Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1509

“So, you were originally rich?”

“Yes.”

Uh….

“As far as I know, your father, CEO Kang Jin-ho, was a taxi driver and currently runs a cafe, is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“But you being rich is a bit….”

“It’s not like I can only be rich if my father is rich. I earned my own money.”

“Ah… right, that’s true.”

Ha Gwang-sik’s face showed a hint of bewilderment.

He never imagined Kang Jin-ho would respond like this. He had expected him to vaguely say he received investments after going around in circles….

‘I was planning to corner him and make him spill everything….’

Originally rich?

What nonsense.

However, Ha Gwang-sik realized that he didn’t have any counter-arguments in this situation. If he started questioning how Kang Jin-ho made his money, this would no longer be an interview about the Cafe Ruogo incident.

He could only ask about MK.

Ha Gwang-sik, biting his lip, nodded his head.

“Ah, I see. So, you had existing wealth and used that to establish MK?”

“Yes.”

“……You must be incredibly wealthy.”

“I have a bit more than you might think.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Ha Gwang-sik with a nonchalant expression.

Ha Gwang-sik was speechless at his audacity.

“Yes. Well, then… um.”

Ha Gwang-sik scratched the back of his head without realizing it. It was a habit he had when he was flustered.

“The investigation into this incident is also progressing rapidly with the active cooperation of the police. What are your thoughts on this?”

“I’m grateful.”

Ha Gwang-sik stared at Kang Jin-ho with a dumbfounded look.

“Is that all?”

“What else do you need?”

“……No, right.”

Now, it had completely deviated from the format of an interview.

Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he looked at Ha Gwang-sik.

‘This is interesting.’

Knowing about Kang Jin-ho’s family situation meant they had done a thorough background check. If they came because of the Cafe Ruogo incident, there would have been no need to investigate that far.

So, what should he do?

With these youngsters.

“To be blunt….”

Eventually, Ha Gwang-sik opened his mouth with a slightly provoked expression.

“Haven’t you considered that the police cooperation is excessive?”

“Not at all.”

“Even though the number of police officers deployed for the Cafe Ruogo incident is several times more than similar cases?”

“That’s for them to decide. What would I know?”

“Isn’t there any communication between MK and the police?”

“There was communication.”

“Yes?”

“I reported it to 112 [the Korean emergency number]. They were very kind.”

Kang Jin-ho leisurely inhaled the cigarette smoke and slowly exhaled it.

“Do you have any more questions?”

Ha Gwang-sik smiled. But his eyes were not smiling at all.

Park Gyu-yeon, sitting next to him, grabbed Ha Gwang-sik’s side, but Ha Gwang-sik completely ignored her touch.

“Weren’t you arrested in the past for violating the National Security Law?”

“Yes. But I was released.”

“You were found not guilty, right?”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

Ha Gwang-sik looked directly at Kang Jin-ho and said,

“Thanks to that, Prime Minister Kim Myung-chan is now in prison on charges of framing you.”

“Yes. Though not exactly for that charge.”

“Then….”

Ha Gwang-sik’s voice became sharp.

“What do you think is the reason why Prime Minister Kim Myung-chan specifically targeted you? It doesn’t seem like you two had a close relationship.”

“Maybe he went senile.”

“……Is that your answer?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Then, he gestured to Lee Hyun-soo.

Lee Hyun-soo then quietly moved to block the door.

“Turn off the recorder.”

Kang Jin-ho said in a low voice.

Ha Gwang-sik flinched.

“Are you threatening a journalist….”

“Stop talking nonsense and turn off the recorder.”

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat. Then, he moved to the head of the table. Kang Jin-ho, who slowly sat at the head of the table, leaned back leisurely and stretched out his legs.

“It seems like you have a lot of questions, so I’ll answer them. But it’s off the record.”

Ha Gwang-sik’s eyes widened.

“Why? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

The tone changed.

It was not the gentle tone he had been using to treat them until just now. It was a tone with a hint of wildness, like a beast growling. Ha Gwang-sik was certain that this was the true nature of Kang Jin-ho.

Ha Gwang-sik obediently took out the recorder. Then, he clearly showed Kang Jin-ho that he was turning it off.

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth as he watched this.

“It seems like you’re very interested in me?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, instead of coming back like this, why didn’t you come to me directly?”

“I didn’t think you would meet me.”

“It’s not that difficult.”

Kang Jin-ho said nonchalantly and put a cigarette in his mouth. Park Gyu-yeon opened her mouth with a face as cold as ice.

“Um… CEO, I’m sorry. Let’s end the interview here, and we’ll be on our way.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Please shut your mouth, senior. Before I break your head with the ashtray.”

Park Gyu-yeon was truly pale.

You don’t usually pick a fight with an ordinary chaebol [a large family-owned business conglomerate] like this. Because there’s no way to handle the aftermath. But Kang Jin-ho was no ordinary chaebol. If he was someone who could bury the Prime Minister of Korea, making two journalists into fish food would be nothing.

Park Gyu-yeon had no desire to get caught up in Ha Gwang-sik’s madness and die.

“I don’t want to hear anything. Just please let us go. I want to live.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Park Gyu-yeon with a very bewildered expression.

“……When did I say I was going to kill you?”

