CH 456

“Hey, man... Don't you think the atmosphere here is a bit weird?” Gong Yeong-Gil muttered while sneaking closer to Yi Myeong-Hwan.

That only led Yi Myeong-Hwan to groan deeply instead.

'This dude... He just wants to butt in everywhere, doesn't he?'

How could he not groan, though? Yu Myeong-Hwan knew that Gong Yeong-Gil was a crybaby who'd undoubtedly quit the training as soon as it got a bit too harsh for him to handle. However, this idiot still decided to join Kang Jin-Ho's training program.

However, that only served as the indicator of the current state; way too many riff-raff had shown up, thinking they might also get lucky. Despite Kang Jin-Ho's open and naked threat, some people had swallowed too many brave pills for their own good.

'Insane idiots...!'

Indeed, these people must've had several screws loose in their heads.

Even after Kang Jin-Ho warned them, some people making slapdash resolutions of 'I'm sure it'll work out somehow!' still decided to apply and muddy the waters for everyone. Gong Yeong-Gil before Yi Myeong-Hwan's eyes was one such perfect example.

'Not only that, but there are far more applicants from the Martial Assembly.'

This was something Yi Myeong-Hwan found out while organizing the order of who goes when. As it turned out, the number of applicants from the Martial Assembly was double the size compared to the Yeongnam Branch people. Since the Yeongnam Branch had a far higher number of younger martial artists, this imbalance said everything there was to know about how many people from the Martial Assembly thought they could test their luck.

By listening to Choi Jin-Yeong's honest thoughts a few days ago, Yi Myeong-Hwan learned something rather valuable. The image of 'Kang Jin-Ho' in the Yeongnam Branch people's minds was markedly different from the one in the heads of the Martial Assembly's younger generation.

People exposed to Kang Jin-Ho's deadly blades, even for a brief second, responded differently from those who watched the dance of destruction from the safety of distance. And even their... 'determination' was different, too.

Choi Jin-Yeong drew a pretty stark picture back then, didn't he? In the end, Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't retort to Choi Jin-Yeong's evaluation of how immature his determination was. He had to admit that the viewpoint of the Yeongnam Branch was 100% correct, after all.

'And... Well, idiots like Gong Yeong-Gil here will naturally drop out sooner or later.'

Kang Jin-Ho would definitely try to pick and choose the applicants with some kind of unknown method. Kinda similar to how one would sift the grain from the chaff, in a way.

Even Yi Myeong-Hwan thought there were far too many people here. Considering the only instructor was Kang Jin-Ho, having too many people would definitely lower the efficiency and effectiveness.

'At the very least, half of us gotta go.'

Only then the effectiveness and the efficiency would be...

Yi Myeong-Hwan's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the irritated voice of Gong Yeong-Gil.

“Argh... Maybe I should've just gone home and waited there? Just sitting here doing nothing is getting really boring, man.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan slowly rubbed his eyes.

'Forget about effectiveness or whatever, we gotta get rid of idiots like this moron here first!'

Of course, Gong Yeong-Gil was still Yi Myeong-Hwan's friend. That didn't mean friends were obliged to cover every aspect of each other, though! In personal matters, Yi Myeong-Hwan was fully prepared to back his friend up, but... Well, Gong Yeong-Gil was the type of a person that made it utterly impossible to defend him in official matters!

“By the way, Myeong-Hwan, my man...”

“...Yeah?”

Gong Yeong-Gil curiously asked, "Where does everyone entering that door disappear to?"

“...Eh?”

“I mean... Everyone who entered that side exit hasn't come back out here, right? Does that mean they went home after speaking to Mister Kang Jin-Ho?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan furrowed his brow.

'Huh. Right, I haven't thought about that...'

Kang Jin-Ho asked Yi Myeong-Hwan to assign people with turns and have them enter the side entrance next to the podium. As for what would happen to those who entered it... Yi Myeong-Hwan hadn't thought about that at all.

Fifty or so people had already stepped through that doorway, but not a single person had come back to the auditorium, so...

'Hmm... Were they sent home right afterward?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan's brow furrowed even deeper. If this one-on-one meeting was indeed conducted like an interview, it wouldn't be so strange to send the applicants home once the interview was finished. However, Yi Myeong-Hwan felt this... weird sense of disharmony.

How come not a single person came back inside the auditorium? That shouldn't be possible unless Kang Jin-Ho deliberately blocked the applicants after the interview.

'This... really does feel like we're about to conduct a job interview, eh...?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan tensed up slightly. If his guess was correct, Kang Jin-Ho must be demanding a specific 'answer' from the applicants. Those who answered correctly would be accepted, while those who didn't would probably get kicked out of the program.

And, if the applicants were prevented from coming back here, then the question being asked had to be something one could find an answer for if they had enough time to mull over it...

'How... complicated.'

Yi Myeong-Hwan tried to guesstimate what kind of questions he might be asked, but... There were simply too many possibilities. At this rate, it'd be impossible to narrow down the topic of the question. Then again, knowing Kang Jin-Ho, he probably wouldn't have cooked up a question that was easy to guess ahead of time.

