Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 15

His father and mother entered the student guidance office. Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened. They had called his parents without even saying a word to him.

The principal spoke with a stiff expression.

“That kid over there assaulted someone. The one who was hit is in the hospital right now!”

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing his mother repeatedly bowing her head, Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened, and he tried to stop her. But before he could, his father grabbed his mother’s shoulder.

“Stay still.”

“Honey, the child is…”

“I said stay still!”

His father wasn’t usually this firm. But his current demeanor was different from what Kang Jin-ho remembered.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Did you do something wrong?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then that’s that.”

His father spoke confidently.

“I’d like to know the full story. I can’t say I raised my child perfectly, but I didn’t raise him to go around hitting people for no reason. It’s disrespectful to my child to apologize without even knowing the situation.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly at his father’s words.

His father was usually someone whose presence was barely noticeable.

At home, he was always getting scolded by his mother for coming home drunk, a man who couldn’t even stand up straight.

But in this situation, he was more confident than anyone else.

‘Is this what a father is?’

Kang Jin-ho’s expression became a little awkward at the strange feeling he felt in his heart.

“Tell me. Is it true that you hit him?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you hit him?”

“He was bullying a kid.”

“So you hit him?”

“I told him to stop, but he threw a punch first.”

His father nodded with a ‘that’s what I thought’ look on his face.

“That’s what my son says.”

“That’s a lie!”

The student guidance counselor shouted.

“The kids are saying that Kang Jin-ho suddenly attacked Choi Young-soo for no reason.”

“Quiet.”

When the chairman spoke, all the teachers shut their mouths.

“There’s no need to make a fuss. This is something that I and Kang Jin-ho’s parents need to resolve.”

The chairman stared at Kang Yoo-hwan, then smiled slightly.

“If that’s the truth, then I should apologize.”

“No, it’s still our fault for hitting him.”

“If that’s the truth, that is.”

The chairman turned his head and looked at the principal.

“What’s the name of the kid who was being bullied?”

“Park Yu-min.”

“Bring him here.”

“But, Chairman…”

“I said bring him here.”

At those words, the principal bowed his head and left the room.

“We just need to confirm the facts. If it’s true, I’ll apologize.”

“Yes.”

The door soon opened, and the principal entered with a child.

“This is Park Yu-min.”

Park Yu-min looked around with a bewildered expression.

“Are you Park Yu-min?”

“Yes?”

“This is the chairman.”

“Ah, yes! Yes!”

Park Yu-min bowed his head deeply.

“Let me ask you. Is it true that you were being bullied by our Young-soo, and that’s why Kang Jin-ho here hit our Young-soo?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t worry about reading my face. Don’t think too much, just tell me the truth. Is it true?”

The chairman looked directly at Park Yu-min.

Park Yu-min looked back and forth between the chairman and Kang Jin-ho, then opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“It’s not…”

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho saw it.

Park Yu-min, while speaking, glanced at Kang Jin-ho with eyes that seemed to hold a hint of apology.

“…true.”

* * *

Choi Young-soo was lying on a hospital bed.

“What the hell does that crazy bastard think he’s doing, messing with me?”

He had already told his grandfather everything. It wouldn’t be hard to drag that guy out and beat him up, but Choi Young-soo couldn’t be satisfied with just that.

He needed to inflict pain that was incomparable to that, only then would his heart feel a little bit relieved.

That was his grandfather’s specialty.

The hospital he was currently admitted to was also a hospital that his grandfather had told him to go to as soon as he heard the news.

The hospital director was a close friend of his grandfather.

“Just you wait and see, you’re screwed.”

Choi Young-soo chuckled.

“It’s not true.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed at Park Yu-min’s words.

Their homeroom teacher, Kim Sung-joo, looked at Park Yu-min and said,

“Yu-min!”

“I wasn’t hit. Young-soo never bullied me either…”

“Hey, you!”

“It’s the truth.”

At Park Yu-min’s words, the homeroom teacher stared at Park Yu-min silently.

“You, I…”

“No, teacher. It’s not true.” The chairman looked at Kang Yoo-hwan.

“Did you hear that?”

Kang Jin-ho silently glared at the chairman and Park Yu-min.

He didn’t know what had happened between the two of them, but it was clear that they had made a deal. But even if Kang Jin-ho denied it here, it was already irreversible.

“Park Yu-min!”

“Mr. Kim, please be quiet!”

“No, this is!”

“Are you going to take responsibility for everything, Mr. Kim?”

“If Young-soo has been bullying Yu-min all this time, why didn’t you know about it, Mr. Kim? Are you saying that you knew your student was being bullied and you just let it happen?”

“I…”

“Or what?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Mr. Kim Sung-joo had no choice but to bow his head silently.

What he said wasn’t wrong.

If bullying was happening in the class and he didn’t know about it, then he was unqualified as a teacher. What could such a person say?

If he said he knew about it now, he would be a teacher who neglected a student being bullied, and if he said he didn’t know, he would be an incompetent teacher who didn’t even know what was happening in his own class.

“So, what are you going to do now?” At the chairman’s words, Kang Yoo-hwan pursed his lips tightly.

Then, he took a step forward.

“Father.”

“Be quiet.”

His father slowly lowered his head.

