Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1560

Jeong Hong-geun stared blankly out the window.

“I hope we can meet again, Chairman.”

Koh Han-bong’s words seemed to still echo in Jeong Hong-geun’s ears.

“Then…”

Jeong Hong-geun gripped the glass he was holding tightly.

“Are you saying I’m going to disappear?”

It was a ridiculous thing to say.

In this day and age, how could such a thing even be possible? Moreover, who was he? None other than Jeong Hong-geun.

If something were to happen to him, the entire media would be in an uproar.

However…

‘There’s no way the Prime Minister wouldn’t know that.’

Unless the Prime Minister was an idiot, which was unlikely.

The position of Prime Minister of South Korea was not one that an idiot could attain. The reason politicians appeared foolish was because they strategically moved, accepting the losses that came with their public image.

It didn’t mean they lacked basic intelligence.

Therefore, there was no way Koh Han-bong wouldn’t know what Jeong Hong-geun knew. Yet, Koh Han-bong had left him with a warning to be careful.

How was he supposed to interpret this?

‘Even mentioning the President…’

They had said that Jeong Hong-geun still had a role to play. If that was true, then they had truly come to warn him.

‘Then does that mean even they can’t stop it?’

Was that even possible?

Could there be someone in South Korea who even the President and Prime Minister couldn’t stop?

It didn’t make sense.

It really didn’t make sense.

But if he assumed that the impossible was true, then all the inexplicable events that had occurred so far suddenly made sense.

“Ha…”

Jeong Hong-geun shook his head.

His mind, already devoid of energy, struggled to comprehend the situation.

‘That bastard?’

It was obvious who ‘that’ they were referring to was.

Kang Jin-ho.

The chairman of MK.

And probably the one who had done that to Jeong Myung-chul.

Did he have that much power? Enough to be beyond the control of those who controlled South Korea?

‘No, it’s not that they can’t control him.’

There was a clear, subtle fear in Koh Han-bong’s eyes.

The Prime Minister of South Korea was afraid of someone?

Jeong Hong-geun shuddered.

‘No, no.’

It was an unbelievable story.

But it was a story he had to believe. Because he knew the evidence himself.

Kim Myung-chan.

The man who was called the President’s confidant, who had been instantly disgraced and thrown to the bottom of the pit.

Because he had committed a crime?

“What a joke!”

A crime had to be proven to be a crime.

Murder? Even if it was a crime worse than murder, if the regime was determined to cover it up, it would be impossible to reveal the truth.

But Kim Myung-chan had ultimately lost everything and been disgraced.

Because the President hadn’t protected him?

‘That can’t be it.’

He had once thought so. But now everything was clear. The President and the regime had tried to protect Kim Myung-chan. Or perhaps, Kim Myung-chan was the regime itself.

But Kang Jin-ho had fought against that regime, achieved a complete victory, and thrown Kim Myung-chan into a cold prison.

The conclusion was clear.

Kang Jin-ho was powerful.

And he was powerful beyond Jeong Hong-geun’s imagination.

That was the realm of results. Whether Jeong Hong-geun could understand it or not was irrelevant.

When Japan invaded Korea over a hundred years ago, how many Koreans understood their strength? Could Koreans have understood what the existence of ships firing cannons meant?

But even then, there were those who felt that vague power in their bones and moved to survive.

Jeong Hong-geun’s eyes turned cold.

“Don’t try to understand.”

That wasn’t the important thing.

* * *

“Sales have completely normalized.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his eyes as he received Hwang Min-soo’s report. Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s expression, Hwang Min-soo continued, his face slightly tense.

“The word ‘normalized’ might be a bit misleading. Sales are about twice what they were before this incident. We haven’t reached the top in total sales due to a lack of stores, but our sales per store are almost at the top.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed a little more.

Hwang Min-soo swallowed hard.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

For now, he should finish the report…

“However, we see this increase in sales as temporary. If you think about it, our stores lack differentiation compared to other businesses. It’s just that the advertising and the series of events have created viral marketing. The increased sales are expected to gradually decline over three to four months. Ultimately, we are aiming to stabilize at about 30% above our original sales.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face twisted slightly more.

At this point, Hwang Min-soo was going crazy.

‘Just yell at me, why are you doing this!’

Hwang Min-soo quickly continued.

“S-so, we are also implementing various countermeasures. First, we plan to establish a beverage research lab to stably serve new menus, and we are also planning to separate the marketing team to focus on continuous marketing.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

“…Chairman, did I do something wrong?”

“You’re capable, though.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho sighed again.

‘Why does he say he can’t use him as chairman when he’s this capable?’

He couldn’t understand Hwang Jung-hoo at all.

Hwang Min-soo was capable. He was incredibly capable. But why couldn’t Hwang Min-soo become the chairman of Jae-kyung?

