Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1240

Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s expression change, Joo Young-gi slightly loosened the reins.

“I’m just saying this out of concern.”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho hesitated, then urged Joo Young-gi on.

“Keep talking.”

“It’s not something to take so seriously. What do we know to tell you what to do?”

Joo Young-gi tried to back off a little, but Kang Jin-ho stared straight at him.

“Please.”

Kang Jin-ho’s expression was serious.

He looked like he had caught something in Joo Young-gi’s words.

Joo Young-gi shrugged and glanced at Park Yoo-min. When Park Yoo-min nodded quietly, Joo Young-gi spoke again.

“It’s not that you’re like this, but I’ve seen a lot of that kind of thing. As you know… no, you wouldn’t know. The world behind the scenes changes really fast. Because it rots quickly.”

Joo Young-gi sniffed once and said,

“The guys who had leadership and ideas when they were climbing up the ladder turn into hopeless old geezers once they feel their position is secure. I’ve been watching them, and I think I know why. It’s not that people change. When you’re climbing up, going all-in works. You can push hard and be unreasonable. Because even if you take a piece of the pie that way, it’s still a gain.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“But what happens when you’ve taken everything? When there’s nothing left to take, things change. From then on, you have to share what you have, and that’s when going all-in doesn’t work anymore. Discontent builds up.”

It seemed like he understood what he meant.

Offense and defense are different.

And conquest and governance are different too.

“So, people don’t change, but the demands do?”

“Exactly. When you’re united and pushing forward, being forceful and autocratic can actually be better. But that becomes a problem when there’s no one left to fight.”

Joo Young-gi took a long sip of his cola and continued.

“Then you have to change, but people are weird. It’s not easy.”

“I guess so.”

Writing a success story means that your way has been right so far.

Humans grow through experience.

‘There’s probably nothing that stimulates humans more than the experience of success.’

If you have a successful method, it’s impossible for an ordinary person to find another method. If you’ve never failed, why would you change your method?

“The idea that successful people become corrupt is actually a misconception. Those people were always like that. It’s just that their methods work when they’re climbing up.”

Joo Young-gi said decisively.

Then he stared intently at Kang Jin-ho.

“And you’re originally like that too.”

“……Huh?”

“You pretend to listen to others, but you’ve already made all your decisions, and you pretend to listen while doing whatever you want, right?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes widened.

“Uh…”

“Look at this guy, pretending to be surprised.” Park Yoo-min laughed as he watched.

“He doesn’t look like he’s pretending, he looks genuinely surprised?”

Kang Jin-ho’s face flushed.

Kang Jin-ho, who rarely showed his emotions on his face, was helpless in a situation where it felt like his insides had been exposed.

“Jin-ho.”

At Park Yoo-min’s call, Kang Jin-ho nodded blankly.

“It’s not like we know anything. It’s just that when we’re next to you, we see things.”

« o..«

…•

“It’s similar with games. When a person is practicing hard to succeed, they listen to others well and are quick to accept things. To win, they try different things and change their style. But once they succeed, even if they practice the same way, they don’t try to find other methods like they used to. Because they’ve already found the method that suits them best.”

“I guess so.”

“But then, eventually, your scores will inevitably drop. You get analyzed and get into a rut. The players who last long are the ones who keep subtly changing their style.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

Wasn’t Park Yoo-min like that too?

Park Yoo-min was someone who had already reached the top once. And yet, he adapted to a new game. Even though he had a successful debut, he practiced with Kang Jin-ho again before the finals, trying to change his style.

‘Looking back, Yoo-min is not an ordinary person either.’

It’s not easy for someone who has already reached the finals to decide to change their style. But Park Yoo-min changed his style without any fuss and won the championship.

Clap!

At that moment, Joo Young-gi clapped his hands.

“Hey, hey, the story is getting heavy. I hate this kind of serious atmosphere.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

He said everything he wanted to say and then said he hated the serious atmosphere.

“Hey, brother.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re smart.”

“You know what we want to say without us having to ramble on.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded. He already understood what Joo Young-gi and Park Yoo-min were worried about. And it was helpful enough.

This is why he likes meeting his friends.

They are friends who haven’t been able to spend much time together lately, but they see Kang Jin-ho, whom others can’t see. And they give him sincere advice and support.

If the most important thing he gained from returning to this world was family,

these two would be the most helpful.

“So, let’s put that story aside… so, are you going to do it, that franchise or whatever?”

“I have to.”

Kang Jin-ho said with unwavering eyes.

“So stubborn.”

Joo Young-gi grinned.

Well, that’s Kang Jin-ho for you.

“I’ll help with whatever I can. I don’t need any fancy titles, you jerk. We’re friends, so who cares about a CEO position. If you tell me to go work, I’ll just go work, so just use me comfortably.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly.

“Thanks.”

“But pay me for my work, you jerk. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

It seems like his words don’t quite make sense?

