Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 325

“Hoo!”

People are sometimes plagued by random thoughts. Just like a young woman’s heart flutters in the spring, there are times when one gets caught up in strange thoughts depending on the time or situation, making it difficult to live properly.

Some people take a break when such situations arise, and those who cannot rest try to overcome such periods in their own ways. Some go on trips, while others try to have a good time with friends.

Choi Yeon-ha belonged to the group that chose exercise.

She usually exercised moderately to manage her figure, but the intensity of her workouts was going up endlessly.

After sweating profusely, she would feel refreshed, and if she took advantage of that momentum to get a good night’s sleep, her random thoughts would disappear and her concentration would improve.

That had been the case until now.

“I’m going crazy.”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had gotten off the stationary bike, sat on the floor and sighed deeply.

It was a sad thing, but she had already finished all of her exercise for the day. She hadn’t just used the clumsy exercise equipment at home; she had visited a training center and received proper personal training.

She had even asked them to make her crawl home, not to do things half-heartedly since she had decided to go all out today, and her trainer had faithfully fulfilled that request.

Yet, her mind was so complicated that she had to exercise again after returning home.

“This is a fine mess.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed repeatedly.

She wasn’t a teenage girl, so what was she doing?

She was not young anymore, so shouldn’t she be past the point of being so restless and unable to do anything over something so trivial?

“Showing off is all you’re good for.”

Choi Yeon-ha sprawled out on the floor.

‘Ah, why do I keep thinking about him!’

She had been doing okay until she became conscious of it. She had thought about him occasionally, but she hadn’t been carrying his face around in her head like she was now. But this time, meeting him was the final blow.

She had faced a very small emotion head-on.

She hadn’t known it when she wasn’t conscious of it, but the moment she confirmed that an emotion was growing in her heart, the emotion began to swell like a snowball.

Now, it was beyond her control.

“What bad luck, what bad luck!”

Why did it have to be that kind of person!

Ah, of course, it’s not that there was anything wrong with that person. If he were that kind of person, Choi Yeon-ha wouldn’t be acting like this right now. Choi Yeon-ha’s ‘that kind’ didn’t mean ‘strange,’ but ‘unresponsive.’

To put it bluntly, he had the looks, the body, and the money. As for his personality… well, you can’t see that, so it doesn’t matter, right?

In any case, Choi Yeon-ha far exceeded the average Korean woman in many ways. Ninety-nine percent of the men within her reach would go wild and make a fuss if Choi Yeon-ha showed even the slightest interest.

The problem was that Kang Jin-ho was one of the remaining 1%.

‘I’d be lucky if I didn’t get humiliated.’

She was sure that if she tried something clumsy, her heart would be torn to shreds by that stone-faced man’s lack of response. She didn’t have any dating experience, but she had seen too much around her, and she had seen too many scenarios.

“How did I end up like this…”

After rolling around on the floor and kicking an imaginary blanket for a while, the phone started ringing. Choi Yeon-ha rolled over to the phone and pressed the call button.

“Yes.”

[Oh? You’re answering the phone? It’s me!]

“Yes, CEO.”

[It’s not that I have anything special to say… Yeon-ha.]

“Yes, please speak.”

[This time, a really good script came in. I looked at it, and the script is really amazing. The female lead is perfect for you! I looked at it! It’s really perfect, you know?]

“Yes.”

Choi Yeon-ha answered weakly.

[I won’t force you to do it, but can you just take a look at the script? Even if you don’t act in it, it’s a work worth reading just for the script. So…]

“Yes, I understand.”

[So, just don’t feel pressured and read the scrip… what? You’ll read it?]

“Yes. Please send it.”

[O-okay! Okay, I’ll send it! I’ll have my manager send it to you first thing tomorrow morning.]

“Yes, please do.”

[But…]

“Yes.”

[It’s a bit strange for me to ask this… but why are you suddenly like this? Usually, you would have hung up the phone, saying you were too annoyed to even look at a script.]

“Ah, that?”

[Yeah.]

“I just suddenly had a thought.”

[What thought?]

“I was thinking about how frustrating and annoying it must be for someone who is trying so hard to make something work when it won’t… how miserable it must be…”

[Wow…]

“When I thought about how much it messes with someone’s head when the other person doesn’t even care, I realized that I’ve done so many terrible things until now. Please send me that script. I’ll review it carefully, and if it’s good, I’ll do it.”

[R-really?]

“Yes. But the script has to be good. And the director has to be good too.”

[Of course! Of course! Who do you think is going to appear in this work? I chose it very carefully. But just in case, should I send you a few other scripts?]

“…Yes, please do.”

[Okay. You won’t change your mind tomorrow, right?]

“Yes.”

[…But, are you feeling okay?]

“CEO, my patience is about to run out.”

[No! Okay! I’ll hang up. Sleep well!]

With a click, the call ended, and Choi Yeon-ha lay sprawled out, staring at the ceiling.

“It’s a terrible thing to do.”

They say you can only understand some things when you’re on the receiving end, and she felt like she knew how much she had been tormenting the people around her.

‘But I… I don’t want to know this.’

Choi Yeon-ha, who had gotten up irritably, sat back down in the same spot. She had overdone it with exercise today, so her legs were wobbly, and she couldn’t walk well.

“Ugh, damn it!”

