Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1040: Going To Work (5)

‘Is that Chief Secretary Jo Gyu-Min?’

Jeon Byeong-Su’s brows rose up ever so slightly.

‘Why is the Chief Secretary here?’

Jeon Byeong-Su and Jo Gyu-Min weren't too far apart in age. Actually, Jeon Byeong-Su was slightly older. However, his status within Jaegyeong was several stratospheres below Jo Gyu-Min's.

While Jeon Byeong-Su was a dime-a-dozen team leader, Jo Gyu-Min wielded real and tangible authority within the Jaegyeong Group's corridors. Despite being still a youngster, he was trusted enough to enjoy the privilege of chatting privately with Chairman Hwang Jeong-Hu.

Considering fewer than ten people in the entire corporation were permitted that privilege that wasn't really a privilege, one could easily assume Jo Gyu-Min's authority was indescribably vast in spite of his young age.

One of the true movers and shakers of this company: that description still seemed somewhat inadequate for Jo Gyu-Min.

Back when Jo Gyu-Min first earned the Chairman's trust and entered the limelight, many predicted he'd reveal his shortcomings and fall from grace soon enough. But now, that story had changed. No one doubted that man's capabilities anymore.

Someone like that had suddenly shown up in a newbie training program for some reason.

Jo Gyu-Min trotted over and stood before Kang Jin-Ho. He scanned the latter from top to bottom before grinning brightly. “I can’t remember the last time you were all suited up like this, Mister Jin-Ho. I have to say, you look great.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. “I feel rather uncomfortable, though.”

“Don't worry about it. It's like that with everyone until they get used to it.”

“I hope you’re right,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered while grinning bitterly.

Jo Gyu-Min glanced at Jeon Byeong-Su next. “Excuse me. There’s still some time left until the start of the program, yes?”

Jeon Byeong-Su blinked his eyes. “Pardon? Ah, yes. About half an hour or so…”

“The participants have to be seated before then, yes?”

“Of course.”

“Good to hear. Thank you,” Jo Gyu-Min smirked smoothly while pulling Kang Jin-Ho away. “How about a quick smoke break? This way, please.”

“...Hold on for a second.” Kang Jin-Ho stopped Jo Gyu-Min, then turned his attention toward his ‘companion’ for the morning, Bae Jae-Min. “Can you tell the ones in the auditorium not to make a ruckus?”

Bae Jae-Min stiffly replied, “Yes, sir! I will, Assembly Master!”

“I told you, stop calling me that while we’re here.”

“Oh, of course! Mister Kang Jin-Ho!”

The moment Bae Jae-Min replied, Jo Gyu-Min hurriedly dragged Kang Jin-Ho outside the hallway. The people left behind could only stare in stupefaction while feeling like they had experienced a sudden hurricane.

“What on Earth just happened here…?”

Someone muttered a question that perfectly encapsulated what everyone was thinking about at that very moment.

***

Click…

The lighter came to life to burn the tip of a cigarette.

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely puffed away at the unhealthy smoke.

“Fuu-woo…”

Jo Gyu-Min finished lighting Kang Jin-Ho’s cigarette, then lit his own while smiling weirdly. “So… How does it feel, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“…” Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly while glancing back at Jo Gyu-Min. His innards began twisting a little for some reason after he noticed that gloating expression on Jo Gyu-Min's face. “Looks like you're enjoying this, Mister Gyu-Min.”

“That I am. Isn’t it strange, though?” Jo Gyu-Min cackled jovially. “When you think about it… I have known you since your high school days. In that case, I shouldn’t be surprised or weirded out by the notion of you going to school again. But this situation really is funny to me for some reason.”

“…”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but agree with Jo Gyu-Min there.

After his return to the modern era, he spent most of his time as a student. Of course, he rarely spent time studying after entering university, but before that? Going to school and learning something from teachers was a natural part of his life.

But now, doing the same thing felt so awkward and out of place.

Saintly types kept harping on and on about how humans continued to learn throughout their lives. But only such people would say that. And that statement was seen as one of those so-called wise teachings since no ordinary person leading an ordinary life could stick to it.

Someone who strayed from the path of education would find it difficult to step back on it.

Since that was the case, shouldn’t one be grateful for finding another opportunity to learn something new?

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. He didn’t think anything about this situation while on his way here, but it felt like his fatigue level went up by a considerable margin after talking to Jo Gyu-Min.

“I’m pretty sure Chairman Hwang will rejoice at this sight,” said Jo Gyu-Min.

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced a little. “...Is he thinking of coming here?”

“Yes. He told me he’d pop in for a few seconds before the program starts. I’m sure you can guess what his purpose is.”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned even louder this time.

‘He probably wants to make fun of me.'

Just imagining Hwang Jeong-Hu's mischievous face was enough to give Kang Jin-Ho a powerful migraine.

