Chapter 500: It Begins (5)

Vroom...

Kang Jin-Ho slightly turned his head and studied Jo Gyu-Min sitting in the driver's seat. Kang Jin-Ho couldn't help but chuckle after seeing the protruding pout on Jo Gyu-Min's face as he drove the car.

“It's been so long since the last time I rode shotgun like this,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Indeed. I often gave you a ride back then, didn't I? After you took an active interest in driving, though... I don't think you've ridden in my car once.”

“I didn't want to impose on you, you see.”

“I never felt that you were imposing on me, Mister Jin-Ho. Giving you a ride is a part of my job description, after all. If I'm being honest... Back when I could push everything aside and slack off on the company dime with the excuse of doing something monumental with you... Those days were the best days of my life. And I guess things will never go back to how they used to be.”

Jo Gyu-Min seemed to be growing dreamy and distant with longing again, and Kang Jin-Ho the unwitting witness could no longer hold his laughter back.

“If that's how you feel, should I sell my car, Mister Gyu-Min?”

“...No need to go that far.”

If Jo Gyu-Min jokingly said yes here, Kang Jin-Ho might really sell his Lamborghini without any hesitation whatsoever. That was what Kang Jin-Ho was like, after all! To prevent that catastrophe from happening, Jo Gyu-Min had to play the straight man for the first time in a long while.

“Since we're talking about cars...” Kang Jin-Ho slowly rubbed his chin.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Remember how my Golden Elephant got crushed and buried in the dirt during that incident?” N0vel_Biin hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

“Ah, that. Yes, I do remember.”

“I've been trying to find a similar bicycle in my free time, but no luck so far... If it's not too much trouble, can you help me custom order another bicycle? Something similar to my old one will do.”

“Similar to your Golden Elephant, you say?”

“Yes. If it's possible.”

Jo Gyu-Min frowned slightly. 'Yes, that thing... That thing used to be a bicycle, yes...'

That frown was swiftly accompanied by a bout of migraine next. When Kang Jin-Ho started calling his bicycle the 'Golden Elephant', it could still be called a bicycle. However, as time went on, it began evolving into something more than just another bicycle.

In the current era, bicycles had already handed the baton of 'means of transport' to motorbikes to become tools of leisure and exercise. Of course, some people still used bicycles as their only means of transport, but that didn't change the fact too much. Bicycles were not meant for long-distance travel.

These days, bicycles were categorized according to how efficiently they moved their riders with the same level of force applied. However, the Golden Elephant boldly spat on the face of the modern bicycle paradigm.

Its pedals couldn't withstand Kang Jin-Ho's vicious pedaling efforts and broke every other day, so the solution was to create monstrous pedals that focused solely on durability at the expense of weight or style.

Even the Golden Elephant's frame had to follow suit, and it was modified bit by bit until its glorious former identity as an $8000 lightweight sports bicycle had become a distant memory. Toward the end of its life, the Golden Elephant had gained enough weight to become heavier than one of those old industrial bicycles used to ferry rice sacks!

'...Maybe, just custom-making one from the get-go is a better idea?'

To regular folks, a bicycle needed to be light enough. No matter how sturdy it was, no one would want to ride a bicycle that weighed as much as a small car. Besides, no one would be physically able to ride it, anyway!

However, Kang Jin-Ho was a special case. As long as the bicycle could endure the abuse, he could easily ride the dang thing even if it weighed more than a bloody car!

'I should contact Jaegyeong's heavy industries division and ask them to create a prototype for us. I should tell them that this bicycle is for testing purposes only, so no one will care about how heavy it is as long as it won't break under any circumstances...'

However, could a bicycle be called a bicycle at that stage? Jo Gyu-Min was suddenly unsettled by an unexpected conflict of ideology in his head. And it was the fault of only one man!

While pouting, Jo Gyu-Min glanced briefly at Kang Jin-Ho. His innards were figuratively burning down in alarm at what Kang Jin-Ho said, yet how could this dude nonchalantly talk about his bicycle! Wasn't that thing totally unrelated to what they were talking about earlier?!

Jo Gyu-Min infused all of his rage and dissatisfaction into his reply. “I'll look into it, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“Thank you.”

“...No problem.” Jo Gyu-Min muttered while hollowly staring at the road ahead. Something about this situation saddened him a little. He recovered soon enough to ask a question out of curiosity, though. “By the way, how will this help Chairman Hwang? I'm not seeing much connection here if I'm being honest.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. “Don't you think it will be reassuring to have Chairman Hwang as the foundation's executive director?”

“D-director?” Jo Gyu-Min's eyes shot open wide in surprise. “B-but how will that even work? I mean, Chairman Hwang isn't interested in this kind of thing, you know? Yes, he did temporarily take up the director's role of that education foundation because of you, but that was all just for show. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Yes, I'm well aware.”

