Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1281

Kang Jin-ho silently watched Kang Yu-hwan, who seemed to have lost his soul.

Yesterday, Kang Yu-hwan, dragged away by Baek Hyun-jung, surrendered completely in just about five minutes, agreeing to help Hwang Min-soo from now on.

In the end, things worked out well, one might say, but…

“…What great wealth and glory am I trying to achieve?”

Kang Jin-ho forced down the twitching corners of his mouth.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t get married.”

Kang Yu-hwan continued, wiping his eyes.

“Of course, I don’t regret my marriage. That’s how I got a son like you and a cute daughter like Eun-young. Thanks to that, my life has been incredibly happy.”

Kang Yu-hwan smiled with a slightly enlightened look.

“Getting married and raising children brings a sense of fulfillment that those who haven’t experienced it can’t even imagine.”

“But why…”

“Just don’t do it, you rascal!”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t say anything because Kang Yu-hwan’s face looked so sad.

“Hahaha, there are times like that in life.”

Hwang Min-soo smiled gently.

As a married man, he seemed to understand Kang Yu-hwan’s feelings.

“Indeed, children make their fathers’ lives difficult, but they also give them strength.”

“That’s right.”

Hwang Min-soo chuckled warmly.

Seeing that, Kang Jin-ho was reminded of Hwang Min-soo’s sons he had seen before.

There was a time when Kang Jin-ho had followed Kang Yu-hwan around like that.

“It’s true that marriage has its frustrating aspects, but there are also things you can only learn through marriage, right?”

“That’s true.”

Kang Yu-hwan nodded as if agreeing.

As the atmosphere brightened a bit, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth.

“Then, marriage is…”

“Don’t do it.”

Before he could finish, Hwang Min-soo cut Kang Jin-ho off.

“There are things you can gain from marriage. Many things! But there are even more things you can gain if you don’t get married! Why walk into the pit of hell with your own two feet!”

“No, you yourself…”

“That’s why I’m saying this! That’s why! I was crazy! Why did I do that!”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the two men.

Watching Hwang Min-soo holding his head and Kang Yu-hwan staring blankly at the ceiling, Kang Jin-ho seriously began to contemplate what marriage really was.

‘If I had known it would be like this, should I have tried marriage in my past life?’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

When he was the leader of the Demonic Cult, one of the things his subordinates nagged him about the most was marriage.

They said he had to leave his bloodline.

Kang Jin-ho, who wasn’t particularly interested in women, would cut them off as soon as they brought it up.

‘It wasn’t easy.’

It wasn’t that he disliked marriage.

It was just that he couldn’t accept people.

Now it’s a beautified memory, but everything from the way of thinking to the culture was too different between Kang Jin-ho, a modern person, and those who lived in that era.

He had even thought that it would be easier to communicate with an alien who just happened to look like a human.

Basic hygiene was often appalling from a modern person’s perspective, and there was no respect for people.

It would be less repulsive for modern Koreans to marry a Muslim from the Middle East.

Being tied to someone you don’t match with through marriage is a terrible thing.

The Blue Demon and other elders of the Demonic Cult at the time didn’t understand Kang Jin-ho, though.

“Let’s talk about work first…”

“Yes, we should. Yes, we should. I brought personal matters into the workplace. First, um…”

Hwang Min-soo stared intently at Kang Jin-ho.

“Don’t do it.”

Kang Yu-hwan chimed in.

“Right! And you! It seems like Mom and Eun-young aren’t that opposed to you seeing Choi Yeon-ha! But I’m different! If you marry such a strong-willed woman…”

Knock knock.

The three men turned their heads toward the door.

Kang Yu-hwan’s face turned pale, as if he had guessed something.

“Come in.”

Squeak.

The door opened, and Lee Hyun-joo came in, handing documents to Kang Jin-ho.

“Here are the materials you asked for.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes, then.”

Lee Hyun-joo smiled and turned to leave. As soon as the door closed, Kang Yu-hwan sighed deeply.

“That was scary.”

Something was definitely wrong.

Kang Yu-hwan, who had been glancing at the door, said cautiously.

“Right. People should be calm. That young lady is very composed and nice.”

Composed?

Kang Jin-ho recalled Lee Hyun-joo’s profile in his mind.

Lee Joong-gul’s granddaughter.

A female warrior who had lived by beating up the martial artists of the General Assembly with her bare hands.

‘The General Assembly guys would be terrified if they heard that.’

Martial artists are fundamentally merit-based. Even if Lee Hyun-joo is Lee Joong-gul’s granddaughter, it would be difficult to be recognized if she didn’t have the skills. Lee Hyun-joo was recognized by the General Assembly members not as Lee Joong-gul’s granddaughter, but for her own skills.

She was very calm now, but when Kang Jin-ho first met Lee Hyun-joo, she was a complete wild child.

Besides…

“She’s the director’s girlfriend.”

“Oh! That’s a shame.”

Kang Jin-ho vowed never to trust Kang Yu-hwan’s judgment of people.

“Let’s stop there for now.”

Hwang Min-soo cut off the two men’s conversation.

Although he cut them off, Hwang Min-soo had a smile on his face.

‘It’s nice to see.’

Watching Kang Jin-ho and Kang Yu-hwan talk made him feel at ease. It was the image of a father and son that he had never experienced.

“I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to report this here, but since you’re so busy, I’ll report it as soon as I have the chance, Chairman.”

“Yes.”

