Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1576

Sluuuurp.

Liquor is poured into a glass.

Ko Han-bong wore an awkward expression as he watched the liquor being poured into his glass.

‘Sake…’

‘While it’s standard to drink sake at a high-end Japanese restaurant, these are such turbulent times that drinking sake feels like a burden.’

“You don’t look too good.”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

Ko Han-bong slightly pushed up his glasses with one hand and put on a genial smile.

“Given the current situation, sake feels a bit burdensome.”

Lee Hyun-soo, sitting across from him, smiled faintly.

“While others may think that way, shouldn’t the Prime Minister be a little different? Japan will be a very grateful land for us.”

“If it turns out that way, there’s nothing more to wish for.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled and put down the sake bottle.

“I am very grateful for your excellent mediation in this matter. The Chairman also expressed his gratitude.”

Of course, it was a lie.

Kang Jin-ho doesn’t even know if a person named Ko Han-bong exists. He’s the type who doesn’t watch the news much, so he has no interest in politicians.

But speaking the truth isn’t always a good thing, so, whatever.

“Thank you. It seems my fatigue is melting away, knowing the Chairman thinks so.”

Ko Han-bong’s face was as bright as could be.

A face that of a child.

Of course, Lee Hyun-soo didn’t believe that expression at face value. A politician’s face doesn’t exist to express emotions, but to deceive the other party.

Even if you think about it the other way around, there was no reason for Ko Han-bong to be happy right now.

Would he be happy to be speaking respectfully to Lee Hyun-soo, who is no more than a greenhorn in his eyes, instead of Kang Jin-ho himself?

Lee Hyun-soo smiled slightly.

In any case, for him, Ko Han-bong is a target to swallow and shake up. Personal feelings have no room here. It must be the same for the other side.

“You have a great task ahead of you.”

“Of course. But what can we do…”

“Just do what we ask you to do. We won’t make unreasonable requests.”

Ko Han-bong picked up his glass of liquor. Lee Hyun-soo also raised his glass to match him.

Clink.

The glasses lightly collided in the air.

Ko Han-bong, who quickly turned his head and downed the liquor in one go, put down his glass and grabbed the sake bottle. As he poured liquor into Lee Hyun-soo’s empty glass, Ko Han-bong opened his mouth heavily.

“It’s not easy.”

“In the past, we only had to consider one thing. How strong they are, and how weak we are. But it’s not like that anymore. We also have to consider how strong their strong points are, and whether we can block them with our strong points.”

“That’s right.”

Ko Han-bong spoke with a slightly bitter tone.

“They are strong. Their economic and military power is not yet at a level we can handle. As a result of remarkable development, we have now reached the stage where we can confidently voice our opinions, but it is still not enough.”

“Yes, I know.”

Ko Han-bong nodded.

“That’s why it’s not easy to strike a balance. We have a knife to stab their leaders, but they have cannons to target our people.”

Lee Hyun-soo quietly nodded.

Although the Assembly has gained the ability to grasp their darkness and wield politicians, it cannot block everything that happens in the exposed world. If they decide to launch a full-scale offensive, things will not be easy.

“It’s the times we live in. To do something, we have to get the public to understand, not just the enemy. So, it’s difficult to do things that are openly illegal or seem excessive. I ask for your understanding on this point.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Ko Han-bong with a calm gaze.

“How about you, Prime Minister?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Is the reason you can’t do illegal and excessive things because you’re worried about public opinion, or is it because you yourself don’t want to do such things?”

It was a jab.

Ko Han-bong raised his head and looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

‘This young punk…’

‘His words are laced with poison.’

It was a question of what he would do if he didn’t have the excuse of the public.

“Hmm…”

Ko Han-bong let out a slight groan and put on a genial smile.

Smile.

If you don’t want to show your feelings to the other party, you have to smile. Even when your body is burning in hellfire, you have to smile to be qualified to live as a politician.

“Does it matter what I think?”

“I’m just a messenger. Isn’t it the same for you, Chief Lee? We’re just pieces on a chessboard. The will of a piece isn’t that important.”

“A piece on a chessboard…”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

“Even so, wouldn’t someone of the Prime Minister’s stature be at least someone who sits next to the board and gives advice?”

“Those who thought that way are now in a position where they can’t even get on the chessboard. I have no intention of repeating the same mistake. If I’m told to laugh, I’ll laugh, and if I’m told to cry, I’ll cry. That’s what I have to do.”

‘Look at this guy?’

Lee Hyun-soo smiled back.

It meant that he was just someone who did what he was told from above without thinking, so don’t even think about getting anything out of him.

‘He’s textbook, alright.’

It was a response that would have deserved applause if seen elsewhere. For someone holding public office, personal thoughts are not important. What’s important is what direction the regime is heading, and what role I am playing in it.

