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‘I gotta do something about this bad habit of mine…’

His true nature broke free from under his carefully crafted facade whenever he thought no one was watching. In short, he’d inadvertently reveal his true feelings. Indeed, this was a terrible habit that required an urgent fix.

After all, this world had far too many eyes. Some of them were so well concealed that not even Nakata Yuji would be able to detect them!

That was why he needed to perfectly conceal his true nature. If he wished to keep breathing, that was!

‘There is no way that old bastard would happily hand everything over to me.’

As it turned out, guessing what was in someone\'s head was surprisingly easy. One only had to imagine what they would do in the other person\'s shoes.

The iemoto was strong. Treacherous. And cruel beyond words. In other words, he was Nakata Yuji, only worse. In that case, what would Nakata Yuji do after he grew older and sat in the iemoto\'s position?

‘I would never relinquish what I have built. Obviously.’

The iemoto was no different from a greedy old pig, a man who cared more about what he didn\'t have despite having so much already.

Even though he was sitting on piles of gold, that old bastard drooled over a penny in front of a beggar on the street. Would someone like that grant Nakata Yuji authority? A chance to achieve a great feat?

Of course not!

People saw the iemoto as a man who always rewarded achievements and punished failures. However, that impression was the result of…

‘...The iemoto being shockingly calculative and cruel!\'

A half-baked schemer would bet their everything on the profit right before their nose. However, the iemoto was definitely not half-baked. He knew he stood to gain so much more by being patient for the time being.

He understood that, rather than struggling ungainly to acquire that pocket change discarded on the floor, it\'d be so much more profitable to instill the image of a fair, sensible leader in everyone\'s head.

However…!

‘Not this time.’

Korea was simply too attractive a prey to remain patient and aim for future profits, never mind keeping up the facade!

Simply acquiring the peninsula would expand the iemoto’s rule by over a hundred percent. And the profit earned from that land would be incalculable, too.

So, why would he share that land with someone else? Why would a greedy pig of a man willingly do that? Never!

Nakata Yuji reflexively rubbed his throat.

It felt like a blade would come flying out of nowhere to cut his head off right this second. Even though he knew there was no one around him, Nakata Yuji still felt that the whole world began monitoring him as soon as he exited the iemoto’s palatial home.

‘I’m not going down with a fight, you old bastard.’

Nakata Yuji stopped massaging his face. By now, his expression had reverted back to its previously emotionless state.

Since he handed the command of the expeditionary force over to Nakata Yuji, the iemoto would no doubt stay back and observe for the time being. As for the moment that would decide everything… It should be when the fate of this mission becomes clear.

‘However, you old bastard…!’

You should not forget. Even if an old raccoon knows to dig several escape tunnels, it doesn\'t necessarily mean it\'s any smarter than a younger raccoon!

Nakata Yuji cracked his neck from left to right while heroically striding forward.

This expedition was also a battle to see whose preparation had been more thorough and vicious—was it Nakata Yuji’s? Or the iemoto’s? Everyone would have to wait until the smoke cleared to find out the result of this bitter war.

“Hmph. For now, I should focus on the matter at hand, no?”

The matters to come should be put aside for now, since Nakata Yuji had mountains of other things to deal with.

Even if he had the backing of the Shinichi-kai’s iemoto, the ones participating in this expedition were no pushovers. Nakata Yuji wouldn’t even have dared to command this group of people if it hadn’t been for this unique situation.

However, that also indicated how powerful this expeditionary force was. So powerful, in fact, that it could potentially go head-to-head against the entirety of the Shinichi-kai.

Even so, Nakata Yuji wasn’t excited. He wasn’t even confident of success, either.

Up until now, Kang Jin-Ho defied all attempts to analyze and understand him. He always exceeded Nakata Yuji’s expectations with seemingly consummate ease. Once everyone thought they had Kang Jin-Ho figured out, he’d rise up and flip everything on its head. And when the re-evaluation was completed, he’d rip the results up with another shocking turn of events.

That man, he… He was much stronger today compared to yesterday. And he’d no doubt become even stronger tomorrow. In that case, how could anyone confidently say they could win against him?

“Even so…” Nakata Yuji slowly rubbed his lips with his thumb.

‘...That only makes you a worthy prey, Kang Jin-Ho!’

If Nakata Yuji killed Kang Jin-Ho and swallowed up South Korea as his own…! He\'d acquire power and prestige befitting his achievement.

This nebulous thing called power was a by-product of your achievement, but it was also derived from how others perceived you. The perceived authority, the dignity, and people\'s fear…! These things were all birthed from how others saw you and evaluated you.

