Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 794

“Did you say you don’t know if you’re doing well?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a very profound statement.”

Jo Gyu-min looked at this brazen man with an intrigued expression.

‘What’s his problem?’

‘Whether he’s doing well’….

If someone else had said that, Jo Gyu-min would have pondered it with them. But coming from Kang Jin-ho, it was making him lose his sense of reality.

‘If this guy says that, what are the rest of us supposed to do?’

Of course, everyone has different standards for success. It’s more common than one might think for someone who seems to be living a successful life to be rotting inside.

It’s not uncommon for second-generation chaebols [family-run conglomerate] or celebrities who seem to have it all to make extreme choices.

But Kang Jin-ho is different.

Kang Jin-ho’s success wasn’t given; it was earned. And as far as Jo Gyu-min knew, no one around him had achieved such success in such a short amount of time except for Kang Jin-ho.

And now he’s saying he doesn’t know if he’s doing well?

‘How am I supposed to react to that?’

Yes, you are?

Try harder?

In the end, Jo Gyu-min sighed deeply.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“I think it would be good if you could be a bit more specific. What exactly is the problem?”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

It wasn’t easy to articulate his problem precisely. If he could, he would have found a solution and wouldn’t have come to Jo Gyu-min in the first place.

“It’s difficult.”

As Kang Jin-ho seemed to be struggling, Jo Gyu-min changed his approach.

“Then let’s try this.”

“Yes?”

“What’s the biggest problem that’s been bothering you recently?”

That was a bit clearer.

“Recently…”

Kang Jin-ho pondered for a moment before answering.

“It’s like this.”

“Yes.”

“There are principles.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face was utterly serious.

“But sticking to those principles isn’t easy. I end up doing things I shouldn’t have to, and I’m not sure where to draw the line.”

Jo Gyu-min nodded slowly.

“So I’m a bit worried. I’m not sure if I’m doing well.”

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“That’s a pointless worry.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho’s voice was tinged with bewilderment. He hadn’t even properly explained himself yet. He wasn’t even sure if what he had said had been properly understood, so how could he get such a shocking answer?

“Pointless?”

“Yes.”

Jo Gyu-min chuckled and said,

“That’s not even something to worry about. Everyone goes through it. Or, to be precise, everyone who climbs higher goes through it.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned as if he didn’t understand. Jo Gyu-min then spoke lightly.

“Let’s take a simple example.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s say you’re running a company. And you hired a new employee. This new employee hasn’t been to college, doesn’t have any certifications, and doesn’t have any qualifications. When that person works 40 hours a week, what would be an appropriate salary?”

“It would depend on the job.”

“Think about what they do and set a salary.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“I’ve set it.”

“The amount doesn’t matter. Now, do you think that salary is reasonable?”

“Yes.”

“What if that person was Kang Eun-young?”

“…Yes?”

“If your sister was hired there, would you think that salary is reasonable?”

Kang Jin-ho hesitated to answer. The salary he had set was one that no one could receive in the industry under the same conditions. But if Kang Eun-young were to work for that amount?

‘It’s not enough.’

Emotionally, it felt like she should receive more.

“That’s the point. In fact, Kang Eun-young doesn’t have any skills as an office worker. Her career so far is of no help in the workplace. So she should receive a salary that reflects that. But now, you’re probably thinking that the salary you initially set is too low.”

“That’s true.”

“That’s going in reverse.”

Jo Gyu-min explained with a serious look.

“You’ve been evaluating and dealing with people up until now. But that was with adjustments. You’ve been doing everything with the mindset of ‘They’re someone I know, someone I’m close to, someone I understand better, so I should do this much for them.’ But when you climb higher, you face situations you haven’t thought about before. That is, you have to decide the fate of people you don’t know.”

Jo Gyu-min took a sip of his coffee.

“I might have spoken a bit fast.”

“No, you can keep going.”

Jo Gyu-min put down his coffee and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“Kang Jin-ho, have you ever seen a respected entrepreneur?”

“Yes?”

“I mean literally. Have you ever seen a respected entrepreneur?”

Kang Jin-ho searched his mind. A respected entrepreneur… respected….

“Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo?”

“…Let’s exclude him. He’s a bit of a special case. And his reputation isn’t as high as you might think. He’s highly respected among entrepreneurs, but among employees, he’s notorious for squeezing people dry.”

Jo Gyu-min smiled awkwardly. He seemed uncomfortable talking badly about the chairman he served.

“If we exclude him, I don’t think there is one?”

At least, as far as Kang Jin-ho knew, there didn’t seem to be any socially respected entrepreneurs. There were some names that came to mind, but they were either deceased or foreigners.

“Why do you think that is?”

“…Yes?”

Jo Gyu-min leaned back on the sofa and said,

“Why aren’t entrepreneurs respected? Why do all successful entrepreneurs get criticized?”

“Is that something I should be thinking about?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to think about it.”

After a moment of thought, Kang Jin-ho gave an answer.

“Because only those kinds of people succeed.”

