Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1567

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled, watching Kang Jin-ho.

Who would have imagined that they’d see Kang Jin-ho with dark circles under his eyes?

Seeing the pitiful and pathetic state of the Chairman, Lee Hyun-soo laughed heartily, as if he couldn’t be happier.

“Hehehe, I told you not to underestimate me, didn’t I?”

“Ughhh.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head vigorously.

“I’m going to get a nervous breakdown.”

A sigh escaped him involuntarily.

“How can that old man have so much stamina? Is he a martial artist or something?”

“Originally, mental strength transcends physical strength. It’s a remnant of Japanese imperialism’s spiritualism [referring to the emphasis on willpower and discipline during the Japanese colonial era].”

“Then isn’t that a bad thing?”

“Whether it’s good or bad, that old man is like the embodiment of those remnants.”

“Ughhh.”

Kang Jin-ho groaned. Jung Hong-geun was a man who didn’t know how to give up.

Everywhere he went, Jung Hong-geun appeared. It got to the point where he wondered if he was using some kind of clone technique. Even so, after being warned once, he never showed up in front of Kang Jin-ho’s house.

That made it even more maddening.

Even though Kang Jin-ho lived as he pleased, he couldn’t just get angry at someone who was trying to be nice to him.

Moreover, if that person was an old man who might collapse at any moment, even the mighty Kang Jin-ho had to think three or four times before getting angry.

It wasn’t that he had any qualms about killing people, but he did have qualms about killing them in this way. Kang Jin-ho was still human, after all.

So, this was an impossible situation to counter.

“Why isn’t that damn Chairman going to the company…”

“The company runs fine without the Chairman.”

Lee Hyun-soo said nonchalantly.

“Just like it’s incredibly difficult for a president to revitalize a country, it’s not easy to ruin it either. A country that has grown in size creates its own system to prevent excessive power from being concentrated in one person. The same goes for companies. No matter how much imperial authority a chairman has, there are limits to what he can do alone.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled wickedly.

“And perhaps this is what the chairman should really be doing. Isn’t this a matter that the fate of the group depends on?”

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

He couldn’t tell if he was more annoyed by Jung Hong-geun, who was constantly following him around and bothering him, or by that bastard who was chuckling at the sight of it.

“Don’t just watch like it’s someone else’s problem!”

“There’s nothing we can do. It’s up to you to decide, Chairman.”

“Ughhh.”

He said he’d wait and see, but is this what waiting and seeing looks like?

Jung Hong-geun was practically a natural disaster.

There was nothing humans could do about an approaching typhoon. They could only close the windows tightly and hope that the typhoon would pass safely.

Kang Jin-ho sighed heavily.

“How can a person go to such lengths?”

“I told you he’s a big deal because of that.”

Lee Hyun-soo became slightly serious.

“Don’t underestimate him. He’s desperate too. It’s not easy to have that kind of tenacity and passion at his age and constantly try to do something. You know that, don’t you, Chairman?”

“…That’s true.”

Of course, he had to admit that.

To be so active at that age was something to be respected.

If only that vigorous activity wasn’t targeted at him.

“You’ve received quite a lot of gifts.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled, looking at the gifts placed next to Kang Jin-ho.

“Can I take one?”

“…No.”

“Come on, you’re rich.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled slyly and picked up a small box from among the many stacked boxes.

“This much should be fine… Whoa, what is this?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes widened as he opened the box.

“What kind of Patek [a high-end Swiss watch brand] is being given as a gift? This watch is more expensive than a foreign car.”

“…What is that?”

“Wow, look at the class of a conglomerate chairman. He’s not just giving this as a gift, but as one of many gifts.”

Lee Hyun-soo gently closed the watch box and placed it back on the pile of gifts, as if his heart was pounding.

“…Take out what you put in your pocket.”

“You’re like a ghost.”

Lee Hyun-soo grumbled and took out the watch he had put in his pocket, placing it back in the watch box.

“Why don’t you stop them from coming into the parking lot?”

“Chairman, the security guards are people too. What can they do when the Taekwang Chairman says he’s here to see you?”

“Why would a martial artist care about that?”

“They’re not martial artists anymore. And even if they were, how can they ignore the Taekwang Chairman? The power balance in your head is weird, Chairman. The Taekwang Chairman is at least a prime minister, if not a president. Can you imagine them stopping a prime minister from visiting the office because he didn’t get permission?”

Now that he thought about it, it was strange.

Kang Jin-ho sighed and looked at the pile of gifts.

If this continued for another week, the chairman’s office would be filled with gifts. But there was nothing he could do about the person who was just driving into the parking lot and leaving gifts.

Moreover, if Kang Jin-ho tried to get angry, it wasn’t Jung Hong-geun who would be flustered, but Jung Hong-geun’s subordinates. From their perspective, they had no choice but to follow the chairman’s orders to deliver the gifts.

“Isn’t he like a raccoon?”

“Ughhh.”

Old ginger, old raccoon, old fox.

What words could describe the predicament Kang Jin-ho was in? The more he thought about it, the more he sighed.

“So…”

Kang Jin-ho took his head off the desk and leaned back in his chair.

