Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1350. Conferring (5)

Okay, so...

Lee Hyeon-Su tried to organize everything that had happened so far in his head.

It was already past the point of no return. That much was obvious.

What he should confirm first when cooking up a strategy was differentiating the inevitable from what could be influenced and changed.

Kang Jin-Ho punishing Chen Hui was one of those inevitable events. After all, Kang Jin-Ho was someone who had drawn a clear line. And his line might be the clearest out of every person Lee Hyeon-Su had encountered until now.

If it had been either Lee Jung-Geol or Kim Seok-Il attending this meeting, quite a few people would have died. The character trait of powerful folks was thirsting for a chance to wantonly demonstrate their power, after all!

However, Kang Jin-Ho wasn’t like that. He was fundamentally not the type to flaunt his power. He conversed with regular Assembly members as if he was one of them and never forced them to treat him with respect befitting a king.

In a way, one could say he fit the profile of an immediate superior officer at a workplace who didn’t have any power over you.

But it was his clear-cut standards that formed the basis of his power, his authority. And that authority was built upon... The absence of any warning!

Most people would warn anyone who was about to cross their lines. They would issue strongly worded warnings about their relationship breaking down irrevocably or something along those lines.

That warning could come in the form of insults and verbal threats or physical violence. Or even some other unexpected methods.

However, not Kang Jin-Ho. He didn’t have that “warning” stage. If someone was about to cross the line he had drawn, he’d wait, seemingly in disinterest, before punishing that person without mercy.

That was why those dealing with Kang Jin-Ho automatically cowered and walked around eggshells in an attempt not to cross his line.

Unfortunately for Chen Hui, however... He didn’t know that.

Lee Hyeon-Su glanced, somewhat pitifully, at the unconscious Chen Hui on the floor. That should be the last time Chen Hui would get to sleep peacefully for the rest of his life. Once he wakes up, he’d be forced to confront the gruesome reality, after all!

Lee Hyeon-Su picked up the packet of cigarettes, took a cigarette out, then walked over to Kang Jin-Ho. Even though the soldiers could see his approach, none of them dared to move from the spot.

How could they, though? When an unhappy predator was baring its fangs right behind their backs? The creature’s deadly fangs and claws would tear their throats out if they dared move an inch!

Lee Hyeon-Su cautiously presented the cigarette to Kang Jin-Ho. “Sir, I think you overreacted a little.”

“Is that so?” Kang Jin-Ho replied disinterestedly.

It seemed he didn’t agree, but he still accepted the cigarette to say he wasn’t going to ignore Lee Hyeon-Su’s advice.

Click...

The lighter lit up the tip of the cigarette, and the unhealthy smoke wafted into the air.

“This situation ended in a less than optimal fashion, sir.”

“Hmm...”

Kang Jin-Ho grunted, inwardly agreeing with Lee Hyeon-Su’s assessment. He did think there would be some kind of trouble, but he nor Lee Hyeon-Su believed that the situation would devolve to this degree.

“Well, then...” Lee Hyeon-Su sighed while scratching his head as if this situation was giving him a headache. “We need to get out of here, but...”

A hollow chuckle left his lips. From the look of it, they were in some serious trouble, no?

Chen Hui’s fate might be wretched, but that didn’t mean he was a foolish man. He must’ve planned for the possibility of the negotiation breaking down. His mistake was being far too casual about the dangers of facing Kang Jin-Ho personally.

His casual attitude made some sense, though. He probably was never exposed to danger for an extended period of time, after all.

All power was attribute-based. As an example, Chen Hui’s power was authority.

Authority was truly powerful. The wealthy might move and shake the world around, but it was those with authority that moved and shook the wealthy around like their servants.

However, that authority would inevitably crumble in the face of another power called violence.

The authority lording over the wealthy, the wealthy exploiting violence, and the violence destroying the authority—this was the unchanging flow of the world. As for Chen Hui, he had forgotten that his authority meant little in the face of violence.

He was now reminded of this crucial fact, but it was too late to turn back the clock.

Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at Chen Hui. “Sir, this man’s bosses will try to harm you once they learn of the negotiation falling through.”

Kang Jin-Ho coolly nodded. “I guess so.”

“And they must’ve surrounded this place with armed men in preparation for this eventuality.”

“Mm...”