“Yet, you still want him as the executive director?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled quietly. “Regardless of how a person pours their whole being into something, sooner or later they will run into a wall they can't overcome.”

This was true even in the pursuit of martial arts. Whether the expert was mastering an orthodox cultivation method or a demonic one, they would still hit a wall eventually. A bottleneck, so to speak. And this was a wall they could never overcome no matter how hard they tried to. Countless martial artists did their best to overcome this wall only to fail miserably in the end.

Some would eventually settle there, satisfied with what they had already achieved. Meanwhile, some others would desperately try to break through but fail and become cripples instead.

Hwang Jeong-Hu must be facing a similar wall right now.

In Kang Jin-Ho's experience, there were two ways of overcoming this wall. The first way was to not give up; even if one repeatedly fell off the cliff, one might eventually reach the top one day if they kept challenging it. However, this process could be incredibly cruel and painful to the challengers.

The second way was to find a hint from something else, something that wasn't related to martial arts. That was why experts often had lodgings deep in the mountains. They'd stroll around, enjoy a spot of leisurely fishing, or commit seemingly insane and bizarre acts. Not because they were temperamental or eccentric, though. Well, not all the time, anyway!

Most of the time, martial artists would get lost in the pursuit of cultivation and dedicate their entire lives to reaching greater heights. More often than not, the high-leveled experts encountering this imaginary wall were too focused on their pursuit to cultivate other areas of themselves. Which meant their 'common sense' was bound to be well out of tune with society in general. After all, they wouldn't have had the chance to experience even a quarter of the things most common folk witnessed and felt on a daily basis.

Focusing solely on cultivation meant one's views would get narrower and more closed-off until they began actively hindering one's growth as a martial artist. The high-level experts would finally realize this truth only after encountering the wall, and their solution was to live outlandish, eccentric lifestyles to quickly regain what they had evidently lost somewhere along their martial journey.

Even if this way of doing things might seem foolish, it was still the accepted 'right' way. If a martial artist was stuck at the bottleneck, unable to break through because they had never experienced certain things in life, which stunted their ability to understand and empathize... What choice did they have other than to increase that nebulous ability somehow?

“If a man who walked on only one road his whole life runs into a wall, finding another road is one of the ways of overcoming this obstacle,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Jo Gyu-Min voiced his skepticism. “However, the person in question most likely won't be interested.”

“I'll take care of that by having a chat with the chairman later.”

“Mm...” Jo Gyu-Min quietly sucked in a deep breath. He didn't have much to add here since Kang Jin-Ho himself said he'd personally step up. Jo Gyu-Min's expression stiffened a little. 'In that case... Those folks are the only ones left that I can still trust!'

Jo Gyu-Min couldn't think of any other ideas to stop Kang Jin-Ho. Since that was the case, he should seek out others with fresh ideas! Jo Gyu-Min gritted his teeth while keeping his eyes on the road that took him and his passenger further away from the city.

'I place my faith in you!'

***

Bang Jin-Hun looked back in surprise. “What brings you two here out of the blue?”

Kang Jin-Ho replied with a brief nod, “I had something to discuss with you.”

“You know, I get this feeling all the time, but... Mister Jin-Ho, you sure have hit the max level in the art of 'Get Up and Just Do It!' haven't you?"

A lengthy groan slowly escaped from Bang Jin-Hun's mouth. From his perspective, Kang Jin-Ho seemed to be the type of guy who... Who remained so anonymous during the normal' times that his existence was barely noticeable, but the moment he decided he wanted to do something? This man would bulldoze his way forward without caring about anything or anyone around him.

That was the story during the 'war' with the Yeongnam Group and recently, while utterly obliterating Nanahoshi-gumi bastards.

Bang Jin-Hun remained clueless right up until the day of said incidents. So, he couldn't help but get this ominous foreboding that something similar to those events would soon happen.

'Sure, it's great that he's so motivated and decisive, but...'

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Kang Jin-Ho gave away enough hints so the people around him could match his pace? That didn't sound like a difficult request, now did it?!

What a relief it was that Bang Jin-Hun could rely on Lee Hyeon-Su to help him out in times of need! Unlike his boss, Lee Hyeon-Su's senses were sharp enough to detect all the signs from even the subtlest movements Kang Jin-Ho made.

The irony of feeling relieved at having Lee Hyeon-Su around wasn't lost on Bang Jin-Hun, of course. He used to deeply hate and resent Lee Hyeon-Su's guts, after all. However, what choice did he have when he had to deal with a totally unpredictable individual like Kang Jin-Ho?

Bang Jin-Hun was about to ask, 'What would you like to talk about,' only to discover something rather strange.

'Huh? What's gotten into that dude now?'

