Chapter 308: Advising (3)

"Mister Jin-Ho, I think it'll be risky," said Jo Gyu-Min earnestly. "The matters of his family are like Chairman Hwang's reverse scale. Even if it's you, carelessly bringing up that part of the chairman's life will cause severe problems."

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded away.

"Not only that but... Putting aside the pros and cons for now, I think it might be crossing the line somewhat. After all, we're talking about Chairman Hwang's intensely personal affair."

“Yes, that is true.”

“Also...” Jo Gyu-Min pondered how he should frame the next part of his opinion to avoid souring Kang Jin-Ho's mood. “...Chairman Hwang is very much set on the way of his life, Mister Jin-Ho. When nicely put, his view on life is clear-cut, and when not-so-nicely put, he does not feel the need to listen to other people's advice.”

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho groaned quietly.

“For almost half a century, Chairman Hwang ran his corporation as he saw fit and constantly achieved success. So, would someone like that be willing to take on other people's advice at this stage in life? Besides, he hasn't had any failures either since his return, too.”

“That's true.”

“That is the situation, so I can't help but worry that bringing up this part of Chairman Hwang's life could lead to touching his reverse scale.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded to express his agreement.

When a person grows old, leading to their thought process becoming more inflexible, they would gradually forget how to listen to what other people tell them. In other words, they would not see themselves as doing anything wrong.

From Kang Jin-Ho's perspective, Hwang Jeong-Hu was an open-minded person that knew how to pay attention to other people's opinions. However, even to someone like him, the matters of his family would be too sensitive for outsiders to bring up. And, precisely because it was his family, Hwang Jeong-Hu probably wouldn't see the point of listening to others' advice.

'Besides, there's the issue of him having done nothing wrong.'

In Kang Jin-Ho's opinion, Hwang Jeong-Hu's children were in the wrong, not Hwang Jeong-Hu. Not just him but everyone in the world would think the same after learning about the details of this matter. Confining their father, who was on the death's doorstep in a hospital room, then restricting people from visiting him was way past the point of being unfilial and straight into the territory of a punishable crime.

No matter how attractive wealth and power were, not many people out there would be willing to defend grown-up children that had driven their father into that kind of state for the sake of fulfilling their ambitions.

.

Kang Jin-Ho understood that all too well.

"Thank you for clarifying that, Chief Jo. I think I get it now. In that case, please arrange a date for me in the near future. I'll personally visit Chairman Hwang."

Jo Gyu-Min couldn't hide his worry as he stared at Kang Jin-Ho. 'This is surprising...'

Kang Jin-Ho being interested in Hwang Jeong-Hu's matters was already unusual, yet he even wanted to visit the chairman's home, too. Now, this was truly strange.

Didn't Kang Jin-Ho consciously try to distance himself from Hwang Jeong-Hu until now?

“Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Yes?”

“If you no longer need my advice, I'll stop here. However, there's something I'd still like to tell you. I hope you don't mind.”

"Yes, please go ahead."

Just before Jo Gyu-Min could say something, their steaks arrived, briefly halting their conversation. He waited until the waiter left the table before resuming from where he left off. "Mister Jin-Ho, I'm wondering why you're so interested in Chairman Hwang's family life."

“...”

"If I'm being honest, I'd like to talk you out of doing this. I'm sure you've already noticed this, but Chairman Hwang is thinking of you as a potential heir to Jaegyeong. No, THE heir. And him supporting you in the pizzeria business is merely a part of his process to mold you into that heir. As long as you achieve a minimum level of success... No, even without any financial success, as long as there aren't any competitors in the picture, the odds are Jaegyeong will be yours without you doing anything." Jo Gyu-Min stared deeply at Kang Jin-Ho. "This is your situation, so why... Why are you trying to create an alternate path for Chairman Hwang?"

Kang Jin-Ho mulled his answer. However, it seemed Jo Gyu-Min wasn't finished with what he wanted to say.

