Chapter 1580. Comprehending (5)

Slam!

Kim Myeong-Chan pushed Goh Han-Bong down to the floor with his weight. And then, began punching the latter in the face with both hands.

“S-senior?! What are you doing?! Senior!”

“Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaaaaaah! You know nothing! A brat like you! Nothing! Nothing at all! Uwaaaaaak!”

A pair of eyes, crimson after all the tiny blood vessels had ruptured, glared at Goh Han-Bong. All the drool falling from Kim Myeong-Chan’s lips and his unsteady hands testified to how much pain he was in.

Goh Han-Bong bit his lip, hard.

It didn’t hurt. He couldn’t sense any strength in Kim Myeong-Chan’s punches. Even though all those blows landed squarely on his face, it felt like a kindergartner was hitting him.

“Euh...!”

It felt like a lump of the purest form of sorrow was welling up in his throat just then.

Guards yelled in alarm from outside the cell. “S-sir! We’re coming in! Open the door, damn it! Hurry up!”

Goh Han-Bong roared back at them. “No, don’t come in, you sons of b*tches!”

“Sir?”

“I told you not to come near this cell! Which bastard dared to disobey my order?! Do you want to lose your f*cking jobs?! Is that it! You think I’m joking with you?!”

“N-no, sir! We’ll return to our posts!”

“Get out of my sight!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

When the guards urgently fell back, Kim Myeong-Chan began cackling away. “Kekekeke! Even that pitiful power you hold is still power, is that it? Look at you, wielding it like a pro!”

“...Senior.”

Kim Myeong-Chan pushed himself off Goh Han-Bong, then trudged toward the nearest wall and leaned against it.

“See? You’re the same. Humans learn from experience. You and me? We both know the truth. Because we had plenty of chances to learn... what makes people scared out of their minds, and what types of torment would be most effective at hurting people. Yes, we know all those things too well.”

Goh Han-Bong bit his lip again while silently listening.

“We might have been opposing the dictatorship, but we’re also its offspring, Han-Bong. We know their methods the best, after all. And that was why I had resorted to those same methods without even meaning to. Like what you’ve done just now.”

Kim Myeong-Chan cackled again and again.

“As it turned out, I was nothing. I am nothing. Absolutely nothing. See, this person called Kim Myeong-Chan doesn’t exist. You’ll only find a wrapper with the name Kim Myeong-Chan on it. When you peel that wrapper off, the only thing remaining will be this... this decrepit old man. An insignificant, petty, and worthless old man.”

His self-deprecation, it... It was so severe and biting that Goh Han-Bong couldn’t even attempt to offer words of solace.

“Let me ask you something, Han-Bong.”

“Yes, senior?”

“Do I look insane to you?”

Goh Han-Bong shook his head. “No. You are not insane. Being here, talking to you like this... I can see the truth.”

“Good. If only I could go insane, my remaining life would’ve been a lot more tolerable. But... But I can’t even go insane. This is the price I must pay for my sins, Han-Bong. A fox that doesn’t know its place and parades around like a tiger under a facade will get ripped apart to shreds when a real tiger rocks up to the scene.”

Kim Myeong-Chan’s low cackle seemed to echo within his cell.

“We are not champions who fought for democracy, Han-Bong.”

“...”

“No, we’re merely dissidents. If you and I were born in the current era, we’d be busy opposing the current government instead. If we had been born in North Korea, we would’ve been punished as seditionists. And in America, we would’ve been in jail for political crimes.”

Goh Han-Bong couldn’t say anything to refute these claims.

“Don’t get me wrong, Han-Bong. I’m not repudiating all the pro-democracy acts we’ve done. Our comrades who fought by our side back then... Yes, they all shone so brightly, didn’t they? So blinding and brilliant, they were. They gladly took on all the hardship in the belief that they were doing it for our country.

“But I was not like that. That goes for you, too. You and I were nothing more than rebels. Dissidents. A couple of petty little bastards who couldn’t stand the idea of someone else other than me wielding power.”

“But, I...”

Goh Han-Bong’s lips parted several times, only for them to clamp shut again and again.

Could he deny these allegations? Yes, of course. However, denying them in front of Kim Myeong-Chan seemed pointless at this stage. The former Prime Minister’s unclouded eyes were piercing right into his soul, after all.

