Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1508

“Ahem.”

Ha Gwang-sik cleared his throat.

He had already prepared a list of questions, but looking at Kang Jin-ho’s face, the text written on the paper seemed utterly useless.

‘This is a real interview.’

They could have just written and exchanged the questions. Yet, the reason they bother to grab a microphone and seek out the person is to capture the atmosphere they exude, which leads to better questions.

Ha Gwang-sik subtly glanced at Park Gyu-yeon. Park Gyu-yeon nodded and opened his mouth.

“First, please introduce yoursel…”

“Ah, you’re done. Don’t do it.”

Park Gyu-yeon’s eyes seemed to say, ‘You told me to do it, why are you doing this?’ but Ha Gwang-sik glared back, dismissing Park Gyu-yeon’s gaze with annoyance.

‘Why ask such a bland question, wasting time?’

Deciding he couldn’t leave it to Park Gyu-yeon, Ha Gwang-sik spoke directly.

“You must be very concerned about the recent incident at Cafe Ruogo.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded his head slightly.

“It’s not something that usually happens, after all.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about…”

“Yes?”

Ha Gwang-sik’s eyes gleamed.

“Why do you think these incidents, which don’t happen anywhere else, are occurring only at Cafe Ruogo?”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze briefly shifted towards Lee Hyun-soo.

Lee Hyun-soo’s face also stiffened slightly.

‘Wasn’t this supposed to be a standard interview?’

‘I just came because I was asked…’ Kang Jin-ho sent a look that said, ‘We’ll talk after the interview,’ and Lee Hyun-soo lowered his head.

Kang Jin-ho cleared his throat slightly and continued.

“We are also curious about that. Whether it’s a simple coincidence, or not.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled gently.

“On one hand, I also hope it’s not a coincidence. If we think that this happened because our newly launched franchise is doing well, it feels a little better. Rather than it just happening out of the blue.”

Lee Hyun-soo made an ‘Oh!’ shape with his mouth.

‘Look at how that guy talks.’

That guy who used to only say ‘uh’ and ‘yeah’ is now quite skilled at speaking.

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes welled up at the thought that he had turned a mute into a person over a long period.

“So, are you saying that all of this happened because Cafe Ruogo was doing well?”

“No. I’m saying that I want to think that way.”

Kang Jin-ho cut him off with a slight smile, and Ha Gwang-sik put on a friendly face.

“Personally, I agree with that thought. If Ruogo wasn’t doing well, people wouldn’t bother trying to disrupt its business. Ah, of course, this is all assuming that these incidents are someone’s criminal acts.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Ha Gwang-sik smiled.

‘Not bad.’

He isn’t the type to speak very fluently, but at least he doesn’t make the conversation frustrating.

Interviewing someone who isn’t good at talking is a real pain.

However, that means…

‘Shall I try to draw him out a bit?’

Ha Gwang-sik slightly raised his tone.

“I want to focus on that part. The police seem to suspect that those who committed these acts might be connected to existing franchise cafes.”

“That’s going too far.”

“Haha, I’m not saying that’s what I think, but that’s what the police are saying.”

“Hmm, I haven’t heard that.”

Kang Jin-ho cut him off.

Ha Gwang-sik’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Look at this?’

He’s not giving any leeway. If the conversation goes well here, he can ask what he really wants to ask…

‘He’s the type who talks by instinct.’

Ha Gwang-sik also couldn’t easily open his mouth. If the person sitting in front of him was someone else, he would have circled around and thrown out the parts that made them obviously uncomfortable, but facing Kang Jin-ho directly, it didn’t work as he intended.

“Well, then I’ll leave that part out. Anyway, the reason why certain people tried to disrupt business is because Cafe Ruogo is doing well and successful. The interesting point is this ‘successful’ part, I think.”

Ha Gwang-sik smiled and continued.

“In a world where it’s a red ocean [a highly competitive market] with cafes on every corner, it wouldn’t have been easy to successfully establish a new cafe brand. Where do you think the key to this success lies?”

“It’s not yet at the point where we can call it a success.”

“Ah, then I’ll correct myself. Where do you think the key to the good initial sales was?”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged and looked at Ha Gwang-sik.

‘Subtle.’

He has a very smiling face.

A friendly smile and a soft voice. He seems full of goodwill from every angle.

But Kang Jin-ho knows.

‘Interesting.’

He can feel the hostility towards him from the man in front of him, Ha Gwang-sik.

He’s smiling, but he can clearly feel that he’s hiding a dagger in his belly.

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth began to curl up.

The interview, which should have been nothing but uncomfortable and obvious questions, was slowly starting to get interesting.

“It’s because the store owners worked hard.”

“Haha, you’re too modest. It’s not like other franchise store owners are just playing around. They also work hard. But the fact that sales are different means there must be other factors, right?”

“Other factors…”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“If you look for them, there would be many factors. Interior, advertising, and even the coffee beans and service… And the headquarters’ continuous management would also be a reason.”

“Yes. I also think that there are various factors in Cafe Ruogo. But…”

The corners of Ha Gwang-sik’s mouth curled up.

