Chapter 581. Agonizing Over (1)

“I'm sorry?”

Lee Hyeon-Su was left flabbergasted by what he heard just now. Kang Jin-Ho had barged into Lee Hyeon-Su's office in the Martial Assembly HQ in the middle of the day, and now... He was even demanding to see the Assembly's accounting books!

“O-our books? But why? Are you... here to audit us?”

What on Earth was going on here? Why auditing, out of the blue!

Never before in the history of either the Yeongnam Group or the Martial Assembly did they have to go through an audit like this. But now, Lee Hyeon-Su had to deal with it?

Up until now, he never had to worry about an audit. That was because he was probably the most capable accountant in the organizations he belonged to!

Folks he worked for all chased after wealth one way or the other, even though they couldn't even read a financial statement to save their life! But now, Kang Jin-Ho wanted to see the books...?

“Yes, the accounting books. I need to see them,” said Kang Jin-Ho in a firm tone.

Lee Hyeon-Su's facial muscles twitched.

'What's going on here? Did I do something wrong?'

Wasn't auditing usually a cover for something else? Rather than unearthing financial irregularities, the one doing the auditing usually wanted to find a pretext to scold someone. And that was why auditing was initiated so suddenly most of the time! Especially when the supposed audit was initiated by a private individual who didn't work for an accounting firm or an auditing bureau!

“B-But... Why, Mister Jin-Ho?”

Lee Hyeon-Su was aware of how wrong his current actions were. Kang Jin-Ho's position within the Martial Assembly had not been clearly defined, even now, but he was still undoubtedly ranked higher than Lee Hyeon-Su in the pecking order.

According to the rule book, Kang Jin-Ho should be treated as an outsider, but no one was stupid enough to do that. Just like how no employees would be insane enough to treat the company president's father as an unimportant outsider!

So, when a senior rank demands to see the accounting book, the junior shouldn't talk back and do as told. That was the most optimal response in such a situation. Despite knowing this, though... Lee Hyeon-Su found himself stonewalling and wasting time.

Was it because he had skeletons to cover up? Of course not.

People might not believe this, but Lee Hyeon-Su wasn't a materialistic man. Not even remotely! The salary from the Martial Assembly alone was enough to maintain his current lifestyle. No, that wasn't quite right. Honestly speaking, that salary was more than enough for him. All because Lee Hyeon-Su was a rather frugal person and an efficient spender.

If he had been the type to lust after wealth, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn't have worked under that Scrooge named Kim Seok-Il. With his savviness and business acumen alone, Lee Hyeon-Su could've made a killing by establishing his own company!

That was why Lee Hyeon-Su had no need to cook the books or embezzle the Assembly's funds. Why would a man with no earthly desires want to embezzle his company's assets? Even then, he still couldn't readily hand over the accounting books because...

“Uhm, I'm really sorry about this, but... Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Mm...?”

“Even if I show you our books, can you... even read them?”The debut release of this chapter happened at N0v3l_B1n.

Kang Jin-Ho's expression froze a little.

'Was that a slip of my tongue?'

Lee Hyeon-Su tensed up and clamped his mouth shut. What he did was basically the same as questioning his superior's abilities. Even if Kang Jin-Ho genuinely lacked the accounting skills to read a ledger, such a thing shouldn't be questioned openly like this!

'Yup, I've grown way too complacent these days, huh...'

He would've never made this type of slip-up while dealing with Kim Seok-Il. Unfortunately, humans couldn't free themselves from the influences of their immediate surroundings.

As creatures, humans wanted to sit down while standing still. And while sitting down, they'd want to lie down instead. Even if they steeled their resolve not to lose their concentration, humans would eventually lower their guard as the relaxing atmosphere continued on and on.

'I better apologize.'

Just as Lee Hyeon-Su decided to apologize profusely, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly said something.

“When I was in university...”

“Sorry?”

“There was a lecture about accounting principles, and...”

“...Oh.”

“Wouldn't that be, you know, sufficient?” Kang Jin-Ho cautiously asked.

“...!” Lee Hyeon-Su's cheeks twitched. He suddenly gained an epiphany just then. Lee Hyeon-Su wasn't the weird one here. No, everyone else in this place besides him was the weird one! “Mister Jin-Ho, if that was enough, practically every adult still breathing in this world should be seen as a qualified accountant.”

Kang Jin-Ho stumbled back at that direct jab.

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed grandly before staring straight at Kang Jin-Ho. “Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Mm...?”

“Do you trust me?”

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded to say yes.