“Han-Bong. Do not resist. Don’t create incidents, and most important of all, do not ever provoke that man.”

Goh Han-Bong grimaced slightly. “But that will be easier said than done, senior.”

“Sure. But you already know how to do it. Tell me, do you feel jealous of the Japanese Prime Minister?”

“I’m... sorry?”

“Humans don’t really get hung up or emotional with a home and a country that’s not theirs. Your extreme hatred of Kang Jin-Ho only stems from this little voice in your head telling you that that man has taken away what should have been yours.”

“What should have been mine...?”

“Yes. South Korea.”

“...”

“You can call it whatever you want. The land? Financial power? Or merely the ideals? It might be a combination of all those that can’t exactly be described. Whatever the case might be... It’s getting on your nerves, isn’t it?”

Kim Myeong-Chan leaned closer ever so slightly.

“However, don’t be stupid, Han-Bong.”

Goh Han-Bong shuddered just then.

“Those things were never yours, to begin with. In fact, they don’t belong to the country, either. No, they always belonged to those people. More specifically, they’ve always been his. That man isn’t greedy about what’s not his. However, he will transform into a monster if someone tries to take away what’s his. Don’t provoke a well-behaved demon and trigger it for no good reason. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Do you understand?”

Goh Han-Bong slowly nodded.

“The method of sharing a home with a lion is exceedingly simple, Han-Bong. Keep the lion’s belly full. Keep it satisfied so that it won’t pay any attention to the aging, unappetizing old meat like you or me. It might try to play with you sometime and hit you with its front paw. But you won’t die from that. A few broken bones, sure, but at least, you won’t get devoured alive.”

“...”

“That man is the lion.”

Kim Myeong-Chan’s gaze grew distant, indistinct. He stared at the ceiling dazedly.

“No, rather than a lion, he’s far closer to the devil. A truly terrifying devil.”

Goh Han-Bong carefully replied, “Yes, I know that.”

“No, you don’t,” Kim Myeong-Chan muttered, his voice getting icier and heavier. “You don’t know how deep this abyss is. Because, on the surface at least, every abyss looks the same. Only those who throw themselves into one to reach its bottom get to understand how far they must fall first.”

A sorrowful smile crept onto Kim Myeong-Chan’s face.

“I’m still falling, Han-Bong.”

“...”

“Yes, I’m still falling and falling... And falling again and again toward the unknown depths. And I still can’t see the bottom yet. Not yet... Even after all the falling! Still not yet! Not even close!”

His trembling voice grew louder and louder until eventually turning into a frenzied yell. Goh Han-Bong was beset with pain akin to his soul being sucked out when he sensed the madness contained within that yelling.

“Don’t... Don’t come here, Han-Bong.”

“Senior!”

“No, don’t come! Don’t! Don’t turn me into someone who... who feels relieved at the sight of someone else suffering the same fate as me. I don’t want to start thinking about how nice it’d be for... for you to also fall into this hell, so that you can finally understand what I’m going through! Please, don’t make me any pettier than this...”

Kim Myeong-Chan should have gone insane. Or, even die. Because he was still alive, he had to suffer the torture of losing everything.

All the things that acted as his pillars of support, such as his achievements, his pride... None of it remained now. The only thing remaining was a withered husk, where even his soul had been taken away.

Goh Han-Bong’s heart was threatening to tear apart into pieces at this wretched sight. He wanted to break down and wail. He wanted to let everything out and howl in sorrow.

However, how could he do that here?

How would crying for someone out of sheer pity bring solace to the person in question when his eyes were still wide-open? To Kim Myeong-Chan, such an act would be nothing more than another form of torture, a cruel mockery.

Cheap pity had no place in this situation.

“Go home, Han-Bong.”

“...”

“And never come back here. The Kim Myeong-Chan you used to know is already gone. No, that man never existed, to begin with. All we did was think what felt right for us and believe what we wanted to believe. Yes, we’ve never considered the possibility that we were these... these lowly ignoble creatures. That’s all.”

A self-deprecating smile formed on Kim Myeong-Chan’s face.

“Now, leave.”

“Senior...”

“Please, leave...!”

Kim Myeong-Chan covered his face with both hands.

“I can’t bear to look at you anymore. Because you remind me of the past, and I can’t stand it! I don’t want to be reminded of them, and I don’t want to hear about them, either. If death could have freed me, I would have killed myself several times over. That’s why... Stop tormenting me and leave. Please.”

