Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 106

“Cheers!”

Glasses clinked together.

Kang Jin-ho shook his head, watching his friends who were chattering away.

It was supposed to be a celebration for Kang Jin-ho’s leave, but now the place was turning into a scene of madness.

“I think it’s better to stop drinking, Jin-ho.”

“Hmm.”

“There aren’t many chances to drink like this, so let it go for now.”

“…Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed, looking at Jung In-gyu, whose eyes had glazed over.

“Are you having a hard time?”

“Hard time, my foot.”

Jung In-gyu chuckled and downed his shot of soju [a Korean distilled rice liquor].

Lee Tae-ho shook his head at Jung In-gyu, as if he were hopeless, and playfully punched his shoulder.

“Hey, that guy, he’s dating someone he met at the cram school, it’s no joke.”

When Kang Jin-ho’s face turned sour, Jung In-gyu waved his hands.

“No, it’s not like that. I’m studying properly.”

“Didn’t you bomb the mock exam?”

“…”

Jung In-gyu awkwardly laughed to smooth things over.

“The mock exam was just too difficult this time. Really. My ranking didn’t drop.”

“Didn’t your ranking get crushed in the last mock exam? So you just maintained the crushed ranking?”

“Can you just shut up?”

When Jung In-gyu snapped back, Lee Tae-ho chuckled and raised his middle finger.

“See, retaking the exam is crazy.”

“Retaking is basic these days.”

“That’s for those with brains for studying. Are you or I the type to do well by retaking? We’ll just lose what we already have.”

“…Tch.”

Jung In-gyu, at a loss for words, smacked his lips and looked at Park Yu-min, who was sipping his drink next to him.

“I wish I had talent like Yu-min.”

“Huh?”

“I’m jealous. Yu-min doesn’t need to study or anything, he just does his thing. No matter how hard I study, I’ll never reach the top in Korea like Yu-min.”

Park Yu-min shook his head with a slightly dark expression.

“I just got lucky and won once, that’s all.”

“Hey, why are you talking like that? You have to work harder and win next time too! I’ve been bragging about my friend Park Yu-min at the cram school.”

“Really?”

Park Yu-min looked at Jung In-gyu, surprised.

In fact, Jung In-gyu didn’t really like Park Yu-min. He only hung out with him because Kang Jin-ho took care of Park Yu-min. The two of them had never really talked separately.

Park Yu-min, being someone with a past, thought it was natural to be treated that way, but it turned out that Jung In-gyu had been calling him a friend behind his back.

“So, work hard to make me proud!”

Oh Min-jae clicked his tongue.

“Crazy. Does Yu-min have to work hard to make you feel good? It’s his job!”

“That’s not what I meant! That’s not what I meant!”

Jung In-gyu poured himself a drink and gulped it down.

“Why are you drinking alone?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Jung In-gyu’s pronunciation began to slur. Kang Jin-ho frowned, unable to watch any longer.

“Stop drinking.”

“I said I’m okay.”

“…”

As Kang Jin-ho was about to say something more, Park Yu-min subtly gave him a look.

“Um…”

Kang Jin-ho, noticing Park Yu-min’s look, silently nodded and downed his drink.

“How’s military life?”

“It’s nothing much.”

“Really?”

Oh Min-jae scoffed as if he didn’t believe it.

“Hey, if you ask Jin-ho that, will you get a proper answer? He’s the guy who played around all through high school and then suddenly decided to study right before the college entrance exam and went to Kyunghee University.”

“…That’s right.”

“Ask him if studying is hard. He’ll say it’s nothing much.”

Kang Jin-ho was speechless.

Thinking about it, he really had no other answer.

“Everyone has different capacities. Don’t ask him about that. He’s someone for whom nothing in the world is difficult.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face slightly hardened. It wasn’t that he felt bad about the words.

He knew that Oh Min-jae didn’t mean any harm by it. Nevertheless, the reason he couldn’t just brush it off was probably because Kang Jin-ho was facing difficulties right now.

“Let’s have a drink.”

To ease the awkward atmosphere, Kang Jin-ho raised his glass.

“Cheers!”

As they drank a little more, the atmosphere began to become more convivial.

It had only been about four months since they graduated high school, but it seemed that everyone was having a hard time adjusting to their new lives. Perhaps that was why they were complaining to their friends they hadn’t seen in a while, teasing each other, and having a good time.

“For Jung In-gyu’s third attempt!”

“You crazy bastard!”

It seemed everyone agreed that Jung In-gyu was having the hardest time, as they were all concerned about his situation.

“…Jin-ho, is there an easy way to study?”

“Just focus.”

“That’s why I’m asking, because it’s not easy.”

“It’s not?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, and Oh Min-jae shook his head.

“Don’t ask Einstein about arithmetic. You should consult with a cram school teacher instead.”

“I guess I should.”

Jung In-gyu, realizing his mistake, emptied his glass with a gloomy face.

“How’s college life?”

“They said everyone just plays around in college, but it was all a lie. There are no seats in the library.”

“They don’t even drink. They’re all busy studying and getting good grades. One girl in our department is already studying tax law to prepare for the tax accountant exam.”

“Hey, don’t even mention it. A guy in our department already got his AICPA [American Institute of Certified Public Accountants certification].”

“What’s that?”

