Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1555

“Oh, no!”

“Chairman?”

The board members all rose from their seats at the sight of the person who had entered.

‘No, is he really here?’

‘Someone who never shows his face at gatherings like this.’

‘This is a disaster.’

The chairmen’s faces paled slightly. The person who had opened the door and entered was none other than Hwang Jeong-hu, the chairman of Jaekyung Group.

A lion of the business world.

And one of the two people known as the ‘King Chairman’ among the chairmen.

“Sit down. What’s with all the fuss, like some big shot has arrived?”

“Chairman, have you been well?”

“It’s been a long time. I’m sorry, Chairman. I should have come to see you sooner, but I haven’t been able to because I was busy!”

“If you had just told us you were coming, we would have come out to greet you.”

The chairmen kept bowing their heads.

Although they were of the same older generation, there was a clear difference in how they treated him compared to Jeong Hong-geun.

If Jeong Hong-geun was an elder and a senior who had grown his company while competing with their fathers, Hwang Jeong-hu was like a mentor to them.

There was no one in the business world who had not been influenced by Hwang Jeong-hu. Even those who now ran companies larger than Hwang Jeong-hu’s Jaekyung Group could not dare to raise their heads in front of him.

They knew best.

How difficult it was to grow a company without resorting to illegal methods, using only fair practices. And Hwang Jeong-hu was a mythical figure who had achieved that difficult feat with his own hands.

Just because they had bigger companies now didn’t mean they could claim to be better managers than Hwang Jeong-hu.

“Is it okay if I sit here?”

Hwang Jeong-hu sat down on another seat of honor across from Jeong Hong-geun.

Then, he raised his head and looked at Jeong Hong-geun.

Jeong Hong-geun, who had been staring at Hwang Jeong-hu with a slightly displeased look, mumbled before speaking in an annoyed voice.

“What are you doing here, you who never show your face?”

“You’re a funny one. Why did you send an invitation if you were going to act like this? What a waste of paper. I came because you asked me to, and now you’re asking why I came. If you have dementia, go home and watch your grandchildren. Don’t bother with management and tire everyone out.”

Jeong Hong-geun’s face flushed red.

‘That damn bastard!’

Arch-rivals.

There was no other way to describe the two of them. The two, who were of similar age and had overlapping businesses, had lived their entire lives bickering like this.

And Jeong Hong-geun had always been behind Hwang Jeong-hu.

Now, they were on a somewhat similar level, but Jeong Hong-geun knew best that this would have been an impossible dream if Jaekyung hadn’t faltered while Hwang Jeong-hu was away due to health issues.

“So what? Who are you trying to step on?”

“Did you hear about it?”

“Hear what? It’s obvious what you’re up to!”

“……Tsk!”

Jeong Hong-geun gritted his teeth.

“And the same goes for you all. You, the heads of the most prominent companies in Korea, are here wagging your tails, saying you’ll do whatever that senile old man tells you to!”

The chairmen’s faces flushed slightly.

No one dared to speak to them like this. Not even the president could openly rebuke them in this way.

Only one person in the world could do this.

Hwang Jeong-hu.

“Hey, old man, all you have left is your temper! If you’re going to interfere, go back!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, that guy is still like that even in his old age.”

Hwang Jeong-hu chuckled.

“So, where? What are you going to do?”

When Jeong Hong-geun didn’t say anything, Jang Myung-gu, after glancing around, answered instead.

“Well… it seems that someone from a place called MK assaulted Chairman Jeong’s grandson.”

“Oh, really? So?”

“So… it seems the police aren’t investigating, which means that MK must have paid off the government. So, we were talking about putting some sanctions on MK, something like that…”

“Sanctions? What are you going to do?”

“We’re thinking of stopping the supply of food ingredients.”

“And pressuring the small and medium-sized businesses to do the same?”

“…Yes.”

Hwang Jeong-hu laughed.

“That old geezer actually used his brain for once. That’s right, that’s right. If the ingredients aren’t delivered, the franchise owners will be in an uproar. The company can hold out, but the owners can’t.”

The chairmen’s faces relaxed as Hwang Jeong-hu’s reaction was unexpectedly positive.

“This doesn’t really concern us, does it? We don’t have much to do with distribution.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The chairmen glanced at Hwang Jeong-hu.

“Why? Are you worried I’ll stop you?”

“…Chairman.”

“Don’t worry about me. It’s okay. Do what you want.”

Hwang Jeong-hu laughed heartily.

Jeong Hong-geun also seemed to feel a bit better, his expression softening.

“Has that guy lost his mind? Why is he laughing like that?”

Regardless, Hwang Jeong-hu tapped the table and laughed.

“I’m laughing because I’m happy, you rascal.”

“What’s so good?”

“Well, you’re giving me such a good business partner, how can I not be happy?”

“…What?”

“I heard that cafe has dozens of locations nationwide and will soon expand to 100. Just having the exclusive rights to supply them is like starting a distribution company. Great, great. You all back out. I’ll do it myself.”

“You bastard!”

Jeong Hong-geun jumped up from his seat.

The other chairmen also looked at Hwang Jeong-hu with embarrassed expressions.

“Chairman…”

“Listen carefully, you fools!”

Hwang Jeong-hu changed his expression and straightened his back.

“You’re still doing these kinds of tricks, not even knowing how shameful it is? Is it any wonder the world is in an uproar about large corporations abusing their power when you act like this! You try to step on anyone who tries to rise up!”

