Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1141. Opening for Business (1)

“...So, senior. Slush funds, eh?”

Ha Gwang-Sik slowly turned his head when he heard the junior reporter's muttering. However, Bak Gyu-Yeon's sharp glare proved too stinging to endure, and he had to look away in a hurry.

“Soooo, it looks like folks who want to secure a stash of slush funds have publicly shown up at the company they created for that very purpose. And then... Ohhh, look. Now we have a celebrity showing up, too. Not just any celebrity, but the one-and-only Choi Yeon-Ha, no less!”

“...”

“Se-ni-or.”

“...What?”

“Anyone who can afford Choi Yeon-Ha as their ‘face’ doesn’t need to worry about some slush funds and whatever. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Ha Gwang-Sik really had nothing clever to say now.

“Still, with all these people...” Bak Gyu-Yeon scanned the lines of people in front of the building, still visibly flabbergasted. “Just what is this company, really? What does it even do?”

“...I wonder about that myself.”

“Didn’t you say it registered itself as a real estate management firm?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Well, it's common for a company to register as one and change to something else once their business expands, but this... I don’t get this situation at all, senior. Why is Choi Yeon-Ha butting in here? If the entertainment department people hear about this, they might go crazy trying to get here as quickly as possible, you know?”

Getting an interview with Choi Yeon-Ha was as difficult as plucking stars from the night sky.

Actually, it was worse than that; Choi Yeon-Ha rarely appeared in public unless it was to promote her latest project, so even the paparazzi had a tough time securing pictures of her.

But someone like that had brazenly shown herself in this place!

“Well, I’ll be...” Ha Gwang-Sik frowned deeply.

At least the politicians showing up could be argued as an expected turn of events. But Choi Yeon-Ha’s presence genuinely took Ha Gwang-Sik by surprise.

“Se-ni-or.”

“Oii. Speak properly, will ya?”

“Whose presence do you think is more outlandish and unbelievable than hers?”

“What?” Ha Gwang-Sik frowned deeply.

Bak Gyu-Yeon pointed in another direction. “Because, someone else is coming.”

Ha Gwang-Sik’s head lifelessly turned. He didn’t have much energy left to get shocked, but someone even more shocking had shown up? Who could it be?

Bak Gyu-Yeon tilted his head. “Maybe I’m wrong? Huh, I guess it’s a false alarm. That car is pretty ancient, after all.”

Ha Gwang-Sik’s expression crumpled. “...Nope. You’re not wrong.”

“Sorry?”

“Look. The car’s ancient, right? Like you said,” Ha Gwang-Sik groaned deeply. “We know only one person drives around in an ancient car. A man even I respect.”

A man Ha Gwang-Sik respected? Bak Gyu-Yeon grew puzzled just then.

Ha Gwang-Sik didn’t even bother to show much respect to the Prime Minister, yet for this person, he went out of his way to say that?

‘Who could it be?’

That ancient car stopped in front of MK's building, and an old man climbed outside. Bak Gyu-Yeon's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets after he confirmed who that man was.

“C-Chairman Hwang Jeong-Hu?!”

“Hah..." Ha Gwang-Sik groaned deeply when his guess was proven correct.

“Are you saying this place is connected to Jaegyeong?! That means we’re completely wrong about everything!” Bak Gyu-Yeon yelled while glaring sharply at his senior reporter.

He had a good reason to be upset, though. And that reason was Hwang Jeong-Hu.

People called him the lion of the Korean financial world. However, despite that impressive-sounding title, Jaegyeong wasn’t the number-one company in the country. As a matter of fact, it barely squeezed into the top five.

Even so, no one in this country, including people in finance, dared to rank other entrepreneurs higher than Hwang Jeong-Hu.

Why? The answer to that was extremely simple. During his long and illustrious career as the chairman of Jaegyeong, Hwang Jeong-Hu had never been involved in various scandals.