“Isn’t that ultimately a difference made with money?”

When Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer, Ha Gwang-sik waved his hand.

“Ah, no, Mr. CEO. Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean that it’s not a big deal because it’s a difference made by spending money. If you can create a difference even by spending money, it’s definitely meaningful. Moreover, according to my research, Cafe Ruogo is settling accounts with store owners at a better rate than other franchises.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And the franchise fee isn’t that high either. Although you’re not currently accepting additional franchises.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded lightly.

“You receive a low franchise fee and have a high settlement rate. But you don’t skimp on the interior, and you use the highest quality coffee beans for the same price.”

“Yes.”

“The headquarters’ burden must be considerable?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“That’s right. However, we’re looking at the long term. If Cafe Ruogo can successfully establish itself, it will be beneficial in the long run.”

“You’re saying that you can recover the investment?”

“Yes. I think so.”

Ha Gwang-sik smiled.

Like a wolf that has succeeded in a group hunt.

And the face of Park Gyu-yeon, who was watching this from the side, was stiff with tension.

‘What kind of interview is this, you crazy bastard!’

Where is there an interview like this?

This is practically an interrogation. If this conversation were moved to an interrogation room in the basement of a police station, it wouldn’t feel out of place at all.

‘Are they going to publish this?’

Why did I bring that man here?

I thought he would give up after facing the now-big shot Kang Jin-ho, but Ha Gwang-sik was instead biting into Kang Jin-ho like a fish that had found water.

Park Gyu-yeon was now just praying that he could get out of here safely.

“So, there’s something I want to ask.”

Whether he knew Park Gyu-yeon’s feelings or not, Ha Gwang-sik calmly asked Kang Jin-ho.

“Yes. Anything.”

“The headquarters’ burden must have been enormous. Opening 100 stores simultaneously across the country is something that even large corporate franchises can’t easily attempt. Because the investment that can’t be recovered in case of failure becomes enormous.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded readily.

“That’s right. However, it was necessary. And I think it worked out well.”

“Yes. I think the strategy was good. However…”

Ha Gwang-sik smiled slightly.

“What people are curious about is whether a company called MK, which doesn’t have high recognition, can have that much capital.”

Park Gyu-yeon squeezed his eyes shut.

‘That crazy bastard!’

He was circling around the cafe story, which he wasn’t even interested in, to do this!

Park Gyu-yeon repeatedly licked his parched lips.

‘I should have called my mom before coming.’

To tell her to report to the police if her son disappears.

Park Gyu-yeon, who already knew through Ha Gwang-sik’s investigation that MK was a mysterious group with excessive power, could only hope that the place where he would sleep tonight wouldn’t be inside a drum filled with cement.

It was already too late to stop this crazy man.

“Are people curious about that too?”

“Yes. They are curious. You suddenly appeared and started an entertainment business, and now you’re even getting into franchises. And you even built this huge office building in Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul].”

Ha Gwang-sik grinned.

“Usually, companies grow gradually, but MK feels like it’s just throwing around money that it already had. So, people can’t help but wonder about the source of that money. For example, a shell company of a conglomerate, or a company that received foreign investment. Or perhaps…”

Ha Gwang-sik slightly covered his mouth.

“Ah, I’m sorry. That was too much. Anyway, in the public’s opinion, MK doesn’t seem like a very transparent company? Mr. CEO, can you clarify this part?”

Kang Jin-ho stared intently at Ha Gwang-sik.

Then he chuckled.

‘Interesting.’

It was now clear that this man had come to pick a fight. Lee Hyun-soo was initially restless, but now he was glaring at Ha Gwang-sik as if he would bite him to death.

But all he would feel is a sting in the back of his head.

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette from his pocket. Then he offered a cigarette to Ha Gwang-sik.

“Have one.”

“Ah, I don’t smoke…”

“It’s okay. It seems like you usually smoke.”

Ha Gwang-sik’s face stiffened slightly.

Kang Jin-ho had only noticed the smell of smoke on his body, but to Ha Gwang-sik’s ears, it sounded like Kang Jin-ho was warning him that he had already investigated all of his movements.

“Yes, then.”

As Ha Gwang-sik accepted the cigarette, Lee Hyun-soo brought an ashtray and placed it on the table. Then Kang Jin-ho also put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Click.

“Phew.”

Kang Jin-ho, who deeply exhaled cigarette smoke, smiled gently.

Picking a fight, huh…

Then he should accept it.

“So, you’re saying you’re curious about the source of MK’s funds?”

“It’s not that I’m curious…”

“It’s not that difficult to tell you that.”

Ha Gwang-sik looked at Kang Jin-ho with a tense face. But the answer that came from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth was very different from what Ha Gwang-sik had expected.

“It’s me.”

“••••••Yes?”

“It’s me.”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs.

Seeing that, Ha Gwang-sik unknowingly opened his mouth slightly.

“W-what do you mean…”

“I have a lot of money.”

“A lot of it.”

The word ‘absurdity’ disappeared from Ha Gwang-sik’s mind as he looked at Kang Jin-ho’s calmly smiling face.