Chapter 611. Agitating (1)
Director Jo Nam-Pyeong was a coffee lover.
His love went beyond frequently enjoying a cup of aromatic brew. No, he genuinely loved everything about coffee. So much so that he'd pay meticulous attention to the types of coffee beans and how they were ground and blended, then brew what he considered the ideal cup of coffee for himself.
Even back when uncultured masses thought coffee was nothing more than an excessively bitter drink from the West, Director Jo still enjoyed drinking it. Even though people saw him as an eccentric for drinking coffee so often!
What he particularly enjoyed about coffee was its unique aroma. While the pleasantly bitter taste of coffee as it moistened his tongue and slid down his throat was indeed quite wonderful, it couldn't hold a candle to its arresting aroma.
The cup resting in front of his eyes contained such coffee. Pleasantly aromatic and stimulating his senses. However, Jo Nam-Pyeong couldn't enjoy the aroma at all. Actually, it was even getting on his nerves right now.
But why was that? Obviously, it couldn't be the fault of the coffee's aroma. He had personally brewed this cup of coffee, after all. Countless specialist baristas operated throughout the world, but no one could brew the perfect cup of coffee that suited his tastes. So, this coffee he brewed to match his preferred taste couldn't be at fault here.
If anyone was to blame, it had to be Jo Nam-Pyeong himself. No, more correctly, his ruined mood.
When a person was in a foul mood, every little thing would feel like an irritating chore. Even his favorite thing in the whole world, drinking coffee, would be included in that 'every little thing'.
As for the source of Jo Nam-Pyeong's foul mood? It was sitting right in front of him, nonchalantly sipping away at the coffee he brewed! And the culprit's name was none other than Lee Hyeon-Su.
Jo Nam-Pyeong suddenly thought that life could be rather unpredictable. For one, he never imagined that one day, he'd sit with someone like Lee Hyeon-Su and drink coffee like this.
Back when Lee Hyeon-Su was the brain of Kim Seok-Il's operation, Jo Nam-Pyeong belonged to a group of folks trying desperately to dispose of this young man. After all, he was a man who perfectly shored up every lacking part in Kim Seok-Il's armor. With him gone, the Martial Assembly would've never been pushed to the back foot against the Yeongnam Group.
But now, that Lee Hyeon-Su was sitting right in front of Jo Nam-Pyeong's nose, relaxedly drinking coffee. This was why life could be so unpredictable. Amusing, even.
Jo Nam-Pyeong oh-so wanted to reach out and strangle Lee Hyeon-Su right now. A slender, weak-looking neck like that should be easy to snap in half if that was what Jo Nam-Pyeong wanted. However...!
'I can't do that, now can I? Because of life...'
Jo Nam-Pyeong could only chuckle at this irony. If he killed Lee Hyeon-Su now, his and Lee Jung-Geol's plan would go down the drain. Even if he disguised it as an accident or some kind of regrettable mistake... Would anyone be able to handle the aftermath?
After all, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the type to let something like that go, now was he? Lee Hyeon-Su probably knew that, and that was how he could relaxedly sip coffee in Jo Nam-Pyeong's presence like this.
“What... What did you say?” Jo Nam-Pyeong suppressed his rage and asked.
“Mm? Was it hard to understand, Director Jo? I thought I made myself amply clear, though?”
Jo Nam-Pyeong wanted to trample on Lee Hyeon-Su's snarky, sneering face right now. Still, he held himself back and sucked in a deep, deep breath first. “I’m not in the mood to humor your nonsense, Lee Hyeon-Su. If you don't have any serious business here, leave.”
“Serious business, you say...? You can't be saying that because you really don't know, right? If you didn't hear me the first time, allow me to repeat myself. Join our side, please.”
“And I told you to leave!”
Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled unhurriedly, his expression remaining as detestable as ever. “Director, I advise you to carefully think it over.”
“You bastard!” Jo Nam-Pyeong roared and tried to get up.
However, Lee Hyeon-Su spoke up first. “Yes, you'd feel inclined to chase me out when I said you should betray the alliance of elders and directors and join our side. However...”
Suddenly, an unreadable light began flickering in Lee Hyeon-Su's eyes as he glared at Jo Nam-Pyeong.
“Do you think you can do the same when I tell you to abandon Lee Jung-Geol's mutiny and join the right side?”
Jo Nam-Pyeong was left speechless and dumbfounded. What was this bastard even saying? “What was that? Mutiny?”
