Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 280

After sending Bang Jin-hoon away, Kang Jin-ho turned to Cho Kyu-min and asked,

“What do you think?”

“What do you mean? About Mr. Bang Jin-hoon?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Cho Kyu-min paused, as if deep in thought, before facing Kang Jin-ho.

“In my opinion, someone who’s trying to gather power within the organization to rebel wouldn’t be so willing to listen to Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

Cho Kyu-min wasn’t one to boast about his ability to read people, but he believed he had a decent sense of it.

“Hmm…”

“He’s the type who naturally craves the spotlight. Even if he’s submitting now due to pressure, I don’t think he’s someone you can trust in the long run.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded slowly.

His thoughts weren’t much different from Cho Kyu-min’s.

“But that’s probably why you chose Mr. Bang Jin-hoon, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

This was why he liked Cho Kyu-min.

Without needing to be told or explained, he understood Kang Jin-ho’s intentions and acted accordingly.

The reason he chose Bang Jin-hoon was because he was a man who craved the spotlight. Kang Jin-ho had no intention of directly controlling the General Assembly or the martial artists of South Korea.

But there was a need to do so.

Therefore, finding the right person and entrusting it to them was the best option.

“Certainly, someone like Mr. Bang Jin-hoon seems better suited for the job than a passive type. But…”

Cho Kyu-min continued, sounding concerned.

“If you can’t control him completely in the long run, he could cause trouble. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded calmly.

“He won’t be able to betray me.”

“You never know with people…”

“He won’t be able to betray me.”

Kang Jin-ho cut off Cho Kyu-min, his voice full of conviction. Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s confidence, Cho Kyu-min was convinced.

“You’ve made arrangements.”

“Yes. To some extent.”

“Then it should be fine. He seems like someone who values his own life.”

“Yes.”

“However, what worries me is…”

Cho Kyu-min sat down and took a sip of his coffee. The aroma of the half-cooled coffee tickled his nose.

“If you get involved in this, Mr. Kang Jin-ho, you’ll be deeply entangled in the underbelly of South Korea. You won’t be able to live as you have been. Are you really okay with that?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer, leaning back on the sofa. After a moment of thought, he spoke.

“If we can avoid it, it wouldn’t be bad to avoid it.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“But if you try to avoid what you can’t avoid, you’ll end up facing disaster.”

Kang Jin-ho decided he wouldn’t avoid it anymore.

Living an ordinary life.

That didn’t mean ignoring what was happening around him and focusing on the life he showed to the outside world. The more he ignored it, the more his life crumbled.

‘If I really wanted to live an ordinary life, I shouldn’t have learned martial arts in the first place.’

When he first returned to this world, he tried not to learn martial arts. That decision broke when he realized that even if he didn’t bother others, they wouldn’t leave him alone.

If he could have lived by adapting and yielding, he would have. But now that he knew he couldn’t, there was no point in continuing to be passive.

“If you can’t avoid it, you have to break it.”

Cho Kyu-min smiled lightly.

This was why he liked Kang Jin-ho.

He always seemed calm and quiet, but once he started moving, he became fiery, as if his previous calmness had been a lie. Every time Kang Jin-ho had stepped forward, it had always been like that.

‘Maybe it’s vicarious satisfaction.’

Anyone living in modern society would want to be like Kang Jin-ho. Someone who endures as much as they can, but changes completely the moment they cross the line.

That exhilarating feeling was something you couldn’t get anywhere else.

It wasn’t just for that reason that he followed Kang Jin-ho, but he couldn’t deny that it was one of the reasons.

“Then.”

As Kang Jin-ho got up, Cho Kyu-min stopped him.

“Ah, just a moment, Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes?”

“The car has arrived. You should drive it.”

“Ah…”

Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s pleased expression, Cho Kyu-min smiled.

“You used to say you didn’t need a car, but now that you don’t have one, it’s inconvenient, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

That’s how cars are.

When you don’t have one from the start, you don’t know why you need it, but once you have one and then lose it, so many things become inconvenient and bothersome.

“I’ve parked it in the underground parking lot. I’ve taken care of the insurance.”

“Yes.”

“The sedan will take a bit longer.”

“…I hope it’s not too extravagant.”

“No. It’s not that it’s taking time to arrive, but I’ve been thinking about what kind of car to get…”

Cho Kyu-min scratched his head.

“If it were my car, I could do whatever, but since it’s a car for Mr. Kang Jin-ho, there are too many things to consider. I’ve narrowed down the candidates, so please wait a little longer.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded and headed for the door. In fact, he was practically an amateur when it came to cars. He would just drive whatever car Cho Kyu-min chose for him.

“Let’s go down.”

Kang Jin-ho took the elevator to the underground parking lot and sighed as he looked around the dark space.

“Don’t keep doing things like this.”

“Whether it’s a face or an object, lighting is half the battle.”

As Cho Kyu-min turned on the lights, a red Lamborghini caught Kang Jin-ho’s eye.

