Chapter 1521 Caught (1)

The two reporters left the MK head office, a deafening silence stewing between them. They wandered toward a dark alleyway nearby and mouthed cigarettes instead of leaving the area.

After chain-smoking through several cigarettes in utter silence, Bak Gyu-Yeon suddenly glared at Ha Gwang-Sik, his eyes bloodshot.

“What are you going to do about this, senior?”

“...”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

Bak Gyu-Yeon’s voice stabbed into Ha Gwang-Sik’s hearing. However, as Ha Gwang-Sik had nothing to say, at least for now, all he could do was groan softly.

“Senior, just what the hell is even in your brain?!”

“No, hang on...”

“Where the hell did you think we were?! How could you be so brainless and say whatever the hell you want like that?! F*cking hell! Didn’t you say that MK might be the most dangerous place in the whole of South Korea?!”

Ha Gwang-Sik subtly chewed on his lip while listening to the junior reporter’s furious ranting.

“But now, you waltz into such a dangerous place and casually get on their nerves?! And you even openly tell their boss that you’ve been digging into his background, too?! What the hell were you thinking, senior?! Are you brain-dead now?!”

“Hey, that’s unfair!”

“What’s unfair?!”

Despite Ha Gwang-Sik raising the volume of his voice a little, Bak Gyu-Yeon didn’t cower. As a matter of fact, he got even more furious instead.

“Is your head a decoration, senior?! Or a place to hang your stupid hats?!”

“That’s enough, you dumbass...”

“What’s goddamn enough?! Are you f*cking kidding me?!”

Bak Gyu-Yeon glared murderously at Ha Gwang-Sik. Only after noticing the bloodthirst in that glare did Ha Gwang-Sik fully appreciate the weight of what he had done.

“Did you know, senior? I’ve always believed that you had a functioning brain despite being a weirdo. And you didn’t look after yourself because your ideals and righteousness were driving you relentlessly forward. But now that I have heard Mister Kang’s description of you? I now know you are nothing like that. Senior, you are just an immature lunatic!”

Bak Gyu-Yeon fiercely spat out, his glare getting even more venomous.

Ha Gwang-Sik silently exhaled the puff of smoke at length. However, his hand holding the cigarette was trembling visibly.

He couldn’t forget that glare. Kang Jin-Ho’s icy gaze had been burned into his memories like an everlasting brand.

“F*cking hell...! I should’ve dropped you like a sack of potatoes sooner,” Bak Gyu-Yeon muttered mournfully.

Today helped him realize something. Kang Jin-Ho was completely correct in his assertions. At this rate, Bak Gyu-Yeon would spend most of his career trying to mop up the mess left behind by Ha Gwang-Sik before meeting an unfortunate and ignoble end.

The fate of a man who foolishly tried to stop a runaway train by clinging to it would be pretty straightforward, wouldn’t it? He’d get crushed to death as the train derailed spectacularly!

Bak Gyu-Yeon fearfully covered his face with his hands.

“You will soon understand what kind of people we are.”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s parting words gripped Bak Gyu-Yeon’s brain tightly and didn’t want to let go.

What he said couldn’t be called a declaration of war. Using that term to describe it would be ludicrous, since MK was far too powerful, while he and Ha Gwang-Sik were powerless little reporters, after all!

However, calling it a warning also didn’t seem right, either. Because, that wouldn’t explain this soul-crushing fear Bak Gyu-Yeon was suffering from right now!

“Damn it! My kid is only a year old, you know...”

Bak Gyu-Yeon groaned in resignation, because he knew. He knew that if MK wanted to, erasing all traces of him and Ha Gwang-Sik from the face of this Earth wouldn’t even take a day.

What about the option of contacting the police and demanding round-the-clock protection?

Nope. What a laughable notion that is!

The police were already acting like MK’s lap dog right now. In that case, how was Bak Gyu-Yeon supposed to trust the cops to protect him?!

Worse still, MK’s reach not only extended to the Korean government, but even to the military and judiciary, too!

F*ck... Do I have to live stream myself for twenty-four hours straight or something?

Of course, Bak Gyu-Yeon knew as well as anyone that doing such a thing was logistically impossible. Besides, MK could still eliminate him even if he resorted to such an extreme method to ensure his survival.

Then again, MK not directly coming after his life wouldn’t be any better, no?

Because they could end his social life for good. His stock as a reporter, the faith the public had in him, would crash to the pits of abyss, too. With no life and no career, how was he supposed to carry on?

