Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 395

“Hehehe-”

Jo Gyu-min was humming to himself, clearly in a good mood.

‘This is why it’s so hard to quit this job.’

When you’re with Kang Jin-ho, all sorts of interesting things just seem to happen. It felt like incidents were constantly popping up around him, even when he was just standing still.

And each of those incidents was something that piqued Jo Gyu-min’s interest. How could people living ordinary office lives ever get involved in such things?

‘Of course, I’d probably get stoned if I said solving bullying issues was fun.’

Well, whatever. It’s not like anyone’s listening.

To be precise, it wasn’t the solving of the problem that was fun, but rather the experience of taking on various roles while dealing with issues that ordinary office workers would never encounter.

Usually, no matter how skilled a person is, the work they do at a company is limited. And if that goes on for too long, it just becomes a simple, repetitive task.

Jo Gyu-min hated that kind of boring life.

‘In that sense, I’m pretty lucky.’

Because he has a troublemaker by his side.

A charming troublemaker who never lets him get bored, no matter when or where.

Sometimes… well, yeah. It’s a bit dangerous, but it’s also true that you can’t feel the thrill without danger.

‘This is kind of a perverted thought…’

They say modern people all live with some kind of mental quirk, and it seems Jo Gyu-min was one of them. But it’s okay. It’s fun.

Jo Gyu-min saw the school gates in the distance and drove the car. He drove through the wide-open gates and lightly honked the horn.

The short, sharp honk made the kids by the windows focus their attention on him.

‘Okay, now they know I’m here…’

If any of the kids had a good eye, they’d know that this car wasn’t ordinary. Even the principal’s car wouldn’t be as good as this one.

Well, that’s to be expected, I guess.

This car was recently bought by Chairman Hwang Jeong-hu. It seemed that Kang Jin-ho buying a new car had spurred him on, and Chairman Hwang also changed his car after a long time. And unlike his previous tendencies, he chose a car that suited him very well.

Just by looking at the car’s magnificent exterior and abnormal size, anyone would realize that a big shot had arrived.

Unusually quiet for such a massive body. Yes, it was a black sedan that moved like a ghost, just as its name suggested.

Jo Gyu-min deliberately drove across the middle of the schoolyard, taking the most conspicuous route, and parked the car at the main entrance leading to the school building. Then, he slowly got out of the car.

‘Elegantly, elegantly.’

And with a slight swagger.

Every movement had to be filled with arrogance. Relaxing his shoulders was meaningless here.

He had to put strength into his whole body, hold his neck stiff, and make his shoulders shake, as if to say, ‘I’m a different class of person than you, so you better serve me.’ And…

Jo Gyu-min got out of the car and shook his shoulders once on each side. Then, he picked up the designer sunglasses from his front pocket and put them on with a flourish.

‘I have to put on this kind of performance.’ Too much?

No, no.

The focus of this performance isn’t about looking cool. It’s not about looking cool or impressive, but about giving the impression that he’s itching to act all high and mighty.

That way, the dignity of the person behind him would be amplified. He had to make sure that people recognized and kept recognizing that even a mere secretary could act so powerful.

So, what happened?

The front glass door was roughly opened, and someone came running out.

‘That’s right.’

There was no reason why the teachers’ office couldn’t see outside. The moment the horn sounded at the gate, they would have all witnessed this ridiculously large sedan entering.

Then, they’d be on high alert, of course.

A middle-aged man with thinning hair, who had rushed out, caught his breath and said,

“H-how can I help you?”

“Ah, just a moment.”

Jo Gyu-min took out a business card case from his pocket.

Then, he took out a business card from it and flicked it with his finger as he handed it to the middle-aged man.

The man who received the card widened his eyes as he read the words written on it.

“J-Jaekyung?”

Jo Gyu-min smiled gently without rushing. He gave the man a moment to savor the name Jaekyung, then slowly, very slowly, opened his mouth.

“Is the principal here? The chairman would be even better. Ah, this is a private school, right?”

Jo Gyu-min smiled brightly.

* * *

‘…What the heck is going on?’

Jeon Sang-cheol, the chairman of Hyosung Foundation, looked at the man sitting across from him with a tense gaze.

A young man who was leisurely drinking coffee with his legs crossed, as if this were his own office.

Normally, Jeon Sang-cheol would have looked at the man with displeasure and demanded he show some respect. But right now, the concept of respect had been completely erased from his mind.

Respect, my foot.

Respect is what subordinates show to their superiors. Those who talk about Confucius say that superiors should also show respect to their subordinates, but Jeon Sang-cheol thought that was just ridiculous.

If superiors had to show respect to their subordinates, would people in Korea be so desperate to climb to the top?

That’s just a consolation for those who slipped off the ladder to the top.

And the man in front of him could never be considered his subordinate. As the chief of staff of Jaekyung Group, one of the leading conglomerates in Korea, he was far above him in social standing.

Age?

There’s no such thing as a commoner talking about age to a nobleman. If their status is different, what does age matter?

Jeon Sang-cheol considered himself a very rational person. Others sometimes called him servile, but that was nonsense!

