Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1518

“They still can’t reach him?”

“That’s right.”

Kim Sang-ho’s face twisted in frustration.

“Damn it.”

Where the hell could he be, hiding away so that they couldn’t contact him in this situation?

‘He’s probably holed up somewhere doing drugs.’

If only I knew where he was, I’d be happy to report him anonymously and have him thrown in jail.

“Haa…”

Kim Sang-ho sighed deeply.

Come to think of it, Jeong Myeong-cheol not showing up wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the company. No, if he thought about it calmly, it was much better for him not to come to the company for a while.

Whenever a crisis hits, everyone needs to unite and work together in a consistent direction to overcome it.

But the Jeong Myeong-cheol he knew was a natural rebel.

If the wind was blowing in the right direction, he’d put the sails up backwards, and if you tried to row, he’d break the oars.

Then he’d laugh while watching others suffer.

‘It’s better if he’s not here.’

Kim Sang-ho bit his lip.

The reason he was annoyed right now wasn’t because they needed Jeong Myeong-cheol, but because Jeong Myeong-cheol had gone AWOL [Absent Without Leave] and wasn’t even showing his face while the company was in crisis.

“Shit.”

Kim Sang-ho jumped up from his seat and headed to the rooftop.

He opened the door and went to the smoking area on one side of the rooftop, taking out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

‘How long do I have to keep doing this?’

There was a time when he had dreams and hope. When he first joined this company, he was determined to succeed as a businessman, and he swore that he would reach a high position with his abilities.

Of course, he achieved half of it, half of it.

But all he got was status and success. And that status was achieved not through ability, but through sucking up and connections.

‘I can’t even say anything openly.’

Some people envied his success. He heard countless times that it didn’t matter as long as he made good money.

Kim Sang-ho definitely agreed with that. Until recently, that is.

But now that his retirement was slowly approaching and it was time to wrap up his long career, one question wouldn’t leave his mind.

‘Did I really make it?’

Maybe he did.

Because he had gained a lot.

A house that was as good as anyone else’s, a car that was as good as anyone else’s.

His children went to prestigious universities, and now they were confidently doing their part.

Not everyone was satisfied, but it was good enough to show off to anyone.

It was a successful life.

Even if he died tomorrow, he could confidently say that. Even he thought it was a successful life, and no one else would be able to find anything to criticize.

But…

What is it?

This feeling of emptiness.

Kim Sang-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette.

‘It’s too late.’

When he was young and felt like he could do anything, he thought that if he could just succeed, all of this would be worth it.

When he felt like he had reached a certain level, he thought that if he just held on a little longer, he wouldn’t have to hold on anymore.

And now…

“What’s the meaning of success?”

His body was already old, and his friends had left. Even if he had time and money, there was nothing he could do, and nothing he wanted to do.

He didn’t know.

That what he had given up for success would never come back.

He thought he could make new friends. He thought he could take up hobbies later. He thought he could restore his relationship with his family as long as he wasn’t too busy with work.

But they didn’t come back.

The friends who had left were just indifferent even when he contacted them, and he didn’t have any hobbies he wanted to take up. He had forgotten how to enjoy things.

On his days off, all he could do was sit blankly on the sofa and endlessly flip through TV channels he wasn’t interested in.

Why did it turn out like this?

This wasn’t the ending he wanted.

He thought that if he just held on and worked hard, he would be rewarded.

“Hoo…”

Kim Sang-ho let out a long stream of cigarette smoke and gave a hollow laugh.

What could he do?

He was no different from an old train that had lost its power.

In his youth, he might have had the strength to derail. But now, he couldn’t get off this track on his own.

He could only keep running along the track, not knowing where the end was, forcing the old, worn-out parts to fit together, creaking and groaning.

Until the fuel ran out and he stopped.

Kim Sang-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette and looked up at the sky.

The sky was blue without a single cloud.

‘When did it start?’

When did he stop looking up at the sky?

He used to look up at the sky quite often.

Kim Sang-ho stubbed out his cigarette.

His heart was too dry to indulge in sentimentality. It had been too long since he had let himself be carried away by his emotions, and it felt awkward.

Bzzzzzz.

Bzzzzzz.

Kim Sang-ho put his wrinkled hand into his pocket and took out his phone.

“Yes, Chairman.”

Kim Sang-ho’s face stiffened slightly.

“We can’t reach him. We’re doing everything we can to find him, but once he goes into hiding, he doesn’t contact us for days…”

Kim Sang-ho reflexively bowed.

It was just a phone call. He wasn’t stupid enough not to know that they couldn’t see him.

But the habit he had developed over his long career at the company was melting his back into a soft curve before he even realized it.

“Yes… Yes? Ah, I’ll make sure that issue is resolved without any problems…”

Kim Sang-ho squeezed his eyes shut.

Curses and shouts from the other end of the line pierced his ears. The fact that he couldn’t take the phone away from his ear was Kim Sang-ho’s sorrow.

“…I’m sorry, Chairman. I’ll make sure that the president doesn’t suffer any damage.”

The call ended before he could even finish his sentence.

Kim Sang-ho stared at the disconnected phone for a moment, then looked up at the sky again.

“Even if he’s a bastard, he’s still a bastard within my fence…”

It was always like that.

Even when Jeong Myeong-cheol caused terrible accidents, the chairman never abandoned him.

