Chapter 1389. Arrested (4)

Vroom...

A luxury sedan carrying Kim Myeong-Chan serenely glided down the road.

Usually, he’d be busy with his work in the opulent, relaxing back seat, but not today. Nothing dared to enter his mind right now.

I haven’t felt this fatigued in a long while.

The exhaustion currently gripping Kim Myeong-Chan was so severe that if he closed his eyes, he’d pass out right away.

I’m already riding on the back of this tiger. There’s no turning back now.

Indeed, it was too late to stop. If he did, blades that had been waiting for an opening would start stabbing him mercilessly. And Kim Myeong-Chan would suffer the most wretched death this world had ever seen!

Was he frightened by the prospect of death?

Well... I’m not sure.

Who didn’t fear death in this world? Of course Kim Myeong-Chan was scared of death. However, the death staring right at his face didn’t feel

real

to him for some reason.

Well, when I die, I’ll turn into dust, anyway.

Who cared about how one died? No, the only thing that mattered was what he died for.

Kim Myeong-Cha’s eyes flew open. Whenever he tried to close his eyes and rest, his mind automatically replayed the image of Kang Jin-Ho glaring back at him.

Those eyes of a predator, staring back at him...! They were like symbols of the impending demise Kim Myeong-Chan could never escape from!

Kim Myeong-Chan glanced at his aide sitting on the front passenger seat. “Let me ask you something.”

The aide responded right away. “Yes, sir?”

“Do I look strange to you?”

“I... don’t follow, sir?”

“As in, am I acting differently from my usual self? Something like that.”

“No, sir. Although you seem more tired than usual, I haven’t noticed anything strange about you, sir.”

“Is that right...? I’m relieved to hear that.”

Kim Myeong-Chan sighed deeply in relief. It seemed Kang Jin-Ho hadn’t done something strange to him during the meeting.

Several things were on his mind while going into this meeting.

Seok Dong-Su, the former Minister of Economy and Finance, used to be the staunchest of all staunch anti-Kang Jin-Ho people in the government. But he changed his tune literally overnight and became the pro-est of all pro-Kang Jin-Ho people.

Although too fantastical to be believable, Kim Myeong-Chan couldn’t readily discount the fact that the martial artists had some strange ability to brainwash someone in the blink of an eye. Considering what those people could do, the idea didn’t seem so far-fetched to him.

A man soaring across the skies and surviving against a military’s onslaught should have been utterly impossible, yet Kang Jin-Ho had done just that.

Human who couldn’t be human; that described the martial artists the best. To fight against creatures like that, Kim Myeong-Chan must question everything he knew, then question it again. Not doing so could mean he’d get swallowed up in the blink of an eye!

To be safe, he had already left instructions with his people to go ahead with the plan in case he suddenly started being

nicer

toward Kang Jin-Ho. Thankfully, though, it seemed he had not been affected by a mysterious force.

I’m tired.

Fighting against the martial artists presented a different kind of suffering from surviving in the cutthroat political scene.

Yes, I’m tired...

Just before Kim Myeong-Chan could bury himself deeper into the cushions and close his eye, his phone began ringing away. He took out the phone and confirmed the caller ID on the screen.

“...It’s me. I’ve met him.”

—How was he, Prime Minister?

“Not sure what to tell you. He obviously has no intentions of cooperating without a fight. However, he was surprisingly calm. No signs of impulsive behaviors or anything like that. Which was a good thing, since I had been expecting to lose an arm or a leg today.”

—Doesn’t that mean he is well and truly ensnared in our trap?

“Indeed. I’m sure he can’t make a rash move. Things he holds dear are tightening around his neck like a noose, after all. The point of this exercise is simple enough. Will he sacrifice others for himself or won’t he? And I strongly believe he won’t.”

An insidious smirk floated up on Kim Myeong-Chan’s face just then.

This trap was deeply vicious and destructive. Worse still, it was not physical in nature. What this trap targeted was Kang Jin-Ho’s values and things he cared about.

He could easily destroy his way out of the prison any time he wished. However, doing so would brand him as an escaped convict. Everything he had built up to this moment would crumble into nothingness.

First of all, his family would become the “Family Members of a Criminal.”

Then, his friends would have to live on as acquaintances of a convict.

Those two things alone would instantly destroy his life. Kang Jin-Ho would never be able to go home or hang out with his friends. But that was not all.

Simply by having a wanted criminal as its boss, MK would suffer all sorts of unfair treatments and losses of business in the industry. And the Martial Assembly would be forced to curb its activities, too.

