Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1561

“What brings you here?”

Hwang Jung-hoo frowned as he looked at the person who had suddenly come to see him.

Then, he quickly relaxed his brow.

‘No, I shouldn’t be like this.’

Kang Jin-ho’s words kept echoing in his mind.

His attitude. How this kind of attitude was pressuring and making his children suffer.

“I just stopped by to see your face.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s expression slightly soured again.

“You came to visit?”

“Well, you could say that, Father.”

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled.

Hwang Min-soo was sitting in front of him. But right now, Hwang Jung-hoo was feeling something he had never felt before from his own son.

Hwang Min-soo’s face was relaxed and soft.

It wasn’t the Hwang Min-soo he always saw, stiff with tension.

‘This is a new face.’

Perhaps this was Hwang Min-soo’s usual appearance. The fact that this look felt so unfamiliar stabbed at a corner of Hwang Jung-hoo’s heart.

“You look good.”

“Ah, I’ve been eating well lately.”

“You even know how to joke.”

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled.

Looking at the relaxed Hwang Min-soo, Hwang Jung-hoo also felt his heart easing. A rigid relationship was a burden to both sides.

“Anyway, what brings you here so early in the morning?”

“Oh, does a son need a reason to come see his father?”

“Huh? Look at this guy?”

Now he even knew how to joke around.

“You’ve become a president or whatever, and it seems like you’ve got a bit of air in your lungs.”

“That’s right.”

“…Hmm?”

“Actually, I’ve been overly shrunk for a while.”

“Since you were kicked out of Jae-kyung?”

“No. Even before that.”

Hwang Min-soo smiled wryly.

“I lived like that my whole life because I was lacking. But after joining MK, I realized something while doing what I should be doing. People have their place, and just by working hard in their place, they can gain confidence.”

Hwang Jung-hoo frowned, looking displeased.

“You’ve succeeded with a small café and you’re acting like you’ve done something great?”

“Thank you for saying I succeeded.”

“o O 흐I”

—^9 -“* r그 •

Hwang Jung-hoo’s face flushed as if he had made a slip of the tongue.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had been this flustered while talking to Hwang Min-soo.

“Hmm, you’ve grown a lot.”

“I’m too old now.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. What are you…”

“Father, you’ve also gotten older.”

Hwang Jung-hoo quietly raised his head. Hwang Min-soo met his gaze.

“…No, your face looks like it’s rejuvenated, so it’s hard to feel emotional.”

“Has this guy lost his mind?”

Hwang Min-soo chuckled.

‘This is absurd.’

He should be feeling sorry for his aging father, but he actually looked younger than before, so he didn’t feel any of that emotion.

“I’m glad you still seem healthy.”

“I’ll be fine for another ten years, you rascal!”

“I think so too.”

Hwang Jung-hoo took a sip of his cold coffee and looked at Hwang Min-soo.

“So, what’s the real reason? You wouldn’t have come without a reason.”

Hwang Min-soo nodded.

“I heard you plan to hand over Jae-kyung to our chairman.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s eyes sharpened slightly.

“Did you come to question that?”

“Yes.”

“Because I’m not giving it to you?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“••••••Huh?”

Hwang Jung-hoo, who had thought of countless things to say, widened his eyes.

Hwang Min-soo waved his hand.

“It might not be something I should say to my father, but even if you asked me to take the chairman position at Jae-kyung now, I wouldn’t. Why would I go there? It’s a poisoned chalice.”

“…What’s wrong with the Jae-kyung chairman position?”

“If things go well, it’s because the chairman paved the way, and if things go wrong, I’ll only be criticized for ruining what the chairman did. Why would I go there? It’s not like the Jae-kyung chairman’s salary is that great.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s face went blank.

“And I’m done with money now. I make a lot of money. My salary is probably higher than yours, Father.”

“…Does Jin-ho pay you a lot?”

“I don’t know if he’s generous or just has no sense of money. Anyway, he pays me an unreasonable amount.”

“He’s always been like that.”

He remembered Kang Jin-ho refusing money when Hwang Jung-hoo offered it in the past. He had forced it on him, but it was definitely not a normal reaction.

‘Anyway, he’s a strange one.’

Hwang Jung-hoo cleared his throat slightly.

“Then what are you here to question?”

“I don’t like your half-baked resolve.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You’re planning to absorb MK into Jae-kyung, right?”

Hwang Jung-hoo closed his mouth.

“Then the business ranking will go up, Jae-kyung’s financial structure will become solid, and it’s good for Jae-kyung in many ways. I don’t think you just blurted that out at this time without any thought. You’re planning to finish the story in the next few years and slowly start working on it, aren’t you?”

“Is that wrong? It’s going to be one person’s anyway.”

“Jae-kyung is outdated.”

“Your greatest achievement is creating Jae-kyung, and your biggest weakness is being tied to Jae-kyung. Jae-kyung is not a trophy you’ll take to the afterlife when you die. It’s a place where many employees make a living.”

Hwang Jung-hoo felt speechless.

Was it because he was outmatched by logic?

No.

