Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 964: Infiltrate (4)

Kang Jin-Ho asked back, just in case. “Mister Eun-Sol, you say?”

“Yes,” Choi Yeon-Ha coolly nodded. “He might have a somewhat dumb side to him, but there’s no denying that he has a good heart, a quick wit, and is definitely capable at his job. And he is also sociable on top to sweeten the deal.”

What a favorable review that was. A genuinely kind evaluation, indeed! Considering that Choi Yeon-Ha praising someone like this was as rare as hen’s teeth, this evaluation should be noted down in history books!

“Even if that is true…” Kang Jin-Ho glanced nervously back at Choi Yeon-Ha.

Han Eun-Sol was still in his twenties. Some might argue that shouldn't be a problem when Kang Jin-Ho was also in his twenties, but their situations were not exactly comparable. Kang Jin-Ho was not really a twenty-something young man, after all!

Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head. “What’s wrong? Oh, because Eun-Sol’s still too young?”

“Yes. I am a little anxious about his age.”

“No need to worry. One's age doesn't really matter in this industry, you see? Actually, you often see people screwing up their businesses after getting older and losing touch with pop culture in general. My advice is that it's best to get started when you still have a good grasp of what's hot right now. And that's in your twenties.”

“Mm…!”

“Besides, Eun-Sol isn't going to be the boss of the operations, anyway. He'll only do administrative stuff, you know? He might make a few mistakes here and there, but I promise you, he'll still do a great job. He's got the grit and drive for it.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. Since Choi Yeon-Ha was going this far to praise Han Eun-Sol, maybe it was not a bad idea to trust her judgment on this one. Why? Because Choi Yeon-Ha was known as the grim reaper within the celeb management business, wasn’t she!

‘It makes sense, though.’

Even the older managers with plenty of experience couldn't withstand the natural calamity, also known as Choi Yeon-Ha. In that case, Han Eun-Sol should be acknowledged for his capabilities and tenacity in staying on as Choi Yeon-Ha's exclusive manager for so long!

Kang Jin-Ho leaned back against his couch. “Managing the agency is one thing, but I'm sure that running a business can't be done with experience in managing an actor, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

“I've already thought up of a few candidates for that, Mister Jin-Ho. You shouldn't underestimate me, you know? I might not look it, but I've already spent a decade and a half in this industry.”

“I've never underestimated you,” said Kang Jin-Ho. Judging from his slightly furrowed brows, he seemed to be in a dilemma.

Choi Yeon-Ha grinned after noticing his expression. “Don't worry, I'm not pressing you to make up your mind right now. You have a lot on your plate, after all. I only brought it up because it sounded like such a perfect opportunity for all of us. After all, my contract with my current agency is about to run out, but I haven't renewed it yet. And it looks like Miss Se-Ah will have to transfer to another agency soon.”

“Mm…!”

“If you set up your own company, we won't have to worry about the background stuff and focus on our careers. And you don't have to worry about what kind of hardship we'll go through. On top of all that, you make some money on the side, too. Is there a reason why you shouldn't do this?”

“Well, you certainly are making a strong case here.”

Learning more and more about business allowed Kang Jin-Ho to see how good this opportunity was. Anyone interested in money would jump at this chance, their eyes ablaze from passion and greed. However, there was a small problem here, and that would be…

‘...I don’t really need that money, now do I?’

Without a doubt, the amount of money raked in by Choi Yeon-Ha and Kang Eun-Yeong was enormous. Even a small cut from their earnings would still surpass most small-to-medium companies' net profit.

However, Kang Jin-Ho was currently one of South Korea’s premier examples of “Making Money the Easy Way.” And he earned more than enough to treat Choi Yeon-Ha’s or Kang Eun-Yeong’s earnings as mere pocket change.

Kang Jin-Ho had never been obsessed with making money, but the “wages” Lee Hyeon-Ju calculated for him alone were enough to categorize him as a chaebol now!

“For now, let me think about this some more. If I do this, we’ll have to approach it a little differently, you see?”

“What do you mean?” Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head.

“Well, it'll be difficult for me to directly get involved in a talent agency, so I might go with setting up a separate branch of my company. That could make the management a little easier for me.”

“Your company?” Choi Yeon-Ha’s eyes opened wider.

That was when Kang Jin-Ho remembered that he hadn’t told her about the Assembly going legit. He smiled awkwardly and tried to explain. “Ah, that. Uh, I was in the middle of setting up a company, you see…?”

“Heol? A company? What kinda company are we talking about here?”

What was the company’s cover story, again? Kang Jin-Ho was briefly left speechless, not knowing what to say. When he thought about it, he wasn’t even sure how to explain what the Assembly did as a legal entity.

Kang Jin-Ho finally blurted out, “U-uhm, a real estate investment company? Yes, that's it!”

