Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 375

Even the mighty Kang Jin-ho felt his heart sink at that moment.

‘What kind of excuse should I make?’

That I was just checking if she was sleeping well?

Or that I just came to see her face?

More than that, how should I explain how I got here without being caught by the nurse?

He could feel cold sweat beading on his forehead.

“Ah, ugh…”

Fortunately, Choi Yeon-ha closed her eyes again and turned to her side. It seemed she was just mumbling in her sleep.

“Ha…”

An involuntary groan escaped his lips.

Kang Jin-ho raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. It felt like the first time his heart had pounded this much since returning to the modern world.

‘I wasn’t even this surprised when I saw the tunnel collapsing…’

Thinking that all sorts of things happened only when he got involved with Choi Yeon-ha, Kang Jin-ho quietly touched her acupoint. [Acupoint: specific points on the body used in traditional Chinese medicine for therapeutic purposes.]

After confirming that Choi Yeon-ha had completely fallen asleep, Kang Jin-ho placed his hand on her lower abdomen.

‘This is still awkward…’

He had treated her like this before, but back then, he hadn’t been back in society for long, so he didn’t really have any awareness of it. But now that he had adjusted, he started to worry about how many years of jail time he would get if this scene was discovered.

Kang Jin-ho, who had taken his hand off her lower abdomen, checked if the door was properly locked and then returned to the bed. He knew that checking was pointless since it was a card key system, but he couldn’t shake off his anxiety.

‘Let’s finish this quickly.’

If the fact that he was starting to worry about these things was proof that he had become a proper modern person, was that too crude of a thought?

Kang Jin-ho placed his hand on Choi Yeon-ha’s lower abdomen and began to channel his inner energy.

“Uhm…”

As the warm energy penetrated her body, Choi Yeon-ha groaned. He had pressed her acupoint, so she wouldn’t wake up, but it seemed she was reacting to the changes in her body.

Kang Jin-ho hardened his face and began to concentrate.

The energy that had penetrated her lower abdomen began to rise to her head. As he closed his eyes and focused, he could feel the dark, murky energy filling the area around her head.

‘It’s strange.’

Modern medicine had advanced to an extent that was incomparable to the past. In the past, many people would have died without any hope, but in the modern world, they were treated and lived healthy lives.

Modern medicine was far superior in treating external injuries, as well as internal ones. Yet, it was strange that martial arts could reach places that modern medicine had not yet reached.

‘Come to think of it, martial arts are also strange by modern standards.’

In the past, the concept that the body and mind were connected was too obvious. It was an accepted theory that humans were made of energy, and that physical or mental illnesses were all caused by the disruption of this energy flow.

Perhaps it was just a difference in approach.

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly.

‘It’s worse than I thought.’

The murky energy had been there for too long, and Choi Yeon-ha’s vitality was fading. Her condition was worse than it appeared on the surface. It was almost admirable that she had been showing such a cheerful face in this state.

But fortunately, there were no other abnormalities besides the murky energy. Kang Jin-ho lightly raised his energy and began to absorb the murky energy in Choi Yeon-ha’s head.

Evil and demonic energy were the energies he was most comfortable with. The murky energy that had been filling Choi Yeon-ha’s head began to move as he wished, as if it were his own energy.

Kang Jin-ho, who had absorbed all the murky energy from Choi Yeon-ha’s head, took his hand away and quietly looked at her.

Choi Yeon-ha’s face, with a slight blush, looked incredibly peaceful.

‘This should be enough.’

Even if he had absorbed all the murky energy, her condition wouldn’t be completely healed. But it would be much better than before, and she would soon be able to regain her original self.

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Choi Yeon-ha and turned away without any regrets.

Kang Jin-ho, who had slipped out through the window, climbed up the building and landed on the rooftop.

Looking at the pitch-black sky where not a single star could be seen, he felt a sense of calm.

‘If only I could have done this back then…’ Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

Removing Choi Yeon-ha’s murky energy was not a difficult task. It was partly because her condition wasn’t severe, but also because Kang Jin-ho had become that much stronger.

If he hadn’t hesitated.

If he had accepted the things he had to face by becoming stronger without fear, perhaps he could have done more.

Could he have solved the things he had dismissed as unavoidable?

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip.

A familiar face appeared on the black sky, like a canvas.

Perhaps if he had made up his mind a little faster, he could have saved the head nun.

‘Am I living properly now?’

That was something no one could know.

Kang Jin-ho looked at his hands.

He had to become someone who could hold the hand that was extended to him. And… he had to become someone who could reach out first.

He felt that he hadn’t been doing the things he needed to do properly lately because of various things. It was something he needed to reflect on.

‘A little more diligently.’

Kang Jin-ho, who had been quietly looking at the sky, jumped down from the hospital building.

“Ah…”

Choi Yeon-ha shivered from an unknown cold.

“Ugh, does this hospital not have proper heating?”

A cold breeze penetrated Choi Yeon-ha’s body as she abruptly sat up.

“Huh?”

The breeze was gently flowing in through the wide-open window.

‘Did I not close that before I went to sleep?’

No? I’m sure I closed it before I went to bed yesterday?

