Chapter 1526 Educating (1)

Kang Jin-Ho’s brows quivered.

“Really?”

That question was supposed to be, “Really? Do you know me?”

Lee Hyeon-Su, rather than Jeong Myeong-Cheol, answered him.

“Sir, it’s not surprising that he knows what the chairman of the company he’s trying to ruin looks like.”

“You think so?”

“Even if he didn’t know originally, I’m sure watching the commercial and hearing about other rumors got him clued in. Let’s not forget that you’re a celebrity now, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. Not because he was annoyed by how the other side knew who he was, however. If he was worried about such a thing, he wouldn’t have shown up here with his face uncovered.

No, what annoyed him was that from now on, people would recognize him wherever he went!

Do I need to put on a mask when in public from now on?

Kang Jin-Ho spat out a lengthy groan. An unexpected revelation was making him depressed now.

After briefly shaking his head, Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Jeong Myeong-Cheol again. “So? Is this him?”

“Yes, sir. That’s Jeong Myeong-Cheol, the president of Taegwang P&D,” Lee Hyeon-Su explained briefly. “Despite his title of president, though, he’s viewed as nothing more than a troublesome loser in Taegwang Group.”

“Really? Are we sure he’s the mastermind, then?”

“We’ve tried to investigate a little more, and it sounded as if Taegwang Group itself had no idea what was going on. We are pretty sure this idiot got the ball rolling, sir.”

“Hmm...?”

Kang Jin-Ho locked his gaze on the tied-up Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

Even though that man wore an expensive-looking business suit, his wane complexion and disheveled hair still made him look shabby and unimpressive. So much so that even Kang Jin-Ho was slightly taken aback, wondering where someone this shabby had found the courage to attack MK.

Lee Hyeon-Su asked, “What should we do with him, sir?”

“Mm?”

“Should we kill him?”

“...?”

When Kang Jin-Ho stared at him in bewilderment, Lee Hyeon-Su playfully winked back.

“...Huh.” Kang Jin-Ho quickly figured out Lee Hyeon-Su’s intention and went along with the charade while chuckling away. “You think we should just kill him?”

“Well, considering your tastes, I know you won’t let that bastard die quickly, but...” Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at Jeong Myeong-Cheol. “I don’t think he’ll be all that entertaining for us, sir.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s complexion lost even more color. Even though it sounded as if his captors were joking around, he simply couldn’t treat what they said as mere jokes!

These people were brazen enough to kidnap someone in the middle of Gangnam, after all. Surely, they wouldn’t hesitate to do things much worse. Besides, they didn’t even bother to hide their faces from Jeong Myeong-Cheol, so to prevent any future trouble, they would obviously silence him forever!

“Y-you people! You think you can handle the aftermath?!”

“Mm?” Lee Hyeon-Su grinned in bemusement. “The aftermath, you say?”

“T-that’s right! Cops will find you whether you kill me or keep me locked up in here! A-and you! Your face is everywhere, okay? Y-you think someone as famous as you can handle the fallout from something like this?!”

“Wow, how generous of you. Worrying about us and all.” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled, then suddenly grabbed Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s hair. “Hey, man. You think we’re messing around right now?”

Crunch, crack!

The pain akin to his hair being ripped out slammed into Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s senses, and he began screaming desperately.

“Damn it, man. Keep your piehole shut, okay? Let me tell you something. We’ve committed way too many sins to count over the years, okay? Adding one more murder to that list won’t change the temperature of hell’s flames for us.”

Lee Hyeon-Su wasn’t joking. No, he was being dead serious right now.

“And I have plenty of reasons to kill you. You see, me? I hate bastards like you with passion. Bastards who will stop at nothing to torment and bully others. Bastards who torture others just for fun.”

Lee Hyeon-Su roughly yanked Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s head back by his hair.

“You came after us because you just didn’t like us, right? You just wanted to bully us and screw with us.”

“W-wait, I never...”

“Oh, dear Myeong-Cheol. Myeong-Cheol, let’s not waste our energy on useless denials, okay? You were behind that sabotage attempt. You know it, I know it, we all know it. Besides, it’s not as if you believed we’d fall for that cock-and-bull story about some random team leader being the mastermind, anyway.”

“...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su bared his fangs in a ferocious smirk. “You merely thought we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it even if we knew. Isn’t that right?”

