Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1042

Click.

A cloud of acrid cigarette smoke billowed out.

Hwang Jung-hoo, with a cigarette in his mouth, scanned the report and clicked his tongue.

“They’re at a high school level, it seems.”

“It’s just a figure of speech, saying high school level. How would high school kids know anything about work? It means they’re starting from scratch. Do you understand what I mean?”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head.

“I wasn’t paying enough attention.”

“Everyone says that. But do you know what not paying attention is called in other words?”

“I’m not sure.”

“It’s called incompetence.”

There was no room for excuses.

“If the field is the hands and feet, what is the office?”

“The brain?”

“The brain is you. And the board of directors, the presidents. The office is like the nerves or blood vessels. What good are well-trained hands and feet if the blood vessels are blocked? The hands and feet will become necrotic [tissue death].”

“I’m realizing that.”

“Hmm.”

Hwang Jung-hoo smiled and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

Anyone can make mistakes. The important thing is not to avoid mistakes, but to acknowledge them and take measures to prevent them from happening again.

In that sense, Kang Jin-ho had the qualities of a good manager.

‘Usually, they’d make excuses.’

Who doesn’t know that excuses aren’t a good thing?

Especially in Korean society, people are not tolerant of excuses. They value admitting one’s mistakes first. Nevertheless, when problems start to arise, everyone tends to make excuses to avoid responsibility.

Because they don’t know?

No.

It’s because humans are so self-centered. When something happens, it’s human nature to try to shift the blame by finding fault with others rather than admitting their own mistakes.

But Kang Jin-ho doesn’t make any excuses, even though it’s something he could feel unfairly blamed for.

And…

“A carrot…”

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled.

“It’s classic, but it’s a good method.”

Hwang Jung-hoo was lost in a strange reverie.

When he first saw Kang Jin-ho, he thought Kang Jin-ho wasn’t human.

Not just figuratively, Hwang Jung-hoo really thought Kang Jin-ho was something other than human. He had vaguely heard of the existence of beings called ‘warriors,’ but Kang Jin-ho’s abilities were on a different level from what he had heard.

Either a demon, or a monster.

Anyway, it was more realistic to think that something beyond human common sense was wearing a human shell.

It wasn’t just because of his abilities.

Back then, Kang Jin-ho had no humanity. Not in the sense of being cold-blooded, but more like he lacked something that a person should naturally have.

And now, Kang Jin-ho was skillfully manipulating his subordinates. How could that not be interesting?

“But this can’t even be called a carrot.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what the characteristics of a bad boss are?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“No matter how bad they are, they have no choice but to raise salaries. Even if you look at companies where inhuman beings are the bosses, there isn’t a single company where salaries haven’t gone up.”

“Yes.”

“But do you know why they’re called bad bosses?”

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled and said,

“They make a big deal out of doing what other companies do as a matter of course, as if they’re doing something amazing. And they act like they care so much about their employees.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s face contorted as if he was annoyed just thinking about it.

“Even if you didn’t make a big deal out of it, you’re not that different from those bad bosses. Making the salary realistic is something you should feel sorry about. It means that the employees have been working without receiving proper compensation until now.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

He hadn’t thought about it that way.

“If you’re going to give a carrot, you should give a carrot. Isn’t it like making a big deal out of paying back unpaid wages?”

It was strange.

Until a moment ago, he had felt quite proud…

After hearing that, Kang Jin-ho was flustered, feeling like he had become a very bad chairman.

“So, don’t make a big deal out of it, and have a sense of shame.”

“Yes.”

“It’s the same with the fact that these employees lack ability.”

Hwang Jung-hoo tapped the rolled-up report on the table.

“How great would it be if the talent I wanted just walked into the company? But that doesn’t happen. Talent is always lacking. So, isn’t it the job of the higher-ups to teach the talent they have and make them better?”

“That’s right.”

“In other words, it means that the shortcomings of the subordinates are also the fault of the superiors.”

“Yes.”

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled as he looked at Kang Jin-ho, who was answering silently.

“Are you upset?”

“No. I’m not upset.”

“You must be upset. Because everything, even things you’re not related to, becomes your responsibility. It feels forced.”

Hwang Jung-hoo leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs.

“That’s what it means to be at the top. If you’re only going to take responsibility for the parts you’re involved in, you shouldn’t be strutting around calling yourself a chairman or president.”

I don’t think I’ve ever strutted around?

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly.

“It’s not easy, is it?”

“It’s not that it’s not easy, but…”

Kang Jin-ho revealed his inner thoughts.

“I feel like it’s a bit ironic.”

“Ironic?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho hesitated slightly before continuing.

“I thought that if I studied a field I wasn’t interested in and learned more about it, things would get easier and better. But the more I learn, the more things I have to pay attention to, and the more difficult it becomes.”

“What’s so strange about that?”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Hwang Jung-hoo clicked his tongue and said,

“What’s different about the martial arts you’re learning? The more you learn, the more difficult it becomes, right?”

That was true.

