Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 653

“It’s nothing.”

“…It’s not nothing, is it?”

“It’s really nothing.”

“It’s really not nothing, is it?” Han Eun-sol’s face showed a hint of annoyance.

“Can’t you just let it go?” “No way. I’m the sobriety checkpoint of the actress world. There’s no way you’re getting past me. Spill it.”

Han Eun-sol sighed.

But she didn’t feel bad. Choi Yeon-ha only made these kinds of playful remarks when she was in a good mood. Realizing how long it had been since they had this kind of banter, she could tell just how good Choi Yeon-ha’s mood was right now.

“It’s just that… I was thinking about how much you’ve changed, noona.”

“Changed?”

“Yes. I realized it while we were talking. Before, you were, how should I put it… um…”

Choi Yeon-ha grinned.

“Beautiful and pure, I’m sure.”

“You were like a god of destruction, a god of destruction! Like that Shiva or whatever.”

“Do you want to see the god of destruction descend? Should I let you see it with your own eyes right now?”

“…No, thank you.”

Han Eun-sol quickly continued, seeing that Choi Yeon-ha’s eyes were still sharp.

“Anyway, I just realized that you’re really different from before. I thought I was just being dramatic because I still had your old image in my head.”

“You do know it.”

Choi Yeon-ha chuckled.

“Considering your personality, it seems like you’re really holding back a lot.”

“What’s wrong with my personality?”

“It’s a mess… no, I mean, you’re a bit sensitive.”

“I want to delicately sew your mouth shut.”

“No, no. Hehe.”

Han Eun-sol awkwardly laughed to defuse the situation. Then, she continued.

“They say people mellow out eventually, but I never thought you would, noona. It’s amazing that this day has come.”

“Mellow out?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s face twisted with a sneer.

“Do you think I’ve mellowed out and am holding back?”

“…Aren’t you?”

“How can a person mellow out? You’re born the way you are. There’s no such thing as mellowing out. People’s personalities don’t change. But as you get older, you hold back because you realize there are too many downsides to acting according to your personality. But I’m someone who doesn’t need to hold back. I haven’t changed at all from before until now.”

“I, is that so?”

If an ordinary person said those words in this situation, you would take it as a humble gesture, but not Choi Yeon-ha. Moreover, look at Choi Yeon-ha’s expression right now.

That sneer and arrogance mixed together…

‘Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that.’

It wasn’t gone. She had just been hiding it well until now.

“Th, then why is that?”

“You’re so pathetic.”

Choi Yeon-ha stared at Han Eun-sol for a moment before opening her mouth.

“What do you think is the biggest difference between me now and me before?”

“You’ve gotten older?”

“You’ve gotten wrinkles?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s forehead bulged with a vein. Choi Yeon-ha, trembling, shouted in anger.

“Where do I have wrinkles, you little brat! I’ve spent a fortune on my face, if I get wrinkles, I’ll cut the throat of the dermatologist first!”

“Calm down, noona! There might be Koreans here!”

Han Eun-sol, who had provoked her for no reason and got nothing in return, was horrified and tried to stop Choi Yeon-ha. No matter how much her personality had mellowed, Choi Yeon-ha was still Choi Yeon-ha.

“Hoo!”

Choi Yeon-ha, breathing roughly, picked up the iced Americano on the table and gulped it down.

“I almost ran out of sugar.”

“…”

Choi Yeon-ha glared at Han Eun-sol and said,

“You did get it right.”

“Wrinkles?”

“Do you want to die? Seriously?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Choi Yeon-ha’s hand gripped a cushion. Seeing her hand trembling, Han Eun-sol silently reached out and covered the drink. The drink was precious.

“It’s not that, it’s that I’ve gotten older too. What should a woman do when she gets older?”

“…Prepare for retirement?”

“This little brat, today is the day!”

“Ah, no. I really couldn’t think of anything else.”

“She should get married, you idiot!”

“M, married?”

Han Eun-sol’s eyes widened.

“Noona, weren’t you a non-marriage advocate?”

“What do you mean non-marriage advocate? I’m a ‘can’t-get-married’ advocate. It’s not that I didn’t get married, it’s that I couldn’t.”

“…Ah!”

Han Eun-sol nodded as if she understood.

A non-marriage advocate is someone who has decided not to get married, but Choi Yeon-ha, well…

‘It’s just that there wasn’t anyone who caught her eye.’

She was the only one who mattered in the world.

“So you finally understand that you can’t get married with that temper of yours.”

This time, Choi Yeon-ha’s cushion flew through the air. But Han Eun-sol, as if she had already prepared, snatched the sharply flying cushion and shoved it behind her back.

“Thank you.”

Choi Yeon-ha clenched and unclenched her fist in frustration, but she didn’t continue her attack.

“What’s wrong with my personality?”

“You’re not asking because you don’t know, are you?”

“Ugh…”

“That’s why you’re trying to fix that personality, right?”

Choi Yeon-ha smirked.

“That’s why you’re single.”

“No, why are you bringing that up here! What about you, do you have a boyfriend for sure?”

“I do!”

“Did he ask you out?”

“…”

“Did you say yes?”

“Ah, no… well, it’s not like that. But anyone can see that we’re in that kind of relationship. Who would come all the way to China to see someone they’re not even dating?”

