Chapter 1606. Pushing Forward (1)

“It’s here, here, and here, sir. Besides these, there are also...”

A map appeared on the TV screen connected to a computer.

Kang Jin-Ho intently stared at this map before glancing at Lee Hyeon-Su. “And what am I looking at?”

“Sir? These are the potential locations for the orphanages, sent by Jo Gyu-Min.”

“...”

What the... Did we sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Jaegyeong or something? Why is the Assembly handling the matter they were handling?

When Kang Jin-Ho stared weirdly at him, Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply.

“Sir, please don’t look at me like that. Jo Gyu-Min said he was sending it this way because he couldn’t ask someone as busy as you to come and go every time he had something new to report. How can I say no to that?”

“...”

“I had no idea that a fool who didn’t respect his elders existed in this country famed for its culture of manners and respect, sir! Goodness me! How could he think of using me like this?”

Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “I don’t really care about other things, but you talking about respect is rather weird, don’t you think?”

“Eiii~, how can you say that, sir? You won’t find anyone more respectful and courteous than me in this world, you know?”

Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell slightly in stupefaction at how shameless Lee Hyeon-Su sounded just then.

“Getting back to the topic... Jo Gyu-Min said these are where the orphanages will be built, sir.”

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. “Are these locations any good, though?”

“As long as it’s okay to live there, what does it matter, sir?” Lee Hyeon-Su replied disinterestedly.

Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply. “Just because it’s not your business...”

“No, sir. I didn’t mean it that way, but...” Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at the map. “I’m sure Chief Jo will take good care of this thing. In my opinion, though, an orphanage located in a busy residential area will have various problems. But it being located in sparsely populated areas will also lead to other types of problems. The way I see it, the location isn’t important, but the perception of the locals is.”

“Mm...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su made a good point just now.

Children growing up in orphanages would always be subjected to two types of gazes simultaneously. One was the gaze of pity and sympathy. And the other was the gaze of weariness from the parents who didn’t want their own children to hang out with the orphans.

Neither gaze was good for the orphans.

Before a new orphanage could be constructed, there was a need to change the public perception first. That was what Lee Hyeon-Su was implying.

“But, sir? You shouldn’t worry about it.”

“Mm?”

“You’ll get nothing done if you worry about every single little thing. There are times when you have to be bold, after all. Trivial stuff like locations? Just say you’ve got it and move on, sir. Why is this idiot disturbing you with unnecessary reports like this, too?”

“Mm...”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded slowly again. He agreed with the sentiment about being bold, not the one that followed right after.

Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his chin. “Actually, I’d say what you need to worry about isn’t the potential locations of these orphanages.”

“Then, what?”

“The problem is with the schools these kids must attend after they are moved to these orphanages. The orphans will have a tough time if they get assigned to schools known for housing rough kids.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow after remembering the past.

Didn’t he also experience problems of that nature already? Or, more correctly, didn’t Park Yu-Min and Han Jin-Seong experience that? Which meant there was no guarantee of other children being spared from such an experience, either.

“I see. Yeah, that sounds like a problem.” ⅇ𝒃𝚗ℴ

“Yes, sir. I think you should prioritize this over other issues.”

“Mm... Should I go to their schools, then?”

Lee Hyeon-Su stared dazedly at Kang Jin-Ho. “What... will you do when you go to their schools?”

“I could speak to their principals and ask them to pay more attention to...”

“You must be joking, sir!” Lee Hyeon-Su spoke up in alarm. “That’s a terrible idea, sir. Definitely not a solution at all! First of all, principals don’t want to pay attention to the plight of some random kids in their schools. Worse still, if the rumors of the principal paying more attention to a specific student get around? I assure you, it’s going to backfire on you.”

“I see. Then... Should I speak to their homeroom teachers instead?”

“Sir? Why don’t you just homeschool them instead?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned deeply. “Sir, I’ll be honest. This problem has no silver bullet-like solution. Whether it’s the teachers or the principals, they will tell you the same thing.”

“...”

“Think back to your own student days, sir. Did you go to a teacher whenever you were bullied?”

“No, I didn’t have to.”

“And why not, sir?”

“Because I could’ve beaten up the bullies on my own.”

“...”

Uh... That’s... the correct answer, but...

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly realized that sometimes, some questions could have more than one correct answer.

