Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 197

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, a puzzled expression on his face, at Hwang Jung-hoo’s sudden words.

“A business?”

“That’s right.”

Hwang Jung-hoo glanced at Jo Gyu-min, signaling him to take over the explanation.

Just as Jo Gyu-min was about to speak, Kang Jin-ho’s phone rang.

“Hmm?”

Kang Jin-ho hurriedly tried to silence the phone, but seeing his father’s name on the screen, he stood up.

“I need to take this call.”

“Go ahead.”

As Kang Jin-ho stepped out of the room, Hwang Jung-hoo quietly turned to Jo Gyu-min and asked,

“Is this really the right approach?”

Jo Gyu-min, who had put on his glasses for the first time in a while, adjusted them slightly and began to speak.

“As I mentioned before, Mr. Kang Jin-ho is essentially a blank slate right now. He needs to be prepared before he can get involved in Jae-kyung’s management.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to send him for an MBA? He’s not unintelligent, and if he applied himself, he could get into any university in the country. We could even send him abroad; he’d get a degree without any trouble.”

“That might work for other companies. But Jae-kyung isn’t a company that the chairman built from the ground up. To truly inherit the founder’s spirit, he needs to start from the bottom himself.”

“Hmm…”

Those words struck a chord with Hwang Jung-hoo.

“Indeed, it’s absurd to see these second-generation [referring to the children of the founders] guys who haven’t even served in the military, getting degrees from abroad and acting like managers.”

‘Chairman… they’re not second-generation, they’re third-generation.’

Come to think of it, those currently at the forefront of managing companies were not even Hwang Jung-hoo’s sons, but his grandsons. Jo Gyu-min was once again impressed by Hwang Jung-hoo, who was still actively managing a company at the forefront.

“So, he needs to learn management from an early stage. At the very least, he needs to understand how money flows in and out so that he has a grasp of things when he handles large sums of money.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to give him a small company then?”

“Someone who doesn’t know the value of small amounts of money doesn’t truly understand money. Since he already has considerable assets, it won’t be easy for him to feel the fear of losing money. So, we have to force him to learn.”

“Hmm…”

Hwang Jung-hoo seemed to ponder for a moment before asking,

“But what if the business does incredibly well? He might think it’s easy to make money, wouldn’t he?”

“Excuse me?”

Jo Gyu-min, who hadn’t considered that possibility, was flustered when Kang Jin-ho opened the door and came back inside.

As Kang Jin-ho sat down, Hwang Jung-hoo asked,

“Is something wrong? It sounded like your father was calling.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Your expression says it’s not nothing.”

“…He said that sales have dropped, so if I have nothing to do, I should come out and help at the store during the day.”

Hwang Jung-hoo frowned.

“How much would sales increase just by having you help?”

Then Jo Gyu-min quietly waved his hand.

“Increase?”

“It will triple.”

Hwang Jung-hoo looked at Jo Gyu-min with a subtle gaze.

‘Is he really going to learn the fear of money?’

Jo Gyu-min, feeling a bit uncertain, cleared his throat and avoided Hwang Jung-hoo’s gaze.

“Did you say a business?”

Hwang Jung-hoo clicked his tongue.

Now that things had progressed this far, it was a matter of necessity. Whether it turned out well or badly, it was time to move forward.

“It’s just a business in name only. I was just thinking it might be good for you to try running a small shop.”

“Why?”

“Well…”

Hwang Jung-hoo clicked his tongue. He couldn’t say he wanted him to try a business because he needed management training. Hwang Jung-hoo thought it was best to leave such bothersome explanations to Jo Gyu-min and turned to look at him.

Soon, Jo Gyu-min cleared his throat and began to explain.

“The chairman, who thinks very highly of Mr. Kang Jin-ho, is offering this opportunity so that Mr. Kang Jin-ho can experience something difficult to learn later in life.”

“An opportunity?”

“Yes.”

Jo Gyu-min smiled and said,

“Don’t feel too burdened by the word ‘business.’ Simply put, we’re suggesting you try running a small franchise.”

“A franchise…”

“It will be a valuable experience. If you try it before returning to school, it will be a great help in your life.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

It was definitely a well-crafted story.

“I’ll consider it.”

“I hate bothersome things.”

As Kang Jin-ho tried to get up from his seat, Jo Gyu-min was horrified and quickly rose, grabbing Kang Jin-ho’s arm.

He could feel Hwang Jung-hoo’s piercing gaze from behind. If the plan he had devised went wrong like this, he would be branded as incompetent.

‘Absolutely not!’

Jo Gyu-min had been given a chance to escape, but he had thrown it away himself. Now, he had no choice but to succeed on this path.

“Of course! Of course, I know that it won’t be particularly advantageous for Mr. Kang Jin-ho. So, we have prepared some benefits. Please, just hear me out before you decide!”

“I don’t think I need to hear it?”

“Please don’t! Come on! Just a little!”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and sat back down.

Jo Gyu-min, feeling Hwang Jung-hoo’s sharp gaze, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and began to explain.

“First of all, we will provide the start-up funds.”

“I have money.”

“Of course, you do! You have a lot!” As Hwang Jung-hoo’s eyes narrowed further, Jo Gyu-min began to panic.