*Click*

Kang Jin-ho’s teeth clenched together, creating a heavy sound.

“I’m sorry.”

The chairman smirked.

“There’s no need to apologize. I didn’t come here to receive an apology. I just need to handle this according to the rules. Student guidance counselor.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“What’s the procedure in a case like this?”

“If there’s an assault between students, and the result is severe, the school rules state that we can impose anything from seven days of school service to expulsion.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Then what’s the procedure in a case like this?”

“Although it’s not a case of repeated assault…”

The student guidance counselor seemed to be contemplating before opening his mouth.

“A one-week suspension would be appropriate.”

“A suspension…”

The chairman didn’t seem too pleased. But Mr. Kim Sung-joo didn’t seem to think so. Mr. Kim Sung-joo, startled, shouted.

“Student guidance counselor!”

“What is it, Mr. Kim?”

“That’s too harsh! It’s not like the kids ganged up on him, it was just a simple fight!”

“How can you call this a simple fight? He hit someone and sent them to the hospital!”

Mr. Kim Sung-joo glared.

“Are you really going to do this?”

“What? You? Watch your mouth, you!”

Kang Yoo-hwan grabbed the homeroom teacher.

“Father!”

Kang Yoo-hwan held onto Kim Sung-joo more firmly, as if telling him not to interfere, and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.”

Kang Yoo-hwan strongly signaled with his eyes not to do anything. Seeing that, the homeroom teacher sighed.

“I understand.”

The chairman looked at Kang Yoo-hwan with a displeased expression.

“If my son did something wrong, he will accept the consequences. I’m sorry.”

Kang Yoo-hwan bowed his head again.

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

He had experienced many dirty situations.

This wasn’t even dirty enough to be called dirty. Back when he couldn’t enter the Demonic Cult, he felt that those with power could do whatever they wanted.

He had lived for decades in a place where the powerful oppressed the powerless, a place that was incomparable to this world. So, this level of humiliation was nothing.

It had to be nothing.

But…

Kang Jin-ho was angrier now than he was back then.

Back then, he didn’t have a father.

There wasn’t anyone who would bow their head for him.

*Click.*

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes began to cool down.

But this wasn’t the end.

“Excuse me.”

The door opened, and two people in familiar uniforms entered.

Mr. Kim Sung-joo stared at them with blank eyes.

Surely not?

“No, why are you here…”

The people who had entered spoke at Mr. Kim Sung-joo’s words.

“We’re the police. We came because there was a report of an assault.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the chairman.

The chairman was looking at Kang Jin-ho and Kang Yoo-hwan with a sly smile.

“Tell me the truth.”

“I didn’t do it.”

“You bastard, do you know how many people saw it? The kid you hit got a six-week diagnosis at the hospital. Do you think it’s over just because you say you didn’t do it?”

“I didn’t do it.”

“What a complete moron, huh? Can’t you understand what I’m saying?”

Kang Jin-ho sighed and looked outside.

Outside, Kang Yoo-hwan and Mr. Kim Sung-joo were watching him with anxious faces.

Mr. Kim Sung-joo was furious, saying that there was no way to arrest someone for a fight between students, but in the end, he couldn’t stop Kang Jin-ho from being dragged away.

Thanks to that, Kang Jin-ho was able to have the rare experience of being taken to the police station in a police car from school. It was such a rare experience that all the kids in the school came out to watch the scene.

“Tell me the truth. You hit him, right?”

“Yes.”

“You hit a kid who was just standing there, right?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Ah, this… you really won’t tell me the truth, you bastard!”

At that moment, Mr. Kim Sung-joo came inside.

“Don’t speak carelessly to my student.”

“Hey, who are you!”

“I’m his homeroom teacher. Are you allowed to speak so carelessly just because you’re a police officer? His guilt hasn’t been confirmed yet, so why are you speaking so carelessly! I’m going to file a complaint with the police agency! Do you understand?”

When Mr. Kim Sung-joo came out so firmly, the police officer clicked his tongue.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Damn it!”

Mr. Kim Sung-joo took out a cigarette with a face that was red with anger.

“No, smoking is prohibited here…”

“How much is the fine!”

“Hey, you’re a teacher, why are you doing this? Let’s go outside and smoke if possible.”

Mr. Kim Sung-joo was so angry that he looked like he was about to fight the police officer.

“Teacher.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s go outside. It’s going to be difficult if you’re like this during the investigation.”

Mr. Kim Sung-joo was furious, but he couldn’t just keep getting angry when the student’s parents, who were probably even angrier, were acting like this.

“Yes…”

As Kang Yoo-hwan took Mr. Kim Sung-joo outside, the police officer looked at Kang Jin-ho with a headache.

“What the hell are you?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer.

“Don’t. Hey, don’t answer. I’ll write the statement according to what you said, so try saying that in court. Let’s see what the judge says.”

“Damn it, I knew the bullies were dirty… you really didn’t do it?”

Kang Jin-ho still didn’t answer.

“You won’t answer!”

“Ah, why is it so noisy!”

At that moment, a person who had entered the police station shouted.

“Ah, I’m sorry. We’re investigating a kid, and he’s such a moron…”

“The juvenile division is always like that. Still, go easy on him.”