Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1146

Bae Jae-min swallowed hard.

‘Is this hell?’

No, it’s too clean to be hell.

Lee Hyun-soo’s office at MK was so sparse it felt almost empty.

It wasn’t that Lee Hyun-soo focused more on the Assembly than MK, so it wasn’t entirely unexpected, but even considering that, it looked bleak.

And with Lee Hyun-soo sitting there like a rock, what could you say…

‘It looks like a place where they plot crimes!’ That guy is the axis of evil.

“Sit down.”

“Yes!”

Bae Jae-min immediately sat down.

“Coffee?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine.”

“Why are you so stiff?”

How can I not be?

Bae Jae-min swallowed hard again.

He had experienced Kang Jin-ho up close during training, but this tension didn’t fade at all.

It was understandable.

Kang Jin-ho might be the head of the Assembly, but ordinary members like Bae Jae-min had no reason to get involved with him.

The discomfort you feel towards someone isn’t always proportional to their position. In the military, even if the whole unit is said to flip when the division commander shows up, not many ordinary soldiers find the division commander intimidating.

For a regular soldier, the most uncomfortable people are their senior or the officers within their unit. Just because the division commander has a much higher rank doesn’t make them more difficult to deal with.

By the same logic, Lee Hyun-soo was about thirty-six times more intimidating to Bae Jae-min than Kang Jin-ho.

Unlike Kang Jin-ho, who he had no reason to interact with, Lee Hyun-soo was in charge of all the office workers within the Assembly.

Now, he had moved to MK, so his affiliation was slightly different, but if he acted tough because of that, he might find himself tied up and sent back to the Assembly at any moment.

So, he had no choice but to bow down, thinking, ‘I’m dead.’

‘If only he had a good personality.’

What if a superior who is incredibly high in rank, good at their job, and well-regarded by their superiors also has a terrible personality?

Where could you find a more awful boss than that?

In Bae Jae-min’s opinion, Lee Hyun-soo was the worst type of boss among all the bosses one could experience in the world.

Moreover, the fact that he didn’t even try to hide his terrible personality and openly displayed it was an even bigger problem.

If he at least pretended to be virtuous, you could at least breathe a sigh of relief, but this was on the level of questioning whether he even had a personality…

“What are you thinking about?”

“Ah, nothing.”

He was also like a ghost.

Kwak Hyun-tae was also frozen stiff beside him. Well, of course. He might be a step above Bae Jae-min, but he was still just a deputy manager.

Although his title was head of department, he was nothing more than a mayfly in front of Lee Hyun-soo, who was said to have more power than a director.

“It’s not that big of a deal, I just called you in to confirm a few things…”

“Yes?”

“Bae Jae-min, you got good grades in training.”

“T-Thank you!”

“Kwak Hyun-tae as well.”

“Thank you!”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had been flipping through documents, looked up at the two of them. It was a normal action, but it somehow made people nervous.

“It’s just that… now that some time has passed, I need to check if there are any inconveniences or problems.”

“Yes?”

“It’s strange, I tell them to speak honestly, but everyone just says they’re fine.”

Of course.

Of course, they would.

How many people would complain in front of Lee Hyun-soo, even if they had complaints or inconveniences? They might make playful grumbles, but no one would dare to seriously discuss their complaints.

“So, I made this opportunity.”

“May I ask why you specifically chose us?”

“You just stood out.”

“Just kidding.”

It sounded like the truth?

Looking at Lee Hyun-soo’s slightly smiling face, it seemed like he was serious.

“I memorized the names and faces of the top performers in training. Since they have good grades and less work burden, I thought I could get a better idea of what the real problems are by listening to them.”

“There’s nothing really to complain about…”

“Even the smallest things are fine.”

Lee Hyun-soo stretched.

“Like how the way to the rooftop goes past the chairman’s office, making it hard to go out for a smoke, like some of the other guys complain about.”

“…You even know about that.”

“There are a lot of crazy people in the world.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled lightly.

“Even those kinds of complaints are fine. It does bother me. If I were stationed here, I could listen to any complaints, but as you know, I’m supposed to be stationed at the Assembly, not here. So, I need to resolve as many issues as possible before I go back, so I can rest easy.”

“Isn’t Deputy Head Lee here?”

“That’s true. But…”

Lee Hyun-soo rested his chin on his hand and looked at Bae Jae-min.

“Did I have to explain all that for you to report, Bae Jae-min?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“You’re spacing out.”

Bae Jae-min’s spine tingled.

He had relaxed for a moment because the atmosphere was good. But no matter how good the atmosphere was, the person in front of him was Lee Hyun-soo, the real power holder of the Assembly and the devil of the office.

He wasn’t someone you could joke around with.

“Um…”

Kwak Hyun-tae opened his mouth, trying to ease Bae Jae-min’s situation.

“The commute is really not good.”

“Hmm?”

