Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1026

“A job?”

“An internship?”

“Jae-kyung?”

Faced with a barrage of these triple-layered questions, Kang Jin-ho could only remain speechless.

“So, you’re saying you’re getting an internship at Jae-kyung?”

Three questions combined into one sentence.

Only then could Kang Jin-ho nod.

“Yes, I think that’s how it’ll be.”

Baek Hyun-jung asked, as if she couldn’t understand.

“What are you talking about? I thought you were starting a business?”

“…I am.”

“But you’re joining Jae-kyung?”

“To be precise, it’s not joining, but going for training. I’ve decided to take the new employee training.”

“Ah… New employee training?”

“Yes.”

“Why suddenly new employee training? You never did when we told you to study and prepare for a job.”

Kang Jin-ho slightly licked his lips.

This was the important part.

“Chairman Hwang called me after he found out I was starting a business.”

“Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo?”

“Yes. He said I need to learn the basics to run a business. Instead of charging in headfirst like I’ve been doing, he wants me to get training and prepare properly.”

“Of course.”

Kang Yoo-hwan nodded emphatically.

“That’s our Chairman. Yes, that’s right. Business isn’t child’s play; you can’t start without proper preparation.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

It was a heartwarming scene.

Kang Jin-ho smiled gently. How did it go so well…

“Something’s off.”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned to Kang Eun-young. Seeing Kang Eun-young’s sulky face, Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched.

“What is?”

“What does starting a business have to do with joining Jae-kyung? That’s learning how to be an employee. If you’re starting a business, shouldn’t you go to a business graduate school or something?”

Sharp.

The parents’ gazes, which had been filled with warmth, began to fill with suspicion again.

Kang Jin-ho looked at Kang Eun-young with a subtle gaze.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Since he had something to hide, what could he do? Kang Jin-ho smacked his lips and opened his mouth.

“Ultimately, running a company is about managing people, and to manage people, you need to know what they do, that’s what the Chairman said.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“He’s a very thoughtful man.”

As his parents nodded, Kang Jin-ho secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘I knew Mr. Jo would be helpful in times like this.’

When he told Jo Gyu-min that he was worried about how to explain it to his parents, Jo Gyu-min had prepared all the expected questions and answers. Kang Jin-ho didn’t have any particular problems with talking to people now, but persuading someone was a different matter.

However, Kang Eun-young still looked at Kang Jin-ho with a look of disbelief. Kang Jin-ho subtly avoided Kang Eun-young’s gaze.

‘She’s been in the entertainment industry, and now she’s just gotten more perceptive.’

Logically, she probably couldn’t find any flaws, but she seemed to have noticed something strange in Kang Jin-ho’s attitude.

“Heeeeeung.”

Kang Eun-young made a meaningful humming sound and said with a smirk.

“So, Oppa, are you a Jae-kyung man now?”

“Kuh, a Jae-kyung man.”

“It sounds good just hearing it. A Jae-kyung man. To think the day would come when our son would be called that.”

Baek Hyun-jung was practically tearing up.

“…No. It’s not joining. I’m just getting training.”

“That’s good enough.”

“If you get good results, you might be able to join later. The Chairman thinks well of you, and you’re good at getting results.”

Baek Hyun-jung’s words contained the trust she had in Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho took a spoonful of soup with a sullen face.

“I was worried because you kept going off track lately, but I’m glad you’ve changed your mind now. It’s good that the Chairman is still looking out for you.”

“…I didn’t go off track.”

“You didn’t go back to school, you did strange things working part-time, and now I don’t even know what you’re doing.”

Thud.

It felt like a dagger piercing his heart.

“You never tell us where you’re going, and you’re always out of the house.”

Thud.

“I was relieved that you weren’t staying out overnight. But now you’re gone for days at a time.”

It hurt.

Kang Jin-ho trembled at the daggers of words piercing him.

“In the past, at least the friends you hung out with were all nice, so I could brag that our son had a good personality. You, are you not close with Yoo-min these days?”

“…We, we are close.”

“Okay. I thought you’d just use up the money you’ve saved, but now you suddenly say you’re starting a business. I was worried about what would happen if you used up all the money you had.”

Baek Hyun-jung’s gaze at Kang Jin-ho was filled with suspicion.

Kang Jin-ho lowered his head and silently ate his soup.

In the past, when he sat at the table, his parents would look at him with the happiest eyes. They would say they were full even without eating.

But now, Kang Jin-ho was not someone who received such gazes. The reduced number of side dishes seemed to reflect Kang Jin-ho’s position.

Who could he blame?

It was all Kang Jin-ho’s fault.

Since getting involved with the Assembly, there were more and more things he couldn’t tell his family. To explain what Kang Jin-ho did in the Assembly, he would have to explain and make them understand too much.

And that wasn’t good for his family. Ordinary people needed an ordinary life.

‘I have to complete the incorporation no matter what.’

Experiencing the situation firsthand, he could understand the difficulties that the members of the Assembly were going through. No matter how much money they made, no matter how diligent they were, to others, they were just unemployed, gangsters, and swindlers.

