Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1780

“Would it be rude to say I’m glad to see you again?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled, watching Koh Han-bong approach with a smile.

“Not at all.”

“Welcome back, Guild Leader,” Koh Han-bong said, his posture impeccably respectful.

Koh Han-bong, having learned from the Kim Myung-chan incident and others, was always extremely courteous to Kang Jin-ho. However, today, he carried a different kind of sternness.

Of course, whether Kang Jin-ho noticed it was another matter.

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his eyes slightly, watching the buses lined up and approaching the runway.

“Where are the ambulances?”

“They might attract too much attention, so we’ve replaced them with buses. Those who need treatment will be transported to a separate medical center.”

Only then did Kang Jin-ho nod.

Of course, no one was in critical condition anymore, but those with issues still needed to be examined and treated. If they were carelessly overlooked and suffered aftereffects, Kang Jin-ho would be held responsible.

He didn’t know if it had been discussed with Lee Hyun-soo, but he was grateful that Koh Han-bong had taken the initiative. While the Guild could arrange for doctors, setting up a temporary center with large-scale testing equipment and treatment devices was impossible without national-level support.

“I’ll explain it separately, but you might have to play the part of a soldier. If a large number of civilians are treated for inhaling chemical gas, word will get out no matter how much we control the doctors.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes twitched at Koh Han-bong’s words.

“…Play the part of a soldier?”

Seeing his discomfort, Koh Han-bong quickly put on a gentle smile.

“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to.”

“No, it’s not that I’m uncomfortable…”

“Then why…”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head with a disgruntled look. He saw the members sprawled out on the runway, smoking like street thugs, and said in an uncharacteristically unsure voice.

“…I’ll try, but will it work?”

Only then did Koh Han-bong realize his blunder, and he coughed awkwardly.

“They look more like spies than soldiers.”

It was difficult for Koh Han-bong to continue a conversation with Kang Jin-ho.

Fortunately for him, Lee Hyun-soo, who had quickly controlled the personnel, ran towards them.

“Oh! Prime Minister, you’ve arrived!” Koh Han-bong beamed, as if seeing a savior.

“Hahaha, Chief, you’re becoming more and more like a politician. That’s a greeting I’ve seen often in the National Assembly [South Korea’s legislative body].”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled lightly and quickly continued.

“I’m sorry for the trouble. There’s a way to get treatment in China, but I was worried.”

“Haha, of course, treatment should be received in one’s homeland. Providing treatment and compensation to those who went for the country is the nation’s duty.”

Koh Han-bong glanced at Kang Jin-ho as he spoke.

“We were already preparing before the request came in. Not only me, but the higher-ups have also ordered thorough preparation for this matter.”

“Thank you very much.”

They were two people who took care of each other’s needs with a gentle demeanor.

Koh Han-bong smiled warmly and spoke casually.

“I think we have a lot more to discuss… I hesitate to invite you to sit down, considering the long flight you’ve had.”

“Haha, how long was the flight from China?”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Kang Jin-ho’s face.

Kang Jin-ho had a cigarette in his mouth and was making a blatantly displeased expression.

‘But you’re the Guild Leader!’

Lee Hyun-soo kept giving him signals, but Kang Jin-ho still didn’t change his expression. It seemed like he would run away if they tried to force him to sit down.

‘No.’

Of course, Kang Jin-ho hated such situations, but he wasn’t the type to show his feelings so openly.

‘Why is he acting like this!’

Lee Hyun-soo had been feeling that Kang Jin-ho was slightly different from before since their conversation on the plane. Unfortunately, this change in Kang Jin-ho didn’t seem to be for the better.

Lee Hyun-soo sighed quietly, without Koh Han-bong noticing.

“Since the Prime Minister is here, it’s natural to make time for the Guild Leader, but…”

Lee Hyun-soo quickly found a suitable excuse.

“I’m sorry to say that the Guild Leader hasn’t fully recovered from his injuries, so it might be difficult to have a long conversation.”

“Ah, that’s right. I heard that the Guild Leader was injured, but I was too excited and forgot for a moment. I’m sorry for keeping someone who’s not feeling well.”

“It’s okay,” Kang Jin-ho replied, nonchalantly and shamelessly.

Lee Hyun-soo’s lips trembled at the natural response.

‘Injuries, my foot.’

Kang Jin-ho had gotten up so quickly that Lee Hyun-soo’s words about not overdoing it until he was fully recovered were meaningless.

Even the old Kang Jin-ho’s recovery was beyond human, but now he was practically an alien.

It was absurd that broken bones healed instantly, and torn skin healed without a scar.

‘If we could pass that on, all the doctors would starve.’

In any case, Kang Jin-ho was almost fully recovered. Or, even if he wasn’t fully recovered, he was definitely not in a condition to refuse a brief meeting with the Prime Minister.

