Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1255

“No way…”

After analyzing all the data available at MK for a full two days, Hwang Min-soo couldn’t help but groan.

His eyes darted rapidly as he stared at the monitor.

“Seriously, what kind of company is this…

…so utterly messed up?”

Hwang Min-soo scratched his head vigorously. His already thinning hair was pulled out by his rough hand, scattering in the air.

“Eek!”

Startled by the sight of his falling hair, Hwang Min-soo quickly pulled his hand away from his head. This was his precious hair, something he wouldn’t trade for anything…

Ah, that’s not important right now…

Click, click.

Hwang Min-soo’s hand clicked the mouse incessantly.

“Man…

I need a cigarette.”

Smoking in the office was out of the question. But perhaps because he had done it once before, Hwang Min-soo found himself thinking about it, something he wouldn’t have considered before.

‘Or maybe it’s because I’m not in my right mind right now.’

Hwang Min-soo sighed deeply.

“This is just ridiculous… a complete mess.”

There was no other way to describe it. The company’s system was fundamentally chaotic, making him wonder how anything could function properly.

Hwang Min-soo stared at the screen and let out a hollow laugh.

“Well, okay, the system is what it is…

But what the heck is this accounting?”

How could they do accounting like this? If an audit came in, it wouldn’t just be a fine; the chairman would be dragged away in handcuffs.

But the funny thing was, the reports were processed normally.

How could this happen unless the tax officials, who were known to be even more corrupt than the Joseon era [Joseon was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea] officials when it came to siphoning off company money, were all blind?

Of course, everything was legally processed.

But anyone with a little knowledge of finance would know that it was all a facade.

They were probably planning to bury it and wait for the statute of limitations to pass…

‘This is impossible without government intervention…

Does that mean this company has enough power to be connected to the regime?’

Hwang Min-soo looked completely bewildered.

This wasn’t a simple issue. Even when Hwang Min-soo was in finance, trying to reduce taxes by being connected to the regime was something he couldn’t even attempt. Of course, it was also because Hwang Jung-hoo was so strict about such things, almost to the point of being obsessive, but the risk was too great.

Regimes always change.

If you benefited from being connected to the current regime, you would be in big trouble if the regime changed.

‘They must have thought about that…’

As Hwang Min-soo recalled Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo’s faces, he fell into even deeper confusion. It was unlikely that they would do something like this without thinking, as they were both too smart.

Then, that meant they had a way to avoid a tax audit, regardless of whether the regime changed…

“I don’t get it, I don’t get it.”

And…

He could understand everything else.

The system being a mess was understandable since they had to build a large company from scratch, and the bizarre tax processing could be explained by their connection to the regime.

But one thing he couldn’t understand was…

“Why is there so much money?”

To be precise, it was the abundance of cash.

Compared to Jae-kyung, MK was a company that couldn’t even be compared. Not only in terms of size, but also in terms of the funds they moved.

But when it came to cash, the situation was reversed.

The amount of cash that a company can immediately use is not as much as one might think. Most of that capital is used to maintain and operate the company.

If a company were to be sold, that money could be converted into cash, but that was impossible before that.

For a simple example, the assets of the owners of South Korea’s leading companies exceed trillions of won [South Korean currency], but they don’t actually have trillions of won in their hands.

Most of their assets are in stocks, which they must hold to maintain ownership of the company. In the end, even if their assets are worth trillions, the actual cash they can use is often less than a tenth of that.

That’s why it’s said that the company with the most cash in South Korea is not an electronics company or a construction company, but a game company. Games are paid for in cash, and the cash comes in immediately.

But compared to that, MK had an excessive amount of cash. In terms of cash holdings, it was at a level that could easily surpass Jae-kyung. Could there be a company in South Korea that holds more cash than this?

“I really can’t figure it out.”

He had entered a strange place.

MK looked suspicious enough from the outside, but from the inside, it was incomparably more suspicious than it appeared from the outside.

But what could he do? Hwang Min-soo was already on board the ship called MK.

‘Better to die than to suffer.’

Even as he was reviewing the data, a roadmap for how to change the company’s system was being completed in Hwang Min-soo’s mind. It was like a businessman’s instinct.

Knock, knock.

Hwang Min-soo looked up at the sound of knocking.

“Yes, come in.”

The door opened carefully, and the person who entered smiled and spoke.

“You’re busy. Wow, as expected, someone who has reached the top once has a different way of working…”

“Move.”

Lee Hyun-soo, who was being playful, was pushed aside by Kang Jin-ho’s hand and moved weakly to the side.

“How is it going?”

“…I’m dying.”

Hwang Min-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho with a distorted face.

“There are so many things I want to ask that I don’t know where to start.”

“You can resolve those with Director Lee or Director Lee… no, Director Lee Hyun-soo or Director Lee Hyun-joo.”

“Putting aside everything else, is this… this tax issue okay? If we get caught, we’ll be in hell. No, this isn’t just a tax issue…”

“It’s fine.”

