Chapter 1612: Invading (2)

The situation in MK was reminiscent of a war zone.

Workers with half-closed eyes continued to tap away on their keyboards, their breathing labored.

“Where’s the report?! I thought you were done with it!”

“Not yet, sir! Five more minutes! I need five more minutes!”

“Are you insane?! Chief Lee told us to submit the report by two o’clock! And it’s ten past two right now!”

“Just five more minutes, sir!”

“…Damn it! I’m the one who must submit the report, you know!”

All the piles of empty paper cups, once filled with coffee, and various empty cans of caffeine-laced drinks strewn about the office attested to the kind of hell these office workers had gone through.

Since they were martial artists, their fundamental physical constitution was incomparably sturdier than that of ordinary people. Even then, their complexion was even worse than that of a zombie right now.

“The report! Sir, it’s finished!”

“…! I’m going in!”

The office worker sitting at the head of the table jumped up and rushed to the printer to grab the freshly printed report. He then sprinted toward Chief Lee's office at full tilt. Even in the midst of his dash, however, he still displayed a remarkable skill of perusing the report to ensure there weren't any mistakes.

Eventually, he arrived at the office and urgently knocked on the door. “Chief Lee, ma'am! It's Team Leader Choi!”

“Come in.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Team Leader Choi opened the door and stepped inside.

I've no choice. I need to lodge a complaint about this situation!

Was he angry about working till two in the morning? No, not at all. He didn’t care about clocking in overtime like that. What drove him mad was the fact that he hadn’t been home in the last three days!

Even if he and his colleagues were martial artists boasting superior stamina, this level of workload was simply unacceptable. Therefore, he must…

“…!”

Team Leader Choi hurriedly clamped his mouth shut after noticing the state of Chief Lee Hyeon-Ju’s office.

“You’re finally here?” Choi Yeon-Ju asked while looking up from the documents on her desk.

The pair of dark circles below her eyes had extended all the way down to her chin. Meanwhile, both of her eyes were extremely bloodshot. Her hair was a mess and oily from a lack of care, while a pair of her socks was hanging by the corner of her desk in a rather unhygienic manner.

“…Chief Lee? When was the last time you went home, ma’am?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju tilted her head. “I… don’t remember? Huh? When was it again? Eh?”

Team Leader Choi’s expression fell slightly. Nope, I shouldn’t say anything. Complaining to a person in this state is crossing the line into the territory of torture.

“Ma’am, you will die at this rate.”

“N-no, it's… I'm still fine. For now. Besides all that, what about the other employees?"

“They are… doing okay, ma’am. For now.”

If other workers heard him, they might vomit blood and shout, “If this is your definition of doing okay, what constitutes not-okay in your book?!” However, Team Leader Choi couldn't bring himself to reveal the truth to Lee Hyeon-Ju. He was a human being with morals, after all!

“So, the report?”

“Here, ma’am. But why did you ask for a print-out…?”

“Oh, that’s because I can’t see the computer screen clearly anymore…”

“…”

Yup, you will really die at this rate, ma’am!

Lee Hyeon-Ju took her glasses off and groaned loudly before drinking the cup of lukewarm coffee next to her. Caffeine didn’t have much effect on her, but drinking coffee was still slightly better than doing nothing.

“Mm, with this, we're finally done with the list of the employees, then.”

Team Leader Choi nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Now we need to decide who will head to Japan to supervise.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju sighed. “I’ll have to go.”

“Ma’am?! If you leave, we’ll get crushed!”

“What choice do we have? President Hwang can't leave his current project for obvious reasons, after all. And besides, it's not as if we have someone else either, anyway… Don't forget, one of the most important aspects of this joint venture is the link between the company and the martial society. And I'm the only one available who knows both sides and can act as the mediator.”

“Urgh. Yes, you’re right. Still…”

Lee Hyeon-Ju read the report, then nodded. “Let’s proceed with this.”

“Understood, ma'am. However, you need to retire for the day and get some sleep at home.”

“I will. Once I’m finished. In the meantime, please tell our colleagues to go home and get some rest.”

“Will do, ma’am!” Team Leader Choi politely bowed to Lee Hyeon-Ju, then exited her office. He then shouted at the office workers. “Hey, you lot! Time to go home! Home! Go on! Get out!”

“But Team Leader, we can’t leave without finishing our work.”

“Chief Lee wants us to get out of here!”

“We can’t just leave even if we want to, you know? When there’s still work left.”

“It’s fine, so leave! Finish up tomorrow! I’ll shoulder the responsibility, so all of you, come to work tomorrow afternoon!”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, really! So, leave already!”

