Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1252

Adjusting (4)

Late at night.

Kang Jin-ho remained at the company, not having gone home. He went up to the rooftop, and as he looked down, the cigarette in his hand burned a bright red.

Though the cold air rushed in, Kang Jin-ho silently gazed at the city’s nightscape that filled his vision.

‘A mistake…’

The conversation from earlier in the day lingered in Kang Jin-ho’s mind.

He had spoken as if he knew it all, but the word ‘mistake’ was a painful one for Kang Jin-ho as well. He had made countless mistakes throughout his life.

His first life was marked by suffering, and his second life also ended in tragedy. In fact, if one were to consider it, Kang Jin-ho was not in a position to talk to others about mistakes.

Even so, the reason he had no choice but to arrogantly point out Hwang Min-soo’s mistake was because no one else felt as keenly as Kang Jin-ho that correcting a mistake could change one’s life.

His current life.

Kang Jin-ho’s third life was made possible by the mistakes he had made in his previous lives. He knew what he should do and what he should not do.

Wasn’t Kang Jin-ho the most definitive example of the saying that humans learn through mistakes?

Kang Jin-ho slowly took a drag from his cigarette.

The cigarette smoke and cold air filled his lungs. Kang Jin-ho savored the sensation of the smoke entering his body before slowly exhaling.

The scene before him felt a little unfamiliar.

He thought he had mostly adjusted, but sometimes the modern nightscape was dazzling.

The nights in the Murim [martial arts world] were not like this.

The nights in the Murim, without lights to illuminate the world, were simply darkness. On nights when the moon did not rise, nothing could be seen except for the stars in the sky. For Kang Jin-ho, who had grown accustomed to that clear darkness, the nights in this world were too bright and peaceful.

‘Am I…

…living properly?’

Hwang Min-soo and Hwang Min-jae.

Hwang Jung-hoo’s sons had made mistakes but were unaware of it.

No.

If Kang Jin-ho hadn’t intervened, their mistakes wouldn’t have been mistakes. Hwang Jung-hoo would have died in his sickbed, and they would have divided the Jae-kyung Group amongst themselves and would still be living lavishly.

So, what were their mistakes?

Was it that they were not righteous?

Was it that they did not follow Hwang Jung-hoo’s words?

Well.

A mistake is merely a result. Those who succeed have no mistakes. Perhaps they didn’t make mistakes, but rather they failed.

Then what about Kang Jin-ho?

How is Kang Jin-ho doing now?

‘I can’t know.’

He could pat himself on the back, saying that he wasn’t making any mistakes and was heading in a good direction. But that was the same for everyone. Those who fail don’t know they will fail.

At any moment, Kang Jin-ho’s life could collapse. When that time comes, he might realize that the current Kang Jin-ho did something wrong.

Kang Jin-ho slightly closed his eyes.

However, a person cannot evaluate their own life. They might be able to evaluate the life they have lived, but it is difficult to evaluate their current life.

He could only do his best.

He had to constantly evaluate and question whether he was living righteously and strive to walk properly. That was what life was.

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned downwards.

He saw a man walking into the building.

There he was.

A person who was constantly questioning and worrying.

Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly and turned around.

“It’s this way.”

Kang Jin-ho approached Hwang Min-soo, who was hesitating at the end of the hallway. A slight look of bewilderment appeared on Hwang Min-soo’s face as he spotted Kang Jin-ho.

“You haven’t gone home yet?”

“No.”

“It’s late…”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“I had a feeling I’d see you again today.”

“Then why did you come back, Mr. Hwang Min-soo? It’s late, what would you have done if I wasn’t here?”

Hwang Min-soo smiled awkwardly.

“I had a feeling you’d still be here.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled lightly and gestured towards the chairman’s office with his chin.

“Shall we go in?”

“Ah, no. Um… Chairman.”

“Yes?”

Hwang Min-soo hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“Would you like to have a drink with me?”

*Tss*

The sound of a beer can opening rang out clearly. Hwang Min-soo immediately took a swig of the opened beer. The sound of the beer going down his throat echoed in the quiet room.

“Ah…”

Hwang Min-soo, who had half-emptied the large can of beer in one go, placed it roughly on the table.

“That feels refreshing.”

Kang Jin-ho took a sip of his beer with a slightly amused expression.

“This is the first time I’ve ever experienced something like this. Cracking open a beer in the chairman’s office.”

“It’s awkward to go far away.”

“If I had known it would feel like this, I should have had a beer in my office when I was president. It feels exhilarating, like I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing.”

“…I wish you wouldn’t.”

“Ah, of course, I’m just saying that. Obviously, you shouldn’t drink beer during work hours.”

Usually, you shouldn’t drink beer at the company even outside of work hours, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t bother to point that out.

Kang Jin-ho and Hwang Min-soo emptied several cans of beer without saying a word. They had bought them at a convenience store, so there wasn’t really anything you could call snacks, but that didn’t matter.