“Yes.”
“Huh. Huh-uh... What rubbish are you spewing now? I have no desire to play your games, Lee Hyeon-Su. And my patience is running out! You better get the hell out of here or...!”
“Everyone will die,” said Lee Hyeon-Su. That clamped Jo Nam-Pyeong's mouth shut. “Director Jo... The truth won't simply disappear because you don't want to acknowledge it. If I leave this room empty-handed, every person connected to this mutiny, as per the information I've already acquired, will die. I'll personally make sure that happens. Not a single person will remain.”
“...You?! You stinking son of a b*tch!” Jo Nam-Pyeong shot up to his feet.
The stand-off continued in this heavy silence. Jo Nam-Pyeong glared murderously at Lee Hyeon-Su but eventually squeezed his eyes shut.
He shouldn't have lost his cool like this. He should've continued to play the idiot till the end, pretending to know nothing!
But now, it was too late. Whatever he said now would come across as suspicious. Unnatural. What a terrible mistake this was!
However... It also didn't feel like a mistake either. Someone like Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn't say things like this to test the waters. If Jo Nam-Pyeong insisted on his charade, Lee Hyeon-Su would've made good on his threat. There was no doubt about that.
After all, that was Lee Hyeon-Su's operational style back in the day as the demon of the Yeongnam Group!
“Wow. It's been such a long time since someone swore at me like that. In that sense, Mister Jin-Ho can be such a nice person. At least he never swears, you see?”
Of course, that alone wasn't enough to determine whether a person was actually nice or not.
Jo Nam-Pyeong's brain desperately kicked into gear. Just how much did Lee Hyeon-Su know? Could it be... everything? But that didn't seem likely. In that case, just how much?
Jo Nam-Pyeong desperately pondered how much information he should admit to right now. Even if his limbs were chopped off now, the possibility of victory should still remain as long as he and his peers survived!
“Sit down,” said Lee Hyeon-Su in a quiet voice.
“You...!”
“I said, sit down. Director.” Lee Hyeon-Su growled in a firm, unforgiving voice.
Jo Nam-Pyeong faltered and fell down to his seat. His expression was dyed in shock, fear and disbelief.
'Since when did he...!'
How long did Lee Hyeon-Su know about this! Since when?!
“Isn't this so weird?” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled softly. “Not too long ago, your side was trying so hard to kill me. Or was I wrong about that? I mean, you must've suffered so many times by my hands, after all. Knowing all that, I don't understand why you stopped being wary of me. Since you've been cooking up something, shouldn't you have been most wary of me, not Mister Jin-Ho? Even if it looked like I'd become Mister Jin-Ho's pet, did you really think I lost all my fangs and claws? My sharpness?”
“...!”
Lee Hyeon-Su slowly shook his head. “This is my first time being treated like a nobody after reaching adulthood, so I'm not sure how to respond to this strange and awkward situation. Still, I guess it worked out favorably for our side. We were able to do what we had to do relatively smoothly, after all.”
“Fuu-woo...!” Jo Nam-Pyeong sucked in a deep breath. This must be the beginning of the annoying and boring war of nerves. Still, he was more than prepared to offer his life if it meant...
“No need to steel your resolve like that, Director Jo,” said Lee Hyeon-Su. “I already know everything, anyway. What you were preparing, who would be assisting and collaborating with you, and even... Well, we don't actually need to know any of that since taking Lee Jung-Geol's head should be enough for us.”
“You, you...!” Jo Nam-Pyeong trembled in barely-contained rage. As it turned out, this was a game with no way to win!
Lee Hyeon-Su was right. His side was probably not interested in the hands and feet of the enemy. All they cared about was taking out Lee Jung-Geol. Once the former Assembly Master was removed from the picture, these elders and directors would lose their rallying point and become rudderless ships in no time at all.
“In that case...!” Jo Nam-Pyeong angrily slammed his palm down on the table. “Why didn't you do that?! Why are you here to tell me all this?! Why? Is it because you want my head as an appetizer before the main course of the Assembly Master's life? Fine! Go right ahead! You want me to borrow you the knife too, you f*cking as*hole?!”
“Whoa, there. Please calm down,” Lee Hyeon-Su smiled brightly.
What a good-natured smile that was, but Jo Nam-Pyeong could only see a shockingly-cold smirk of a devil. The Yeongnam Group's devil had been holding his breath and staying below the radar all this time. Nothing about him had changed, it seemed!
