Chapter 847. Intimidate (2)

Chapter 847. Intimidate (2)

“So, you’ve been doing whatever the hell you felt like, huh?” Hwang Jeong-Hu loudly tutted away.

“I guess so,” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled gently.

What Hwang Jeong-Hu said could be construed as rude, but Kang Jin-Ho had no problem accepting it with a smile on his face. After all, this man had the qualifications to be rude. He was the one and only Hwang Jeong-Hu, wasn’t he?

“I’m simply charging ahead as I see fit, Chairman.”

“Tsk, tsk... Your subordinates must be sweating bullets because of you. Am I right?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled again.

He recently realized how incredible Hwang Jeong-Hu was as a person and a leader. Only after becoming the head of a large organization called the Martial Assembly did Kang Jin-Ho learn the difficulty of leading so many lives and ensuring their survival.

Kang Jin-Ho always respected Hwang Jeong-Hu as a great man. But the degree of his respect went up massively in recent days.

The previous respect was about how Hwang Jeong-Hu had managed to leave behind a historic achievement in his chosen field of profession. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Kang Jin-Ho's respect toward Hwang Jeong-Hu was vague and not all that well-defined. However, getting the first-hand experience transformed that vague feeling into something far more vivid and real.

“Okay, so...” Hwang Jeong-Hu muttered while picking up his coffee cup.

Sluuuurp...

That coffee cup could be described as antique or unfashionable, depending on who you asked. Still, Hwang Jeong-Hu didn't seem to care as he gulped the hot drink down.

“...Chairman? Isn’t that coffee hot?”

“Well, you are also old... No, wait. You were old. Uh, mm... You were old once. Yes.” Hwang Jeong-Hu frowned slightly as if he still hadn’t gotten used to it.

Then again, who could blame him for having a hard time getting used to the fact that this young man before his eyes was older than him in reality?

It wasn’t as if Hwang Jeong-Hu refused to accept this situation. It was just that "normalizing" this situation was where he had been stumbling somewhat. After all, humans were visually driven animals.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Hwang Jeong-Hu roughly scratched his head. “Okay, so. You probably didn’t come here to shoot the breeze. Am I right?”

Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min showed up in the morning without any announcement, which flustered Hwang Jeong-Hu somewhat. Although he recovered enough to brew some coffee for his guests, Hwang Jeong-Hu still felt a bit taken aback by this development, so he continued to stare at Kang Jin-Ho with unreadable eyes.

‘The original Jin-Ho is one hell of a big fish, isn’t he?’

In the past, Hwang Jeong-Hu wouldn't have felt this way just because Kang Jin-Ho suddenly showed up at his doorway. Back then, he viewed Kang Jin-Ho as an enigma who also required his guidance like a grandson.

But now? This Kang Jin-Ho had grown into too big of a fish, and Hwang Jeong-Hu wasn't sure how to deal with him anymore.

‘And I thought of him as my potential successor, too!’

Once upon a time, not too long ago, Hwang Jeong-Hu seriously entertained the idea of installing Kang Jin-Ho as his heir. But that position didn't match Kang Jin-Ho's station anymore.

From what Hwang Jeong-Hu could gather, that Korean Martial Assembly, or whatever it was called, seemed much larger in scale than Jaegyeong. Even the annual revenue should not fall too far behind that of a legitimate corporation like Jaegyeong, too.

If the financial wherewithal was more or less the same... Why would Kang Jin-Ho be interested in another job?

‘Forget a successor... It would’ve been more like a takeover, no?’

Hwang Jeong-Hu cackled to himself.

It seemed his idea would remain as a pipe dream now. If it was Kang Jin-Ho when he knew nothing, Hwang Jeong-Hu might have stood a chance. But now? Kang Jin-Ho should know how extremely stressful it was to lead a large-scale organization. In that case, he'd be less than willing to shoulder another burden called the Jaegyeong Corporation.

Kang Jin-Ho sipped his coffee while stating his business. “I simply wanted to hear a confirmation from you, Chairman.”

“Confirmation? On what?”

“To find out I’m doing the right thing.”

“Mm? I thought you no longer have any doubts?”

“Yes, I don’t,” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. “I have zero doubts, but that doesn’t mean I can do whatever I feel like. I need someone to offer their objective opinion.”

“Don’t you have Chief Jo for that?”

Kang Jin-Ho and Hwang Jeong-Hu both turned their heads to stare at Jo Gyu-Min.

The Chief of the Secretaries panicked slightly at the weighty gazes of two big fish and hurriedly and animatedly waved his hands. “I, I'm not qualified enough for that, Chairman!”

Hwang Jeong-Hu tutted loudly. “Tsk, tsk. What a disappointment you are.”

