Chapter 671. Pouncing (1)

'Lee Hyeon-Ju, huh...'

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned slightly while studying the woman before his eyes.

Obviously, he knew who she was. And 'what' she was, too. Maybe he knew more about her than she knew about herself.

Even then, this situation still came out of nowhere for Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Okay, so...” Lee Hyeon-Su let out a quiet little groan.

He was being overtaken with listlessness mixed with just a hint of awkwardness. Even someone like him couldn't avoid feeling a bit weird about this occasion.

Then again, Lee Hyeon-Su was one of the people responsible for utterly ripping Lee Hyeon-Ju's life apart, wasn't he? No, that wasn't quite right. He played too big a role in Lee Jung-Geol's downfall to downplay himself as a 'mere one of the many'.

If Lee Hyeon-Ju saw him as her sworn enemy, he wouldn't be able to change her mind. Whether his actions were justified or not didn't matter here. Human emotions never got along with logical thinking and calm reasoning, after all.

'Right, this is...'

Maybe his emotion could be best summed up as 'Uncomfortable'. And Lee Hyeon-Su was somewhat taken aback at this unfamiliar emotion welling up from somewhere deep inside him.

Obviously, Lee Hyeon-Su was a human being like everybody else, so he also experienced several uncomfortable moments in his life. However, if his memory served him correctly, he hadn't felt this emotion in the past few years.

Lee Hyeon-Su was a man who didn't even flinch when people he tortured shot murderous glares full of resentment at him. So, for him to feel uncomfortable like this...

He was freshly reminded of how much he had changed recently. If this meeting with Lee Hyeon-Ju happened half a year ago, he wouldn't have felt this uncomfortable.

“What can I do for you, Miss Hyeon-Ju?”

Although Lee Hyeon-Su didn't mind humoring this unfamiliar emotion for a little bit longer, the reality wasn't so kind. He simply didn't have the luxury of time to leisurely sit in a meeting with this woman.

Lee Hyeon-Ju stared back at him, her eyes filled with complicated emotions. Which was understandable, really.

They were enemies only a few months ago. Lee Jung-Geol's granddaughter would've never joined hands with Kim Seok-Il's right-hand man. Yet these two were sitting down face-to-face. And the fickle nature of fate had thrust them into a massive change in their positions.

As human beings with beating hearts, how could they not feel weirded out by this situation? Especially when considering that Lee Hyeon-Su played a decisive part in the death of this woman's grandfather, Lee Jung-Geol!

Lee Hyeon-Ju sucked in a deep breath to control her emotions. “I have some things to discuss with you regarding Mister Kang Jin-Ho.”

“...The Assembly Master, you say?” Lee Hyeon-Su stared at her, a hint of interest creeping into his expression now. Kang Jin-Ho's name coming out of her mouth roused this strange feeling in his head.

'I wonder, how does she view our current Assembly Master?'

A hateful enemy? If not, a powerful but necessary evil she couldn't oppose?

Lee Hyeon-Su was at least certain about one thing, and that was her opinion of Kang Jin-Ho not being all that favorable. No matter how anyone tried to package what happened, it was still an undeniable fact that Kang Jin-Ho ended Lee Jung-Geol's life with his own hands. Even then, here she was, talking about Kang Jin-Ho to Lee Hyeon-Su.

“I see. Please speak.”

Since Lee Hyeon-Ju was this determined, he should hear her out.

“Before we start...” Lee Hyeon-Ju held her head proudly and stared at Lee Hyeon-Su. “How long are you planning to monitor my movements?”

“Hmm...” Lee Hyeon-Su scratched his cheek. As he thought, talking to this woman was uncomfortable for him. “...I won't ask you to be more understanding toward our situation, Miss Lee. However...”

“No,” Lee Hyeon-Ju firmly cut him off. “This isn't a question of understanding or not. All I want to know is how long you will continue with your surveillance.”

“I'm not sure. I can't give you a firm time frame. But I can tell you this one thing. When we no longer have any reasons to suspect you, that's when it will stop.”

“I see. So, should I take that as when you confirmed that I absolutely do not pose any harm to the Martial Assembly?”

“Yes, that sounds about right.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju quietly stared at Lee Hyeon-Su before narrowing her eyes. “And who decides that?”

“Mm...!”

“I'm not trying to trip you up or look down on you, Mister Lee. I simply wanted confirmation on whether you have the necessary authority to decide such things or not."

