Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 232

Flames flickered in the hearth, and Kang Jin-ho stared blankly into them.

On either side of him, Park Yu-min and Joo Young-gi wore expressions that seemed to say, ‘I don’t know what kind of face to make right now,’ while in front of them, Jo Gyu-min, sporting a large baker’s hat and apron, stood before the hearth with a determined look, speaking with gravitas.

“Timing is crucial! Timing!”

“…Um, excuse me, Mr. Jo.”

Joo Young-gi raised a fundamental question about the situation.

“Weren’t we initially going to make pizza because it was something even someone who only knows how to boil ramen could easily learn to make?”

“That’s right.”

Joo Young-gi glanced at Kang Jin-ho at the ‘someone’ part, then chuckled.

“Then why are we making wood-fired pizza! This is a whole different level of cooking. Is Kang Jin-ho going to cook and sell this?”

“It just… happened.”

“And what’s with ‘Authentic Korean Wood-Fired Pizza’ written on the store? Shouldn’t it be ‘Authentic Italian Wood-Fired Pizza’?”

“Well, I didn’t actually learn it in Italy. One must be honest.”

“You should have just held a ritual for it to fail!”

Jo Gyu-min slightly shook his head at Joo Young-gi’s outburst.

Things hadn’t started out this way. Initially, they had genuinely intended to create a decent pizza place.

However, after coordinating with Hwang Jung-hoo and having reports rejected, the situation began to spiral. The idea of simply handing it over to a franchise was dismissed because the success would depend on the franchise’s marketing and brand recognition.

Ultimately, the goal was to create a standard, independent pizza place, but the result was something utterly bizarre.

“P-pizza is all about wood-fired pizza!”

“That’s for people with skills. Don’t underestimate small businesses.”

“Don’t worry. That’s why I went and learned wood-fired pizza techniques! I spent three whole days training at an authentic Italian pizza place.”

“…Then you should call it authentic Italian pizza!”

“That feels a bit… dishonest.”

Joo Young-gi chuckled.

He peeked out of the kitchen and felt a sense of suffocation.

‘It feels like a pizza place I went to when I ran away from home in middle school.’

The pizza place, infused with Jo Gyu-min’s taste, was a mishmash of old, funky, and trendy elements. The tables were large and wide, while the chairs looked like they belonged in a fancy café. The interior… it might sound strange, but it felt like a pub from a Western movie.

‘This is a disaster.’

Joo Young-gi laughed in dismay.

If this place made a profit, it would be either a miracle or a shop blessed by the gods.

Joo Young-gi turned his head and stared at Jo Gyu-min.

‘No, this guy’s skills aren’t usually like this…’

It was hard to believe that this was the same Jo Gyu-min whose abilities he had admired. How did such a terrible hybrid come to be?

Sometimes, there are people who show incredible talent in their own work but are complete duds in everything else.

Joo Young-gi wondered if Jo Gyu-min was one of those types.

“The location is really good though…”

Park Yu-min muttered, watching the people passing by outside.

“Why, why are you all so negative! It’s clean and nice! It’ll be a hit.”

“Clean?”

“A hit?”

Jo Gyu-min’s face flushed with embarrassment at Joo Young-gi and Park Yu-min’s barrage.

‘When did those two become such a good team?’

When did Joo Young-gi and Park Yu-min get so close that they could pull off such a good combo?

“Don’t be so negative…”

Just then, Kang Jin-ho raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“First, show us how to make the pizza. We can talk after that.”

“Ah, yes!”

Jo Gyu-min’s face brightened at Kang Jin-ho’s support. He definitely clicked with Kang Jin-ho.

“First, the dough is important. According to what I learned… um, so…”

Jo Gyu-min began kneading the dough.

The good thing was that his hands showed some signs of training, but the sad thing was that even while kneading the dough, his hands were flailing around like an orchestra conductor. The difference was that a conductor moved their hands intentionally, while Jo Gyu-min’s hands just moved without knowing where they were going.

“Um, this is just my honest opinion…”

Joo Young-gi asked Jo Gyu-min.

“If Mr. Jo runs this pizza place, it seems like it’ll fail, but if Jin-ho runs it after learning from Mr. Jo, isn’t it obvious what will happen?”

Jo Gyu-min silently slammed the dough down.

Fortunately, the pizza was completed.

The result placed on the table was something that they could all acknowledge as a pizza.

The problem was that the only people who could acknowledge it were them.

The three who had witnessed the process knew that this black lump of dough was made to be called a pizza, but anyone who skipped the process and only saw the result would only be able to describe this strange thing as ‘a round, bumpy, black something.’

“It’s a bust.”

“It’s a goner.”

“It’s a…”

When even Kang Jin-ho was about to say the same thing, Jo Gyu-min looked at him with pleading eyes.

“K-Kang Jin-ho.”

“…You want to sell this?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the pizza and chuckled.

“I never thought there would be someone who makes pizza worse than my master.”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho was reevaluating his master, who had managed to make edible food even with limited ingredients.