Park Yoo-min smiled and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho, feeling a little burdened by that smile, coughed.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well, it’s a little hard to explain, but… I’m just a little impressed.”

Joo Young-gi took a step back with a disgusted look on his face.

“I’m not into that kind of thing, so you guys enjoy yourselves.”

“Don’t say weird things!”

“I’m not into it either?”

Kang Jin-ho and Park Yoo-min flared up. Park Yoo-min, unusually angry, glared at Joo Young-gi before opening his mouth.

“I just had a thought. When Jin-ho is being unreasonably stubborn, it’s not when he has something he wants to do, but when he has an idea in his head to help someone else.”

“……Help?”

“It’s probably something like that. Isn’t it?”

Kang Jin-ho slightly turned his head at Park Yoo-min’s gaze.

Help, huh…

“It’s not like that.”

“Then?”

“Rather than helping…”

Kang Jin-ho quietly turned his head and looked inside the store.

This pizza place also started from the bottom.

Looking back, they were lucky. Who would have thought that a business started by people who knew nothing, just trying to do it once, would come this far?

Thanks to that, Joo Young-gi found a stable life, even if Kang Jin-ho didn’t. Joo Young-gi’s life is intertwined with this store, and Joo Young-gi’s future is sleeping here.

He wanted to make others feel that way too.

Who would know better than Kang Jin-ho how it feels to be dropped alone into a world you know nothing about and have to live desperately? They are people who have left the association now, but for that reason, he doesn’t want to look at them with cold eyes.

“I guess you could call it responsibility.”

“It’s similar.”

“Similar but different.”

It’s not like pity.

If it weren’t for Kang Jin-ho, the Korean martial artists wouldn’t have had to go through this change. Of course, there might have been a war between the General Assembly and the Yeongnam Association in the near future, or they might have been invaded by Japan or China, but that’s a future that can’t be said for sure.

Maybe they could have lived peacefully as they had been living until now.

It was Kang Jin-ho who grabbed and shook the future of those people. Because of Kang Jin-ho’s actions, those who might have continued to live as martial artists lost their way and were thrown into society.

Kang Jin-ho just wants to pay the minimum price for that.

“Well, we know this guy is nosy.”

“What did I do?”

“I’m a witness, you jerk.”

When Joo Young-gi says this, Kang Jin-ho has nothing to say. It was Kang Jin-ho who jumped into Joo Young-gi’s life.

Park Yoo-min smiled as he watched Kang Jin-ho bickering with Joo Young-gi.

‘He’s still the same.’

Kang Jin-ho has always been like that.

He’s much softer now, but in the past, you couldn’t find much humanity in him.

But even then, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t just leave anyone around him alone. Even while saying different things, he was secretly anxious about not being able to help.

It’s the same now.

He talks about responsibility, but secretly he just wants to help. He has the resources and the power, so he wants to make others happy by putting in a little more effort.

‘That’s why everyone follows him.’

That’s probably why there’s no real opposition.

If Kang Jin-ho had pursued his own interests with the power he had, there would have been people who couldn’t stand his autocracy.

But Kang Jin-ho doesn’t look at himself.

His gaze is always on those around him.

That’s how it was with Park Yoo-min in the past, and Joo Young-gi, and the children at the orphanage.

Aren’t they all people who have received help from Kang Jin-ho?

It builds up one by one.

Those who have received help become fond of him and stay around Kang Jin-ho. Because they know that the help was given without expecting anything in return, they can treat Kang Jin-ho as just a human being, without any ulterior motives.

That’s how Kang Jin-ho’s world expands.

Thanks to that, he’s busier and lives a more hectic life.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yeah?”

Kang Jin-ho, who was bickering with Joo Young-gi, turned his head at Park Yoo-min’s words. Park Yoo-min, who had been quietly looking at Kang Jin-ho with a smile, smiled and opened his mouth.

“Are you happy?”

Kang Jin-ho was taken aback.

“Why out of the blue?”

“I was just curious.”

“……I don’t really know.”

Park Yoo-min smiled brightly as he watched Kang Jin-ho stammer, not knowing what to answer.

“I hope you’re happy. It’s the end of the year, right?”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth as he looked at Park Yoo-min.

Park Yoo-min’s unfiltered way of speaking can sometimes be embarrassing, but it’s never uncomfortable because Park Yoo-min’s words always contain sincerity.

“Yeah. I hope so.”

Joo Young-gi got up from his seat with a disgusted look on his face.

“I need to escape from here!”

“Where are you going!”

“Guys! Close the store! We’re not open today! Turn on the carols! Tell the kitchen to bring out the pizza! Let’s eat and drink together today!”

“Manager, hooray!”

“Nice! Nice!”

“Can’t you just let us go home?”

“No way, you jerk!”

Kang Jin-ho smiled as he watched the noisy store.

What should he say…

A warmth that was hard to express accurately washed over Kang Jin-ho’s heart.