“Why do you think I've been biding my time until now? It's to thoroughly ferret out all the undesirables and clean house in one go. For that purpose, we need a collaborator from the inside. Now that I've mentioned that, let's get to the meat of this topic, shall we? Please pay attention,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while laying out his trap. “Cooperate with us, Director Jo. And I promise to kill only those who resist. However, if you don't... We'll simply kill everyone.”
“...Say what?!” Jo Nam-Pyeong's expression contorted hideously. What kind of bullsh*t negotiation terms were those?! Did Lee Hyeon-Su really mutter that as the options on the table? How?!
“You! You abominable devil!”
“I'm the devil? No, that's not true. I'm simply doing what's logical, Director Jo,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while mouthing a cigarette.
Click...
After using his lighter to ignite the cigarette tip, he furrowed his brow slightly and stared at the cigarette.
'I can't seem to quit this damn thing...'
Moments like this made quitting impossible for Lee Hyeon-Su. After all, the expression made by a man driven to a dead-end and must choose between losing his head or his arms was an unpleasant spectacle reserved only for situations like this.
“Remember that your side started this thing first. It's not like I egged you on or anything like that. Since time immemorial, anyone caught planning treason or mutiny saw everyone in their circle of acquaintances losing their heads. However, I'm not trying to go that far, now am I? It's only obvious that everyone involved should be losing their lives, but I'm trying to save as many as possible here. So, why would you reject this offer? You should be thanking me for it instead.”
Jo Nam-Pyeong couldn't help but chuckle loudly. He heard that a person would start laughing loudly when confronted by something truly flabbergast-inducing. And it seemed this situation fit the bill. “You better stop running your cheap mouth, boy! Now that things are like this, I will be tempted to stop worrying about the consequences! Do you understand me? Ripping your head off now is easier than taking candy from a kid for me!”
“Yes, I'm sure that's the case. That's why I've created a list of names of people involved and left it behind before coming here. And I also made sure to add the names of people I've never been a fan of on that list. Once you see whose names are on it... You'll be genuinely impressed by it.”
“You...! You f*cking son of a...!”
If glares could kill...! Lee Hyeon-Su would've been ripped to shreds by now. How regrettable, then, that Jo Nam-Pyeong's glare wasn't sharp enough to kill anyone.
“It's not wise to drag this on and waste my time,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with a cold, uncaring face as he tapped his cigarette on the nearby ashtray. “Now, decide, Director Jo. Cooperate with us or watch everyone you know get killed.”
“...How many will you spare, then?”
“Anyone who surrenders and doesn't resist.”
“...Including Assembly Master Lee?”
“You must be joking,” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered in dismay. “Please be reasonable about this. Obviously that man's not included.”
“...”
“Director Jo. I don't have all the time in the world. And someone like you must've finished calculating the pros and cons by now, too. So, let's not waste each other's time. You already know what to do, anyway. Regardless of which option you choose, Lee Jung-Geol will still die. In that case, the wise choice is picking the option where more people could be saved.”
Director Jo clamped his mouth shut and said nothing. But he already knew. He knew that he never had a choice, to begin with! His expression distorted even more, and he slammed his fists down on the table. “If... If only we had a little more time! Just a little more, and we could have...!”
All he could do now was let out all the frustration and anger accumulating inside him.
“No, Director Jo. That's not true,” said Lee Hyeon-Su as if he couldn't care less about Jo Nam-Pyeong's feelings. “You never stood a chance at victory when you decided to oppose Mister Jin-Ho. All you did was build a nice-looking sand castle, nothing more.”
“You...! You know nothing, you bastard!”
“Also incorrect. I know everything there is to know.”
“Shut up! Shut up, you bastard! You don't know anything! You don't know how hard we worked to build the Assembly to what it is now and lead it! We... We nurtured this garden with our blood and sweat when everything around us was in ruins! But you...! You who didn't do anything to build this garden want to swoop in now and pick all the fruits clean?! While not even feeling remotely sorry for doing it?!”
Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly. “Director Jo...”
“...?”
“It seems you're still deeply mistaken about something here. Let me clarify it for you. In this world, the strong prey on the weak. Whatever fruits you're talking about, they belong to the strong.” Lee Hyeon-Su mercilessly drove in the final nails. “You and your pals lost what you think is yours because... You're all weak.”
That was a cruel and uncaring declaration to listen to.
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