Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1305

Clang.

Lee Hyun-soo and Kang Jin-ho stepped outside.

Those who had been holding their breath released a collective sigh.

“I don’t really understand what’s going on.”

“They’re opening a shop for us, you idiot!”

“Why would the Guild Leader open a shop for us?”

“He’s going to take care of the cafe’s interior and supply the goods. In return, we share the profits. We pay a membership fee. That’s what a franchise is!”

“How am I supposed to know that?”

“This…”

Sounds of gasping echoed from various corners.

It was probably a blood pressure-raising sound for Lee Hyun-soo, but most of the people present had no idea what Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo were talking about.

Fortunately for Lee Hyun-soo, everyone seemed to grasp the general idea, so they pretended to understand and nodded diligently.

Now, they were asking around and getting explanations.

“Isn’t this a good thing?”

“I don’t know, who knows how it’ll turn out. If there was a place that opened first, we could get a feel for it, but we’re starting from scratch…”

“Still, it’s something the Guild Leader is doing…”

“That’s right. That’s why we’re even considering it. If someone else had said this, we would have called them a scammer.”

“Someone else? A scammer? You better watch your mouth. Once all that corn is gone, I think your brain will start filtering things.”

“No, I wasn’t talking about the Guild Leader.”

“Don’t even go near him.”

“Okay, okay, let’s talk without you raising your fist.”

Those who were sharing their opinions turned to Sung Joo-chan.

“Hey, Joo-chan.”

“What?”

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Well, you’ve run a cafe before. You should have a sense of whether this is the right thing to do.”

“How am I supposed to know? I don’t know how it’ll turn out.”

“Hmm, I guess so… Hey, what’s that?”

“…What?”

“What you’re holding in your hand.”

Sung Joo-chan lowered the document he was holding with an awkward expression.

“Ah, this… It’s nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing?”

“Well, it’s…”

One person got up from their seat and went behind the counter. Then, they held out their hand, and Sung Joo-chan reluctantly handed over the document.

The person who checked the document glared at Sung Joo-chan with a dumbfounded expression.

“This is a contract, you bastard!”

“No, it’s a preliminary contract. They said the actual contract hasn’t come out yet.”

“You crazy bastard! How do you know that? And you already have the contract?”

“You traitor!”

At that moment, Sung Joo-chan’s face changed.

“Shut up, you bastards! The first store is mine!”

“This bastard is showing his true colors!”

Sung Joo-chan yelled.

“Think about it, you rotten bastards! I worked my ass off to get my license and crawled my way up here, but if you trash like you open a franchise and make money while playing around, how am I supposed to stand that! I’d be so jealous I’d die!”

“Wow, trash.”

“But I have to admit, he’s right.”

“If it were me, I’d go and cause a scene.”

His personality was so trashy that it wasn’t even worth discussing, but since there wasn’t anyone with a good personality among those gathered here, it was naturally accepted.

“I’m going to do it even if it fails, so don’t ask me and do whatever you want. I know you’ll blame me later if you fail, saying I told you to do it, instead of blaming the Guild Leader.”

“Will we just blame you? We’ll beat you up.”

“We’ll beat you to death.”

Sung Joo-chan shook his head.

The members of the General Assembly were impossible to understand with the common sense of ordinary people. They were people who lived a couple of steps away from common sense and reason.

“So, who’s going to do it?”

Everyone looked at each other.

‘Figures.’

Sung Joo-chan chuckled.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make. Opening a shop was something that would determine several years of one’s life, regardless of success or failure. There was no way they could decide on such a thing so hastily.

“I’ll do it.”

…I guess they can decide.

“Hyung, Sang-gil?”

Choi Sang-gil, who had been scolded by Lee Hyun-soo earlier, shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t have any skills or abilities. And I don’t have anything I’ve learned… If I don’t do this, how am I supposed to make a living?”

“No, but still…”

“Hyung is also getting older. If you want to get married, you need to find a stable life quickly.”

“No, hyung. I think you should consult a plastic surgeon, not look for it here?”

“You’re saying it’s okay if your cafe becomes a mess, right?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Tsk.”

Choi Sang-gil looked around at everyone and said,

“Those of you who are hesitating, get your act together.”

“Hyung, this isn’t a simple problem.”

“It’s simple. It’s simple, you bastards. What do you know that makes it so complicated? You don’t even have the ability to think about complicated things. Think about it simply. What’s better, you trying to make a living on your own, or following the plan that the Guild Leader and the manager have made?”

“Of course, the latter.”

“Then why are you hesitating, you bastards?”

“…That’s right.”

The people here knew how hopeless they were, even more than they trusted Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo.

“Sung Joo-chan is the most successful one here.”

“It’s depressing. My life has become depressing.”

“Yeah, what can I even do…”

The atmosphere quickly became gloomy again.

‘No, did these guys get group depression after leaving the General Assembly?’

It couldn’t be a side effect of not being able to use martial arts, so why did they keep digging themselves into the ground at every opportunity?

