Descent of the Demon Master

Kang Jin-Ho looked back at the yelling woman. It was easy to guess her personality from how she nonchalantly yelled at him despite knowing he was Kang Eun-Yeong's older brother.

Kang Jin-Ho ignored her and asked Jo Gyu-Min, “Who is she?”

Jo Gyu-Min, who had already gathered information beforehand, smartly replied to him, “Her name is Yi Ye-Seul, the second daughter of Hwangseong Group's representative.”

“Hwangseong Group?”

“Allow me to apologize as it's a business that supplies components to Jaegyeong Electronics.”

“No need to apologize, Mr. Gyu-Min,” Kang Jin-Ho replied with a tut.

“Even so. My apologies.” Jo Gyu-Min bowed his head deeply. He could already imagine what would happen when Chairman Hwang heard about this spectacle. If Kang Jin-Ho's anger was added on top, then this crisis might spiral out of control.

Kang Jin-Ho dismissively nodded and helped his sister up to her feet. “Let's go.”

Kang Eun-Yeong urgently shook her head. “But, Oppa, if I give up now...”

“I never said that. You carry on with what you want to do. But not here.”

“But, it might be too late to...”

“No, it's not.”

Kang Eun-Yeong reached up with her trembling hand and grabbed onto Kang Jin-Ho's arm. “Oppa...”

He sighed at length and gently hugged her. "It'll be alright. Let's go home."

“M-Mmhm...”

While patting her gently on the back, Kang Jin-Ho turned to leave. He glanced at Jo Gyu-Min. “Let's leave.”

“Yes, let us,” Jo Gyu-Min replied with an affirmative nod, then sighed in relief without realizing it. He feared that the situation might spiral out of control, but it seemed to be heading toward a trouble-free conclusion.

"Who are you!" Unfortunately for him... That was when a stiff-sounding voice stopped them. "Who are you to take away one of our trainees as you see fit?!"

Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min looked behind to find the owner of that voice, who turned out to be a well-built man in a black business suit entering the practice hall. His countenance was on the more thuggish side than that of a businessman, and he was glaring daggers at Kang Jin-Ho.

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “Who is he?”

Jo Gyu-Min quickly replied, his complexion getting gloomier, “He's the representative of Starwiz, Director Park Hyeok-Gi, Mr Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly turned his attention back to Park Hyeok-Gi.

The latter asked again, his voice still hostile, “Who are you?”

“I'm Eun-Yeong's older brother,” Kang Jin-Ho replied while doing his best to hold himself back. Flipping everything on its head wouldn't be hard for him, but that could complicate matters when it was time for Kang Eun-Yeong to switch agencies. That was why he had to endure it.

Park Hyeok-Gi retorted sarcastically, "Aha, you're Eun-Yeong's Oppa. I'm Park Hyeok-Gi, the director of this company. What brings you here, Mr. Kang?"

“I'm here to take Eun-Yeong home.”

"You want to take home a performer about to make her debut soon? That's gonna leave us in a bind, you know?"

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. "She's not making her debut with you."

“I'm sorry?”

"We're terminating the contract."

Park Hyeok-Gi's voice got louder. "Look here, Mr. Kang. You can't arbitrarily terminate contracts like this. Do you even have any idea how much are the damages for the breach of contract?"

“How much is it?”

“It's a billion won!”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Jo Gyu-Min. “Chief Director's proxy.”

“Please speak…”

“Give him the money.”

"Understood." Jo Gyu-Min nodded slightly, then pulled out his phone. "Mr. Park. The name of your bank and the bank account number, please."

“Huh?”

“Or, do you prefer cash?”

Park Hyeok-Gi responded as if he could scarcely believe what was going on here, “What the hell? A billion isn't your pet's name, so to say you'll give it away that easily is a bit...”

Jo Gyu-Min frowned deeply. That man had asked for it, and they were about to humor him, so what was his problem?

Kang Jin-Ho asked once again, “What is it that you want?”

“Well, it's not like I particularly want something, but... see, the thing is, we must have Eun-Yeong in our new group since she’s a talented performer. That's why... rather than terminating the contract, how about we resolve this situation amicably...”

Kang Jin-Ho firmly shook his head again. "Out of the question."

“Don't be like that. Let's...”

“Mr. Gyu-Min, give him the money.”

Jo Gyu-Min nodded affirmatively. “Understood.”

Park Hyeok-Gi couldn't help but frown. A billion won sounded like a lot of money, and it was, but it wouldn't be much in terms of how much a properly-run corporation would rake in per year.

This group was a gathering of girls with good connections and strong backgrounds, so it would be easy enough to get broadcast slots or plenty of mentions in the media. In addition, since the money to fund their activities came in the form of 'donations,’ the talent agency had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Of course, such a thing was only possible when the said group had a modicum of talent. But without Kang Eun-Yeong propping up the group, making money off them would be an utter impossibility.

