Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1090

It was a trivial question.

In the past, it was the kind of thing they could have answered with indifference. But now, to Park Yu-min, the question sounded far too meaningful.

But Kang Jin-ho didn’t seem to think so.

“I’ve just been around.”

A nonchalant tone.

A flat voice.

The usual Kang Jin-ho. Or rather, a Kang Jin-ho who seemed a bit more subdued than usual.

‘That’s a weird feeling.’

Park Yu-min glanced sideways at Kang Jin-ho.

If Park Yu-min had met Kang Jin-ho alone, she would have wondered if something had upset him after hearing that voice. It was the old voice she hadn’t heard much of recently when she met Kang Jin-ho.

But what about Han Se-yeon?

Perhaps this voice was just something familiar to Han Se-yeon.

“What do you mean? You didn’t do anything?”

“I went to the army…”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head slightly.

“Well… I don’t think I’ve done much since then…”

To be precise, he had done a lot, but there was nothing he could tell Han Se-yeon.

“How’s your sister doing?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

‘Is she doing well?’

How should he describe Kang Eun-young, who seemed to have recently become a homebody? [A homebody is someone who prefers to stay at home.]

It was ambiguous whether being active was doing well, or whether resting comfortably at home was doing well.

“I guess so?”

He had no choice but to answer like that for now.

“What do you mean? You don’t even know how your own sister is doing?”

Kang Jin-ho let out a small groan, and Han Se-yeon chuckled.

“You haven’t changed.”

It felt like a blast from the past.

Kang Jin-ho had always been like this.

A person who didn’t take the obvious for granted. A person who didn’t let the obvious become obvious.

That’s why he was interesting, and that’s why she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

A brief silence followed, and Park Yu-min, unable to bear the pressure, opened her mouth.

“Are you going back to school now?”

“I should.”

“Then you’ll be going to school with Jin-ho?”

“Yeah. We’re in the same department. And we’re in the same year.”

While Han Se-yeon was studying abroad, Kang Jin-ho had been in the army. If they both returned to school, they would be in the same year.

“No. I’m not going back to school.”

But Kang Jin-ho didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

“You’re not going back to school?”

“Aren’t you going to get your degree?”

“No.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Kang Jin-ho said with a blank face.

“It’s hard to say exactly what I’m going to do, but I don’t plan on going back to school.”

“Hey, in this day and age, how important is a good resume? People don’t spend tens of millions of won just to get a degree for nothing. Do you even have a job lined up?”

“In finance?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand.

“It’s not in finance. And it’s a bit ambiguous to call it a job. But the work I’m going to do doesn’t really require a degree, so I don’t plan on going back to school.”

“…Is that so?”

Han Se-yeon’s face stiffened slightly.

“What do your parents say?”

“Well, I haven’t really talked to them about it yet.”

“Your parents won’t like it?”

“Maybe.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“But I can’t not do what I have to do because of that. I’ll have to persuade them.”

Han Se-yeon closed her mouth again.

It felt like a disconnection.

And that disconnection was creating awkwardness.

What had changed?

In the past, the three of them were happy just being together. They never ran out of things to say, and they could spend hours laughing at jokes that no one else would find funny.

But now, they had become a group desperately trying to hide their awkwardness.

Was it because Kang Jin-ho was quiet?

No, that wasn’t it.

The old Kang Jin-ho was even quieter than this. Wasn’t he the kind of person who would respond with a ‘hm’ or ‘uh’ when someone was excitedly telling a story, making them lose their enthusiasm?

The awkwardness wasn’t because Kang Jin-ho wasn’t reacting.

The time that had accumulated between them was creating the awkwardness.

A brief silence fell.

Park Yu-min started to roll her eyes around.

‘Oh, no…’

Joo Young-gi, who was bringing out the pickles, sighed deeply when he saw Park Yu-min.

‘That poor soul.’

What was she doing, getting stuck in the middle like that?

A person should know when to join in and when to back out. If Joo Young-gi had arranged this meeting, he would have run home the moment Kang Jin-ho showed up.

Joo Young-gi placed the pickles and plates on the table, glanced at Han Se-yeon, and turned away.

‘Let’s just ignore it.’

That place was a den of vipers.

If he carelessly showed interest, Joo Young-gi would be the first to get frustrated.

Sure enough, Han Se-yeon slightly raised her tone.

“How can you go to England and not contact me even once?”

“I was in the army.”

“…Right. You can’t contact anyone when you’re in the army.”

Joo Young-gi, who had turned away, covered his face without realizing it.

‘That crazy, impenetrable guy!’

He was a mood killer. She was trying so hard to raise the mood, but how could he kill it with just one sentence?

Park Yu-min, stuck in the middle, was so pitiful that he was on the verge of tears.

“Then you should have contacted me even after you were discharged.”

“I didn’t have your number.”

“…Oh!”

Joo Young-gi hurriedly headed to the counter. He had to go somewhere he couldn’t hear that conversation. Otherwise, the awkwardness might give Joo Young-gi a heart attack.

Park Yu-min’s face came into view as Joo Young-gi sat at the counter.

‘She’s gone pale, completely pale.’

I told her not to get involved. What kind of unnecessary suffering was this?

“So, now that you have my number, are you going to contact me?”

At Han Se-yeon’s words, Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

“Contact?”

“Yeah. Contact.”

“I will if I need to.”

“If you don’t need to?”

“I won’t if I don’t need to.”

