Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1564

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Jung Hong-geun.

Jung Hong-geun, refusing the seat of honor offered with courtesy, sat at one end of the sofa, his hands clasped respectfully.

‘This is…’

Kang Jin-ho, who thought he had experienced quite a lot, found the current situation difficult to comprehend.

Putting everything else aside, the head of one of the top ten corporations in South Korea, a man over seventy years old, was acting so respectfully in front of a young man.

“Here you go.”

Hwang Min-soo brought coffee and placed it in front of Jung Hong-geun.

“Oh, Mr. Hwang. It’s been a while. Now that I see you, I realize you were here, but I didn’t notice.”

“Please, speak casually, Chairman Jung. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“I can’t do that. I’m not seeing the son of Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo, but the president of MK, am I not?”

Hwang Min-soo shuddered.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

He knew Jung Hong-geun well.

Too well, in fact.

He didn’t particularly want to talk about royal families, but he had often spent time with Jung Hong-geun since childhood.

What Hwang Min-soo remembered of Jung Hong-geun was…

Yes, a viper.

He was exactly like a viper.

Perhaps because of his animosity towards Hwang Jung-hoo, he would sometimes look at young Hwang Min-soo with eyes that were incredibly cold. That memory was still vivid for Hwang Min-soo, yet here he was with such a gentle face.

‘Has he become mellow with age?’

Absolutely not.

It’s a misconception that people become mellow with age. People become more dogmatic and stubborn as they get older.

Knowing this well, Hwang Min-soo couldn’t believe the behavior Jung Hong-geun was displaying.

‘It’s definitely a trick.’

Hwang Min-soo glared sharply at Jung Hong-geun.

He would never allow that old snake to harm his chairman. He had to figure out what that man was up to.

At that moment, Jung Hong-geun spoke first.

“I’m ashamed to have come to see you first, Chairman Kang.”

Kang Jin-ho cleared his throat.

It was uncomfortable.

It was uncomfortable to be called Chairman Kang, and it was also uncomfortable to be spoken to so politely by an old man. Even if Kang Jin-ho might be older in terms of age, the difference in their outward appearances made it hard to shake off the discomfort.

“So, what brings you here?”

When Kang Jin-ho spoke slightly businesslike, Jung Hong-geun gave a good-natured smile.

“The reason is obvious. I’ve come to apologize for the mistakes we’ve made.”

“…Huh?”

A slightly bewildered voice escaped from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

Even Lee Hyun-joo, who would normally have pointed out this situation, couldn’t say anything and just gaped.

‘What is he thinking?’

It’s not that he didn’t understand.

The problem was that he wasn’t sure if that ‘understanding’ was a genuine understanding.

“I heard my grandson caused trouble.”

Jung Hong-geun frowned.

“In business, there are things you can do and things you shouldn’t do, but he went too far. It’s all my fault for not teaching my grandson well, so please blame me.”

Hwang Min-soo’s body creaked.

‘Am I hearing this right?’

Just listening to the words, it sounded like a strict but loving grandfather coming to apologize for his grandson’s mistakes. No, it wasn’t just the words, but the situation itself.

The problem was that this man was definitely not that kind of person.

“So…”

Kang Jin-ho said, looking at Jung Hong-geun.

“You came all this way just to apologize for that?”

Jung Hong-geun gave a wry smile.

“I could have called or sent someone, but would my sincerity have been conveyed? I would have only been misunderstood.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Even now, he was racking his brain trying to figure out what kind of trick this was, and if they hadn’t met face-to-face, who knows what would have happened.

So, he understood, but…

At that moment, Lee Hyun-joo, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“Chairman.”

‘Chairman’ was referring to Jung Hong-geun.

“I’ve heard your words, but frankly, from our perspective, it’s hard to trust you. Not only because of your grandson’s actions, but also because you recently tried to target us directly.”

“That’s right.”

Jung Hong-geun readily admitted it.

Lee Hyun-joo, who had expected at least a word of excuse, pursed her lips.

“But everyone makes mistakes, don’t they?”

“Mistakes? Can you call that a mistake?”

Jung Hong-geun quietly looked at Lee Hyun-joo. Of course, he wasn’t glaring. His eyes were just serious.

“It’s a bit sensitive to talk about this in the current climate, but have you ever given birth to a child, miss?”

“…Huh?”

What was that supposed to mean?

“You’ll understand when you have children. Even people who are usually very gentle find it hard to stay calm when it comes to their children. If my child gets beaten somewhere, a parent will get angry first. Even if the child deserved it, the parent will naturally get angry at the one who hit them.”

“It’s common sense not to do that even if you’re angry.”

Jung Hong-geun smiled gently.

“So, do you live by all that common sense?”

“…Huh?”

“Do you live by all that common sense and morality, without ever wronging anyone?”

When Lee Hyun-joo couldn’t answer, Jung Hong-geun said as if to say, ‘See?’

“What you say is right. But how many saints in this world live only by common sense? Aren’t people all like that? They make mistakes, get angry, and sometimes do foolish things.”