“Ah-hah!” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded coolly as if she understood what Kang Jin-Ho was trying to say. She seemed to think that, since Kang Jin-Ho was loaded, he wanted to set up a legal entity of some kind and rent out buildings or something. “Wow. So you'll become a landlord, then?”

“…”

“Then, am I going to become a Madam Real Estate Speculator? That’s one of my dreams, you know?”

“…”

It seemed Choi Yeon-Ha had allowed herself to get lost in delusions!

“Okay, so. A real estate investment company, you say…? That means, after you establish that legal entity, you might be interested in setting up a subsidiary?”

Kang Jin-Ho decided to silently nod away to express his agreement… for now.

“That sounds like a great idea. No, make that an excellent idea!”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head at how positive Choi Yeon-Ha's response was. As a matter of fact, it was way better than he expected.

Choi Yeon-Ha grinned after noticing the hint of confusion in Kang Jin-Ho's face. “Well, you know. People who invest in our industry tend to… Well, they usually belong to the unsavory part of society, you see? A lot of them are.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head some more. “Unsavory? What do you mean?”

“Well, like a group of well-organized violent thugs. Or, folks who operate shady businesses.”

Stab!

Choi Yeon-Ha’s words transformed into daggers to stab into Kang Jin-Ho.

She blithely continued to speak. “Yes, money doesn't care whether it's from an above-board source or from somewhere less reputable. But it's still true that our industry gets a lot of funds from those sources. Many presidents of talent agencies used to hang out with the wrong crowds before using this industry to clean up their images and launder their wealth. So, mm… With things like that, should I say people in our neck of the woods can be a little too hot-tempered and foul-natured?”

Stab!

The verbal daggers were growing in size and sharpness.

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly replied, "R-really?"

“Yes. Things have gotten better these days, and funds from large corporations now make their way into our industry, but the fundamentals haven't changed much, you see? So, a real estate investment company in the middle of all this unsavory stuff should be like a paragon of virtue. At least you'll be better than violent thugs and organized gangs, right?”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression grew somewhat weird. He had to hold back the urge to shout, ‘Miss, I am the boss of all those thugs and organized gangs!’

In terms of pure hierarchy, Kang Jin-Ho was the end-level boss of all Korean gangsters. That was because all organized gangs existing in South Korea had been in the Martial Assembly’s “care” since Lee Jung-Geol’s leadership days.

Of course, it was “care” in name only. It'd be more like, ‘Pay us tributes if you don’t want to get beaten up to death.’

A thug might feel a smidgen of guilt while bullying hapless civilians, but the Martial Assembly didn’t need to feel guilty about anything while tormenting various organized gangs in the country.

If they were to establish a proper hierarchy and a chain of command, then without a doubt, the Korean Martial Assembly would stand at the apex of the Korean organized crime pyramid. And Kang Jin-Ho was the boss of that very organization!

‘...When I put it that way, don’t I sound like a supervillain or something?’

It wasn’t as if Kang Jin-Ho felt aggrieved about being called the bad guy. However, this whole organized crime thing was a bit too different from his idea of the bad guy.

“I-in any case, give me some time to think about it,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Mister Jin-Ho, it'll be better to decide as soon as possible. You will run into several hurdles once you decide to do this, you know?”

“I see. I’ll keep that in mind,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, then stared a little awkwardly at Choi Yeon-Ha.

She immediately figured out what he wanted to say from his demeanor. “You need to leave already?”

“…”

“Even though we haven’t seen each other in days?”

“…”

“Hmm… What should I do now? I'm kinda tempted about bullying you a little more, though…?” Choi Yeon-Ha smirked after noticing the hints of cold sweat on Kang Jin-Ho's forehead. “Fine. I'll let you go this time.”

Kang Jin-Ho was surprised by how quickly Choi Yeon-Ha conceded this time and had to stare back at her.

“Why are you looking at me that way, though? Did you think I'd whine about us hanging out some more even though I know you have business to attend to?”

“N-no, that’s not…”

“Even whining has its time and place, you know? Whining can be a cute interaction when you have enough time on your hands, but when you're busy as a bee? I'm sure you don't want to deal with it. I ain't gonna whine now and lose points in your book, so you gotta go when I'm still being civil, okay? Don't forget to buy souvenirs, though.”

“I won’t. I’ll definitely get you something,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Okay. Have a safe trip.” Choi Yeon-Ha grinned. However, when Kang Jin-Ho got up to leave, she suddenly raised her hand high. “Hold it!”

“Sorry?”

“Were you planning to leave just like that?"

Kang Jin-Ho fidgeted and nervously scanned the cafe's interior. This particular establishment was too packed with people for him to do the thing Choi Yeon-Ha was demanding from him!

Choi Yeon-Ha burst into genial laughter at how confused and timid Kang Jin-Ho was.

“Fine, fine! I'll see you again later!” Choi Yeon-Ha got up and patted Kang Jin-Ho on the back. “In return… Once you're done with this overseas business of yours, you better hang out with me, okay? Because I won't have much free time myself when I start shooting my next project soon.”