There were people who could turn flour into coal in this good environment.

But the conclusion was very simple.

“Then, um…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled and said.

“Let’s start reviewing everything from the beginning.”

“…Okay.”

Jo Gyu-min’s shoulders slumped.

Surprisingly, the one who offered the most vibrant opinions during the strategy meeting was none other than Joo Young-gi.

“There’s no hope if we learn like this. We just need to send Jin-ho to a place where he can learn how to make pizza.”

“Jin-ho is busy.”

“Busy my foot! He just needs to stop going to the café. It’s my business now, so why is he still stuck at his father’s café! Tell him you can’t do it.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“And get rid of that ‘Authentic Korean Wood-Fired Pizza’ sign right now!”

“I put a lot of thought into that…”

Jo Gyu-min said regretfully, and Joo Young-gi clutched his chest.

“Mr. Jo, you must never resign! Even if you have to cling to the chairman’s pants, you must stay with the company until your retirement! The moment you retire and open a chicken place, the rest of your life will be a human drama!”

“Human drama…”

“Let’s live a life of variety shows! Don’t think about filming a documentary.”

“Thanks for the advice…”

As Jo Gyu-min shrank back, Joo Young-gi raised his voice again.

“Hey, don’t you have any opinions?”

Kang Jin-ho glanced at the hearth and opened his mouth.

“The hearth is too small.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about now.”

“A big hearth. We need a bigger hearth.”

“Are we going to roast a whole pig!”

Joo Young-gi turned his head sharply, and Park Yu-min flinched and immediately spoke up.

“I wish the interior was more unified. It’s too distracting.”

“Ah, as expected of Park Yu-min. You’re still human. So, what should we do?”

“There are quite a few people in the world who can point out problems but can’t offer solutions.”

“It’s a relief though. I’m part of the majority. I would have been sad if I was the only one who thought that.”

“That’s something to be proud of!”

Joo Young-gi looked around at the three of them and breathed fire from his mouth.

“Oh, you guys! If you have so much money, use it as toilet paper or donate it! Don’t waste it so creatively!”

“Calm down.”

Kang Jin-ho stood up and patted Joo Young-gi’s shoulder. But Joo Young-gi didn’t calm down.

“Jin-ho!”

“Yeah?”

“What about the contract? Is there a condition that we have to work according to what they want?”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho turned to Jo Gyu-min.

“T-there are no such clauses. The only clause is that we recover the interior costs and initial startup costs that we invested.”

Joo Young-gi nodded and looked at Kang Jin-ho with burning eyes.

“Invest more. You have money in your account, right?”

“I do.”

“Redo the interior, and take down that sign. Flip the sign outside too.”

“…It’ll take more time.”

“It’s better to fail slowly than to fail quickly, right?”

“That’s right.”

Park Yu-min agreed.

“We’ll definitely fail like this.”

“I was going to stay quiet and watch, but I can’t stand this. Set a limit on how much you can invest. Let’s create a budget for the reconstruction within that limit.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“And Mr. Jo.”

“Yes?”

“You shouldn’t do this. This was supposed to be a simple franchise, but this is a breach of contract, isn’t it?”

“……”

“I’m writing off all the help I’ve received so far. You can’t just blatantly screw us over like this.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jo Gyu-min stared at the ceiling with a soulless face.

‘Chairman, see? I told you we should have done it the original way.’

The situation had escalated due to Jo Gyu-min’s disastrous sense, but Jo Gyu-min was completely oblivious to that fact.

“I have a friend who does interior design. If I get him drunk and sweet-talk him, he’ll do it cheaply.”

“Hmm…”

“So, you go learn how to bake pizza in the meantime. Mr. Jo, can you find a place for him to learn?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Good! And Yu-min, you… um, you…”

Park Yu-min’s eyes wavered. If he had nothing to do here, wouldn’t that be proof that he was useless?

“How about a fan signing event on opening day? With a pizza that tastes like the universe…”

“Are you telling me to push my friend’s shop into hell with my own hands?”

Joo Young-gi chuckled.

“Okay, from now on, every day is money. Every minute, every second is money. The rent is still going out even while we’re doing this. Let’s move as fast as possible!”

“Okay.”

“Roger.”

Joo Young-gi snorted and went into the kitchen, then started taking pictures. Park Yu-min, who had been quietly watching the scene, opened his mouth.

“But wasn’t he working as a manager?”

“Oh, that’s…”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head.

“The company said they couldn’t leave all the management to just one person, so they decided that Eun-young would only come in when needed. They told him to gain experience by managing other celebrities like that, but he said he didn’t want to.”

“…It’s like an add-on.”

Something that’s good to have, but not so bad if you don’t.

“Then isn’t he the most useless one right now?”

“…Yeah.”

Joo Young-gi’s back, as he was taking pictures with passion, looked somewhat sad.

And so, another week passed….

The day that Kang Jin-ho’s first shop, which had been full of ups and downs, finally opened its doors had arrived.