"And there is something else I'm having difficulty figuring out. This matter is Chairman Hwang's deeply personal family matter. Even the justification is with the chairman. So, is there a reason for you wanting him to forgive those who wronged him first?" Jo Gyu-Min leaned forward, closing the distance between him and Kang Jin-Ho. "I know how strict you're with favors and grudges, Mister Jin-Ho. And you are even more ruthless toward those who wronged you. Judging from your personality in matters like this, I just can't figure out what you're thinking of. Why are you doing this?"

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly gulped the glass of water down. After putting the empty glass down, he took his time organizing his thoughts before raising his head to look back at Jo Gy-Min.

"Chief Jo, since the questions were long, I'm not sure where I should start answering them, but..." Kang Jin-Ho coughed to clear his throat. Trying to verbally explain the legitimacy of his actions was quite a foreign concept to him. After all, he had always been the type to adhere to the notion of 'Actions speak louder than words'. "First of all, I'm not interested in Jaegyeong."

“Mister Jin-Ho....”

“No interest is no interest, no matter how one tries to slice it. And I feel that trying to fake interest in something I'm not interested in is ultimately pointless.” n(0)vel(b)(j)(n)was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

Jo Gyu-Min could only lick his lips. 'I just can't understand him...'

Hwang Jeong-Hu's fortunes would surely rank among the top three in the country. As for Jaegyeong, it would rank within the top five in terms of its assets. A chance to occupy the top seat in such a company would make most people risk their lives. However, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't like that. He didn't even need to do anything, and Jaegyeong would still be his, yet he was utterly disinterested in the idea of taking over such a prestigious company.

At first, Jo Gyu-Min figured Kang Jin-Ho was just putting on airs or trying not to reveal himself to the world. Having observed Kang Jin-Ho for the past few years, though... Jo Gyu-Min was sure of 'it' now.

Kang Jin-Ho was definitely not uttering something he didn't mean. If Hwang Jeong-Hu left a will stating that he would hand the corporation to Kang Jin-Ho, this guy was fully capable of ripping up that will right there and then.

'Gee whiz. There's a limit to how much you're not interested in material things...'

It was true that Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't have a problem paying the bills for the rest of his life with his current wealth. Truth be told, Kang Jin-Ho was already living a life of luxury most people could only dream about. Not only were the two cars in his garage costing more than what most people could afford even after working and saving for their entire lives, but his bank account was also steadily accumulating wealth without him doing anything in particular.

However, wealth was something that seemed to be lacking the more you had it. If people could get over their greed for wealth just because their quality of life had improved, South Korea would never function properly again.

Those with money, those who tasted the might of money, were bound to get even more avaricious. And to maintain their superior status created by wealth, they would do anything to make more money. They would eventually go mad from their obsession with wealth. Even someone like Hwang Jeong-Hu couldn't free himself from this cycle, too.

“Please give it another thought, Mister Jin-Ho. You might feel detached and uncaring about this for the time being, but you could regret your decision for the rest of your life once Jaegyeong ends up in someone else's hands.”

“That's not going to happen,” said Kang Jin-Ho decisively.

"Mister Jin-Ho..." Jo Gyu-Min could only call out in lamentation. He might never come to understand Kang Jin-Ho's stance on this matter. Of course, he had no idea that Kang Jin-Ho had already experienced the level of wealth that Jaegyeong could never match.

Kang Jin-Ho inwardly mused, 'There's no difference in the end.'

He would never say that money was unnecessary for people's existence. Kang Jin-Ho also needed to eat, so he fully understood how crucial 'money' was to a human's survival. The thing was, though... He already had enough money.

And he even got to connect with several good people during the process of acquiring that money, too. That alone was already enough to satisfy Kang Jin-Ho.

"Very well. Let's end the discussion about the company there." Jo Gyu-Min shook his head, choosing to push this matter aside for now. This seemed to be the issue of differences in one's values.

If Jo Gyu-Min wanted Kang Jin-Ho to inherit Jaegyeong, then he needed to slowly alter Kang Jin-Ho's personal values over a length of time. Or, he could create such a devious trap that Kang Jin-Ho would have no choice but to accept ownership of the corporation.

