Chapter 24: Looking Around (5)

Chapter 24: Looking Around (5)

Kang Jin-Ho leaned against the chair. As a so-called troubleshooter, he wouldn't need a lot of time to make a tidy sum of money. However, he couldn't help but mull over this choice.

A troubleshooter, was it? The job title certainly sounded nice as if it had a cool meaning or something. However, Kang Jin-Ho was well versed in the nature of men. No one would seek out the services of a troubleshooter if the matter in question could be handled openly or through the power of the law. In other words, the profession of a troubleshooter could only be performed by someone willing to break the law, use whatever shortcuts available, and get their hands dirty.

Of course, it wasn't as if Kang Jin-Ho felt squeamish about doing such jobs. He didn't care if he had to break the law or use whatever dirty methods available. He was even prepared to murder if that could get the job done. So, it was a waste of time to bring up the idea of a guilty conscience over breaking man-made laws. However, the inevitable 'grudge' that would come after him made him hesitate.

If that grudge was directed at him and him alone, it wouldn't matter one jot. However, if his family was targeted for retaliation while he wasn't around... Now that would be a grave problem. What was the point of working to make his family's lives better if that work came to strangle them instead

Kang Jin-Ho had witnessed several similar instances in the past. All sorts of unsavory things happened in gangho, after all.

His quest to make money must not become a threat to his family. If something like that happened due to some improbable freakish turn of events, he would never be able to forgive himself.

'Which means that option is also off the table, huh.'

Feeling frustrated, Kang Jin-Ho headed to the rooftop and mouthed a cigarette. Trying out one cigarette led to his old habit rearing its head, and now, he would smoke every now and then. Getting found out would lead to one hell of a headache, but Kang Jin-Ho was capable of detecting movements thirty meters away. There was no way he would get discovered by his parents.

"Whew..." Kang Jin-Ho exhaled, releasing the cigarette smoke into the atmosphere. As it turned out, this world had a lot more migraine-inducing matters to worry about than he had bargained for.

Life in Zhongyuan had made him terribly miss the modern era, but now that he was back, this place didn't seem so different from the ancient world of martial artists. The level of brutality or violence was obviously much harsher in the past, but the modern era had a stronger smell of darkness and evil wafting out from between the gaps of bureaucracy and various systems in place.

'I wasn't even worried about stuff like this earlier, but now...'

When he realized that he had come back home and returned to the modern era, he had been truly happy. His opinion on this era being more convenient and generally nicer to live in compared to Zhongyuan still hadn't changed. But there was no denying that all the hopes and anticipation he had initially felt right after his return had waned by a lot lately.

Perhaps his time in the hospital was when the modern era looked the brightest in his view.

'When I was... in the hospital... '

Kang Jin-Ho's eyes trembled just a little. Back when he returned, was it? And the hospital, too

He deeply breathed in the cigarette smoke.

'...What if I do that '

He stubbed the cigarette, then raised some winds to blow away any smell that might have clung to his clothes. After getting rid of the evidence, he hurriedly returned to his room and began searching through the Internet, his eyes gleaming softly.

Finally, he had thought of a way, something that only he could do. Indeed, no one else in this world could do it but him. He had finally found a way to make money.

A deep grin crept up on Kang Jin-Ho's lips as he stared at the computer monitor.

***

Inside the S Hospital's VVIP room on the top floor...

This particular room was over 50 pyeong in size and cost over three million won per day to stay in. A large bed was located in the corner of this room, and an old man lay still on it.

"Chairman, how have you been today, sir " the caregiver hired to look after the old man spoke in a friendly voice, but the old man's eyes were hollow and unfeeling, with no hints of movement whatsoever. The caregiver continued. "Chairman, if you insist on staying like that, your condition will deteriorate even further.”

Only then did the old man's eyes quiver ever so slightly, but that was all he did. The range of his motions extended to slightly parting his dried lips and slowly closing and opening his eyes—not much else. However, those simple range of movements was already too taxing for him, let alone communicate with others.

"In that case... Please get some more rest, Chairman." The caregiver switched the lights off, then lay down on the extra bed placed on the opposite side of the room.

Just why did he struggle so hard during his life

What made him fight all those years while neglecting to look after himself

After all, everything would be useless once he died, so why

Hwang Jeong-Hu squeezed his eyes shut.

'If I can start over...’

‘If I get another chance...’

‘I swear, I'll never be this stupid again.’

‘I will never live a life this moronic only to die empty-handed...'

Hwang Jeong-Hu slowly opened his eyes... only to spot a blurry figure standing in front of the bed.

"...?!" He was taken aback, his lips parting weakly. However, his agitation quickly died down. After all, the emotions in his eyes were close to resignation at this point.

He believed that seeing things like this shouldn't come as a surprise in his current condition. While he was rueful about regrets being his only company, maybe it was time to accept his fate—accept that he didn't have much left to live.

But then, the figure before his eyes whispered quietly to him, “Does it feel like you're facing the Grim Reaper?”

“...?” Hwang Jeong-Hu sobered up immediately and took another look at this figure. Only then did he realize that it was no grim reaper. It... seemed like a living, breathing person

But how was that possible? How could a stranger waltz into this room unnoticed? The S Hospital's VVIP room was famous for its unparalleled security. One needed to pass through the triple-layered doorway to enter. That wasn't all, either—Hwang Jeong-Hu's sons had even left several bodyguards to monitor the corridors, too.

So, how had? a total stranger slipped into the room unnoticed

"I have a question for you," the man clad in black slowly spoke. He didn't even wait for Hwang Jeong-Hu's reply. "Is it fair to die just like this "

Hwang Jeong-Hu couldn't reply even if he wanted to. However, if he could... He would have shaken his head urgently like a lunatic. He still had too many things left—not as in enjoying the riches of his life, but matters he hadn't settled yet. He would never find peace if he died without getting closure on those matters.

“In that case, let us sign an agreement,” said the man in black.

Hwang Jeong-Hu stared intensely at this man, knowing that the latter was not a grim reaper. However, he could very well be a devil in disguise. That was the only explanation for why anyone would want to enter an agreement with a dying man.

“You will decide on the conditions after I show you what I can do.”

However, this devil didn't seem to know how to negotiate. To think that a devil was this amateurish when trying to form a contract! If Hwang Jeong-Hu had been healthy, he would have roared at the top of his lungs at this fake devil, telling the latter to go back to school and learn how to negotiate first. Of course, all he could do right now was just lay on the bed, silently witnessing the devil do his thing.

"It'll only be for half a day. But during that half-day, you shall experience what I can do for you. I'll return tomorrow. Until then, you will have to seriously consider what you can do for me."

Hwang Jeong-Hu asked with his eyes, wanting to know what the devil would do to him. It should have been impossible to understand him, yet the man—the devil—seemed to have understood him, evidenced by the faint grin creeping up on the devil’s face. The devil slowly pressed his hand on Hwang Jeong-Hu’s lower abdomen and quietly muttered, “I shall allow you to dream again.”

All of a sudden, something began boiling deep inside Hwang Jeong-Hu's abdomen, and he blacked out almost instantly.

The man in black observed the unconscious Hwang Jeong-Hu for a little while, then leisurely stepped outside the hospital room.

Of course, the devil in black was none other than Kang Jin-Ho.

1. 1 pyeong = approximately 3.3 square meters