Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1553

“Jeong Myung-cheol?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

It was odd that the name came up again.

“Don’t tell me that Jeong Myung-cheol caused another accident?”

A normal person wouldn’t be able to do that.

If that were the case, Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t be angry. Rather, he might applaud Jeong Myung-cheol’s extraordinary will.

“Jeong Myung-cheol is quiet. He’s a human being, so he can’t be back to his old self after getting beaten like that. It seems he has severe mental trauma and can’t even manage his daily life properly.”

“I told you to go easy on him.”

“I did go easy, I did. It’s just that our standards for ‘easy’ were different.”

“Anyway.”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“He doesn’t seem to have any problems, but the Chairman seems furious.”

“Isn’t he a black sheep?”

“…Well, it’s more accurate to say he’s a black sheep grandson. But even a black sheep grandson is still a grandson, it seems. That Chairman is going crazy right now.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

“Tell me more precisely.”

“He’s making a fuss about catching the culprit. He’s poking around everywhere.”

“Ugh.”

“He’s poking everyone, including the police, the prosecution, and even the political circles, trying to find out our name.”

“So?”

“I think he might have found out the name MK by now.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

It wasn’t a situation where a big problem had occurred, but it was becoming a bit of a nuisance.

“So, what will they do now?”

“There’s nothing they can do.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“We have no interaction with them. In other words, we’re not involved in any business with them.”

“That’s true.”

“At most, there might be some connection with the food supplies delivered to the cafe. But that can be replaced at any time, so it’s not really a loss.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Good. It means we’re self-sufficient.”

“We don’t have any losses because we don’t do much compared to our size, Chairman.”

That was a bit of a painful thing to say.

Kang Jin-ho made a sullen face, and Lee Hyun-soo still chuckled and said.

“If those guys are thinking of doing something to us, they’ll be looking for ways to pressure us from all directions right now. And then they’ll be embarrassed.”

“Because there’s no way to pressure us?”

“No. Because there’s nothing to pressure.”

A vein popped out slightly on Kang Jin-ho’s forehead.

“Hey, you’re being too harsh.”

“Reality is reality. You have to accept it.”

That’s true, but…

Was it Kang Jin-ho’s imagination that he felt some animosity?

“Actually, pressure only works on those who are trying to do something. We’re not doing anything right now.”

“…Listening to you, it sounds like we’re just unemployed people at home.”

“It’s similar, it’s similar. We’re using that manpower and talent pool for such a small task.”

You said that talent pool was rotten.

Look at that bastard, he changes his words as soon as he’s not in charge.

“Anyway, it’s beneficial for us.”

“Huh?”

“There’s nothing those guys can do. The more they dig, the more absurd it will be.”

“…Are you really sure it’s okay?”

“Of course.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled brightly.

“Just thinking about what those guys are doing makes me laugh.”

* * *

“There’s no way?”

“…Yes, Chairman.”

Jeong Hong-geun’s face turned red.

“No, what kind of nonsense is that? How can there be no way to pressure them?”

“W-well, that’s…”

“Those guys run a cafe, right! What about that cafe?”

“T-the sales are very good. If you look at the current sales, they’re about to become number one in the industry.”

“Don’t we supply anything to them?”

“Just some simple ingredients… If we cut off the supply, they can replace it immediately. Then only our sales will drop.”

“They opened so many stores! And if they’re in real estate, they must have loans from banks, right? Summon the bank presidents and pressure them to recover those loans! Do I have to tell you even that?”

“…Chairman.”

“What, again!”

“I-I checked…” Park Sang-woo’s uneasy voice made Jeong Hong-geun shut his mouth.

“T-that… MK doesn’t have any debt.”

“…What does that mean?”

“It means exactly that. They have no debt. They don’t have any loans from banks or anything, the company itself has no debt.”

Jeong Hong-geun widened his eyes without realizing it.

“No debt?”

“Yes.”

“You mean they have no loans?”

“That’s right.”

“This is ridiculous…”

Jeong Hong-geun was speechless with bewilderment.

A company with no debt.

That might sound like the company is very sound. But if you look into the details, it means the company is being run without any thought.

Anyone who has done business would know.

Loans aren’t just about borrowing money. You can reduce taxes through loan repayments, and you can attract a lump sum of money for a sure opportunity to make even bigger profits.

Reducing debt isn’t the only answer. For good management, it’s the answer to carry some debt.

But not just a little debt, they have no debt at all?

“Didn’t you say they were in real estate?”

“That’s right.”

“Then how can they have no debt? What did they use to buy the buildings?”

“They haven’t bought any buildings recently, but they did build a new headquarters, and they paid for it all in cash.”

“…They built a headquarters in Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul] and paid for it in cash?”

“That’s right.”

Jeong Hong-geun was speechless with bewilderment.

“What about taxes? Did you contact the head of the National Tax Service?”

