Descent of the Demon Master

>***

The Chairman's office, Jaegyeong Group's headquarters…

Hwang Jeong-Hu apathetically stared at the three men before his eyes.
The employees of his company used to call this trio the three presidents of the Jaegyeong Group, while the rest of the world referred to them as Jaegyeong's Three Princes.

However, Hwang Jeong-Hu wouldn't call them such grand titles now.
They were merely his sons, after all.

He only had three sons, but the smile he made for them was icy cold.
“Do you have anything else to say?”

The eldest of the trio and the president of the Jaegyeong Electronics, Hwang Min-Jae, was soaked in buckets of cold sweat, while his demeanor no longer resembled the much-envied second-generation chaebol.[ref]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaebol[/ref] “F-father, I was merely…”

Everything felt so surreal and nightmarish to him.
Hwang Jeong-Hu's personal physician definitely told him there was no hope for his father.
No one knew how many days the old man had left to live, and it would be exceedingly difficult to communicate with him too—that was what that damn physician said.

Even if Hwang Jeong-Hu was saved through a miracle, it should take another miracle for him to return to the office.
But now…
There he was, standing tall and proud right before Hwang Min-Jae's bulging eyes.
And with far more vigor than before his collapse, too.

“Father, I was just trying to protect this company…”

“Protect this company, you say?”

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“I…” Hwang Min-Jae couldn't readily reply to that retort.

But his meandering gave the second son, Hwang Min-Su, an opportunity to cry out in a hurry.
“Father! If we haven't done this, the overseas investors would've wrestled the management of the company from our hands! Isn't that something you also want to avoid?”

The last-born Hwang Min-Guk came to his older brother's aid.
“We didn't have a choice if we wanted to save our company, father!”

Hwang Min-Jae watched his little brothers desperately trying to convince their father and dejectedly shook his head.
They were wasting their energy.

The eldest, Hwang Min-Jae, was older than the second son, Hwang Min-Su, by nearly a decade.
That was because the latter was born from Hwang Jeong-Hu's second wife.
This gap in their ages played a major role in how the sons perceived their father differently.

Hwang Min-Jae had been assisting his father since the days when the Jaegyeong Group was still a relatively small company.
That was why he knew how ruthless and cold his father could be when necessary.
In fact, Hwang Jeong-Hu could become so cold and heartless that even his eldest son had to be afraid of him.

By the time Hwang Min-Su started participating in the management of the company, the Jaegyeong Group had already built the framework to become a major corporation.
As such, he only got to see his father's comparatively 'warmer' side while growing up.

This difference split the responses of the sons.
Hwang Min-Jae was squeezing his eyes shut in resignation, while Hwang Min-Su and Hwang Min-Guk were desperately pleading their cases with their father.

“You wanted to save our company?!” Hwang Jeong-Hu's voice got louder in an instant. “Breaking up my company to fill your greedy little coffers was the only way to save it? Is that what you're telling me?!”

“B-but, Father…!”

“Shut the hell up!” Hwang Jeong-Hu's roar echoed in the office.

“…!”

“I used to think you were my children.”

“Father, we're still your children.”

“Is it? Tell me, what kind of children don't show up for over a year to their father's side when he's dying of an illness?”

“…”

“And to make matters worse, you actually sued my estate hoping to get your hands on my assets early?”

“T-that…
We were busy with the company matters, and…”

Hwang Jeong-Hu suddenly grinned deeply.
“I see.
So, the problem with you lot was how busy you were.”

“Y-yes, Father.”

“In that case, the problem will be solved by making you not busy anymore.
You're all dismissed.”

“N-no, Father! Wait!” Hwang Min-Su freaked out and urgently called out to his father.

Were they not Hwang Jeong-Hu's children? All three of them should inherit an incalculable wealth when the old man passed on from this life.
However, perhaps to prove to the world that he wasn't some cheapskate, Hwang Jeong-Hu didn't rely on loopholes to hide his wealth and evade inheritance taxes, meaning the family's actual wealth at hand was close to zero.

Ironically enough, the three sons working as the company presidents accepted minimum wage for their wages to boost the company's bottom line.
They even followed their father's example by not seizing the chance to acquire some other underhanded wealth.
Then again, why would they be hung up on making a pocket change when they were scheduled to inherit trillions of wons in the future?

However, if they were to be fired from their presidential positions like this, they would practically be penniless.
And the government-mandated pension wouldn't be enough for them to get by, either.

Hwang Jeong-Hu coldly issued a new order.
“Throw them out.”

“F-father!”

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Baek Yeong-Gi silently signaled with his eyes, prompting other directors present in the office to rush forward and drag the three sons outside.

“F-father! Please, forgive us this once…!”

Slam!

The office door slammed shut, and their pleading voices could no longer be heard.

“Tsk, tsk…” Hwang Jeong-Hu quietly tutted, then shifted his gaze slightly.
“Let me ask you something, Yeong-Gi.”

“Please go ahead, Chairman.”

“Was I a bad parent? Have I failed in their education?”

“That isn't the case, Chairman.”

“Then, why are my kids so disappointing?”

Baek Yeong-Gi smiled awkwardly.
“Sir, not many people in this world will be able to maintain their composure in front of money.
They might be your children, Chairman, but they can never be you.”

“Hmmm. It's leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.”

Baek Yeong-Gi chose not to say everything in his mind.
The only reason why the three sons couldn't be Hwang Jeong-Hu was that they were his children in the first place.
The father rose to prominence while combating all sorts of headwinds and difficulties, but the three sons grew up sheltered within the capable arms of Hwang Jeong-Hu.
That was the difference—the greater Hwang Jeong-Hu became, the more insulated the environment for his three sons became.

Obviously, Hwang Jeong-Hu hadn't done anything wrong.
He was focused on building and growing his company, after all, while his sons looked like they were maturing into good people, on the outside, at the least.

Hwang Jeong-Hu leaned against his chair.
“What about the task I assigned you?”

Baek Yeong-Gi made a tense expression and took his time before replying.
“Chairman.
The part of your assets that your sons could access has been frozen, sir.
We can take this slow, I believe.
I've already alerted the security to prevent your sons from entering the company premises, and their homes under your name will be disposed of later on.”

“Will that be enough, I wonder?”

“Their individual wealth seems to run into hundreds of millions of wons, but it's not possible for us to touch those legally, sir.”

“The lack of legal means shouldn't preclude us from getting our hands on that, wouldn't you agree?”

Baek Yeong-Gi sighed.
“Chairman, they are still your sons.
Sir, I think that's going overboard.”

“No.
It's not.”

“Chairman…”

Hwang Jeong-Hu could only stare in dissatisfaction at his trusted subordinate.

Didn't Baek Yeong-Gi almost get kicked out of his directorial position because of those three? Even then, he was still trying to protect them.
However, Baek Yeong-Gi should have based all of his decisions so far on whether they could benefit Hwang Jeong-Hu or not, so maybe there was a need to reconsider.

“Tsk. Very well.
It's your advice, so I shall look the other way this time.”

“Thank you, Chairman!”

Other directors witnessing this spectacle felt goosebumps on their skin after realizing how cold-hearted Hwang Jeong-Hu could be.
Those three presidents were his sons, yet… Had he really considered bankrupting them?!

Hwang Jeong-Hu suddenly glanced at the group of directors.
“Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the other instigators here as well.”

His meaningful words instantly brought down the temperature of the Chairman's office to icy cold.