Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 389

“I don’t think so.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched.

“I don’t think so either, Jin-ho.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched again.

“Do you really need to say that, too?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s final remark made Kang Jin-ho finally grab his forehead.

‘It worked.’

Park Yu-min clenched his fist tightly under the table. Kang Jin-ho was wavering.

Once he made up his mind, Kang Jin-ho was not one to easily change it. He was stubborn to a fault. But now, he was wavering.

‘A little more.’

They had to push him harder now.

“I don’t really understand why it wouldn’t work.”

As Park Yu-min subtly gave a signal, Jo Gyu-min cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“Of course, how should I put it… It’s not that Kang Jin-ho’s method is wrong, but kids these days aren’t that simple.”

“What do you mean?”

Jo Gyu-min scanned Kang Jin-ho up and down, then scratched his head vigorously.

Explaining this to Kang Jin-ho was very difficult. He had been the acting director of Kang Jin-ho’s school and had witnessed Kang Jin-ho’s school days.

‘There’s no way he’d understand.’

Before Jo Gyu-min took the position of director, Kang Jin-ho was already in a state where the kids were considerate of him.

After Chairman Hwang Jeong-hu had turned the school upside down once, and with his good looks, he was seen as someone of high status.

‘It sounds a bit strange, but still.’

Anyway, Kang Jin-ho, who had finished his school life being treated with such consideration, had no way of knowing how other students were ranked.

“To put it bluntly, even the way you dress determines your rank.”

“Clothes?”

Kang Jin-ho looked down at his own clothes.

A black cotton t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

‘What does this even mean?’

“This?”

“Yes.”

Jo Gyu-min nodded.

“It might sound like a different world to you, Kang Jin-ho, but these days, kids check each other’s clothing brands, how much the clothes cost, and how often they change their outfits.”

“Why?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes widened.

Seriously, how bored do you have to be to check what other people are wearing?

Isn’t that a bit much?

“They’re looking at their financial power.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened slightly. The word ‘financial power’ was quite painful.

‘I never thought of that.’

Financial power among kids? What was this all about?

“Am I too old-fashioned?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you know?”

“…”

Kang Jin-ho lowered his head at the barrage of criticism from all sides.

He had never thought of this at all.

“Just think about it objectively.”

Choi Yeon-ha snapped.

“To put it simply, people rank each other even while pretending not to. The conditions for that ranking are appearance, money, ability, and sense. The strength that Kang Jin-ho emphasizes is only one of those. And these days, even that strength isn’t that important. It would have been the same when Kang Jin-ho was in school, did you go to school in the 80s or something?”

Kang Jin-ho was speechless.

“So, this method won’t work?”

“It won’t.”

Jo Gyu-min said clearly.

“The biggest reason it won’t work is… it might be able to resolve the current situation, but it won’t change the situation much. Even if you beat up the bullies, their superior position won’t collapse, and in the end, the kids will become isolated. The bullying might disappear, but they’ll likely be ostracized more thoroughly. They’ll go from being outcasts to being subtly excluded.”

“Huh? Subtly…?”

“They’ll be subtly ostracized.”

This was also an outdated term, but this person, who didn’t even know that, what kind of school life had he had?

‘It was peaceful, I guess.’

After that incident, no one bothered Kang Jin-ho, and Kang Jin-ho wasn’t the type to cause trouble, so he had a really peaceful school life.

So, is it normal that he doesn’t know…? Or not?

Jo Gyu-min was confused.

“Anyway!”

Jo Gyu-min wrapped up the situation.

“You can’t change the situation with that kind of method.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face became serious.

His thoughts hadn’t changed at all. No matter how much he thought about it, the lack of power meant that the present couldn’t be changed. No matter how much wealth and power one had, a human without violence was powerless in the face of violence.

This was something Kang Jin-ho had experienced deeply in his life.

How many people in the Central Plains [a region in China] had fallen before violence? A Confucian scholar who had looked down on the world had to lose his knowledge in the face of violence, and even someone with unparalleled virtue had lost his life in the face of violence.

Even the emperor, who was called the pinnacle of power, had to bow his head before the might of the Demonic Cult [a fictional evil organization]. Kang Jin-ho, who lived in a world where it was natural to lose everything if you didn’t have the power to protect yourself, couldn’t respect the idea of power that wasn’t backed by violence.

“But if you don’t have power yourself…”

“No.”

Jo Gyu-min said firmly.

“Kang Jin-ho, you need to look at the world more objectively. No, rather than objectively, you need to look at it more strictly. I don’t know about the world you’re in, but for those who live in the world that’s visible, violence isn’t that necessary anymore. What’s needed is financial power, not violence.”

“Hmm…”

“That’s not it either.”

