Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1268

A Japanese restaurant in Jongno.

Four men were seated in a private room.

They had been facing each other for some time, yet the four men just glared, their expressions heavy, not uttering a word.

*Slide*

The door slid open, and servers entered, carrying food.

Their movements were exceptionally cautious.

It was the kind of service that made it seem like they were second-guessing even the most familiar tasks.

After placing all the dishes, the servers bowed politely and exited, closing the door behind them.

*Click*

With the soft click of the door closing, one of the men sighed.

“It’s suffocating in here. Let’s have a drink.”

The man, holding a sake bottle in ice, looked around.

He had been holding the bottle for a while, but no one reached for a glass.

“This bastard….”

“Are we really in a position to sit together and drink?”

“If you don’t want to end up in a coffin, put the bottle down. Stop acting tough.”

“Hey, this punk is really pushing it!”

The man with the bottle jumped up from his seat.

But he quickly sighed and sat back down.

“You trash.”

“Don’t run your mouth. Unless you want to get stabbed by trash and smell incense in a junkyard.”

Provocative words were exchanged, but the man didn’t act rashly this time.

“Don’t provoke me.”

“Oh? Are you angry?”

The man sighed and leaned back in his chair.

‘If I had my way, I would….’

The reason the man was holding back wasn’t because he was afraid of the men in front of him. Even though the guys sitting across from him were not easy opponents, they weren’t enough to scare him.

No matter what anyone said, the man was Park Jong-gu, the second-in-command of the Isu Clan, a violent organization that held sway over a large part of Seoul.

“Park Jong-gu, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your face, and it’s so damn good. If I had seen you anywhere else, I would have made that ugly face even uglier.”

“Ha….”

Even with the subtle provocation, Shin Jong-su held back because this was a place where he absolutely could not act rashly.

“Don’t push it. If I lose it, I’ll kill everyone here, including myself.”

“Oh, how scary. That’s why you should never associate with gangsters.”

“Hey, this punk!”

“Let’s keep it reasonable.”

*Pour, pour*

Yu Beom-young of the Shinguk Clan poured alcohol into his glass and said indifferently.

“If you don’t know what kind of place this is, I have nothing to say. I don’t have any obligation to save you if you cause trouble and die.”

Park Jong-gu glared at Yu Beom-young with sharp eyes.

“But let’s not harm others. I want to go back alive from this place today. Is there a more dog-like death than dying here?”

Park Jong-gu let out a low sigh.

The tension in his body loosened. The others were the same.

It seemed like Park Jong-gu had created the problem, but in fact, it was inevitable. Even if it wasn’t Park Jong-gu, the problem would have happened.

Because the people here were those who should never face each other in one place.

The most powerful four organizations in the metropolitan area, if not the entire country. The key figures of those organizations were gathered here. There were so many intertwined issues that if they had met anywhere else, a fight would have already broken out.

They were men who would rather die than lose their pride, but they only exchanged verbal jabs and couldn’t dare to raise a fist or a knife at each other.

The reason was very simple.

*Slide*

The door opened, and a man entered.

“Oh my, you gangsters must have had a hard time coming all this way. Hey, open the window. It smells like thugs.”

Without a word, Park Jong-gu got up from his seat.

“I’m just kidding, you punk. Sit down.”

“……Yes.”

Park Jong-gu sat back down.

There were only a few people in Korea who could say such things to them. Even prosecutors or the prosecutor general wouldn’t dare to say such things.

Because they were afraid of retaliation.

Passionate detectives who investigate by hitting the heads of gangsters or passionate prosecutors who urge investigations to crack down on organized crime are only seen in movies.

Even if someone had both that sense of justice and ability, they wouldn’t dare to run their mouths in a place where such people were gathered.

But the nerdy-looking man in front of them was acting as if the people gathered here were just neighborhood thugs.

“Did you only order for yourselves?”

“……No. We asked them to bring it when the person arrived.”

“You have some sense. But do you live your life as a gangster with that sense? You pathetic bastards.”

Park Jong-gu squeezed his eyes shut.

‘Ah, I’m going crazy, really. That bastard.’

The others were also feeling sick to their stomachs.

‘If I had my way, I would….’

‘Ah, I’m so embarrassed. It’s a relief the kids can’t see this.’

“Oh, you don’t look good? Hey, you.”

“Yes?”

Park Jong-gu, who was pointed out, looked at the man in surprise.

“Why? Are you angry?”

“No, I’m not.”

“You look angry?”

“Absolutely not.”

The man chuckled.

“If you’re angry or upset, tell me. I’ll relieve that anger for you. I’m good at that.”

“Absolutely not. I mean it.”

“Then that’s good.”

Park Jong-gu let out a low sigh.

It was embarrassing, but he absolutely didn’t want to get on the man’s bad side. He would rather charge into the prosecutor general’s house with a sashimi knife than get on that man’s bad side.

Because he clearly remembered what happened to those who did.

Those who had climbed to the top in this world would somehow learn one person’s name. And that name was treated as the equivalent of a devil from hell who tortures people, at least in this industry.

“Um… Mr… Mr… I’m sorry, but what should we call you now…?”

