Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 156

“A sham?”

Director Baek Young-gi looked at him, dumbfounded, and Jo Gyu-min began to stammer an explanation.

“W-well, of course, I had those qualifications when I joined the company. But it’s been several years since I joined. I’ve forgotten it all now.”

“So…”

Baek Young-gi tapped his forehead and continued.

“It’s true that you had those qualifications, but you haven’t used them during your long time in the secretary’s office, so you don’t even remember how to do it anymore… Is that what you’re saying?”

“Exactly.”

“Then, there’s no problem, is there?”

“Huh?”

Baek Young-gi smiled slyly and said,

“There’s no reason why you can’t do something you’ve done before. You just need to regain your original skills by the day before departure.”

“…When is the departure date?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“Get it done perfectly within three days! Perfectly!”

“…Yes?”

Unaware that he had pushed Jo Gyu-min into hell, Kang Jin-ho was deep in thought.

‘There could definitely be a problem.’ Not being able to communicate was quite a handicap. Especially with what he was planning to do, the situation could become serious if he couldn’t understand the language.

Although there would be a translator, what he needed wasn’t something a translator could handle with everyday language.

Kang Jin-ho, having encountered an unexpected obstacle, was lost in thought.

“Oh, my.”

Just then, the door opened, and Kang Eun-young, with a puffy face, came in.

“You’re late.”

Kang Eun-young replied with a wronged expression.

“I wasn’t out playing.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed.

“Were you working?”

“That’s right.”

“It seems like your schedule is too busy.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, Kang Eun-young’s face slightly stiffened.

She now knew that whenever Kang Jin-ho said something like this, something always happened.

“N-no, Oppa! I’m not busy!” [Oppa is a Korean term used by a female to refer to an older brother or a close older male friend.]

“What time is it now?”

Kang Eun-young waved her hand.

“No. It’s not that I’m late because of work. If you think about it, it could be because of work, but it’s not because my schedule was too busy that I’m late.”

“Then?”

As Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed, Kang Eun-young quickly replied with a ‘Oh, hot’ face.

“I went to a cram school.”

“Cram school?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head. What kind of cram school was she talking about?

His sister was a certified math-avoider. Not just a math-avoider, but a college entrance exam-avoider.

Even if she went to a cram school now, she wouldn’t get any good results, would she?

Kang Jin-ho spoke with a determined look.

“If you’re serious about taking the college entrance exam, I’ll help you.”

“Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“Even if you are omnipotent, it is impossible to inject knowledge into this sister’s head and send her to university, I dare say.”

“…I completely agree.”

Everyone has their own purpose. Making Kang Eun-young study is nothing more than a waste of time.

“It’s not that there’s no hope if I take the college entrance exam, but I’m going down a path that’s more efficient than studying for the exam.”

“I didn’t ask? That sounds like you’re saying my brain is very bad?”

Kang Jin-ho exercised his right to remain silent.

“…Oppa, I heard that you were worse at studying than me before high school? But you did well in high school! It’s just that I haven’t studied, but maybe I could do well if I tried.”

Then you should learn martial arts.

Kang Jin-ho moved away from the pointless conversation and got to the point.

“So, what kind of cram school is it? You said it’s not for studying?”

“Foreign language.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho asked back as if he didn’t understand, and Kang Eun-young sighed deeply before opening her mouth.

“I’m going to debut in China and Japan this time. These days, if singers have some success in Korea, they immediately go overseas.”

“Is that so?”

“The market difference is huge. So, I’m preparing to go overseas, and I need to be able to say at least one word when I get there. I can’t just keep saying ‘I love you’ or ‘Wo ai ni,’ can I?” [Wo ai ni is Mandarin Chinese for ‘I love you’.]

“That’s right.”

“So, I’m learning intensively. There’s a famous instructor in this field. A lot of people who are going overseas learn from him. It’s very expensive, but it gives the impression that you’ve put in the effort if you learn the language before going. The agency usually pays for it.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes flashed.

“Is the instructor good?”

“Honestly, I can’t tell if he’s good at teaching or not. I’ve only learned from him. But the people who are learning with me say that he’s the best for short-term intensive courses in Korea.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled subtly.

“Eun-young.”

“Yes, Oppa?”

“So, where is that cram school?”

“Huh?”

Kang Eun-young asked back with a blank face.

Kang Jin-ho smiled as he looked at the cram school in front of him.

‘If there’s a problem, I’ll just learn it myself.’

If it wasn’t a problem that could be solved with a translator, he could just learn it intensively.

It wouldn’t be a problem that could be solved like this for other people, but for Kang Jin-ho, it wasn’t about learning a completely new language, but just grasping the changes in the language.

For example, it would be like someone who used Hunminjeongeum [The original Korean alphabet created in the 15th century] in the Joseon Dynasty [The last dynastic kingdom of Korea] learning modern Korean again, so it would be much more efficient than learning a completely new language.