“N-no, I...”

“Do you know when I got really pissed off at you?”

“...N-no, I don’t know.”

“It’s back when I ran into you in that officetel underground parking lot. I had our people watch the places you were known to frequent, but assigned myself the role of waiting near that officetel, you see? Because I was lazy and figured that you’d be smart enough not to show up at your girlfriend’s place during such a sensitive time for your company.”

Lee Hyeon-Su feigned mock surprise while explaining himself.

“But what’s this? Lo and behold, you really showed up there! Do you have any idea how stunned I was when my people called me about your imminent arrival at my location? I was genuinely flabbergasted at first. But the more I thought about it, the more pissed off I got.”

To Jeong Myeong-Cheol, Caffe Luogo nearly getting destroyed and his subordinate shouldering the blame and going to jail were nothing more than entertainment. That was why he had no qualms about doing some other immoral nonsense in the middle of all these events.

“You see, bastards like you...?” Lee Hyeon-Su patted Jeong Myeong-Cheol on the cheek. “You think you alone live a different life from everyone else. You also think life is a game. Worse still, you are so far removed from reality to the point of being convinced that you don’t have to face the consequences of your actions.”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked derisively.

“Usually, bastards like that would either sober up after reality has hit them like a ten-ton truck, or get weeded out by natural selection. However, if they are born into a family of wealth or political power, they morph into proper little tyrants. You’d have turned into an abominable little monster in, oh, I guess, five years or so? Of course, I’m not saying you’re not a monster now. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to smile like a good-natured uncle. However, his hand was still yanking at Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s hair.

“However, don’t fret now. Because I will set you back on the right path. There are various ways to achieve that goal, too. One of them is to turn you into a corpse. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a saint or a sinner, you’ll still end up as a corpse after death, after all. In a way, wouldn’t you say that's rehabilitation, too?”

“W-what...”

“I told you to keep your piehole shut. Your voice disgusts me.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.

He was terrified. Indescribably terrified!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he had run into many varied and colorful individuals in the past thanks to his background. Some of them were volatile and dangerous gangsters, while one or two were powerful people capable of shaking up the entire country.

However, none of them gave off the same level of intimidating aura as these people. Indeed, something about this trio felt different.

It wasn’t as simple as their speech or behavior. No, the vibe they gave off had this inexplicable something that separated them from the ordinary masses.

If only Jeong Myeong-Cheol had known that people like these were behind Caffe Luogo! He would’ve never done something that foolish.

“In the end, other people must pay the price for your indiscretions. Our cafe franchise was harmed, our franchisees were harmed, and because of you, poor folks paid to act like Karens in our stores got arrested and had to cough up hefty fines. Worse still, they aren’t the only ones going to jail, but even your subordinate, who hasn’t done anything wrong, will have a criminal history for the rest of his life, too.”

Lee Hyeon-Su let go of the hair and grabbed Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s chin instead.

“What about you, though? Tell me, as*hole. What kind of harm did you suffer? What did you lose?”

“...!”

“This is why the law can be so unfair. We all know who the real culprit is, but can’t do anything about it legally. I don’t blame the judges or law enforcement officials, though. What can they do without evidence, after all? Even though it’s patently unfair, they don’t have a choice but to endure it.”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked deeply.

“And I’m sure you’ve dodged consequences several times this way. But, too bad for you...”

Lee Hyeon-Su tightened his grip on Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s chin.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about the law, you see? Also, I’m the type to repay my grudges a hundred times over, no matter how trivial that grudge is.”

Kang Jin-Ho subtly flinched while listening to Lee Hyeon-Su.

“You think I’m petty? Small-minded? Sure. Guilty as charged. But, so what? I like being petty, after all.”

“...?”

Kang Jin-Ho stared weirdly at Lee Hyeon-Su.

Is he saying all this for my benefit? Is that it?

Even though Lee Hyeon-Su was obviously talking to Jeong Myeong-Cheol, it felt like he was addressing Kang Jin-Ho instead.

“Anyway...”

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly kicked Jeong Myeong-Cheol in the gut.

Bang!

“Kuh-hurk?!”

The chair flipped back, and Jeong Myeong-Cheol landed on the ground before spasming in pain. He struggled to breathe from the impact to his diaphragm.