Jo Gyu-Min puffed away at his cigarette. “By the way? The trainees are a lot rowdier than I thought, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“Oh, that…” Kang Jin-Ho nodded weightily, his expression slightly brighter after the topic of discussion had changed. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise, though.”

“Things could have been tricky had you not agreed to join the program. Of course, you’d have cooked up a suitable solution in a day or two, but we’re racing against time here, aren’t we?”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “Mm? Are we pressed for time?”

“Yes. Very much so,” Jo Gyu-Min grinned bitterly. “Not only did we halve the training period, but the stuff these trainees must learn increased in quantity, too.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head this way and that. He casually agreed to participate in this whole training program thing since his presence was a must, but in reality? He had no idea what he was supposed to learn from the new employee training program.

Jo Gyu-Min chuckled as if he could read Kang Jin-Ho's mind. “This is no ordinary training program, you see? What Chief Lee Hyeon-Su wants aren't some new employees but a workforce that can be deployed into various departments immediately. But for these people to reach that level of proficiency… Well, let's just say they'll have to learn a lot of stuff first before that can happen.”

The crooked grin on Jo Gyu-Min’s face deepened.

“You saw the instructors just now, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Even the instructors seem to be in an uproar about this situation. Not only is it their first time instructing outsiders, but they also have to come up with a new training course on top of that. It sounds like they still haven't nailed down what they will teach during the second half of the program.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded while leisurely puffing away. “I see. Kinda ironic, really.”

Jo Gyu-Min tilted his head slightly. “What do you mean?”

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“The person who requested this training program isn’t a part of the process.”

“Oh, that… Yes, I agree it’s funny. I’m sure Chief Lee is kicking back and relaxing inside his air-conditioned office right about now.”

“Nope,” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled wryly while dismissively waving his hand. “I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“He’s probably in the middle of crawling through Hell right now.”

***

“...Someone come and save me. Please,” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered lifelessly, his face planted on his desk.

He thought he was getting crushed by the literally endless amount of work piled up right in front of his nose.

Lee Hyeon-Ju coolly replied, “You need to pull yourself together, Chief Lee.”

“What? But how am I… Oh.” Lee Hyeon-Su raised his head to complain, only to clamp his mouth shut and lock his gaze on the computer screen.

That was because Lee Hyeon-Ju’s state was… not great, either!

Her hair was so messy that birds must’ve built a nest there. Meanwhile, there was a pair of distinct dark circles drooping below her eyes, too. In less than two days, she practically stopped being a human and morphed into a zombie.

She muttered coolly again. “After all, you did this to yourself.”

‘...No, you made me do it!’

Lee Hyeon-Su had oh-so-many things to get off his chest. However, he also knew that blurting out every single thought percolating in his mind was not conducive to building a successful life.

As such, he had to rein in his mouth from running off again. Still…

“I didn’t think it’d be this bad…” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned pitifully.

The work was literally endless.

Lee Hyeon-Su's assessment of the Martial Assembly's system was spot-on. It indeed followed an antiquated system. Of course, that was putting things mildly.

When put not-so-mildly, it was amateurish and hopelessly outdated.

Even if Lee Hyeon-Su and Co. wanted to overhaul the entire system, there simply weren’t enough people to operate the new system. That prevented the much-desired overhaul, so improving the skill level of the Assembly’s administrative staff was a must.

Lee Hyeon-Su shuddered in dread after recalling all the sloppily-compiled reports and nonsensical proposals he had to read through. Just how much did he have to suffer because of them!?

However, right now, he was…

“...Miss Lee? What’s the number of people attending the training program?”

“It’s around three hundred,” said Lee Hyeon-Ju.

“...Three. Hundred.”

Mouthing that number nearly broke Lee Hyeon-Su down to tears.

No matter how incompetent the individuals were, three hundred of them would still be able to handle quite a bit of workload. Of course, their share of work had been delegated to others during their absence, but the tasks deemed “too important” for them still landed on Lee Hyeon-Su's desk. Every single one of them!

...Which meant Lee Hyeon-Su’s workload had doubled in the proverbial blink of an eye!

He was already dealing with a murderous amount of work before that. Now that he was dealing with double the amount, going home at the end of the day became an impossible dream for him.

“W-when is the training program supposed to end?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju replied without looking away from her computer screen. “I heard it’s supposed to last for forty-five days.”

“What? A month and a half?!”

“Yes. That sounds about right.”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s brows rose up so high that they threatened to fall off his forehead!

Two days of this workload was already enough to nearly kill him, so for him to do this for another forty-odd days?!

“M-Miss Lee?”

“Yes, Chief Lee?”

“Humanly speaking… Shouldn’t we, uh, find another solution to this crisis?”

“Unfortunately, there is no other solution.”

“…”

Lee Hyeon-Ju stopped typing away on the keyboard, then expertly pushed the pair of glasses up her nose. “Even if we think of an emergency solution, it can't be approved, anyway. After all, Assembly Master is not available at the moment.”

“...Oh. That’s right.”