Considering how many scandals this country had to survive during its drive to become one of the global industrial powerhouses, it'd be no exaggeration to say this feat was nigh-on miraculous.

The folks in the business world strongly believed that if Hwang Jeong-Hu had emulated his peers and colluded with government officials in the pursuit of ever-greater profit margins, the ranking of top corporations in Korea would have changed a long time ago.

What did all that mean?

“Chairman Hwang would never show up to the launch of a shell company for slush funds, senior! That man spat in the face of the officials from the military regime when they threatened to close his company down for not cooperating, you know! Why would a man like that come here?!”

In other words, Ha Gwang-Sik was completely wrong about this one.

No one was probably more above board in money-related matters than Hwang Jeong-Hu. Someone like that would never show up here if MK really was what Ha Gwang-Sik suspected it to be, a company created solely to line the pockets of politicians.

‘Dammit! I don’t know anymore!’

Ha Gwang-Sik couldn’t even guess what this place really was anymore.

Meanwhile, Bak Gyu-Yeon continued to grumble. “How does any of this line-up make sense, senior? At first, it’s the Prime Minister. And then, we got Choi Yeon-Ha. And now, it’s Hwang Jeong-Hu?”

Individually, their presence here shouldn't be seen as anything to be alarmed about.

The Prime Minister attending a company’s launch? Sure, that could happen.

There was no law forbidding the Prime Minister from showing his face in such an event, after all. If the company was liked by the public for how above board it was in its dealings, attending one of its events would actually do some good for the politician's image.

What about Choi Yeon-Ha's attendance, then? Obviously, it wouldn't really matter as she was a celebrity. Ditto for Hwang Jeong-Hu; nothing stopped the chairman of the Jaegyeong Group if he held some interest in MK, or one of his acquaintances was involved in its creation.

However, all three of them attending the launch together? Now that was a bit odd.

Arguably the face of the South Korean business world, Hwang Jeong-Hu, arguably the top actor in the country in terms of popularity, Choi Yeon-Ha, and finally, South Korea's current Prime Minister! Three people at the top of their respective professional fields were all attending the launch of a brand-new company. Three people who also happen to be rather reticent about attending these kinds of events!

“For sure, I got it wrong this time,” said Ha Gwang-Sik. He had no problem admitting to the error in his judgment.

This place was not what he initially thought. The players involved were far too big and impressive for this game to be about slush funds and not much else.

“However, isn’t this even more interesting?”

“...!” Bak Gyu-Yeon’s expression crumpled unsightly. He stared at his senior reporter with a face that screamed, ‘You have it bad, senior. It’s a disease at this point, you know!’

“The Prime Minister, Hwang Jeong-Hu, and even Choi Yeon-Ha? You ain't gonna find a weirder line-up than that anywhere in the world. On top of that...”

Ha Gwang-Sik now could see Hwang Jeong-Hu sharing a jovial banter with Kang Jin-Ho. The impression those two gave off was that of friends who knew each other quite well, not a couple of businessmen having a discussion about making money.

A young man in his twenties being friends with an old man in his seventies?

Ha Gwang-Sik slowly rubbed his chin. “Could Kang Jin-Ho be Hwang Jeong-Hu’s illegitimate son?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, senior,” Bak Gyu-Yeon tutted loudly.

“Heh. Yeah, I guess that is ridiculous,” Ha Gwang-Sik chuckled in defeat.

Not only would Hwang Jeong-Hu not have a child out of wedlock, but even if he did, his personality meant he wouldn’t openly support the illegitimate son like this.

And the clincher was... If Kang Jin-Ho really was Hwang Jeong-Hu’s illegitimate son, the chairman of Jaegyeong would’ve never asked the Prime Minister to show up here. It would have been too risky, after all!

Ha Gwang-Sik frowned. “Hey, man. Can you hear what they are talking about?”

Bak Gyu-Yeon shook his head. “...Of course not.”