“I see. It is a sensible way of approaching things,” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered while slowly nodding along. He was obviously not thick enough to overlook the logically-sound argument and cry out, 'You're wrong!'

'Right. This state of things is a bit of an issue...'

Back when Lee Jung-Geol was still the ruler, there existed this thing called the 'middle management' within the Martial Assembly. Lee Jung-Geol was a dictator, but he also knew how to be generous toward his loyal retainers and underlings. And there was a clear pecking order among those retainers.

Over time, an unspoken guideline, of sorts, on which matter could be handled on which level of management was established. However, the current Martial Assembly didn't have that. Kang Jin-Ho held all the authority now. And he didn't have anyone that could be called the second-in-command at the moment, either.

Vator and Wiggins couldn't really be seen as the Assembly members. Not yet, anyway. They could certainly make decisions, but those decisions had to go through someone else first before they could be turned into orders. As for Lee Hyeon-Su, his unique background meant he could never become the second-in-command.

Which left Bang Jin-Hun as the only likely 'proxy' candidate for Kang Jin-Ho. However, the former Assembly Master had left the political game behind and practically ceased all public activities in an attempt to build a buffer zone of sorts.

All of this was hurting Lee Hyeon-Su on so many levels, and here came Lee Hyeon-Ju, accurately poking him where it hurt!

But she was right. Who should be making the decision regarding her in this organization? This matter was stuck in a vague nowhere-land. Lee Hyeon-Su didn't have high enough authority to decide, and the matter itself was too trivial for Kang Jin-Ho to handle.

Besides...

'Even if I talk to Mister Jin-Ho about it, he'll probably give me the obvious answer.'

...Which would've been, 'Leave her be.'

Kang Jin-Ho was never the type to care too much about trivial things. Even if those things somehow became complicated and blew up in his face, Kang Jin-Ho believed he could simply break through with his overwhelming strength. And Lee Hyeon-Su 1000% respected his judgment. Kang Jin-Ho was the type of a man who would do what he said he'd do, after all!

The problem with that arrangement, though, was...

'I'm the one who needs to deal with the mop-up, you know!'

Resolving something didn't automatically mean everything was now finished, that it was happily ever after for everyone involved.

Kang Jin-Ho only needed to show up, punch the problem in the face to solve it, then go on his merry ways. But Lee Hyeon-Su had to stay behind and clean up the scene, then deal with the aftermath, too! His rich work experience taught him that rather than resolving a crisis after it happened, preventing it from happening in the first place would make his job a hundred times easier.

“Maybe you can say I'm overstepping my authority. However, only one person can determine that,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

“I see. In other words, only Mister Kang Jin-Ho has the final say.”

“In short, yes.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju slowly nodded. “Very well. I only have one demand, then. Please set up a meeting with Mister Kang Jin-Ho for me.”

“I refuse.”

“Do you have the authority to say no?”

“I think I do, at least for things like this.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju quietly gritted her teeth at the sly smirk on Lee Hyeon-Su's face. She felt a rather strong urge to crush that slimy face. “Don't you think it's excessive?”

“Excessive? How so?”

“Yes, excessive. Tell me honestly. What am I to you? Am I a princess of a fallen kingdom? Or do you think someone will try to put me back in power to recreate my grandfather's glory days? If you do, you must've read way too many novels, Mister Lee. I'm nothing more than the defeated. One with no power to her name.”

“Of course, we also know that. Although it is unfortunate, your existence doesn't hold much importance in our eyes. From my personal view, you're no better than a passing flea at this point.”

“You sure don't mind voicing your impression of the person in her presence, now do you?”

“Sometimes, a person needs a sobering reminder, Miss Lee.”

“Did you know?” Lee Hyeon-Ju narrowed her eyes and stared back at Lee Hyeon-Su. When he tilted his head slightly in confusion, a bright smile suddenly formed on her face. “That you're a truly detestable man?”

“...I haven't heard someone call me that in a long while. Yes, I'm at least self-aware,” Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged his shoulders. “However... I'm pretty sure you didn't come here to tell me all this, Miss Lee. There's no point in confirming what you already know, after all. Unlike you, I have a lot on my plate at the moment. If that is all, I'd like to end this meeting.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju subtly chewed on her lip before raising her voice again. “This wasn't what I wanted to discuss with you, but it helped me figure out what the problem is. Look, Mister Lee.”

“Yes?”

“Since you're proud of your intellect, you should know the answer to my question. Tell me what I need to do to escape the hole I'm in.”