“Leaving might get rather dangerous, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while checking his phone. “We don’t even get cellular service here. We’ll have to get out of this area if we wish to contact the Assembly.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Maybe I should’ve held myself back a little?”

“Sir... I don’t expect that from you,” Lee Hyeon-Su replied while sighing deeply. “I’m not whining, though. I genuinely didn’t expect it. You wouldn’t be you if you held yourself back after what he said. Although, it’d be a lie if I’m not disappointed about you choosing a path that’s so much more inconvenient...”

Lee Hyeon-Su helplessly chuckled.

He had to admit, Kang Jin-Ho should always choose this option. After all, that was what made him, him.

If Kang Jin-Ho had been someone who changed his stance depending on the benefits on offer, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn’t have been able to serve him wholeheartedly.

He was all the duplicitous person his side needed, after all!

Nope, I can’t wrap my head around this situation yet.

Lee Hyeon-Su mouthed a cigarette and lit it up. He wanted to walk a simpler path, but that wasn’t what Kang Jin-Ho wanted. Now there was a notion he’d be too embarrassed to reveal publicly.

“Sir, we have a ton of problems to resolve, and the first thing on that list is... Well...?”

“What is it?” Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su.

“What should we do about him?”

Lee Hyeon-Su used his cigarette to point at Rhee Ki-Gwang.

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. Regardless of how this story turned out, his original goal was to assassinate that man. But that goal had gotten a bit unclear after all that had gone down in this room. Besides the fact that the threat of Rhee Ki-Gwang’s coup d’état had been somewhat exaggerated, there was the...

“Do we have to?”

Kang Jin-Ho used his chin to point at Rhee Ki-Gwang.

The North Korean was still kneeling on the floor, but his jaw was slack, drool trickling down from the corners of wide-open mouth. It seemed his mind couldn’t endure this rapidly evolving situation and had broken down.

“Eiii, he’s lost his mind?” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered while smacking his lips.

In the current situation, Rhee Ki-Gwang was not a threat even if his mind was still intact. Besides, how were they supposed to escape from here with baggage like him?

“Then, should we leave him behind, sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded. With Rhee Ki-Gwang in this state, the coup d’etat was effectively dead in the water. Also, even if he hadn’t lost his mind, the current situation indicated that the coup d’état had never been a genuine problem.

Mm... Something doesn’t feel right?

Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply. Indeed, it felt like he was missing something here. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what that something was, but this noticeable discomfort kept pricking his nerves.

However, his priority was still leaving this place unscathed. He could think about stuff like this later.

“Well, then...”

Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged, then walked over to the guards.

“Let’s be honest, fellas. Leaving this place while being conscious means you are less likely to survive the punishment, right? I’ll knock you guys out as painlessly as possible, so behave yourselves.”

“...”

“I don’t need to hear your answers. Just don’t struggle and waste my energy.”

The soldiers didn’t even budge an inch. However, it seemed they had analyzed the situation well, because none of them resisted.

Lee Hyeon-Su went around and choked each and every soldier, knocking them out in quick succession. Once everyone had become incapacitated, Lee Hyeon-Su deeply furrowed his brow.

“Sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced back. “Mm?”

“We need to return to Beijing, but... I think we need to secure Miss Choi’s safety first.”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Some people in this world value their pride above all else, after all.”

“...?”

Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head after failing to understand what Kang Jin-Ho meant.

***

“Hah...”

Han Eun-Sol, now reclining relaxedly against the sofa, cocked his head arrogantly this way and that. He would’ve been mistaken for a hip hop mogul had he been decked out in gold chains and several gold rings.

Choi Yeon-Ha narrowed her eyes. “Hey, Eun-Sol...?”

“Yes, noona?”

“I think that’s enough, okay? Otherwise, your head might fall off.”

“Ehehe~. But noona, when will I ever get to act like this again?”

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled helplessly at Han Eun-Sol’s grinning face.

Of course, she fully understood why her manager was behaving this way.

The job of a manager to entertainers was supposed to entail bowing heads to everybody constantly until the disks in said manager’s neck wore out from overuse. However, that story only applied when the manager was still a newbie. A manager to a star on the level of Choi Yeon-Ha was practically an apex predator in the food chain called the entertainment industry.

That was Han Eun-Sol’s story, but when he arrived in China, he got treated like a snot-nosed brat and looked down on by everyone he ran into. But all he could do against all these illogical and unfair treatments was smile and pretend nothing had happened. No wonder his stress level had spiked to high heavens during his stay here.