“But it will be difficult for you to find a suitable location. It’s hard for an individual to handle location and legal issues on their own. We will provide support for all of that. Mr. Kang Jin-ho, you just need to run the store well for six months and return the initial loan amount. You won’t find these conditions anywhere else.”

“I don’t want to do it anywhere either. So…”

“Ah, it’s not over yet! Why are you like this!”

Jo Gyu-min laughed nervously and grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder tightly. It was a hand that was determined not to let go.

“What I’ve said so far is just about the conditions. The real benefits are separate.”

“What are they?”

“Credits.”

“…What?”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Jo Gyu-min.

Credits? What kind of nonsense was this?

Jo Gyu-min smiled triumphantly and began to explain.

“Jae-kyung University has an experiential learning program. If you work in a field related to your major for more than three months, you get three major credits.”

“Hmm?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched.

“If you work for six months, you get six credits. Of course, no more than that is given. This is based on the chairman’s excellent educational philosophy that no matter how well you know the theory, it’s meaningless if you haven’t used it in practice…”

“Cut out the unnecessary stuff and get to the point.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Jo Gyu-min, who had missed an opportunity to flatter Hwang Jung-hoo due to his interruption, clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

“Anyway, if Mr. Kang Jin-ho, who is majoring in business administration at Jae-kyung University, works as a store manager or owner for six months, he will receive six major credits.”

“That’s a good system.”

Jo Gyu-min grinned.

‘He might even be able to graduate early.’

Kang Jin-ho didn’t have much attachment to university. The only reason he was attending was to meet his family’s expectations. Especially Kang Yu-hwan, who had a clear educational philosophy that no matter how much wealth one had, a person who hadn’t learned was nothing more than a nouveau riche [a person who has recently acquired wealth and is seen as lacking refinement].

So, for Kang Jin-ho, who had to waste time on education that wasn’t particularly useful, the fact that he could graduate from university early was definitely an appealing benefit.

“It’s a very good system. But why didn’t I know about this?”

“It’s understandable that business administration students wouldn’t know. Since it’s business administration, they don’t recognize it unless you directly run a business. You can’t say you learned management through internships or part-time jobs, and it’s not easy to try a business for a short period of six months.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded repeatedly.

From that perspective, Kang Jin-ho was the perfect student to use this system.

“I understand that it’s a very good system, but I actually have one question.”

“Yes, please ask.”

Jo Gyu-min, thinking that Kang Jin-ho was halfway convinced, smiled and waited for Kang Jin-ho’s question.

“What’s the benefit of this system compared to taking six credits in summer school?”

Jo Gyu-min’s eyes went blank.

“Excuse me?”

“Even if it’s difficult to do during the summer vacation due to the return to school issue, I can just take nine credits during the winter vacation. So, why do I have to work for six months to get six credits?”

“Ah…”

Jo Gyu-min asked with a blank face,

“Were you planning to take summer school?”

“Yes.”

“…I see.”

Kang Jin-ho said with a sullen look.

“If I need more credits, I can just take them during vacation. It seems very inefficient to work for six months to get six credits. Isn’t that why there are so few applicants and why it’s not well-known?”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s eyes began to burn like a volcano.

“B-but this doesn’t count towards the maximum credits. Even if you include summer school, the maximum number of credits you can take in a year is 48, but if you use this system, you can take 54 credits!”

“I didn’t take the first semester this year, so I can’t reach the maximum credits anyway.”

“Ah, that’s right. Haha…”

Jo Gyu-min, who had lost his composure, slumped down powerlessly on the sofa and began to chuckle weakly. Kang Jin-ho shook his head and got up from his seat.

“Then I’ll go first.”

“Huh? A-are you leaving already?”

“Isn’t our business done?”

As Hwang Jung-hoo, who had nothing to say, just moved his lips, Kang Jin-ho bowed his head and turned around.

“Then I’ll be going.”

As Kang Jin-ho left the chairman’s office, Hwang Jung-hoo stared blankly at the scene before turning his sharp gaze to Jo Gyu-min.

“…Chairman, it’s not that…”

“You know, right?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t need a reason. I don’t need excuses. Now that it’s come to this, there’s no turning back. No matter what, you must make Kang Jin-ho work.”

‘Should I quit?’

Where had the ambition gone, the desire to find fun in the things he experienced by Kang Jin-ho’s side rather than a comfortable life? In just one day, Jo Gyu-min began to regret the decision he had made yesterday.

“No matter what! If you don’t succeed, don’t come back! Come to work after you succeed!”

“…Are you saying you’re giving me paid leave?”

“Have you ever heard of permanent unpaid leave?”

“That’s being fired.”

“You know it well. Then do your best.”

As Hwang Jung-hoo got up from his seat and headed to his desk, Jo Gyu-min bowed his head and left the chairman’s office.

Then, with a slightly dazed look, he looked around before heading to the stairs with a desolate expression.

“Mr. Jo, he’s going to the stairs again.”

“He must have been scolded again.”

He could hear the whispers behind him, but he didn’t have the energy to protest.

Jo Gyu-min, who had headed to the deserted stairs, quietly picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.

[Why are you calling at this hour?]