“Got it. We’ll do that, then.”

“Okay. Have a safe trip!”

Kang Jin-Ho exited the cafe while waving his hand. Choi Yeon-Ha watched him leave with a gentle smile on her face. However, once he was out of her sight… Her expression transformed in the blink of an eye!

Han Eun-Sol watched Kang Jin-Ho leave, then stepped inside the cafe. “Noona? Looks like your talk ended sooner than… Hup!”

He immediately clamped his mouth shut after realizing all the unsubtle signs of dissatisfaction writ large on Choi Yeon-Ha’s face. In a delicate situation like this, he must be extra cautious about flapping his gums. Or he might end up as collateral damage to her wrath!

“Eun-Sol?”

“Yes, noo-nim!”[1]

“They say an unlucky woman also has no luck with men, right? I just barely got back from China, but that dude says he’s too busy to hang out with me. Do you know what he said? He’s traveling to Britain now.”

“Britain?” Han Eun-Sol tilted his head. “Why would he go there?”

“Who knows? Maybe he wants to buy a building or two over there.”

Choi Yeon-Ha's cheeks began puffing up. Which was a dangerous sign! Han Eun-Sol racked his brain to find the most optimal response in this situation.

“Uh, mm… I think this is a bit unfair.”

Choi Yeon-Ha cocked an eyebrow. “...Ng?”

“Mister Jin-Ho knows you've worked your butt off in China, so couldn't he have postponed his trip?”

“Listen here, Eun-Sol.”

“...Y-yes, noo-nim?”

“A man should never procrastinate!”

“…”

“Sure, being family-oriented is nice, but a man still must be dedicated to his work and be passionate about it! Why are you trying to badmouth him for that!”

Han Eun-Sol’s cheeks twitched subtly just then.

‘What do you want from me, then!’

“If someone’s gonna badmouth him, that will be me! You don’t have the right to do so.”

“Yes, noo-nim. I’ll engrave that to my heart,” Han Eun-Sol sighed in relief under his breath. Choi Yeon-Ha saying all this showed how far she had come in the journey of becoming a proper human being.

After all, if the same thing had happened in the past, the first thing she’d have done was throw a nearby cushion in Han Eun-Sol’s face!

“By the way, Eun-Sol?”

“Yes, noona?”

“Do you think you can still do a good job managing someone else other than me?"

“...Noona?”

“Yeah?”

Han Eun-Sol suddenly stood tall and straight. “Let me tell you something, okay? I can handle any celebrity now. I’ve survived the Extreme Hell difficulty setting until now, so other celebs will be like cruising in an easy mode for me!”

“...Wanna die?” Choi Yeon-Ha growled, causing Han Eun-Sol to flinch a little and shrink back. “In that case… You think you can run a talent agency? You'll be looking after other managers working under you.”

“Hang on a minute. Noona? Are you thinking of going independent?”

“No, not that. I’m just asking.”

Han Eun-Sol shrugged casually. “Well, I know of a few good people. If I talk to them… I don’t think they’ll say no.”

“Hmm…!” Choi Yeon-Ha’s eyes dangerously gleamed just then.

‘Looks like I’ll have to get serious about this!’

No matter how Choi Yeon-Ha dissected this situation, it seemed Kang Jin-Ho becoming the “president” of a talent agency would be for the best. It’d make her professional life that much easier. Even if it didn’t, at least she’d gain a new legitimate route to voice her unhappiness! That was always a good thing, now wasn’t it?

“At this rate, I might end up as a widow, Eun-Sol. But! My odds will infinitely improve if we get all tangled up in business, wouldn't you say?”

“Noona?! Please choose your words more carefully in public! What if someone hears you?!”

“I don’t care. Let them. I’m this close to publishing an article myself, you know?”

“…!” Han Eun-Sol covered his face with both hands.

Although it was true that Choi Yeon-Ha had become a lot closer to an actual human being these days, this transformation also gave birth to an adverse side effect. It seemed her still-existing reckless bravado was being utilized in strange manners!

Why did it feel like managing her was actually simpler in the past?!

“Listen, Eun-Sol. We might end up setting up a company in a month or two, so I want you to find employees ASAP.”

Han Eun-Sol's brows shot up at how determined Choi Yeon-Ha sounded just now.

“In a m-month or two?! Seriously?”

“Make hay while the sun still shines, Eun-Sol. Be wishy-washy about it, and you will get nothing done.”

“T-then… Noona, are you going to be the president of this new company?”

“Nope. I’ll be the madam.”

“...Huh?”

“No, that’s not quite right. A madam who speculates in real estate?”

What is this woman even talking about now?

Han Eun-Sol realized that the longer he stayed with Choi Yeon-Ha, the harder it was for him to figure out what was cooking in her head!

1. Noo-nim is a more respectful/formal version of noona/older sister. ?