“In that case, please stop beating around the bush and tell me why you want to see the books. Then, I'll take care of it for you.”

“Well, uh...” Kang Jin-Ho began his somewhat long-winded explanation.

***

“Is that why you... want to make some money?” Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his chin.

Of course, humans needed money to survive in this day and age. Unless one inherited a massive fortune from their parents, people had no choice but to work and earn a living throughout their lives. Even so... Why did this situation sound wrong for some reason?

“Mister Jin-Ho, don't people usually donate or try to help out in their community after ensuring their own lives are taken care of first? As in, if they have a spare change or two? You've never cared about getting a job to make money, so for you to suddenly say you need an income source to operate your foundation... Isn't that like, uh... Putting your cart before the horse?”

“Well, sure. It does sound like that, but...” Kang Jin-Ho sneakily avoided meeting Lee Hyeon-Su's sharp gaze.

Lee Hyeon-Su forcibly suppressed his temper trying to well up in his chest.

'Seriously... Do you think you're in a situation to worry about stuff like that?!'

The Martial Assembly was in the middle of a rapid transformation. Even Lee Hyeon-Su was scared by how quickly things were moving. Changes were always good, but a rapid transformation like this was usually accompanied by elements of risk, both foreign and domestic!

And it was Kang Jin-Ho's job to defend against and resolve such risks.

All these changes within the Assembly could only be initiated because Kang Jin-Ho acted as the dependable central pillar. Without him, such transformations wouldn't have been dreamed of, even if the Assembly and the Yeongnam Group somehow merged without shedding a drop of blood.

But now, a man who needed to control and direct that transformation was currently worrying about something else! No wonder Lee Hyeon-Su was getting a bit irritated here.

'It's not like I can lose my temper since Mister Jin-Ho is trying to do charity work...'

One of Lee Hyeon-Su's views on life was that he shouldn't criticize someone else trying to do good things for the community if he was unable to offer help.

South Korean society had a strange quirk of being too meddlesome in other people's affairs. If someone wanted to give back to the community by doing charity work, people with too much free time on their hands would inevitably crawl out of the woodwork and hurl criticisms for no apparent reason. They would say one should put their life in order first before worrying about other useless things.

After witnessing that scenario several times, Lee Hyeon-Su swore not to become one of those losers. Such idiots were too much of an eyesore, in his honest opinion. But this...!

'Aha. This is why those losers try to meddle in other people's affairs...'

Rather than a desire to butt in, it was far closer to greed or jealousy. Only a small fraction of passion Kang Jin-Ho had showered his foundation with would've been enough to massively assist in the Martial Assembly's development, but his energy... Lee Hyeon-Su just couldn't stop thinking that such valuable energy was being wasted on something inessential.

Even though there was no guarantee of Kang Jin-Ho fully committing his attention to the Assembly if his welfare foundation didn't exist, humans were creatures of anticipation and hope, now weren't they?

“Mm... Mister Jin-Ho, what is the correlation between the Assembly's accounting books and you making money... Eh?” Lee Hyeon-Su clamped his mouth in the middle of his question. That prompted Kang Jin-Ho to look away again while pretending to have heard nothing just now.

'What the hell? Don't tell me, he's planning to skim off the top from us?'

Lee Hyeon-Su narrowed his eyes and glared sharply at Kang Jin-Ho. Perhaps unable to sit still anymore, Kang Jin-Ho fidgeted a bit, then noisily sipped the water while avoiding eye contact.

“...Are you trying to skin a flea for its hide, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Mm? I think this place is a bit too big to be a flea, though?”

“Even if we're a whale, it's still no good, Mister Jin-Ho!”

“Well, I guess not.”

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned under his breath. What should he do about this now? He couldn't help but agonize over this problem.

Did the Martial Assembly lack funds? Of course not. Lee Hyeon-Su could confidently say that not many corporations in South Korea boasted a deeper pocket than the Martial Assembly. He could even say that acquiring such wealth was the crowning achievement for both Lee Jung-Geol and Kim Seok-Il.

Unlike other martial artists, those two men didn't really care about morals or honor. They had unhesitantly kicked aside the antiquated concept of a martial artist needing to keep their body, mind and heart pure. Of course, the person who started this money train going first was Lee Jung-Geol.

There was no getting away from this fact. Resorting to violence was an indelible part of a martial artist's existence. But violence inevitably would foster a close connection to the shadowy parts of society. And so, the martial artists had to stay interested in the criminal underworld that began proliferating after the Korean War.

