Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1730

There was a strange heaviness in her voice.

“Hey, why wouldn’t the director be helpful?”

“Well.”

Choi Yeon-ha shrugged.

“Of course, I’m helpful. Jin-ho probably feels both emotional stability and aesthetic satisfaction from looking at my beauty.”

Ugh…

That’s annoying.

Even though I know it’s a joke, it’s still annoying.

“But it’s more like… well, like a cheerleader who’s sweating and cheering hard? I think my support helps the match, but there’s this subtle part that’s not quite satisfying.”

“…I think I understand.”

Cheering for someone fighting is not the same as fighting alongside them.

“It’s not like the old days; it feels like I’m seeing my husband off to war.”

“…I can relate to that.”

The battlefield is no ordinary battlefield. Choi Yeon-ha knows the situation roughly. Kang Jin-ho was vague, but she has other sources of information besides him. Lee Hyun-joo, for one, was someone who couldn’t withstand her pressure.

Besides…

‘Not telling me because they don’t want me to worry isn’t a good thing.’

It might make me worry even more.

“Sigh, I never thought I’d feel like this in the 21st century. Aren’t you anxious, Hyun-joo?”

“…I am.”

Lee Hyun-joo is even more anxious than Choi Yeon-ha.

Lee Hyun-joo knows how intense and dangerous a martial artist’s fight can be.

Her sense of crisis is bound to be different from someone who only hears about it.

“That’s why I asked him to teach me that martial art thing, but he refuses no matter what. Humans are so petty…”

Lee Hyun-joo gave an awkward smile.

‘I don’t think that’s the only reason.’

Lee Hyun-joo doesn’t want to see Choi Yeon-ha, who has learned martial arts. She’s already hard to handle sometimes, and if she learns martial arts, who could handle her?

Unless Kang Jin-ho is sticking to her like glue all day, something is bound to go terribly wrong.

“I’m anxious too. That’s why I want to go fight with him. But…”

Lee Hyun-joo sighed.

“I know I wouldn’t be much help.”

In the past, she wouldn’t have hesitated at all.

But Lee Hyun-joo knows.

She can no longer live as a martial artist.

That place is a battlefield where only those who have protected their own lives can step.

Those who have half-heartedly straddled another life are nothing more than foreign objects.

If she could be of help even as a foreign object, she would join them, but now she would only be a hindrance.

This was a different issue from her skills.

Those who have not faced the fear of having their heads cut off can only spread fear.

‘Grandfather.’

Lee Jung-gul wanted her to become a dignified martial artist.

But on the other hand, he didn’t want to pass the General Assembly [a powerful martial arts organization] to her. He chose Lee Sung-hwi as his successor.

In the past, Lee Hyun-joo was dissatisfied with that fact. She couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t consider passing the General Assembly to her while giving her strict training.

But now she thinks she understands.

‘It wasn’t me.’

Lee Sung-hwi never gave up resisting Kang Jin-ho. Even if it was a foolish and meaningless act, he didn’t stop resisting, even if it meant throwing away everything he had.

But Lee Hyun-joo did not hesitate to compromise for her own destiny.

Of course, bowing to Kang Jin-ho and proving her worth again could be considered resistance. But in the end, giving up the path of martial arts and taking over MK [likely referring to a company or organization] is an undeniable fact.

In the end, Lee Jung-gul thought she was not someone who could silently walk an endless thorny path. Or maybe he couldn’t bear to see her walk such a path.

‘Either way…’

Even if the world cursed Lee Jung-gul, she didn’t want to deny him.

“Well, they’ll figure it out. Those foolish men.”

Choi Yeon-ha leaned back on the sofa and sighed.

“Maybe I’m just anxious. It’s unsettling that everything could end where I’m not, where I can’t see it.”

“That’s true.”

“But what can I do? That’s just how those guys are. There are things about people that can change and things that can’t. I think love is about adapting to each other, but if Jin-ho told me to quit acting and stay home, I’d tell him to go to hell.”

Choi Yeon-ha raised her middle finger.

“…You’re being extreme.”

“That’s how it is.”

Choi Yeon-ha scratched her head.

“I used to not understand him. I mean, what’s the big deal? He’s made a lot of money, and if he just steps back, he can live comfortably.”

“That’s…”

“That’s all an excuse. There’s always a way.”

Lee Hyun-joo nodded slightly.

It’s not something she can agree with, but maybe Choi Yeon-ha is right. If Kang Jin-ho had prioritized stepping back from the martial arts world without thinking about others, the situation would be very different now.

“He gets hurt, and he doesn’t even get anything great out of it. I don’t understand why he does it. But one day, I had this thought.”

“What thought?”

“How would I feel if someone told me to quit acting?”

Lee Hyun-joo nodded as if she understood.