Lee Hyun-joo closed her mouth and looked at Jung Hong-geun.

She understood why they called him an old fox.

She knew that those words didn’t fit Jung Hong-geun, but the words themselves were so correct that she couldn’t argue with them.

“So, you’re saying that you did something because you were too angry, but after thinking about it, you realized it wasn’t right, so you came to apologize now?”

“That’s how it is, so to speak.”

Lee Hyun-joo shook her head.

One thing was certain: Jung Hong-geun was not someone she could handle. Even if there were flaws in his logic, she couldn’t dare to challenge Jung Hong-geun’s reasoning.

She was the head of MK’s department, and the other was the chairman of Taekwang. As a martial artist, she might have been able to, but as a member of society, she had to refrain from overstepping her bounds.

In the end, she had no choice but to pass the turn to Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Jung Hong-geun, then slightly rose from his seat.

“Would it be okay if we talked again in five minutes?”

“Of course. But why?”

“I need a smoke.”

Jung Hong-geun chuckled lightly.

“If you were going to smoke here anyway, just smoke. I’m also a smoker. Can we smoke together?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem polite.”

“It seems more polite to let me, an old man, have a smoke here rather than making me move to go smoke.”

Kang Jin-ho sat back down after hearing those words.

‘This is uncomfortable.’

It meant he wouldn’t even give him time to go out for a smoke. Of course, it wasn’t that he was intentionally trying to torment Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho sighed briefly and took out the cigarette pack from his pocket, offering it to Jung Hong-geun. Jung Hong-geun waved his hand.

“I’ll smoke my own. I’m a bit particular about cigarettes.”

“I think I’d be less uncomfortable if you spoke more casually.”

“If someone who came to apologize speaks casually, the intention disappears. Please understand.”

He was being humble.

So humble that it was hard to understand.

Kang Jin-ho nodded, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho exhaled a short puff of smoke and watched Jung Hong-geun light his cigarette.

Jung Hong-geun took a satisfying drag and smiled lightly.

Kang Jin-ho closed and opened his eyes slightly.

‘This is a bit troublesome…’

Kang Jin-ho wasn’t intimidated by Jung Hong-geun at all.

No, it was closer to not caring about him. To him, Jung Hong-geun was someone he could get rid of whenever he wanted.

But that was only when Jung Hong-geun made a move first.

He couldn’t deal with someone who came to meet the chairman of MK with the identity of the chairman of Taekwang in the bright light of day in his own way.

Then…

“I know you’re uncomfortable.”

Jung Hong-geun opened his mouth as if he understood Kang Jin-ho.

“You don’t have to think about formalities or anything like that. If I were going to worry about that, I wouldn’t have come here.”

“If I wasn’t going to speak frankly, I wouldn’t have come here.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Jung Hong-geun.

Just looking at his slightly yellowish eyes, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

Anyway, going around in circles wasn’t his forte. If Lee Hyun-soo were here, maybe, but for now, it was better to do it his way.

“Let’s get straight to the point.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“What’s the reason for this?”

Jung Hong-geun looked at Kang Jin-ho with a serious face.

“It may be hard to believe, but I’ve told you everything as it is. I came to apologize.”

“Then I’ll accept your apology, so please go back.”

“In addition…”

Jung Hong-geun continued.

“Taekwang doesn’t want to be hostile to MK.”

Jung Hong-geun took a deep drag of his cigarette. Then, he exhaled the smoke a little faster.

“To be precise, I should say that we’d rather have a friendly relationship.”

“Are you saying we should be friends?”

“How could Taekwang dare to be friends with MK?”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s reaction, Jung Hong-geun rose from his seat.

Then, he bowed deeply towards Kang Jin-ho.

“I apologize for the rudeness we have committed so far. Whatever misunderstandings there may have been, whatever the reason for it, I apologize.”

“So please, don’t be hostile to Taekwang.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand as if he was troubled.

“I understand what you’re saying. Please go back for today.”

“Chairman.”

“I also need time to think.”

Jung Hong-geun nodded.

“I understand. I’ll step back for today. But Chairman, please know my sincerity. I truly have no intention of harming MK in any way. If you need any further apologies, I’ll give you anything. Even if you ask for my grandson, I’ll follow your request.”

“Then, please take care.”

Jung Hong-geun bowed deeply and then turned and left.

However, even after Jung Hong-geun disappeared from the chairman’s office, no one could easily open their mouths.

“That…”

After a long silence, Hwang Min-soo opened his mouth, sounding dumbfounded.

“He’s not the type to act like that.”

He tilted his head.

Jung Hong-geun’s attitude today was something Hwang Min-soo had never seen before.

“He’s someone who would stand up to my father and say whatever he wanted. He’s not someone who would admit his mistakes so readily.”

Lee Hyun-joo agreed with that statement.

“There must be something up his sleeve, right? I don’t think he really came to apologize.”

At the words of the two, Kang Jin-ho sighed.