Chapter 237: Making Money (2)

- How is the progress on your side?

Kim Seok-Il tersely replied, “It's progressing smoothly.”

- Hmm. Korean people's grammar sure is odd, isn't it? From where I am, there hasn't been any progress at all. You haven't done any of what we have ordered you to do, yet you say it's progressing smoothly? How odd.

“...”

- It seems the rumor of Koreans wanting to do everything at a breakneck pace has been greatly exaggerated. A Chinese like me is dying of anxiety over on this side, yet you can afford to be this relaxed and carefree.

“We had a slight situation, that was all.”

- And that situation must be called 'Being Utterly Useless,’ I presume?

Kim Seok-Il silently bit down on his lip. The insulting words coming out of the phone's speaker had stoked the flames of his anger, but losing his temper at the person on the line was not an option, regardless of his fury.

Not only was the other side holding Kim Seok-Il's weakness, but there was also the gap between their strength that had to be considered. Rather than raising his voice of anger at Cai Kechang, who enjoyed the Crimson King's backing, Kim Seok-Il might as well shove a knife down his mouth and fall on his face.

“...It won't take long.”

- You said the same thing not too long ago. And I believed you.

“Look, Cai Kechang.”

- No need for a lengthy preamble. The Crimson King is enraged.

“...”

- If you wish to preserve that pitiful organization of yours, you better utilize every method at your disposal. I hope you don't take my advice lightly, Kim Seok-Il.

Drop...

The phone went dead immediately to indicate that Cai Kechang was done talking.

“...You stinking Chinese motherf*cker!” Kim Seok-Il threw his phone at the wall in a fit of anger.

Shatter!

The smartphone struck the wall and shattered into thousands of pieces. However, that spectacle wasn't enough to quell Kim Seok-Il's rage, and he shot up to his feet to kick a table in front of him.

Boom!

The table also struck the wall and split apart into two halves.

“How dare some stinking Chinese bastard order me around?!”

The sound of teeth gnashing echoed chillingly in the office. Lee Hyeon-Su, on standby outside the office, heard the commotion and urgently rushed inside.

However, a huge smirk soon formed on his face after he figured out the situation from the state of the office. “Why don't you calm down, Chairman?”

“Goddamn it...!” Kim Seok-Il plopped down on his chair, then quietly massaged his temples. “Sons of b*tches. Let me tell ya, that's easier said than done.”

This wasn't about offing a regular civilian. To kill a martial artist, a considerable amount of effort was required. The reason for that was simple enough: the range of actions one could take against a regular person and a martial artist drastically differed.

Many places in South Korea could be considered 'downtown' packed with countless passersby. A regular person could be captured and killed even before they had a chance to escape to such a location, but that wasn't the same for a martial artist determined to make an escape. It wouldn't be easy to deal with a martial artist without leaving behind eyewitnesses.

Even worse, Kang Jin-Ho lived in one of Korea's most bustling areas that also happened to boast good public safety. On top of that, he was strong enough to hunt down and kill the Fallen without getting caught by anyone. As such, assassinating someone of that caliber without causing a scene was practically impossible.

'Damn it. If it were doable, we would have done it already.'

Trying to hide from the public's eye was this inconvenient and cumbersome. However, it was also true that now wasn't the time to reveal their existence to the wider world.

The unwillingness wasn't brought on by the question of whether it was the right or wrong timing. If Kim Seok-Il's group tried to reveal itself to the world, the forces from other nations still hell-bent on staying under the radar would erase them from existence even before they could achieve anything meaningful.

Kim Seok-Il asked without looking up, “What's going on with that bastard, Lee Seong-Hwi?”

Lee Hyeon-Su replied while taking a seat opposite his boss, “We have prepared a hideout for him. He should be mastering the demonic arts in there as we speak.”

“...Damn it.”

Without a doubt, Lee Seong-Hwi would prove to be a useful pawn. However, it was a pawn that required a gestation period before anything else. Besides, Kang Jin-Ho had already dealt with the Fallen. What guarantee was there that Lee Seong-Hwi alone could finish Kang Jin-Ho off?

Kim Seok-Il angrily spat. “We got saddled with a headache, didn't we?”

“Are you talking about Kang Jin-Ho, Chairman?”

“Obviously. Is there any other headache than that man? I thought we would finally stand on the apex and finish off those pesky Martial Association fools for good. But something totally unrelated is wasting our bloody time.” Kim Seok-Il rubbed his face in irritation.

