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Chapter 4. Return (2)
Kang Chul-In’s first task after returning to the past, was to organize his normal life before the great summoning. And to do so, he needed to quit this dirty, horrid job.
‘I was nothing back then, wasting away in a company like this.’
Before the great summoning, Kang Chul-In was a normal, gruff young man no different from anyone else. A life struggling to make ends meet, living day to day.
He flashed a smile thinking of his past ten years ago, and walked into the office.
And as soon as he showed himself, all eyes fell onto him. It was obvious that they were nervous, like a group of poor farmers in the face of the government.
“Hey, you punk!”
Kim Min-Chul, who had been prowling the office with his golf club, roared as he laid eyes on him.
“What, you punk.”
Kang Chul-In answered.
“…!”
“…!”
The office went cold.
The male employees thought,
‘Kang… Chul-In, he has finally lost it from all the stress. He has lost it.’
‘Wow, he isn’t even scared.’
‘Poor guy, he should just let it slide… these are tough times…’
And the female employees thought,
‘Oh my, what is he going to do…’
‘That CEO, he is a gangster… is Chul-In going to be alright?’
“Wait, what? ‘What you punk?’”
“Yeah, you punk.”
“…!”
Kim Min-Chul felt like his blood was flowing backwards. Who would have guessed, the CEO being cursed by a newbie not even a year into ‘the real world’?
“You…you… little intern bug… who do you think…”
“What do you mean who? It’s a newly rich, oily fat bastard. Or what, a gangster? Thug?”
That did it.
Many who used to or currently use their fists for any gain, tended to react sensitively to the word ‘thug’—calling themselves gangsters, or a man with a chivalrous spirit.
It was crap.
In the eyes of Kang Chul-In, anyone seeking to gain by using violence was the same thing—scum.
Especially, gangs had evolved after the 90s to use the law to their advantage and hid behind enforcement and authority. Kim Min-Chul was a perfect example of this.
“Well, I say it like it is. What else would I call a thug? Human trash?”
Kang Chul-In sneered at the evil CEO, unfazed by Kim Min-Chul’s obvious anger.
And in that, Kim Min-Chul exploded.
“Hey, you fucking bitch!”
The golf club with a loud whoosh, fell on Kang Chul-In. It had happened in the blink of an eye. But the club hit nothing but air.
“Huh?”
Kim Min-Chul looked around.
“False swing.”
Kang Chul-In sneered at Kim Min-Chul. He had avoided the club swung at full speed just by leaning slightly away.
“This son of a bitch!”
Kim Min-Chul, red-faced and overcome with anger, ran towards Kang Chul-In. However, he could not even brush the corner of Kang Chul-In’s clothes.
But was it surprising?
Kang Chul-In was recognized even by others of his physical strength and power—even in such form, he was still Kang Chul-In. One needed to be at least a professional boxer to be a threat, and even that would have nothing against him in two months.
“Huff… Huff… you little rat…!”
Kim Min-Chul huffed and puffed, gritting his teeth.
“Aren’t you the incompetent one, not being able to hit me?”
Kang Chul-In smirked.
“More importantly…”
And his expression changed. His burning eyes seemed to pierce the heart.
“You play with the golf club one more time, and it won’t be fun anymore.”
It was a clear warning.
However, Kim Min-Chul, already overcome with anger and unable make proper judgments, ignored the warning and lunged forward. I mean, if he swung around golf clubs in his office because he was a little angry, it was obvious the man didn’t have common sense nor curtesy.
“Die, you dog!”
Crack–!
“Ah!”
Kim Min-Chul fell, with one lone scream.
The man on the ground could not even breathe normally. The fist had struck right in the gut.
“Blech…Blechhhhh…”
The blow was so strong that Kim Min-Chul vomited all the fish stew that he had had for lunch that day.
“You don’t take punches well. I thought you would hold out because you are fat.” Kang Chul-In looked to Kim Min-Chul and delivered the final insult.
“Boss! Are you alright?”
An employee rushed to Kim Min-Chul’s side and assisted him.
“Oh… our boss…! Kang Chul-In, you jerk! Get on your knees and apologize to the CEO now!”
His calculating move made Kang Chul-In hopeful of his success in the workplace in the future. Even if he was just going to be here, rotting away.
Kang Chul-In did not respond to the male employee. He was not worth even acknowledging.
‘Human groups.’
They were all the same, the pig that swung golf clubs out of anger and the calculating scum that sought favor from the pig. Of course, he had no intention of purely criticizing the male employee for being calculating. It was not bad to try and survive, one needed to do what one needed to do to live. But, to throw one’s pride and everything else away for it—didn’t seem too appetizing. And to reminisce at Kim Min-Chul’s previous actions… he could only flash a bitter smile.