“Is it the same one?”

“Yes. I thought about going with a Ferrari or a Bugatti, and I also liked the Pagani. But since you’re getting a new car this time, it would be a bit much to change this one too. So, I prepared the same model.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded as if he understood.

“…Is there no other color besides that?”

“You drove the red one well, didn’t you?”

“I understand the wrapping [referring to a car wrap], but since it’s red from the start, it’s a bit much.”

“Sports cars are red. Or should I change it to another model now? The sky blue one this time is pretty nice.”

“I’ll take this one.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head violently, imagining the sky blue sports car.

‘Red is less flashy than that.’

He realized that red wasn’t that flashy of a color for a car, even if it was for clothes.

“You’ll drive it, right?”

“Yes.”

Cho Kyu-min took the keys out of his pocket and jingled them.

“Please thank the Chairman later. He may have a lot of money, but giving away a car worth hundreds of millions is still a burden.”

“I should visit him.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded slowly, understanding Cho Kyu-min’s meaning.

That person wasn’t one to show off after giving such a gift. So, he meant that he should at least show his face.

The older he got, the more Hwang Jung-hoo seemed to want to see Kang Jin-ho, like a grandfather looking for his grandson.

Having never experienced a grandfather’s presence since his own grandfather passed away when he was young, Kang Jin-ho was feeling a grandfather’s affection from Hwang Jung-hoo.

“Come to think of it…”

“Yes?”

“What are Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo’s children doing now, the ones you mentioned before?”

“…I’m not sure?”

Cho Kyu-min scratched his head, looking surprised.

He had heard that they had caused a ruckus at Hwang Jung-hoo’s house before, but he hadn’t heard any news since then.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly at Cho Kyu-min’s words.

“It seems you can’t just cut ties even if you try.”

“Yes?”

“That’s what family is like.”

“Hmm…”

Cho Kyu-min nodded.

He had a family, so he understood what Kang Jin-ho meant.

“Even if it was something he had to do, he wouldn’t feel good knowing that his children are having a hard time.”

“But the Chairman…”

“There are times when you have to protect the image you’ve built. Even if you don’t want to, someone like Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo would have to do that even more.”

Cho Kyu-min nodded.

Kang Jin-ho was right.

“I’ll investigate it.”

“Please do.”

Even if Hwang Jung-hoo didn’t want it, it didn’t matter. Now, the one he had to obey was Kang Jin-ho, not Hwang Jung-hoo.

‘This feels like I’m secretly freeloading…’

He was getting paid by Jae-kyung, but he was working under Kang Jin-ho’s orders, not Hwang Jung-hoo’s, so his conscience was starting to bother him.

‘No, but Jae-kyung wants me to assist Mr. Kang Jin-ho in the first place, so it’s not like this is wrong.’

He realized that he needed to sort out his position soon.

“Then.”

Kang Jin-ho got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Roar!

The heavy sound coming from the 12-cylinder engine made Cho Kyu-min shudder.

‘It’s amazing every time.’

Cho Kyu-min lowered his head, wondering if there would ever come a time when he could drive a car like that if he worked hard alongside Kang Jin-ho.

“Drive carefully.”

The window opened, and Kang Jin-ho reached his hand out.

“Ah, and Mr. Kang Jin-ho!”

The car, which had been slowly moving, stopped.

“Lift the front wheels before going up. The bottom will get scratched.”

With a whirring sound, the front of the car lifted slightly. As Kang Jin-ho slowly drove up, Cho Kyu-min watched him quietly before turning around.

‘Things are going to get busy.’

The Korean Martial Arts General Assembly.

If Cho Kyu-min had tried to deal with it in the name of Jae-kyung, it was a place where he couldn’t see the answer. In fact, all attempts to investigate the General Assembly by mobilizing their exposed forces had failed.

At the same time, there were even movements from high places that couldn’t be revealed, subtly trying to hinder their investigation.

‘But it doesn’t seem difficult, which is a big problem.’

Was it a case of ‘the fox borrows the tiger’s might’ [a Korean idiom meaning to use someone else’s power]?

Just the fact that Kang Jin-ho was behind him made the Martial Arts General Assembly not seem so scary to Cho Kyu-min.

With Kang Jin-ho, who treated even Bang Jin-hoon, the second-in-command of the General Assembly, like a child, by his side, what was there to be afraid of?

Feeling a sense of power in his shoulders, Cho Kyu-min headed for the elevator.

‘I need to calm down.’

The reason he could move freely was not because he was strong, but because Kang Jin-ho was strong. If he moved, misjudging that power as his own, destruction would be waiting for him someday.

If there was a tiger behind him, it was true that he should use it appropriately, but if he acted recklessly, relying only on that, the day would come when he realized he was a fox.

The tiger would take revenge for him, but what was the point of revenge after he had already been hurt?

“First, I need to do the job I was told to do well.”

Cho Kyu-min pressed the elevator button, wondering where to start his investigation to get information about Hwang Jung-hoo’s sons.