Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1421

“Oh, when did you get here?” Park Yu-min’s eyes widened, looking dazed as he took in Kang Jin-ho and the others.

“We got here today! Hyung, you were so awesome today!”

“Oppa! Congratulations!”

“Ah… Ah, thanks!” Only then did Park Yu-min smile brightly. His made-up face was covered in sweat, but that smile wouldn’t have appeared if his face wasn’t like that.

“Yu-min, here’s a handkerchief.”

“Choi, Choi Yeon-ha, you came too?”

“Congratulations, Park Yu-min!”

“Wow… Even the director.” Park Yu-min was startled and looked at everyone.

“No, how did you all come this far?”

“It’s a world where you can just take a plane, you know.”

“Still…” Park Yu-min couldn’t hide his joy. The hardships he had endured in this distant land seemed to melt away. If he were to exaggerate a little, he felt happier now than when he lifted the championship trophy.

“Ooh, world champion.”

“Ooh, world number one!”

“Ha, stop it.” Park Yu-min’s face turned bright red. There were definitely few people who were easier to tease than Park Yu-min.

Park Yu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho and smiled brightly. “You brought them, didn’t you?”

“I just came to watch. I didn’t really have anything else to do.” Lee Hyun-soo muttered something from behind.

“You shouldn’t say you have nothing to do. You have tons of things to do…”

“…Just go away.” Why did you follow me all the way here? The other council members have already gone to the hotel.

“Anyway, congratulations. You’ve really worked hard.” Park Yu-min grinned. Normally, Park Yu-min would be modest, but this time, he felt like he had gone through so much hardship that those words didn’t come out easily. He had gotten sick from the unfamiliar water, couldn’t eat properly because the food didn’t suit his taste, and couldn’t sleep well due to anxiety. But he overcame all of that and finally won. Those who haven’t experienced this feeling of being rewarded for all the hard work they’ve done wouldn’t understand.

“Ah, Park Yu-min. How are you feeling right now?” When Han Jin-sung playfully pretended to hold out a microphone, Park Yu-min chuckled.

“I want to eat kimchi stew.”

“Ah, the worst answer has come out. Where did the confident Park Yu-min from the stage go?”

“Oppa, stop doing useless things and come here.”

“…I’ll end the live broadcast here.” Park Yu-min smiled brightly as he received congratulations from everyone.

“So, when are you going back?”

“The kids have to go to school, so I’m planning to send them back tomorrow.”

“Ah… I have a wrap-up event, so I don’t have time.”

“We didn’t come here to play. We watched the game, so we should go back. We can see each other in Korea.” Park Yu-min scratched his head with an apologetic expression. The game isn’t the end. Pros have to fulfill their scheduled events. To handle the congratulatory parties and the flood of interviews, even two bodies wouldn’t be enough. Only after finishing all of that and returning to Korea does the real rest begin.

“I’m dying to sleep.”

“Wouldn’t it be better than being able to sleep well?”

“That’s obvious.” Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but laugh. Kang Jin-ho had rarely seen Park Yu-min this happy. Conversely, it meant that this victory was that difficult.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yeah?”

Park Yu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho with serious eyes and said, “If it weren’t for you, I would have never made it this far. I would have been eliminated in the playoffs. You took time out of your busy schedule to practice with me, and you even brought the kids… Thank you so much.”

“You’re talking nonsense.” Kang Jin-ho smiled gently. ‘I’m glad I came.’ Seeing Park Yu-min win and seeing him this happy made him feel refreshed. For a while, Kang Jin-ho hadn’t had anything to be this happy about. Now he felt like he was back to his daily life.

“Hyung! Hyung! Since it’s come to this, please talk to Jin-ho hyung and let us play for one more day… Ack! Aaaack! My ear! My ear!” As Jo Mi-hye subdued Han Jin-sung and dragged him away, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

“…He used to be smarter than that.”

“I know, right.” Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min sighed deeply as they watched Han Jin-sung being dragged away.

“So, are you going back tomorrow too?”

“I’m going to stay a little longer.”

“Huh? You’re not going together?” Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been abroad, so I thought I’d take a break.”

“Ah…” Park Yu-min patted Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder. “Good thinking. You need to rest.”

“I’ve realized that it’s not all about working hard and trying your best. If you don’t rest properly, your brain doesn’t work well. It just becomes a repetition.” It meant that life was no different. People are the same. If you keep doing something and working hard without rest, you might be able to get ahead faster than others, but you’ll break down someday.

“You’ve been running too hard all this time. Now you need to take a break.”

“That’s what I’m going to do.” Park Yu-min smiled and nodded.

“I know you’ll do well even if I don’t say it.” At that moment, someone called out to Park Yu-min from behind.

“Yu-min hyung! Yu-min hyung! Oh? Hello?” Choi Jung-woo, Park Yu-min’s teammate, bowed to Kang Jin-ho.

“I think I saw you once before… Wow, Choi Yeon-ha… Are you Choi Yeon-ha?”

“Yes. Hello.”

“Why is Choi Yeon-ha here? Oh, no, that’s not it. Can I get your autograph? Please! Can I take a picture with you?” Park Yu-min smiled wryly.

“You found me. Why?”

“Is that what’s important right now… Ah, no, it is important. Hyung, the coach wants you to come quickly. There’s an interview with the organizer now.”