Ha Gwang-Sik glanced at the junior reporter. “Try to calm down first, okay?”

“Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down?!”

Bak Gyu-Yeon loudly gritted his teeth.

“I’m only in this mess because of you, senior! You! What was that? Calm down?! What the f*ck are you even on about, talking as if this is happening in some other distant country or some sh*t! Don’t make me laugh, okay?!”

“Look, those bastards won’t touch us.”

“And what makes you so sure about that?!”

“Because... We ain’t worth the trouble, you see?”

“...”

Ha Gwang-Sik groaned again. “They have nothing to gain by eliminating us. And it will get too annoying for them if something unexpected happens in the process of getting rid of us. Better still, it’s not like we pose any danger to them, anyway.”

“Hah? Don’t you know what humans’ first reaction is when annoying flies buzz around them? It’s to wave their hands and chase the flies away!”

“Sure. You’re right. But to them, we don’t even amount to flies.”

“What... F*ck me. That sounds pretty convincing, senior.”

Somewhat ironically, Ha Gwang-Sik’s opinion was easily the most hopeful-sounding thing Bak Gyu-Yeon had heard after leaving MK’s head office.

Yup, very much ironic.

Ha Gwang-Sik tossed the cigarette butt to the ground, then mouthed another one. He didn’t need Bak Gyu-Yeon to throw a hissy fit to know what he had done.

Without a doubt... It was possible that Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn’t remember much about Bak Gyu-Yeon, but they would definitely remember Ha Gwang-Sik now.

Well, I’ll be honored if they start treating me like an enemy from now on.

An enemy like a mosquito noisily buzzing away, probably! As long as this mosquito didn’t get too close, those people wouldn’t go out of their way to kill it. However, if the mosquito dared to bother them persistently, they would be forced to pick up a can of insecticide to finish it off.

“Senior.”

“...?”

Bak Gyu-Yeon stared at Ha Gwang-Sik as if he had resolved himself.

“From today onward, forget about Kang Jin-Ho.”

“...”

“Whether it’s Kang Jin-Ho or MK, do not get involved with them again. Understand? This is my final warning, advice, and a request. Please.”

“What do you mean by final?”

Bak Gyu-Yeon stared straight into Ha Gwang-Sik’s eyes. “Because I will no longer get involved in your affairs, senior. It doesn’t matter what you’re chasing after, I will mind my own business and keep my head down.”

“What? Aren’t you supposed to be a reporter?”

“Reporter, my foot! What’s the point of being a reporter if you’re dead?! Do you think I became a reporter out of some stupid ideals? No! It’s to put food on my table!”

Bak Gyu-Yeon was no longer shouting like before. But that only made him sound even more cynical.

“But that also goes for you, senior. Do you honestly think you’ve been doing something amazing and groundbreaking until now? No. All you have done is just fill up the newspaper space and get paid monthly wages for the troubles.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, okay?”

Bak Gyu-Yeon remained calm, his anger having cooled down already. However, his glare was still icy.

“Whatever. I’ve warned you, senior. From now on, you’re on your own. I’m going to erase all information related to MK from my head, okay?”

“What’s the matter with you? It’s not the first time someone has threatened us, okay? What’s with all this scaredy-cat routine? I’m telling you, those bastards won’t...”

“I’m scared because that was the first time, senior. He wasn’t threatening us.”

“...!”

“I want to live, okay?”

Bak Gyu-Yeon threw the cigarette butt away before stubbing it with his shoe. Without saying anything else, he turned around and left the alley.

Now left alone, Ha Gwang-Sik could only chew on his lips in silence.

God f*cking dammit!

Of course he knew.

He had run into countless criminals until now, so how could he not realize that what Lee Hyeon-Su said wasn’t a mere threat?

Kang Jin-Ho might not be as extreme, but Lee Hyeon-Su really looked capable of murdering people without batting an eyelid.

No, wait. Maybe... If Kang Jin-Ho is properly pissed off, I’m sure someone like Lee Hyeon-Su can’t even hold a candle to him.

Beads of cold sweat trickled down Ha Gwang-Sik’s back. More sweat soaked his forehead next. Some even trickled into his eyes and began stinging him.

Ha Gwang-Sik leaned against the nearby wall and dazedly looked up at the tall, imposing building belonging to the mysterious organization called MK.

***

“What should we do about them, sir?”

“...?” Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow and stared weirdly at Lee Hyeon-Su. “What are you talking about?”

“Should we get rid of them?”