“So, please stop complaining and get back to work. Things will get better if we manage to survive the next forty-plus days.”

“Easier said than done, Miss Lee. Easier said than done…” Lee Hyeon-Su unhappily scratched his head. “By the way? Since when did we have that many administrative staff? Enough to send three hundred of them at once?”

“They aren’t all from the HQ, though. We had applicants from regional branches, too.”

The majority of the Assembly's members could be found in the HQ near Seoul, but the various business interests spread throughout the country meant branches were set up in all the major cities as well. However, the absence of “actual” martial artists focusing on cultivation in those branches meant those places were rarely, if ever, mentioned back in the HQ.

Lee Hyeon-Ju resumed typing away. “We've only lost around two hundred people from the HQ. That number seems high only because we've also included those who were earmarked to become administrative staff later.”

Lee Hyeon-Su pouted slightly. “...In that case, why did our workload increase like this?”

“Even the most inept, tiniest hand is still a hand, after all. We've been somehow dealing with our inefficient operation via manpower, so it shouldn't be surprising to see your workload increase when we no longer have the luxury of extra helping hands, Chief Lee. That's why, please stop whining and…”

BANG!

Before Lee Hyeon-Ju could finish, the door to the office was roughly shoved open, and then…

“Lee Hyeon-Su!” Vator roared loudly.

“Heol?!” Lee Hyeon-Su shot up to his feet. “Sir Vator?! Did something happen?!”

“Yeah! It’s too damn hot!”

“...I’m sorry?”

“I said, it’s too damn hot!”

Lee Hyeon-Su's cheeks twitched subtly. What did Vator expect Lee Hyeon-Su to do here? Besides, summers were supposed to be hot, no?!

“So, install air conditioners in the training halls! Or else, the kids will die first.”

“Uh, that, uh…”

“I wouldn’t be complaining like this if the problem was manageable. A martial artist whining because the weather is a bit too hot deserves to get beaten up, after all! But this is too much, even for me! Is South Korea always this hot in Summer?”

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced a little. “...Well, yes. It’s been excessively hot lately.”

“People might collapse from heatstroke during training at this rate. Nothing we can do about outdoor training areas, but at least install air conditioners in the indoor ones!”

“I, I will get on it right away.”

Just before Vator could nod away, Chang Min suddenly pushed Vator aside to barge into the office. “Get out of the way!”

“What are you doing, you old fart!”

Chang Min ignored Vator and yelled at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Chief Lee! Chief Lee! My people are about to fall down dead from heatstroke in the hostels! Do something!”

“…!”

Even before Lee Hyeon-Su could respond, another person, one of the Assembly's martial artists this time, rushed inside the office next. “Chief Lee! Sir Wiggins said we still lack several crucial items required to finish the installation of the magic circle. He wants them urgently procured! I've brought you the list of items! Where should I leave it, sir?”

“...Leave it on top there,” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered weakly.

“Also, Director Bang said the tutoring streams keep going offline for some reason. He wants additional servers to cope with the load. And he specifically told me to ask you why you're not spending the funds on stuff like this.”

“…”

“Finally, he said he'd personally come here if this situation isn't resolved ASAP. Oh, before I forget, Sir Wiggins also…”

The martial artist’s report was drowned out by Vator’s roar. “Stand aside, old fart! My business is more urgent!”

Chang Min stood tall and roared back. “You rude fool who disrespects elders! Didn't you hear what I said? The cult members are dying as we speak! They have to share cramped living quarters, so how can there be no air conditioners in those buildings?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su dazedly shifted his gaze to Lee Hyeon-Ju. However, she resolutely refused to meet his gaze as if this situation was none of her business.

After nervously swallowing his saliva, Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly raised his voice. “Y-yes, I get you are all in a rush, but as you can see, I’m kind of swamped with work at the moment, so…”

Chang Min tutted loudly. “So what?”

Even Vator cocked an eyebrow in silence. Which meant Lee Hyeon-Su had no choice but to force himself to smile.

“...I’ll get it done right away.”

“Good! Do hurry up! How dare a fool working in a nice and breezy office make excuses?”

Lee Hyeon-Su was triggered by that unnecessary criticism and was about to shoot up to his feet again…

...Only for Vator to firmly put his foot down.

“Your problem stems from your lack of stamina due to your low cultivation level! If things are too tiring and unbearable, come talk to me! I shall personally train you! That will make your work much easier to handle!”

Lee Hyeon-Su immediately sat back down. “No, sir! I’m not tired at all, sir! Thank you for worrying about me, Sir Vator!”

“Really?”

“Yes, sir! Really!”

Vator suspiciously glared at Lee Hyeon-Su before nodding once. “Good! That’s how it’s supposed to be! Now, get on it!”

“...Yes, sir.”

After everyone filed out of the office, Lee Hyeon-Su sagged lifelessly on his chair.

‘Why don’t you just kill me?!’

Stop torturing me like this and kill me already, you bastards!