The mood in the office finally began improving.

Lee Hyeon-Ju, eavesdropping from inside her office, gently grinned.

Yes, I know everyone has been working crazy hard.

Sometimes, everyone in the company must put everything else on the back-burner and focus on completing one task as quickly as possible. And the reward for all their hard work would come in the shape of financial bonuses and extra vacation time.

“Hah…”

Lee Hyeon-Ju sighed softly, then got up from her chair. She trudged toward the nearest window and opened it wide.

A slightly cool night breeze rushed inside. As her sleepiness gradually ebbed away, she took in Seoul's sprawling skyline veiled in the darkness of the night.

Isn’t this strange?

Working in a company like this would've been unthinkable to her less than two years ago. In fact, she had never even considered the possibility of it.

“This is why life can be so unpredictable, isn’t it?”

Of course, she also wanted to become the Assembly Master one day. It wasn’t as if she was devoid of ambition, after all.

By leaning on her status as Lee Jung-Geol’s granddaughter as much as possible, she’d become the next Assembly Master. And then, she’d transform the Assembly into a more modern organization. That was her dream.

However, Kang Jin-Ho's sudden intrusion into her life meant her dream had to go down the drain, leading her to walk down a brand-new path instead.

Did that make her rueful? Unhappy with her current situation?

No, of course not!

Lee Hyeon-Ju was deeply satisfied with how her life had turned out so far. In fact, she could confidently say this life suited her more and made her happier than the life she thought she’d live.

Besides, back when the Martial Assembly was a small-time player busy bickering away with the Yeongnam Group for supremacy within South Korea, she might have stood a chance at controlling such an organization. However, the current Assembly was simply beyond her ability to control.

Lee Hyeon-Ju didn't want to bite off more than she could chew and choke to death.

Yes, I only need to do my best with my job.

It wasn't as if she couldn't remember her past now and then. Even then, she still preferred Chief Lee Hyeon-Ju of the Martial Assembly a heck of a lot more to Lee Hyeon-Ju the granddaughter of the former Assembly Master, Lee Jung-Geol.

Knock, knock!

“Yes, come in.”

Team Leader Choi opened the office door slightly and poked his head through the gap. “Chief Lee? We're leaving now, ma'am.”

“Understood. Thank you for all your hard work.”

“You too, ma’am. And don’t forget to head home soon yourself.”

“I will.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju watched the door close shut with a subtle grin, then shifted her attention back to the scenery outside the window.

What would my grandfather say if he saw me now?

Obviously, she had no way of finding out.

Maybe he would’ve been pleased by the sight of her finding her own happiness. Or he might resent her for failing to carry on with his legacy.

None of that mattered, though, as Lee Hyeon-Ju had no plan to change her current life.

Knock, knock…

Lee Hyeon-Ju responded without looking at the door. “Come in.”

Creak!

The door opened softly.

“You still haven’t left yet, Team Leader Choi? Hurry and go home.”

“Sorry, but it’s a bit too late for me to go home now, Hyeon-Ju.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju’s face stiffened indescribably just then. Was it because of the unfamiliar voice just now?

That couldn't be it, since that voice was very familiar to her.

Her expression crumpled hideously as she slowly turned around. A man with a familiar face that no longer felt familiar stood at the doorway.

“Been a while, Hyeon-Ju.”

Familiar, because she used to stare at that face for many years. Unfamiliar, because he had lost a lot of weight and had transformed so much compared to the past.

“You…!”

The man casually shrugged but still spoke coldly. “Coffee is fine. You do have coffee, right? Instant, at the very least? Don't tell me you don't have any in such a fancy place like this one. That's going to make me sad, you know?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju silently glared at the man standing before her eyes. That… was Lee Seong-Hwi!

That was Lee Jung-Geol’s best disciple and her so-called senior martial brother. Also, a man who crossed the line that shouldn’t be crossed—antagonizing Kang Jin-Ho.

Worst of all…

…He’s the Martial Assembly’s enemy!

When the stiff-faced Lee Hyeon-Ju continued to glare at him, Lee Seong-Hwi slightly raised both of his hands. He was trying to say he had no intention to fight her.

“Do you mind not glaring at me like that? Yeah, I get that our relationship can never go back to how it used to be, but you can’t be thinking that I’m here to harm you? If so… I’m really sad now.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju shot back. “Do you even have the strength to hurt me?”

“Strength, eh…” Lee Seong-Hwi smirked softly. “Compared to the one you serve, yeah… My strength is like that of a mosquito’s.”