The difficulty felt by someone who has just started learning martial arts is different from the difficulty felt by someone who is striving to reach the peak.

The same goes for general situations.

The difficulty felt by someone who enjoys sports as a hobby is completely different from the difficulty felt by someone at the national team level. In any field, the more you delve into it, the more difficult and challenging it becomes.

“Management is the same. When you look at it superficially, it seems easy. You think that if you just raise salaries appropriately and hire good people, things will run smoothly. But the fact that it doesn’t work that way is what management is all about. It’s not that managers don’t know that, that’s why they fail.”

“I think that’s right.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed and leaned back on the sofa.

After experiencing a series of events, he realized one thing deeply.

‘I’m only good at fighting after all.’

He didn’t want to be a jack-of-all-trades.

But at least, he wanted to meet the expectations that others had of him. But that was still difficult for Kang Jin-ho.

Hwang Jung-hoo smiled as he watched Kang Jin-ho, who seemed to be lost in thought.

‘He’s maturing well.’

No matter how capable someone is, there will always come a moment when they hit their limit as they climb higher.

This is something that everyone has to experience. Whether they are incapable or capable, what they want is always a result that exceeds their abilities.

When that struggle continues, a person grows.

Hwang Jung-hoo knew that Kang Jin-ho was by no means inferior to him. No, if you looked at them as human beings, not as managers, Kang Jin-ho might be a far superior person than Hwang Jung-hoo.

But what Hwang Jung-hoo wanted from Kang Jin-ho right now was only the managerial aspect.

“Hey, Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t think of management as something difficult.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head at Hwang Jung-hoo’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“You seem to be overthinking it, so let me give you a tip. Actually, this is like my vision, so I don’t tell it to other people, but…”

Hwang Jung-hoo leaned forward slightly.

Kang Jin-ho, who had never seen Hwang Jung-hoo act like this, also leaned forward, seemingly intrigued.

“Do you know how I grew Jae-kyung?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“Everyone wonders about that. They think I had a special secret, or that I was just incredibly talented. But that’s not the case. The reason I was able to grow Jae-kyung is actually very simple. And that is…”

Hwang Jung-hoo smiled and opened his mouth.

“It’s because I treated my employees like family.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Hwang Jung-hoo with a deflated expression.

This isn’t some public service announcement.

“You treated them like family, so you didn’t do family management [favoritism].”

“Hey, hey.”

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled and waved his hand.

“When people ask me for my secret and I tell them, they always react like this. What’s the point of telling them if they can’t understand?”

“It’s not that I can’t understand…”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“I will treat my employees like family.”

“Aish.”

Hwang Jung-hoo snapped.

“Usually, if they don’t understand here, I wouldn’t explain further, but because it’s you, I’ll give you a special annotation. Listen carefully.”

“Yes.”

It was an answer without much expectation.

But Hwang Jung-hoo’s words were a little different from what Kang Jin-ho had been thinking.

“What do you think it means to treat your employees like family?”

“To treat them well. Like I cherish my own family.”

“That’s why you can’t do it.”

“…Yes?”

“Let’s say you have a child. If your child is less capable and falls behind in competition with other employees, is it right to just treat them well?”

It wouldn’t be.

“What do you think when you think of your family? Don’t you basically want them to succeed?”

“That’s right.”

To be precise, he wants them to achieve their dreams and be happy. That’s why he made Kang Eun-young a singer and supported her.

“But when I tell you to treat your employees like family, you try to raise their salaries or increase their benefits. What is a family in Korea? Is it a family that gives their child a building with the money they’ve earned if their child is incapable? No, that’s not it. If my child is incapable, I’ll educate them in any way possible and make them better than me. That’s what family is.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes widened.

This was a perspective that Kang Jin-ho had never considered.

“If you make each and every employee successful, capable, and happy in their lives, the company will naturally succeed. How can a company where such people gather not succeed?”

“But when I tell them to think of their employees as family, they understand it as ‘the boss has to be nice.’ Idiots. A kind father may be a good father, but a good father isn’t necessarily kind. Sometimes, a strict father who presents a vision is much better than a father who is just kind. Do you understand what I mean?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded silently.

He understood exactly what he meant.

“Treat your employees like family.”

“That’s right.”

“So they can succeed.”

“Yes. Do you understand?”

“Like family.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s eyes became subtle. Kang Jin-ho was muttering something as if he was possessed. At the same time, his expression became more and more serious.

No, rather than serious, it was ominous…

‘I feel like I made a mistake… Judging by my businessman’s sense, something is going wrong right now.’

“Chairman.”

“Huh?”

“Thank you. I think I’ve realized something.”

“No, no, it doesn’t seem like you’ve realized anything…”

“I’ll think about it again. I think I was thinking something wrong.”

“No, no, I don’t think you did anything wrong…”

“My head is complicated, so I’ll organize my thoughts first. Then I’ll see you later.”

“H-hey, Jin-ho?”

As Kang Jin-ho got up and went outside, Hwang Jung-hoo stared blankly at the open door.

Then, with a slightly trembling hand, he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.