Choi Yeon-ha interrupted Jo Gyu-min.

“It’s because you’re trying to solve it with violence or financial power that it’s not working! That’s why they say men are simple.”

Kang Jin-ho and Jo Gyu-min both lowered their heads slightly.

There was a sense of sternness in that voice. They wondered if they had been thinking too easily.

“Then?”

“It’s about looks.”

The slightly lowered heads returned to their original positions. At the same time, intense questions appeared on their faces.

“Pretty kids don’t get bullied. Good-looking guys don’t get bullied either. Have you ever heard of good-looking kids getting bullied? If you fix your face a bit and style yourself well… that kind of bullying is nothing.”

Park Yu-min looked up at the ceiling and smiled contentedly.

‘This is a lost cause.’

The biggest mistake he had made recently was asking Kang Jin-ho to do this. And the second mistake he had made was creating this meeting.

“But strength!”

“No! Money!”

“It’s about looks! Looks!”

How could such extreme people gather together?

‘Is this okay? Is this really okay?’

Was it okay to entrust the future of the children to these people?

Park Yu-min, who had never doubted Kang Jin-ho in his life, was now seriously questioning the man named Kang Jin-ho.

“Um…”

Park Yu-min called out tentatively, but they were too busy asserting their opinions, as if Park Yu-min didn’t exist.

“How do you ostracize someone who’s strong?”

“Isn’t it just a matter of not dealing with someone who’s strong? That might stop direct bullying, but it will only intensify the isolation of the kids in the class. In the end, it’s about money. To say that someone with money is ignored is to deny modern capitalism. Someone with money is never ignored.”

“Hehe! You sound like a nouveau riche [a person who has recently become wealthy]. I was poor when I was in school, but I was never ignored. Why? Because I’m pretty!”

“…Are you saying that yourself?”

“Why? It’s the truth?”

Jo Gyu-min looked at Choi Yeon-ha with a dumbfounded expression.

What kind of character was this?

‘She’s pretty, though.’

If someone who was just moderately pretty said something like that, it would sound annoying, but this was so pretty that there was nothing to say.

“Not everyone can be as pretty as Choi Yeon-ha. The kids have their own original faces! How do you fix that now?”

“You can fix it. Even if a face is a mess, if a professional styles it, they can be above average.”

“Are comedians funny because they don’t style themselves? There’s a limit to that too.”

“Then let’s see. Whether it works or not!”

Sparks began to fly between Jo Gyu-min and Choi Yeon-ha.

Park Yu-min covered his face as he watched the scene.

‘There’s no one normal here.’

Of course, it was very grateful that they were so passionate about helping the children. In fact, other than Kang Jin-ho, other people had nothing to do with this, but it wasn’t easy for them to be so enthusiastic.

The problem was that the direction seemed a bit strange.

“We can’t communicate! Really!”

“Who are you to say that!”

“This conversation is pointless.”

The three of them began to engage in a battle of wills.

Park Yu-min, who had been watching quietly, thought that now was the time for him to step in.

“Um, I’ve been thinking…”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

He felt like all the targeting was focused on him. If he said something wrong here, he felt like he would be buried somewhere. Park Yu-min swallowed hard and opened his mouth with difficulty.

“There’s no need to say who’s right or wrong… it’s not like they’re mutually exclusive anyway. Can’t we just do it all?”

At that, the three of them, who had been looking at each other, all turned their heads back to Park Yu-min.

“You don’t look like it, but you’re smart?”

“As expected of Park Yu-min.”

“Indeed.”

Thump!

Choi Yeon-ha slammed the table and jumped up.

“Okay. I’ll prove to you how much people’s treatment changes when their appearance changes, so don’t be proud later. Men always know they’ve lost, but they don’t admit it because of their useless pride.”

“Hehehe.”

Jo Gyu-min ran his finger across his lips once, then got up from his seat.

“That’s quite an interesting idea. It seems like you haven’t met a capable man yet, but a man with money and wealth doesn’t need to be proud of such useless things. A man’s pride comes from his wallet. Especially for men!”

The determined gaze of Jo Gyu-min and the chic gaze of Choi Yeon-ha met in the air.

Kang Jin-ho, who felt awkward sitting there, got up awkwardly and opened his mouth.

“Ah, I…”

At that moment, Choi Yeon-ha and Jo Gyu-min simultaneously turned to Kang Jin-ho and opened their mouths.

“You’re out.”

“Kang Jin-ho, please step back for now!”

The dragon and the tiger bared their teeth and claws at each other.

“I’ll show you how scary money is.”

“Ah, such a vulgar nouveau riche mindset. And you’re not even a nouveau riche. The arrogance of a man without ability is pathetic.”

“I wish you wouldn’t spread your princess disease to others.”

“What?”

“This woman?”