“Okay. I got it. Go ahead first. I’ll be right there.”

“I, I want an autograph…”

“Aren’t you doing an interview?”

“…I have to.” Choi Jung-woo turned away with a gloomy face. Park Yu-min, who was watching him, turned his head with a bitter expression.

“I should go.”

“Go ahead quickly.”

“I’m sorry, Jin-ho, everyone. You came all this way, but I have a schedule now…”

“No one is upset, so just go. Instead, treat us big when you come to Korea! I heard you’re getting a huge prize!”

“I’m confident about that!” Park Yu-min said in a triumphant voice. “I’ve always felt sorry for Jin-ho always paying, but this time I’ll treat you all big!” Kang Jin-ho laughed and pushed Park Yu-min’s back.

“Okay, go quickly. They’re all waiting.”

“Okay, see you in Korea. Thank you all so much!” As Park Yu-min waved and walked away, everyone smiled and saw him off.

“Hyung is so busy.”

“He’s the world champion. The game company has to make promotional videos, and he has to do interviews, so he must have a lot to do.”

“I thought everything would be over once I won.”

“That’s not how life is.” Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he listened to the children’s conversation. They were too mature for kids. But that was a characteristic of the children at this orphanage.

“Let’s go back now.”

“Yes, hyung!” As the children turned around, Kang Jin-ho glanced back once and then turned his body.

“Wow! The room is really nice!”

“This room looks really expensive?”

“I wish my house was like this.” Jo Mi-hye frowned at the last words.

“You’re talking like you came from a run-down orphanage! Our orphanage is better than most homes.”

“But this place is better, noona.”

“Hotels are usually like this. Our orphanage is as good as any hotel, so don’t say things like that. Got it?”

“Yes!” Only then did Jo Mi-hye relax her expression. Then she glanced at Kang Jin-ho.

“Oppa, the kids are being immature…”

“It’s okay.” The answer came from Han Jin-sung, not Kang Jin-ho.

“Have you ever seen Jin-ho hyung care about things like that? Don’t do it. I’m scared he’ll say he’s going to build a new orphanage because the conversation got too long.” Kang Jin-ho, who was secretly thinking about that, coughed.

“Hyung, don’t do useless things. That’s an overreaction.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Kang Jin-ho smiled as he watched the children jump onto the bed. ‘I should have brought them out once in a while.’ It wasn’t important that they came abroad or that they were in a hotel. The fact that they had come out of the orphanage and were playing somewhere else seemed to excite these children. After the accident at the amusement park, he hadn’t taken the children far. It wasn’t that he was particularly reluctant, but… it was more like it just happened that way.

“I was short-sighted. From now on, let’s go out and play often.”

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?” Han Jin-sung smiled gently.

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep. Don’t give the kids false hope.”

“No, I really mean it.”

“Didn’t you mention a ski resort last time?” When he was speechless, Han Jin-sung smiled and put his hand on Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Everyone understands, hyung. Everyone in the world knows you’re busy, right? But you have to be careful when you speak.”

“Wow, Jin-sung oppa is saying that?”

“Isn’t this level of hypocrisy a disease?”

“I’m sorry.” Han Jin-sung sat down on a chair with a gloomy face. Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly and spoke to Jo Mi-hye.

“What about dinner?”

“They say there’s a restaurant in the hotel. I thought about going out to eat, but we’re tired from the flight, and I think we should rest today, so I think it’s better to just eat at the hotel restaurant? What do you think, oppa?”

“Then let’s do that.”

“Okay. Then I’ll get the kids ready.” Kang Jin-ho nodded. Seeing Jo Mi-hye diligently managing the children as soon as the words were finished, he couldn’t help but smile. ‘She’s amazing.’ There are always kids like that at this orphanage. Kids who find what they need to do on their own without being told. And kids who always put pressure on themselves to do more than they have to. It’s because of kids like that that Kang Jin-ho always visits the orphanage.

Kang Jin-ho turned and went out to the terrace. Then he took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. ‘There are almost no non-smoking areas here.’ Kang Jin-ho, who had closed the door, looked around. There were people who had come out to smoke on the terrace. Reassured, Kang Jin-ho lit his cigarette and slowly inhaled the smoke.

“Hoo.” Various thoughts came to mind, but he didn’t want to think about anything else today. As Park Yu-min said, Kang Jin-ho came here to rest. He could put aside the complicated situation in Korea for a while. Kang Jin-ho sat on a chair, leaned back, and slowly smoked his cigarette.

“We’ve secured him.”

“Hmm.” The man in the black suit, who was looking at the monitor, took off his sunglasses and smiled subtly.

“Is that Kang Jin-ho?”

“Yes, it is.”

“…He doesn’t look that impressive, but he’s said to be a strongman on par with the Three Kings. There are definitely aspects of Easterners that are difficult to understand.” The man, who had been staring at Kang Jin-ho’s image on the screen, straightened up and put his sunglasses back on.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes, sir.” The man stared at the monitor for a moment before turning his head. ‘Kang Jin-ho…’ He didn’t know how great a man he was that they had to mobilize to monitor him. ‘The world will soon know.’ That the axis of the unmanned world has already begun to move. Not across the Pacific, but right here. To America.