A mistake? A fault?

Of course, that could be the reason.

But who lived without making mistakes, and who didn’t commit faults?

Even Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the mistakes he had made in his past life. He had regretted it deeply and suffered painfully, so he was trying not to become like those people again.

Wasn’t Hwang Min-soo the same?

A person who had fallen to the depths of hell after experiencing failure knew what responsibility was and what regret was.

Hwang Min-soo was also someone who had crawled out of that hell. What better candidate for chairman could there be?

Kang Jin-ho stared at Hwang Min-soo for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Hwang, do you have any desire to become the chairman of Jae-kyung?”

“…Yes?”

Hwang Min-soo’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. Don’t you have any lingering feelings?”

Hwang Min-soo smiled awkwardly.

“No, it’s not like I can become chairman just because I want to.”

“Is it because of the chairman?”

“No.”

Hwang Min-soo scratched the back of his head.

“It’s a bit strange to say this, but it’s not like I’m holding back because I have a lot of lingering feelings for Jae-kyung. I’m no longer interested in the position of chairman of Jae-kyung.”

“Why?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

“Isn’t it the company you raised? I thought you’d have some lingering feelings?”

Kang Jin-ho was the same.

He had no particular attachment to the position of the leader of the Demonic Cult. He had just fought because the people around him picked fights, fought to avoid being ignored, and killed people because he was in a bad mood, and somehow he had become the leader.

But not being interested didn’t mean that he was okay with someone else becoming the leader.

Wasn’t Hwang Min-soo the same?

Even if he tried not to have any lingering feelings for Jae-kyung, he wouldn’t want to see someone else take the position he had originally aimed for.

That’s how people were.

“Lingering feelings…”

Hwang Min-soo smiled awkwardly.

“It would be a lie to say I don’t have any. But it’s not that strong. The truth is, I just didn’t really know what the chairman’s position was.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s a bit difficult to explain. I just thought the chairman’s position was the highest authority. I thought if I could become chairman, I could take better care of my people and strengthen my power. So, I just wanted to become chairman.”

“Isn’t that right?”

“It’s right. I just missed one thing. That much responsibility comes with it.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

“Now I have a rough idea. What kind of resolve is needed for someone who takes the chairman’s position. But I don’t have the capacity for that.”

It was that same talk about capacity again.

Like father, like son, Hwang Jung-hoo and Hwang Min-soo were saying the same thing.

“You can always expand your capacity.”

“I know my limits, Chairman. I am already expanding my capacity. Now, unlike before, I know that I have to take full responsibility for the things I do.”

Hwang Min-soo scratched his cheek.

“It’s like, what do you call it, work-life balance. I’m satisfied with where I am now. I feel like I’ve found the perfect balance. But if I become the chairman of Jae-kyung again, I won’t be able to live like this. And… I’m more talented at working directly and focusing on the details than overseeing everything. This position is the limit for me to do that.”

“Can’t you do that even as chairman?”

Suddenly, Hwang Min-soo’s expression became subtle.

‘Why is this guy trying to make me the chairman of Jae-kyung?’

He said he wasn’t interested, so why was he trying to persuade him…

“Huh?”

Hwang Min-soo tilted his head slightly.

“Could it be that my father… no, Chairman Hwang told you to take over the company?”

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

Then he subtly turned his gaze away.

He felt a bit embarrassed. It was something he could easily say to others, but it was awkward to say to Hwang Min-soo.

“Ah, so you’re trying to push it on me?”

“No way. I’m not doing it.”

“Isn’t it, isn’t it Hwang’s company?”

“My company is MK, Chairman. Please don’t confuse them.”

Hwang Min-soo shuddered.

“I can’t go there. Even if I get fired from here, I won’t go there. I didn’t know before. That if I went to that position, I would have to take over Chairman Hwang’s role! How many people in South Korea can do that? I’d just get called a dog that came out from under a tiger, and get cursed at!”

“…As far as I know, you’ve been getting that curse since before?”

“Chairman, don’t cross the line.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Hwang Min-soo snorted.

“I’m definitely not going. I’d rather die. You should look for my older brother. That guy is still blinded by power, so he might do it. But…”

Hwang Min-soo chuckled.

“Would my father allow that?”

“Give up, Chairman. I’ve never seen our Chairman Hwang change his mind. If it’s already reached you, the succession process is probably already prepared. If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.”

Hwang Min-soo smiled with a very refreshed expression.

“That’s great. Even though I’m not interested in being the chairman of Jae-kyung, I wanted to be the president of Jae-kyung again. You’ll give me a position, right?”

“…Get out.”

“Yes’?”

“Get out.”

This guy and Lee Hyun-soo are all the same.

Damn it!