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Chapter 657. Investigating (2)

As for the one observing Lee Hyeon-Su, Yeon Min-Hyeok, could only look at his superior weirdly.

\'Why is he in such a good mood, though?\'

He couldn\'t remember the last time Lee Hyeon-Su looked this happy. After all, the Yeongnam Branch chief was a man of perpetual frown and bubbling anger. Rather than anger, though, maybe it was more like...

\'Should I say annoyance is a passive skill for him?\'

Although, it wasn\'t as if Yeon Min-Hyeok couldn\'t understand it. After all, Lee Hyeon-Su was like... Well, like a sergeant in the final few weeks of his mandatory service who couldn\'t leave the army!

Even during the days of the Yeongnam Group, Lee Hyeon-Su was the true brains of the operation. Even then, he still had to answer to someone higher up in the food chain. Whether the question was about one\'s administrative abilities or competency, Lee Hyeon-Su easily remained the best of the bunch. Unfortunately for him, though... There was no higher rung in the career ladder for him to climb.

Since that was the case, folks under him should have gradually climbed up and begun sharing his duties, but something must\'ve gone wrong somewhere as that didn\'t happen with Lee Hyeon-Su.

In that regard, he was like a soldier who had to take on toilet cleaning duty even after becoming a sergeant as no junior soldiers had joined his unit. With no one to replace him, he couldn\'t get discharged and had to endure the abuse of the officers above him!

No wonder he\'d perpetually be annoyed by his situation!

Obviously, it was never pleasing to see a grown man walking around with a frown on his face all the freaking time. Even so, Yeon Min-Hyeok was prepared to turn a blind eye when that man in question happened to be Lee Hyeon-Su.

That had been the case so far, so for the frowning man to be in such a good mood?

Yeon Min-Hyeok cautiously asked, “Did something happen, Chief?”

“Yup. I got myself a younger brother.”

“Huh?”

“Not just any younger brother, but someone competent, too. That\'s gonna make my life so much easier, right?” Lee Hyeon-Su replied as the corners of his lips curled up in a smirk.

That was when Yeon Min-Hyeok suddenly had a feeling that some poor bastard had fallen into Lee Hyeon-Su\'s trap.

\'Seriously, dude! He\'s a borderline genius at bullying people...\'

Lee Hyeon-Su was stuck in the gray area between martial artists and regular, powerless people. Although he had cultivated to some degree, his attainment was rather limited. How limited was it? Finding someone weaker than him in the Martial Assembly would be almost impossible. That was how low his attainment was!

From the standards of regular, powerless civilians, Lee Hyeon-Su might come across as a superhuman, but in the eyes of martial artists? Calling him a full-fledged martial artist was a bit wrong, but he couldn\'t be seen as a regular person, either.

In the world of martial artists, one\'s martial prowess was what mattered the most to everyone. Even so, no one dared to disrespect Lee Hyeon-Su for his pitiful cultivation. Yes, some people might insult him in private for being a weakling who couldn\'t even fight and only knew how to scheme things. However, no one dared to say that to his face.

Someone once said this before: The only reason Lee Hyeon-Su acted like a big shot in the Yeongnam Group and the Martial Assembly was because of Kim Seok-Il and Kang Jin-Ho\'s favor, respectively.

Yeon Min-Hyeok didn\'t agree with that statement, though. Even if Kang Jin-Ho and Kim Seok-Il didn\'t exist, and no one was around to provide protection, Lee Hyeon-Su would still remain the same person.

\'If I can help it, I never want to become that man\'s enemy. Not in this life.\'

This wasn\'t the case of Lee Hyeon-Su receiving Kang Jin-Ho\'s protection. No, only someone like Kang Jin-Ho would be strong enough to handle a devil of Lee Hyeon-Su\'s caliber! In other words, other people got the order of things wrong!

People\'s misunderstanding was unsurprising, though. Being able to receive Kang Jin-Ho\'s protection was already a big deal since that man wouldn\'t show interest in some random nobody. Knowing that, how could Yeon Min-Hyeok not respect Lee Hyeon-Su?

Obviously, Lee Hyeon-Su wasn\'t the greatest, strongest human alive. Kang Jin-Ho was incomparably mightier and scarier than him, for instance. However, Yeon Min-Hyeok couldn\'t help but view Kang Jin-Ho as a mythical creature, albeit one that could be seen and touched.

Let\'s say there was a dragon curled up in front of Yeon Min-Hyeok\'s eyes, loudly snoring away. Would he feel \'close\' to such a mythical creature? Obviously not.

In his imagination, he\'d think about raising a divine sword to cut the dragon\'s head off. Or dream about enslaving the mighty creature as his personal mount. However, what if he encountered an actual dragon in real life?

