Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1557

“What about what?”

“The company, the company! I’m talking about Jaekyung!”

“…Me?”

“Is this guy playing dumb? Do you think I’d ever hand it over to that punk?”

Hwang Jeong-hu pointed at Lee Hyun-soo, who smiled broadly.

“I’m not expecting it, but if you give it to me, I’ll gladly accept it.”

“Cut it out, you sly fox.”

“…Your insults are on a chairman-level, sir.”

It would be better if he just cursed. How could he find such fitting insults that hurt so much?

Kang Jin-ho spoke, sounding dumbfounded.

“Why me?”

“Ha, I’ve seen all sorts of weirdos. Hey, you! Who else would say ‘why me’ when offered Jaekyung?”

Kang Jin-ho stared at Hwang Jeong-hu, completely unable to understand.

Of course, in modern corporations, the chairman isn’t the true owner. The chairman doesn’t hold the most shares. It’s all about how well the governance structure is set up.

“Chairman, your inheritance will go to your children. How can I receive Jaekyung?”

“Why would the inheritance go to those guys?”

“…Huh?”

Hwang Jeong-hu clicked his tongue.

“If I were going to give them the inheritance, would I have kicked them out? I’m not that wishy-washy.”

“You don’t seem like a normal person at all.”

“What was that, you punk?”

Hwang Jeong-hu yelled.

“Giving the inheritance to your children is just a fixed idea! It’s not like they can’t live without that money! Why would I give my hard-earned money to them!”

“…Do as you please.”

There were so many things to say, but what would be the point? In this regard, Hwang Jeong-hu was an impregnable fortress. Even the great Kang Jin-ho couldn’t dare to attack this fortress.

“So, you should take it.”

“…So, why me?”

“There’s no one else to take it!”

“You have children!”

“I told you I’m not giving it to them! So, you should take it!”

“How did it come to this?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Hwang Jeong-hu, his face showing complete bewilderment.

Then, he realized that this kind of conversation wouldn’t lead to any answers and found a new direction.

“Do you think I can manage Jaekyung?”

“Why? Do you think I’d hand over the company to someone who’d ruin it?”

“I don’t have the ability.”

Hwang Jeong-hu chuckled.

Then, he looked up at Lee Hyun-soo.

“What do you think? Does this guy look like he can’t handle Jaekyung?”

“Honestly, Chairman, you don’t have what it takes to run Jaekyung.”

“What?”

Lee Hyun-soo said with a gentle smile.

“But if you give it to me, I’ll work hard under you and manage it well. Then, what’s the difference from you running it?”

“Ha… what a guy.”

Hwang Jeong-hu shook his head.

Anyway, the guys tangled up with Kang Jin-ho were all out of their minds.

Hwang Jeong-hu, with a new cigarette in his mouth, opened his mouth in a slightly calmer tone than before.

“I’m not just saying this. I’ve thought about it a lot. But I can’t give it to my sons, so that’s why I’m saying this.”

“Chairman, your children…”

“Listen to the end!”

Hwang Jeong-hu cut off Kang Jin-ho’s words, slightly annoyed.

“It’s not because I have bad feelings. This is my evaluation as chairman. Those guys are the type who need someone above them to use their power. You can see that from how they caused a mess as soon as I disappeared, and how well they work under you.”

This was something Kang Jin-ho couldn’t easily deny. It was too obvious.

“My shadow was too big. In the end, those who have lived thinking there’s someone to take responsibility even if they do something wrong will hesitate when they have to make a decision that requires real responsibility.”

“Then, you should look for someone else. I have nothing to do with management.”

“What about your company?”

“Is a guy who doesn’t know management sitting there as chairman?”

Hwang Jeong-hu shouted, his face flushed, and Kang Jin-ho quickly found a way to avoid the blame.

“It’s different. I don’t get involved in MK’s management at all.”

“You make all the important decisions yourself.”

Kang Jin-ho’s head turned.

Lee Hyun-soo, avoiding Kang Jin-ho’s gaze, said in a small voice.

“Creating MK. Including MK Entertainment in it. Making the franchise business the primary focus. You decide all that and then say you’re not interested in management, and pass off all the small stuff.”

Is this a fact bomb?

His mind was spinning.

Hwang Jeong-hu chuckled at those words.

“That’s what a chairman’s position is. To put it bluntly, I’m an old man who can’t even use Excel properly. Now, even if I go to the field, I’m just a hindrance, and if I try to do something unnecessary, everyone worries.”

Hwang Jeong-hu’s eyes gleamed.

“But the reason I’m still holding onto the chairman’s position is… because I make decisions and take responsibility. That’s enough. That’s all I want from you.”

Hwang Jeong-hu smiled happily, seeing Kang Jin-ho unable to find words.

“It wasn’t an easy decision. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. So, I tried to raise him, but when I asked him to do something, he’d just pass it on to someone else and go do his own thing. That’s when I realized it wouldn’t work…”

Hwang Jeong-hu looked at Kang Jin-ho, as if he couldn’t be happier.

“He started his own company all by himself, that’s what!”

