Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 424

“You trashy bastards, aaaaaaah!”The voice was a mix of sorrow, sadness, and anger, all perfectly blended. And because the voice had a legitimate reason, those being criticized couldn’t dare express any dissatisfaction.”I’m sorry.””Sorry.”Joo Young-gi’s face was flushed as he pointed his finger.”Is ‘sorry’ enough to fix this?! You guys! Anyone would think I’m the boss and you’re the part-timers! Even part-timers these days don’t work like this. You say you have work and then don’t show up, is that it? Is that it?””…I’m sorry.””Kids these days have no sense of responsibility! Kids these days! It wasn’t like this in my day!”Although they were the same age, Joo Young-gi, who had jumped into the workforce earlier, started lecturing like a *kkondae* [a condescending older person].”Even when you go to someone else’s house to work, you don’t act like this. You should do the work you’re assigned and then wander around. Huh? Isn’t the initial mindset important in everything? But how many days has it been since the store opened, and you’re all not showing up! Huh?”Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min shrank a little.’It’s stifling.”Scary.’One of the most hated situations in the world is being lectured with correct words.You hate being lectured, but the words are all correct, and you clearly made a mistake, so you can’t even make excuses.That was exactly the situation they were in.”…Young-gi, Jin-ho didn’t do it on purpose.””What?””The kids, the situation…””The ki-i-i-ids?”Park Yu-min flinched as Joo Young-gi’s eyes widened.It felt like they had poked a hornet’s nest.”If you think about the kids, you should show them how hard you work. Are they born with a silver spoon? Like that guy over there?”To be precise, Kang Jin-ho was a case of turning a dirt spoon into a gold spoon through hard work, but it seemed better to just keep his mouth shut now.”For kids who have to make a living on their own after leaving the orphanage, the adults are playing around like this! How can they be educated properly? Get a grip, you guys. Life is real.””Are you going to be responsible for their lives forever? Are you their mothers? Enough is enough, you crazy guys. It’s good to be nice to the kids, but don’t you know that it’s not good for them to rely on you too much?””We were wrong.””We’re sorry.”Kang Jin-ho and Joo Young-gi kept bowing their heads.Today, Joo Young-gi’s life lecture was also piercing and intense.”If you crazy guys aren’t going to show up, at least send the kids. If you suddenly take away all the part-timers, what am I supposed to do? Do you know how much I panicked trying to find part-timers in a hurry?””…Sorry.”They had nothing to say, even with ten mouths.It felt like a new mistake was being discovered every time Joo Young-gi said a word.Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but wonder if he had been living his life so wrong.”It’s running surprisingly well, though?””…Right?”Joo Young-gi scratched his head.The place was packed with customers.”The business is doing well.””Just by adding a few items to the menu.”Park Yu-min nodded seriously.”I told you, you have a talent for this.””Except for the interior.””I swear…”Joo Young-gi raised his hand at Kang Jin-ho, who added unnecessary words, then sighed and lowered his arm.”I have something to say about that anyway…””What is it?””…Can we open a branch?””Huh?”Kang Jin-ho’s face went blank.”Someone came to ask if they could open a branch?””Yeah.””A branch…”Kang Jin-ho gave an honest assessment.”That’s reckless.””I know, right? Do they want to go bankrupt?””These guys…”Joo Young-gi got angry, but Kang Jin-ho was firm.The truth is, a pizza place is like that. Anyone can easily do it with a little skill, but anyone can easily go bankrupt. It’s not easy to differentiate yourself.If this place hadn’t had several good things going for it, it would have gone bankrupt a long time ago. Unless it’s a franchise with a lot of capital, most places lose capital little by little due to being pushed back by recognition and advertising.”What are they trusting to open a branch?””They must think the business is doing well.””So?””I showed them the cost of ingredients and stuff, and they said they’d come back later.””They won’t come.””Yeah.”If they come back after seeing the books, that person should go bankrupt. This place was making a profit due to the huge number of customers.Even if a branch could attract half the customers, it wouldn’t be difficult to succeed, but that half would be a huge hit by other stores’ standards.Realistically, it was impossible.”So, what I’m saying is…””Hmm.””It doesn’t make sense to open a branch in the form of a chain…””Yeah.””How about we try a directly managed store?””…Huh?”Joo Young-gi shrugged.”After running this place without you guys, I realized that if we can implement Jin-ho’s unique recipe, it wouldn’t be that difficult. Thanks to learning how to bake properly, we can also produce a certain level of taste.”Park Yu-min nodded.In the beginning, Kang Jin-ho baked all the pizzas. The others couldn’t follow Kang Jin-ho’s pizza at all.It was natural for them, who couldn’t use the Heat Yang Technique [a fictional technique].Kang Jin-ho, realizing that this wouldn’t work, modified the oven to increase the firepower and prepared various methods to make it possible to follow, and only then were others able to bake pizza to some extent.They couldn’t match the original taste, but the customers were satisfied with that level.”That’s true.””So, instead of opening a chain… let’s open another store. If we hire a proper chef, it shouldn’t be difficult.””And you’ll be in charge of management?””Yeah.”Kang Jin-ho frowned as Joo Young-gi nodded lightly.’A directly managed store…’It wasn’t bad.Like Park Yu-min, Kang Jin-ho also thought that Joo Young-gi had an unexpected talent for management. Joo Young-gi was an excellent manager in the field, not a manager who had to deal with numbers and worry.Joo Young-gi’s role was significant in how this chaotic place was able to grow this much.’Rather, the place became more stable after we stopped showing up so much.’Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min felt depressed, thinking that they had been a burden to the place.”But would that be easy? Finding people is the hardest part.””If we hire full-time employees, we can find them. In an era of eight million unemployed youths, can’t we find one person?””It’ll be hard to find someone we can trust to be the chef.””Not right now. For now, it’s them.””Huh?”Joo Young-gi pointed to the part-timers serving in the hall.”I didn’t hire college student part-timers, but only people who really want to work. I’ll bring one of the hard-working ones into the kitchen, teach them how to bake pizza, and then use them in this kitchen.””Hmm…””If we open a new directly managed store, I’ll go there first and watch over it for a few months to stabilize the place…””And repeat the same thing?””That’s right.””Hmm…”Park Yu-min began to think seriously.It was difficult for him to say anything. If they increased the number of directly managed stores, their profits could increase, but the investment would also increase proportionally. The current investment in the store was entirely dependent on Kang Jin-ho. So, this was entirely a matter for Kang Jin-ho to decide.”Getting a new place will also cost a lot of money…””Well, that’s right. So, I’ve thought of something!””Huh?”Joo Young-gi looked at Kang Jin-ho and said,”You, get out of here.””…Huh?”Kang Jin-ho tilted his head at the sudden words.”What are you talking about?””You’re going back to school soon anyway.””That’s right.””You can’t keep holding onto this place even after you go back to school. And your future dream isn’t to be a pizza shop owner, right?””…I don’t think so.”Joo Young-gi said in a serious tone.”You’ve already half-given up on the place anyway.””That’s not true.””If it’s not your top priority, it won’t work.””…””You can’t take business lightly. If you could do this and that, and just do the urgent things and look around in your spare time, anyone would succeed.”Kang Jin-ho nodded.It was undeniable that his recent attitude towards the place was not much different from what Joo Young-gi had said.”I’m not saying this to blame you, but that’s the reality. For you, the pizza place will be a good memory if it stays open, but it’s not a place that’s so great that you should be obsessed with it. Right?””Hmm…””That’s because you think it’s okay if this place goes bankrupt. Because you have money. But I guarantee, if you run the place with that mindset, it won’t last long.””…That’s true.”Kang Jin-ho had no choice but to admit Joo Young-gi’s words.’I was a bit arrogant too.’Since things had been going so smoothly lately, he had thought that the pizza place would ‘just manage itself well enough.’ Even though he knew that all organizations start to collapse from that kind of thinking.Kang Jin-ho was once again realizing that it was the hardest thing to do what you know.”So, the conclusion is to close the place?””What are you talking about?”Joo Young-gi’s eyes widened as he asked back.”When did I say that?””You said to get out?””I said for you to get out.””Huh?”Joo Young-gi smiled and said,”Transfer the operating rights. You be the investor. Until all the investment is paid back, all the profits except for my salary will go in. Ultimately, we’ll have a 50/50 stake. You get half, I get half. We’ll split the profits 50/50.”Park Yu-min tilted his head.”What are you talking about?””I’m saying that I’ll take over and run this place. You need to prepare for the season, and Jin-ho needs to go back to school. Instead, we’ll share the money that comes from the place, that’s it.””Ah…”Park Yu-min nodded.It seemed like a good plan. Since Kang Jin-ho and he had things to do, they couldn’t focus on the place. So, it was best for Joo Young-gi to take over.For Joo Young-gi, it was also a good thing that he found a field he was good at and was working with motivation, so it was perfect.”I and Jung Soo-yeon will run the place well. It’s not just about maintaining a few places. The goal is to gradually increase the number of branches and eventually grow it into a large franchise.””Hmm…”Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.”That sounds like a good idea.””Right?””However, if that happens, the problem is how to handle the cost of opening a new place…””Ah, I’ve already thought of that!””Really?””There’s a suitable investor. Someone with a lot of money, but nowhere to spend it.””Huh?”Joo Young-gi smiled and bent his waist ninety degrees.”It’s nice to meet you, investor.””Invest some money. This isn’t an opportunity that comes easily. I’ll multiply it several times for you.””…Get lost.””Wow, you’re so cool. We’ll open ten stores in no time. Hahahaha!”Kang Jin-ho sighed softly as he watched Joo Young-gi burst into loud laughter.’There’s no one normal.’This life is quite unsettling.