Chapter 68
Chapter 68 . Young Businessman Kang Chul-In (pt . 1)
‘T-the contract… . ’
Kwak-jung was startled .
After ripping the soul-contract in half, it vanished into thin air, burning itself with flames .
“I think you understand what this means . ” Kang Chul-in spoke .
‘Trust, it’s trust . This man, he really wants me to work for him . ’
Kwak-jung could understand what Kang Chul-in was trying to tell him .
Of course, why wouldn’t he .
Who wouldn’t feel a powerful message stemming from Kang Chul-in after he had ripped the soul-binding contract?
“I’ve done everything I could have . If you still don’t work under me… it seems like we don’t have fate together . ”
Kang Chul-in wanted loyalty that came from true respect, instead of ‘duty and responsibility’ that came from the contract .
If what Kang Chul-in forced Kwak-jung to do some labor work from the soul-contract, then he would just be a slave; and it would just be someone with their servant .
But what Kang Chul-in wanted wasn’t something that the contract would cover, and wasn’t something that you could force on someone .
After all, Kang Chul-in’s goal was to conquer all of Pangaea . And would he drag along someone that he had forced as a tactician for him?
… . There was no way that would happen .
Although Kwak-jung may work for him quite enthusiastically at first because he had found his little sister for him, as time went by, Kwak-jung probably wouldn’t use his full ability on attacking a single territory for Kang Chul-in, let alone conquering all of Pangaea .
Kang Chul-in didn’t want Kwak-jung to work under him using these shameless strategies .
The contract was just to send a message that Kang Chul-in truly valued and wanted Kwak-jung, and it really didn’t mean anything else at all .
Soul-Contract? A4 Paper? Or newspaper?
All of these things worked .
“Well, I will give you some s.p.a.ce here . ” And saying that, Kang Chul-in moved out of the hospital room .
Whether he would follow him, or not . The choice was up to Kwak-jung himself .
‘Why… . Why does a man like him want someone like me… . !’
Feeling Kang Chul-in’s manliness and boldness, Kwak-jung temporarily forgot about his sister, and was confused .
“Jung-mi, Jung-mi . ”
Kwak-jung held the shoulders of his little sister who was in his embrace .
“Huk… Huk huk… Why, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Why! Why!”
And Kwak Jung-mi tried to fight back from the pain she had felt until now .
“Wait . wait just a little bit here . ”
“W-where are you going? Are you going to follow that scary person from earlier?”
“Yes, I have to say my thanks at least, as that big brother (it is respectful to call one that in Korea) was the one that let us meet . ”
Kwak-jung unknowingly had changed how he called Kang Chul-in from a monster-like b.a.s.t.a.r.d, to ‘the big brother . ’
Kang Chul-in’s magnanimous actions had truly captured Kwak-jung’s rebellious heart .
“Sniff! D-do you have to go right now?”
“Of course . That big brother paid for my operation, and bought me a house and a car . He even got me a workplace too . ”
“R-really? That big brother?”
“Jung-mi . He said he’ll even send you to college . And if you wanted to, you could even go abroad to study . If I don’t go now to thank him, I wouldn’t be human . ”
“Although I am thankful… I… D-don’t really want to study… I get sleepy if I look at a book…Uhh…Can I just not… Go?”
Because she had some family problems since a long time ago, she had disliked studying from a young age . Even if she could go to a good college, she still wouldn’t want to go .
“… W-we’ll talk about this at a later date . ”
Kwak-jung said, and covered his face with his palms . Although he himself was a mess, his little sister had also been a troublemaker since a young age .
“Just stay here for now . I’ll be back soon/”
“M-me too! I’ll go too . ”
“It’s because we have an adult to adult talk to do . Okay?”
“… As if your an adult?”
“Kwak Jung-mi!”
“Go! Go, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d of an older brother! Hmph!”
Although she made a ruckus, it was nothing more than the tantrum of a cute little sister .
“Oi, where’s big brother Kang Chul-in?”
Kwak-jung asked to the guard who was in front of the door . It was one of the guards he had knocked out yesterday .
“You G.o.dd.a.m.ned… Kuhuk . ”
“Hey, I’m talking right now . Where is big bro Kang Chul-in right now . ”
Kwak-jung grabbed the guard by the collar .
“Kuk…Kuhuk…!”
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d, do you have something up your nose, huh?”
“Kuk…P-please…Let…go…”
The guard struggled to breathe .
“Oh…”
Realizing the situation right now, he let go of the guard . Although he was locked up, he was an adventurer, and had some fighting skills .
‘This f*cker! What did I ever do to him! Why does he always have to do something to me! Why!’
The guard swore in all sort of curses . Of course, he didn’t really say that to Kwak-jung, as he was still afraid right now .
