Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1245

‘Should we just leave it like that?’

‘What?’

Lee Hyun-soo slightly frowned.

‘That dog showed its teeth to a person. If the Chairman hadn’t passed by, there would have been a big accident.’

‘I suppose so.’

‘Shouldn’t we kill it?’

It sounded a bit cold. But Lee Hyun-soo’s words weren’t wrong. A dog that bares its teeth at people will cause an accident sooner or later. Killing it after an accident is too late.

It might be better to deal with a dog showing such signs quickly.

‘It’s okay now.’

But Kang Jin-ho lightly shook his head.

A dog that doesn’t know to fear people causes accidents. But a dog that knows to fear people doesn’t bare its teeth carelessly.

‘And it’s not the dog’s fault.’

‘I guess not.’

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Bae Seok-myung, who was wiping the floor, as if he was very displeased.

‘That moron has nothing better to do than to use a dog…’

This was the type Lee Hyun-soo hated the most. Those who act powerful by using the weak.

Those who have no power themselves but try to feel superior by using a powerless target.

To Lee Hyun-soo, who had lived in the martial world with no power but only his head and fierce tenacity, such people were objects of disgust.

‘Dogs only do what their owners tell them to do. If a dog causes an accident, it’s because the owner didn’t handle the dog properly. But the funny thing is that when an accident happens, the dog dies, and the owner just pays a fine.’

Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Every time Kang Jin-ho saw such things, he couldn’t understand the legal system of this world.

‘Is it just dogs and people? There are plenty of people who do as they’re told and end up taking all the blame.’

‘…That’s true.’

Lee Hyun-soo slightly curled up the corners of his mouth as he watched Kang Jin-ho nod with a bitter expression.

The world belongs to those with power.

And Kang Jin-ho belonged to those with power. No, he was the strongest among those with power.

It felt quite strange to see such a person talking about the absurdities of the world. Kang Jin-ho was someone who could benefit from the distorted legal system and the rules of society.

‘Those with power should bear the appropriate responsibility. But it’s also true that the more power someone has, the less they want to take responsibility.’

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

It was just a minor incident, but it was something to think about.

The General Assembly was no different from Kang Jin-ho’s ferocious dog. They had power that ordinary people couldn’t handle, and they blindly followed Kang Jin-ho’s orders.

If they caused an accident, whose responsibility would it be?

Of course, they wouldn’t be as thoughtless as a dog, so the person who caused the accident would be most at fault, but Kang Jin-ho, who had to supervise and manage them, couldn’t avoid responsibility either.

‘Chief Lee.’

‘Yes, Chairman.’

‘When we get back to the company, let’s have the guys shape up.’

‘Actually, I’m preparing an audit rather than a crackdown this time.’

‘An audit?’

‘Yes.’

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

‘People want to lie down when they’re full [a Korean idiom meaning people become complacent when they have enough]. We’ve successfully finished the war, so some might be more motivated, but by now, there will definitely be some who are slacking off.’

‘Hmm.’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

People don’t always act as you want them to.

Even if Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo act with good intentions, there’s no guarantee that those who receive that good will return it.

There will definitely be those who try to deceive Kang Jin-ho or Lee Hyun-soo for their own gain.

They had been tolerating it until now, but it was time to clean house.

‘After the vacation?’

‘It has to be before.’

Lee Hyun-soo said firmly.

‘If we don’t do it, we won’t know, but if we’re going to clean house, I don’t want to give those guys a vacation with pay. And those who are ambiguously caught in the audit will be able to clean up their surroundings during the vacation.’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

‘I’ll leave that to Chief Lee for now.’

‘Yes, Chairman.’

Kang Jin-ho sighed softly.

‘Nothing in this world is easy.’

Whether it’s something started with good intentions or bad intentions, it’s almost certain that you’ll face difficulties as you proceed. When that happens, what Kang Jin-ho had to do was to think and seek advice.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.’

‘Hmm.’

Kang Jin-ho looked up at the towering building. The sign ‘Jae Kyung’ was emblazoned in Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

‘A franchise?’

Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.

‘You’re doing a franchise?’

‘Yes.’

‘That…’

Hwang Jung-hoo looked at Kang Jin-ho with an expression that showed he couldn’t understand at all.

‘This guy is really unpredictable.’

People tend to have a basic set of tendencies. And since business is something people do, it’s normal for it to have a set of tendencies as well.

For example, someone who runs a car repair shop would expand into car-related businesses, and a carpenter who builds houses would start a construction business if they made money.

But this company called MK or whatever had no identity at all. To put it nicely, it was a free company that wasn’t bound by common sense and tried all sorts of things, but realistically, it was a mess, pure and simple.

‘That…’

Hwang Jung-hoo, feeling a bit frustrated, put a cigarette in his mouth. Jo Gyu-min quickly lit Hwang Jung-hoo’s cigarette.

‘Hmm.’

Hwang Jung-hoo took a puff of smoke, shook his head, and offered a new cigarette to Kang Jin-ho.

‘Smoke.’

‘I’m okay.’