Seeking out only the hopefuls with monied backgrounds meant that the resulting group would be filled with talentless hacks. If only these girls had some talent—intense training could have solved this problem, but no amount of hard work would improve their lackluster skill levels. The agency knew that the time to start reaping the fruits of their labor had come, but the group's debut would inevitably get delayed if Kang Eun-Yeong were to leave right now. Even worse, the backers, who had silently and patiently sponsored the girls until now might express their dissatisfaction with how this situation had turned out.

Park Hyeok-Gi tried to say something, “How about we all calm down and reconsider the termination of the contract...”

Kang Jin-Ho curtly replied, "Nothing to reconsider here. We are ending it."

"I'm trying to be reasonable here, Mr. Kang. However, you're putting everyone on the spot by behaving this way."

“...?”

"You think Eun-Yeong can transfer elsewhere after leaving here? I guess you don't know how small this industry is. If I wish for it, burying someone forever is just a finger snap away, know what I mean? Getting to the top might be hard, but let me tell you this. Dragging someone down is quite easy," Park Hyeok-Gi growled menacingly.

But instead of being threatened, a cold grin began forming on Kang Jin-Ho's face instead. This was it. He felt relieved now that this fool had done it this way.

Park Hyeok-Gi unwisely continued. “Why don't you terminate the contract and leave, then? Let's see what will happen. I'll make sure no agency will sign on your little sis.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently studied Park Hyeok-Gi for a couple of seconds before saying something, “What have you been doing?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Kids can make mistakes and do idiotic things. They are kids, after all. However, isn't it the job of adults to stop them from doing bad things?”

“What the hell are you even...”

“Where were you when my sister was going through a rough time?”

Park Hyeok-Gi scowled while glaring at Kang Jin-Ho. His eyes were burning in hostility in a clear attempt to intimidate the other party. However, Kang Jin-Ho found that laughable. At the end of the lengthy glare, Park Hyeok-Gi finally responded, “I have no idea what you're on about.”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned while nodding away. “Of course, you won’t have an idea.”

“...”

“And you don't need to know, either. That's why my sister will not make her debut with you. We'll have the damages for the breach ready, so terminate the contract right now. You do whatever you want because I don't care.”

Park Hyeok-Gi finally blew his top. “What the hell?! That's it, I've had enough! Do you really think I'm a pushover?! Do you really think you can come and go as you please here?!”

"I do." Kang Jin-Ho coldly grinned.

“You keep this up, fella, and it ain't gonna end pretty for you. If I want, the likes of her will...”

Before the situation spiraled further out of control, Jo Gyu-Min stepped in. “Director Park, I advise you to stop.”

“Who the hell are you?!”

The road manager fidgeting nervously by the side hurriedly rushed over to Park Hyeok-Gi and whispered into his ear. The latter's expression changed almost instantly.

Jo Gyu-Min continued as the stunned director of the talent agency stared at him. “It'll be better for you to watch what you say. Otherwise, this situation will no longer be salvageable for you. In fact, no one will be able to save you if that happens.”

“Are you threatening me?”

"No, you threatened us first. I'm merely warning you."

Park Hyeok-Gi frowned deeply. The situation had become very complicated if this punk was really from the Jaegyeong Group's Office of Secretaries. Just what was Jaegyeong Group? That corporation was in a completely different realm compared to the backgrounds of the rabble that had gathered here. If Jaegyeong wanted to, a tiny speck like Starwiz could be disintegrated in mere seconds. Park Hyeok-Gi would be left penniless, too.

The question was—what was the relationship between this young punk and Jaegyeong Group. Park Hyeok-Gi had been involved in the cutthroat world of the entertainment business for a long time, which allowed him to climb quite high thanks to the power of discernment. Just from Kang Jin-Ho's attitude alone, it was easy to see that he occupied a higher position than the Jaegyeong Group's secretary. However, letting go of Kang Eun-Yeong because of this would greatly damage Starwiz in the long run.

'Man, what should I do...'

Should Park Hyeok-Gi remain uncompromising? Or give up now? Neither of them seemed like a viable option. He opened his mouth one more time to fix the situation. "For now, let's calm down first and talk. If our side needs to fix our ways, then I promise you, I shall..."

"No need." Kang Jin-Ho flatly refused.

“...”

"I want nothing from you. Go and bring me the contract here, right now."

Park Hyeok-Gi gnashed his teeth when Kang Jin-Ho didn't yield. Not only that, but the younger man's rude attitude was also getting on his nerves. If it wasn't for that Jaegyeong Group secretary, Park Hyeok-Gi would have knocked some teeth out of that punk's mouth by now.