“A tax accountant in the United States.”

“Yikes.”

Oh Min-jae was horrified by the fact that there were people who were casually doing things that only the son of a mom’s friend would do.

“Wow, what kind of people are they?”

“They’re amazing people. But honestly, we’re not inferior either.”

“Why?”

“So what if they get AICPA? There are a lot of people who get it. We have Yu-min! When Park Yu-min rises, everyone else is dead.”

“That’s true.”

Park Yu-min smiled awkwardly at his friends’ words.

“By the way, what’s Han Se-yeon doing these days?”

“Han Se-yeon?”

“Yeah.”

The eyes of the group turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“I don’t know.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s curt answer, the gazes scattered again.

“She’s amazing too.”

“There’s no one like him. Really.”

Oh Min-jae and Lee Tae-ho nodded at each other. They couldn’t understand Kang Jin-ho’s way of thinking. It didn’t seem like he was like this at first, but it seemed like he had changed after the accident.

“There’s a limit to how indifferent a person can be.”

As the public opinion suddenly turned into criticism of him, Kang Jin-ho cleared his throat and raised his glass.

“Let’s have a drink.”

“Look at him, changing the subject?”

“He learned something good in the military.”

He had nothing to say, even though he had a mouth.

“Be careful going home.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Oh Min-jae and Lee Tae-ho waved their hands, supporting Jung In-gyu, who was completely out of it. Since they lived in the same direction, they decided to take Jung In-gyu home.

“Let’s go for round four…”

“Round four, my foot!”

Min-jae and Tae-ho glared at Jung In-gyu with murderous eyes.

“Ah, I don’t want to go home?”

“Hey, get in a taxi!”

No matter what Jung In-gyu said, the two of them grabbed a taxi and forced him into it, shouting.

“Hey, we have to have another drink before going home!”

“Okay.”

The two of them smiled at Kang Jin-ho’s words and got into the taxi. As the car drove off, Park Yu-min and Kang Jin-ho, who were left alone, watched the taxi disappear.

“Are you going to take a taxi?”

“Let’s sober up a bit.”

Unlike Kang Jin-ho, Park Yu-min, who was weak with alcohol, was completely out of it and sat down on the building steps in the corner.

“If we go in like this, the kids will worry.”

“I guess so.”

Kang Jin-ho also sat down next to him and took out a cigarette.

“You have to go back, right?”

“That’s right, but…”

Park Yu-min also had a worried look on his face.

In the professional scene, where it’s hard to catch up even if you miss a few days of practice, he hadn’t been able to practice properly for over a month, so it was understandable that he was worried.

Park Yu-min, who had been looked down upon by others because of his congenital disability, had found his aptitude for the first time, and he had achieved a certain level of success in it, so he must have been very attached to it.

It was easy to imagine how much anxiety Park Yu-min must be feeling as the things he had built up were now collapsing.

“How nice would it be if people could just do what they want to do.”

“Your life comes first.”

“You’re right.”

Kang Jin-ho liked this about Park Yu-min.

Even if his thoughts were different, he wouldn’t immediately refute the other person’s words.

He would accept what he needed to accept and slowly express his own opinion.

That was Park Yu-min’s way of speaking, and that was Park Yu-min’s character.

“I know, I know. But I also know that I can’t stay like this. I wake up in a cold sweat even in my sleep. Recently, I went back to the practice room, and I even had a dream where I was getting beaten by a trainee.”

“That’s terrible.”

“I’m trying to act calm, but I guess I’m anxious too. But what can I do?”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked at Park Yu-min. Looking at his calm expression, he thought he looked a lot like the head nun. They weren’t related by blood, but perhaps the head nun was Park Yu-min’s true parent.

Overnight, the person he could call his parent was on the verge of death, and the children he called his siblings were being neglected without parental care.

What could Park Yu-min have done in that situation?

“But I can’t just leave the kids alone.”

“That’s right.”

Even if Kang Jin-ho were in Park Yu-min’s position, it wouldn’t be an easy decision to make.

“I desperately want to succeed. I want to earn more money, I want to be more confident, and I want to show other people, ‘Look, I succeeded.’ But when I think about what success I would get if I abandoned the orphanage right now…”

Park Yu-min sighed softly.

“I’m afraid that one day everything I’ve gained will become meaningless.”

Was he too soft-hearted, or was he too compassionate?

There were countless people who abandoned their real families to pursue money and fame, but Park Yu-min had too many thoughts to survive in such a world.

Kang Jin-ho’s heart ached when he thought about how hard it must have been for Park Yu-min to endure all this alone until Kang Jin-ho returned. He could have at least called and complained, but Park Yu-min had silently endured the situation without saying anything. He was admirable and amazing.

“It’ll be okay.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll be okay.”

Park Yu-min silently looked at the sky.

The dark sky, where not a single star could be seen, was familiar yet suffocating.

“Yeah, it’ll be okay.”

Perhaps it was the words he had wanted to hear the most.

More than a perfect plan or a lifeline to solve the current situation, those simple words might have been what Park Yu-min needed right now.

Park Yu-min muttered to himself.

“…It’ll be okay.”

The two of them didn’t talk any further.

Until the dark sky turned gray and a red light appeared in the east, the two of them sat there without saying a word, looking at the sky.