Choi Yeon-ha tilted her head. She was sure she had closed it, but the window was open. This was the top floor of the hospital, so no one could have opened it from the outside…

‘Did I open it in my sleep?’

If not, maybe a nurse had opened it. Choi Yeon-ha got out of bed and approached the window, closing it.

“Hmm, the sunlight is nice.”

Looking at the dazzling sunlight pouring through the window, Choi Yeon-ha smiled softly. She felt strangely good today. Recently, she had been feeling restless and uneasy every time she woke up in the morning because she hadn’t been sleeping well, but it felt like she had gotten a good night’s sleep for the first time in days.

Her mind was clear because she felt good.

The anxiety and fear that had suddenly come over her were gone today.

“That’s strange.”

Choi Yeon-ha tilted her head.

It was good that her condition was improving, but the problem was that she couldn’t figure out the cause.

If she could get this much better in just one day, she wouldn’t have been so worried all this time.

“Could it be…”

No way.

Choi Yeon-ha shook her head. That didn’t make sense. Surely, her mood wouldn’t have improved just because she had briefly seen Kang Jin-ho’s face last night.

‘But there’s nothing else…’

She had been taking sleeping pills every day since she was admitted, and the only change in the past few days was that…

“I’m crazy.”

Choi Yeon-ha rubbed her cheeks vigorously with both hands.

“I’ve lost it. I’ve completely lost it.”

Choi Yeon-ha chuckled.

Perhaps because she felt good, she began to see reality clearly. Denying it wouldn’t make it untrue. She already had feelings for Kang Jin-ho.

“Hmph~”

Choi Yeon-ha turned and stood in front of the mirror.

Her reflection in the mirror was unfamiliar. A face without makeup, messy hair, and a pale complexion.

However, there was a slight blush on her cheeks, so she didn’t look too pale.

“I look amazing!”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had completely regained her confidence, perhaps because the murky energy had left her head, turned and went outside.

“Nurse!”

“Patient?”

The nurse, who was seeing Choi Yeon-ha come out of her room for the first time, looked at her with surprised eyes.

“You seem to be in a good mood today. Are you going for a walk?”

“Please schedule a meeting with the doctor.”

“Pardon?”

“I need to be discharged.”

“Patient? Did you say discharge?”

“Yes. There’s nothing more to treat anyway. I can just do outpatient visits now. I was originally supposed to be discharged earlier, but I stayed because I wanted to, so it’s okay for me to leave now, right?”

“Well, yes… Then, how about you talk to the head doctor when he comes for his rounds?”

“Ah, that would work. Okay. Thanks.”

The nurses began to whisper as they watched Choi Yeon-ha, who was smiling brightly and waving her hand, head back to her room.

“She seems to be in a really good mood?”

“Wasn’t she almost depressed? Did she switch to bipolar disorder?”

“…But celebrities are really different. When she smiles like that, she looks like an angel.”

“You didn’t like Choi Yeon-ha before.”

“She was annoying. But when I see that face up close, I don’t even feel jealous. She’s just not human.”

“I know. The tabloids say that male celebrities are all over her, so she must have a boyfriend, right?”

“No. If she had a boyfriend, wouldn’t he have come to visit her at least once?”

“Maybe they’re just avoiding people’s eyes.”

“I’ve been sneaking glances every time I go into her room, and she never has her phone in her hand. It’s not like she puts it down every time I come in… It’s not a watch, she just throws it on the table?”

“So what?”

The nurse looked at her colleague with a pathetic expression.

“Have you ever seen a woman with a boyfriend not holding her phone? They’re supposed to be on it all day long, texting and everything.”

“…That’s true.”

“She’s known for being cold and aloof with that face. No ordinary man would be good enough for her. And she’s so prickly, it’s unbelievable.”

“Really?”

The nurse looked towards Choi Yeon-ha’s room with a slightly doubtful expression.

‘She didn’t seem that bad…’

You couldn’t know what was inside a person.

“Let’s drop it!”

Choi Yeon-ha clenched her fist and shook it as she looked in the mirror.

“It doesn’t suit me! It doesn’t suit me! I’m not some pure romance manga protagonist, what am I doing?”

She was Choi Yeon-ha.

Evil was half of her, and guts were the other half.

Even if she was immune to romance, being flustered and shy because of a man was not her style.

“What am I lacking!”

She had no intention of wanting to be a princess who was loved like this. A person had their pride.

She was the best actress in Korea, and no matter what others said, she thought she was the prettiest woman in Korea. And she had a lot of money, and her education was a bit ambiguous…

“Being pretty is enough!”

Does education feed you? Looks feed you.

Anyway, even if you considered all the conditions, she was the best woman. Choi Yeon-ha, who had firmly grasped that fact, gritted her teeth.

“I can’t let my pride be hurt like this.”

As her mind cleared, her pride began to creep up.

The problem was that her pride was starting to progress in a slightly strange direction.

“If I seduce him, he should fall for me! You’re a man too! I’m betting my pride on this.”

The head doctor, who had entered the room for his rounds, began to seriously consider whether he should discharge Choi Yeon-ha, who was standing in front of the mirror shouting, ‘Let’s seduce him, fighting!’. [Fighting: A Korean expression of encouragement, similar to ‘You can do it!’]