He sounded deeply cynical just then. When Lee Hyeon-Ju didn’t bother to ask him to sit, Lee Seong-Hwi pulled out a chair and settled down.

“Looks like the Martial Assembly doesn’t know how to treat guests well.”

“This is MK.”

“There’s no difference between the two, is there?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju continued to glare at Lee Seong-Hwi before groaning loudly. She walked up to a coffee machine and pressed the on button. The sound of whirring came from the device as it began preparing fresh coffee from a capsule.

A short while later, Lee Hyeon-Ju picked up the cup filled with coffee and pushed it toward Lee Seong-Hwi. “Here.”

“Don’t you have syrup? Sugar?”

“No.”

“I like sweet stuff, though. Whether that’s coffee or relationships.”

A smirk floated up on Lee Seong-Hwi’s face.

But Lee Hyeon-Ju could only sigh at how crooked that smirk was.

Just how did he end up this way?

Once upon a time, Lee Seong-Hwi used to be a sun-like existence. As Lee Jung-Geol’s top disciple, his status within the Assembly was secure. No one in the younger generation shone more brightly than he did.

If the status quo had remained as it was, the one destined to become the next Assembly Master was none other than Lee Seong-Hwi, regardless of how much effort Lee Hyeon-Ju had put in.

His personality used to be so bright and sunny, bolstered by his ability to socialize and lead other people. There was a time when he was like the amalgamation of all the bright things in this world, but now…

Lee Hyeon-Ju slowly shook her head.

None of such brightness could be found in Lee Seong-Hwi now. Only the gloomy darkness and the twisted madness oozed from him.

She quietly growled, “You dare crawl back into South Korea after all that you’ve done?”

“Are Koreans forbidden from coming back to South Korea these days?”

“No, not really. But I'm sure we're also not forbidden from ripping your little head off where you stand.”

“Every adventure has some risks.” Lee Seong-Hwi shrugged again. “Let’s stop with this inane banter. I’m not here to catch up with my former friend, anyway. You and I both know that nothing will change even if we yap as much as we want. Isn’t that right?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju crossed her arms and cocked her head. “Then, why are you here?”

“For various reasons.” Lee Seong-Hwi shrugged again, this time even more casually than before, and took a sip. “…Man, it’s so bitter.”

He wasn’t talking about the coffee only, of course.

After furrowing his brow deeply, he put the coffee cup down and stared pointedly at Lee Hyeon-Ju.

“First of all, I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“…”

“I heard how nice life has been for you under the bastard who killed your own grandfather. So, I wanted to see for myself.”

“We've had this discussion before, if I remember correctly?”

“Don't get me wrong. I'm not here to judge or criticize you. In fact, I've already accepted that you don't deserve criticism. Even if my master were still alive, he'd have recommended the same thing. He was that kind of person, after all.”

Lee Seong-Hwi seemed a little forlorn as he brought up Lee Jung-Geol.

“A man must learn to accept the changing world. I was too stupid to understand that, that’s all.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju coldly growled again. “You better shut the hell up.”

“…”

“You couldn’t accept the world? You couldn’t handle your inferiority complex and crossed the line? You don’t have the right to use those excuses. The moment you sided with the Japanese to invade South Korea’s martial society, you forfeited that right.”

“Yeah, I know. And I’m not trying to make excuses.”

Lee Seong-Hwi subtly turned his head to glance at Lee Hyeon-Ju. His mood sank even lower at how icy her glare was.

Once upon a time, her gaze was filled with warmth. She probably never saw him as a member of the opposite sex, but even then, she must've cared about him as family.

But the affection was replaced with iciness in those eyes now.

“…I’m here to warn you, Hyeon-Ju.”

“Warn me?”

“Leave the Assembly.”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s glare grew even colder. “Didn’t I tell you to stop with your rubbish?”

“I wish I were talking rubbish here, okay? But this is my last act of goodwill toward you. Leave the Assembly. No, actually, leave the martial world altogether. Then you'll get to keep your life.”

“…What are you trying to say here?”

Lee Seong-Hwi silently stared at Lee Hyeon-Ju’s face for a little while before finally saying something else. “Where do you think I’ve been all this time?”

“…?”

“You and your pals have no idea. You all don't know what true terror is. And you sure as hell don't know who's been pulling the strings all along.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju deeply scowled. “So, I’m guessing you’ve jumped ship again to join another faction. Like a traitorous bastard that you are.”

“No, not a ship. That person is more like the entire ocean.”

The corners of Lee Seong-Hwi’s lips distorted weirdly.

“A deeply, unmistakably blue ocean, that is. And that's why he's called the Azure King.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju froze on the spot.