Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1584

Wavering (5)

“Why is the report so late!”

Jeong Hong-geun slammed his desk, his voice filled with rage.

Park Sang-woo, the executive director, flinched, his body recoiling from the menacing aura.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Executive Director Park isn’t one to be so slow with his work! What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just my incompetence…”

“Executive Director Park!”

“Yes, Chairman!”

“Knowing how to handle yourself is good, but you need to know your place! Do you expect me to play along with such an obvious excuse?”

Park Sang-woo swallowed hard.

“I apologize. I had absolutely no intention of making a fool of you, Chairman.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Jeong Hong-geun clicked his tongue and glared at Park Sang-woo with sharp eyes.

“Tell me what’s going on!”

Park Sang-woo sighed deeply and opened his mouth.

“The opposition from the board of directors is quite strong.”

“What?”

Park Sang-woo hesitated, his lips moving as if he was finding it difficult to speak.

“The board of directors is vehemently opposed. They don’t understand why we should form a new corporation and invest a huge amount of money in it, especially in the current situation.”

“Huh.”

Jeong Hong-geun let out a sigh, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Why? Did they not say I’ve gone senile?”

Park Sang-woo couldn’t answer and hesitated.

It was just a joke, but it seemed that was indeed their reaction.

“These…”

Jeong Hong-geun, his anger rising, gripped the pen in his hand tightly.

‘These bastards!’

With his mind clear, he could see the situation unfolding before him. This situation had probably been brewing for a long time.

“They’ve been treating me like a scarecrow.”

Even though Jeong Hong-geun hadn’t been attending the practical meetings for a while, he never imagined he would be treated like this.

“So, they’re saying that they were doing fine on their own, and why is the chairman stirring up trouble?”

“…Chairman.”

“Hahaha, my goodness.”

Jeong Hong-geun chuckled.

He wasn’t even angry anymore.

“The dogs I let loose in the yard to chase away thieves now think they’re wild dogs? They think they’ve hunted for themselves just because they can find the feed in the warehouse.”

Jeong Hong-geun’s voice was low and cold.

Park Sang-woo couldn’t say anything as he looked at Jeong Hong-geun. Although his voice was low, the anger within was palpable.

“Tsk, tsk, I shouldn’t have blamed Myeong-cheol. I was the one acting like a fool… tsk, tsk.”

Jeong Hong-geun shook his head.

Of course, he understood their point of view.

Jeong Hong-geun’s judgment had been clouded, and he had probably been pushing for unreasonable things. So, it was natural that they had gotten used to appeasing Jeong Hong-geun and finding a better direction among themselves.

A master who doesn’t feed his dog has no right to blame the dog for not following him.

“This isn’t some senile whim, but a serious business venture that will determine the fate of the company. Explain that again.”

“…Yes. But Chairman, those words won’t change anything.”

“I know. But it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes?”

“If they’re smart, they’ll understand that something is different when I explain things calmly instead of getting angry. If they’re not, then there’s no need to bring them along.”

“Then… what do you plan to do with the directors who don’t follow?”

Jeong Hong-geun chuckled.

Jeong Hong-geun took out a cigarette, lit it, and said quietly.

“I’ll cut them off.”

“Yes. Like that… Yes?”

“I said I’ll cut them off.”

Jeong Hong-geun said calmly.

“Ch-Chairman?”

“Why are you so surprised? They wouldn’t want to work under a senile old man either, so isn’t it a good thing? They can either start their own business or find a better chairman.”

“Y-You’re going to fire the board of directors?”

“What else can I do?”

Jeong Hong-geun said cynically.

“They’re not protected by labor laws… It’s better this way. I was thinking of a reshuffle anyway, so it’s good to get rid of them all at once.”

“Chairman, the board of directors is handling a lot of work.”

“So? Does the company collapse without directors?”

“••••••Yes?”

“I’m asking if the company collapses without directors?”

Park Sang-woo couldn’t answer right away.

Of course, the directors play a big role in the company. But if he said yes to that, it would feel like he was belittling the efforts of the many employees working under them.

“Of course, that’s not the case, but…”

“Was anyone born a director? The guys who are acting so high and mighty now all climbed up from the bottom, didn’t they?”

“That’s true.”

“If they can do it, the people below them can do it too. That’s what a position is. It’s scary to do something you’ve never done before, but people will somehow manage when they’re given the task.”

Jeong Hong-geun chuckled.

“I was thinking of a reshuffle anyway, so this is good.”

Park Sang-woo sighed quietly.

“Chairman.”

“Why?”

“It’s not that I disagree with what you’re saying. Taekwang has survived by reshuffling like this several times.”

“And?”

Park Sang-woo swallowed hard.

“But back then, there was always a reason. This time, the reason is too weak.”

Jeong Hong-geun looked at Park Sang-woo and chuckled.

“Reason?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t need that.”

“••••••Yes?”