Choi Sang-gil wrapped up the situation.

“Anyway, it’s your life, so decide for yourselves. Don’t just follow others blindly. Anyway, I’m going to do it. Isn’t that what a franchise is? You want to do something, but you don’t have the confidence to do it all by yourself, so you pay an expert to take care of it.”

“That’s right.”

“Then where else can you find an expert better than them? Are those people the type to just be running a franchise?”

“…It feels like the point is a bit off, but I understand.”

Although the field was different and there was no verification, it was honestly impossible to imagine Lee Hyun-soo and Kang Jin-ho messing up a business. If those guys were thrown into the middle of the desert, they would create Dubai and still have some left over.

“And you bastards, do you think the Guild Leader would do this to screw you over? He’s going through all this trouble to feed his pathetic former subordinates who have no ability. You should be on your knees, bowing and saying ‘Thank you!'”

“That’s a valid point.”

Sung Joo-chan smiled as he watched them.

‘How can they be so aware of their place?’

Usually, they would be full of spirit and say they could do anything, but the people gathered here were calmly looking at their limitations. Well, that’s probably why they were able to make the choice to leave the General Assembly.

“Anyway, I’m going to do it. You guys do whatever you want.”

“Then I’ll do it too.”

“Me too.”

“But they said there are other franchises, right? We can’t join all of them, can we?”

“Once we join, they’ll distribute them. We’re all clueless anyway, so what’s the difference?”

“That’s true.”

In fact, those who came here didn’t have many other options. And they knew that the option Lee Hyun-soo had presented was the best one among the options they could choose.

The reason they hesitated to step forward was the anxiety that their future could be decided by this.

They had experienced failure once, so they had to be more cautious.

Sung Joo-chan quietly opened his mouth.

“Whether it fails or not, remember one thing.”

“What?”

“The Guild Leader has already hired people and is pouring money into this. That busy man is taking time out of his schedule to work, just to feed you useless people. You have to remember that.”

The atmosphere became solemn.

“Geez.”

Unable to stand the quiet atmosphere, Choi Sang-gil joked.

“He’s a really strange guy.”

“Hey, filter your mouth! I might just ram into you, no matter if you’re my hyung or not.”

“…I sometimes get confused about whether you guys have manners or not.”

Choi Sang-gil sighed deeply.

Click.

Lee Hyun-soo lit Kang Jin-ho’s cigarette. Then, he lit his own cigarette.

“The reaction doesn’t seem bad.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

To be precise, it wasn’t just not bad, it was quite explosive. Kang Jin-ho didn’t expect them to be so positive.

“What are they trusting in?”

For Kang Jin-ho, it was just one of the many businesses he was running. It wouldn’t be a big problem if it failed. But it was different for them.

They had no choice but to bet their lives on this.

But how could they be so positive from the start?

“They trust the General Assembly.”

“To be precise, they don’t trust the General Assembly, they trust the Guild Leader.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly.

“What are they trusting in?”

“Well, they’re looking at what the Guild Leader has done.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“The Guild Leader might not be sure about what he’s done. But other people can’t help but be sure about what the Guild Leader does.”

“Why?”

“The Guild Leader judges himself by his past self, but the members of the General Assembly judge him by a double standard.”

“…Does that work like that?”

“Compared to his double-life days, everything looks good. Besides… um.”

“Besides what?”

“They’re the type who haven’t received good treatment in the first place…”

It seemed like a sad story had just come out, but Kang Jin-ho tried to ignore it.

“Anyway, just think of it as them trusting the Guild Leader.”

“That’s a burdensome thing to say.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

He thought it was a good thing, but as always, it wasn’t easy to maintain his initial feelings.

As things progressed, a burden would always arise. The first feeling he had when he saw the people gathered at the cafe wasn’t joy, but the burden of having to take responsibility for the livelihoods of so many people.

Just like the orphanage.

It was a place he used to visit with a light heart, but what would happen if Kang Jin-ho stopped going to that orphanage now?

Would it just end at the level of going back to the time when Kang Jin-ho wasn’t there?

It wouldn’t.

That’s what relationships are like. To delve into the lives of others, you need to be prepared to maintain that relationship.

As Kang Jin-ho sighed, Lee Hyun-soo curled up the corners of his mouth as he watched him.

‘He’s a really strange person.’

Now everyone takes it for granted, but when you think about it, Kang Jin-ho’s way of acting is really bizarre.

Kang Jin-ho is the one who supports the orphanage and is preparing to launch a welfare foundation. And now, he’s trying a new business to provide a livelihood for those who have left the Assembly.

If you only look at this, he’s a very kind person, but if you put him on the battlefield, he slaughters the enemy like a madman.

Which side is Kang Jin-ho’s true self?

Even Lee Hyun-soo, who had been watching Kang Jin-ho for quite a long time, couldn’t easily answer that question.

No.

‘It’s stranger to divide them.’

There’s no such thing as a separate true self. Both sides are just Kang Jin-ho’s sides.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

The two put out their cigarettes and went back into the cafe.