His son was looking at him directly with a firm resolve he had never seen before. Had Hwang Min-soo ever spoken his opinion so confidently to him?

‘He should have been like this from the start.’

Hwang Jung-hoo hesitated slightly before opening his mouth.

“If you had shown me this side of you before…”

“No, Father.”

Hwang Min-soo smiled gently.

“I couldn’t have done that before. I was sitting in a position that was too much for me, and I was aiming for things that were too much for me. I still feel a bit overwhelmed, but I feel like I’ve found the right place now. That’s why I can be like this.”

Hwang Jung-hoo didn’t think that was all there was to it.

A person doesn’t change just because of confidence. People are not that simple.

What was clear was that Hwang Jung-hoo, who had tried to raise his children as his successors for decades, had ruined them, and Kang Jin-ho had turned the ruined Hwang Min-soo into this in just a few months.

Where did that difference come from?

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mean that your work is easy. I didn’t raise you that way. Even if you threw it away, you wouldn’t have thrown it all away.”

“That’s right. I still feel uncomfortable when I’m resting. However, I feel comfortable even while working. It’s a bit different from whether I’m busy or not.”

“That’s right.”

Hwang Min-soo looked like he was pondering something.

“Speak.”

“Father.”

“A person has to learn until they die. Even if it’s a criticism of my mistakes and faults, anyone who avoids it doesn’t deserve to be in this position.”

“What’s the difference between Kang Jin-ho and me?”

Hwang Min-soo narrowed his brow slightly.

“Maybe this is… yes. It might just be a difference.”

“Difference?”

“Our chairman thinks that what I do is the best. But even if I suggest the same thing, you wouldn’t think so, Father. Everything would look clumsy to you. Because you’re my father.”

Because he was Hwang Jung-hoo.

Because he was a great businessman, what his sons suggested couldn’t meet his standards. So, it always looked lacking.

“But that’s…”

“Yes. It’s not your fault, Father.”

Hwang Min-soo laughed.

“It’s a common thing. Those who have great athlete fathers often don’t show their talent, or those who have fathers who have achieved great things have troublemaker children. It was painful when it was my problem, but when I stepped back, it just seemed funny. What was such a big deal?”

“I’m comfortable now. Father, if I have one wish, it’s that you would stop feeling sorry.”

“Sorry? Me?”

“Isn’t that so?”

Hwang Jung-hoo didn’t say anything.

Hwang Min-soo closed his eyes slightly.

“I didn’t know either. I understand now that I’m this age. When I was young, you didn’t seem like a person to me, Father. You seemed like a machine-made superman who could do anything. But in the end, you were just a person who raised children and lived each day with difficulty.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s shoulders relaxed.

If someone else had dared to say these words, Hwang Jung-hoo would have been angry. But only Hwang Min-soo had the right to say these words.

Because he was Hwang Jung-hoo’s son.

‘Yes, he’s my son.’

Hwang Jung-hoo realized that fact anew.

That small boy had grown up and was now standing in front of him, saying these things.

His fingertips trembled slightly.

“If I could have understood a little more, there might have been a better direction… well, what does it matter? It’s enough that I know now. Our chairman said that holding onto the past won’t change anything. That’s right. I can regret it. But if I miss what I can do now because of regret, I’d be a fool. So…”

Hwang Min-soo smiled at Hwang Jung-hoo.

“Would you like to go fishing with me sometime?”

“…Fishing?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never been fishing.”

“I can teach you.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s face contorted.

“What’s so fun about going out in the scorching sun and staring at a fishing rod! There are so many things you could do in that time!”

“Going fishing with your son is also an important thing.”

Hwang Min-soo said, as if trying to persuade Hwang Jung-hoo.

“Let’s take the grandchildren too. If not fishing, hiking is good, or just a drive. Let’s just… do some of the things we haven’t done until now, Father.”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s hand slightly gripped his clothes.

“Wouldn’t that be enough?”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s lips moved as if he was about to say something, but he closed them again.

After a long time, Hwang Jung-hoo finally opened his mouth with difficulty.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

“My age is…”

“You’ve really grown a lot.”

Hwang Jung-hoo said with a slightly wistful look.

“I don’t want to go fishing with you now. I’m not that free.”

“…Is that so?”

Hwang Min-soo sighed.

But he wasn’t disappointed. You can’t be full on the first try. Kang Jin-ho had taught him that. The important thing was to set a goal and keep pushing and trying.

“However…”

But Hwang Jung-hoo’s words didn’t end there.

“If it’s the grandchildren, that’s a different story. Bring them. I didn’t do my job as a father properly, so I should at least do my job as a grandfather properly. Let’s go wherever the grandchildren want to go.”

“They like fishing…”

“How did you raise them to like fishing, you rascal!”

Hwang Jung-hoo shouted.

Hwang Min-soo, who burst out laughing, and Hwang Jung-hoo, whose face was flushed, didn’t take their eyes off each other.

Tears welled up slightly in Hwang Min-soo’s eyes.

‘It was this easy.’

They had come a long way.

A very long way.