's solely for my own survival.”

“...Your survival?”

Choi Jin-Yeong glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. “That day... When the Martial Assembly and Mister Kang Jin-Ho invaded the Yeongnam Group, I was at the frontlines. No, wait. Calling it 'frontlines' is a bit inaccurate. I was slightly behind the frontlines and then, forced to become a frontline fighter soon afterward. All the people in front of me died by then, you see.”

Bang Jin-Hun recalled that day's events and sensed a renewed chill running down his spine.

“I would've died that day, too. But I got lucky, sir. Real lucky. Mister Kang Jin-Ho's sword severed my neck about halfway, you see? But I managed to survive through sheer dumb luck.” Choi Jin-Yeong jerked his head back to reveal an ugly scar running across his neck. After looking at that lengthy scar, Bang Jin-Hun couldn't help but wonder how Choi Jin-Yeong managed to survive even after that. “Doctors said I would've died instantly had the blade cut one centimeter deeper.”

“Mm? You should thank your skills, then.” Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head.

“No, sir. That was pure luck. You see, what happened was... I got too scared and fell to my side when my legs gave in. If I tried to resist or fight back, I would have died for sure. With my head flying across the air and all that,” said Choi Jin-Yeong while drawing an imaginary line across his throat using his thumb.

'Huh. This brat's mentality is nothing to laugh at, eh?'

Bang Jin-Hun inwardly mused in slight disbelief. Making light of a situation where he almost lost his life was already dumbfound-inducing, but saying all this in front of a man who nearly killed him? What a crazy-tough mentality that was.

“I see. But what's that got to do with you getting stronger?” Bang Jin-Hun asked.

“I learned the cold, hard truth that day, you see.” Choi Jin-Yeong's expression stiffened. “As long as I live in this world, being careful wouldn't be enough to spare me from death. That's what I learned, sir. My head will go flying if a truly powerful being decides it's the end of the road for me.”

Choi Jin-Yeong suddenly narrowed his eyes and glared sharply at Kang Jin-Ho.

“For instance... Mister Kang Jin-Ho, you can kill me right now in ways I can't even comprehend if that's what you want. Am I wrong?”

An unreadable smile formed on Kang Jin-Ho's face as he coolly dealt with Choi Jin-Yeong's glare.