Yeon Min-Hyeok would have to pat himself on the back for not pissing his pants!

That was how Yeon Min-Hyeok felt about Kang Jin-Ho. Even if he could see and talk to Kang Jin-Ho, Yeon Min-Hyeok didn\'t feel \'close\' to this incredibly powerful martial artist. Just the presence of Kang Jin-Ho plonked right in front of his nose would be enough to give Yeon Min-Hyeok this sense of harsh repulsion.

On the other hand, Lee Hyeon-Su was realistic. He might be one smart dude, but his driving factor was pragmatism. His goal wasn\'t to resort to bizarre or unexpected methods to shock people but to utilize common sense to handle his business pragmatically. Anyone watching a man like Lee Hyeon-Su would think becoming his enemy was one of the stupidest decisions they could ever make.

Yeon Min-Hyeok leaned closer. “You don\'t mind if I ask you who it is?”

“You wouldn\'t know even if I told you. He\'s not involved in our side of the world, you see?”

Yeon Min-Hyeok nodded in understanding. That was the only likely explanation for the unknown man getting into a \'hyung-dongsaeng\' relationship with Lee Hyeon-Su. Lee Hyeon-Su\'s infamy alone would\'ve scared the other party off, after all!

“Besides all that...” Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at Yeon Min-Hyeok. “Where\'s the report on that woman?”

“When you say that woman...?”

“Was there another woman I needed a report compiled for?”

“Aha. You meant Lee Hyeon-Ju, Chief.”

“Since you know who I\'m talking about, do you mind spitting out the report I\'m asking you for? I don\'t particularly enjoy wasting time with unimportant topics, you see?”

“We don\'t have anything special to report, Chief. She hasn\'t left her house until now.”

“Hmm? Is that right...? It\'s not like we forbade her from leaving her home, though?”

“We didn\'t explain anything to her, after all. Who would want to go out for a walk when a group of observers are loitering right outside your front door? If you want, we can deliver the message to Lee Hyeon-Ju today and let her know she\'s free to leave.”

“No, let her be. No need to go out of our way to clear up her misunderstanding.”

“...I see. By the way, Chief?”

“Yeah?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head and looked at Yeon Min-Hyeok.

“Why are we letting her live?”

“Who? Lee Hyeon-Ju?”

“Yes, her.”

Lee Hyeon-Su shrugged his shoulders. “It\'s simple. She\'s my little sis from another mother.”

“...”

“What? You don\'t think that was funny?”

“Was that supposed to be a joke, Chief? Should I laugh now?”

“...I\'m cutting your salary for next month, okay?” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled bitterly. “I thought that was funny, though. Her name is similar to mine and all.”

“I agree. Our names all sound similar for some reason. Now that you mention it, I get the feeling that... We only have folks with similar-sounding names showing up around us.”

“I\'m guessing it\'s the issue of someone\'s lack of talent. Or just laziness.”

“Huh?” Yeon Min-Hyeok tilted his head. “Who are you talking about, Chief?”

“Well, I wonder myself. Who could it be...?” Lee Hyeon-Su sneaked a quick glance at the heavens before shaking his head. “Let\'s move on, shall we? The reason for letting that woman live is pretty simple, really. The benefits of keeping her alive are better than killing her. That\'s all.”

“Even so...”

“It\'s fine. She doesn\'t have outstanding abilities, anyway. Rather than killing her and unnecessarily agitating the remaining diehard Lee Jung-Geol faction members, we should display how gracious and benevolent we are by letting her live.”

“But the Lee Jung-Geol faction should be too scared to say anything even if we get rid of her.”

“Yes, I agree. But they\'ll still be unhappy about it. You shouldn\'t suppress people just because you have the power to do so. People ain\'t gonna willingly provide you with their support if you keep doing that. If you\'re not worried about her being a superwoman capable of uniting the shattered forces of the Lee Jung-Geol faction and mounting another resistance against Mister Jin-Ho, leave her alone. Okay?”

“...Understood, Chief.”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled after noticing how dissatisfied Yeon Min-Hyeok sounded in his reply.

\'You wouldn\'t get it even if I explained it to you.\'

Everything in this world had a reason for existence. Absolutely everything!

***

No one in this world would enjoy being monitored throughout the day. To human beings, their private life was extremely important. Having the time and space reserved only for themselves was a non-negotiable factor for their existence.

However, imagine what it\'d be like if your private time was being rudely invaded. No, more than that, every one of your actions was being closely monitored? Would you be able to deal with the stress?

Most people would never endure it. They would resort to any means necessary to overcome their stark reality.

However, there was a person in this particular location who did endure her situation in resolute silence.