“I-in any case, sir. My recommendation is that you should let the kids handle their problems. That is the best option.”

“That’s true, but...”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. That was easier said than done, and that was why he was racking his brain, wasn’t it?

Lee Hyeon-Su noticed the worried look on Kang Jin-Ho’s face and tilted his head in confusion. “Sir, just what are you worried about?”

“You’ve said it yourself, no? That the orphans might get bullied if they are sent to schools with rough kids.”

“Yes, I get that, but...”

“Mm?”

“Are you trying to think of solutions here, sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded briefly, but that only made Lee Hyeon-Su chuckle in dismay instead.

“...? What’s funny?”

“I’m just dismayed that the one man in this country who holds the key to fixing this situation is racking his brain over this matter, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow again.

Lee Hyeon-Su quickly explained what he meant. “Sir, please remember that this is the Korean Martial Assembly.”

“I haven’t forgotten. And we’ve already resorted to that method before. But it won’t work with this many kids.”

Back when Kang Jin-Ho was trying to deal with the bullying issues plaguing Han Jin-Seong and other Seongsim kids, he mobilized a handful of the Assembly members to do some stuff for him. That worked out rather well back then.

However, the expansion of the orphanage operation meant a higher number of orphans, and that would lead to an increase in the number of problems, too. If Kang Jin-Ho kept relying on the Assembly members to deal with all those problems, things could snowball out of control pretty quickly.

Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “No, sir. I’m not talking about that method.”

“Mm?”

“Think about it, sir. What is the number one reason for the kids getting bullied?”

“...? Because they are orphans?”

“No, sir.”

“Huh?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. If that wasn’t it, what then?

Lee Hyeon-Su smiled wryly at his boss’s reaction. “Sir, do you think the bullies would have picked on you if you were an orphan?”

“...”

“You are bullied for one reason, and one reason only. Because you look like a pushover.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded in agreement.

It was a massive oversimplification of the problem, but when all was said and done, this was the root cause. There could be myriad reasons why a kid got singled out and ostracized by their peers. However, what if that kid didn’t look like a pushover? They wouldn’t get ostracized or bullied in the first place.

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned. “So, all we have to do is ensure that the orphans don’t look like pushovers.”

“And how do we do that?”

“It’s simple, sir. Dispatch our people and have them supervise the orphans’ physical education for one hour a day.”

“...”

Physical education, he said.

Physical education? Really...?

Kang Jin-Ho asked weirdly. “...Is that all we’d be doing? Making them do exercises?”

“Well, it’d be a lie to say that would be enough, but... We could also teach the children how to beat up bullies without leaving behind visible injuries. Or beating them up in the least painful but most effective way. And also, how to beat up multiple bullies at the same time.

“Oh, and also, how to use threats to scare the living daylights out of the bullies. Teaching them such basic stuff should do the trick. Wouldn’t you agree, sir?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned smoothly. “Thankfully, pros at such things are more numerous than grains of sand in this place, sir. We can just dispatch one suitable member to each orphanage as its... physical education instructor. Do that, and I promise you, we can turn the orphans into mini human weapons in half a year.”

“...But I have no plans to turn them into martial artists, though?”

“Eii~, no one said anything about teaching them martial arts. I’m just proposing that we show them how to defend themselves properly. That’s all.”

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

“I give you my word that this is the best solution to this problem. Once the orphans have that scary look on their faces, dumbass school bullies would never dare look into their eyes. Unless they want to wet their pants on the spot, that is!”

“...”

Would this be okay? Genuinely, seriously, okay?!

The orphans not being bullied was important, but was it necessary for them to become rulers of their schools just to avoid that?

“When you think about it, you will realize how wonderful this system is. With it, we’ll ensure that no orphan is subjected to bullying. And if the orphans decide they might become bullies themselves, our physical education instructors can stop them. Isn’t that a beautiful world where everyone can be happy?”

Was that really a beautiful world, though? Really now?!

“Assembly Master, sir. I must strongly emphasize that I’m not a fan of violence.”

Kang Jin-Ho immediately retorted, “You were not?”

“...” Lee Hyeon-Su ‘corrected’ himself, his expression somewhat unwilling. “...Well, no. Depending on the situation, I will call for violence, but what I’m trying to say is that violence isn’t the right solution to everything.”

“Mm, is that right?”