“You're mistaken about something, Miss Lee. You don't need to do anything,” said Lee Hyeon-Su. Lee Hyeon-Ju silently glared at him, but he didn't care and continued to explain. “Simply stay put and endure. That's it. After years... No, months, even. Once enough time passes us by, and we completely lose interest in you, we will let you go without a problem.”

“Oh? And it's not about slowly suffocating me to death?”

“If our plan was to eliminate you, we would've already done so. I hope you don't think we're too squeamish to do it, miss.”

“Nice answer there, Mister Lee. However, you still haven't answered my question. Now tell me. What do I need to do in order to continue on as an Assembly member?”

That was when Lee Hyeon-Su's brows twitched. “...Did you say 'continue' on as... an Assembly member?”

“Yes. A member. An agent. A gopher. Whatever you want to call it, I don't care. Everything you've said so far only leads to one conclusion, and that's my exit from the Assembly.”

“Isn't that a good thing for you?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju smirked back. “A good thing? Yes, it's such a good thing, isn't it? Once I leave the Assembly, should I get a job in a convenience store somewhere in the sticks? If not, I can always get a job in a factory somewhere. I'm stronger than most men, after all.”

As she began her rant, her expression gradually became more focused. More ferocious.

“I don't know if you are capable of understanding it, but I'm a martial artist, Mister Lee. And you cannot leave the Assembly if you wish to hold on to your identity as a martial artist in this country. Of course, I'm fully aware of how ironic it is to say all this, but I don't have a choice. That is why...!”

She stopped briefly, her glare squarely locked on Lee Hyeon-Su.

“...You only need to do one of these two things, Mister Lee. Tell me what I need to do in order to retain my spot in the Assembly. Or try to stop me from clinging to Mister Jin-Ho and tearfully begging him.”

“That... is one scary threat, actually.” Lee Hyeon-Su responded relaxedly. However, his mind was anything but relaxed. In fact, it was a complicated mess of various thoughts racing around.

Just who was Lee Hyeon-Ju? Wasn't she Lee Jung-Geol's granddaughter? It might seem laughably antiquated to talk about one's blood lineage in the modern era, but... If the Martial Assembly was described as a dynasty, Lee Hyeon-Ju was as legitimate as an heir to the throne could get. As for Bang Jin-Hun, who spent his entire life in the Assembly, he was kind of like a nobleman. However, what about Kang Jin-Ho...?

'...Mm, well, I guess he's a foreign invader? A foreign conqueror?'

A wry smile slowly formed on Lee Hyeon-Su's face.

The limitation of Lee Hyeon-Ju being a woman in this world of men had reared its head. And Lee Jung-Geol's faction that should've been supporting her had collapsed, and its remnants were busy trying to stay under the radar. Even then, she still held enough of a symbolic importance as Lee Jung-Geol's granddaughter. Wasn't that why Lee Hyeon-Su and Co. remained so wary of her?

However, she wanted to remain as a part of the Martial Assembly? The one ruled by Kang Jin-Ho?

“...Are you thinking of sharpening your blade of vengeance under your enemy's wings?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked curiously.

“No matter how much I sharpen my dagger, I will never leave a scratch on that man.”

“Well, yes. It's... impossible.” Lee Hyeon-Su frowned while scratching his head. “Then, why do you wish to stay?”

“Please don't act stupid like this. I'm a martial artist. And that's how I must live the rest of my life, regardless of who my grandfather was. Like how a fish can't live outside water, a martial artist can't live outside of the martial world.”

“Mm...”

“I'm sure you're already aware of this. That openly using me is better than making people forget about me. After all, me submitting to Mister Jin-Ho and working for him is the sign of the ultimate, unquestionable surrender of my grandfather's faction. All those still clinging to their attachments to my grandfather would have to give up, then.”

“Mm...!” Lee Hyeon-Su frowned again. What a sweet-sounding offer this was.

“So, I want you to use me. I will gladly play along. However, you must stop monitoring me in return. Take those stinking observers away. If not, at least let me leave my house.”

“Hah... Hahaha...” Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't help but laugh.

'Wow. She's rather spunky, no?'

It sure had been a long time since someone brazenly voiced their demands like this to Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Here's the deal, though...” Lee Hyeon-Su maintained his smile while staring at Lee Hyeon-Ju before addressing her again. “That's not everything you want to talk about. Am I right?”

His lips were smiling, but his eyes were definitely not.

His eyes were withdrawn, lacking any hint of emotion like that of a reptile's. And more than creepy enough to frighten all those looking into them!