Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1132

‘If what you said is true, isn’t this company just a front created by one of the higher-ups to embezzle funds?’

‘But they’re coming in person? That higher-up?’

‘Senior?’

‘Ah, shut up! You little brat!’

Park Gyu-yeon muttered, ‘Why are you getting angry at me?’ and subtly turned his body away. He was fuming, but he couldn’t say anything.

‘No, shouldn’t things make a little bit of sense?’

Why is the Prime Minister here? The Prime Minister!

Well, it’s not entirely strange.

Inviting influential politicians to a company’s opening ceremony to show off its power is a common tactic used by capable people. The Prime Minister is a high-ranking figure, but it’s not impossible for them to attend a regular company’s founding ceremony.

If Ha Gwang-sik hadn’t thought of MK as a slush fund channel for the Prime Minister and Code One, he could have accepted it naturally.

‘Hey, isn’t that the Minister of Economy and Finance?’

Ha Gwang-sik clearly saw Seok Dong-sik.

‘Well, well? Even members of the National Assembly? This atmosphere is a bit strange, isn’t it? Anyone would think the government is launching a public corporation.’

Ha Gwang-sik sighed.

The thought that there was something fishy about this hadn’t disappeared. But it was clear that at least all of Ha Gwang-sik’s predictions so far were wrong.

Ha Gwang-sik saw Kang Jin-ho and the Prime Minister shaking hands.

‘It feels very awkward to say that it’s our first time meeting, Chairman Kang Jin-ho.’

‘It’s the same for me. I didn’t expect you to come in person.’

‘I had to come. It’s a hard-won occasion, how could I not come? Besides, I should meet Chairman Kang once, shouldn’t I? Hahaha.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

‘Annoying.’

He was smiling on the outside, but Kang Jin-ho’s inner thoughts were not comfortable. He wanted to finish this as quickly and unceremoniously as possible. But the uninvited guests kept showing up, making things bigger and later.

Still, Kang Jin-ho felt that he had improved a lot.

He was dealing with people he didn’t particularly like one after another, but he could still keep a smile on his face.

‘I think I’m becoming more and more like Cheongma.’

It felt strange to think that he used to handle these kinds of things. If I meet him in the afterlife, I should apologize.

‘I didn’t really prepare anything, so I don’t know how to treat you.’

‘No, not at all. What do you mean by treat? It’s enough for me just to have met the Chairman in person like this.’

The Prime Minister smiled gently.

It would be foolish to take the emotions shown on the face of a seasoned politician at face value, but on the surface, he seemed quite pleased.

Well, of course he would be.

Launching MK was a headache for the General Assembly, but for the Prime Minister, it was like a stone stuck in his stomach.

It was something that he wanted to be resolved quickly, but it kept dragging on, and he couldn’t just ignore it.

If he thought that all of that would be resolved today, he would feel relieved. Even if there was still some cleanup left to do.

‘It’s nice to see you again!’

At that moment, Seok Dong-soo, the Minister of Economy and Finance, bowed deeply to Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho blinked.

‘Minister.’

Seok Dong-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho, startled.

‘Your greeting seems a bit strange.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled and extended his hand. Seok Dong-soo then took his hand with a pale face.

‘I, I made a mistake…’

‘You can make mistakes when you’re exhausted from overwork. Isn’t that right, Prime Minister?’

‘Haha, of course. People make mistakes, that’s how it is.’

‘Allow me to introduce myself, Minister. I’m Kang Jin-ho.’

‘Yes! I’m Seok Dong-soo!’

Cold sweat dripped from Seok Dong-soo’s forehead. Kang Jin-ho sighed slightly as he watched the scene.

This is the problem with suppressing Lee Ji.

Seok Dong-soo also knew that he should act naturally here, according to the relationship between a businessman and a minister. But no matter how much he knew it in his head, he couldn’t overcome the instinctive fear engraved in his soul.

So, even though he knew it, he ended up bowing his head in front of others.

‘This is a headache.’

For now, there shouldn’t be anyone who thinks it’s strange…

‘There’s no way that’s true.’

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned to the reporters watching from afar.

‘I think I just saw something a bit strange, Senior?’

‘……I saw it too.’

‘And doesn’t it feel like a knife is getting closer to our necks? It feels like the guillotine has already cut our skin, doesn’t it?’

‘Don’t exaggerate.’

‘Senior.’

‘What?’

‘I’m really getting weak in the knees right now?’

‘I really don’t want to be a real reporter. I just want to make a living as a reporter. Rather than becoming a real reporter and becoming fish food in the Incheon sea, my dream is to live well as a trash reporter, so I’m saying this, can I go now?’

‘Where are you going, you little brat! You have to do your job!’

‘No, damn it! You want us to cover a guy who made a minister turn pale while greeting him? A guy we don’t even know who he is?’

‘The guys who are supposed to be company employees look like they could beat up any organized crime member with their fingers, and he’s leading hundreds of those guys around. And the Prime Minister and a minister are coming to the company’s opening ceremony. Don’t you know what this means? This is a minefield, a minefield!’

Park Gyu-yeon’s face turned red.

Until a moment ago, it was a childish rebellion, but now Park Gyu-yeon was really excited.

‘Just what the hell is that guy?’

Kang Jin-ho was greeting the members of the National Assembly one by one. And behind them, the employees were lined up at the entrance.

It was a normal opening ceremony scene, but to Ha Gwang-sik, it no longer looked normal.