But he was trying to slip away alone, which was infuriating.

“Please rest first, Guild Leader. Your health is the most important thing. I’ll have a separate meeting with Chief Lee.”

“Very well.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled. Then, he patted Lee Hyun-soo on the shoulder.

“Take good care of the Prime Minister.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho with as much annoyance as his eyes could hold, but unfortunately, his heartfelt emotions didn’t seem to reach Kang Jin-ho.

“Then…”

It was at that moment.

Booooooom!

A powerful engine sound echoed through the runway, which wasn’t exactly quiet.

They naturally turned their heads to see a familiar sports car speeding towards them.

“…Why is that here?”

Screeeeeech!

The sports car, which had approached fiercely and stopped abruptly, had its driver’s seat open, and a man in a suit got out. He then bowed politely to Kang Jin-ho.

“Oh, no… Lee Jong-wook, you bastard. I told you to handle things at headquarters, why are you here?”

Lee Hyun-soo, forgetting that the Prime Minister was next to him, cursed in disbelief. But Lee Jong-wook, who had been cursed at, didn’t seem intimidated. Instead, he smiled at Lee Hyun-soo.

“I wanted to work. But what could I do when the Guild Leader told me to bring the car?”

“I can’t refuse the Guild Leader’s orders just because the Chief told me to follow his instructions, can I?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s blood pressure soared at the sly answer.

And at that moment, Kang Jin-ho approached Lee Jong-wook and patted him on the shoulder.

“Good work.”

“It’s nothing, Guild Leader. But… I think you need to protect me. The Chief seems very angry.”

“Angry?”

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Lee Hyun-soo. Lee Hyun-soo quickly relaxed his stiff face.

“It’s okay. Chief Lee will be busy from now on.”

“That’s a relief.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked up at the sky, watching Lee Jong-wook’s smiling face.

Both of them…

“Chief Lee.”

“Yes, Guild Leader.”

“I’ll leave the cleanup to you. I have somewhere to go.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed at Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“When have you ever helped with the cleanup? Just go quickly. At least you’ll buy me some time.”

“As you command.”

Kang Jin-ho grinned and got into the car.

Then, he drove off without hesitation.

Booooooom!

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled, watching the sports car disappear in an instant.

He couldn’t believe he would leave so casually.

“…The Guild Leader seems to have changed a bit?”

Koh Han-bong, a politician who lived by his wits, seemed to have noticed that Kang Jin-ho was different from usual.

“I don’t know.”

Lee Hyun-soo, not knowing what to say, mumbled vaguely. But Koh Han-bong looked at Kang Jin-ho’s disappearing car with a meaningful expression.

“Well, it’s time for him to rest.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The Guild Leader has been running non-stop until now. He’s overcome a huge obstacle, so it’s time for him to relax and take a break.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

‘Take a break, huh…’

If Kang Jin-ho were the type to understand that concept, he wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble.

Outsiders might see it that way. They might think that Kang Jin-ho has become lax because the pressure he had been under has suddenly disappeared.

But Lee Hyun-soo, who was confident enough to argue with Kang Jin-ho’s own parents about him, didn’t think that Kang Jin-ho was simply indulging in a temporary sense of liberation.

It was more like something fundamental…

“Hmm.”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head.

‘I don’t know.’

In any case, it wasn’t a bad direction. Kang Jin-ho had always lived like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.

Whether it was because it was time for him to rest, as Koh Han-bong said, or because of some change of heart, as Lee Hyun-soo thought, the loosening of that tension would make Kang Jin-ho more comfortable.

“Of course, that’s not our concern.”

“Haha, that’s right.”

Koh Han-bong and Lee Hyun-soo smiled and looked at each other.

Their eyes, unlike their smiling lips, were probing each other. They had a lot to discuss from now on.

Basically, relationships are bound to have a hierarchy. When their positions change, there is always a need to redefine the relationship that has been maintained.

What they had to do now was this redefinition.

“It seems like it will be a long conversation, are you okay with that?”

“Haha, I may not be as physically fit as you martial artists, but I’m not old enough to be called an old man yet.”

“That’s a relief then. Let’s go inside.”

“Let’s do that.”

Before heading to the conference room with Koh Han-bong, Lee Hyun-soo looked at Wiggins and Bang Jin-hoon.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Don’t worry and go. We’ll take care of the return.”

“You’ll provide us with a car, right?”

“Haha, of course.”

Bang Jin-hoon and Wiggins shook their heads, watching the two men walk away like old friends.

“Politicians are really difficult people to deal with.”

“…Lee Hyun-soo is just as disgusting.”

“He is. He really is.”

The two men walking away looked like two snakes hissing at each other.

“That’s a war too.”

“A more vicious war.”

The two, disgusted, turned their heads to look at the members boarding the bus.

The end of a war was always a bit tedious and tiring like this.