Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 126

“Yes, Director.”

“Come here.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly approached the director. She reached out her hand.

“Do you know why I keep holding your hand?”

“…I don’t know.”

“People, you see.”

“Yes.”

Her smile was unlike any Kang Jin-ho had ever seen.

It was both incredibly warm and somehow chilling.

It was a smile that was hard to look at directly.

“Sometimes, you can feel lonely even when you’re with others.”

“Yes.”

“You know that, right?”

“…Yes.”

The director didn’t know what kind of life Kang Jin-ho had lived. Because Kang Jin-ho had never told her. But she spoke as if she knew everything about the life he had lived.

In the Central Plains, he wasn’t alone.

Humans cannot live alone.

That’s why he had joined groups and mingled with others. But even in those gatherings, he was always lonely and isolated.

But he thought that wouldn’t be the case anymore. Now he had found his family again, and he had reclaimed his life.

Yet, strangely, the director’s words were resonating in his heart.

“It’s lonely, isn’t it? People are lonely. It’s hard to truly understand others. Conversely, no one can truly understand me.”

She squeezed his hand.

“That’s why I hold hands. To show that we’re together, even if we don’t understand each other. How does it feel?”

What was she asking?

Director.

I’m too confused to feel the warmth in your fingertips right now.

“Is it warm?”

“…Yes.”

It was a lie.

Her hand was so cold.

It was strange that she was still alive, given how much her body temperature had dropped.

“I don’t understand everything you’ve done. But I know you tried your best.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t say anything.

What was the point?

It was all meaningless.

Now that things had turned out this way, everything Kang Jin-ho had done was just a futile effort.

“I’m…”

The director quietly held Kang Jin-ho’s hand tightly and shook her head.

“Jin-ho.”

Her voice was soft as she called his name.

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip at the slow resonance.

“You can’t hold onto everything in life.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

“I was happy. I was happy because I had the children. I was happy because I had Yu-min, and because I had Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

She smiled gently and said,

“Jin-ho is a strong person, isn’t he?”

“…I’m not strong.”

“Jin-ho has a firm heart. But Jin-ho, strong people sometimes don’t understand the weakness of those around them. They think that people should be able to endure what they can’t. I hope Jin-ho can become someone who can accept the weaknesses of others.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Okay. It must be hard now.”

The director leaned back, breathing heavily. Kang Jin-ho laid her down and walked out.

Standing at the door, Kang Jin-ho grabbed the handle and spoke.

“Director.”

“Hmm?”

Her reply was small and weak.

Thinking about how hard she had tried to appear composed in front of him, he gripped the doorknob tighter.

“If there is a god… why doesn’t god help humans?”

Perhaps it was something he shouldn’t ask her right now.

But…

He couldn’t help but ask.

A soft voice came from behind him.

“God sent you to me.”

“You, the children, Yu-min… all of you are gifts that He sent to me.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been about to say something, closed his mouth without saying another word.

“Please rest.”

Opening the door was difficult.

Walking too.

Even breathing was difficult.

Kang Jin-ho, who barely managed to open the door and step outside, took a deep breath. As air rushed into his lungs, he felt dizzy and leaned against the wall.

“Jin-ho.”

Park Yu-min ran over and grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“…Go inside.”

“Jin-ho?”

“It’s not the time to worry about me. I’m fine, so… go inside.”

“Okay.”

Park Yu-min let go of Kang Jin-ho and went into the hospital room.

Thump!

Frustrated, Kang Jin-ho punched the wall and walked out, gritting his teeth.

“Cancer cells can metastasize rapidly.”

In Jo Gyu-min’s car parked outside the hospital, Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette.

Normally, he wouldn’t smoke in front of Jo Gyu-min, but now he had no other way to soothe his frustration.

“I think Chief Doctor Kang Chun-shik did his best.”

Jo Gyu-min trailed off.

Medically speaking, the fact that she had improved so rapidly was a miracle. No matter who you asked, no one could say that Kang Chun-shik had done anything wrong.

“If there’s any responsibility, it’s mine. Even though they suggested she be discharged, I should have kept her hospitalized and watched her progress.”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“I know it’s not about blaming anyone. I’m just a little frustrated.”

“…Yes.”

Feeling guilty for no reason, Jo Gyu-min’s voice faded.

Since he had met Kang Jin-ho, this was the first time he had seen him so shaken.

‘What does she mean to him?’

Their connection came through Park Yu-min, but if you were to be cold about it, they were strangers. But why was Kang Jin-ho so attached to her?

Of course, Jo Gyu-min also respected her life. Living a life of sacrifice for others was never easy. But even so, she wasn’t the only one living like that.

“When do you have to return?”

“…In four days.”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes.

“Didn’t you say you had more vacation time?”