After greeting the members of the National Assembly, Kang Jin-ho took a step back with a smiling face. At his signal, Lee Hyun-soo followed him.

‘Did you call them?’

‘No, I didn’t call them. I just said, ‘The opening ceremony is on this day,’ and it seems like they came on their own.’

‘You told them the date of the opening ceremony?’

‘……I had to tell them as a courtesy.’

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

Lee Hyun-soo smiled slyly next to Kang Jin-ho.

‘That’s how the world is, Chairman.’

He didn’t lie. He just told them the date and place of the opening ceremony. He didn’t say a single word like ‘It would be nice if you could attend’ or ‘Please make time.’

He just knew that if he told them the time and place, they would attend on their own. But there was no need to tell them this, was there?

It’s generally known that the entertainment industry is the place where rumors spread the fastest in the world, but that’s wrong. In South Korea, the place where rumors spread the fastest is the political world.

While rumors in the entertainment industry become gossip, rumors in the political world determine the future. That’s why they are keenly aware of how each other moves.

By now, the rumor that the Prime Minister and the Minister attended MK’s opening ceremony would be rapidly spreading through the political world.

If you have connections, you should use them. Even if it’s not a practical help, if the word spreads that the Prime Minister attended the opening ceremony of a new company, there would be considerable intangible benefits.

‘Hmm.’

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a face that showed he didn’t like it.

It was a face that said he already knew what he was thinking.

‘Haha, what can we do? We can’t just kick out the Prime Minister.’

‘……Let’s talk about this later.’

‘Yes. Later.’

Later.

Much later.

Preferably later enough to forget about it.

‘It seems like everyone who’s coming has arrived, let’s start.’

‘Uh… um, we should.’

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

He wanted to finish this annoying thing as quickly as possible. The ill-fitting suit was uncomfortable, and his slicked-back hair was awkward.

‘There won’t be anyone else coming, right?’

‘I really didn’t call anyone. Did you call anyone separately, Chairman?’

‘Me?’

Lee Hyun-soo, who knew Kang Jin-ho’s short list of connections, smiled and nodded.

That’s right. If Kang Jin-ho called someone, who would he call?

‘What about your younger sister?’

‘I told her not to come.’

‘Aww, it would be nice if she came.’

‘Why?’

‘If a celebrity attends the opening ceremony, the atmosphere will be brighter and better. It would be great if they could do a congratulatory performance.’

Then was what Eun-young said right?

The words opening ceremony and congratulatory performance didn’t make sense in his head. Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

‘But you really didn’t call anyone?’

‘No.’

‘Really?’

‘I told you I didn’t. Why?’

‘Then what’s that?’

‘Huh?’

Kang Jin-ho turned his head, following Lee Hyun-soo’s gaze.

He saw a black van stopping in front of the building.

Drrrrk.

The door opened. And a person got out of it.

Sweat broke out on Kang Jin-ho’s forehead as he confirmed the person’s face.

‘Ah, that’s right. No, it’s not. You didn’t call her.’

Lee Hyun-soo smiled sarcastically.

‘Well… if someone were to attend, it would be more appropriate for your wife to attend than your younger sister. But I didn’t know she would announce it so dramatically… are you okay?’

Click-clack.

The woman who got out of the van walked straight towards Kang Jin-ho.

‘You’re looking stylish today, Kang Jin-ho? Or should I say, Chairman?’

‘Have you arrived?’

When Kang Jin-ho was frozen and unable to answer, Lee Hyun-soo quickly greeted her.

‘It’s an honor to see you again, Madam!’

‘Aww, don’t call me Madam.’

‘Yes?’

Choi Yeon-ha smiled and replied.

‘This is a public place, so don’t say that. Call me Director.’

‘D, Director?’

‘Yes.’

Choi Yeon-ha shrugged her shoulders.

‘Didn’t you know? I’m going to be part of MIC# too. I’ve decided to take charge of MK Entertainment. Isn’t that right, Chairman?’

Lee Hyun-soo’s head tilted to the side.

There was Kang Jin-ho, sweating profusely.

‘Well… this is an interesting development.’

Lee Hyun-soo was intensely questioning Kang Jin-ho with his eyes, but Kang Jin-ho absolutely did not make eye contact with Lee Hyun-soo. Like a child who had secretly eaten hidden snacks, he was doing his best to look away.

‘Oh my? Chairman, you seem to be hot.’

Choi Yeon-ha took out a handkerchief from her handbag and personally wiped the sweat from Kang Jin-ho’s forehead.

‘It seems like it’s because you’re wearing clothes you’re not used to.’

‘I, I see…’

‘Still, you look handsome when you’re dressed up like this. People passing by will fall for you.’

Choi Yeon-ha smiled meaningfully.

‘It seems like there are a lot of people waiting over there, let’s go quickly. Looking at their faces, they seem like busy people, so we shouldn’t waste their time like this, right?’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

Lee Hyun-soo nodded with a sulky face.

‘Let’s talk about the details after the opening ceremony. We have plenty of time today.’

‘Madam… no, Director, your presence has made this opening ceremony even better!’

‘Aww, you’re being too obvious. It’s embarrassing. Hahahaha!’

Kang Jin-ho looked blankly at Choi Yeon-ha, who was laughing while leaning back.

‘Okay, let’s go.’

Lee Hyun-soo, who glanced at Choi Yeon-ha walking ahead, looked at Kang Jin-ho with a meaningful gaze.

‘Your good days are all gone.’

Don’t say that. It makes me feel sad.