Jeong Hong-geun looked at Park Sang-woo with a nonchalant expression.

“Why do you think a reason is necessary?”

“Well, isn’t it to justify the work we’re doing?”

“And why is that justification needed?”

“Well…”

Park Sang-woo organized his thoughts.

“Don’t people need to believe that what they’re doing is beneficial to work hard?”

“So, you’re saying they won’t work if it doesn’t seem beneficial?”

“That’s not it, but…”

Park Sang-woo closed his mouth.

He realized that Jeong Hong-geun had something else to say.

“That’s just an excuse.”

“••••••Yes?”

Jeong Hong-geun clicked his tongue and said.

“It might not have been like that in the past. In the past, there was a use for justification. But not anymore. In today’s world, justification is just used to avoid blame when things go wrong, to say that what I did wasn’t wrong.”

It was an extreme way of thinking.

But Park Sang-woo thought that Jeong Hong-geun wasn’t entirely wrong. At least, the heads of corporations and businessmen were using justification in that way.

“That’s not how you do business. If you start something, you have to take responsibility. I’ll take all the responsibility. So, those who don’t want to follow can leave! Do you understand?”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Tell the board of directors what I said. And bring me their resignations.”

“As you command.”

Park Sang-woo bowed deeply. Watching him, Jeong Hong-geun took a deep drag of his cigarette.

‘Fools.’

People shouldn’t be content with their current position. To only do your role in your position? That’s only useful for those who live as parts.

Those who lead shouldn’t be bound by such things. If there’s a way to move forward, they should seize it no matter what.

“Noisy things.”

Jeong Hong-geun closed his eyes as he watched Park Sang-woo leave.

The image of Kang Jin-ho came to his mind.

‘Opportunity, honor…’

If they knew his situation, some might call him crazy. Why would he do such a thing? Why would Jeong Hong-geun, who has everything, submit to Kang Jin-ho?

‘Fools.’

The reality is the opposite.

It was because he was Jeong Hong-geun that he was given the opportunity to follow Kang Jin-ho. Those fools who live without thinking could never create a connection with him in their entire lives.

Being given the opportunity to follow him was an honor.

‘They wouldn’t understand.’

Jeong Hong-geun turned his head to look out the window.

There were over ten million people living down there. But how many of them would see this as an opportunity?

‘That’s why you’re still there.’

Jeong Hong-geun would rise.

Higher.

Higher than now.

* * *

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

“…Isn’t this too high?”

“That’s how helicopters are. It’s not like it’s your first time, why are you acting like this?”

“That was during the war.”

“It’s not like you’ll die if it crashes.”

“I wouldn’t die.”

“I’ll just grab onto your pant leg, so I’ll be fine.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

His eyes took in the cars that looked like toys and the high mountains.

Was he scared?

Of course not.

Kang Jin-ho was only worried about whether he could save everyone here if the helicopter crashed.

‘But worrying about a crash is a problem in itself.’

The benefits of modern civilization still didn’t seem to reassure Kang Jin-ho. He could at least be interested in the few airplanes he saw, but he couldn’t shake the subtle unease he felt in a helicopter where he could see everything below him.

If the propeller spinning above were to fall off, it would crash immediately.

‘What are people trusting to ride this thing?’

He didn’t know if this was because he hadn’t fully adapted to the modern world, or if Kang Jin-ho was just naturally weak with machines.

“We’ll be arriving soon.”

“Okay.”

“Please don’t make that face. We’ll be traveling back and forth a lot in the future, and it takes too much time to travel by car. That’s why I bought a helicopter, especially for you.”

“…Bought?”

“Ah, I misspoke. Let’s say it’s a long-term lease.”

This bastard, he bought it, didn’t he?

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his eyes slightly.

Well, the main group had plenty of money, so it wouldn’t be a burden to buy a helicopter… but money should be used where it’s needed. If you spend money carelessly just because you have a lot, it’ll quickly run out.

“Still, buying a helicopter is…”

“Ah, there it is. We’ve arrived, Master.”

Listen to me, you idiot!

Kang Jin-ho was about to say something, but Lee Hyun-soo cleanly ignored him and pointed to one side. There was a large flat area carved out of the mountain. Construction was still underway in one part of the flat area, and large field tents were lined up in front of it.

So, that’s the US military base?

And we’re approaching that US military base in a helicopter?

At this point, one obvious concern arose.

“Aren’t we going to get shot down?”

“You’re joking too much. Of course, we got permission. Do you think those guys would do something crazy like that? They’d all die.”

“Who would kill them?”

“You, Master.”

Ignoring Kang Jin-ho’s sigh, the helicopter entered the base nonchalantly. The helicopter landed in the middle of the parade ground, creating a gust of wind and scattering dust everywhere.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

As the sound of the propeller faded, Lee Hyun-soo got out of the helicopter.

“We’ve arrived.”

“I know.”

Kang Jin-ho also sighed and got out of the helicopter. He saw familiar faces.