Chapter 308: Advising (3)

Chapter 308: Advising (3)

"Mister Jin-Ho, I think it'll be risky," said Jo Gyu-Min earnestly. "The matters of his family are like Chairman Hwang's reverse scale. Even if it's you, carelessly bringing up that part of the chairman's life will cause severe problems."

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded away.

"Not only that but... Putting aside the pros and cons for now, I think it might be crossing the line somewhat. After all, we're talking about Chairman Hwang's intensely personal affair."

“Yes, that is true.”

“Also...” Jo Gyu-Min pondered how he should frame the next part of his opinion to avoid souring Kang Jin-Ho's mood. “...Chairman Hwang is very much set on the way of his life, Mister Jin-Ho. When nicely put, his view on life is clear-cut, and when not-so-nicely put, he does not feel the need to listen to other people's advice.”

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho groaned quietly.

“For almost half a century, Chairman Hwang ran his corporation as he saw fit and constantly achieved success. So, would someone like that be willing to take on other people's advice at this stage in life? Besides, he hasn't had any failures either since his return, too.”

“That's true.”

“That is the situation, so I can't help but worry that bringing up this part of Chairman Hwang's life could lead to touching his reverse scale.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded to express his agreement.

When a person grows old, leading to their thought process becoming more inflexible, they would gradually forget how to listen to what other people tell them. In other words, they would not see themselves as doing anything wrong.

From Kang Jin-Ho's perspective, Hwang Jeong-Hu was an open-minded person that knew how to pay attention to other people's opinions. However, even to someone like him, the matters of his family would be too sensitive for outsiders to bring up. And, precisely because it was his family, Hwang Jeong-Hu probably wouldn't see the point of listening to others' advice.

'Besides, there's the issue of him having done nothing wrong.'

In Kang Jin-Ho's opinion, Hwang Jeong-Hu's children were in the wrong, not Hwang Jeong-Hu. Not just him but everyone in the world would think the same after learning about the details of this matter. Confining their father, who was on the death's doorstep in a hospital room, then restricting people from visiting him was way past the point of being unfilial and straight into the territory of a punishable crime.

No matter how attractive wealth and power were, not many people out there would be willing to defend grown-up children that had driven their father into that kind of state for the sake of fulfilling their ambitions.

.

Kang Jin-Ho understood that all too well.

"Thank you for clarifying that, Chief Jo. I think I get it now. In that case, please arrange a date for me in the near future. I'll personally visit Chairman Hwang."

Jo Gyu-Min couldn't hide his worry as he stared at Kang Jin-Ho. 'This is surprising...'

Kang Jin-Ho being interested in Hwang Jeong-Hu's matters was already unusual, yet he even wanted to visit the chairman's home, too. Now, this was truly strange.

Didn't Kang Jin-Ho consciously try to distance himself from Hwang Jeong-Hu until now?

“Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Yes?”

“If you no longer need my advice, I'll stop here. However, there's something I'd still like to tell you. I hope you don't mind.”

"Yes, please go ahead."

“I never said that's my goal, though?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“That's what your actions suggest, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“Hmm, is it? Then, how should I say this...” Kang Jin-Ho still looked troubled, not finding it easy to explain himself. “It's not important to me who was in the wrong or right.”

“No, hang on. Mister Jin-Ho, that is important. You should know that as well as anyone.”

“Alright, let me revise that. It's important to know who was in the wrong, yes. However, I believe people's relationships not improving at all because it is incorrect.”

“Mm...” Jo Gyu-Min scratched his cheek.

What Kang Jin-Ho said was technically not incorrect. However, he still hadn't mentioned his main reason why.

“Mister Jin-Ho, I'm not asking about how to improve people's relationships, but why that needs to happen.” Jo Gyu-Min spoke with some hints of frustration. “Could it be that you're taking pity on them?”

“...”

"...Mister Jin-Ho, please listen. If we see through your eyes, probably everyone would be deserving of your pity on some level. If people with less money than you and living a tougher life than you are deserving of pity, then I'm pretty sure 99% of South Korea's citizens would qualify for that."

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly stared at Jo Gyu-Min.

“Those people once stood at the top of South Korea's food chain, Mister Jin-Ho. Honestly, you probably can't even imagine the level of power they used to enjoy and how much they abused the system to live in the lap of luxury. If only you knew what their lives have been like... You'd never pity them to this degree. Let's be real here!” Jo Gyu-Min's voice gradually got louder in frustration. “What about them do you find deserving of pity? They ended up in that state from their own wrongdoings, anyway. If they had behaved a little more reasonably, they wouldn't have ended up like that, you know! Taking pity on people like that is going too far, Mister Jin-Ho. This is my honest advice to you. Please, don't let momentary emotions distract you.”

Judging from his tone, it seemed Jo Gyu-Min was genuinely unhappy about Kang Jin-Ho 'caring' about Hwang Min-Su's situation. Which was understandable. Jo Gyu-Min was once directly involved in those people's businesses, after all.

They used him until his usefulness ran out, then they tried to throw him away. Jo Gyu-Min's life almost went into a death spiral because of their actions, didn't it? No wonder he lost his cool when the savior of his life, Kang Jin-Ho, seemed to be taking pity on a man who was basically an irreconcilable enemy to Jo Gyu-Min.

Jo Gyu-Min sighed. “My apologies, it seems I've gone overboard just now. Please forgive...”

“No,” Kang Jin-Ho cut Jo Gyu-Min off. “You're right, Chief Jo.”

“Mm? Then...?”

“However, you're mistaken about something.”

“I beg your pardon?” Jo Gyu-Min tilted his head.

Kang Jin-Ho clarified himself without any ripples on his expression. “I'm not taking pity on them. I only acted nicely to Hwang Min-Su because his young son was watching us back then. And the other reason was solely down to my whims. I thought that what I'd been receiving until now originally belonged to Hwang Min-Su and his brothers. However, I assure you, that's about it.”

“In that case...?”

“Chief Jo, tell me. Do I look like a kind person to you?”

Jo Gyu-Min almost immediately answered, “No!” but managed to clamp his mouth shut just in time. 'Right, no way this guy would be like that...'

Kang Jin-Ho was like an angelic existence to the kids of the Seongsim Orphanage, but to those with zero connections to him, he could be colder and more decisive than a treasured blade. So, him suddenly taking pity on Hwang Jeong-Hu's children when he never cared about them in the first place? Such a thing could never happen.

“Then, why are you prepared to go so far for them?”

“The one I'm worried about isn't them, actually.” Kang Jin-Ho took a gulp of water before muttering, “It's Chairman Hwang.”

His voice contained a certain amount of bitterness.