Choi Yeon-ha, who was annoyed, headed to the bathroom with staggering steps.

She felt a little refreshed only after washing her whole body with cold water. She took out new clothes, sat in front of the dressing table, and started applying cosmetics, and only then did she seem to calm down a bit.

“Let’s get a grip.”

This was actually a bit embarrassing.

Who was she?

She had reduced her exposure to maintain a good actress image for the long term, but if she had gone on some variety shows and shown her face when her popularity was surging, Choi Yeon-ha could have easily earned the title of national goddess. For such a Choi Yeon-ha to be floundering because of a man was something that should never happen.

Thinking about the fans who were thinking about her all over the country at this very moment, it was something that should never happen.

But…

“Oh, crap!”

Choi Yeon-ha was horrified when she looked in the mirror.

She had been lost in thought for a moment, and she had ended up doing a full makeup instead of just applying the basics. Considering that she usually enjoyed going out with just a simple BB cream, doing a full makeup unconsciously was something that should never happen.

“Hey, you! Where are you going!” Choi Yeon-ha, flustered, tried to talk to herself. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was past 10:30 PM.

‘It’s almost closing time.’

Choi Yeon-ha, who had unconsciously thought that, raised her hand and covered her face.

‘There’s no hope, really.’

Choi Yeon-ha, feeling self-loathing, lay down on the spot and started kicking her legs wildly.

“Ughhhhh! This is a ten-year-long blanket kick! Seriously!”

It was a good thing that no one saw her like this. If even her manager had seen her like this, Choi Yeon-ha would be wondering which bridge she should jump off of to die in the least embarrassing way.

“My image isn’t like this!”

She had worked hard for twenty years to maintain her cold and aloof image, but to think that her efforts would be blown away in an instant.

Feeling that the genre was changing from drama to sitcom, Choi Yeon-ha tore at her hair.

“Calm down! I need to take off my makeup and go to sleep.”

She thought she would feel better after a good night’s sleep.

In fact, she had rarely felt such emotions, so she was not immune to them. Fortunately, Choi Yeon-ha was well aware of the common truth that no human emotion lasts at its peak.

Even if you are so sad that you can’t think of anything, after a little time passes, you get hungry and eat, don’t you?

She was all worked up now, but in about ten days…

Choi Yeon-ha glanced at the clock again and froze like a statue, starting to worry.

‘But I’ve gone to the trouble of putting on makeup, so it’s a waste to just take it off and go to sleep…’

It wasn’t like she was going to do anything special tonight, but still, he had helped her out so much recently, so wouldn’t it be okay to just get a cup of coffee?

They were originally supposed to have a meal, but she hadn’t been able to get a meal that day when she left like that…

There were enough excuses…

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

Choi Yeon-ha rolled around on the floor, realizing that she was making up an excuse to go see Kang Jin-ho tonight.

“I’m crazy! I’m crazy!”

After groaning for a while, Choi Yeon-ha slowly sat up.

‘I might as well just go.’

Human emotions are so mysterious that when you get what you desperately want, you are happy, but on the other hand, the desperation disappears, doesn’t it?

It was obvious that if she kept indulging in her fantasies alone, the Kang Jin-ho inside her would grow bigger. This was a common effect in dramas, wasn’t it? When a crazy woman throws water in the face of a handsome male lead, the male lead is dumbfounded, but he keeps thinking about it and starts to feel close to the female lead and develops feelings for her.

It was something that wouldn’t have happened if they had seen each other more often.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m going.”

No matter how she thought about it, this wasn’t a normal reaction.

She might calm down if she actually met Kang Jin-ho.

Thinking that, Choi Yeon-ha jumped up.

Then, she started running towards the dressing room.

Of course, this was something she was doing to sort out these ambiguous feelings by meeting Kang Jin-ho. It was definitely not because she thought that Kang Jin-ho might leave work if she dawdled any longer.

But the world was not so easy.

“Why don’t I have anything to wear in my closet!”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had made a self-deprecating remark about the closets that filled a large room, started rummaging through the clothes hanging on the hangers.

“This? No. This is too much. If I go out like this tonight, that man will misunderstand. This? If I drag myself out in a tracksuit at night, my image!”

After trying on all sorts of clothes by herself, Choi Yeon-ha finally completed a look that didn’t look like she had tried too hard, but subtly showed off her sense of style, a ‘she looks pretty even if she just throws on anything’ look.

“Good!”

Choi Yeon-ha, who was satisfied with her reflection in the mirror, was about to go out when the phone started ringing again.

“Hello?”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had answered the phone irritably, heard a familiar voice.

[Oh, Yeon-ha, it’s me. I just sent the script. The kid will take it to you.]

“No, tell them to come tomorrow.”

[You might change your mind again tomorrow. You can read it tomorrow, so just take it for now.]

“I’m going out now.”

[Y-Yeon-ha! Where are you going at this hour! I thought you had just made up your mind!]

“I don’t know. I have to go out, so tell them to come tomorrow morning. No, I think I’ll be passed out tomorrow morning, so tell them to come the day after tomorrow. I’m hanging up now.”

[Yeon-ha! Choi Yeon-ha!]

Leaving behind the desperate screams of her CEO, Choi Yeon-ha left the house.

Her destination was that grotesque pizza place.

With a more determined heart than when she was heading to the stage to receive an acting award, Choi Yeon-ha started heading to her car.