To think that the flames triggered by some random drug incident in the club scene would reach this far! Kim Myeong-Chan would’ve never imagined it.

One could say he got fortunate in this case. Still, things would have come to a head sooner or later, even without the drugs acting as the catalyst.

—Can’t we suppress them all now that Kang Jin-Ho is out of the picture?

“Don’t be mistaken. This isn’t to destroy the Martial Assembly. We do that, and Kang Jin-Ho will unhesitantly break out of prison and use force to revert things back to how they used to be.

“You know what’s the only way to survive with a predator right next to you? It’s providing the creature with plenty of food so that it’d stay sated all the time. In other words, you must never provoke him.”

—

Ah

. So you wish to gradually wither him to death. Like a frog trapped in a pot.

“No, you’re still mistaken. We don’t have the power to do that. I’ll be satisfied if we could finish setting up the countermeasures meant to keep the Assembly at bay in place while he’s staying obediently in prison. That, to me, will be a job well done.”

A subtle smirk formed on Kim Myeong-Chan’s face as he said that.

—I see. Then, I’ll consider the situation under control and make a report accordingly.

“Be careful with your wording. Nothing is a certainty yet. The predator is simply inside a cage right now, and we don’t have nets, guns or even tranquilizers to keep the creature docile. Anything can happen until we close the cage and lock its gate. Worse still, we still can’t lower our guard even after locking up the cage. Not with this predator, at least.”

—Don’t worry, I can still discern that much.

“Good to hear. Then, I’ll trust that you’ll make a suitable report. Also, we’ll be moving on to the second phase right away.”

—That’s surprising. It sounds like you’re in more of a hurry than you let on.

“We need to show him that when the government gets serious about something, we can do pretty much anything.”

—Understood. I’ll pray that you won’t fall off in your pursuit, Prime Minister. Until next time.

The line went dead, allowing Kim Myeong-Chan to recline into the seat again.

Not fall off? From where? Could it be a... cliff?

A wry smirk now dominated Kim Myeong-Chan’s face. That man on the phone sounded as if he was spectating an event that had nothing to do with his side.

Unfortunately for him, they didn’t seem to know. They had no idea the kind of burden Kim Myeong-Chan was currently shouldering.

Kang Jin-Ho’s wrath wouldn’t be appeased by something as simple as Kim Myeong-Chan’s demise. Not even close. That was the conclusion Kim Myeong-Chan arrived at after studying Kang Jin-Ho’s actions until now.

Kang Jin-Ho was usually so mild-mannered that he couldn’t have been the

actual

Assembly Master, yet when he decided violence was necessary? The madness and the trail of destruction he left behind couldn’t even be described properly.

It was as if a switch got flipped inside him. So, imagine Kang Jin-Ho unleashing his berserk nature once more, this time against the instigators of this event.

It will be over for everyone involved!

That made this gamble incredibly risky. Kim Myeong-Chan’s opponents were betting things they could afford to lose, while his side had to risk everything, including their lives. In any other normal circumstances, he would’ve never participated in such a gamble.

But he had done just that this time. Why? Because he knew how to win.

Whether it was a gamble or a negotiation, there was only one reliable way to win. And that was to... go after things the other side thought they could afford to lose. But do so in a secretive way, so that by the time they sobered up, they would have nothing left.

“Wake me up when we reach my residence,” said Kim Myeong-Chan.

“Understood, sir.”

Kim Myeong-Chan rubbed his tired face, then closed his eyes. Getting some much-needed rest until he arrived at the destination would be...

Heok?!

Kim Myeong-Chan sat up straight in shock, his eyes wide open. As if he had forgotten that this was inside of a car, he almost banged his forehead against the ceiling, too!

The aide urgently looked back. “Sir? What happened?”

“...!”

In that brief span of time, Kim Myeong-Chan’s face had become caked in cold sweat.

He plopped back on the seat while panting laboriously, then shook his head. “It’s... It’s nothing. Don’t mind me.”

He could remember it. He could remember Kang Jin-Ho’s icy glare vividly when he closed his eyes!

Looks like I should forget about getting some shut-eye, then.

Kim Myeong-Chan’s expression darkened.

He was in for a tough fight. And he couldn’t even tell how or when this fight would end.

***

“Assembly Master...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su gritted his teeth.

He thought getting the visitation permission would be next to impossible, yet he got it quite easily. Which was rather unexpected, since the government avoided issuing such permissions in consideration of the inmate’s mental stability during the early days of their incarceration.