It was a question of whether it was okay to report in front of Kang Yu-hwan.

When Kang Jin-ho answered as if it was nothing, Hwang Min-soo immediately opened his mouth.

“First, I’ve recruited three people who used to work with me.”

“Ah.”

“They will be starting work soon. They will come to greet you before they start.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

It had been agreed that Hwang Min-soo would take care of recruiting the necessary personnel for the business.

So there was no need to say more.

However, there was one thing.

‘It’s faster than I thought.’

The people Hwang Min-soo was trying to bring in would surely be capable individuals.

Such people were likely to hold important positions in other companies. For him to bring in three of them at once showed Hwang Min-soo’s ability…

‘No, this is more like his virtue than his ability.’

“That’s great.”

Hwang Min-soo smiled lightly.

“And quite a few more people will be coming in the future. I’ll confirm it again, but is that okay?”

“Yes.”

It was a very concise answer, but it was enough.

‘Well, because there’s a lot of money.’

Considering the assets that MK possessed, bringing in a dozen or so more employees wouldn’t even make a dent. Hwang Min-soo knew this fact, so he could easily bring in people.

If he had been employed in a place with insufficient funds, Hwang Min-soo’s response would have been different.

“Okay, so that’s settled, now about…”

Hwang Min-soo’s gaze turned to Kang Yu-hwan.

“About your father’s issue…”

“…Calling it an issue after bringing people in.”

“Ah, I misspoke. About your father’s work…”

“Ugh.”

Kang Yu-hwan scratched his head.

“For now, there’s nothing for your father to do. But he’ll be busy soon. Once all our staff is in place and the teams are formed, there will be many things we’ll need your father’s advice on.”

“What kind of advice do you need when you have experts gathered here?”

“Haha, it’s not like that. We’re experts in business, not in cafes. Your father’s know-how and skills are something we can’t match, right?”

“Hmm…”

Hwang Min-soo seemed to have mastered how to handle Kang Yu-hwan.

Every time Hwang Min-soo spoke, Kang Yu-hwan’s shoulders would slightly rise. Seeing that reaction, Hwang Min-soo praised Kang Yu-hwan even more enthusiastically.

Kang Jin-ho watched the scene with a smile.

‘Well…’

Everyone has a desire to be recognized by others. Especially those who are not economically challenged tend to be more fixated on this aspect.

If Kang Yu-hwan was considered as a man, not as a father, Kang Yu-hwan would also have this desire.

Not the economic wealth that Kang Jin-ho had solved, but the desire to be recognized by others in some other way.

Hwang Min-soo was skillfully poking at that part.

“Well, if my son is starting a business, I should help if it’s helpful.”

“Of course, it will be a great help.”

“Then, does that mean the cafe has to close down?”

“Absolutely not. The first store, the main store, always has symbolic significance. We hope that you will continue to run that cafe.”

“Hmm.”

“However…”

“Yes?”

“The interior is a bit…”

Kang Yu-hwan’s cheeks twitched.

“Director Hwang.”

“Yes, Father.”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding, it’s not that I don’t have a sense of interior design. I wanted to decorate it beautifully with better materials, but my wife!”

Kang Yu-hwan’s face contorted.

“She said, why spend so much money on a coffee shop! If you have the skills, you can sell it even if you set up a stall on the street!”

Kang Yu-hwan’s resentment surged.

“Jin-ho!”

“Yes?”

“Don’t get married!”

Ah, no, why is it going there again…

“You can’t. At least you should be happy! No, no, of course, it’s not like I’m unhappy because I married your mother, it’s just, well… how should I put it, there’s something like that! If you get married, you can gain a hundred things.”

“…Yes.”

“But you lose over a thousand things, you rascal! Don’t do it!”

Kang Jin-ho just closed his eyes. This wasn’t logic, it was resentment.

“I can’t even decorate that cafe the way I want! Hey, you rascal! You’ll be the same if you get married! You’re driving a sports car and living the way you want because you’re single now! Try getting married! You’ll have to sell your car because there’s no space for the baby, you’ll have to quit smoking because the baby has problems… Aigoo. Don’t do it, don’t!”

“Besides, that Choi Yeon-ha seems strong-willed even to me. A pushover like you won’t even be able to breathe at home…”

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking on the door was heard again.

“Come in, come in!”

Kang Yu-hwan shouted excitedly and continued.

“So, think carefully. Marriage is…”

At that moment, Kang Yu-hwan’s eyes wavered.

The person who came in through the door was different from the person who had come in earlier.

Hiccup!

Kang Yu-hwan started to hiccup.

At that reaction, Kang Jin-ho and Hwang Min-soo turned their heads and saw Choi Yeon-ha dressed in a suit.

Kang Jin-ho, who had exchanged glances with Choi Yeon-ha, awkwardly opened his mouth.

“…What brings you here?”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled gently.

“I heard that Father was here, so I came to greet him. But was the timing bad?”

“Ah, no…”

Kang Jin-ho quietly turned to look at Kang Yu-hwan.

Hiccup!

Kang Yu-hwan, who had covered his mouth with his hand, frantically waved his hand.

“I-it’s okay, it’s okay.”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled slightly and walked over, bowing deeply to Kang Yu-hwan.

“Nice to meet you, Father. I’m Choi Yeon-ha.”

“Ah, I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to meet… nice to meet you?”

Kang Jin-ho sighed as he saw the tears slightly welling up in Kang Yu-hwan’s eyes.

Life is really hard.

Life is.