“Oh, sorry . ”
Kwak-jung apologized drly . He was still bitter that he had been locked up before .
“Is it okay to tell me now? Where . Is . He . ”
“Kuk… Cough! T-there, in the VVIP floor drinking coffee…”
And Kwak-jung left the spot straight away, walking towards the VVIP floor, looking for Kang Chul-in .
Plop!
And kneeled in front of him .
“Big brother!”
Kwak-jung lowered his head .
“Your words, I think I know what you mean . ”
“Is that so . ”
After taking some espresso from the coffee machine, Kang Chul-in sat down on the sofa as Kwak-jung kneeled in front of him .
“The word big brother, it makes me uncomfortable . ”
The only gangster he needed around him was Park Doo-sik .
“Then big boss…”
“That too . ”
“……”
“Address me as a Lord . ”
“……?”
“I am the Lord of Laputa, located in the Southwest area of the Pangaea continent, in the chaotic region called ‘Pandemonium’ . ”
“Lord…”
Kwak-jung remembered when he had heard of the existence of Lords .
Although Lords weren’t very well known because there were so little of them, people still knew that there were some people that had gotten territories during the Great Summoning .
“Yes, milord . But… . can I ask just one thing?”
“Of course . ”
Kang Chul-in nodded his head .
“I wouldn’t dare ask why milord was looking for me, or how milord knew about my existence . I honestly don’t think that those details are very important . ”
“Yes . ”
“However… there really isn’t a reason to treat me so well although I am an adventurer . ”
“That’s something that I choose, not you . ”
Kang Chul-in drew the line .
“I decided that you had potential, and wanted you to work under me . That’s it . ”
Telling him only the reason simply, that was Kang Chul-in’s style .
“Yes, milord . ”
Kwak-jung nodded his head .
“This Kwak-jung although I am just a gangster from a p.i.s.s-poor family, since milord wants me, I will use my utmost to serve milord . There will be no occasions where the trust that milord gives me will be given away . ”
‘Good . ’
Looking at the Kwak-jung swearing loyalty to Kang Chul-in, he smiled . He had finally gotten his hands on the master tactician that was equal to Lee Gong-myung .
“He has potential . I can feel it . ”
The Kwak-jung that Kang Chul-in saw truly had potential, felt like diamond, though coa.r.s.e and rough around the edges right now .
Although it was hard to expect some significant contributions immediately, Kang Chul-in felt that as Kwak-jung got used to how the Pangaea continent worked, as well as learnt some of the tactics and troops as well as their traits, he would be invaluable .
‘Black and white, righteousness and trickery . Lee Gong-myung, how would an elite like you feel if you were outsmarted and beaten by some unknown backstreet gangster like Kwak-jung?”
Just imagining the scene made Kang Chul-in joyful .
“Good . ”
Kang Chul-in patted Kwak-jung’s shoulders .
“I will say this again, I believe that you have hidden potential within you . No, I know that you do . ”
“Milord… Ku…Huk…”
Kwak-jung started crying abruptly .
“T-to think that… a gangster like me… stupid… not knowing anything… the trash of society…”
This was the regrets and pain that had Kwak-jung had felt until now . It was definite that Kwak-jung felt depressed and sad that he couldn’t leave a normal social life like the ‘others’ .
“Kwak-jung . ” And Kang Chul-in called the crying Kwak-jung .
“Kuhuk…Yes, mi…milord . ”
“Clench your teeth . ”
“……!”
“You shouldn’t cry here . ”
To Kang Chul-in, tears were something that were useless and shouldn’t come out, unless they were celebrating with happiness .
Of course, someone like Kang Chul-in wouldn’t normally cry, no matter what emotions he felt .
“The day that you and me finally accomplish our grand goal . That’s when both of us will cry . ”
“Your goal?”
“My final goal is to take total control and dominance over all of the Pangaea continent . ”
“… . . !”
“Of course, I don’t think I need to talk about the value that Pangaea has . ”
He definitely didn’t need to talk about that .
In Pangaea was mana, and due to mana there were many kinds of special powers and magic . There were unique medicine as well as monsters, and different types of energy and resources too .
To take total control of a place like that didn’t mean that he would only take control there, but also gain a lot of influence of Earth too .
“Kwak-jung . ” Kang Chul-in spoke again .
“Do you remember what you mumbled back in Park Doo-sik’s office?”
Out of all of the things that Kwak-jung had said, the one that Kwak-jung had said back them was his favorite by far .
“Taking Gangnam… is that what you were talking about?”
“That’s the kind of thing I want from you . ”
“… You want me to think on a large scale?”
Kwak-jung could understand what Kang Chul-in was saying .