“That’s not called dating, that’s called ‘some’ relationship. Don’t you know? Like, ‘mine but not mine’?”

“It seems like you’re having ‘some’ relationship with my fist right now.”

“I’m just stating the facts, the facts.”

Choi Yeon-ha retreated as if she had been poked in a sore spot. Then, Han Eun-sol raised her head stiffly.

“If you’re going to tease people with that, please make sure you have a clear relationship first. I don’t feel good when I hear that from someone who’s been single for thirty years.”

“It’s not thirty years! Don’t make me thirty years old so easily!”

“It’s almost there.”

“I’m going to cut you for sure.”

“If you cut me, there’s no one else, you know.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed and continued.

“I need to get married too. But as you said, it’s difficult to get married like this.”

“So you’re changing your personality?”

“That’s why you’re stupid. What’s the point of getting married by changing your personality? Can you live like that forever? If your real personality comes out after marriage, you’ll get divorced right away.”

“That’s true.”

“So, it’s not about changing my personality, it’s about changing the perception of those around me. Hehehe, if I keep acting so meticulously nice, everyone will think, like you, that I’ve gotten older, matured, and changed my personality. Then that story will reach his ears too. When you’re trying to figure out a person, you always start by looking at their friends and people around them.”

“…”

Han Eun-sol looked at Choi Yeon-ha with a look of exhaustion.

‘Does she really have to go that far?’

Unlike other people, Choi Yeon-ha didn’t have to rush to get married. What man would reject her just because she got older?

Besides, she had earned enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life, so she could just enjoy her life slowly.

In the end, Han Eun-sol asked.

“Is Kang Jin-ho that good? Enough to consider marriage, which you never thought about before?”

“Wh, who said I’m considering it? I’m just preparing in case, you know.”

“…That’s the same thing.”

“I’m not going to be the first one to say let’s get married, but he has a bit of an impatient personality, so he might say something like that. So I’m just preparing for that situation. It’s not like I’m going to marry that guy no matter what. Oh my, you’re funny, you know.”

Han Eun-sol shook her head, watching Choi Yeon-ha ramble.

There was no hope.

“That’s a scam, noona.”

“It’s okay. Women can scam a little.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Why? What’s the problem? Women all scam.”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever seen women not wearing makeup, wearing stretched-out t-shirts and pajama pants, and scratching their bellies outside like they do at home?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“That’s how it is. If you show yourself as you are, your value drops, so everyone dresses up. You dress up your face and your clothes, so what’s wrong with dressing up your relationships? It’s the same thing.”

“…I guess it’s kind of like that.”

It was a sophistry, but it was a sophistry with some persuasive power.

Han Eun-sol, whose head was starting to hurt, looked for the person who was the subject of this conversation.

“Where did Kang Jin-ho go?”

“He probably went to his accommodation.”

“You let him go early.”

“Of course. We have to go sightseeing from tomorrow morning, so I had to let him go early. I’m that considerate, you know.”

“…From the morning?”

“Yeah.”

Han Eun-sol sent her condolences to Kang Jin-ho from the bottom of her heart.

“But noona.”

“Yeah?”

“Is Kang Jin-ho even a little bit interested in marriage?”

“…”

Choi Yeon-ha didn’t answer.

***

“Have you returned, Master?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand in response to Bator’s greeting. A hint of fatigue was evident in his steps as he entered the hotel room.

“Huhu, you seem tired.”

“A little. It’s familiar yet unfamiliar, which is annoying.”

A martial artist of Kang Jin-ho’s caliber would not feel physically tired. What was bothering him was mental fatigue.

“That’s understandable. It can be surprisingly tiring.”

“Did the conversation get a little twisted?”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

Bator shrugged and stepped back.

“I’ll stop here, I’ll stop here.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled. Then, he turned his head to Jang Da-jing.

“Anything unusual?”

“There’s nothing to report in particular.”

“What about that guy?”

Jang Da-jing silently pointed to the bathroom.

“He’s fine. Although, I don’t know if he thinks the same.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho walked towards the bathroom that Jang Da-jing had pointed to.

“Are you going to start right away?”

“There’s no point in dragging it out.”

Click.

As Kang Jin-ho entered the bathroom and closed the door, Jang Da-jing looked at the bathroom with a tense expression.

“He’s not going to spill everything right away, is he?”

“It’s okay. Even if he does, it will take time until the Master moves.”

“That’s a relief.”

“However, um…”

Bator scratched his cheek, looking at the tightly closed bathroom door.

“If he went straight in there as soon as he got back, it means he’s been holding back a lot… He might move more quickly and aggressively than usual.”

A sigh escaped from Jang Da-jing’s lips.

‘I don’t know anymore. I’ll die once, not twice.’

Jang Da-jing wanted to return to Korea without any accidents if possible, but he had sorted things out in the past day.

No matter how much he thought about it, it was impossible to return to Korea without any accidents with Bator and Kang Jin-ho.

Vain expectations only lead to disappointment.

“Um, no. Maybe I’m wrong.”

“Huh?”

Jang Da-jing turned to Bator with a puzzled look.

Then, Bator gave a very meaningful smile.

“Tonight will be fine. Now that I think about it, I don’t think the Master will kill that guy easily.”

Jang Da-jing, feeling a chill down his spine, swallowed hard and looked at the bathroom door.

It might be a long night.

A hellishly long night.