But now, that situation had completely turned on its head, which gave him ample opportunities to act like an arrogant as*hole to his heart’s content.

So, it made total sense that he was over the moon right now.

Han Eun-Sol grinned deeply. “Although we still need to hash out the details, it looks like we have our rough estimates now, noona.”

“Hnng~?”

“Just one phone call from the chairman, and all the contracts you couldn’t fulfill went to our agency’s talents. Isn’t that great?”

Choi Yeon-Ha smirked. “Yeah, it is. That’s even better for us.”

“Yup, it sure is.”

One thing people shouldn’t forget was that the amount of money involved in the Chinese entertainment industry was in another realm compared to its Korean counterpart. Although South Korea might boast a far more sophisticated entertainment industry, that meant little when considering the Chinese market was, at the very least, ten times the size compared to South Korea’s.

A B-tier talent in China was often guaranteed payments equaling that of South Korea’s S-tier talent.

With this round of contract signings, all those MK’s talents who hadn’t gotten any good jobs lately would find enough breathing room for a while.

And not to mention we’ll have enough money to last a good while, too!

Han Eun-Sol couldn’t help but smile like a dazed idiot whenever he thought about how much MK stood to earn from all the Chinese contracts.

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled again. “Are you that happy?”

“Of course I am.”

“Are you really? When we might stay in China for up to a year?”

“But our schedule this time isn’t that jam-packed, right?” Han Eun-Sol sat forward while animatedly explaining the situation. “Besides, Korea isn’t far, so we can always hop back once every week.”

“Oh, really now? And who will pay for the plane tickets? Our Fairy Godmother?”

“It’ll be cheaper than your hotel stays, though?”

Eh? I think Eun-Sol’s got a point?

Han Eun-Sol continued to explain. “Besides, the shooting locations aren’t too far away from the airport, too. How about we, uh, commute back and forth from South Korea? And eat Korean food? I’ll be honest, I don’t think I can last a year in China, noona.”

“Right, I forgot that you’re also on Team Korean Food.”

Or more correctly, Han Eun-Sol was a type of man who didn’t think his meal was complete without a Korean stew!

Choi Yeon-Ha yawned and grandly stretched her limbs.

Although things had ended quite favorably, it all felt mystifying the more she thought about it.

Just who or what was that older gentleman from earlier for him to resolve a significant problem like this so easily? The Chinese producers were promising to pay double the initial amount offered for a chance to sign her on to their projects right now.

Well, that older gentleman isn’t the only strange person, right? Mister Jin-Ho chatting with him like an old friend is just as weird, too.

It felt like Kang Jin-Ho had gone out of his way to surround himself with as many strange people as possible.

“By the way, I...”

Before Choi Yeon-Ha could finish...

Knock, knock!

“Huh?”

Hang Eun-Sol stood up at the sound of someone knocking on the hotel suite’s door. Who could that be? Kang Jin-Ho?

But that couldn’t be. Kang Jin-Ho had the key, so he could just unlock the door and step inside.

That meant they had a visitor, but...

Who would come to visit us, anyway?

Han Eun-Sol couldn’t say outright that they wouldn’t have visitors.

Obviously, no one in China was friendly enough toward Choi Yeon-Ha or Han Eun-Sol to come see them in the hotel. However, the hotel staff visiting the guests to see how good their stay had been happened more frequently than one might think. Also, the representatives from the production houses could have shown up here to discuss additional details regarding the contract or to get to know Choi Yeon-Ha better.

“Who is it?”

Han Eun-Sol trotted toward the doorway. He picked up the intercom on the wall next to the doorway. But then...

Eh?

The intercom monitor displayed an empty corridor.

“Huh? That’s weird. I thought someone knocked on the...”

CRUNCH!

The doorknob suddenly twisted. Even though this door and its lock were designed to be as sturdy as possible for the suite’s security, the doorknob still crumpled like a toy made of mud!

Han Eun-Sol’s eyes flew open in shock.

BANG!

The door was shoved wide open, and a group of people rushed inside. Han Eun-Sol froze up on the spot after noticing these people’s attire and automatic rifles dangling from their shoulders.

“Secure the targets!”

All semblance of color drained out of Choi Yeon-Ha’s complexion.