Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1626

Kang Eun-young, having parked the car on a quiet roadside, handed Park Yu-min a coffee she had prepared.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Kang Eun-young, having removed her sunglasses and mask, smiled at Park Yu-min.

“Are you having a hard time with practice?”

“No, it’s okay. It’s something everyone does.”

“Hey, just because everyone does it doesn’t mean it’s not hard. Of course, it’s hard. Are you going to the hospital regularly?”

“Yeah. I’ve been getting checkups and physical therapy ever since you told me to.”

“You made a good decision. Your health is your wealth; you need to take care of it.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“No need to thank me, not between us.”

Park Yu-min gave an awkward smile.

The phrase ‘between us’ had a slightly unsettling effect.

“By the way, Eun-young.”

“Yes, oppa?” [Oppa is a Korean term used by females to address an older brother or a close older male friend.]

“…Has Jin-ho come home?”

“…No. Not yet.”

The moment Kang Jin-ho’s name was mentioned, both of their faces darkened.

Then, they both sighed deeply at the same time.

“…Shouldn’t we tell him?”

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

Kang Eun-young spoke with an unusually firm expression.

“There are things in this world that we absolutely have to do, right?”

“That’s right. This is one of those things.”

“But there are also things we want to postpone as much as possible.”

“This is clearly the latter.”

Park Yu-min sighed deeply.

‘My heart is pounding.’

How did things end up like this?

It started with nothing much. Kang Eun-young was the only younger sister of his closest friend, and to Kang Eun-young, he was her older brother’s closest friend.

Just as Kang Jin-ho frequented Park Yu-min’s orphanage like it was his own home, Park Yu-min also frequented Kang Jin-ho’s house like it was his own. Naturally, Kang Eun-young and Park Yu-min became close as well, like an older brother and younger sister.

At the time, Kang Eun-young would have believed anything Kang Jin-ho said, even if he said that he could make soybean paste from red beans. So, she couldn’t help but have a good impression of Park Yu-min, whom Kang Jin-ho openly showed affection for.

As a result, even when Kang Jin-ho wasn’t around, they kept in touch and lived their lives…

“…You never know what might happen.”

“Huh?”

“No… It’s just… um…”

Park Yu-min scratched the back of his head.

“It’s just strange to be sitting here with you like this.”

“What’s so strange about it?”

Kang Eun-young chuckled and glanced at Park Yu-min.

In the past, she had just thought of him as a good older brother. Park Yu-min was truly a good older brother in every sense of the word. He was naturally kind, never hurt anyone, and always thought of others before himself.

Yet, he was also someone who never stopped striving to be the best in his field.

She thought that both Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min were truly amazing people.

That’s how it was in the past…

‘I was so foolish!’

As she went through life and got older, she realized.

That a man like this was not common in the world.

What?

He has a limp?

So what? He can just drive around!

What’s the big deal about a limp? There are people with messed-up heads everywhere.

‘I’m going to claim him, no matter what.’

Kang Eun-young’s eyes gleamed.

“…Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kang Eun-young smiled brightly.

Of course, it wasn’t like Kang Eun-young was only looking at Park Yu-min’s conditions. Anyone who sat down and talked with Park Yu-min for even a short while would realize how warm of a person he was.

Wouldn’t it be stranger not to have feelings for him?

Of course, there was a huge and majestic mountain range standing between them, but if a person has passion and affection, there’s nothing they can’t do.

“Are you scared too, oppa?”

“Rather than scared, it’s more like…”

Park Yu-min scratched the back of his head.

“I feel a bit sorry. If Jin-ho finds out about this, he’ll be angry that I didn’t tell him beforehand.”

“Yeah. That’s how you feel, oppa.” Kang Eun-young smiled sweetly. “I’m scared.”

“If that guy finds out about this, he’ll grab me and try to throw me into the river. He’ll say, ‘How dare you try to lay a hand on my friend, you devilish woman from hell!'”

“N, no way…”

Kang Eun-young narrowed her eyes.

“It’s because you don’t know what kind of person my brother is. Everyone’s being fooled! He’s not the kind of person they think he is!”

The hatred ingrained at the genetic level wasn’t exclusive to Kang Jin-ho.

“…Didn’t you used to like Jin-ho a lot?”

“I still like him. Of course.”

Kang Eun-young said with a slightly dazed expression.

“But, how should I put it, there’s no way to explain this love-hate relationship.”

“…Anyway, wouldn’t it be better to tell him?”

“If you want to see me die, go ahead and tell him.”

Park Yu-min looked around anxiously. Fortunately, there was no one suspicious nearby.

“If we get caught before we tell him, it’ll be a huge problem. Jin-ho will be very upset too.”

“It’s okay. That guy is actually dumber than a bear.”

“Hey, Jin-ho is very perceptive.”

“…That’s only about things he’s interested in. Even if I dyed my hair red and sat on the sofa, that guy wouldn’t even notice anything different, you know?”

“Really?”

“But if Yu-min oppa’s complexion gets a shade darker, he’ll notice it right away. That’s the kind of person he is.”

Park Yu-min, having witnessed the deep-rooted distrust of her own brother, gave a wry smile.

“You two are really close.”

“Huh?”

“You can only say things like that if you’re close.”

“…Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s nothing.”

Kang Eun-young shook her head.

