Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 181

“Let’s eat first before we start.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho moved from the crane to the rooftop of the building.

“Hey, aren’t you nervous?”

“About what?”

Jo Sang-pil couldn’t help but feel bewildered looking at Kang Jin-ho.

‘Is he really not nervous?’

When Jo Sang-pil first started this job, he couldn’t even look down. No matter how brave a person is, the pressure of knowing that their life could be taken in an instant makes their legs tremble and their body stiff.

But this guy, Kang Jin-ho, was acting as if he were on flat ground, completely calm.

“Is there a cafeteria in this building?”

“The food in the cafeteria is always the same. Why don’t we just go out to eat?”

“There’s the moving team.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Jo Sang-pil nodded.

“You’re the moving team, how can you forget?”

“Hey, it’s okay to forget sometimes.”

Jo Sang-pil joked and then said,

“But, Chief.”

“What?”

“When we move in the afternoon, can I take the newbie with me?”

“What? Take the newbie?”

“Yes.”

The chief frowned.

“Wouldn’t it be too dangerous? You’ve only been working for a few days, why would you take him? No way.”

“He’s got guts, and I think it’s time to teach him properly.”

“I said no.”

Jo Sang-pil grabbed the chief’s arm and said,

“He’s too fearless, and if he keeps working like this, he’s going to have an accident. He needs to be scared once to come to his senses.”

“…What the hell is this guy up to?”

As the chief was about to yell, Jo Sang-pil quickly continued,

“I’m serious. He walks around like it’s flat ground. Guys like that end up falling after taking off their safety lines.”

“Hmm…”

“If he gets a taste of the safety line once, he won’t do it again. I’ll just scare him a little and bring him right back up.”

“You’re not going to leave him there, right?”

“Hey, what makes you think I’d trust him with work? He’d have to redo the whole section.”

“Then you’re responsible for his safety. You know what I mean?”

“Of course.”

Unbeknownst to Kang Jin-ho, the plan was progressing smoothly.

“No way, man.”

“The chief said it was okay.”

“No, I said no. Has this crazy guy lost his mind? Putting a newbie on a chair on his first day? What if there’s an accident? Are you going to take responsibility? Absolutely not.”

“Hey, what kind of accident would there be?”

“This guy is going to cause trouble. Guys like you are the ones who cause accidents. Anyway, absolutely not, so don’t say such nonsense!”

Jo Sang-pil sighed.

‘Ugh, old geezer.’

The chief had already given permission, so why was he blocking it? Anyway, his rank was higher, so there was nothing he could do once he went down.

“Then the tray is okay, right?”

“…You’re going to install the tray?”

“We’ve come all the way here, so the tray should be okay. I’ll take him. Is that okay?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but if there’s an accident, I won’t let you off the hook.”

“Yes, yes.”

Jo Sang-pil slightly lowered his head.

‘It’s a little disappointing, but…’

In the past, exterior cleaning was done by hanging from ropes, but these days, it’s gradually changing to cranes. Five to six people can ride on a long, horizontal platform that goes down while cleaning.

Cranes were preferred because they were less affected by the wind and more stable due to their heavy weight.

However, as large and heavy as cranes are, there are places where they cannot be installed. Therefore, in such places, they still clean by hanging chairs or using two-person trays.

“The chair is the real deal.”

No matter how brave someone is, the moment they hang from a single rope 200 meters in the air, they face a terror that makes them feel like they’re losing their mind.

He wanted to see that expressionless face turn pale, but he couldn’t, which was a shame.

‘No.’

Come to think of it, even if Kang Jin-ho was scared, it wouldn’t mean anything if he couldn’t see it right next to him.

The tray would be much better for directly observing the change in his emotions.

If he experienced the tray shaking in the strong wind 200 meters in the air, he would probably shed a tear.

Jo Sang-pil chuckled and moved to install the tray.

“Can I get on here?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, looking at the large basket-like thing hanging from the rooftop.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho jumped into the tray. His chest was completely inside the box.

“Move to the side a bit.”

“Yes.”

As Kang Jin-ho moved to the side, Jo Sang-pil carefully got inside as well.

“Connect the safety harness.”

After connecting the safety harness as instructed, Jo Sang-pil checked if it was properly connected and handed over a helmet.

“Here.”

Kang Jin-ho put on the helmet without a word.

“This is different from what we rode earlier, it shakes a lot. Don’t panic, just hold on tight.”

“Okay.”

“Then lower us.”

“Got it.”

After checking the wire and water hose, the tray slowly began to descend.

Clunk! Clunk!

Unlike the giant tray they rode in the morning, the two-person tray shook greatly just by going down.

“Don’t be scared.”

“Huh?”

“I said don’t be scared.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho answered lightly, and Jo Sang-pil’s face contorted.

‘Seriously, where did this guy sell his fear?’