“No, that’s not it… Chairman Jeong’s grandson…”

“What’s so great about that human trash getting beaten up a bit?”

Hwang Jeong-hu scoffed.

“He’s only alive because of the world we live in today. If it were the old days, I would have smashed his head with a crowbar. How dare that inhuman thing act like a person!”

Jeong Hong-geun’s face turned bright red.

“If you’re here to interfere, get out now!”

“Get out? You’re the one who should get out. Aren’t you ashamed? You’ve been selling out the country since your father’s generation, licking the boots of the Japanese, and you’re still doing the same thing at this age!”

“Hwang Jeong-hu!”

Jeong Hong-geun slammed the table.

“Why? Did I say anything wrong? If a pro-Japanese bastard survives without getting his head chopped off, he should live with some sense of shame. How dare you bring in Japanese money, start a company, and walk around with your head held high! And you!”

Hwang Jeong-hu’s piercing gaze swept over the surrounding chairmen.

“You’ve made so much money, and you’re still sticking to that kind of guy, hoping to get something out of him? Are you really the business leaders representing Korea? You’re all a bunch of damn fools! A person should have some decency! If you don’t know shame, you’re just beasts!”

The chairmen all lowered their heads.

Putting aside their shame, they didn’t want to make eye contact with Hwang Jeong-hu.

‘This is so uncomfortable.’

‘Why did he suddenly come here?’

It felt like being scolded by their fathers.

Since the justification was on the other side, there was no room for excuses.

“Go ahead and do what you want. But! I’ll immediately take over the positions you vacate, so don’t complain later. Got it?”

Hwang Jeong-hu stood up abruptly.

The chairmen were startled and looked at Hwang Jeong-hu.

“A-are you leaving?”

“If I’ve said everything I needed to say, then I’m leaving. Why else would I be here? Just looking at that Japanese bastard makes my stomach churn!”

“Y-you damn bastard!”

“Say whatever you want. Say whatever you want. You’re a moron! Aren’t you a moron? You couldn’t even speak Korean well back then, and now you don’t even use Japanese curses. Oh my, that guy would have ruined the country back in the day. A treacherous bastard.”

Hwang Jeong-hu, who had unleashed a torrent of insults that he couldn’t say in front of people, turned his body sharply.

“Sayonara. Oh, right. Sayonara!” [Japanese for goodbye]

Hwang Jeong-hu waved his cane and opened the door, walking out.

A strange silence fell over those who remained.

“Well…”

Jang Myung-gu gave an awkward smile and turned to Jeong Hong-geun.

“The atmosphere doesn’t seem right, so let’s discuss this matter again later.”

“Y-yes, yes. It’s pointless to talk about it now… It’s better to discuss it after things have settled down. We also need to find out what kind of place that MK is.”

“Then, we’ll see you next time, Chairman.”

The chairmen each gave a short greeting and began to leave the conference room.

As soon as they opened the door and went out, they frantically pressed the buttons for the elevators going down.

“Quick, quick!”

“Has the chairman already gone down?”

“Call the guys downstairs and tell them to hold the chairman! We need to say goodbye!”

“That old man is so fast for his age!”

The board members hurriedly got into the opened elevator.

They couldn’t say anything in front of Jeong Hong-geun, but they had to follow Hwang Jeong-hu now and tell him that they wouldn’t participate. That way, they wouldn’t be embarrassed when they saw Hwang Jeong-hu next time.

Shame?

It wasn’t about that.

If Hwang Jeong-hu and Jeong Hong-geun were to clash head-on like this, it was advantageous to side with Hwang Jeong-hu unconditionally. Since they were competing with each other anyway, it was better to be associated with the side that had a better image.

As the chairmen, who had quickly finished their calculations, all left the conference room, Jeong Hong-geun, who was left alone, trembled.

“That, that… that crazy old man!”

Kwaaaang!

He slammed the table with all his might.

The water bottles on the table fell to the left and right.

“Aaaaaaaah! You bastard!”

Jeong Hong-geun, who had screamed at the top of his lungs, wildly struck the chairs and desk with his cane. Still not satisfied, he hit the large TV behind him with his cane.

Crack!

Jeong Hong-geun, staring at the cracked TV screen, gritted his teeth.

“What the hell got into that damn old man!”

Hwang Jeong-hu was someone who never got involved in such matters. But Hwang Jeong-hu had suddenly appeared at this meeting and defended MK.

While openly criticizing his most painful point!

Jeong Hong-geun went to the window and looked down.

He could see Hwang Jeong-hu standing on the street as if it were natural, and the chairmen who had followed him. Seeing the chairmen constantly bowing their heads to Hwang Jeong-hu made his stomach churn and his insides twist.

“You… you damn bastards!”

What was the difference?

What was so different about him and Hwang Jeong-hu that those money-obsessed bastards all chose Hwang Jeong-hu!

Blood trickled down from Jeong Hong-geun’s tightly clenched lips.

“Okay… so you’re going to protect MK, is that it?”

Jeong Hong-geun’s eyes were bloodshot.

“I won’t leave MK or Jaekyung alone! You damn bastards! I’ll show you what it means to mess with Taekwang!”

Jeong Hong-geun’s angry shouts echoed out of the conference room several times.

The secretaries, who had been watching the situation and had rushed to the door, couldn’t dare to open it and could only hold their breath outside for a long time.