“Keep reminding yourself that you’re f*cked now. Because I’m going to help you taste your own medicine.”

Lee Hyeon-Su coolly turned around and faced his boss.

Kang Jin-Ho grinned wryly. “Are you done?”

“Not at all, sir. This is only the beginning, after all. But, uh, would you like to get involved, as well?”

“Hmm...?” Kang Jin-Ho scratched his cheek. “Well, for me to get involved in this is a bit...”

Obviously, this wasn’t Kang Jin-Ho’s first time. Whenever something bad happened, he’d step forward and deal with it personally. Whether he killed them or turned them into invalids... His ironclad rule had always been to punish anyone daring to attack him, and to do so without mercy.

However, this incident was different. Kang Jin-Ho wasn’t quite sure if he should step in.

Was it because he had his fill? No, not exactly.

Rather than that, it’s kinda... Well...

Jeong Myeong-Cheol was indeed guilty. However, this event was more like a stupid scion of a wealthy family acting immaturely than anything else. Strictly speaking, this man had not threatened Kang Jin-Ho or his close acquaintances.

If Kang Jin-Ho got involved, Jeong Myeong-Cheol might really die. However, other than a good beating, he couldn’t think of a better punishment.

“Do what you think is best,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“I knew you’d say that, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled. “Then again, it’s not dignified for our Assembly Master to punish a small fry like this guy, anyway. Don’t worry. Let me handle little chicks like him. You should focus on dealing with dragons instead.”

“...What do you have in mind?”

“Hmm, I wonder...”

Lee Hyeon-Su turned his head slightly to look at Jeong Myeong-Cheol still on the floor.

What a bastard. Why didn’t you go all the way while doing all those unsavory things?

Lee Hyeon-Su had investigated Myeong-Cheol’s past, of course. If only this bastard had a few people killed behind the scenes or harmed the country in some major way! Anything would’ve been fine as long as it could serve as a justification to bury him six feet deep.

With such justifications, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn’t have pondered too much and just beat the living daylights out of Jeong Myeong-Cheol until he was dead.

However, for a piece of work like him, who did all sorts of terrible things, Jeong Myeong-Cheol never crossed the final line. He always stayed within the boundary protected by his family’s authority and financial muscle while committing all of his misdeeds.

Yup, people like him are the worst of the lot, aren’t they?

The corners of Lee Hyeon-Su’s lips curled up slightly.

“We can’t exactly beat him to death, but if we let him go, he’ll undoubtedly try his luck again.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “That sounds about right.”

“Actually, this is for the better, I think. Sir, let us use this opportunity to turn him into an upstanding citizen. While making him pay for his crime, of course.”

“Huh? What?”

“I mean, wouldn’t it be wonderful if he walked out of here as a productive member of society? Indeed, it’ll be great news for his company and his family, as well as for us. And for himself, too.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “You think someone like him can be rehabilitated? It hasn’t worked well in the past, though?”

“That’s only because you just cut people’s heads off if you think things aren’t going well, sir. Have you ever tried to rehabilitate someone in the past?”

“Sure, I have.”

“Really? Who?”

“You.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s lips bobbed up and down in silence after being rendered speechless.

Uh, that is... Well...

That sounded about right? But it also sounded a bit wrong, too?

“Kuh-hmmmm!” Lee Hyeon-Su fake-coughed loudly. “In any case! Don’t worry about a single thing, sir. I will produce a man who strives toward a righteous and upstanding life.”

“If you say so. But how?”

“It’s easy, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su smirked deeply. “The Assembly only knows one method, doesn’t it? It’s to blindly charge forward. Let us see if this bastard will turn into a respectable human being or die trying.”

“...!” Kang Jin-Ho’s brows shot up after he thought of a certain possibility. “Hold on. Chief Lee, did you...?”

“Sir?”

“Did you call the franchisees?”

“Hiyaa~, how did you guess, sir? I knew you’d understand without me telling you. Yes, they should be on their way here right about now.”

Lee Hyeon-Su cackled insidiously while lightly kicking Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

“Aren’t you curious what will happen once we let loose those rabid franchisees on this bastard, sir? I think we should get some cameras, because it might turn into a wildlife documentary. Kekekeke.”

Kang Jin-Ho shuddered in dread just then. He was given a fresh reminder that some people in this world could be even more villainous than him!