If it hadn't been for the distraction called Kang Jin-Ho, the other matter with the Martial Association would have long entered its final phase. Unfortunately, dealing with Kang Jin-Ho meant everything else had to be put on hold, at least for now.

If he paid more attention to other matters instead of the task personally assigned by the Crimson King to him, the glare of a Martial Union's king would become even more unbearable to bear. Kim Seok-Il couldn't afford that.

Lee Hyeon-Su lightly shook his head. “Sir, I don't think there's a need to worry this much.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kim Seok-Il cocked an eyebrow and stared at Lee Hyeon-Su.

An unreadable grin formed on Lee Hyeon-Su's face at that probing gaze. “If the Fallen alone isn't enough, we can just play the numbers game to squash the target.”

“You think I haven't considered that? But as long as his movements remain as they are, we can't deploy a large enough group to kill him. Don't you understand that doing so will draw the attention of the regular civilians and the Martial Association?”

“Of course, I understand,” Lee Hyeon-Su replied, his demeanor remaining relaxed despite Kim Seok-Il's rebuke. “However, let us view it from the other side, Chairman.”

“The... other side, you say?”

“Yes. We don't have a reason to seek him out now, do we? If we can't take care of him inside, then we just have to drag him outside, Chairman.”

“

Hmm…

” Kim Seok-Il's furrows deepened. “If that's doable, then sure. No, wait. If that's doable, then we don't even need to rack our brains like this. However, will that be really possible? How would you drag him outside, as you've said?”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled. “There are plenty of ways to do that, Chairman. However, I know of the surest way of them all. Please leave this matter to me, Chairman. Assign me enough manpower, and I promise you—I'll definitely take care of this matter.”

“

Hmm...

” Kim Seok-Il grunted slowly. “...Very well. I'll leave it to you. How soon do you need the manpower?”

“The sooner, the better, Chairman. And the heavies you’ll bring in have to be tight-lipped, as well. Since our target is strong enough to easily deal with the Fallen, please secure suitable people with enough strength for the job.”

“In other words, you want all the strong and tight-lipped ones in our group.”

“Wouldn't you say the weight carried by the Crimson King's name requires that kind of response, Chairman?”

“You're not wrong there. Very well. Don't worry about the manpower side of things. I'll get them ready as soon as possible.”

“Thank you.” Lee Hyeon-Su bowed deeply, and Kim Seok-Il responded by dismissively waving his hand. Lee Hyeon-Ju then cautiously got up and left the office.

Click...

Once he was left alone, Kim Seok-Il mouthed a cigarette and lit it up. He slowly sucked in the unhealthy smoke before releasing it into the air, letting it scatter like a fading mirage.

'Something... feels off, doesn't it?'

It felt like he was getting sucked into a quagmire. Whether it was the Crimson King or Kang Jin-Ho... They shouldn't have appeared in Kim Seok-Il's carefully-crafted plan. Unsurprisingly, their sudden interference left his plan in disarray. If things were resolved favorably, it would be like the classic case of turning misfortune into an opportunity, but...

“...No way life will be that easy.”

If something wished to advance in this world, it had to face an opposing force blocking it. That was the rule. While thinking about that, Kim Seok-Il recalled Lee Hyeon-Su's face as the latter proposed his plan. A quiet little sneer formed on Kim Seok-Il's lips.

'Insolent fool.'

To think that idiot would say he would take care of the situation as long as enough manpower was provided... Lee Hyeon-Su was someone who used to confess to even the most useless and petty plan to his boss and wait for his orders, but now? It seemed that he had become a bit too emboldened lately.

If left to his devices, that fool might even challenge Kim Seok-Il for the top spot in the organization!

“

Hmph.

I'll give you your manpower. That won't be difficult, after all.”

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The names and images of the Crimson King, Kang Jin-Ho, and even Lee Hyeon-Su spun around dizzily inside Kim Seok-Il's mind. To achieve the best possible outcome from that bizarre combination, Kim Seok-Il closed his eyes and began racking his brain.

***

Pang!

The dough in the air began spinning around before it spread open left and right.

“

Heol...

” Park Yu-Min's jaw dropped to the floor while watching that spectacle.

'

What the heck?'

Spinning the dough to create a pizza base was a familiar enough sight to Park Yu-Min. However, Kang Jin-Ho's unique 'spin' on this time-worn technique was just too different from the norm.

Just tossing the dough once in the air was enough for it to spin viciously and take on the pizza base's shape in no time at all!