“The atmosphere….”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Then, he gestured to Lee Hyun-soo.

“So, that’s what she says?”

“Actually, I’m considering it. Whether to throw these bastards out of here right now.”

That was not a joke.

Kang Jin-ho was smiling, but Lee Hyun-soo was furious. Lee Hyun-soo didn’t expect that the interview, which started lightly to mess with Kang Jin-ho and get some publicity, would turn out like this.

Lee Hyun-soo’s face hardened at the thought that he had been played by these guys.

“You’re hopeless. What kind of guts do you have to walk into the den of such suspicious and shady people with so many questions?”

Uh….

Saying it like that makes us sound like real bad guys.

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

Of course, Kang Jin-ho was a bad guy, but he wouldn’t kill an ordinary person in broad daylight just because he heard a few unpleasant words.

That was against the code of conduct of the Assembly [referring to a powerful, possibly criminal organization], as well as Kang Jin-ho’s own principles.

“So….”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Ha Gwang-sik and asked,

“What are you curious about?”

Ha Gwang-sik looked directly at Kang Jin-ho and said,

“What exactly are you?”

“Hmm….”

“That’s the only thing I’m curious about.”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“What are you?”

“I’m a journalist.”

“Then, let’s just say I’m the CEO of MK.”

“Is there anyone who can answer that kind of question? If you have something to ask, ask properly. I’ll answer it.”

“I….”

At that moment, Ha Gwang-sik felt speechless.

What he was curious about….

What he was curious about regarding Kang Jin-ho.

There were too many. So many that he didn’t know where to start. But when he tried to ask, he didn’t know what to ask.

Ha Gwang-sik realized that what he had been chasing was just Kang Jin-ho’s vague something, not a clear entity with substance.

The Kang Jin-ho he imagined was clearly a shady person, a giant who committed crimes on an unimaginable scale.

But what about the Kang Jin-ho who was revealed on the surface?

‘He’s closer to being a good person.’

Ha Gwang-sik knew that Kang Jin-ho was running an orphanage and that he visited it often. And he also knew that he had been visiting that orphanage for almost 10 years.

This was definitely not an act for show.

Who would think about something 10 years in the future and create an image by visiting an orphanage in advance? Someone with Kang Jin-ho’s wealth could create countless good deeds if he wanted to.

Without having to do such troublesome things.

The employees were also absolutely loyal to Kang Jin-ho. The shady parts of Kang Jin-ho that had been revealed so far were….

“Why did Prime Minister Kim Myung-chan try to kill you?”

“He must have disliked me.”

“Why?”

“Why do you dislike me?”

Ha Gwang-sik was speechless.

Dislike?

That was undeniable. The emotion Ha Gwang-sik had for Kang Jin-ho was definitely not goodwill. But if he were asked to explain the reason….

“There’s no reason why people dislike each other. Most reasons are just excuses fitted to emotions. They just dislike each other.”

“Just like your feelings right now.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he looked at Ha Gwang-sik’s face.

“Did you find anything after digging?”

“Why can’t you speak in front of a person? I’m giving you the opportunity.”

“I….”

Ha Gwang-sik bit his lip tightly.

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth in a low voice as he looked at Ha Gwang-sik.

“Getting closer to the truth, not being afraid. People usually call that courage. But I don’t think so.”

“That’s recklessness.”

Kang Jin-ho let out a low sneer.

“A sense of justice is a great thing. Just having that sense of justice makes it seem like all my actions are justified. And strangely, it feels like that sense of justice will protect me. Even though what’s actually protecting you is the desperate efforts of the people around you. Like the person next to you right now.”

Park Gyu-yeon nodded her head with a haggard face.

If it weren’t for Park Gyu-yeon, Ha Gwang-sik would have died several times already.

“But those kinds of people criticize those who try to stop them as cowards and think they are courageous. Do you know what they really are?”

“They’re just people with bad personalities, paranoia, and full of venom.”

Kang Jin-ho’s words pierced Ha Gwang-sik’s heart.

“Then you should really have courage. But what about it? When I give you the opportunity, you can’t open your mouth, right? Because you’re afraid of what I might say. Because you’re afraid of whether you’ll be able to go back alive after hearing those words. Isn’t that right?”

He wanted to say no.

But there was no way he could deny it. The fact that he hadn’t asked any questions was obvious.

“Listen carefully.”

Kang Jin-ho said as if spitting out the words.

“Keep a proper distance, and satisfy your petty sense of justice by talking within the limits of not getting hurt somewhere else. I’m not a good person enough to tolerate that. If you want to dig into me, come prepared to have a knife in your neck. I’ll grant your wish.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled and got up from his seat.

“I believe you’ll write a good article. That was the promise. If you have any more questions, leave them in writing. I’ll answer them sincerely.”

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat and went outside.

But Ha Gwang-sik couldn’t even think of getting up while watching him.

Click.

Lee Hyun-soo, who closed the door, looked at the two with a sharp gaze.

“Since the CEO said so, I’ll let you go back nicely.”

“Thank….”

“However.”

Lee Hyun-soo said in an eerie voice.

“What I’m protecting is only until you get home today. You can imagine what will happen after that.”

“I’ll let you know.”