From martial artists' point of view, gangsters and hoodlums were nothing more than insignificant insects. Even so, they chose not to shun or destroy the criminals... but to rule over them. And that naturally led to acquiring immense wealth and benefits.

Lee Jung-Geol's tentacles had extended deep into the political, financial and criminal spheres, allowing him to earn money whenever he wanted some spare change. For instance... He'd invest the ill-gotten money from the criminal underworld into the world of commerce after receiving valuable tip-offs from his contacts in politics.

However, his actions meant that the martial artists affiliated with the Assembly didn't have to get a job and simply focus on cultivation and still receive competitive 'salaries' and enjoy charmed lives.

This situation wasn't unique to South Korea, though. The story remained largely the same in other nations, too. One only had to look at the actual bosses of the triads or the yakuzas to know this. So...

In short, the Martial Assembly had the money. But...!

Lee Hyeon-Su picked up the glass of cold water on the table, then unhesitantly gulped down the liquid.

Clack!

He noisily put the empty cup down, groaned loudly, then stared at Kang Jin-Ho. “Mister Jin-Ho, let me be brutally honest with you.”

Kang Jin-Ho finally turned his head and met Lee Hyeon-Su's gaze.

“Yes, the Martial Assembly has the funds. No, let me rephrase that to... We are seriously loaded, Mister Jin-Ho. A lot more than you think we have.”

“Really? My threshold of 'being rich' is pretty strict, though?”

“Even then, you'll be surprised. I'm sure your 'being rich' criteria is based largely on Chairman Hwang's net worth. Am I right?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded.

“Here's the deal, though. The net worth of Lee Jung-Geol, the former Assembly Master, should be double that of Chairman Hwang's.”

“Heol...?” Kang Jin-Ho's irises powerfully quaked just then.

He had a pretty good idea on the scope of Hwang Jeong-Hu's wealth. Of course, it was only limited to Hwang Jeong-Hu's personal assets, as the Jaegyeong Corporation should not be counted as his. Hwang Jeong-Hu's wealth was limited to how much he had in his bank balance plus his shares in the corporation. Even then, those two things still amounted to considerable wealth.

But to hear that Lee Jung-Geol possessed even greater wealth than Hwang Jeong-Hu?

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced a little. “So much? Really?”

“Bosses of underworld organizations are usually unimaginably wealthy, Mister Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded in understanding.

'Right. That's true, isn't it?'

The time when Kang Jin-Ho was at his wealthiest was when he lorded over the demon cult as its peerless leader. He enjoyed power and authority that a modern corporation's chairperson could never even dream of wielding. For one, the modern era had the concept of misappropriation of funds, but no such thing existed back in Zhongyaun.

Since Kang Jin-Ho was the cult leader, he could spend the cult's funds as he saw fit. And such a thing was not seen as wrong back then. Not only that but...

'The wealth back then was incomparable, too...'

The demon cult in those days was so wealthy that not even the emperor could rival it. The emperor of the wealthiest nation on Earth at the time was envious of the demon cult! Didn't that handily prove that an organization boasting tremendous combat power could acquire unrivaled wealth?

Compared to the demon cult in its heyday, the Martial Assembly was a pitiful pauper. Even then, it was still wealthier than most average companies.

“As I was saying, we have money. Lots and lots of it. However, there is a problem with that. Even if we have a crap ton of money, the Assembly's board of directors ultimately decides where that money is spent, Mister Jin-Ho. The Assembly Master might wield considerable authority in the organization, but even he still has to declare where the money is going if the amount exceeds a certain threshold.”

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho slowly scratched his cheek.

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to explain. “Spending money without the board's approval is considered embezzlement, Mister Jin-Ho. And the way you wish to... 'utilize' the Assembly's funds is tantamount to straight-up embezzlement. No, hang on. Calling it embezzlement is a bit wrong since you aren't technically embezzling anything. It'd be the Assembly insider doing the whole embezzling thing and handing over the resulting money to you.”

“I get what you're trying to say,” Kang Jin-Ho replied calmly.

Lee Hyeon-Su was mistaken about something here. Kang Jin-Ho never wanted to utilize the Assembly's money this way. That wasn't his style.

No, he only wanted to find out how modern-era martial artists acquired money. That was all. He needed to know this to figure out what his next move would be.

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly leaned closer. “Now that we're discussing this topic...”

“Mm?”

A solemn expression formed on Lee Hyeon-Su's face as he stared into Kang Jin-Ho's eyes. “What do you think about... completely taking over the Assembly?”

Kang Jin-Ho's eyes flickered coldly.