“Call me Manager Lee. It’s been a while since my affiliation changed.”

“Yes, Manager Lee.”

Park Jong-gu swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

“First, congratulations.”

“On what?”

“On your change of affiliation.”

“Ha….”

The man, Lee Hyun-soo, chuckled.

“I don’t know if it’s something to be congratulated on or pitied, but thank you anyway. I’ve lived long enough to receive congratulations from gangsters.”

“Haha….”

“Okay.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked around at the men sitting there.

“You should be grateful, you bastards. I was going to call all the bosses, but I told them to send a suitable level of people to save your faces.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, Hyung-nim [older brother, a term of respect].”

“Hyung-nim, my ass.”

Lee Hyun-soo frowned.

“Don’t call me Hyung-nim. When was I ever your Hyung-nim?”

“I’m sorry.”

At that moment, the door opened, and the servers came in. Seeing the slightly frightened expressions of the servers, Lee Hyun-soo frowned.

“Why the long faces, you punks? You’re making the employees uncomfortable. You already look like you just came out of a re-education camp, so why are you making those faces? Smile.”

“Yes.”

The slightly distorted faces were forced to smile.

Seeing that, Lee Hyun-soo sighed and spoke to the server.

“I’m sorry. These bastards just have ugly faces, but they can’t even catch a chick. Don’t worry about them.”

“Huh? Ah… ah, yes.”

But there was no way that would work.

It was like a sergeant telling a private to swear at a corporal. Lee Hyun-soo, realizing what he had done, sighed.

“Just put that down and don’t come until we call you.”

“There are more courses left, are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s okay.”

“Then… please ring the bell if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

Lee Hyun-soo, who smiled and sent the server out, turned back with an annoyed face as soon as the door closed.

“I don’t know why all the gangsters are like this these days. If you’re going to meet, why don’t you do it at a construction site or a bar like you usually do? Why are you taking up space in a normal Japanese restaurant? Will people be able to eat with your faces around?”

“That’s why we came to a private room.”

“What?”

“……I’m sorry.”

Yu Beom-young, who had been watching the situation, spoke quietly.

“Manager Lee.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but can we hear why you called us here?”

Lee Hyun-soo stared at Yu Beom-young. Yu Beom-young slightly lowered his gaze.

“Okay. Let’s get to the point.”

Lee Hyun-soo took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

*Click*

Then, Park Jong-gu put his hand in his pocket and took out a cigarette.

“Why? Are you going to smoke too?”

“……I was going to light it for you.”

“Open the window, you punk.”

“Yes.”

Since it was a private room inside, smoking was implicitly allowed. But the other gangsters didn’t even dare to think about lighting a cigarette.

After opening the window and sitting back down, Lee Hyun-soo sighed and continued.

“You know you guys got turned upside down because of the drugs this time, right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t even mention it. We were also shocked because of that.”

“Suddenly, there were crackdowns everywhere, and even if we denied it, they kept suspecting us… If they’re the police, they’re the police, but why are they doing that even if we didn’t commit a crime?”

“Oh, they can do that.”

“Then you should live a good life.”

Park Jong-gu shut his mouth. He had only lost by speaking up.

“Anyway, that’s why I’m here. I need you guys to do some work. You know who spread the drugs this time, right?”

“We do.”

“Clean them up.”

Yu Beom-young glanced at Lee Hyun-soo.

“But that’s with your side…”

“Yeah. It was our guys who did it. We’ve caught all those bastards, so you guys clean up the ones who worked under them. I’ll make sure there’s no retaliation from our side.”

Yu Beom-young scratched his head.

“I don’t know if you know, but the guys who did that are from the Chilseong Clan, and the Chilseong Clan is not as easy as you think.”

“Can’t you guys clean them up?”

“Manager, there are four organizations gathered here. Even if one of us steps up, it’s nothing to wipe those bastards out.”

“Then why not?”

“Isn’t this the modern era? These days, even if organizations fight each other, they get caught by the police for assault. It’s not like we’re just taking down one or two guys, we’re destroying an entire organization… If we get caught, we’ll all be implicated.”

“So you can’t do it?”

“No….”

Yu Beom-young lowered his head after seeing Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes.

“It’s not that… it’s just that this is a bit…”

“If the police are blocked by our side, can you clean them up?”

Yu Beom-young raised his head.

“Can that be done?”

“Just answer, you punk. Why are you asking back so impudently?”

“I’m, I’m sorry. If the police don’t interfere, it’s nothing to take down the Chilseong Clan. We’re the closest, so we’ll do it.”

Park Jong-gu jumped up from his seat.

“Is this bastard playing games! You’re trying to take it all for yourself! You guys, you…”

*Thwack!*

In an instant, there was a sound of something being hit with a baseball bat, and Park Jong-gu’s body flew straight and crashed into the wall.

“Guh!”

Park Jong-gu, who had crashed into the wall and fallen to the floor, shook his head and crawled on the floor.

*Sizzle*

Lee Hyun-soo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

“You’re like bugs, I treat you a little nicely and you don’t know your place.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes turned cold.

“If you don’t want to die, tell your bosses to gather before sunrise.”