Hwang Min-soo, who had drunk three cans of beer in a row, looked at Kang Jin-ho quietly before getting up.

“I’m sorry. Just one cigarette.”

“Go ahead.”

“…Here?”

“It’s fine.”

Kang Jin-ho glanced upwards.

There had been an incident where the fire alarm went off when he smoked indoors before, but he had already prepared a countermeasure. He just had to make sure the air didn’t go around that area. It was not a difficult task for Kang Jin-ho.

When Hwang Min-soo seemed to hesitate slightly, Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Then, after lighting it, he took out a new cigarette and offered it to Hwang Min-soo.

“Here.”

“Thank you.”

Only after Kang Jin-ho started smoking did Hwang Min-soo put a cigarette in his mouth and light it.

“Hoo…”

Hwang Min-soo, who had deeply exhaled the cigarette smoke, looked at Kang Jin-ho with an embarrassed expression.

“…Did you really think I would come back?”

“I just thought you would.”

“May I ask why?”

“Just…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly and answered.

“I thought I would do the same.”

“…That’s a strange answer.”

Hwang Min-soo picked up an empty beer can on the table. Even though he knew there was no beer inside, Hwang Min-soo didn’t put the can down and shook it lightly.

“I was angry.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Hwang Min-soo.

“I thought you were talking nonsense without knowing anything. I thought no one else could understand my worries. But… on the way back, I sat down on a random bench, feeling heated, and I started to think.”

“Think what?”

“Why should anyone else understand my worries?”

Hwang Min-soo chuckled.

“When I think about it, I’ve never cared about other people’s worries either. I can’t even take care of myself, so what kind of help could I be to others? Even if I listened to other people’s stories, I would just nod and move on. It probably wouldn’t have stayed in my head for even an hour.”

“That’s how it is for everyone.”

“Thinking like that, I think what you said is right. No matter what worries I have, from another person’s perspective, I was just scared and sitting down. And…”

Hwang Min-soo paused slightly, took a deep breath, and continued.

“In the end, an objective evaluation of a person can only come from the perspective of others. Then that statement is correct.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Hwang Min-soo.

Hwang Min-soo was spouting self-deprecating words, but his eyes were clearer than they had been during the day.

‘That’s right.’

When people are in a crisis, they tend to turn their heads away. When a crisis occurs, it is natural to resolve it, but ironically, most people try to find a way to avoid the situation when they are in a crisis.

But you can’t turn your head away forever.

The beginning is to look at yourself.

It is to confront your own position and your own weakness. Hwang Min-soo, who had been unable to look at himself because he was trapped in the past, must have faced himself, even if only for a short time.

That’s why he has that look in his eyes.

“Chairman.”

“Yes.”

Hwang Min-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho quietly before opening his mouth.

“I have failed once.”

“You said earlier that people make mistakes. But what’s important is not the mistake, but what comes after.”

“I said something similar.”

“Then is it the same for those who have failed? Is what comes after the failure important?”

Kang Jin-ho took a sip of the beer in his hand.

It was not an easy question to answer.

But the answer was already decided. What should he say?

“Failure is not the problem.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had organized his thoughts slightly, continued in a low voice.

“People don’t despair when they fail. They despair when they see no hope.”

“Hope?”

It was a bit of a cliché.

Hwang Min-soo was about to be slightly discouraged, but Kang Jin-ho’s words were a little more specific than that.

“Not everyone despairs when they fail. There are plenty of people who run again even after failing.”

“Is it a matter of perseverance?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“It’s not a matter of willpower, but a matter of how much you’ve failed.”

“…I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“The reason why a person who has failed despairs is not because they have failed, but because they cannot return to the situation before they failed no matter how hard they try. If you fail an exam, you can retake it, and if you lose money, you can earn it back. But some failures cannot be undone no matter what you do.”

Hwang Min-soo’s eyes wavered.

Kang Jin-ho’s words were accurately piercing Hwang Min-soo’s heart.

It was not impossible for him to enter a suitable company that was not influenced by Hwang Jung-hoo and live a decent life. Would Hwang Jung-hoo have tried to stop even that, trying to starve Hwang Min-soo to death?

But Hwang Min-soo couldn’t do that. He was the president of Jae-kyung Group.

No matter what he did, he could not return to that life, that position. What made Hwang Min-soo despair was that. His powerlessness did not come from failure. It was because of the future that had already been limited.

“I understand.”

Kang Jin-ho had already experienced the same situation as Hwang Min-soo.

No matter what he did, he could not go back.

There was no way to regain the past. All that was left was to live on.

But…

“However, one thing I know is… that nothing will change if you just sit there. Nothing will change unless you struggle.”

Hwang Min-soo rubbed his eyes.

Perhaps Hwang Min-soo was thinking a lot right now.

What was tormenting him could be regret, or it could be lingering attachment. Perhaps it was resentment.

Hwang Min-soo, who had been lost in thought for a long time, raised his head and looked straight at Kang Jin-ho.

The hesitation in his eyes had disappeared.