Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1643

‘Is something the matter?’

‘Not really?’

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho with suspicious eyes. Kang Jin-ho, feeling her gaze, gave an awkward smile.

‘Something’s fishy.’

*Slurp.*

Kang Jin-ho, at a loss for words, sucked on his straw.

The cold Americano went down his throat.

‘Hmmmm.’

Choi Yeon-ha, making a humming sound, chuckled.

‘Well, when has there ever been a time when nothing was going on with you, Kang Jin-ho?’

Kang Jin-ho gave a small smile. Sunlight streamed in through the cafe’s front window.

Choi Yeon-ha, bathed in the sunlight, looked beautiful in a way that felt new.

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Choi Yeon-ha and thought.

‘Why did I fall for this person?’

It was hard to understand.

Kang Jin-ho and Choi Yeon-ha were like oil and water, not at all compatible. When two strong forces collide, they tend to break. But Choi Yeon-ha and Kang Jin-ho were sitting face to face like this.

When the two first saw each other, could they have predicted even a little bit that things would turn out this way?

‘Fate is unpredictable, I guess.’

He had lived more lives than most, acting as if he knew something, but in truth, Kang Jin-ho still felt life was ambiguous.

‘What are you thinking about?’

‘Just thinking.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled gently.

‘Just that it’s amazing.’

‘What is?’

‘That we’re sitting here together like this.’

Choi Yeon-ha’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘Did this guy eat something wrong? Why is he suddenly saying things he never says? So cheesy?’

Kang Jin-ho, who had become a bit sentimental, quickly regained his senses.

Ah, this isn’t right.

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho, as if she was still feeling uneasy, and then spat out the words.

‘When someone does something they don’t usually do, there’s a reason… Could it be?’

‘……Huh?’

‘Give me your phone.’

‘No, no, it’s not that.’

Choi Yeon-ha took a deep breath.

‘If someone becomes too suspicious and starts monitoring their partner’s private life, it creates a wall. Never mind the phone.’

Oh?

Kang Jin-ho nodded his head vigorously.

In fact, there was nothing on his phone that would warrant criticism, but still, handing over his phone to someone else for inspection was an uncomfortable thing to do.

‘So, tell me. Is it that woman?’

‘Eh?’

‘……No, it’s not.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes.’

Choi Yeon-ha glared at Kang Jin-ho with a fierce look.

‘Just you wait and see if you get caught. I’ll smash your hand with a sledgehammer.’

Even if Choi Yeon-ha were to swing a hammer with all her might, it wouldn’t even scratch Kang Jin-ho’s skin, but the murderous intent in her words was something Kang Jin-ho couldn’t ignore.

‘Ah, my image is getting ruined today.’

Choi Yeon-ha swept her long hair back.

Watching her hair fall softly, Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly.

It’s strange.

She’s picky.

Has a bad temper.

Gets angry easily.

Sometimes she’s unreasonable.

She has so many flaws that it’s hard to list them all.

And yet, it’s strange.

Just looking at her like this makes him feel at ease, and the world feels joyful.

In the past, Kang Jin-ho had everything in the world in his hands. But back then, Kang Jin-ho had never felt this kind of comfort.

A small warmth within reach.

Perhaps happiness comes from such small things.

Calling Choi Yeon-ha a ‘small thing’ might be going too far, though.

If he said that to others, he’d probably get stoned.

‘You’re really weird today. Why are you grinning like that?’

‘……You told me to lighten up.’

‘I don’t think lightening up and having a screw loose are the same thing, do you?’

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

It wasn’t that he had nothing to say, but he didn’t particularly want to argue right now. This time, sitting face to face with Choi Yeon-ha, was important.

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Choi Yeon-ha before opening his mouth.

‘Choi Yeon-ha.’

‘Yes?’

‘……Never mind.’

Choi Yeon-ha’s brow furrowed noticeably.

‘Seriously, did this guy eat something wrong today?’

Choi Yeon-ha, looking at Kang Jin-ho with a dissatisfied expression, crossed her arms and leaned back on the sofa.

‘Is something the matter?’

‘No, well…’

‘But it’s something you’d never tell me.’

‘And then you’ll disappear again for over a week and come back all beat up?’

Is she a ghost?

Kang Jin-ho seriously began to wonder if someone had leaked information about the war with China to Choi Yeon-ha. The most likely candidate was, of course, ‘that guy,’ but.

‘He’s not that loose-lipped… or is he?’

Maybe he is?

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho, who was lost in thought, with a sulky expression.

‘You’d usually disappear without a word, but today you’re acting all serious, which means it’s something much more serious than anything before.’

‘Am I right?’

‘Well…’

Should he say yes?

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer, but Choi Yeon-ha seemed to have already heard the answer, letting out a deep sigh.

‘It’s my fate… They say a woman with bad luck has no luck with her husband, and somehow I ended up with someone like you. Oh, dear.’

‘……Where did you learn those words?’

‘I’m preparing for a historical drama! Why?’

‘It’s nothing.’

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho with a disgruntled face before letting out a deep sigh.

‘Is it dangerous?’

To reassure Choi Yeon-ha, he should say it wasn’t dangerous. But he didn’t want to lie.

‘Maybe…’

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Choi Yeon-ha before opening his mouth.

‘This will probably be the last time.’

‘The last time for something dangerous.’