“You…you jerk… I… I will kill you… you bug…”
Kim Min-Chul, being escorted by the male employee, spitefully glared at Kang Chul-In.
“Call Manager Park…Tell him to crush him!”
Manager Park was a thug who worked for Kim Min-Chul and oversaw a small gang.
“Oh, I’m so scared.”
Kang Chul-In scoffed.
Times have changed and he was still trying to use violence over a petty argument—and announcing it in front of people. Kang Chul-In wondered if Kim Min-Chul was just stupid or unable to see logic, overcome with anger.
“You jerk… if Manager Park arrives…”
Kim Min-Chul brought up Manager Park repeatedly, threatening Kang Chul-In. It seemed like he had no doubt Manager Park would be able to take down Kang Chul-In.
“Ah ah….M, manager Park!”
Looking behind Kang Chul-in, the person he had sought for this whole time could be seen. Coincidentally, Manager Park had come into the office.
“CEO Kim?”
Manger Park seemed a little taken aback at the unexpected satiation, but he ordered his subordinates to assist Kim Min-Chul.
“Oh…Manager Park…! That jerk hit me! He hit me!”
Kim Min-Chul whined to Manager Park hanging on to him, leaving out the part where he had swung the club first.
“That jerk, because I lectured him a little… because I told him to do his job right! He cursed at me and hit me!”
“Boss. The whole story…”
“Never mind the whole story! He hit me! Beat him right now!”
Kim Min-Chul was stubborn. He caused a ruckus, waving his arms and legs like a whining toddler.
‘You stupid idiot. What are you doing in front of all the employees?’
In that moment, Manager Park felt a headache coming, but also could not ignore the complaints of his boss. Kim Min-Chul was the fatal source of income for him and his family, which was nothing but a small gang.
‘I’ll need to clean it up briefly.’
Manager Park made up his mind and decided to clean up the office first.
“What are you all looking at!” When Manager Park roared, all eyes fell back to their respective desks.
“Everyone, quiet, work quietly. Instead of needlessly gossiping. And Team Manager Oh.”
Manager Park pointed at the calculating male employee who had helped Kim Min-Chul.
“Bring the CEO back to his office.”
“Oh, yes! Let us… let us go, boss.”
Team Manager Oh struggled to help Kim Min-Chul who was fat and overweight.
“Haha… you are dead now, you jerk.”
Kim Min-Chul, on his way to his office snickered at Kang Chul-In. It was as if the image of Kang Chul-In, beat to death by Manager Park, was already engrained in his head.
“Oh, really?”
Kang Chul-In, who had been silently watching the situation unfold, had nothing else to say. He really did put on every kind of show. He wondered how he could have worked at such a company for nine months.
“Hey, intern.”
As Kang Chul-In was wondering, Manager Park called him.
“You should have known when to lower your pride. Just because he gave you an earful, you shouldn’t come at him like that. You should have just agreed with him and left it at that.”
Manager Park, although he scolded Kang Chul-In, didn’t seem too convinced. He also knew well of CEO Kim Min-Chul’s wrongdoings, and he had received immense stress from him until that point. Although he worked for Kim Min-Chul, he did understand this young intern’s anger.
‘I will scold him a little and let it go.’
Manager Park made up his mind. These were new times, and using fists to solve problems were no more. A wise thing for a gangster living in these times would be to roughly create a situation where Kim Min-Chul would be satisfied. However, all of Manager Park’s good intentions disappeared with the intern’s smug tone.
“What adult?”
Kang Chul-In asked.
“In your eyes, that pig looks like an adult? Well I guess for a gangster; the financer is the adult.”
The veins bulged in the slicked back forehead of Manager Park.
“Hey.”
Manager Park glared at Kang Chul-In.
“Watch your mouth. Think of the situation, think of the person. That’s how you live for a long time. Yeah?”
“That rule only applies to thugs like you.”
The word ‘thug’ triggered Manager Park, as it did Kim Min-Chul, and he clenched his fists.
“You crazy dog!”
“You want to die?”
It seemed as if Manager Park’s two subordinates were more infuriated than the Manager himself.
“You little dog, did you just call my boss a thug?”
“Oh, you smile? You want me to ruin your face?”
And a threatening atmosphere formed, as if punches were going to be thrown at any minute.
“Sigh… I was just going to let it go, but I need to fix your attitude today.” Manager Park did not lose his cool and calmly let his anger simmer despite being insulted.
“You, follow me up to the roof.”
Manager Park pointed to the office door.
“No, not like that.” Kang Chul-In answered.
“You follow.”
And he exited the office door first.
“…What is that kid?”
Manager Park scoffed at this absurd situation.