“Even if you take some places in Gangnam, it wouldn’t be much . Think about taking total control of all of Pangaea . Wouldn’t that be much better?”
Kwak-jung felt his chest swelling with pride from those words .
‘Pangaea… The alternate world connected with Earth… Take control of it? By helping milord?’
It was a dream . It was encouragement for Kwak-jung, who just wanted to live a comfortable and rich life .
‘Milord gave me a life, a house, a car . And not only that… he has even found me my only family left . Not only that… he has given me a dream…’
Remembering the scene when Kang Chul-in had ripped the Soul-Contract in half, Kwak-jung felt loyalty, an emotion he had never experienced before in his life .
“Milord . ” Kwak-jung spoke .
“I will do it . I will follow you, and definitely help you take control of all of Pangaea!”
Although this was a common saying, a man would give their life to those who recognized them .
This was like that .
Kang Chul-in had given Kwak-jung a chance to show his prowess and given him another life, as well as unpayable debt .
Even if Kwak-jung had some rebellious spirit, at this point, it would be just stupid not to feel undying loyalty .
“Very good, I like that sort of spirit . ”
Kang Chul-in laughed, and felt greatly satisfied .
“Kwak-jung, I hereby name you as a soldier of our Laputa territory . ”
This was the moment that Kwak-jung had entered the Laputa territory .
A few days later .
Kang Chul-in was looking at himself in a mirror, taking care of his suit .
The brand he chose was called ‘Ermenegildo Zegna’, a suit that he thought was trendy, yet also fit him well at the same time .
‘This should be enough…’
And after putting on a Breguet (a watch company that sold their watches to n.o.bles and royalty since a long time ago), Kang Chul-in looked at himself again, and nodded .
Although the styling wasn’t perfect, it was still enough to let him look presentable for today .
“Mother . ”
Kang Chul-in called for his mother, Park Sun-ja .
“Wow… Son, look at you . You could be a celebrity . It seems like your suit aren’t your wings, but you yourself are the wings . ”
Park Sun-ja couldn’t hide her shock when she saw her son dressed so well like this, especially because she herself hadn’t worn a high-end, luxurious suit like this . Of course, until now .
“Ahh… I’d bet when you pa.s.s by, women would go crazy over you . Hoho!”
Listening to his mother’s compliments, he didn’t get happy, and his face stiffened instead . He wasn’t used to these kind of compliments . Especially when they came from his own mother . He would rather ride into the battlefield than be complimented like this .
“… The car, it’s here . ”
“Alright . Husband, I’ll be back . Our son has finally gotten himself a job . ” Park Sun-ja spoke to a picture of Kang Chul-in’s father .
“Oh, are we riding that car over there?” Park Sun-ja asked, surprised .
Was it because Kang Chul-in’s car was the jaguar f type coupe?
…Of course not .
Kang Chul-in wasn’t rude enough to driving with his mother in a sports car like that .
“Miss, please come sit here . ”
The driver greeted her politely, and asked her to move to one of the back seats . The car that was waiting for them was a XJ Jaguar Sedan .
“S-son… Is it okay for mother to ride in a car like this?”
“Our president has prepared it . ”
Kang Chul-in told her about Old man Kwon .
“Huu… you said his name was Old man Kwon, right? It seems like he has seen you in a very good way . ”
Park Sun-ja was completely unaware that the situation was the exact opposite . It was Kang Chul-in that chose Old man Kwon, not Old man Kwon that chose Kang Chul-in .
“Manager Kang, shall we go now?”
And as Kang Chul-in nodded his head, the car rushed off smoothly into the heart of Seoul, Gangnam .
The destination was Yeoksamdong, Tehran street .
Ever since 2010, a lot of the IT company’s buildings that were located around this area had moved to the new area: Pangyo, and thus there were a lot of empty buildings here . And thanks to that, Old man Kwon was able to cheaply (?) purchase a corporate building that connected Pangaea to Earth .
Yes .
Kang Chul-in and Park Sun-ja was heading towards the official opening ceremony of Old man Kwon’s new business, called the Galaxy Corporation .
‘Is it finally beginning . ’
Although there were many things in Pangaea, the trade between Earth was also an unimaginably important resource to a Lord .
After all, the only thing that you could bring to Pangaea from Earth was gold, and it was the most effective way to bring gold into Pangaea .
Therefore, Kang Chul-in’s plan was to take all of his share of profit from the Galaxy Corporation and change it all into gold .
‘The talking-tree sap, we’ll definitely spread it across the country in a month . ’
Using this talking-tree sap, Kang Chul-in was planning on conquering and dominating the whole of the East Pandemonium region .
It was pretty ironic .
Kang Chul-in was going to destroy the foreign language education system, to bring a great battle into Pangaea .