Neither of those options would be easy or quick. So, it was better to let it go, at least for this time.

“Putting aside the matter of Jaegyeong's succession for now... Why are you trying to reconnect Chairman Hwang to his children?”

“I never said that's my goal, though?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“That's what your actions suggest, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“Hmm, is it? Then, how should I say this...” Kang Jin-Ho still looked troubled, not finding it easy to explain himself. “It's not important to me who was in the wrong or right.”

“No, hang on. Mister Jin-Ho, that is important. You should know that as well as anyone.”

“Alright, let me revise that. It's important to know who was in the wrong, yes. However, I believe people's relationships not improving at all because it is incorrect.”

“Mm...” Jo Gyu-Min scratched his cheek.

What Kang Jin-Ho said was technically not incorrect. However, he still hadn't mentioned his main reason why.

“Mister Jin-Ho, I'm not asking about how to improve people's relationships, but why that needs to happen.” Jo Gyu-Min spoke with some hints of frustration. “Could it be that you're taking pity on them?”

“...”

"...Mister Jin-Ho, please listen. If we see through your eyes, probably everyone would be deserving of your pity on some level. If people with less money than you and living a tougher life than you are deserving of pity, then I'm pretty sure 99% of South Korea's citizens would qualify for that."

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly stared at Jo Gyu-Min.

“Those people once stood at the top of South Korea's food chain, Mister Jin-Ho. Honestly, you probably can't even imagine the level of power they used to enjoy and how much they abused the system to live in the lap of luxury. If only you knew what their lives have been like... You'd never pity them to this degree. Let's be real here!” Jo Gyu-Min's voice gradually got louder in frustration. “What about them do you find deserving of pity? They ended up in that state from their own wrongdoings, anyway. If they had behaved a little more reasonably, they wouldn't have ended up like that, you know! Taking pity on people like that is going too far, Mister Jin-Ho. This is my honest advice to you. Please, don't let momentary emotions distract you.”

Judging from his tone, it seemed Jo Gyu-Min was genuinely unhappy about Kang Jin-Ho 'caring' about Hwang Min-Su's situation. Which was understandable. Jo Gyu-Min was once directly involved in those people's businesses, after all.

They used him until his usefulness ran out, then they tried to throw him away. Jo Gyu-Min's life almost went into a death spiral because of their actions, didn't it? No wonder he lost his cool when the savior of his life, Kang Jin-Ho, seemed to be taking pity on a man who was basically an irreconcilable enemy to Jo Gyu-Min.

Jo Gyu-Min sighed. “My apologies, it seems I've gone overboard just now. Please forgive...”

“No,” Kang Jin-Ho cut Jo Gyu-Min off. “You're right, Chief Jo.”

“Mm? Then...?”

“However, you're mistaken about something.”

“I beg your pardon?” Jo Gyu-Min tilted his head.

Kang Jin-Ho clarified himself without any ripples on his expression. “I'm not taking pity on them. I only acted nicely to Hwang Min-Su because his young son was watching us back then. And the other reason was solely down to my whims. I thought that what I'd been receiving until now originally belonged to Hwang Min-Su and his brothers. However, I assure you, that's about it.”

“In that case...?”

“Chief Jo, tell me. Do I look like a kind person to you?”

Jo Gyu-Min almost immediately answered, “No!” but managed to clamp his mouth shut just in time. 'Right, no way this guy would be like that...'

Kang Jin-Ho was like an angelic existence to the kids of the Seongsim Orphanage, but to those with zero connections to him, he could be colder and more decisive than a treasured blade. So, him suddenly taking pity on Hwang Jeong-Hu's children when he never cared about them in the first place? Such a thing could never happen.

“Then, why are you prepared to go so far for them?”

“The one I'm worried about isn't them, actually.” Kang Jin-Ho took a gulp of water before muttering, “It's Chairman Hwang.”

His voice contained a certain amount of bitterness.