Gong Yeong-Gil groaned while crossing his arms. “Dude... How many hours to go before it's my turn?”

“...Around two hours or so.”

“Hah? Bloody hell. That's not quite enough to go home and do something else, isn't it?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan tutted loudly. “Why don't you go and stuff your face with food or something to pass the time?”

“Oh? That doesn't sound so bad. What about you, though? Wanna come?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan chuckled helplessly just then. Maybe he should learn his friend's ability to stay unperturbed, which allowed this idiot to enjoy his food even in a tense situation like this. The old idiom did say it was always better to get punished first, didn't it?

Waiting around while doing nothing was only worsening the oppressive weight crushing down on Yi Myeong-Hwan's shoulders.

When Yi Myeong-Hwan shook his head to say no, Gong Yeong-Gil chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder. “In that case, Imma pop outside real quick for some fresh air. Staying here is only making me feel weird, know what I mean?”

“Sure. Do whatever you want.”

“Okay. Later.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan watched his friend exit the auditorium and sighed under his breath.

***

And so, sometime later...

Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't relax at all. Watching the queue ahead of him grow shorter and shorter was only amplifying the pressure he felt.

'Goddamn it, I made a mistake...!'

Since he was entrusted with the task of deciding who went first, Yi Myeong-Hwan should've abused the privilege and made himself the first in line. However, he 'wisely' chose to go as the very last person in today's batch.

His decision back then was understandable, though. He knew he wasn't confident of getting a good night's rest while knowing a one-on-one with Kang Jin-Ho waited for him on the following day. However, he was also not brave enough to face Kang Jin-Ho right away, either!

While assigning turns, Yi Myeong-Hwan figured he was being quite smart about this, but this situation only proved how stupid he had been, instead. While he dithered about, the pressure only grew heavier and more oppressive.

As a matter of fact, the pressure had gotten so bad that Yi Myeong-Hwan's joints began to creak unsteadily, and his entire body was drained of energy by the time people just ahead of him in the queue had disappeared from his view.

However, his torment was about to come to an end. That was because the martial artist just ahead of Yi Myeong-Hwan in the queue had exited the auditorium and entered the doorway. Which meant he was the only one remaining. Sitting alone in an empty, eerily-silent auditorium felt rather unsettling if Yi Myeong-Hwan was being honest.

'It's finally my turn, huh...'

Yi Myeong-Hwan's heart began racing even faster when his thoughts reached that far. He suddenly felt like an elementary school kid waiting for his turn to get vaccinated in school. Although he looked calm on the surface, his pounding heart refused to slow down.

Give him a few more minutes, and Yi Myeong-Hwan would've grown even more intimate with this oppressive feeling, but his time ran out sooner than he thought.

“Yi Myeong-Hwan?”

“Yes, I'm here!” Yi Myeong-Hwan shot up to his feet when his name was called out. As for his pounding heart that had been tormenting him until now? It suddenly quietened down as if everything he felt had been a lie.

'Maybe, I am... the type to get a bit tougher in the face of danger?'

That had to be why he felt somewhat calmer as the thought of meeting Kang Jin-Ho filled his head. Yi Myeong-Hwan obviously had no idea what questions would be asked, but the answers shouldn't be too hard to find.

Yi Myeong-Hwan simply had to say what was on his mind, after all.

While telling himself to be honest and let the heavens decide his fate, Yi Myeong-Hwan left through the side door and walked on the corridor. After arriving before the doorway to the room containing Kang Jin-Ho, Yi Myeong-Hwan sighed softly before gritting his teeth in determination.

'I'm sure he won't kill me, so why am I worried?'

Knock, knock...

Yi Myeon-Hwan unhesitantly knocked, prompting a smooth-sounding voice to come from beyond the closed doorway.

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

“Please, come in.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan opened the door and stepped inside. Wasting any more time would only saddle him with nerve-racking anxiety again. In that case, it was better to get this one-on-one with Kang Jin-Ho done and dusted as soon as possible.

“Uh, hello...?”

“Take a seat, please,” said Kang Jin-Ho while pointing to the other side of the desk. However, Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't immediately do as instructed.

First of all, the sight waiting for him in this office was a bit different from what he had expected. From what little info he could glean, Yi Myeong-Hwan thought this would be like a job interview. But the interior of this office was less of an interview room and more like an interrogation chamber instead!

The inside was dark, while the lone source of the illumination, a small lamp, dangled limply from the ceiling. A large and sparse desk was smack-dab in the middle, with two chairs facing each other on the opposing sides.

There was one more issue here, and that was...

'Is that a smell of... blood?'

A chill suddenly ran down Yi Myeong-Hwan's back.

'M-maybe, I'm jumping the gun here?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't be sure, but it felt like his senses were picking up a faint whiff of blood in the air. He could only stand there and stare nervously at Kang Jin-Ho as cold sweat drops trickled down his forehead.