“I do, but…”

He had to leave in such a hurry that he couldn’t get all his vacation time approved. It would take another day to get all the vacation time approved, so he had no choice.

“Let’s go home for today.”

“I guess so.”

Kang Jin-ho opened his eyes and looked out the window. The director and Park Yu-min would be inside the windows of that tall building.

‘I don’t belong there.’

It wasn’t his place.

Now, the director’s time should be filled entirely with Park Yu-min and the children. He was just a temporary guest.

“Let’s go home.”

“Really?”

Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo let out a deep groan.

“So, it ended up like that.”

Jo Gyu-min looked a little anxious.

“I thought I had known Mr. Kang Jin-ho for quite a long time, but that was the first time I’ve seen him like that.”

“I guess so.”

Hwang Jung-hoo took out a cigarette with a bitter expression.

“Didn’t they say she was getting better?”

“She did improve, but her condition deteriorated rapidly. Both the improvement and the deterioration are difficult to explain logically.”

“It seems there was a limit.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you also suspect it? Can a patient like that improve so quickly without medical intervention? Kang Jin-ho must have done something.”

“Chairman.”

Jo Gyu-min looked at Hwang Jung-hoo with a stern face.

“Does Mr. Kang Jin-ho really have something?”

“Don’t ask me what you already know.”

“But…”

Jo Gyu-min wasn’t a clueless person.

How many years had he been with Kang Jin-ho? Even if he tried not to show it, Jo Gyu-min couldn’t help but feel something stirring inside Kang Jin-ho.

“I thought he wasn’t an ordinary person, but who could have guessed he had such abilities?”

“What kind of ability? Healing?”

“Probably something like that.”

“Heh heh heh.”

Hwang Jung-hoo chuckled softly.

“Isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what kind of abilities Kang Jin-ho has. I only know that Kang Jin-ho healed me and that person. But…”

Hwang Jung-hoo’s eyes darkened.

‘It’s not something like healing.’

He was sure of that.

Every time Kang Jin-ho subtly revealed something he had kept hidden inside, Hwang Jung-hoo felt every hair on his body stand on end.

It was definitely not something gentle.

“It might come out.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s frustrating to wear a shell. People will eventually reveal their true nature.”

Jo Gyu-min’s face darkened.

Thinking about Kang Jin-ho’s back he had glimpsed in the past, he unconsciously clenched his fist.

‘Is that what’s coming out?’

It seemed that Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo believed that was Kang Jin-ho’s true self.

But Jo Gyu-min thought differently.

“Doesn’t everyone have a monster inside them?”

“Hmm?”

“If everyone unleashed the monster inside them, the world would be chaos. Everyone has the desire to be driven by their emotions and to dominate others. But just because someone has a monster inside them doesn’t mean that monster is their true nature.”

“That’s not wrong either.”

“Mr. Kang Jin-ho is a considerate person who knows how to live his life. That’s what I think.”

“Okay. If that’s your opinion after watching him for so long, then that’s how it is.”

But Hwang Jung-hoo’s voice was a little hollow.

‘But that’s the story of an ordinary person.’

It was natural that Jo Gyu-min didn’t know.

And perhaps Kang Jin-ho himself didn’t know either.

The Kang Jin-ho that Hwang Jung-hoo saw was a two-sided person.

How many people in the world have both cunning and innocence? He didn’t know how he had developed such a personality, but it was clear that Kang Jin-ho’s personality wasn’t normal.

“Maybe.”

“…Yes?”

“Maybe you and I don’t know at all. What kind of person he is.”

Jo Gyu-min lowered his head, feeling a strange sense of unease as the vague feeling he had been having was put into words.

* * *

“When did you get out?”

“Today.”

“Without a word.”

“I had to leave in a hurry.”

“Have you had dinner?”

“I ate already.”

Seeing that Kang Jin-ho’s expression was downcast, Baek Hyun-jung patted his shoulder.

“Okay. You must be tired from coming out today, so go wash up and rest.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho bowed his head and headed to his room, and Baek Hyun-jung sighed.

“Did Jin-ho come?”

“Yes. He just came and went into his room.”

“Without a word? Why didn’t we eat together?”

“Leave him alone for now.”

“Huh?”

Baek Hyun-jung grabbed Kang Ji-hwan, who was approaching Kang Jin-ho’s room, not understanding what was going on.

“Let’s just leave him alone today. I think it’s better to leave him alone.”

“…Does he seem like something’s wrong?”

“Maybe.”

“Okay.”

He looked at the room with a worried expression, but Kang Jin-ho’s door remained firmly closed.

“Don’t worry. He’s our son.”

“I’m not worried. But…”

“But?”

Baek Hyun-jung waved her hand as if it was nothing and walked to the bathroom.

The words that for a moment, she felt like her son was someone else, were not words she could say to anyone else.