At this point, shouldn’t he at least pretend to be scared?

What? Now he’s even leaning back as if he’s comfortable? Does he know that his back is 200 meters in the air?

“How does it feel to be up here?”

“Um, it’s more….”

“More?”

“Refreshing.”

“……”

Jo Sang-pil had to admit that Kang Jin-ho was not in the category of humans he knew. He must have been born with a congenital lack of fear.

“Let’s clean.”

“Yes.”

They sprayed water with a sprayer, applied detergent, and wiped away the grime. Once the dark glass was wiped, it transformed into a transparent state as if protesting, ‘I was originally this color.’

“It was really dirty.”

“Exterior walls aren’t something you can clean whenever you want. You have to match the schedule, and these days, there aren’t many companies that do this kind of work. Thanks to that, the unit price has gone up, which is good for us.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

It wasn’t an easy job, but it was necessary. And he thought that society worked because of people like them.

As they were cleaning the building’s windows, people working in the offices inside looked at them with curious eyes.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a gust of wind blew, and the tray, which was firmly fixed with wires above and below, began to shake.

“Duck!”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho ducked as Jo Sang-pil said. The tray shook for a while and then calmed down again.

“It shakes a lot.”

“Hey, this is nothing. You should look around when you’re walking on the street later. There are people working on high-rise buildings with just one rope tied around them. When the wind blows, they move ten meters away from the building and then back again.”

“Hmm…”

“Not just us, but also the people painting the exterior of apartments work like that.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly nodded.

Come to think of it, there must have been people who painted all those apartments.

It was definitely something to think about, realizing that people’s efforts touched even the smallest things that he didn’t usually think about.

Clunk!

Then, the tray started clunking again.

“Ugh, why today of all days… Wait a minute? The wind isn’t blowing, why is it clunking?”

Jo Sang-pil tilted his head and started shaking the wires one by one.

“Huh?”

Jo Sang-pil realized that one of the wires supporting the right side of the tray was not as taut as the others and picked up the radio.

“Hyung Jung-hyun, the wire here is loose. It looks like you need to pull it from above.”

Even though the radio signal went through with a ‘shhh’ sound, there was no response.

“Ah, damn it! I told him so many times to wait by the radio.”

Jo Sang-pil started to get annoyed.

When you’re on the tray, you can’t do anything except hang in the air. Of course, you can lower and raise the tray from this side, but other maintenance tasks have to be done by the person waiting above.

That’s why it’s the rule to always carry the radio, even when going to the bathroom, but it seemed like he had left the radio and left his post.

“Anyway, that hyung is always the problem.”

Jo Sang-pil grumbled and picked up his phone.

Jo Sang-pil, who had called someone, tilted his head and looked at the screen several times.

“That’s weird? Why isn’t he answering?”

He might not wait by the radio, but usually, people don’t let go of their phones, but he wasn’t answering the phone either.

“Why is this guy acting like this? Ah, this wire…”

Clunk!

At that moment, the tray shook violently.

“W-what!”

Jo Sang-pil, who was terrified and grabbed the handle tightly, saw something long falling down from the air.

“…Th-this, shit!”

One of the wires connected to the four corners of the tray was now falling to the ground.

“D-did it break?”

Jo Sang-pil took a slow, deep breath and pressed down hard on Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“Calm down. It’s nothing.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his eyes and looked up.

“W-well, it looks like the wire broke, but even if you check everything, this kind of thing happens sometimes. The other three are fine, so we can go up and replace the wire and come back down. So don’t be scared.”

“Yes.”

Jo Sang-pil bit his lip tightly.

He said it easily, but this was the first time he had experienced a wire breaking during work. Because it was a matter of life and death, they didn’t use wires that matched the maximum load, but wires that could withstand loads of over a ton to secure the tray. That’s why, at least until now, the wires had never broken.

‘I’ve heard it a few times.’

He had heard stories of wires breaking during work several times.

Jo Sang-pil took a deep breath and picked up the radio.

“Hyung Jung-hyun! Hyung Jung-hyun! Are you there? The wire on this side just broke… Can we go up like this, or should we wait?”

There was still no answer from the radio.

“Ah, damn it! Where did he go! He’s so annoying!”

People started gathering inside the building, realizing that one of the tray’s lines had broken.

“Did something happen, damn it.”

He could understand them coming closer out of concern, but when people started taking out their phones to film, Jo Sang-pil’s face began to contort.

“Ah, damn it! Where did he go?”

Jo Sang-pil raised his head and looked at the rooftop.

“Huh?”

Then, Jo Sang-pil’s eyes were filled with question.

Someone was leaning out over the edge of the rooftop. But that person was definitely not Hyung Jung-hyun.

“Wh-who?”

Clunk!

At that moment, another line broke, and the tray began to shake like crazy.