“However, there are times when violence is necessary. Other solutions are nothing more than temporary relief in such situations. When the situation calls for it, you must boldly face it.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded in agreement. He couldn’t think of a better solution himself, after all. “Urgh... Fine. I’ll think about it.”

“That’s okay, sir. You still have a lot of time left, anyway. Just keep that in mind for now.” Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged. “I have to say, it sounds like this orphanage business is increasing in scale, sir. More than I had bargained for, at least.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned brightly. “I’m glad, sir.”

“Really? I thought you’d nag me for it, though.”

“I told you, I’ll never oppose you when you are doing something like this. In fact, I’ll welcome it with open arms.”

Even Lee Hyeon-Su found it tricky to explain his sentiment, but what he said just now was what he felt in his heart.

Kang Jin-Ho muttered, “But our current situation has changed a lot since we had that talk.”

Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “There could be many reasons stopping us from doing something, like how urgent our situation is, or how busy we all are, but... Sir, if you’re a human being, there are some things you simply have to do regardless of what, don’t you agree?”

“...Yeah, that’s right.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s mind felt more at ease now. After all, he couldn’t help but chide himself a little for focusing on this matter when the Three Kings could invade Korea any day now.

“Besides all that...” Kang Jin-Ho fake-coughed, then asked, “How is the training going for the Japanese?”

“It’s too early to tell, sir. Whether they are doing well or not is still up for debate, but Elder Chang Min is in charge, so I’m sure he’ll do a good job without us telling him what to do.”

Lee Hyeon-Su was right. There was no one more trustworthy than Chang Min in matters like this.

“But sir, a word of advice. You need to be careful from now on.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Me? Why?”

“Please try your absolute best not to run into Elder Chang outside, sir. We don’t want the Japanese trainees to witness Elder Chang’s shtick, after all.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly nodded after wholeheartedly agreeing with that sentiment.

“Elder Chang said that he’d teach the Japanese what reality was really like. And once they become, uh, ripe for picking, he’ll teach them demonic cultivation.”

Teach them reality, he said...

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips subtly curled up. He had a feeling that such a lesson would prove very helpful to the Japanese.

“Got it. Yes, I’m sure he’ll handle it well. Then, who’s teaching the Americans?”

“It’s Sir Vator.”

Kang Jin-Ho reflexively squeezed his eyes shut. Yes, he was the one who had thought up of this arrangement, but still couldn’t help but feel sorry for doing that to the unsuspecting American soldiers.

“Did you explain his assignment properly, though?”

“Of course, sir. I told him that you repeated stressed your desire to see the basics drilled into the Americans within a week.”

“...?”

When did I say that? When?!

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked confidently when Kang Jin-Ho stared at him wide-eyed in shock.

“Sir, how about confirming the result for yourself tomorrow?”

“...Mm.” Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. Surely, nothing bad would happen on the American base? “Yeah... It’s not like Vator is a novice in teaching others, anyway. He probably won’t cause a problem.”

“Eii, of course not. Please consider all the years under his belt, sir. I’m sure he’ll find the right way to encourage and coax them.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su smiled at each other.

Of course, their smiles lasted only until Lee Hyeon-Su’s phone began ringing urgently.

“...That looks like Commander Mercer’s number, sir?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su confirmed the caller’s ID on the phone’s screen while making an uncertain expression, then glanced at Kang Jin-Ho, silently asking what he should do next.

“A-answer the phone.”

“...Of course.” Lee Hyeon-Su picked up the phone while making an unwilling expression. “Hello?”

—Mister Lee Hyeon-Su!

“Yes, this is Lee Hyeon-Su speaking. How can I...”

—Save us! Come and save us, now! Please! That giant, he’s crazy! He, he’s...!

—Aaaaaaaahk!

Not only Reggie Mercer’s urgent cry, but various indistinct screams could be heard coming from the phone’s speaker. Lee Hyeon-Su smiled brightly, ended the call, and even turned his phone off, before looking at Kang Jin-Ho.

“It sounds like everything is going swimmingly on that side, sir.”

“Really? But I thought I heard screams, though...?”

“It’s a common occurrence during intense training, sir. Screaming, I mean. Rather than that, would you like some coffee?”

“Uh... Sure.”

Kang Jin-Ho smiled brightly just then.

Yup, let’s just turn a blind eye for now.