'What was I saying about nervousness and danger earlier?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan was suddenly reminded of something important just then. The source of all of his nervousness and anxiety was Kang Jin-Ho sitting before his eyes. The moment Yi Myeong-Hwan's eyes clapped on him...! Anxiety and terror loudly slammed into Yi Myeong-Hwan as if they had never gone anywhere, to begin with!

“Please, take a seat,” Kang Jin-Ho repeated himself.

“Ah...! Y-yes, sir.” Yi Myeong-Hwan sobered up instantly and realized his rudeness, then hurriedly settled on the empty chair.

The only solace Yi Myeong-Hwan could find in this bleak environment was Kang Jin-Ho's expression. It seemed easy-going, and relaxed. Yi Myeong-Hwan would've been worried more about not having a heart attack instead of passing this interview if Kang Jin-Ho had been scowling unhappily inside this suspicious-looking office.

“You are Mister Yi Myeong-Hwan, yes?” Kang Jin-Ho smiled gently and asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“I had to go through a couple more hoops with other people before we could get started. However, you and I are already somewhat acquainted with each other, so allow me to skip the time-wasting process altogether. I'll get right to the topic at hand, Mister Yi Myeong-Hwan.”

Click...

Kang Jin-Ho didn't ask for consent and just lit himself a cigarette. After puffing on the unhealthy smoke for a while, Kang Jin-Ho's expression stiffened a little as he spoke up. “Mister Yi Myeong-Hwan...?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Are you really prepared to risk your life to become stronger?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan sucked in a deep breath. 'Ah. So it was this...'

Indeed, he had a hunch that the question would be related to risking one's neck. If he was in Kang Jin-Ho's shoes, Yi Myeong-Hwan would've also asked something similar. There weren't a whole lot of topics he could ask a group of people he didn't know much about, after all.

Yi Myeong-Hwan stared straight at Kang Jin-Ho and calmly spoke up. He might have guessed the question to some degree but hadn't done that with the answer. He wanted to speak his true feelings, just like how his heart willed, after all! “Yes, sir.”

“I'd advise you to think about this carefully before answering.” A gentle smile formed on Kang Jin-Ho's face. “Remember, this isn't a simple problem. You may really die. So... Does gaining strength hold that much meaning to you? To even risk dying?”

“Yes, sir. At least that is what I believe,” said Yi Myeong-Hwan, his fists tightly clenching under the desk. 'Yes, I think that wasn't a bad answer!'

Although his reply was a bit crude, Yi Myeong-Hwan thought he sounded sincere just now. Using all sorts of flowery words and expressions had no meaning here. The important thing right now was to convey how sincere he was. And Yi Myeong-Hwan had no doubt that Kang Jin-Ho had noticed his true feelings.

Unfortunately, the response he got was not what he expected. The tone of Kang Jin-Ho's reply was not what Yi Myeong-Hwan thought he'd hear!

“How laughable,” said Kang Jin-Ho, a quiet chuckle accompanying his words.

Even though Kang Jin-Ho chuckled quietly, he still sounded like nails on a giant chalkboard, grating so chillingly on Yi Myeong-Hwan's senses.

Even before the fluster could wash over Yi Myeong-Hwan's mind, Kang Jin-Ho's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed Yi Myeong-Hwan's unguarded face.

“Keuk?!”

Yi Myeong-Hwan's consciousness threatened to fade into darkness just then. However, his mind was yanked back to reality by none other than crippling pain!

“Keeeeeeeuhk?!”

Yi Myeong-Hwan desperately thrashed about at the horrifying pain. It felt like Kang Jin-Ho's fingers were digging straight into Yi Myeong-Hwan's face! However, no matter how badly he struggled, Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't free himself from Kang Jin-Ho's grip!

“Every single one of you punks has been such comedians. You have no idea what death is like, yet you so casually run your mouths off about it,” Kang Jin-Ho cackled ominously.

Yi Myeong-Hwan's hair suddenly began losing color and turned ashen. Only then did he realize what his mistake was!

That whiff of blood when he first entered the office... He hadn't imagined that! It was real! And soon...

Yi Myeong-Hwan would soon join the others who had bled in this place!

“So, you don't mind dying, do you?”

That voice couldn't have come from a normal human being. Yi Myeong-Hwan's vision was blocked off by Kang Jin-Ho's large hand. But that fact felt like a blessing to him. If he could see the devil-like smirk on Kang Jin-Ho's face, Yi Myeong-Hwan would've instantly given up on everything!

Kang Jin-Ho's voice sounded hushed yet bizarrely twisted... A voice that resembled a devil's whisper dug mercilessly into Yi Myeong-Hwan's eardrums.

“We'll see. We'll see if you can keep running your mouth about risking your life even after experiencing pain akin to dying itself.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan sensed his limp hand being grabbed by Kang Jin-Ho and began cursing at his consciousness tenaciously clinging to this cruel reality.