“I think you’re half right. It’s true that people who are ruthless and only care about their own interests are more likely to succeed in this field than those who aren’t. But I don’t think that’s the whole story.”

“Then?”

Jo Gyu-min gave a bitter smile.

“Those people who are seen as monsters born from capitalism, sucking the blood of workers, are often not that bad in reality. They’re often good fathers at home and kind to those around them. Yet, they’re still seen as lacking in human compassion. That’s because they’ve already gone through what you’re feeling now.”

“…What I’m feeling?”

“You see people as numbers.”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho slightly opened his mouth.

As always, Jo Gyu-min was a very strange person. He could pinpoint Kang Jin-ho’s problems, which he himself didn’t even know, as if they were his own.

Maybe that’s why he ended up seeking out Jo Gyu-min when he had something to discuss.

Now, Lee Hyun-soo and Wiggins knew more about Kang Jin-ho’s work. Bator also understood Kang Jin-ho’s life to some extent. Yet, the fact that Jo Gyu-min, who didn’t know much about the Murim [martial arts world], was Kang Jin-ho’s biggest confidant was quite interesting.

“It’s the same as what I said earlier. There’s a big difference between seeing people based on their qualifications and seeing them while considering who they are and what kind of relationship you have with them. You might think it’s rational to exclude regionalism and nepotism. But it also creates problems beyond that.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded. He felt like he understood what he meant.

“When you’re leading a small number of people, you can be considerate and care for each of them. When you first joined the General Assembly, you only had to manage a few people. Then they would manage others.”

It was exactly as Jo Gyu-min said.

When he first joined the General Assembly, the only person Kang Jin-ho had to care about was Bang Jin-hoon. He didn’t care about anyone else. The number gradually increased, but it hadn’t been a burden until recently.

“At some point, you became responsible. You ended up deciding the fate of people you don’t know, people you’ve never even met. Based only on the qualifications and personal information on their documents.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded involuntarily.

“That’s when you start seeing people as numbers. Once you reach that stage, you can’t continue with the same methods. You have to evaluate their abilities based on their documents and think about what appropriate treatment is.”

Jo Gyu-min shrugged.

“It’s a difficult thing to do.”

“It is.”

A deep sigh escaped him.

‘This is no ordinary task.’

Bator had suggested that they teach the Iron Blood Horse Demon Art to the children he was teaching.

From Bator’s perspective, it was a natural suggestion. It was also a suggestion worth considering.

But from Kang Jin-ho’s perspective, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Was it right to turn people he didn’t know and had never even spoken to into demons? Their lives would be greatly distorted by that.

If Bator had heard that, he would have laughed. He would have said it wasn’t Kang Jin-ho’s responsibility but the children’s choice, and he would have scolded him for taking responsibility for unnecessary things. But Kang Jin-ho couldn’t think so easily.

“What’s the right thing to do?”

“Well, I don’t think that’s something I can answer.”

Jo Gyu-min chuckled.

“It’s a dilemma that anyone who leads people has to face at some point. Eventually, you’ll find an answer. You’ll either abandon your old ways and become someone who only thinks about efficiency and numbers, or you’ll become someone who cares for each individual even if it means sacrificing efficiency. Or you might choose another path. But I don’t think that’s what’s important.”

“…Yes?”

Jo Gyu-min leaned forward.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes?”

“Since you returned from China, have you taken even a single day off?”

Kang Jin-ho was speechless.

“There are many reasons why successful people fall. But most of those reasons have one thing in common. That is, they can’t control their stress.”

Throb.

It felt like a needle was poking his side.

But Jo Gyu-min was a merciless person. He wasn’t the kind of person to let Kang Jin-ho off that easily.

“Especially people who are constantly successful think they’re immune to stress. They think they’re okay even if they’re under more stress than others. They think, ‘I’m still okay, I can still handle this.’ ”

It felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

How could he talk as if he had seen inside Kang Jin-ho’s mind without monitoring him with CCTV?

“Maybe that’s true. You are immune. And you can handle it.”

“Yes.”

“It’s not ‘yes.’ The moment you feel like you can’t handle it, it’s already too late. You can’t relieve stress all at once just by resting when you’ve reached that precarious limit. Stress is something you manage on a regular basis. If you don’t, your mind becomes clouded and you can’t make decisions. Do you understand? You’re at your limit right now, Kang Jin-ho!”

Jo Gyu-min jumped up from his seat.

“Rest. You don’t need anything else. Rest first and then think again. I’ll contact Lee Hyun-soo… no, Hyun-soo hyung [older brother].”

“Rest?”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Jo Gyu-min.

“Yes. You just need to rest.”

“No, resting is good, but…”

“Is there a problem?”

“What should I do while resting?”

Kang Jin-ho’s face was serious.

He wasn’t joking.

Jo Gyu-min raised his hand and wiped the moisture from his eyes.

Before him was a fool who didn’t even know how to rest anymore. Just like Jo Gyu-min himself.