Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1284

Kang Jin-ho strode purposefully into the meeting room. Inside, Lee Hyun-soo was waiting for him.

“You’ve arrived?”

“What’s going on?” Kang Jin-ho cut straight to the chase, and Lee Hyun-soo hesitated slightly.

Seeing this, Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed. It had been quite a while since Lee Hyun-soo had reacted this way. Even when they had caught a member of the Assembly dealing drugs, he hadn’t been this hesitant.

That meant this was at least as serious, if not more so…

“Don’t waste time, just tell me.”

“Yes, Chairman.” Lee Hyun-soo sighed softly and began to speak. “We’ve received a call from Prime Minister Kim Myung-chan.”

“A call?”

“Yes. He said he’d like to meet with you.”

“About what?”

“Well…” Lee Hyun-soo clicked his tongue and continued. “It’s about the recent drug case.”

“What about it?”

“…It seems the police have caught wind that our people were involved.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened slightly. “The police?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should have been more careful.”

“No, it’s not your fault.” Kang Jin-ho waved his hand dismissively. This wasn’t the time to assign blame. If the police really had caught wind of their involvement, things could get a little serious.

“So, he wants to meet?”

“Yes.” Lee Hyun-soo lowered his head slightly, looking apologetic.

“Connect the call.”

“Yes.” Lee Hyun-soo quickly pulled out his phone and called Kim Myung-chan.

[This is Kim Myung-chan.]

“Prime Minister, this is Lee Hyun-soo. I’m calling about…”

[I’ll call you back shortly.]

“Ah… yes.” The call ended, and Lee Hyun-soo stared blankly at his phone before frowning slightly.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.” Kang Jin-ho sat on the sofa. He took out a cigarette, and Lee Hyun-soo quickly lit it for him. Then, he just stared at his phone without saying anything.

“…Smoke.”

“Yes.” Lee Hyun-soo still didn’t smoke, so Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“Director Lee.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“What did you do wrong?”

“I…”

“If we’re going to be like that, it’s my responsibility for not grasping the situation until now.”

“No, it’s not. There’s no need for you to worry about such trivial matters, Chairman.”

“It’s the same for you.” Kang Jin-ho continued calmly. “Things don’t always go as planned. Instead of dwelling on what’s already happened, you should think about how to solve it going forward.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply, but when he looked up again, his face was a little more relaxed.

“Have a smoke.”

“Yes.” Lee Hyun-soo took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Then, he lit it and took a deep drag.

“Ha, I need to quit this.” Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head, trying to lighten the mood. It was his way of trying to change the atmosphere.

“He’s not calling back.”

“Yeah.”

“This guy, he’s trying to play us.” Kang Jin-ho stared silently at his phone. It was possible that he was genuinely busy and had to postpone the call, but neither Kang Jin-ho nor Lee Hyun-soo thought so. If it weren’t for this situation, Kim Myung-chan would have put everything else aside to talk to Kang Jin-ho.

It was clear that he was trying to gain the upper hand and make them impatient by dragging things out.

“That’s why politicians are annoying.”

“They do have that side to them.” Lee Hyun-soo gave a wry smile. Politicians, by nature, have a habit of trying to gain an advantage in their relationships with others. Even in situations where there’s no need to gain an advantage, they try to create a situation where they are slightly ahead.

That’s the nature of those who have survived in the cutthroat world of politics. Kim Myung-chan couldn’t be called a traditional politician, but he had still risen to the high position of Prime Minister of South Korea. Naturally, he wouldn’t want to give up the advantage he had gained.

“The directors…”

“Let’s hear him out first.”

“Yes.” Lee Hyun-soo stared anxiously at his phone. It was only after a long time, when Lee Hyun-soo was about to explode, that the phone finally rang. Before picking up the phone, Lee Hyun-soo placed his hand on his chest and took a deep breath. If they showed any signs of anger, the other side would be ecstatic. At least they had to avoid that.

“Yes, Prime Minister. This is Lee Hyun-soo.”

[Ah, Director Lee, I’m sorry. I had an urgent meeting, so there was nothing I could do. I hope you understand.]

“No, Prime Minister. You’re busy with national affairs, so of course, I understand. We also had some things to take care of, so we were dealing with them first.”

[Ah, that’s a relief.] Words like knives flew through the phone line.

[Have you spoken with the Chairman?]

“He just arrived.”

[Ah, then let’s talk…] Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho, who shook his head slightly. Then, he raised a finger and pointed to one side. Understanding Kang Jin-ho’s gesture, Lee Hyun-soo nodded lightly.

“Prime Minister, instead of that, we’ll come to see you.”

[Yes? You’ll come to see me?]

“Yes. It’s not appropriate to discuss important matters over the phone. Where should we go?”

[My schedule is packed today, so it’s difficult to make time.]

“Then please contact us when your schedule is finished. We don’t mind if it’s late. We’ll come to your residence.”

[Hmm, is that so? Hmm…] As Kim Myung-chan seemed to be considering it, Lee Hyun-soo unconsciously curled the corners of his lips slightly. It wasn’t a good idea to talk on the phone with someone who held the upper hand. Especially if Kang Jin-ho was directly involved.