“I think I’ve seen enough. What does he want from me?”

“Well, that’s for you to decide, Chairman.”

“That’s why I’m saying this, because it’s difficult.”

“Yes. Then let’s try to think a little simpler. Do you have any grudges against Chairman Jung Hong-geun?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho said without even thinking about it.

From the start, he was merciless to those who attacked him. But when he thought about it, Jung Hong-geun had never touched him.

It wasn’t Jung Hong-geun who attacked him, but Jung Hong-geun’s grandson, Jung Myung-chul. If Kang Jin-ho, who prided himself on being a 21st-century man, wasn’t going to hold Jung Hong-geun accountable by association, it was difficult to blame Jung Hong-geun.

Of course, Jung Hong-geun had also tried to attack MK by mobilizing large corporations, but that attempt was thwarted from the start by Hwang Jung-hoo, and in the end, MK suffered no damage.

Besides, there was also the question of whether the economic attack on MK should be equated with an attack on Kang Jin-ho.

‘That’s the theory.’

The important thing was that Kang Jin-ho didn’t feel particularly hostile towards Jung Hong-geun.

‘Annoying and irritating’ and ‘hateful’ were separate feelings.

“Then, can you work with a pro-Japanese collaborator?”

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

“Phew.”

Kang Jin-ho, exhaling cigarette smoke, chuckled.

“I think that’s a very strange question.”

“Why?”

“Am I even qualified to say such a thing?”

“Hmm… You do have a point.”

Who was the bad guy, the one who collaborated with the Japanese to benefit himself, or the one who killed thousands of people?

There was no need to even consider it.

Of course, the crimes a person committed couldn’t be a factor in determining whether that person was qualified to judge others, but at least Kang Jin-ho didn’t think he was qualified.

“But isn’t it a matter of feeling rather than qualification? Even a murderer can hate cockroaches.”

“…Huh?”

What was that? The analogy was perfect.

“Just tell me your preference. Don’t think about such things.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

Preference, huh…

“I don’t think I’d want to be friends with him.”

“So you’re thinking of using him like a dog.”

“Does it matter if a dog likes Japan? I’ll just give him some Japanese dog treats.”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

“I think so too.”

“Then now…”

“No. Not yet.”

Lee Hyun-soo waved his hand decisively.

“It’s not quite heated up enough yet. And… there’s a very important part left.”

“Important part?”

“Yes. A dog that thinks it’s higher in the hierarchy than humans will eventually cause trouble, no matter how well it performs tricks or how loyal it pretends to be. You have to make it realize that it’s a dog. It has to understand that no human is lower in the hierarchy than a dog.”

“…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded heavily.

In short, it meant that before accepting Jung Hong-geun, he had to make him properly recognize his place in the hierarchy.

“How?”

“There are two ways to make him understand the hierarchy.”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned at Kang Jin-ho’s questioning eyes.

“One is the way you like, Chairman. Crushing him. Beating him up and stomping on his head until he’s so terrified that he won’t even think about resisting again.”

“…Then he’ll die.”

“Yes. I don’t intend to use that method on an elderly man. And this isn’t something that can be solved with violence anyway.”

“That’s right.”

“So, this time we’ll use the second method.”

“Second?”

“Yes. To confirm the hierarchy, we just need to make him realize that I’m higher than you, right? If we just make Jung Hong-geun understand that someone of a higher rank than him is below us, he’ll tuck his tail in.”

“…I understand what you’re saying, but is there such a person?”

“There is.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled brightly.

“Now, to restore relations and all, why don’t you meet some government officials for a change? It would be nice if the three of you could have a meal together.”

“Ughhh.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head vigorously.

Lee Hyun-soo smiled at his reaction.

“I know it’s uncomfortable for you. But wouldn’t it be better to endure the discomfort all at once, so that you can be comfortable afterward? It’s better to get it over with, so let’s just sort it out cleanly.”

“Phew.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“One more thing before that.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“If we subdue Taekwang, there will be a proper use for them, right?”

“Hehehehehe.”

Lee Hyun-soo made a chilling laugh.

Kang Jin-ho frowned, looking at Lee Hyun-soo with eyes that seemed to be facing something very strange.

“Who are you saying that to, Chairman? My specialty is squeezing, and my second specialty is extracting.”

“Taekwang or whatever, I can really squeeze every last drop of manpower to create the best efficiency. I’m confident that I’m the best in Korea when it comes to this.”

No.

In my opinion, you’re the best in the world at that.

Even that Chai Ke-chang was terrified of you.

Kang Jin-ho sighed and shook his head.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I told you before. The ones who can squeeze the most out of Japan are the Japanese themselves… and secondly, those who know Japan well.”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“There’s no one in Korea who can squeeze Japan as well as Chairman Jung Hong-geun. If we leave it to him, Japan will be completely drained in less than a year.”

“Just bring him to me. I’ll take care of making him work.”

“You seem very happy?”

“Hehehehe. I’ve been unhappy with those bastards lately, and now I’m going to secure a grim reaper. Ah, how delightful.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

‘I should have killed him back then.’

It felt like he had unleashed a demon into the world.