Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 35

“You little punks!” The student guidance counselor, who had rushed over, slammed the classroom door with a stick. The loud banging echoed sharply, but it was impossible to get all the kids who had poked their heads out into the hallway back inside. Students from other classes were already watching the scene. “Aren’t you going to get your heads in?” Guidance counselor Gong Ik-hyun yelled, but the kids didn’t move, as if they had made a pact. No, rather, the kids who had just realized what was happening were now poking their heads out of the classroom. “You brats!” Gong Ik-hyun was flustered, but the chairman remained calm. “That’s one thing. This is another. What school allows grade manipulation?” “Now that I hear it, it doesn’t seem like grade manipulation. And even if it is, it doesn’t seem like Jin-ho is at fault. What school expels a student for something like this?” Park Yu-min’s response made the chairman glare at her. “You seem to have forgotten what I said…” Park Yu-min chuckled. “You weren’t going to help even if I listened anyway.” “……” “I’d rather say what I want and get punished. That way, I’ll feel less wronged.” One by one, the kids came out. Han Se-yeon was among them. “I’m not going in!” Gong Ik-hyun swung his stick menacingly, but Han Se-yeon didn’t even blink. “If you keep acting like this, we’ll protest outside the school gates.” Han Se-yeon’s voice was met with cheers from all around. “That’s right!” “This is too much!” The principal and the student guidance counselor looked around, flustered. Kang Jin-ho watched the whole scene and smiled faintly. For him? It wasn’t just that. Park Yu-min, Jung In-gyu, and Han Se-yeon were clearly raising their voices for him. But that wasn’t the case for the other kids. The pent-up frustrations they had with the school were finally erupting. They had a cause, and they were riding the wave. At this age, kids were bound to get fired up. “Go inside.” The student guidance counselor said in a low voice. “Teacher, we also…” Bang! The student guidance counselor’s stick hit the classroom wall roughly. “Those of you sticking your heads out, those of you outside, those of you holding your phones… I’m giving you three seconds. Let’s see if you’re still doing that after three seconds.” The students looked at the student guidance counselor with reluctant eyes. The notoriety he had built up was too great to ignore. “One.” Some students went back into the classroom. “Two.” The students who had been so fired up rushed back into the classroom. “Three.” In the end, only Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min remained. Han Se-yeon stood half in the doorway, looking at Kang Jin-ho. The chairman looked at Park Yu-min. “What’s your name?” “Park Yu-min.” “Right, Park Yu-min.” The chairman nodded and chuckled. “Go ahead.” “……Excuse me?” “Do what you said. If you want to file a lawsuit, file it, and if you want to spread it to the media, spread it.” Park Yu-min’s face hardened. “You’re too naive about the world. Do you think I’ve been running this foundation without dealing with things like this? What do you think will change if you do that?” “Is that kid threatening the chairman? Principal, punish him too.” “Yes, I understand.” Kang Jin-ho looked at the chairman. From the beginning, he hadn’t expected that this short commotion would change anything. The kids were easily riled up, but realistically, they were bound by too many constraints. And the position that Chairman Choi Myung-gil had built up was too great for them to resist. There was no way that a bunch of rabbits could take on a cunning old fox who had tasted all the sweetness and bitterness of the world. It would be fortunate if they could resolve it by filing a complaint with the media or the education office, but it was unlikely that this kind of incident would even become a hot topic. Even if there was a possibility of it becoming a hot topic, Choi Myung-gil could just bury it if he put his mind to it. If you compared the benefits of getting it published in the news with the benefits of receiving money from Choi Myung-gil, it was obvious which one was better. It would be nice if there was a true media outlet, but from what Kang Jin-ho had seen so far, the media was a place that pursued profit, not a place that was dedicated to informing the public. “Do you think you can’t do it?” Kang Jin-ho grabbed Park Yu-min. “It’s okay.” “Jin-ho?” Park Yu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho with teary eyes. “Stop it and go inside.” “No.” “Go inside. Don’t make me say it twice.” “……” Park Yu-min lowered her head weakly. Kang Jin-ho looked at Chairman Choi Myung-gil, his face hardening. “Can I go now?” The chairman looked at the principal. “If it’s a voluntary withdrawal, you have to fill out a withdrawal form, but if it’s an expulsion, there won’t be any problems. But either way, a guardian has to come…” The chairman nodded. “Then we’ll just call a guardian.” “They’re working right now.” Choi Myung-gil smiled. “Don’t worry. They’ll be out of a job soon.” Kang Jin-ho glared at the chairman. But Choi Myung-gil looked at Kang Jin-ho with a smooth face. Kang Jin-ho’s eyes slowly filled with murderous intent. “Huk!” The chairman gasped and stepped back. ‘What kind of eyes…’ The chairman clutched his heart. But Kang Jin-ho turned his eyes away. ‘I have to hold back.’ There are too many eyes. Unlike the past, he couldn’t ignore the gazes of others here. Kang Jin-ho composed his breathing. Without realizing it, his murderous intent had risen. If he hadn’t held back, he might have attacked the chairman without realizing it. Then it would really be irreversible. Kang Jin-ho bit his lip slightly and turned his body. It was daytime now. Daytime was not his time. He would be able to release his resentment when night came. He just had to endure until then. The chairman looked at the principal with a distorted face. “What are you doing! Why aren’t you calling!” “Yes? Yes!” Kang Jin-ho stopped them. “I’ll talk. Stop it.” “Call!” “I said stop it!” The chairman looked at Kang Jin-ho with a triumphant expression. “What will change if you talk?” Then he whispered so quietly that others couldn’t hear. “This is just the beginning. Do you think it’ll end here?” Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed. He would endure. He had to endure. But how much longer did he have to endure? It was then. “P-Principal!” Someone came running at full speed from the end of the hallway. The principal answered with an annoyed voice. “What is it!” “Y-You have to come out.” “Can’t you see I’m busy?” “It’s urgent.” “Urgent?” “L-Look outside! Look at the schoolyard.” The principal tilted his head, then approached the window and looked at the schoolyard. “W-What is that?” Black sedans were lined up in front of the school’s main building. They weren’t just any sedans. They were top-of-the-line sedans that were lined up in the schoolyard. Choi Myung-gil stared at the scene with wide eyes, then shouted in a trembling voice. “Who came? Did an audit team come? No, there’s no way audit vehicles would be like that.” “C-Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo has arrived.” “What?” “I’m saying the chairman of Jae-kyung Group has arrived!” The chairman shouted with a terrified face. “Why is that person here!” At that moment, a low voice was heard from the end of the hallway. “Do I have to ask for permission to come see my grandson?” Step, step. The sound of shoes hitting the floor echoed slowly. Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo, followed by bodyguards and secretaries, was walking down the hallway. The chairman ran out with a terrified face. “Chairman, it’s been a long time.” Hwang Jung-hoo narrowed his eyes and said to Baek Young-gi, who was next to him. “Have I ever seen this guy before?” Baek Young-gi looked at Choi Myung-gil with eyes that were completely different from when he looked at Hwang Jung-hoo. Even though he was ignored among the directors, he was also a director of Jae-kyung Group. He was a person of a different level than a mere foundation chairman. “You’ve attended the foundation chairman meetings a few times, haven’t you? I guess you wouldn’t remember.” “Is that so?” Hwang Jung-hoo stared at Chairman Choi Myung-gil. “S-So, your grandson was attending our school? You should have given us a heads up. I’ll guide you. What grade and class is he in?” “There’s no need for that.” “Excuse me?” “He’s right there.” Choi Myung-gil’s hands trembled. Right there? The only student in the hallway right now was one person. Kang Jin-ho. Hwang Jung-hoo looked at Kang Jin-ho and smiled warmly. “You were here.” Hwang Jung-hoo ignored the chairman and approached Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho said quietly, in a voice that others couldn’t hear. “What are you doing?” “I heard there was a problem, so I came. And didn’t I say I’d bring it to the school?” Kang Jin-ho stared at Hwang Jung-hoo. Then he should just take care of that and leave, why was he talking about a grandson? Even if you went back to Kang Jin-ho’s great-great-great-grandparents, there was no relationship between him and Hwang Jung-hoo. Hwang Jung-hoo suddenly laughed heartily and patted Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder. “It’s been a while. So, how’s school life going?” “Yes.” Kang Jin-ho decided to participate in this ridiculous charade for now. Hwang Jung-hoo had made things too big to back out now. “Chairman.” “Yes? Yes! Chairman.” Hwang Jung-hoo looked at Choi Myung-gil with a smiling face. “I heard my grandson has been through a lot…” “No, that’s…” “You treated Hwang Jung-hoo’s grandson so preciously, how can I not repay you?” The chairman’s face turned black. He had lived by suppressing others with power and wealth. That’s why he knew better than anyone how much power and wealth could have. The power he had was like a firefly in front of the sun compared to Hwang Jung-hoo. If he had to pay the media to shut them up, Hwang Jung-hoo was at a level where the media would be watching his every move even if he did nothing. If Hwang Jung-hoo made up his mind, the entire Republic of Korea would be shaken. “Was it Choi Myung-gil?” “……Yes, Chairman.” “You’ve been living as you please, believing in that tiny bit of power you have. If your eyes are still rotten at that age, there’s nothing more to say. Now you have to pay the price.” “C-Chairman, please save me!” “Who said I was going to kill you? I’m not that kind of person. Jo Gyu-min.” “Yes, Chairman.” “The related documents?” “I’ve handed them over to the prosecution.” “Not the education office?” “Even though the audit team is investigating the related matters, crimes should be handled by the police or the prosecution. I told them that it was a case that the chairman was watching, so they should investigate it in detail.” “Is that so?” Hwang Jung-hoo nodded. “That’s what they say.” “C-Chairman!” Choi Myung-gil desperately looked for Hwang Jung-hoo. He was about to grab his pant leg, regardless of the people watching. But Hwang Jung-hoo looked at Choi Myung-gil with very cold eyes. His mouth slowly opened, and a thunderous roar fell. “How dare you touch my grandson and expect to be safe?” Choi Myung-gil’s legs gave way.