“Okay. I haven’t been saying anything, but I’m a little relieved that you seem to have come to your senses.”

Even his father.

Kang Jin-ho, realizing that his position had completely plummeted, coughed lowly.

“I’m sorry for making you worry. But I’m not doing anything stupid, so please don’t worry.”

To show a reliable side…

“They all say that. All of them.”

“Among the bad guys, who says ‘I’m doing bad things!’? They all say that.”

“Honey, calm down.”

Baek Hyun-jung clicked her tongue.

Kang Jin-ho raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His body, which didn’t sweat even in the scorching summer sun after reaching the state of Hanseobulchim [a state of mental clarity and focus], seemed to have no choice at this moment.

“And.”

As if seizing an opportunity, Baek Hyun-jung opened fire.

“You said you were going to make an agency for Eun-young?”

Kang Jin-ho’s head turned crookedly towards Kang Eun-young. Kang Eun-young, as if she had something to look at, fixed her gaze out the window and absolutely did not turn her head.

“No, that’s…”

“Jin-ho, I’m worried.”

Baek Hyun-jung sighed deeply.

“It’s not that I don’t trust our son. But that’s what parents are like. No matter how old their children get, they’re like kids left by the water. But you’re starting something you’re not familiar with.”

Kang Jin-ho said firmly.

“This is really okay. I’m not actually running it, someone else will be.”

“Who?”

Ah…

The moment Kang Jin-ho was wondering how to say this, Kang Eun-young hummed a tune.

“It’s Choi Yeon-ha, they say. Choi Yeon-ha.”

“…Choi Yeon-ha?”

Baek Hyun-jung’s gaze sharpened.

Kang Jin-ho vowed to get revenge on Kang Eun-young somehow after this was over.

How did it come to this?

Once, Kang Eun-young was a younger sister who would do anything Kang Jin-ho said, and his parents were like the parents in storybooks, supporting him without question.

But now…

“I’m worried. I’m worried.”

“She’s more capable than you think…”

“It’s not that.”

This time, his father spoke.

“I’m a little worried too, Jin-ho.”

“Yes?”

“Relationships between people are unpredictable. Especially between a man and a woman. If things go wrong with Choi Yeon-ha, what will happen to the company?”

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

That was a valid point.

“That won’t happen.”

“Oppa.”

Kang Eun-young said with a sigh.

“You really don’t know. Honestly, you didn’t think you’d grow apart from that sister before, did you?”

“That sister?”

“Se-yeon.”

Han Se-yeon’s name came up here too.

“I couldn’t have imagined it either. That she would turn her back on me.”

“That’s enough about that.”

Kang Jin-ho cut her off firmly, and Kang Eun-young pouted.

She looked annoyed that she couldn’t vent her anger about Han Se-yeon.

“I…”

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth with a serious face.

“I know I haven’t been able to earn your trust lately because I’ve been so busy. But I don’t think I’ve changed from before. I’ll be able to show you the results in the future, so please trust me a little more.”

“Of course, we trust our son.”

“That’s right.”

Baek Hyun-jung and Kang Yoo-hwan’s faces softened like they used to.

“And.”

Kang Yoo-hwan opened his mouth with a slightly serious voice.

“Don’t try to do everything perfectly.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

“Your mother and I aren’t disappointed because you’re not successful. Actually, this is like a tantrum. In the past, our son used to discuss and talk with us about everything, but now he’s grown up and does things on his own.”

“We knew that time would come someday, but it feels like it came too soon, and we’re just disappointed and sad. No matter what results you bring, we won’t be disappointed or happy. Whether you succeed or fail, you’re still our son.”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Kang Yoo-hwan and then nodded.

‘I was arrogant.’

He realized how arrogant it was to say he would show them the results. That wasn’t what his parents wanted from him. At some point, he thought that if he just got good results, he could solve everything.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no. There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s just that when a rebellious son locks himself in his room, parents are bound to feel sad. So, we deliberately pick a fight to get a few more words out of you. So, don’t worry too much about it.”

“It’s my fault. In the future… I won’t do that in the future.”

It was a situation where he was apologizing and admitting his mistakes, but he didn’t feel bad at all.

No matter how much he had become a master of the highest level, and lived more than twice the life of his father, his parents were still his parents, and his father was still his father.

Realizing that fact was rather enjoyable.

“Okay. So, our son is joining Jae-kyung!”

“It’s not joining, it’s an internship…”

“We need to buy him a new suit! Jin-ho, eat and get ready. We’re going shopping!”

“…No.”

“Mom! I want to go too! Me too!”

“Okay, let’s go! Let’s go all out today!”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head with a pale face. But Kang Yoo-hwan, who received his gaze, quietly put down his spoon and got up from his seat.

“I, I have to go to work early today, so I’ll be going.”

“Ah, Father.”

“Good luck, Jin-ho.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes glazed over as he watched his father abandon him to a pack of hungry wolves.