Lee Hyeon-Su was happy about getting the permission, but now that he saw Kang Jin-Ho in a prison uniform, it felt like his world was about to crumble.

“Those... Those sons of b*tches!”

It seemed Lee Hyeon-Su wasn’t the only person feeling this way, judging from that loud swearing.

Bang Jin-Hun was smoldering like a monster about to tear the acrylic glass in front of him apart into pieces.

Wiggins calmly but firmly pushed Bang Jin-Hun’s shoulder down. “You must stay calm, Mister Bang.”

“But, this...! F*ck! They have crossed another line here, you know!”

“You know nothing good will come from behaving like this! Besides, do you think my lord is just sitting there because he can’t break this glass?”

“But, Mister Wiggins!”

“I said, shut up and sit down! For God’s sake!”

Bang Jin-Hun clamped his mouth shut when Wiggins shouted at him. He had never witnessed Wiggins raise his voice like that before. Not to forget, this English gent chuckled indifferently even after one of his arms got blown off during a close brush with death.

“I... I’m sorry.”

Wiggins sucked in a deep breath. “No, I should be the one apologizing. It seems I’ve lost my cool just now.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly observed this exchange before chuckling away. “You guys seem to be having fun.”

“...”

“...”

“No need to lose your cool. I’m well looked after in here. In fact, the treatment I get in here is better than when I was outside.”

Wiggins frowned deeply. “My lord...”

“I’m not kidding. It’s the truth.”

Kang Jin-Ho was being serious here, but the three people on the other side of the acrylic glass didn’t even bother to hide their pity. Their misunderstanding was so great that even Kang Jin-Ho felt embarrassed for a moment there.

“My lord,” Wiggins carefully spoke, his expression grave. “We know you’re suffering a great deal in this place. We will resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. “I’m not suffering here, okay?”

“You don’t have to pretend with us. We know your freedom has been taken away from you, and you can’t even do whatever you want. For instance, you can’t even smoke anymore, and...”

Click!

“...”

When Kang Jin-Ho nonchalantly took out a cigarette from his prison uniform, mouthed it, then lit it up, Wiggins’ eyes opened twice as wide as usual.

Lee Hyeon-Su blinked in sheer stupefaction before asking, “Sir? What’s that?”

“As you can see. It’s a cigarette.”

“...I didn’t know that prisons sold cigarettes?”

“I didn’t buy it. They just gave it to me.”

“Wha... It’s not like we live in the Tang dynasty or something. What kind of prison hands out cigarettes to its inmates?”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s sharp gaze shifted over to the guard sitting some distance behind Kang Jin-Ho. As per the visitation rule in every prison, a guard must be present to supervise the visits. But this guard was facing the wrong direction to act as a supervisor in this case!

The guard glanced very, very briefly in Kang Jin-Ho’s direction and saw the cigarette dangling between the inmate’s lips. Without skipping a beat, he took out an air freshener and nonchalantly sprayed it into the air.

“...Well, now I’ve seen everything. Almost,” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered hollowly.

He and other directors came here to console and pacify Kang Jin-Ho, but got treated to a rather flabbergast-inducing sight instead!

Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged. “I guess they thought I’d break out of prison if my hankering for cigarettes got bad enough.”

The odds of that happening were pretty high, weren’t it? Lee Hyeon-Su almost blurted that out. Not only him, but the other directors also could

feel

Kim Myeong-Chan’s stress level spiking while worrying about things like this.

“My lord,” Wiggins spoke again while doing his best to harden his expression. “We need to respond. It’s not like you can stay here forever, after all.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “Right.”

“We’ll do everything we can from this side. But you must decide on the direction of our response. And that’s whether to fight using legal means or...”

“Staying in solitary confinement helped me organize my thoughts, actually.”

“...”

“Now, I know one thing for sure.”

“What... would that be?”

The tip of the cigarette dangling between Kang Jin-Ho’s lips sizzled brightly.

He muttered quietly. “Balance and whatever? All those things were nothing more than a fantasy.”

Lee Hyeon-Su bit down on his lip. Kang Jin-Ho’s somber voice continued to stab into his hearing.

“Think of all the ways we can fight back. This is a war, one that’s not fought with swords and punches, but with information and the application of the law. It doesn’t matter what or how, we will not lose this war. We will not back down. That is the Assembly’s... No, that is my way.”

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a smirk as the cigarette dangled between his lips precariously.

“There will not be any compromises.”

“Understood!”

Determination burned brightly within everyone’s eyes just then.