He would curse, get angry, and even hit him with his cane, but he would never push him outside their fence.

On the other hand, he, who had devoted his life to the company for decades, was constantly given carrots and praise, but he was never allowed to step inside the fence.

Their own castle.

Their own space.

Kim Sang-ho knew.

That if he made even the slightest mistake, they would throw him away without a second thought.

Because he had no value.

The only people who had value to them were those who lived inside that fence. Those outside the fence were just tools. Yes, just tools.

Who would recognize the contribution of a vacuum cleaner that had cleaned the house for ten years until its parts were worn out?

Who would say thank you to the shoes that had protected their owner’s feet until the soles were torn and full of holes?

That’s what tools are.

His devotion was just the utility of a tool. Once it was worn out, it would be thrown away.

Kim Sang-ho laughed hollowly.

‘I knew this from the beginning… I don’t know why this fact is piercing me so sharply today.’

Kim Sang-ho sighed deeply and turned around.

‘Well, what else can I do?’

This was all he had left.

It was ridiculous.

His devotion to this company had taken everything from him. All he had left was an old body, a success that was no longer the object of envy, and money that he had no use for.

In other words, if he didn’t have his life at this company, he would become someone who was needed nowhere.

‘Did I get the first button wrong?’

Then what was he supposed to do?

There was no way to unbutton the buttons that were already fastened. Then he had no choice but to wear the shirt with the buttons fastened ridiculously.

He couldn’t take off his clothes.

Kim Sang-ho went down from the rooftop with a determined look on his face.

As he entered the conference room, the directors looked at him with anxious faces.

“Executive Director, the president…”

“The president won’t be coming in for a while.”

“At a time like this…”

“It’s not like he’d be any help if he was here, so what does it matter!”

Kim Sang-ho shut his mouth.

He had gotten carried away and said something he shouldn’t have.

Kim Sang-ho sighed and quickly continued.

“Anyway, we’ll be holding the meeting without the president for a while, so let’s deal with the urgent matters first. How is the police investigation going?”

“Yes. Well…”

Kim Sang-ho’s face hardened as he received the report.

‘Let’s deal with the immediate issues first.’

That was Kim Sang-ho’s way of life.

Jeong Myeong-cheol twisted his body.

Then he let out a dying groan.

There wasn’t a single part of his body that wasn’t hurting.

Every joint was screaming, and his muscles had no strength left. He had screamed so much that his throat was cracked, and every time he swallowed, it created terrible pain.

‘I’m really going to die like this.’

There were only crazy bastards here.

He didn’t know where he was. But he understood what kind of people were surrounding and tormenting him.

Those guys were out of their minds.

Jeong Myeong-cheol had heard that kind of thing quite a bit in his life, but compared to them, he had lived a model life.

He tried to get up, but his body wouldn’t move.

‘How long do I have to keep doing this?’

One hour felt like a day, and one day felt like a year.

Those guys knew too well how to drive a person crazy. They skillfully pushed him to the limits of his physical and mental endurance, tormenting him right up to the point where he was about to lose it.

He wished he could just lose his mind so that the pain would subside a little, but they never let him get that far. If the goal was to torment someone, there was no better way to do it.

His arm trembled as he pushed against the floor.

Jeong Myeong-cheol was lying alone in a room that was originally meant to house about twenty people.

‘I have to escape.’

Jeong Myeong-cheol’s eyes trembled.

If he stayed like this, he would really die. Not from being beaten to death, but from exhaustion.

Jeong Myeong-cheol trembled and got up from his spot.

‘There’s no guard.’

Fortunately, those guys must have thought he was completely exhausted and had fallen asleep, so they hadn’t posted a guard.

That door.

If only that door wasn’t locked…

Jeong Myeong-cheol forced his trembling legs to move and staggered towards the door. He didn’t want to make any noise, but he couldn’t eliminate even the faint sound of his footsteps.

“Hoo…”

Jeong Myeong-cheol took a short breath and gripped the doorknob tightly.

Jeong Myeong-cheol turned the doorknob and slowly pulled the door.

Fortunately, it wasn’t locked from the outside, and the door slowly opened with a small noise.

‘If I can just find a house…’

If he could just contact the police or anyone, he would throw these crazy bastards in jail…

Jeong Myeong-cheol slowly turned his head.

Three men were sitting in front of the door, smoking cigarettes and chatting. He could see playing cards spread out on a blanket in front of them.

Don’t these bastards ever sleep?

“Why did you come out?”

“Ah…”

Jeong Myeong-cheol desperately tried to find an excuse.

“I, I need to use the bathroom…”

“The bathroom?”

“Yes. My stomach suddenly hurts.”

“Oh. That can happen.”

The man closest to him nodded, then picked up something next to him and handed it to Jeong Myeong-cheol.

“Here.”

“…What is this?”

“Don’t you know what a chamber pot is? This guy, I heard he’s a silver spoon, but he doesn’t even know what a chamber pot is.”

“Go inside and do your business. Keep it safe and throw it away tomorrow morning. If you spill it, your face will be spilled too.”

“Go in.”

“…Yes.”

Jeong Myeong-cheol took the chamber pot and went back into the room. Jeong Myeong-cheol closed the door and stared at the silver, shiny metal container in his hand for a long time before collapsing on the spot.

‘Bastards.’

They’re not even human, really.