Jo Gyu-Min accompanied Kang Jin-Ho into the office, but for some reason, his expression could only be described as desperate. The problem with that desperation was that it... seemed to be directed in Bang Jin-Hun's way.

Jo Gyu-Min had never visited the Martial Assembly HQ with Kang Jin-Ho until today. Although they were technically in the HQ's grounds together—while riding a bus—before the war against the Yeongnam Group, this would be their first time inside the building at the same time.

Jo Gyu-Min, suddenly entering the Assembly's HQ? And with such a desperately pleading expression, too? Bang Jin-Hun quickly realized something suspicious was going down here. If he couldn't figure that out, he might as well hand in his resignation letter and start farming or something instead!

Bang Jin-Hun sucked in a deep breath. He had a strong hunch that yet another unpredictable event was about to unfold before his eyes. However, since it was happening anyway, he might as well steel his resolve and tag along!

After psyching himself up, Bang Jin-Hun cautiously asked, “Okay, so... What did you want to talk about, Mister Jin-Ho?”

***

“...A foundation, you say?”

Kang Jin-Ho briefly nodded. “Yes.”

“A foundation???”

“...Yes?”

“A... foundation...?”

“...”

Jo Gyu-Min oh-so badly wanted to applaud this performance. How could he not, when Bang Jin-Hun used his innocently flabbergasted expression, plus asking the same thing three times, to utterly drain Kang Jin-Ho's soul out of his body?

'Aigoo... This feels so good!'

What a sweet-tasting revenge this was! It was as refreshing and reinvigorating as the elixir of the gods raining down from the heavens above!

Kang Jin-Ho was visibly stumped, his lips clamped shut in a fluster. And this sight was enough to open the floodgate of refreshing feeling in Jo Gyu-Min's chest.

'Yup, this dude needs to be on the receiving end once in a while...!'

Kang Jin-Ho needed to be reminded of all the hardships people in his life must face whenever he casually tossed another weird idea around. Since openly clapping his hands was no good, Jo Gyu-Min could only applaud in his mind at Bang Jin-Hun's splendid performance that exceeded all expectations.

Bang Jin-Hun furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. “Uh.. Mm.. Well, now that's, eh.. Not what I expected? A foundation, is it..”

Of course, Bang Jin-Hun knew how involved Kang Jin-Ho was with the Seongsim Orphanage. Even so, he didn't expect Kang Jin-Ho to commit so earnestly like this.

Bang Jin-Hun's surprise was understandable, however. After all, Bang Jin-Hun viewed Kang Jin-Ho as the embodiment of wanton slaughter and merciless destruction! So, a welfare foundation run by a mass murderer...? Wasn't that a bit...?

“I see, I see. I get what you want to do, but... Uh...” Bang Jin-Hun frowned and tilted his head, still unable to hide his flabbergast. “I can't quite figure out how that matter is related to visiting me at this time of the day, Mister Jin-Ho. What exactly do you wish to ask me? Or the Martial Assembly, for that matter?”

Kang Jin-Ho leaned forward and gravely addressed Bang Jin-Hun. “I wanted to find out how much, and how far, the Assembly is willing to support me on this cause.”

“Support, you say?”

“Yes.”

“When you say how much and how far, are you perhaps...?”

“Yes. Both financially and manpower-wise.”

Bang Jin-Hun's expression stiffened a little just then. This was a very?sensitive topic. In simple terms, Bang Jin-Hun now had to put a numerical value on Kang Jin-Ho's influence over the Martial Assembly, decide on how much of the Assembly's resources he was willing to part with, then tell that to Kang Jin-Ho's face.

Obviously, Bang Jin-Hun had no idea if Kang Jin-Ho had calculated all that before asking for this clarification. Whatever the case might be, though, Bang Jin-Hun couldn't be careless with his answer here.

However, there was only one thing Bang Jin-Hun could say in this situation, anyway. So, he said it out loud. “If I'm being honest with you, I can't tell how much support we can provide you with. Even though I'm the Assembly Master, my math skills aren't up to snuff, you see. I recommend you discuss this matter further with Lee Hyeon-Su. As for the things I can decide on... Well, there's only one question here, isn't it? And my reply is..”

Bang Jin-Hun stopped there and wet his lips. His head lowered slightly as if he was mulling something. Eventually, though, he raised his head and stared straight into Kang Jin-Ho's eyes.

“Mister Jin-Ho, regardless of my personal feelings, the Martial Assembly will fully support you. Do whatever it is you want to do. We'll be right by your side. I swear on my life that we will assist you to the best of our capabilities.”

Jo Gyu-Min stared forlornly at the ceiling as if the heavens were crumbling on top of him. 'We're screwed!'

As it turned out, Bang Jin-Hun was incapable of taking the hint!

This spectacle taking place inside the Korean Martial Assembly Master's office continued on as Jo Gyu-Min's blood pressure shot through the roof.