With a few words, Ko Han-bong had limited his role to that of a puppet of the Blue House [the executive office and official residence of the South Korean president].

Excellent.

However…

I can’t let him slip away so easily.

“Prime Minister.”

Lee Hyun-soo quietly looked at Ko Han-bong and asked.

“A transaction can happen in any relationship.”

“That’s right.”

“But a friendship is based on trust.”

“When something happens, I can only be a transactional partner with someone who refuses to take responsibility. It means that we can’t go back to a relationship where we trust each other.”

Ko Han-bong’s eyes sank.

“That sounds like you want to restore the past relationship.”

“I think I’ve said it several times.”

“Is that possible?”

Ko Han-bong picked up a glass full of liquor and downed it in one go.

Clack.

Ko Han-bong, who rinsed his mouth with water, looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a strange gaze.

“If a glass is cracked, it has to be thrown away. If you try to fix the glass by adding this and that, it will only become uglier. Isn’t it the same with relationships?”

“I think a little differently.”

Lee Hyun-soo drank his liquor and put the glass in front of him.

Clack.

When he lightly tapped the glass with his fingertip, it cracked.

“Of course, we can’t put this back together. Memories are like brands. They can’t help but surface from time to time.”

“That’s right.”

“However.”

Lee Hyun-soo quietly pushed the glass in front of him to the side and picked up a new glass, placing it in front of him.

“We can create a new relationship.”

Ko Han-bong sighed.

‘Why is there no one easy to deal with?’

As his position rose, it was natural that the level of people he had to deal with would rise as well, but he had never imagined that he would be pressured like this by a young man from the Assembly.

‘He’s someone you can’t know from documents.’

Lee Hyun-soo.

The second-in-command of the Assembly.

The right-hand man of Kang Jin-ho and the one in charge of the Assembly’s external affairs.

The government also cites Lee Hyun-soo’s existence as one of the reasons why the Assembly was able to grow so large. If Kang Jin-ho hadn’t been there, the Assembly would never have become what it is today, but likewise, if Lee Hyun-soo hadn’t been there, the Assembly wouldn’t be what it is now.

Such Lee Hyun-soo is now pulling Ko Han-bong in.

It was extremely uncomfortable, as if his eyes were seeing through Ko Han-bong’s insides.

“You said a new relationship?”

“Yes. It’s important. A new relationship. However, the problem is that most people haven’t changed. So, a new part is needed. For example…”

“Like me.”

“Exactly.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled.

“If the Prime Minister actively steps forward, we can also accept this relationship anew. But if you don’t step out of the position of a moderate mediator, as you said, there will be limits to what we can do.”

It meant don’t try to back out, but come forward.

Even if it was a tiger’s den with its jaws wide open, it meant that someone with the title of Prime Minister had no right to run away.

Sluuuurp.

Ko Han-bong poured and drank three glasses of liquor in a row.

Clack!

The hand that put down the glass was light and heavy at the same time.

“This is difficult.”

Ko Han-bong let out a deep sigh.

“Honestly, I’m uncomfortable with having a deep relationship with the Assembly. There’s also the matter of my predecessor… You may find it difficult to understand, but it’s not easy for an ordinary person to understand you.”

“I know.”

“And yet, you keep telling me to step forward.”

“Isn’t that what that position is for?”

Ko Han-bong nodded.

Lee Hyun-soo was right. This position is one where personal feelings are not allowed. If you’re going to whine, you should just step down from your position.

Then what should he do?

‘Senior.’

Ko Han-bong, who thought of Kim Myung-chan in his head, nodded.

“Okay, if that’s what you want, let’s do it. However!”

Ko Han-bong looked at Lee Hyun-soo with different eyes than before.

“If I do that, the Assembly must also change. Please promise to proactively create a better relationship for mutual benefit.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled lowly.

“A promise is difficult. As you know, I don’t have the authority to do that.”

“However, I can assure you of one thing.

We have never attacked anyone first. We also did nothing in the case of your predecessor. It was just that he suddenly stabbed us with a knife while we were building a good relationship.”

“Hmm…”

“I can promise you this. Unless your attitude changes, we will never change.”

Kim Myung-chan nodded.

Of course, he didn’t believe all of those words. But now is the time to at least pretend to trust each other.

‘There’s no other way.’

If he can’t deny the existence of the Assembly anyway, he has to make the relationship with them as good as possible. This wasn’t even something Lee Hyun-soo should have said first.

It was something he should have stepped forward and bowed his head for.

Gratitude for Lee Hyun-soo, who had done what he should have done, and the unease about Lee Hyun-soo, who perfectly knew what he had to do, bloomed at the same time.

Ko Han-bong reached out a hand to Lee Hyun-soo.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“I, too, look forward to working with you.”

The two shook hands.

It was the moment when the relationship between the government and the Assembly, which had been greatly strained by the Kim Myung-chan incident, found a new phase.