Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 842

“I understand the reason, but….”

‘Where have I heard that before?’

There was a phrase he used to say often.

He would sit the executive board down and shout with an angry face.

“There’s always a reason! Don’t look for reasons why things are delayed, find ways to make it happen faster! You morons!”

“There’s always a reason, but in my opinion, I think it could have been done faster?”

Ah, so this is how it feels.

Hwang Jung-hoo felt his eyes ache.

When the gray-haired executives were flustered by his words, he thought it was natural. He believed that if there was hesitation in pointing out what was wrong, the group was rotten.

But today, Hwang Jung-hoo was realizing that there were many ways to point out what was wrong. It was a realization that came too late.

“No, that’s….”

“Yes.”

“That’s, um….”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Hwang Jung-hoo with unwavering eyes.

Hwang Jung-hoo could even predict Kang Jin-ho’s next words.

‘Of course, I know you guys worked hard.’

“I know that you worked hard, Chairman. I fully understand that you can’t be as energetic as you used to be.”

‘But effort without results is not something to be evaluated.’

“But it’s true that the results are a bit slow.”

Man, this is creepy, seriously.

Hwang Jung-hoo quietly closed his eyes. Over the years, he wondered if he had fathered a child somewhere. But no matter how much he thought about it, he had never made such a mistake.

Even in the days when it was common for a conglomerate chairman to have several secret mistresses, he only looked at his wife. Unless he made a mistake when he was drunk and his memory was gone….

‘Well, why am I even thinking about this?’

What was he thinking, with his own father still alive and well?

But Kang Jin-ho was saying things so similar to him that Hwang Jung-hoo couldn’t help but think this way.

“That….”

Hwang Jung-hoo, who was thinking of an excuse, opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before shutting it tight.

‘No, this isn’t it.’

Let’s go in reverse.

If this guy was thinking like him, the answer he wanted would be the same as his. Then, what was the best answer here?

“That….”

He knew the best answer, but it was hard to say. Hwang Jung-hoo squeezed his eyes shut and opened his mouth.

“I’ll do it quickly. I’ll push it forward with all my effort.”

“Thank you.”

Kang Jin-ho looked satisfied.

The crisis was over, but a subtle sense of self-disgust washed over him.

‘Why did I take this on?’

Of course, it wasn’t that he disliked the work itself.

As Kang Jin-ho said, when he started working where he was needed, he felt the passion that had disappeared come back to life. Looking at the work itself, he was very satisfied.

But this… if he thought about the situation, wasn’t he doing the work that Kang Jin-ho was supposed to do?!

Moreover, this guy was planning to put him in the chairman position of the foundation. He had been swayed by the idea that he lacked ability and needed Hwang Jung-hoo’s reputation, but now that he thought about it, wasn’t he just passing off all the annoying work and keeping the real power?

Once he started thinking about it in a twisted way, things kept feeling strange.

The work itself was mostly handled by him and Jo Gyu-min, but when he looked back, Kang Jin-ho was taking all the credit. That’s why he ended up in this ridiculous situation of reporting to Kang Jin-ho.

‘No, how did things….’

Hwang Jung-hoo was pondering how everything had gone wrong.

“I know it’s not an easy task.”

Kang Jin-ho suddenly spoke.

“Hmm?”

“Going through the orphanage issue again, I had many thoughts. How much should we help, where should we draw the line, and is simply giving financial aid now really going to be positive for these children?”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s eyes showed interest.

“And when a child who has been receiving help is thrown into society without help, will they be able to adapt? If so, what should we do to make them completely self-reliant?”

“Huh.”

Hwang Jung-hoo let out a hollow laugh.

These were thoughts that should have been considered before creating the foundation. But the fact that Kang Jin-ho had thought about these things felt quite strange.

Kang Jin-ho was always someone who grasped the big picture. He didn’t usually pay attention to these details. Yet, the fact that he had such serious reflections was proof that Kang Jin-ho was no longer just giving orders.

“I don’t think it’s easy to decide and coordinate all of that. Administrative issues are rather easy.”

“You know exactly.”

“I recently realized that the brain is for thinking.”

“Haha!”

Hwang Jung-hoo shook his head.

That’s why he couldn’t hate him.

“Knowing how difficult it is, I can’t help but be grateful that you readily took on the task. Once again….”

As Kang Jin-ho bowed his head, Hwang Jung-hoo waved his hand vigorously.

“That’s enough! I didn’t do it to be thanked!”

“Still….”

“I said it’s enough. Do you think I’m the type to take credit for this?”

Seeing Hwang Jung-hoo’s fluster, Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

‘This isn’t right….’

Seeing that smile, Hwang Jung-hoo instinctively knew something was wrong. According to the original scenario, Hwang Jung-hoo should have been angry, and Kang Jin-ho should have been flustered….

‘Did I get tricked?’

With the situation like this, it was hard to express his dissatisfaction.

Hwang Jung-hoo, who was unconsciously licking his lips, tried to change the subject, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t give him an opening and spoke to Jo Gyu-min.