After some deliberation, Kim Myung-chan finally spoke. [Even so, it wouldn’t be proper to have the Chairman come to see me late at night. Then, I’ll cancel my dinner appointment.]

“Are you sure that’s alright?”

[There’s a more important matter at hand, so it can’t be helped.]

“Then, what about the time and place?”

[I’ll confirm it and have my secretary send you a text message. Then, I’ll see you soon.]

“Yes, Prime Minister.” Lee Hyun-soo rubbed his forehead after hanging up.

“What do you think?” Lee Hyun-soo organized his thoughts based on the phone call. “He’s definitely aware that he’s got something on us. He’s confident that this will cause us trouble.”

“Hmm.” Kang Jin-ho frowned. This was definitely not a minor issue. Basically, a crime had occurred within the Assembly, and because of that crime, ordinary people had been harmed. Furthermore, the Assembly had dealt with the criminals themselves before the police could investigate. From the government’s perspective, it was bound to be uncomfortable.

“However…” Lee Hyun-soo spoke cautiously. “He doesn’t seem to be planning to escalate the situation to the extreme. Judging by the tone of the conversation, it seems he’s thinking of negotiating.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“No. I mean…” Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head, as if it was a little difficult to explain. “It’s highly likely that he’ll bring up something that only we can do as a condition for negotiation. It won’t be an atmosphere of criticizing and condemning our problems.”

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his eyes. Something that only they could do… Several things came to mind. But none of them were something that a government official like Kim Myung-chan would demand.

“We’ll have to hear him out.”

“I think so too.” Lee Hyun-soo sighed softly. Politicians are tenacious. And if they gain even a small advantage, they try to use that advantage to create a bigger gain. It was clear that it would be an uncomfortable meeting, but it was something they couldn’t avoid.

“Let’s see what happens.” Kang Jin-ho curled the corners of his lips. “Let’s see what he has to say.”

Kim Myung-chan cleared his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Knock knock.

“Come in.” The door opened slightly, and a woman in a hanbok [traditional Korean dress] cautiously peeked inside.

“Is it alright to prepare the meal now?”

“A little later.”

“Ah, then I’ll come back a little later.” The door closed again. Kim Myung-chan’s eyes went to the clock on the wall. ’30 minutes, huh…’ A hollow laugh escaped him. He had made them wait 30 minutes for the call, and now they were 30 minutes late for the meeting. It was such an obvious tactic, not something a Russian president would do.

‘But it’s effective because it’s so obvious.’ Kim Myung-chan, who was confident in his patience, was fidgeting like this. Kim Myung-chan, who had been anxiously looking at the clock, picked up his phone and then firmly placed it back on the table. If he called first because he was impatient, he would only be playing into their hands.

Kim Myung-chan smiled wryly. ‘Is this politics in politics?’ Considering Kang Jin-ho’s personality, he didn’t think he would resort to this kind of retaliation. ‘This must be Lee Hyun-soo’s doing, not Kang Jin-ho’s.’ It meant that Lee Hyun-soo had more influence over Kang Jin-ho than he had thought. Or perhaps Kang Jin-ho was a more gentle boss than he had imagined. ‘It’s the former.’ Kang Jin-ho and gentle didn’t seem to match, no matter how he thought about it. At least, not according to his common sense. Perhaps he needed to adjust his approach to dealing with Lee Hyun-soo and Kang Jin-ho…

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” The door opened, and Lee Hyun-soo walked in with a smile. And behind him, Kang Jin-ho followed calmly. Kim Myung-chan immediately stood up.

“Welcome, Chairman.” Lee Hyun-soo stepped aside slightly, and Kang Jin-ho smiled and extended his hand to Kim Myung-chan.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Kim Myung-chan glanced at the outstretched hand and then grasped Kang Jin-ho’s hand. The two men shook hands lightly. It was a light but meaningful action. A handshake is a greeting shared between equals. Until now, Kang Jin-ho had bowed his head slightly to show respect when facing Kim Myung-chan. But today, instead of bowing, he had extended his hand. It meant that while he had previously acknowledged Kim Myung-chan, the Prime Minister of South Korea, as his superior and showed respect, today he was sitting down as an equal. And that was probably a protest against Kim Myung-chan, who had created this meeting by exploiting the Assembly’s weaknesses.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Yes.” Kim Myung-chan and Kang Jin-ho sat facing each other across a large table. Then, Lee Hyun-soo carefully sat next to Kang Jin-ho. Kim Myung-chan, looking at Kang Jin-ho’s face across the table, took a short breath. ‘It feels like a piece of iron is pressing down on me.’ The pressure was indescribable. Kim Myung-chan had directly faced and spoken with world leaders, such as the President of the United States and the President of China. He was confident that he was used to pressure, but the pressure he felt from Kang Jin-ho was different from the pressure they exerted.

“Shall we have a meal first?”

“Let’s do that.” Kim Myung-chan called for someone to bring the food, then forced a smile. “It’s hard to see your face.”

“Prime Minister.”

“Yes?” Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly and opened his mouth. “We’re both busy people, so I’d like to get straight to the point without wasting any time.”

Kim Myung-chan smiled gently. “Shall we? I was also leaning towards that.” A war of words, not swords, was beginning.