If Nakata Yuji could get his hands on all these things, he\'d undoubtedly soar even higher to reach the heavens. And to do that, he needed to defeat Kang Jin-Ho! His fame would reach the stars by killing a powerful and cruel monster like that Korean demonic cultivator!

Nakata Yuji would soon get his chance to prove himself to the world. His abilities, his strength… And his ambition!

And he’d do so by cutting Kang Jin-Ho’s head off.

***

“Mm…?” Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly.

Kang Eun-Yeong tilted her head. “What’s wrong? You’ve been massaging your neck for a while now, oppa.”

“...Not sure. Maybe my sleeping posture was bad?” Kang Jin-Ho frowned even more while rubbing and massaging his neck.

“Now that’s surprising. I didn’t think you’d ever get sick, oppa.”

“Mm? I’m also a human, you know?”

“Really? Even though you don\'t act like one? I mean, you haven\'t even caught a flu since that car accident all those years ago.”

“Mm…”

Kang Eun-Yeong was about to say something else, but her chance was swiftly taken away by her mother.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong spoke calmly. “Yes, my son is in ruddy health, isn’t he?”

Kang Jin-Ho instinctively grew nervous. Where was his mother going with this?

“Jin-Ho is so healthy, he leaves for god knows where early in the morning and only comes home late at night. And he does that every. Single. Day. Most people would’ve fallen ill by now.”

‘...Wow. So that’s where we’re going, then?’

That was one hell of a segue, now wasn\'t it? Kang Jin-Ho sneakily avoided meeting his mother\'s gaze, but Baek Hyeon-Jeong wasn\'t going to let him off the hook that easily.

“My son?”

“Y-yes, Mother?”

“Are you busy lately?”

How should Kang Jin-Ho respond here? If he said yes, his mother would undoubtedly attack him with questions like “What could you possibly be busy with?”

However, if he said he wasn\'t busy, she\'d no doubt chew him out for wandering around on the streets for no good reason.

How was he supposed to block this attack, then?

Rather sensibly, Kang Jin-Ho chose the third option instead.

“Well, you know. It’s so-and-so,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Oho, really?”

“...Yes, Mother.”

That was when a strange smile suddenly floated up on Baek Hyeon-Jeong\'s face. “Since you\'re not as busy, can you help me out with something? I\'ve been meaning to get this matter wrapped up for a while now, you see?”

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced a little. “...But I am kinda busy, though?”

“Too busy to help your Mother?”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong\'s dribbling technique was truly otherworldly. Not even Maradona in his prime would\'ve been capable of dribbling and cornering his opponents to a dead-end like this!

After realizing there was no escape either way, Kang Jin-Ho nodded in resignation. “Actually, I…”

“Just what could be keeping you this busy? Is it something you can\'t tell your mother about?”

“…”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong suddenly smiled. However, that smile seemed a little sad.

Kang Jin-Ho obviously knew his mother had deliberately smiled that way to make him feel even more cornered. Even so, he still couldn\'t do much about this bout of panic quickly spreading over him.

“Yes, I know. My son is trying to do something big for himself, so a mother shouldn\'t get in the way. I know that, but… Mm… It makes me a little… You know? It\'s like I can no longer help my own son out since all I can do is get in his way…”

“Mother, I…! I’m in the middle of setting up a company!” Kang Jin-Ho suddenly blurted out. Before a fatal knee kick could slam into his solar plexus, he chose to voluntarily disclose the truth instead.

“A company?”

“A compaaaaany?!”

The eyes of Baek Hyeon-Jeong and Kang Eun-Yeong gleaned brightly. Such was the intensity of the brightness in their eyes that they might as well moonlight as spotlights in a concert venue!

Kang Jin-Ho could only sigh under his breath. He didn\'t want to say they got him since he could clearly see the trap laid out before his eyes. However, he still couldn\'t stop the trap from being sprung, so that technically meant… They did get him.

‘Hold on. These two couldn\'t have practiced ahead of time, now could they?\'

Although Kang Jin-Ho became ever so slightly suspicious, there was no way his family would go that far to…

Baek Hyeon-Jeong loudly cried out, “A company?! What on God’s Green Earth are you talking about, Jin-Ho!?”

Kang Jin-Ho squeezed his eyes shut.

‘I guess I owe Lee Hyeon-Ju my thanks.’

Now that he had experienced the drama first-hand, Kang Jin-Ho finally understood why the Martial Assembly had to become a legitimate company.

Many other young people in South Korea must be going through roughly the same experience as him right now. If one’s family also hailed from a martial art background, they would’ve been spared from this kind of pain, but…

Imagine an expert taking interest only in you and deciding to turn you into a martial artist, too. You\'d also have to go through a similar situation as Kang Jin-Ho!