Kim Myeong-Chan began sobbing while still covering his face. Goh Han-Bong bit his lip hard at this sight. The skin on his lower lip broke, causing blood to trickle down his chin.

“Don’t fight him, Han-Bong. Please, do not oppose him... That man is off-limits. He must not be touched! Don’t walk the same path that I did. Just... Just wait until he’s gone or something! You stupid bastard! You used to be so patient during the military dictatorship days, so what happened to your patience now?! Do you think you’ve become somebody after coming into some wealth? Because people kiss your ass for being the Prime Minister?!”

“No, senior! Not at all!” Goh Han-Bong cried out while bowing deeply.

“...Endure, Han-Bong. Until the end. That’s the only way to face off against a truly strong opponent. Prove that you’re stronger by surviving until the end.”

Kim Myeong-Chan had gotten a lot calmer as he spoke.

“I failed to do that. But I hope you can pull it off.”

“I will, senior. I will.”

“Good. Now leave. I’m happy that we got to speak again. However, never come back here.”

Goh Han-Bong got up, then kowtowed to Kim Myeong-Chan. He stood up and stared at the ceiling for a long time in silence before turning around to leave. He opened the steel door and stepped outside the cell.

CLANG!

As the sharp metallic noise of the steel door slamming shut echoed in the corridor, Goh Han-Bong leaned against the door and covered his face.

“S-sir! Are you okay?”

Goh Han-Bong saw the figure of the warden rushing toward him through the gap between his fingers covering his face. Unlike Kim Myeong-Chan’s gaunt figure, the warden’s gut protruded noticeably, and that got on Goh Han-Bong’s nerves quite a lot.

He beckoned at the warden. “Over here.”

“Sir?”

“I said, over here.”

Goh Han-Bong grabbed the warden’s shoulder and pulled him away from Kim Myeong-Chan’s cell. Once they got far away where their conversations wouldn’t reach the former Prime Minister’s hearing, Goh Han-Bong ruthlessly kicked the warden’s shin.

“Ahhck?! Aaaack!”

“What the hell is wrong with the hygiene in this goddamn prison, you incompetent bastard! The former Prime Minister is in that cell, so why the hell is it so filthy?! You want to die? Is that it?!”

“B-but, sir, it’s the inmates’ duty to keep their cells clean, and...”

“What was that?”

“N-no, sir! Please disregard what I said! I’ll take care of it! Forgive me for my laziness!”

“You fool!”

Goh Han-Bong kicked the warden in the shin again. As if the sight of the warden rolling around on the floor in agony while clutching at his leg was enough to vent his anger to some degree, Goh Han-Bong dusted his hands and grunted unhappily.

“You goddamn moron...”

As soon as those words left his mouth, though, Goh Han-Bong bit his lip again. Of course he knew he shouldn’t take his anger out on the warden. But he simply had to vent somehow, or he wouldn’t be able to keep himself together.

Kang Jin-Ho...!

Goh Han-Bong sucked in a deep breath.

Did he have a grudge against that man? Of course not. All he knew was what he heard and saw. He heard what happened to Kim Myeong-Chan and tried to learn what the former Prime Minister’s feelings were. That was the only way to decide his future direction, after all.

“Fuu-woo...!”

Goh Han-Bong exhaled at length while gripping the nearby steel bar tightly.

Yes, coming here was a good idea. It has helped me immensely.

He could have suffered the fate of getting locked up in a cell next to Kim Myeong-Chan. Such a punishment would’ve been even worse than death itself.

“I am...”

Goh Han-Bong muttered, the corners of his lips distorting, as if he had made up his mind about something. But then, he lowered his head. He took his vibrating phone out of his pocket, but the number appearing on the phone’s screen puzzled him slightly.

Who’s this?

Only a handful of people should know the number for this phone, so who could it be? After tilting his head once in confusion, Goh Han-Bong answered the phone.

“Hello?”

Since it could’ve been a case of mistaken phone numbers, he didn’t say who he was. But he immediately realized his worries were meaningless.

—Good day. I’m honored to make your acquaintance, Prime Minister. My name is Chief Lee Hyeon-Su from the Korean Martial Assembly. I hope you’ve heard about me.

Goh Han-Bong’s complexion was instantly drained of all colors.