Then, were all the ministers who bowed their heads to the king and couldn’t wait to say good things all embodiments of servility?

That’s what status is.

And perhaps today, he had been given a chance to rise in status.

This man was someone of a higher rank than him.

But the person this man was backing was a giant he couldn’t even dare to look in the eye.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Ah, just a moment. Let me finish my coffee before we talk.”

“Ah… yes, please do.”

Jeon Sang-cheol quietly waited for the arrogant young man to finish his coffee.

Jo Gyu-min, who didn’t rush at all despite Jeon Sang-cheol’s gaze, finished his coffee and put the cup down with a clink. Then, he turned his head and looked at him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jo Gyu-min, the chief of staff of the Jaekyung Group’s secretary office.”

“Yes. I’m Jeon Sang-cheol, the chairman of the Hyosung Foundation.”

“The reason I’ve come to see you is to check one thing.”

“Check?”

Jeon Sang-cheol tilted his head.

What could Jaekyung possibly need to check at a school?

“I don’t know if you’re aware,”

“Yes.”

Jo Gyu-min smiled and began to speak.

“Our chairman is doing a lot of social work without other people knowing. Of course, he doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, so he never tries to expose it to the media or anything. However, it’s something that all prominent people know about, so I don’t know why he’s trying to hide it. Hahahaha!”

“……Haha, that’s right.”

What do you mean, ‘that’s right’?

Jo Gyu-min laughed inwardly.

If he said it like this, most people wouldn’t say, ‘I’ve never heard of that before.’

If they were pretentious, they wouldn’t want to be excluded from the ‘prominent people’ who knew such information. And even if they weren’t that kind of person, they wouldn’t want to contradict him and complicate the conversation in a place like this.

Then, the groundwork would be laid.

“Yes. You’re well aware. In particular, our chairman is very concerned about supporting orphanages.”

“Ah… that’s just like the chairman.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As expected, Hwang Jeong-hu’s name sold well.

A lifetime of walking a path of conviction had given the name Hwang Jeong-hu its own authority.

And that authority was something that a mere chairman could never deny. The name Hwang Jeong-hu was like a master key.

‘And there are guys like me who use it.’

It was a bit… well.

It was dirty and petty, but so what? Chairman Hwang Jeong-hu wouldn’t care even if he knew. He had also received permission to use his name as he pleased when it came to supporting Kang Jin-ho.

‘This is subtly different, though…’

Jo Gyu-min took a slight breath and spurred on Jo Im.

“In particular, the chairman values education. He deeply regrets not having had the opportunity to receive proper formal education himself, so he believes that it’s more important than anything else for children to be given such opportunities.”

“Indeed, he is Chairman Wang.”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here today.”

“Yes?”

Jo Gyu-min slightly raised his sunglasses.

“Chairman Hwang Jeong-hu believes that he doesn’t have much time left as chairman. And he wants that to be his last achievement. Not as an economic figure who led Korea’s economy, but as an educator who laid the new foundation for Korea. Do you understand what I mean?”

“……Yes, I understand, but…”

What did that have to do with Jeon Sang-cheol himself?

“To do that, he believes he needs the help of capable educators, especially those on the front lines. The chairman believes that everything happens in the field, so he doesn’t trust educators who have only studied theory.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Jeon Sang-cheol look at Jo Gyu-min with a mixture of anticipation and tension.

‘Could this be…?’

“Yes, a partner. That’s exactly what the chairman wants.”

Jeon Sang-cheol’s heart began to beat like crazy. Just thinking about being Hwang Jeong-hu’s partner made his heart race.

“And this place has become one of the candidates. I’ve just come to let you know that for now. He’ll probably be making a move soon.”

“W-wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

“No, but why us? And is it okay to say that in advance?”

“It’s okay to tell you. The chairman doesn’t just look at ‘how the school has been run so far.’ He also says that the ability to fix problems quickly is an essential skill for someone who will establish a new educational philosophy.”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“And the reason this school was chosen… well, I don’t know if I should tell you this… well, there was no order not to.”

Jo Gyu-min lowered his voice slightly and said,

“Actually, a child from an orphanage that the chairman sponsors is attending this school. The fact that we can get information about the school from a student’s objective perspective was also one of the reasons for the selection.”

“O-orphanage?”

“Yes, that’s right. This is just an opportunity. If you’re not interested, you can just ignore it. However, hmm…”

Jo Gyu-min scratched his cheek and said,

“Even if it’s not a new philosophy, it’s not good to overlook problems in the front lines of education… If there’s a problem, I don’t think the chairman would just ignore it.”

“But, what problems could there be? And even if there are problems, what can the chairman do to the school? Hahahaha!”

Jo Gyu-min jumped up from his seat.

“Well then.”

“A-already?”

“I have many schools to visit. Well then, I’ll be going.”

Jo Gyu-min left without looking back. Jeon Sang-cheol stared blankly at the door, then picked up the intercom.

“Tell the student affairs director to come! And the principal too! Quickly! Right now!”