“Dammit! I’d kill to be the fly in their wall right about now!”

Ha Gwang-Sik could only ruefully stare at the scene in the distance. The Prime Minister, Kang Jin-Ho, and Hwang Jeong-Hu were cordially chatting with one another in front of the building.

***

Hwang Jeong-Hu chuckled.

“To think this brat has finally become the president of a company!”

Lee Hyeon-Su sneakily tried to correct Hwang Jeong-Hu. “Sir, it’s chairman, not president.”

“What? Jin-Ho’s a chairman now? Are you saying he’s the same as me?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su nearly tripped on his feet. If Hwang Jeong-Hu put it that way, then yes, they were indeed the same! Just like how the captain of the local amateur soccer club was also a “captain” like the captain of the national team!

“No way. You, be a representative instead. It’s too early to call yourself a chair of anything,” said Hwang Jeong-Hu.

“Yes, I agree with you,” Kang Jin-Ho animatedly nodded away.

He had been admirably holding himself back until now, but the truth was? Every time someone referred to him as ‘Chairman Kang’, he thought he’d die of embarrassment! Had he been alone in this place, Kang Jin-Ho would’ve kicked up a fuss, saying he didn't want to be called that.

Lee Hyeon-Su sheepishly replied, “It’s because we have, uh, subsidiaries...”

“Subsidiaries? You guys just got started, yet you’re already talking about that? Don’t bite off more than you can chew when you haven’t even learned how to chew properly yet, okay? Or you might lose a few teeth, you dummies!”

Lee Hyeon-Su smiled wryly while listening to Hwang Jeong-Hu.

‘The chairman has a knack for changing the atmosphere, doesn’t he?’

One could search every corner of the Earth and still not find anyone capable of treating Kang Jin-Ho like a kid other than Hwang Jeong-Hu.

Obviously, the Prime Minister would never dare do that. And even the Master of the Round Table, someone so lofty that the mere likes of the Prime Minister weren't good enough to present his business card to, would never, ever speak so casually to Kang Jin-Ho.

‘What a strange relationship this is.’

The length of time Kang Jin-Ho had existed easily surpassed that of Hwang Jeong-Hu’s. And the latter probably knew that.

Even then, the Jaegyeong Group's chairman still treated the Assembly Master as a youngster, while the latter seemingly had zero issues with this relationship dynamic.

Choi Yeon-Ha grinned and playfully interjected. “Eii, don't be too harsh on them, Chairman. Doing that is like a demotion, you know?”

“Mm?” Hwang Jeong-Hu turned his head and stared at Choi Yeon-Ha before guffawing happily away. “Well, well! You look very familiar, miss.”

“I’m Choi Yeon-Ha. Although the deal isn’t done yet, I’m scheduled to take up the position of MK Entertainment’s director.”

“Aha, Miss Choi Yeon-Ha!” Hwang Jeong-Hu grinned playfully back at her. “Mm, yes, I’ve heard about you. Although, I don’t quite understand you, Miss Choi.”

“In which regard, sir?”

“I mean, aren’t you getting the short end of the deal, Miss Choi?”

Choi Yeon-Ha covered her mouth while giggling brightly. “Yes, it might seem that way. But what can we do? Human hearts work in mysterious ways, after all.”

“Tsk, tsk! It’s a waste, I tell you. This punk doesn’t deserve you.”

“Sorry?”

“Ah, that’s not right. Let me rephrase that. You’re too good for this company, I’d say. I don’t get why you’d go out of your way to get involved in this place.”

“That’s because I wish to turn this company into a success story, you see?”

“Ah. In that case, we’ll have to believe in you, Miss Choi.”

While listening to this exchange, Kang Jin-Ho silently looked up at the sky.

‘Why? Why can’t I be happy in this place, either?’

This was supposed to be a grand opening in name only, a simple quick-and-done kind of event! So, he never imagined he'd get verbally punted around so painfully like this!