“It takes too long. It’s actually absurd to commute all the way from the Assembly to here, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

“It takes four hours round trip… honestly, I don’t think this is something a person should do.”

“We are also working on a solution for that…”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“It’s impossible to provide proper accommodation for now.”

“Is it because of money?”

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo gave a subtle smile.

“It’s a bit embarrassing for me to say this, but the Assembly never has to worry about money.”

“More accurately, it’s not because of money, but because the number of personnel hasn’t been finalized yet.”

“Ah…”

The second training.

Currently, the second training is being conducted for those who are not office workers here, but for the second training center. And those who failed the first training are also re-challenging the second training.

And when that training is over, half of those who pass the first and second training will go to MK, and the other half will go to the Assembly. In other words, the people who will work at MK have not been finalized yet.

“It wouldn’t be bad to prepare for the appropriate number of people, but for now, the number of people hasn’t been finalized yet.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“And it’s not easy to find a large number of rooms around here. Near the Assembly, there’s plenty of empty land, so you can just build something, but it’s not the same here.”

“Yes.”

“And you guys wouldn’t want to live in a dormitory after coming all the way to Seoul, would you?”

That was also true.

Near the Assembly, there was no choice. The Assembly was located in the mountains, and there were no proper houses nearby.

So, to live near the Assembly, you had to live in a studio apartment complex located more than thirty minutes away by car.

That’s why there was no other option but to live in a dormitory.

But how many people would want to live in a dormitory after coming all the way to Seoul?

That’s how people are. Even if they know that living in a dormitory is financially and time-wise beneficial, they still want to have their own space.

“Um… Department Head.”

“Speak.”

“If we were to get our own place… is there any consideration for supporting the deposit or the security deposit?”

“No.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“Supporting that would mean that you can work without worry while you’re working here.”

“That’s right.”

So, it would be good if they did.

“But you guys don’t quit, do you?”

“…Huh?”

That’s right?

It was different from other companies. The martial artists who came to MK did not voluntarily resign unless they were fired. A lifetime job that could never be found in the 21st century was here.

“Then the money we support wouldn’t be recovered for decades, is that support?”

“Instead, we are considering loans. We will provide interest-free loans under the company’s name, and deduct it from your monthly salary.”

Kwak Hyun-tae looked like he was about to cry.

“How much?”

“You’ll pay it back over ten years. Don’t make that face.”

“…I have two kids, so even ten years is a burden.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll raise your salary.”

“Yes?”

Kwak Hyun-tae’s eyes widened.

“R-Really?”

“…As I said before, do I look so free that I would be joking around with you?”

“N-No, absolutely not.”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“The Chairman… no, the President’s permission has been granted.”

“But it hasn’t been long since we got a raise?”

“It’s true that the office workers’ salaries are insufficient. As you said, it’s hard to raise kids with that amount of money.”

“Department Head, I will bury my bones in this company…”

“Wouldn’t you bury them if I didn’t raise your salary?”

“…No. That’s not it.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

In fact, Lee Hyun-soo had a tendency to look down on office workers, but they were actually highly skilled personnel. The problem was that their abilities were spread out in strange ways, so they had no opportunity to use them in actual work.

What would you do with an office worker who was good at fighting?

However, even if their abilities were useless, it was necessary to acknowledge their value to some extent.

“If you do that, we would be really happy.”

“Then, let’s say that problem is roughly solved, and the immediate problem is the commute…”

Bae Jae-min opened his mouth.

“I was thinking about that too.”

“Oh?”

“Why don’t we rent rooms by the month?”

“Rent by the month?”

“Yes.”

Bae Jae-min cleared his throat and continued.

“Until the number of people working at MK is finalized, we could rent out a few motels and use them as dormitories. Motels have basic living facilities, and we can rent them on a monthly basis.”

“Oh!”

Lee Hyun-soo exclaimed.

‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

It was a method often used by companies that worked in remote areas. It was something easy to think of, but he hadn’t thought of it. That’s why people need to have meetings.

“That’s a good idea. Then that’s solved. Let’s get it done quickly.”

“But that’s going to cost a lot of money, isn’t it?”

“It’s okay. If you guys work an extra hour each way, we can cover that much.”

I’m going to file a complaint with the labor board.

What a terrible company!

“Okay. Then the most urgent issue is resolved. Are there any other problems?”

“It’s not a problem, but I have a question.”

“Hmm?”

“It seems like the President has suddenly disappeared, is something wrong?”

“Ah, the President?”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“He’s been going to the Assembly since a few days ago.”

“Isn’t MK more urgent?”

“That’s true. It is. But…”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head awkwardly.

“After I scolded him for smoking indoors and causing the fire truck to come, I told him not to smoke in the building, and he got sulky and went to the Assembly.”

“I think I need to go and smooth things over… geez.”

This was wrong.

This company was definitely wrong.

Bae Jae-min closed his eyes and prayed that this company would run smoothly.