Pang!

Kang Jin-Ho tossed another dough into the air to turn it into another base in short order.

'Heol... What am I even looking at here?'

Park Yu-Min rubbed his eyes and stared into the kitchen one more time to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Even those specialized pizza machines wouldn't be able to press the dough

that

fast. With a slight exaggeration, he could say that just one toss of a spherical dough in the air would be enough to turn it into a flat, perfectly-round pizza base.

Kang Jin-Ho expertly caught all those bases, set them down on a huge table in the middle of the kitchen, then smartly applied the tomato sauce onto them.

'...Can't you do it like an ordinary person, Jin-Ho?'

Even the sight of Kang Jin-Ho spreading the sauce was extraordinary. All he did was stand on one spot and shake the sauce bottle around, yet the liquid inside seemingly jumped around all on its own to land perfectly on the bases.

The tomato sauce was being 'applied' in this manner on the four pizza bases placed slightly away from each other, yet not a single drop of the red liquid landed on the table.

'Wait a minute, I... think I saw this scene somewhere before.'

Wasn't there a similar scene depicted in a certain manga Park Yu-Min used to read when he was still a teen? A manga where one knife swing of the protagonist would make the ingredients jump into the air on their own and get sliced into perfect pieces before piling neatly on the corner of the table?

That nonsensical scene was being brought to life right in front of Park Yu-Min's eyes. At this rate, it wouldn't be weird to see a TV station sending a crew to film this scene. The slight problem with that was the possibility that the program the film crew belonged to could be from 'Korea's Got Talent' rather than gourmet shows covering tasty eateries!

'Hang on, how are the toppings in such a perfect rank and file?!'

Kang Jin-Ho wearing sanitary gloves was 'simply' tossing the ingredients from the nearby topping containers onto the pizza bases, but those bits were landing with scary precision to form perfect lines. Ju Yeong-Gi once opined that Kang Jin-Ho had the disposition of a hardcore military man, and Park Yu-Min was freshly reminded of why he had agreed with that assessment in the past.

Kang Jin-Ho wasted no time placing toppings and cheese on the pizza. He then slid the large metal peel under the prepared pizza before shoving it inside the stone oven.

Park Yu-Min muttered, “...Why is everything happening so fast?”

It couldn't have been more than three minutes since the initial orders were placed, but four pizzas were already inside the oven. Even after taking into account the time needed to bake the pizzas, such a quick turnaround had to be some kind of a world record.

However, Park Yu-Min had no idea—he had no idea that this wasn't the end.

Kang Jin-Ho placed the pizzas inside the oven, and then he proceeded to shove more firewood from the openings of the oven on the right and on the left with a poker. Suddenly, the firewood erupted into a volcano-like fire that brightly illuminated the oven's interior.

'...Please do it like an ordinary person! Please!'

This was nothing more than baking pizza, so why?! There were a ton of things in this world for someone to get shocked about, so why would anyone want to add one more to that list? Especially when it was about baking some measly pizza! After all, that would be the mother of all unnecessary waste in the world!

Kang Jin-Ho continued to turn and reposition the pizzas inside the oven for a little while, and then without warning, he began pulling them outside.

“

Heol...!

” Park Yu-Min's jaw fell to the floor once more as he stared at the steaming pizzas fresh out of the oven.

'How... How are they finished so soon?'

No matter how hard and how many times Park Yu-Min rubbed his eyes, those pizzas were still perfectly baked. As a matter of fact, their corners were slightly singed, making it seem like they had been left in the oven for a smidge too long instead!

'Ah, so this is why pizzas are called fast food...'

What was fast food, anyway? Fast food was food that was quick to prepare!

Even as Park Yu-Min thought to himself about how making ramen would have taken longer to make, Kang Jin-Ho continued with his work by placing the pizzas on the plates and pushing them forward at his dazed friend.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Park Yu-Min. “I'm done.”

“

...Uh? M-mm,

okay.” Park Yu-Min picked up the two finished pizzas and headed to the dining area. A hollow chuckle leaked out of his mouth in the process.

'Maybe we should've gone with a larger dining area?'

One thing was for sure, though. From now on... They could proudly say that customers didn't have to wait long for their food in this pizzeria.

“Yup, I don't even know what to say anymore.” Park Yu-Min continued to chuckle and shook his head. Even in something like making a pizza, Kang Jin-Ho still managed to remain extraordinary.

“Thank you for waiting. Your pizzas are here.”