“Thank you for waiting! We’ll now proceed to the ribbon-cutting ceremony!” Lee Hyeon-Su loudly declared.

At least Kang Jin-Ho could draw some solace from the fact that Lee Hyeon-Su was faithfully fulfilling his duties!

Lee Hyeon-Su smartly skipped over things like speeches or giving people time to mingle and proceeded straight to the moments the photographers had been waiting for.

Although it all felt rather disorganized and chaotic, doing things this way guaranteed speediness, which was great news from Kang Jin-Ho's point of view!

“We’ll take commemorative pictures while cutting the ribbon, so please! Stand at the front entrance, sirs! Please be careful with the scissors!”

Lee Hyeon-Su was clearly trying to get things moving as quickly as possible. He had a good reason for doing so, though.

After all, he could feel the burly men lining up at the rear were getting bored of this whole thing. They were stealthily fidgeting and tugging at their clothes.

Even though Lee Hyeon-Su threatened them silently via sharp glares and clenched teeth, such methods weren't nearly as effective as he had hoped. Then again, he was dealing with a bunch of free-spirited martial artists, now wasn't he!

He needed to end this ceremony as quickly as possible to avoid any embarrassing situation that might develop.

“Here you go, sir! Here comes the ribbon, everyone!”

Employees hurriedly brought out the large ribbon when Lee Hyeon-Su urgently gestured at them.

Hwang Jeong-Hu, who was standing at the front along with Kang Jin-Ho and the Prime Minister, received the ribbon and chuckled helplessly. “What the... It’s not like we’re on speed dating, so is it okay to do things this way?”

Lee Hyeon-Su apologetically smiled. “My apologies, sir. We don’t know how to do stuff like this, so...”

“...Is that so?”

Hwang Jeong-Hu chuckled again.

For sure, Kang Jin-Ho and his gang could be such funny weirdos, no? Having said that...

‘This reminds me of when we first opened Jaegyeong’s doors.’

Back then, Hwang Jeong-Hu and his people were motivated and raring to go, just like these people. Yet they lacked the requisite experience in things like this. So, whenever they tried to hold an event, things usually went awry somewhere.

Lee Hyeon-Su stepped forward. “Now then, we’ll proceed with cutting the...”

Hwang Jeong-Hu loudly tutted. “You idiot, get out of the way so we can take the pictures!”

Lee Hyeon-Su sheepishly retreated from there while bowing his head in apology.

The Prime Minister guffawed at this sight. “Isn’t this rather funny, Chairman Hwang?”

“Funny? Yes, I guess so. Hahaha!” Hwang Jeong-Hu chuckled affably.

Indeed, this situation was ‘funny’. So much so that he couldn’t stop laughing genially.

Maybe this was why he chose to remain close to Kang Jin-Ho. The world of that man was filled with the kind of vitality and fun Hwang Jeong-Hu’s life no longer boasted, after all!

“Yes, Prime Minister. It indeed is entertaining.”

Things would undoubtedly remain entertaining into the future, too. How could Hwang Jeong-Hu be sure of this?

Because Kang Jin-Ho was here!

“We’re cutting the ribbons, everyone!”

***

Ha Gwang-Sik’s eyes gleamed sharply as he watched the opening ceremony drawing to a close.

“Oii, Gyu-Yeon. Did you take the pictures?”

“Yes, I did. But what’s the point of doing this, senior?”

“Until a few minutes ago, I'd say just for the sake of record-keeping, but now..."

“Eh?”

Ha Gwang-Sik smirked. “I have a hunch that these pictures will come in handy for us in the near future.”

“...”

The veteran reporter's eyes gleamed even more as he observed the important people laughing with each other after cutting the ribbon.

‘If this is indeed far bigger than I thought, well, won't that be actually better for me? I swear, I will uncover what this place does, no matter what! You should not underestimate me, Kang Jin-Ho!'

The smirk etched on Ha Gwang-Sik’s face deepened.