“I’m sorry, sir. But that’s the truth...”

“You don’t even have the eyes to see if the organization is running properly, yet you still dare show up to work? You salary thief!”

“But I thought... I’ve been pulling my weight, though...” Jo Gyu-Min cowered and looked away to avoid meeting Hwang Jeong-Hu’s burning glare.

“If you wish to know whether you’re on the right track or not, keep your ears open and listen. Don’t gag other people and let them speak. You must listen to everything they say, and if they are right, you gotta be prepared to follow through. As long as you stick to those two things... I’m sure you won’t stray from your path.”

‘Although, that’s the hardest part...’

Successful people becoming obstinate and self-absorbed was as predictable as a new top-of-the-line phone range being released every year.

A business leader would discuss and consult with countless people before making their decisions. They would run their business accordingly and... become successful in the process. Imagine this process repeating itself a few more times.

That business leader would gradually get lost in the notion that they were always right.

You couldn’t even call them out for being idiots. Because they were right, after all. Their success was all the proof needed.

After going through this situation repeatedly, the leader would place more and more importance on their opinion and make light of everyone else's.

...And then, they would fall to the pits of Hell.

Only the extreme few who were indeed right all along and never dismissed other people’s views despite their continued successes could stand on top as the real success stories. Obviously, that wouldn’t be easy.

It'd never be easy for a man wielding power to listen to other people's advice. There was a reason why countless philosophers throughout history strongly argued that anyone could become a wise ruler by listening to others.

However, just how many kings and queens in history books were qualified enough to be called wise rulers?

Indeed, it would not be easy. However, Hwang Jeong-Hu believed Kang Jin-Ho should be able to pull it off.

When Hwang Jeong-Hu first met Kang Jin-Ho, the latter already possessed unimaginable abilities. Even then, he knew how to listen to others.

Yes, Kang Jin-Ho was haughty and a bit bizarre, but that didn’t stop him from trying to form bridges with other people and earnestly listening to offered advice.

“Staying true to your original intentions will become the hardest thing in the world soon. It might sound like a cliché, but there is a reason why it became a cliché in the first place.”

Kang Jin-Ho coolly nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind, Chairman.”

“Of course you will.” Hwang Jeong-Hu smiled like a benevolent sage while nodding along.

‘Now that I think about it... It’s been a long while, hasn’t it?’

Hwang Jeong-Hu suddenly realized that lately, it was him receiving valuable advice from Kang Jin-Ho and not the way around like today. Starting from the matters of his ungrateful sons to the establishment of the welfare foundation... Didn't Hwang Jeong-Hu change his mind after listening to Kang Jin-Ho's advice?

Now that an opportunity to offer his wisdom had come around once more, Hwang Jeong-Hu’s mood improved rapidly. It was as if the old relationship dynamics had been restored.

‘Heh. Maybe I can talk Jin-Ho into taking over Jaegyeong, too?’

Kang Jin-Ho must be mind-numbingly busy with the Martial Assembly's matters, but a chance to swallow up a corporation of Jaegyeong's scale didn't come around every day. So, if Hwang Jeong-Hu used his gift of gab to...

That was when Kang Jin-Ho suddenly raised his voice. “By the way, there's one other topic we must discuss, Chairman.”

“Ng?” Hwang Jeong-Hu tilted his head slightly.

Kang Jin-Ho silently signaled with his eyes, prompting Jo Gyu-Min to push forward a pile of documents toward Hwang Jeong-Hu.

Hwang Jeong-Hu tilted his head even more. “...What’s this?”

“I requested Chief Jo to compile a report on the current state of things for me,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Current state of things?”

“Yes. Regarding the foundation’s launch, of course.”

“...!”

So, that was what this business was all about. That thing was... a report. Yes, a report made by a junior worker to a senior!

‘...Isn’t this situation a bit weird?’

Indeed, didn't this scene look like Hwang Jeong-Hu was about to make a report of his activities to his boss, Kang Jin-Ho? Wasn't that a bit...

“Chairman,” Kang Jin-Ho quietly called out to Hwang Jeong-Hu.

“Y-yeah?”

“Can you explain to us why the foundation's launch has been delayed?”

“...!” Hwang Jeong-Hu briefly forgot what to say after noticing the subtly-sharp look in Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes.

Even Jo Gyu-Min was sticking close to Kang Jin-Ho to wait for Hwang Jeong-Hu’s explanation like a hawk.

“W-well, that is...” Hwang Jeong-Hu’s gaze urgently wandered all over the place.

‘Hah. Looks like I’ve raised a tiger cub... No, an ancient tiger!’

A businessman with many years under his belt began his first-ever report in a trembling voice.