“…Right, I guess so.”

Park Yu-min reached out and gulped down her cola. If her hand had trembled just a little more, the cola in the cup would have spilled all over her face.

Regardless, Han Se-yeon’s eyes were fixed on Kang Jin-ho.

“Jin-ho.”

“Hm?”

“Then contact me now.”

Han Se-yeon sighed and opened her mouth.

“To be honest, it’s a bit awkward. Maybe it’s because it’s been a while, but I can’t seem to find the right words. But we weren’t like this before. If we see each other more often and talk more often, we can get along like we used to.”

Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Like we used to?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

Han Se-yeon’s face showed confusion. Kang Jin-ho tilted his head and continued.

“The situation is very different from before, so is there a reason to go back to the way we were?”

“What are you talking about? It’s good to be close.”

It’s good to be close.

Yes, that might be true.

The problem was that it was just a nice thing to say.

Everything was different from before. He couldn’t make time like he used to, and Park Yu-min wasn’t as free as she used to be. He and Park Yu-min were both living their lives in the places where they needed to be.

So, was that even possible now?

“If I have time.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s answer, Han Se-yeon also backed down.

‘Nothing’s changed.’

It was different from before.

But it wasn’t different.

Even in the past, Han Se-yeon had to contact him first and make an appointment to meet Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho had rarely contacted her first. She could count the times on one hand.

No, to be honest, she couldn’t remember any of those times.

That was the kind of relationship they had.

It was fun and happy, but looking back, it was a bit strange. Memories were fun when you vaguely recalled them, but when you went into detail, they weren’t as fun as you thought.

“Is it difficult to contact me?”

“No.”

“Is it because of your girlfriend?”

Thump.

The moment the word ‘girlfriend’ came out, Park Yu-min’s chair creaked. Park Yu-min raised her head and shouted at Joo Young-gi.

“When is the pizza coming out!”

“We just ordered! This isn’t a place that sells instant pizza!”

“Qu, quickly!”

Joo Young-gi shook his head.

It was an absurd demand, but he didn’t want to blame Park Yu-min right now. If it would relieve the awkwardness, she would probably chew on the plates in front of her.

She was pitiful, so pitiful.

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“It’s not because of that.”

“Is that so?”

Han Se-yeon’s fingers fidgeted. She seemed to be trying to keep a straight face, but her face had changed color several times since Kang Jin-ho arrived.

“Your girlfriend is Choi Yeon-ha, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard it from Yu-min. Don’t blame her, I asked her.”

“Why?”

“…Why?”

“Why would I blame Park Yu-min?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. Every time she saw that expression, Han Se-yeon’s chest felt tight.

“It’s just that, you know, I don’t really like my story coming out of someone else’s mouth.”

“It’s okay.”

“Okay.”

At the same time, Park Yu-min chimed in.

“Ah… but please don’t tell anyone else about that. She’s a celebrity, after all.”

“Don’t worry.”

Han Se-yeon, cutting off Park Yu-min’s words, looked straight at Kang Jin-ho and asked.

“How is she?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is Choi Yeon-ha a good person?”

“Goo…d?”

Kang Jin-ho’s blank face changed subtly for the first time.

Park Yu-min thought she knew why Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer.

‘You shouldn’t ask it like that.’

The subject of the phrase ‘a good person’ was not clear. If you asked if she was a good person to Kang Jin-ho, he would naturally say yes. But if you asked if Choi Yeon-ha was a good person in general?

“…Good?”

Kang Jin-ho stammered.

‘That’s understandable.’

No matter how much he tried to see her through rose-colored glasses, he couldn’t answer ‘yes’.

Park Yu-min quickly resolved Kang Jin-ho’s bug.

“Ji, Jin-ho, I’m asking if she’s a good person to you.”

“Ah, then she’s a good person.”

“Is that so?”

Han Se-yeon lightly scraped the empty plate with her fork.

“That’s a relief. I was worried because I heard that top stars are very proud.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because she’s your friend. If my friend’s girlfriend is a good person, then I’m happy too.”

“Hm, I guess so.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded, and Han Se-yeon silently stared at Kang Jin-ho.

And Joo Young-gi, who was watching the scene, turned his head with a blank look.

‘I can’t watch this.’

There couldn’t be a more awkward situation in the world. Just watching it made him feel like his energy was being drained.

The person who dragged Kang Jin-ho into this situation was wrong from the start. He was a guy who was good at making people frustrated, and they put him with that awkward person…

It was at that moment.

Joo Young-gi’s eyes widened.

He could see a large van pulling up behind the glass door in front of the store.

‘Th, that?’

The van door slid open, and Joo Young-gi clearly saw a very familiar woman getting out.

‘Oh, don’t come!’

It’s already hell here!

Why is a witch invading this place! What kind of mess are you trying to make!

The woman who got out of the van.

Choi Yeon-ha was approaching the door with a click-clack sound of her footsteps.

Choi Yeon-ha, who made eye contact with Joo Young-gi through the glass door, smiled broadly.

‘Run away, Yu-min.’

Run away if you want to live!

This place is going to be hell now.

Clang!

The door opened with a cheerful sound, and Choi Yeon-ha entered. In an instant, everyone in the store’s eyes were focused on Choi Yeon-ha.

“Oh? You. Were. Here?”

Joo Young-gi closed his eyes tightly, thinking that perhaps Choi Yeon-ha’s acting skills were much worse than rumored.