Kang Jin-ho said calmly.

“I’ll take care of that, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Ah…”

“But!”

Kang Jin-ho said firmly.

“We will handle future tax issues properly. I have no intention of committing tax evasion. There were just unavoidable circumstances.”

Hwang Min-soo nodded.

That was a relief. Companies generally try to minimize taxes as much as possible, but committing tax evasion is like cutting off their own flesh.

They might be able to benefit from tax evasion in the short term, but they would have to be constantly on guard. Eventually, those benefits would all leak out.

It wasn’t just a matter of justice; even from a practical point of view, it was better not to commit tax evasion. Especially for a company of this size.

“That’s a relief.”

“Any other problems?”

“It seems like we need to bring in people quickly. I can’t do this alone. Besides, it’s easier for me to work with people who are on the same wavelength.”

“Go ahead.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded calmly.

“I’ll ask you one more time. Is it really okay for me to change this company as I see fit?”

“It’s okay.”

Hwang Min-soo also made up his mind at Kang Jin-ho’s firm answer.

“Understood. Then I’ll proceed. I’ll prepare the documents and report to you as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Hwang Min-soo and then bowed his head.

“Then.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo left the room without another word and closed the door.

“How was it?”

At Lee Hyun-soo’s question, Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“It’s too early to tell.”

“Right?”

But Lee Hyun-soo didn’t miss the satisfaction that was different from his words on Kang Jin-ho’s face.

‘He must have a lot to say, but he’s not saying it.’

From Hwang Min-soo’s perspective, MK was probably not even a company.

He must have a lot of complaints and want to whine.

But Hwang Min-soo swallowed those words and concluded by saying he would report on the direction of change.

‘It’s not a matter of right or wrong, but it’s the style that the Chairman likes.’

A person who does their best in their own position.

That was the attitude of a warrior that Kang Jin-ho aimed for… no, the attitude of a person.

“We’ll see the conclusion if we watch a little longer.”

“It will probably get better. He’s someone who knows what he’s doing.”

“Indeed.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded as if he thought so too.

“Then what about other issues?”

“We need to keep an eye on MK. We need to see how President Hwang Min-soo moves, and President Hwang Min-soo and Director Lee Hyun-joo haven’t properly connected yet. We’ll see the conclusion when we receive the report, right?”

“I guess so.”

“As for this side… yes, it’ll be fine. But…”

Lee Hyun-soo, who was heading to the chairman’s office, stopped walking. Naturally, Kang Jin-ho also stopped and turned to look at Lee Hyun-soo.

“Why?”

“…Would you like to go to the rooftop for a moment?”

“The rooftop?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded lightly. He didn’t know why they were suddenly going to the rooftop, but Lee Hyun-soo wouldn’t waste time without a reason.

There must be a valid reason.

“Let’s go.”

Kang Jin-ho headed to the stairs without a word. As he climbed the stairs and opened the door, a cold wind hit Kang Jin-ho.

Feeling his clothes fluttering, Kang Jin-ho stood at the edge of the building.

Click, click.

He tried to light a cigarette, but the wind made it difficult. Kang Jin-ho pressed the cigarette with his fingertip and lit it, then turned to look at Lee Hyun-soo.

“Let’s talk while having a smoke.”

“…I’m fine.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed slightly.

What was he trying to say, creating this atmosphere?

“Tell me. What is it?”

“Chairman.”

Lee Hyun-soo took a slight deep breath.

Then, he opened his mouth with a subtle tremor in his voice.

“You remember what I told you before?”

“Before?”

“Yes. About conducting an audit of the members.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded silently.

“The results are roughly out. It’s not certain yet, but most of the reports have come in, and it’s…”

“Tell me.”

Kang Jin-ho urged as Lee Hyun-soo hesitated.

Lee Hyun-soo’s hesitation meant that the results were not good.

He didn’t really want to hear it. But receiving this report was Kang Jin-ho’s duty as the chairman of the General Assembly.

“Some problematic guys have been caught. Most of them are minor, but there are some with big problems.”

“…What kind of cases? Embezzlement?”

“No. It’s…”

Lee Hyun-soo seemed to hesitate a few times before opening his mouth.

“It seems some of them are involved in serious crimes. It’s a bit serious…”

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Don’t beat around the bush. What happened?”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and looked directly at Kang Jin-ho.

“It seems some of the kids are distributing drugs. We’re still checking how big the operation is, but it seems…”

“Drugs?”

“…Yes.”

“They distributed drugs domestically?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes darkened.

“Investigate.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s spine tingled as he felt Kang Jin-ho’s voice turn cold. It had been a long time since Kang Jin-ho had made such a face.

“Don’t let a single one get away.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Kang Jin-ho put out the cigarette he was smoking and turned to go down from the rooftop. Lee Hyun-soo, watching his back, let out a deep sigh.

It felt like the smell of blood was mixed in with the wind.