“It’s been a long time since they were fully paid. They even have a dedicated department, and they said there’s nothing to touch, so don’t waste your energy.”

Park Sang-woo was about to add another word but closed his mouth.

“If you try to dig in there carelessly, we might have to do something difficult for your company. It’s a sensitive area. Go easy on it.”

That meant if they tried to mess with MK, they would immediately start a tax investigation.

There was no point in telling this to Jeong Hong-geun, it would only make him angrier.

“So, there’s no way?”

“…There’s a limit to picking a fight with a place that’s just staying still. In fact, it’s impossible to do business in Korea without being involved with us, but they’re the kind of guys who make the impossible happen…”

Even Park Sang-woo hadn’t expected this.

He was planning to present the least sensitive card they had, but even after running around like that, he couldn’t secure any cards at all.

He had never seen such an absurd company in his life.

“Then you should touch something illegal. Something must be going on in those buildings! Investigate all the illegal constructions or anything related to entertainment!”

“There’s nothing, Chairman.”

“What… What?”

“There really isn’t anything. The buildings are all clean. There are no illegal constructions, and all the illegally expanded parts were either rebuilt or demolished earlier this year. They even manage the businesses of the people who move into the buildings, so it’s all clean without anything to touch.”

Jeong Hong-geun stared blankly at Park Sang-woo and opened his mouth.

“So, what you’re saying is…”

“Yes.”

“Those guys didn’t commit any illegal acts, didn’t use any loopholes, paid their taxes on time, didn’t take out any loans, and climbed up from the bottom to become a mid-sized company?”

“…That’s basically it.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

At this moment, Park Sang-woo agreed with Jeong Hong-geun one hundred percent.

Korea is a place where you can’t survive without using loopholes if you want to run a business. But in such a place, they didn’t commit any wrongdoings and became a mid-sized company, a company that’s even close to a large corporation?

“So…”

“S-so… um…”

Jeong Hong-geun also stuttered, as he hadn’t expected this situation.

“Does that mean there’s nothing we can do?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…What about opening another franchise near their cafe?”

“It’s impossible.”

Park Sang-woo shook his head.

“Their franchise is doing too well. If we carelessly go in next to them, we’ll be the ones who die.”

Jeong Hong-geun, with his face flushed, took out a cigarette.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Chairman…”

“Stop. I know what you’re going to say, so stop there!”

Park Sang-woo closed his mouth.

Jeong Hong-geun, who seemed to be contemplating for a moment, lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

‘So that’s how it is.’

Jeong Hong-geun frowned.

According to Park Sang-woo, there was no way to dig into them.

At least, Taekwang alone couldn’t put pressure on MK.

“There’s no way to touch the real estate business, right?”

“If there were some illegal constructions or evidence of tax evasion, we could do something, but as it is now, it’s impossible.”

“Okay. Then the only thing we can touch is the cafe…”

Jeong Hong-geun flipped through the MK documents in his hand.

“Can’t we touch that Chairman? That guy Kang Jin-ho?”

“His image is too good.”

“Why does a guy like that have a good image?”

“That person is the one who was arrested during the last Prime Minister incident.”

“…What did you say?”

“Kang Jin-ho is the one who was almost assassinated in China during the Kim Myung-chan Prime Minister incident.”

Jeong Hong-geun’s eyes narrowed.

“…The regime has a weakness.”

“I don’t know exactly about that, but anyway, his image has been too good recently. The cafe’s sales have also skyrocketed since this Chairman became the advertising model.”

“He looks bland.”

Jeong Hong-geun nodded.

“Okay. That image, a successful image, that is.”

“Chairman?”

“If that cafe goes bankrupt, that image will be ruined too. If you rise with an image, it’s easy to lose it when the image is damaged.”

“It’s not something we can do.”

“We don’t need to do it.”

“…Yes?”

Jeong Hong-geun got up from his seat.

“Contact all the member companies and tell them I want to see them.”

“A-all of them?”

“No, no. There’s no need to gather all of them. Contact the major companies with voting rights. Tell them there’s something to do, that I’ve called a meeting.”

“Could it be?”

“Why are you so surprised? Crushing a rising company is something that happens all the time. It’s just one more addition.”

Park Sang-woo nodded, sweating profusely.

This was definitely possible.

Taekwang alone couldn’t bankrupt that cafe, but if all the member companies, that is, the top ten Korean groups, gathered, it would be nothing to crush MK.

That pressure wouldn’t be something MK could withstand, but even Taekwang.

“That’s how you use power. Don’t worry. One week, just one week is enough. In a week, that guy Kang Jin-ho will be here, crying with his head buried in the ground.”

“What should I do?”

“Yes! I’ll move immediately.”

As Park Sang-woo rushed out, Jeong Hong-geun gave a twisted smile.

“Dare to oppose me in Korea?”

He will know how scary money and power are.

Soon.