It’s hard to imagine Choi Yeon-ha not acting. It’s not that it would be strange if she did something else, but she shines the most when she lives as an actress.

“There are plenty of reasons to tell me to quit. Acting is surprisingly exhausting. And now, it’s not just nationwide, but across continents. But the money I make is nothing compared to what he makes.”

“Not nothing…”

“…Isn’t it?”

“…It is.”

It’s not that Choi Yeon-ha doesn’t make money, it’s that Kang Jin-ho makes too much. By now, Kang Jin-ho probably doesn’t even know how much he has.

…No. He might never have known.

“So, if you ask me why I act, what should I say? I have enough money, and it’s hard on my body.”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s just self-satisfaction.”

Choi Yeon-ha shrugs.

“I’ve looked for a lot of excuses, but in the end, it’s just self-satisfaction. And… this applies to other things too. Anything beyond what you need to maintain your life is just self-satisfaction. You find fulfillment in that work.”

“It’s a bit extreme, but it’s not wrong.”

“Right. But can I say, ‘I’m going to do what satisfies me, so you should just give up and live comfortably’?”

Lee Hyun-joo closed her mouth.

“That’s a double standard. Of course, his self-satisfaction is a bit too extreme and dangerous, but still…”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

“If I can’t answer the question, ‘Why can’t you just be satisfied with making movies and dramas in Korea?’, then I can’t tell him to find a less dangerous job. It’s so frustrating.”

Lee Hyun-joo looked at Choi Yeon-ha with a new perspective.

Her perspective is very different from the ordinary people he knows.

It might be very violent to dismiss everything Kang Jin-ho is doing as simple self-satisfaction. But Lee Hyun-joo thought that short word might be the core of it all.

‘No, maybe that’s the core of a person.’

Choi Yeon-ha took a sip of her coffee.

Her face, slightly turned to the side, was beautiful, but also looked lonely.

“So, there’s nothing I can do. I can only tell him to have fun and come back. In the end, when people meet, it means satisfying my own needs while also considering the other person’s. If there’s something they can’t compromise on, I have to compromise. At least, it’s not something I can’t compromise on.”

“That’s kind of difficult.”

“Actually, everyone lives like that.”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled and looked at Lee Hyun-joo.

“Loving someone is also about my own satisfaction. It’s good to be with them, I want to be with them. Even the old movie trope of ‘I’m not good enough, so I’m sending you to someone better’ is actually self-satisfaction, wanting that person to be happier.”

“…Is it okay to interpret it that way?”

“Is it different?”

“I don’t know…”

Choi Yeon-ha shook her head as if it didn’t matter.

“So, I’m saying, go and have fun. I won’t stop you and make you uncomfortable. But when you come back, don’t go anywhere else, come straight back here.”

“…It sounds like a mom sending her kids to the playground.”

“I guess it does, now that I say it.”

The two of them chuckled softly, looking at each other.

Maybe Choi Yeon-ha is desperately looking for a reason not to stop Kang Jin-ho. If she can’t stop him anyway, she has to convince herself.

That’s why Lee Hyun-joo felt a little sad.

“But there’s always a price.”

“Yes?”

“A husband who abandons his wife on the weekend to go fishing has to be like a workhorse during the week, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You shouldn’t mess with someone’s area of satisfaction. That’s true, but on the other hand, if you’ve felt that much satisfaction, you have to compromise in other areas. When Jin-ho comes back this time, I’m going to kick him in the shin.”

Lee Hyun-joo nodded quietly.

‘She’s a strange person.’

She seems to live without much thought, driven by her desires, but inside, she has a depth that Lee Hyun-joo can’t follow.

‘Maybe that’s why she gets along so well with Chairman [referring to Kang Jin-ho].’

They both have aspects that are different from ordinary people.

“I’m still busy. I have a lot of things to do. So, while that guy is causing chaos in China, I’m not going to sit here crying. I have to live my own life.”

Lee Hyun-joo quietly looked at Choi Yeon-ha, then opened her mouth slightly before closing it again.

“Why?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

There was one thing she wanted to ask.

‘What if he doesn’t come back?’

If Kang Jin-ho can’t come back from there, what will Choi Yeon-ha do?

But she couldn’t bring herself to ask. It was forbidden to say such words out loud.

Choi Yeon-ha, looking a little tired, suddenly stood up.

“Let’s go get some food!”

“…Huh? Suddenly?”

“We need to eat to get energy. Why? Have you eaten?”

“No. I haven’t eaten yet, but…”

“Let’s go, comrades.”

Choi Yeon-ha grabbed Lee Hyun-joo’s hand, who had awkwardly stood up.

“But, Director.”

“Yeah?”

“Could you either speak informally or formally, not both?”

“No.”

“…Why?”

Choi Yeon-ha grinned.

“This way, I can be both friendly and polite. I don’t want to miss either.”

This person is definitely a bit strange. Definitely.