If Kang Jin-ho’s concentration was added to that, he might be able to reach a level where he could communicate to some extent before departure.

He had heard that the price was a bit expensive, but Kang Jin-ho had no financial burden at all.

Money that made a ‘gasp!’ sound was still being deposited into the bank account that Hwang Jung-hoo had given him. With Kang Jin-ho’s spending habits, he wouldn’t be able to spend all that money even if he spent it for the rest of his life.

So, he could afford this kind of luxury.

Even if it wasn’t just the money that Hwang Jung-hoo had given him, the cafe that his father had opened was slowly gaining word-of-mouth and was doing very well. He had even received offers from large corporations to franchise it, so it seemed to be doing better than expected.

And the money that Kang Eun-young was earning was not negligible either. Although her mother was managing her bank account because she was still a student, her mother had even said that she was scared of what to do with this money, so it seemed that celebrities earned more money than expected.

Kang Jin-ho slowly entered the building.

He wasn’t the type of scholar who could say that learning was always enjoyable, but he wasn’t the type to avoid what he had to learn.

The moment Kang Jin-ho grabbed the doorknob to go inside, there was a man who reached out his hand to the same doorknob.

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

It wasn’t strange to grab the doorknob at the same time. It wasn’t common, but it happened often.

But if the person who grabbed the doorknob at the same time was someone he knew, it was different.

And if that person he knew wasn’t just someone he knew, but someone he saw quite often, it was a different story.

“…Kang Jin-ho?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, looking at Jo Gyu-min, who was staring at him with a bewildered face.

“Why are you here?”

“That’s…”

Jo Gyu-min couldn’t speak for a while and just sighed deeply.

“…That’s why.”

“I see.”

While waiting for a consultation in the waiting room, Kang Jin-ho was able to hear all of Jo Gyu-min’s situation.

“Mr. Kang Jin-ho, society is a place where you have to do what you’re told. The workplace is even more so. You’ve already experienced it in the military, but the military is like a tutorial compared to the workplace.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

You can get discharged from the military if you just wait out the time, but in the workplace, you get fired if you just wait out the time.

“So, I’m doing what I’m told, but this is really ridiculous. Really.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He had known Jo Gyu-min for quite some time, but this was the first time he had seen Jo Gyu-min looking so miserable.

Considering that he was someone who would somehow solve any task he was given, he could tell how much pressure he was feeling this time.

“You don’t have to worry too much.”

“Huh?”

“I’m capable enough, and this time, a translator isn’t that useful. You’ve worked hard, so just think of it as a sightseeing trip to China and relax.”

“Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

Jo Gyu-min’s eyes welled up with tears.

When did that kid who asked him to teach him math grow up so much that he was comforting him?

He felt a sense of deep emotion.

‘He’s really changed a lot in terms of personality.’ He didn’t feel like a student before, but he had a strong individualistic side. If it were the Kang Jin-ho of the past, he wouldn’t have comforted Jo Gyu-min like this.

“Yes. If you do that for me, I will be loyal to you.”

“…You don’t have to be loyal.”

“Then, is it okay if I don’t learn and just go?”

“Do as you please.”

Jo Gyu-min got up from his seat, beaming.

The moment Jo Gyu-min finished his greeting and was about to go home, the door to the director’s office opened, and a person walked out.

‘Huh?’

Jo Gyu-min’s eyes shook.

“Hello. I’m Yoo Mi-so, the director of this academy.”

Jo Gyu-min’s mouth slowly opened.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes lit up.

‘Was it a woman?’

He had naturally assumed that the director and expert in this field would be a man, but he hadn’t expected it to be a woman. Kang Eun-young hadn’t mentioned that part either, so it wasn’t strange that he didn’t know.

It was unexpected that she was a woman, but it was also surprising that she was quite pretty and young.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

A cat just needs to catch mice well. Whether it’s a white cat or a black cat, it’s not something to worry about. So, the instructor just needs to be good at teaching.

“Both of you want intensive courses? What should we do? There’s only time for one person to be taught right now.”

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth.

“This person won’t be taking the course. Just teach me.”

The answer came from Jo Gyu-min’s mouth before he could even finish speaking.

“Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes?”

“After thinking about it, it’s my responsibility, and it’s not right to put this burden on you. I’ve never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else.”

“…Yes?”

“Besides, if I avoid my duties like this, it will tarnish the reputation of Jae-kyung. Please rest assured and go home. I will appear as a native speaker before departure.”

“Then, goodbye!”

Jo Gyu-min waved his hand and then walked towards the director with a determined stride and manfully extended his hand.

“I’m Jo Gyu-min. It’s nice to meet you.”

Kang Jin-ho, who was watching the scene, let out a low sigh. Kang Jin-ho wasn’t so oblivious that he couldn’t guess why someone who had no interest suddenly acted like that.

Just by seeing his usually sharp expression become dull and smiling like a fool, he could immediately see what was going on.

It was the moment when spring came to the old bachelor, Jo Gyu-min.