How did it come to that?

“Wasn’t that conversation over back then?”

“I was short-sighted back then. I thought that the chairman of Jaekyung should naturally grow from the bottom up within Jaekyung.”

“Yes, that principle…”

“Do you know what happened to my children with that principle?”

No, why is everything getting so tangled up?

“Someone who knows Jaekyung well isn’t necessarily good at managing Jaekyung. Rather, someone who grew up in Jaekyung can be tainted by Jaekyung’s colors. I don’t want the company I leave to be like the company when I was there. It has to change. It has to innovate. That’s how it survives.”

Kang Jin-ho said firmly.

“I understand what you’re saying, but I have no intention of doing that.”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why don’t you have any intention?”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Hwang Jeong-hu.

If he didn’t want to, why would he need a reason?

“If you can’t find a legitimate reason to dislike it, then quietly prepare for the merger. I’ll hand over all my shares. I used to have trouble dealing with inheritance tax, but now you have more money than me.”

“That’s company money…”

“A guy who owns 100% of the shares is talking about company money? Hey, you! You’re trying to cover the sky with your palm!”

“That’s right. You’re right.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head again, and Lee Hyun-soo quickly lowered his gaze.

“You told me to hand over the management of the company to my children, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“If my children ruin the company, will you take responsibility?”

Hwang Jeong-hu turned his head.

“Handing over the company just because they’re my blood is nonsense. I’m a father too. Why wouldn’t I feel sorry for them? But that’s enough to provide them with a way to live with my assets, not my shares. I can’t hand over a company that affects so many people’s livelihoods for such a trivial reason.”

“If you really want to use them, you become the chairman and hire them as presidents. That would be better for them.”

“Chairman.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“I’m already overwhelmed with what I have now.”

“Then who doesn’t look overwhelmed?”

“Huh?”

“Do you think there’s someone who has the ability to run Jaekyung and is currently free enough to take on Jaekyung with ease?”

…No.

Where would such a person be?

Hwang Jeong-hu took out a cigarette and offered it to Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho silently took Hwang Jeong-hu’s cigarette. Lee Hyun-soo quickly lit Kang Jin-ho’s cigarette.

“I’m not saying you have to decide now.”

“Yes.”

“Just think about it slowly and answer ‘I’ll do it.’”

“…Yes?”

Usually, people say to think about it slowly and then decide, right?

Why is this guy so one-sided?

“This isn’t a proposal, it’s a request. Like you said, I’m worried about Jaekyung after I die. And in my opinion, you’re the best fit. Are you telling me to make a different choice when I have the best option? I’ve never lived like that.”

“Why am I the best fit? I’m really bad at management…”

“You’re a disaster.”

That’s right.

That’s what he was about to say, but, his feelings were….

Hwang Jeong-hu chuckled.

“Do you think I’m trying to hand over Jaekyung because of your management skills?”

“Then why?”

“What I saw was your character and your ability to use people.”

“My character?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes trembled.

“Well, character is a personal evaluation, so let’s put that aside. The important thing is your ability to use people. You know how to use people. What’s the problem if you’re bad at management? You can have someone who knows how to manage do it for you.”

“I’ll do my best, Chairman!”

Lee Hyun-soo bowed, and Hwang Jeong-hu’s face contorted.

“That… that reckless fool.”

But Kang Jin-ho wasn’t in the right state of mind to join in on this.

“Then why don’t you just have your children do it?”

“Those guys can’t trust anyone.”

“They’ll try to interfere with everything and eventually take it all for themselves. They’re my children. I know them.”

Hwang Jeong-hu reached out and grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s hand.

“That’s why I’m asking you, you.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face stiffened slightly.

Hwang Jeong-hu’s eyes conveyed that all these words were sincere.

“I…”

“I know. I know you don’t want to take on the burden. I know you’re not happy about having more people to be responsible for. I know you’re not greedy.”

“…That’s about right.”

“But you still have to take responsibility!”

“Huh?”

What responsibility?

Hwang Jeong-hu chuckled and said.

“If you didn’t want to, you shouldn’t have saved me in the first place. Then everything would have flowed naturally. You saved me, so you have to take responsibility. For me, and for Jaekyung.”

“No! There’s a limit to how much you can push!”

“Enough. I’ll prepare with that in mind, so you should prepare yourself mentally.”

“I won’t accept it.”

“I’ll write my will like that, so if you don’t want to accept it after I die, do as you please. It’ll be great to see Jaekyung fall apart, won’t it?”

Kang Jin-ho’s face was filled with absurdity.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

Forcing someone who doesn’t want it to take over? Jaekyung wasn’t some neighborhood corner store.

“I said I won’t accept it.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll prepare with that in mind.”

“No, I said I won’t do it.”

“Hehehe. Okay, I understand.”

“No!”

Kang Jin-ho shouted with a truly wronged face.

“I won’t accept it!”

The cacophony of Kang Jin-ho shouting, Hwang Jeong-hu chuckling, and Lee Hyun-soo watching with a pleased expression filled the chairman’s office at Jaekyung.