Choi Yeon-ha’s gaze shifted slightly towards the ceiling. Since she wasn’t making eye contact, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. However, he could clearly see that her hands, which were lowered, were trembling slightly.

‘Jin-ho.’

‘Yes.’

Choi Yeon-ha, making eye contact with Kang Jin-ho, nodded her head.

‘Come back safe.’

‘Don’t make a widow out of a perfectly healthy person.’

‘Well, a widow is a bit…’

‘Why? Do you want to make me a real widow? Should we get married before you go?’

‘……No, it’s not that.’

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

Then, Choi Yeon-ha leaned back slightly on the sofa and said.

‘I wish you wouldn’t do things like that. But it’s greedy of me to want you to only do what I want. You must be giving up a lot because of me, so I should understand too.’

‘I’m not really giving up anything?’

Kang Jin-ho, having seen the look of disdain that flashed across Choi Yeon-ha’s face, silently sipped his Americano.

‘My mouth is my downfall.’

His mouth.

‘Is this really the last time?’

‘Yes.’

‘You’re lying.’

‘No, I’m not. Really.’

Kang Jin-ho hesitated slightly before nodding his head.

‘This really will be the last time.’

A subtle disbelief flickered in Choi Yeon-ha’s eyes.

‘Everyone says that.’

‘But you don’t want to do this current thing either, right? Right?’

‘……Yes.’

‘Then, if something unwanted happens again, you’ll just repeat the same thing.’

Kang Jin-ho paused for a moment, lost in thought. Was that really the case?

‘That’s probably not wrong.’

Even if he eliminated all the enemies who were targeting him, new enemies would appear someday. That’s what a martial artist is, and that’s what the martial world is like.

As long as martial artists don’t disappear from the world, peace might never come to him. However…

‘It’ll be hard to completely achieve it.’

Kang Jin-ho spoke calmly.

‘But I think that if I keep trying, that day will come someday.’

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho with a glint in her eyes.

‘That’s strange.’

It was Kang Jin-ho.

But he felt a little different from the Kang Jin-ho she knew.

He seemed a bit more relaxed than before.

‘……Don’t say such lines so shamelessly with that face.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I have to fall for it.’

Choi Yeon-ha closed her eyes slightly.

Choi Yeon-ha, who seemed to be organizing her thoughts, quietly opened her mouth.

‘Do you know what kind of role I hate the most?’

‘……I don’t know.’

‘I hate the most the female lead who just wrings her hands and screams while the male lead is doing something.’

‘But sometimes I feel like my life is becoming like that, not just a role, and it makes me angry. Do you know what I mean?’

‘That’s absolutely not the case.’

‘I’m telling you that’s how I feel.’

Choi Yeon-ha sighed.

‘So, I’m never going to be like that. If I can’t do anything with you, then I shouldn’t whine.’

Choi Yeon-ha straightened her shoulders.

‘How long will it take?’

‘If it’s long… it could be a few months.’

‘The company.’

‘……Huh?’

Choi Yeon-ha said with a determined look.

‘The company, the orphanage, your friends, and even your family.’

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Choi Yeon-ha.

He wanted to hear what she was going to say.

‘I’ll take care of everything, so don’t worry about anything and come back safe.’

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

He had come out to be nagged.

He thought that no matter what he said, he would end up being scolded. But Choi Yeon-ha was actually comforting him.

‘Don’t think that just because I said I’d take care of things, I’ll just do what I’ve always done. I’m going to turn the company and the orphanage into my style while you’re gone.’

‘A lot will change. But… actually, nothing will change.’

‘Huh?’

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho with a slightly softer gaze.

‘Because I’ll just be here.’

‘Everyone will be here, so come back quickly. Okay?’

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

‘Yes.’

Seeing Kang Jin-ho answer calmly, Choi Yeon-ha clenched her fist slightly.

She knew.

That when this man acted like this, it meant that what he was about to face was extremely dangerous.

He might not even come back.

So…

‘I’ll never show him that I’m crying.’

Nor will she show him that she’s sad.

She knew.

That in times like these, she had to be calm, as if it were nothing, and show her usual self.

She could do it.

She was an actress.

The best actress in the world.

She could definitely play the role of herself.

The slight trembling in her fingertips gradually subsided.

‘Okay. So that’s settled… Let’s get up.’

‘Yes?’

‘You’re probably not going to show your face from tomorrow after saying all that. I’m going to use you for the whole day today, so get up quickly. We don’t have time to waste.’

Kang Jin-ho looked at her with a bewildered expression, and Choi Yeon-ha, in turn, jutted out her chin.

‘What? Were you planning to just hang out at the cafe and then leave?’

‘……That’s not it.’

‘Don’t get any wild ideas and get up. I’m going to take you on a full course today!’

‘Yes, yes. Whatever you say.’

‘Ahem!’

Kang Jin-ho smiled and got up from his seat.

‘Hurry up. I’m going to make you drive all day today.’

‘Yes.’

Choi Yeon-ha left those words behind and quickly walked towards the entrance.

She didn’t want to show her face right now.

She didn’t even know what kind of face she was making.

At the same time…

Watching Choi Yeon-ha’s back as she left the cafe, Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

He didn’t want to lose it.

This time.

And this life.

‘I have to go back.’

To the place where the people who were waiting for him were.

Definitely.

Author’s Note

This is Wolbaek, the author of ‘Descent of the Demon Lord’.

It’s been a while since I’ve greeted you through this page.

I apologize, but I will be taking a break this weekend.