Clack...

The sound of a coffee mug gently landing on the dining table quietly echoed in the still living room.

This house was far too big. Too big for a lone person to stay in, at least. The gentle aroma of coffee could fill this living room, but it could never fill the void left behind by the lack of human warmth.

Lee Hyeon-Ju scanned the living room with a slightly dazed pair of eyes. At a casual glance, this living room seemed peaceful. However, beyond the massive windows of the living room...! There should be at least three different gazes monitoring her every move.

\'Even though there\'s no need to do this...\'

Lee Hyeon-Ju had a feeling that monitoring her like this wasn\'t Kang Jin-Ho\'s idea. After all, she wasn\'t someone important or interesting enough for him to keep an eye out for. So, someone working for him must\'ve independently decided on this course of action without expressly asking Kang Jin-Ho for permission.

She could understand why they would do this, though. Lee Hyeon-Ju was the only blood relative of the person responsible for bringing unprecedented danger to the Martial Assembly\'s existence. So, monitoring her was an obvious course of action. Even if she was in these people\'s shoes, Lee Hyeon-Ju would\'ve done the same and didn\'t even hesitate about it!

\'No, wait. I wouldn\'t have bothered to monitor such a person...\'

Indeed, if Lee Hyeon-Ju was in charge, she... She would\'ve ordered her underlings to eliminate all sources of potential trouble.

Even a negligible potential was still a potential source. Was there a need to let it fester and leave a lingering aftertaste? Although the idea of committing murder would\'ve been unthinkable in other organizations, such a thing happened regularly in the Martial Assembly.

The number of the dead during this failed coup d\'etat attempt must be well over a hundred, so what difference would adding Lee Hyeon-Ju to the tally make, anyway?

Whether one was guilty or not didn\'t matter. No, what mattered was whether one was a threat or not. That was it.

Lee Hyeon-Ju\'s head was still attached to her neck simply because someone high up in the food chain decided she was not a threat. But the people below that person must\'ve felt unnerved about leaving her alone, so they chose to monitor her.

Maybe... The people responsible for making that decision had already forgotten about her. Frequent reports filled with notable activities would\'ve clearly branded her existence to the minds of those people, but all she did after being \'house-arrested\' was lounging around and sucking on her thumb, so...

They must\'ve lost their interest in her by now. That didn\'t mean Lee Hyeon-Ju had any thoughts of trying something, though.

The truth was that Lee Hyeon-Ju didn\'t have any notable dissatisfaction with her current situation. From her perspective, she was thankful for the chance to keep breathing like this.

...Even though she couldn\'t tell whether this was due to their generosity or indifference!

“Still, it\'s better to be alive, isn\'t it?” Lee Hyeon-Su quietly muttered to no one in particular.

“You think this is being alive?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju stiffened instantly on the spot. The voice coming from behind her was more than enough to alarm her.

No one was supposed to enter the house. Since this place was being monitored, anyone wishing to enter would also be noticed immediately. People trying to restrict her every move would obviously not allow some random stranger to enter her place.

...Especially more so when that stranger didn\'t even bother to use the front door to enter!

Which could only mean the owner of that voice was strong enough to either fool the eyes of the men monitoring her or defeat them outright...!

\'But, who could it be?\'

There were many people strong enough to meet that qualification, but Lee Hyeon-Ju couldn\'t think of anyone brave enough to incur Kang Jin-Ho\'s wrath by sneaking into her home like this. That meant she now had only one choice to make.

Lee Hyeon-Ju slowly turned her head. She wanted to confirm the identity of the uninvited guest with her own two eyes. She moved as slowly as possible to not agitate the intruder, only for her brows to shoot up high. “You...!”

Someone she never expected to see was standing proudly before her. It was... Lee Seong-Hwi!

Lee Seong-Hwi, who had been declared missing... had reappeared before her again!

He smirked back at her. “Been a while, Hyeon-Ju.”

“H-how did you...!”

The smirk on Lee Seong-Hwi\'s face took on a more sinister vibe. “I heard about our little princess\'s confinement and came to rescue you. Alright, then. Let\'s get out of here, shall we? I\'ll open the path for you.”

Immediately, distrust filled Lee Hyeon-Ju\'s expression. “You... came to rescue me?”

“Yup. My bad for being a bit late.”

“Hah...” Lee Hyeon-Ju sighed in dismay while staring at Lee Seong-Hwi. “You got it all wrong, Lee Seong-Hwi. I\'m not confined in here.”

What on Earth was she saying? Lee Seong-Hwi tilted his head. “Wait, you...”

“Leave. I have no desire to go with you.”

That was when Lee Seong-Hwi\'s expression crumpled a little.