“Why?”

“Well, those bastards, they...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su loudly gritted his teeth.

Even if they knew nothing, they still went too far!

This experience was almost like culture shock to Lee Hyeon-Su. He didn’t think anybody would be bold or dumb enough to behave so impertinently against Kang Jin-Ho.

Even if they didn’t know who or what Kang Jin-Ho was, everyone would become cautious and mindful of their behavior in his presence, thanks to their instincts ordering them to watch their conduct.

Maybe those bastards are not right in their heads?

More correctly, not “bastards” but “bastard,” instead.

At least Bak Gyu-Yeon had correctly analyzed the situation he was in and tried to keep his head down as much as possible. But the other reporter, Ha Gwang-Sik or whatever his name was, must’ve had several screws missing from his head, judging from how brazenly he tried to get on Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su’s nerves like that!

“Sir, sometimes you’ll run into lunatics like him. No, it’s not sometimes, now is it?” Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “Go to a video streaming site and type rooftop parkour into the search bar, and you’ll soon realize how many colorful and over-the-top lunatics are roaming around the world at this very minute.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled wryly.

“That reporter is one of those lunatics, sir.”

“You really think he’s crazy?”

“Well, I’d say he’s more like an addict, sir. A thrill seeker.”

“An addict?”

“Yes, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su shrugged helplessly. “Some people in this world deliberately choose to do dangerous things. Because they are addicted to endorphins released by their brains while experiencing extreme tension and stress. To them, regular daily activities must feel stifling and dull. Only by throwing themselves into grave danger or when things are hanging in the balance would they feel alive again.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. Wasn’t that more like a case of genuine lunacy rather than some kind of euphemism?

“He looked fine on the surface, though?”

“Sir, crazies like him are much, much more dangerous than those who are openly crazy. At least you can avoid obviously crazy people, you see?”

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho scratched his cheek. “So, you think there’s a chance he will come after us again despite being warned?”

“Yes, sir. I strongly believe so. It’s the same principle as how a junkie can’t kick their drug habit on their own. I’m sure he will try to hold himself back for a while. In the end, though, he’ll pounce on us like a junkie going through a withdrawal,” Lee Hyeon-Su coldly said. “Sir. Let me deal with him.”

“Deal with whom?”

“That reporter, of course.”

Lee Hyeon-Su remained firm in his assertion.

“A man like that is persistent, sir. He probably has forgotten about what genuine fear feels like. Meaning, he will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And he most likely has nothing to lose either. For the sake of today’s ecstasy, he probably doesn’t care about what happens tomorrow.”

“...”

“People like that are bound to cause a massive problem sooner or later, sir. That’s why dealing with him now should be...”

Kang Jin-Ho asked while cocking his brow. “You want to kill him?”

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly waved his hand in denial. “Of course not, sir. I’m not that insane, you know? Why would I kill him, anyway?”

“Then, how will you deal with him?”

“I’ll brand the knowledge of what will happen if he comes after us into his brain, sir. Those rooftop parkour-performing lunatics haven’t experienced what it’s like to fall off the roof, and that’s why they are still doing those crazy stunts. And that reporter is snooping around you because he still hasn’t learned the consequences of his actions.”

Lee Hyeon-Su tapped his head.

“Once that knowledge is branded deep into his brain, nay, his soul, he will never buzz around us ever again.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. He agreed that that was the most convenient solution. However...

“Let him be,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Sir? But...”

“I don’t want to terrify an ordinary civilian just to make our lives a tiny bit easier. I’m sure he got the message by now.”

“Sir, people like him are incapable of...”

“Fine. If he crosses the line again, you can do whatever you want.”

Lee Hyeon-Su weightily nodded. “Understood. Leave it to me.”

Kang Jin-Ho walked up to the window and glanced at the ground far below. He spotted Ha Gwang-Sik by one of the shaded alleyways, dazedly looking up at the building.

Now I even have to deal with annoying flies, too.

It was unfortunate, but things like this were part and parcel of living in the surface world. Of course, Kang Jin-Ho had already resolved himself for it. Even then, he couldn’t do much about all the mental fatigue subtly washing over him.

He glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su next. “By the way, what do you want for your punishment? A pay cut for another month?”

“...Please don’t kill me like that, sir.”

“Oh? Then a round of sparring with me?”

“On second thought, I’ll take the pay cut, sir. Thank you.”

“...”

At least it seemed Lee Hyeon-Su still hadn’t forgotten that his life mattered more than money.