‘Smoke. We’re in the same boat, getting old together.’

It felt very strange, but he took the cigarette anyway.

Then, as he put the cigarette in his mouth, Lee Hyun-soo lit it for him. It was a subtly symmetrical scene.

Hwang Jung-hoo tapped the ash into the ashtray and then opened his mouth with a hollow laugh.

‘What’s with the sudden franchise? What kind of franchise is it? That thing… entertainment? Entertai…’

‘Entertainment, Chairman.’

‘Right. That, whatchamacallit, the business with those entertainers, I thought you were doing all sorts of things, but now you’re going even further. You said you were going to do business, is this the business you were going to do?’

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly.

‘I wasn’t particularly thinking about this.’

‘Then?’

‘However…’

Kang Jin-ho replied with a relaxed expression.

‘This isn’t something I want to do, but something I have to do.’

Hwang Jung-hoo, looking into Kang Jin-ho’s eyes, erased his bewilderment and quietly nodded.

‘Looks like there are some freeloaders.’

Even though he hadn’t given much information, Hwang Jung-hoo immediately understood Kang Jin-ho’s intentions. Kang Jin-ho readily nodded.

‘You… huh.’

Hwang Jung-hoo let out a slight chuckle.

‘Okay. If it’s something you have to do, you have to do it.’

Hwang Jung-hoo’s face softened.

People who are starting a business for the first time tend to be full of themselves. They only see a rosy future, so they equate their future successful selves with their current selves.

At that time, they don’t see their surroundings.

They only think about work and success.

But Kang Jin-ho was a bit different.

‘He’s looking at something excessively different.’

Someone who has just started a business is thinking about connecting that business with their surroundings?

That was something even Hwang Jung-hoo couldn’t confidently say he could do.

‘That’s why I feel strange sometimes.’

Sometimes, it felt strange to think that an old soul was sitting behind that young face. Hwang Jung-hoo had experienced many things, but even for him, Kang Jin-ho was still a difficult person to understand.

‘So, you’re asking for help?’

‘Yes.’

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

‘I’ve been preparing, but since it’s my first time doing this, I’m not sure if I’m doing it right.’

‘Where’s the certainty in work?’

Hwang Jung-hoo said indifferently.

‘Business is doomed the moment you become certain. There’s no such thing as a business that’s guaranteed to succeed. You prepare and prepare, and even if you prepare perfectly, there are always variables in business. A field that you thought would definitely succeed can fail miserably, and something you thought wouldn’t work can become a huge hit.’

‘Still, we can prepare more, right?’

‘You’ve come to the wrong person.’

Hwang Jung-hoo waved his hand.

‘You’re right, but that’s not my field. I’ve never done anything like a franchise. It’ll be hard to help you.’

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Lee Hyun-soo.

Then, Lee Hyun-soo nodded and opened his mouth.

‘We’re not asking for help in creating a franchise. What we want is advice from someone who’s starting a new business.’

‘Advice?’

‘Yes.’

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled.

‘Hey, you guys.’

‘…Yes?’

‘You need to stop talking nonsense. You guys know why you’re starting a business, but you don’t know what you need to do?’

Hwang Jung-hoo took a deep drag of his cigarette and then stubbed it out in the ashtray. Then, he clasped his hands on his knees and opened his mouth.

‘Hey, Chairman Kang.’

‘…Please just call me as usual.’

‘Is the reason you’re doing business now to make money?’

‘No, it’s not.’

‘Then why are you doing it?’

‘That is…’

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer easily. It was Hwang Jung-hoo who answered instead.

‘It’s because of people, isn’t it?’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

The reason Kang Jin-ho was trying to do a franchise business wasn’t for money, but for people. He had no intention of making money with the franchise.

‘Yes.’

‘Then you need to know what’s important. Of course, people are important, aren’t they?’

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

‘Tsk, tsk.’

Hwang Jung-hoo looked at Kang Jin-ho with a pathetic expression and opened his mouth.

‘If you want to successfully start a new business, you should be recruiting someone who knows that business well instead of asking an old man like me for advice.’

‘…Ah!’

‘So, you guys were going to do everything from the franchise to that enterprise…’

‘Entertainment, Chairman.’

‘Anyway, were you going to do all that yourselves? You guys who can’t even use Excel properly?’

Kang Jin-ho was speechless.

‘Business isn’t a game. It’s all like that at first. You want to prioritize people you like, people you’re comfortable with, and grow together like that. But is that as easy as it sounds? If you’re not planning to just do what you’ve always done, then hiring people is a very natural thing to do.’

Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo looked at each other and nodded slightly.

He was definitely right. They didn’t know anything about franchises. Then, recruiting an expert was the best solution.

‘Then…’

Kang Jin-ho said awkwardly with a smile.

‘If you know any experts, could you recommend some…’

‘You damn bastards! You want to do everything yourselves! You guys are trying to steal people from other companies when you’re starting a business? You damn robbers!’

And so, Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo had to break a sweat trying to appease the enraged Hwang Jung-hoo.