Yeah. It’s better to just think that way.

“Anyway, don’t worry about that. There’s absolutely no way my brother will notice. I’m managing it well so that we don’t get caught. So, you just need to be careful, okay?”

“Okay.”

Park Yu-min glanced around anxiously.

‘Is it really okay?’

It bothered him.

Hiding a relationship wasn’t a big deal, but the fact that Kang Jin-ho was the one they were hiding it from made Park Yu-min feel uneasy.

He had always been open with Kang Jin-ho about everything, hadn’t he? Although the situation didn’t allow him to be completely open, he still felt uncomfortable…

“And that’s a needless worry. Would my brother even imagine that we’d be like this? I couldn’t even imagine it until recently.”

“That’s true.”

Park Yu-min finally smiled a little more comfortably.

“Oh, you two are so lovey-dovey? Hehehehe.”

Lee Hyun-soo, who was filming the car with a telephoto lens, wore a devilish smile.

“Um, Chief…”

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t this… an invasion of privacy?”

“What about it?”

Lee Hyun-soo glared, and the martial artist guarding him flinched.

“Hey, do you think I’m doing this for my own amusement? Who is that person? Isn’t she the Clan Lord’s younger sister?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Then shouldn’t we gather information for her protection? What’s the basis of protection? Isn’t it to keep people safe?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then is it okay to just stay at home? Kang Eun-young hasn’t been going out much and has only been doing her agency schedule, but recently, she’s been going out irregularly and going to places she hasn’t been to before.”

“Yes.”

“Then isn’t it basic to figure out the cause and tendencies and change the protection method? That’s why I gave up my off-duty time and came out here to work, and you’re calling me a stalker?”

“I, I’m sorry.”

“I’m watching you.”

“…I’ll do better.”

Lee Hyun-soo, having glared once, picked up the telephoto lens again, chuckling.

“Hey, bring the popcorn and cola I bought in the car.”

“…Yes.”

The martial artist walked to the car, glancing back repeatedly.

‘He’s definitely a stalker.’

Is that the face of someone who’s working? If everyone in the world worked like you, Korea would have devoured America.

But no matter what the people behind him thought, Lee Hyun-soo was simply enjoying the situation.

“This is something, hahaha, who would have thought those two would be like this.”

It was a complete surprise.

‘They really don’t match.’

Although she has changed a lot, Park Yu-min, who still doesn’t outwardly show confidence, and Kang Eun-young, whose self-confidence seems to surpass even Choi Yeon-ha’s…

They were so mismatched that it almost made them a good match.

And strangely, it was clear that Kang Eun-young was twice as proactive as Park Yu-min.

‘Well, when you think about it, Yu-min is a really good guy.’

His conditions are good.

Some people might be bothered by the fact that he’s an orphan, but that could never happen in Kang Jin-ho’s family. If anyone looked down on Park Yu-min for being an orphan, Kang Jin-ho’s parents would shove roasted coffee beans down their throats before Kang Jin-ho could even step in.

Kang Eun-young, who grew up in such a family, would never have any prejudice against the fact that he’s an orphan.

Aside from that, Park Yu-min was a really great guy.

It’s true that the perception of gamers isn’t that great yet, and there’s the disadvantage of an uncertain future…

‘But what does that matter? He’s making billions right now.’

Including tournament prize money and the shares he gets from selling in-game items, Park Yu-min was making an unimaginable amount of money for his age.

Even major sports stars like baseball and soccer players wouldn’t be able to match Park Yu-min’s income if they were only active in Korea.

No, no.

This is also a useless thought.

‘Does Eun-young even need to look at money in the first place?’

Kang Jin-ho always complains that Kang Eun-young is just loafing around at home, but Kang Eun-young is literally a top idol.

Why is Kang Eun-young playing around?

‘Because she makes money even if she doesn’t work her butt off.’

Generally, those who are as popular as Kang Eun-young are usually part of a group. And groups usually sign unfair contracts from their trainee days, and even if they become popular, they don’t get properly paid until the investment is recovered.

They either work hard for nearly ten years and finally get a proper contract and fair pay, or they fail to renew their contract and retire from the entertainment industry.

But what about Kang Eun-young?

‘She has the best conditions in Korea.’

She signed with an agency created by Jae-kyung, as Kang Jin-ho’s younger sister. They’ve almost given up on profit and are only focused on pushing Kang Eun-young.

Thanks to that, Kang Eun-young has earned all the money that the center of another top idol group would earn in ten years in just two or three years, and is now living a simple life.

What does her boyfriend’s salary matter to someone like that? It’s just pocket change.

“And it’s not about the conditions.”

He was worried that Park Yu-min’s good qualities would be overshadowed by his conditions.

Putting everything else aside…

The fact that Kang Jin-ho, who is incredibly picky when it comes to relationships, has maintained a close friendship with Park Yu-min for so long is enough to prove that Park Yu-min is a good person.

He’s like purified water that has passed through five hundred layers of microfilters.

And Kang Eun-young, who recognized that purified water, had snatched Park Yu-min like a ghost.

“Anyway, like brother, like sister, I guess.”

They have a knack for snatching up undervalued people.

Is this why they say blood is scary?

‘The Kang family is scary.’

Lee Hyun-soo grinned and zoomed in the telephoto lens a little more.