“Chief, you’ve worked hard too.”

“Thank you for acknowledging it. It’s hard for me to say it myself, but it was really tough. Especially with this incident.”

“I figured. I should treat you to a meal sometime….”

“Oh no, I didn’t do it for that. Just knowing that I’m working really hard is enough.”

“I won’t forget it.”

“Hehehe.”

A vein popped out on Hwang Jung-hoo’s forehead.

‘That, that sly bastard.’

He should be taking credit!

He also needed to take credit. Taking credit wasn’t a bad thing. If you didn’t take credit, people wouldn’t recognize the hardships of others. But Hwang Jung-hoo had smoothly passed it over, and only Jo Gyu-min was taking credit.

“That….”

“Ah!”

As Hwang Jung-hoo groaned, Kang Jin-ho turned his head.

“Are all the permits done?”

“Uh-huh.”

“But this… from what I’ve found, it seems like you need a license to run an orphanage or a welfare foundation. Is that possible for you, Chairman?”

“Ah, that’s….”

Just as Hwang Jung-hoo was about to stammer an answer, Jo Gyu-min jumped in with gusto.

“Hehe, who do you think I am? I’ve taken care of everything. Originally, you need a social worker license to establish a welfare foundation, but we can’t ask the Chairman to study now. So, I used a little trick.”

“A trick?”

“We can divide the foundation into two, and push the welfare foundation under the main foundation.”

“..Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

It was something he couldn’t understand even after hearing it.

“Anyway, just know that it’s been resolved. There was a bit of a trick, but it’s for a good cause, so they’ll turn a blind eye.”

“That’s a relief.”

Hwang Jung-hoo stared blankly at Jo Gyu-min.

It seemed that the tiger cub he raised was this guy, not Kang Jin-ho.

“And there’s one more thing I’d like to say.”

“Yes?”

Jo Gyu-min took a small breath and opened his mouth.

“We need someone to do the foundation work. It would be good if I could take it on, but honestly, I don’t have the capacity to do that as well. I could do it if I had to… but then my focus would drop, and the efficiency wouldn’t be good.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

It was true that it would be difficult for Jo Gyu-min to focus on running the foundation. Hwang Jung-hoo would also only put his name on it and set the direction, but it would be difficult to entrust him with the practical work.

“I don’t have anyone in mind around me.”

“There’s a suitable person.”

“A suitable person?”

Jo Gyu-min nodded.

“It wouldn’t be difficult to put this person in that position and run the foundation. Age is an issue, but there are plenty of superiors to control them.”

“I guess so.”

“So, we just need someone who can get things done. Someone who is passionate, experienced, and can work harder than anyone else.”

It was an obvious statement.

Saying this meant that Jo Gyu-min had already made up his mind. But why was he going through all this?

“I think there’s one person who’s just right.”

“Then you can just use them, right?”

Jo Gyu-min’s expression became subtle.

“I can use them. I can use them, but I need Kang Jin-ho’s permission to use this person.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes became a little subtle.

“Someone who knows this field well… and someone who needs my permission….”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

There was one person who came to mind. The person Jo Gyu-min was talking about was probably that person.

“Of course….”

“They are suitable, but….”

“Yes.”

“There are several practical issues, right? First of all, their age is a bit of a problem for taking on the practical work of the foundation….”

“Age is not a problem. There are people to assist them. In fact, passion is more important than practical work in a foundation. If the person in charge works hard, the people who are just holding their positions will have no choice but to work hard too.”

“That’s unconventional?”

“Isn’t that Jae-kyung’s way?”

That was true. It was Jae-kyung’s way, and it was also Kang Jin-ho’s way.

“Putting age aside, what about experience?”

“If we only look for experienced people, where will new employees gain experience?”

That was also true.

“But they have a job right now.”

“It’s not that important of a job, we can change it.”

“Yo.”

“If we think about their future, this would be better. They can have various experiences and seriously consider their life path.”

“That’s true, but….”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head firmly.

“If we’re talking about life, I’d like to bring them here, but I think dreams are important too. I don’t want to drag a friend who’s doing well on their path. That’s something to discuss later.”

“Yes?”

Jo Gyu-min tilted his head.

“Dreams?”

At Jo Gyu-min’s question, Kang Jin-ho also tilted his head.

Something felt off.

“Why are you suddenly talking about dreams? It’s not like we’re looking for a job based on dreams.”

This was definitely off.

Kang Jin-ho cautiously asked.

“Are you talking about Yoo-min?”

“Yoo-min? Huh? Are you talking about Park Yoo-min?”

“……Yes.”

Jo Gyu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho as if he was the one who was confused.

“Why would Park Yoo-min work at our foundation? They’re not even a Jae-kyung employee.”

Then who are they talking about?

As if to resolve Kang Jin-ho’s question, Jo Gyu-min grinned and opened his mouth.

“The person I was talking about is….”

Kang Jin-ho’s mouth dropped open when he heard the three names Jo Gyu-min said.

Ah, that….

Ah?

“Is that okay?”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t hide his bewilderment.