‘A proper job title and a business card that comes with it…’

There had been way too many bums back in Zhongyuan. When Kang Jin-Ho looked back to the situation during his second life, he realized that the concept of \'jobs\' wasn\'t as widely accepted as it was now.

Sure, people still worked for a living back then. That much was true. However, one\'s job title alone wasn\'t enough to estimate that person\'s position in society. And having a job didn\'t automatically mean their neighbors would hold a higher evaluation of them.

Since the eras had changed, it only made sense for the Martial Assembly to change, as well!

“Mother, for now, it\'s nothing more than…”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong spoke in a grave tone. “Jin-Ho, my son?”

“Y-yes?”

“Don\'t you think you should graduate from university first? Just what are you trying to do?”

“Oh, that. Uh…” Kang Jin-Ho scratched his head. “I did think about it, mother. And I’m not sure if I should continue with…”

“You want to drop out?!”

“...Well, I\'ve been thinking about it, yes. Although, if you think I\'m being too hasty, I can also just, uh, extend my sabbatical.”

Kang Jin-Ho was lying. He had already decided not to further his education, after all. There wasn’t much the university education could offer him, anyway.

Of course, he wasn\'t trying to say universities taught useless subjects. Some of the knowledge they taught could prove useful to Kang Jin-Ho in some way. However, did he have to attend lectures to learn those useful things? Not according to Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Wha? Sir, Why do you need to attend university? Why?”

When Lee Hyeon-Su asked that in an exasperated voice, Kang Jin-Ho countered with, "But! You can learn certain things only in universities!”

However, Lee Hyeon-Su became even more dismayed.

“Sir, it\'s not the university that\'s teaching you stuff, but the professors hired by the university! In that case, why waste time attending one? If there is a subject you\'d like to learn that seems necessary to you, you should just tell me what that is. I\'ll hire Korea\'s best professors and make them come to your doorstep instead!”

“…”

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly realized something.

‘Ah. So, the mindset itself is different between us.’

As it turned out, people who didn’t have certain things before acquiring them had a different perspective on life compared to those who lived their lives in another way!

Kang Jin-Ho never thought about hiring professors to make house calls. However, most people would be incapable of cooking up an idea like that, to begin with. That was why it felt so unfair when Lee Hyeon-Su directed seemingly all of his frustration in Kang Jin-Ho\'s way!

Baek Hyeon-Jeong cocked her eyebrow. “Are you serious about setting up a company and running it, son?”

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly nodded. “Yes, Mother. The situation is heading that way. Of course, nothing is set in stone just yet. There are many things still requiring fine-tuning, you see?”

“…”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned and scratched his head some more at how flabbergasted his mother and sister were.

‘Explaining this is a lot harder than I thought.’

When the Martial Assembly becomes a legitimate business entity, its scale would be nothing to scoff at. So, for a young man barely out of his early twenties, who seemingly knocked around here and there aimlessly until now, to suddenly return home as the chairman of a massive company?

How was Kang Jin-Ho supposed to explain that?

“What kind of a company is it?” Kang Eun-Yeong curiously asked. “What are you even planning to sell?”

Kang Jin-Ho\'s expression stiffened a little. “I know you guys have a ton of questions. But it\'s not the right time for me to tell you yet.”

He shifted his gaze and stared directly at his mother, who still hadn’t gotten over her flabbergast.

“Mother, I\'m not doing anything bad. And it\'s not gambling, either. That\'s why… Please, stop worrying and trust me on this.”

He sounded firm. Better still, he left no room for arguments. Now that Kang Jin-Ho had come out this way, his mother shouldn’t have a choice but to nod and accept it.

Just as Kang Jin-Ho was about to praise himself for a job well done, Baek Hyeon-Jeong dazedly said something. “...Did you honestly think I’d fall for that?!”

“...Huh?”

“Stop spewing nonsense and tell us the truth, Jin-Ho! Just what have you been doing?! N-no, wait…! You! You haven\'t been squandering all that money Chairman Hwang has paid you on whatever you\'re doing, right?!”

“…!”

“Oh, my god! Oh, my gooood! Have you lost your mind?! What were you thinking?!"

“W-wait, Mother! P-please, trust…”

“How can I trust you when you’ve been so untrustworthy?! Come here, son! You better come out clean and tell us what you’ve done! Hurry!”

Kang Jin-Ho jumped up to his feet. “I, I have to go.”

“Where do you think you\'re going! I said, come here! Jin-Ho! Kang Jin-Hooo!”

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly fled from his own home.

It seemed he had failed miserably.