“Young friend, you're rather rude, aren't you?” Park Hyeok-Gi growled.

“If you want respect, earn it.” Kang Jin-Ho scoffed derisively.

“O-Oppa...” Kang Eun-Yeong tried to stop her older brother before things got out of hand.

Kang Jin-Ho groaned. He briefly glared at Park Hyeok-Gi before turning around to leave. He could see that listening to this idiot might lead to him causing a scene. Destroying an idiot was a cakewalk for Kang Jin-Ho, but he didn’t wish to show something uncouth to his little sister if possible. After all, he was Kang Jin-Ho, not Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor.

“Let's go.”

“Okay...”

Kang Jin-Ho held his sister's hand and began walking away. He issued a new command to Jo Gyu-Min without even bothering to look back. "Please take care of the rest."

“Understood. Please rest easy, I'll have everything sorted out.” Jo Gyu-Min bowed deeply and bade Kang Jin-Ho goodbye.

However, just as Kang Jin-Ho led his sister outside the practice hall, a torrent of abusive words suddenly hit them. “F*cking hell! I knew that b*tch would do this! This is why I shouldn't accept random nobodies!”

Kang Jin-Ho let go of Kang Eun-Yeong's hand.

“O-Oppa?”

He ignored his sister's calling and turned around to slowly make his way to Park Hyeok-Gi.

“Hey, what do you want now?!”

Kang Jin-Ho ignored Park Hyeok-Gi's call and simply gripped the latter's throat.

Grab!

Park Hyeok-Gi's complexion went pale in an instant. “K-kuh-heok?!”

His arms flailed about, eventually gripping onto Kang Jin-Ho's hand holding his throat. However, that hand must be made out of granite or something as it didn't even budge an inch. Park Hyeok-Gi's eyes began rolling over at the intense grip.

Kang Jin-Ho yanked the Starwiz agency's director close, then pressed his face even closer to the latter. “Repeat what you said…”

“Kuk! Keh-ek!”

“I said, repeat what you said.”

The female trainees began screaming at the sight. Their shrill cries echoed unpleasantly within the practice hall.

Kang Jin-Ho ignored them. “You see, I'm not in the best mood right now.”

"Urgh...!"

“So, why don't you repeat yourself? What did you say?”

“...!” Despite his lips flapping weakly, Park Hyeok-Gi and his pale face couldn't say anything.

“I can't hear you. Speak up.”

Jo Gyu-Min rushed up and urgently grabbed Kang Jin-Ho's arm. “Mr. Jin-Ho, don't! He'll die at this rate!”

Kang Jin-Ho sharply turned his head.

'Huk?!'

Jo Gyu-Min froze in his spot when he saw crimson streaks swirling around Kang Jin-Ho's eyes. Only then did he realize something crucial. He might have seen Kang Jin Ho’s various facets, but he had never witnessed the young man when he was truly furious.

Jo Gyu-Min's heart began pounding away uncontrollably. Meanwhile, his body didn't want to move an inch. Still, he managed to squeak some words out. “He… He will die… Mr. Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes at Park Hyeok-Gi before releasing him.

“Keh-ek! Cough, cough!” Park Hyeok-Gi collapsed to the floor and coughed before roaring in anger. “Y-You bastard! I, I'm gonna sue you!”

“Go ahead,” Kang Jin-Ho replied while turning around.

Jo Gyu-Min managed to sober up in time and stared at him. “What will you do now, Mr. Jin-Ho?”

Even though he already knew the answer, he still had to confirm it, just in case.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced around at the practice hall. "I've changed my mind. Getting rid of this agency will be doing the world a favor."

“I agree, Mr. Jin-Ho. What about those kids...?”

Kang Jin-Ho lightly shook his head. “Those kids aren’t at fault.”

“...?”

"However, their parents certainly are."

“I shall get right on it, Mister Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho noticed his little sister shivering like a rain-soaked bird and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let's go home.”

“O-Okay.”

They finally emerged from the agency's building. Kang Eun-Yeong could no longer hold back her tears and began sobbing away.

“You don't have to cry, Eun-Yeong.”

“...I'm sorry, Oppa.”

“No need to apologize, too. It's my fault for noticing it so late.”

“Still, I’m sorry...”

Kang Jin-Ho gently chided her, "Tell us sooner the next time, okay? What would be the purpose of your family members if you can't even share your worries with us?"

“Okay, I will…” Kang Eun-Yeong nodded her head nonstop.

“Let's go home now.”

“Mmhm.”

As they headed to the parked car, Kang Jin-Ho gently patted Kang Eun-Yeong's back. Even as they were leaving, he still glanced at the building behind him with his cold and unforgiving eyes.

'You shouldn't have provoked me...'

He had been provoked. His family had been provoked. His anger was slowly blooming, ready to burst at any moment.