Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 101

Time flew by, and soon it was time for my 100-day leave.

“Hey, newbie, are you all packed?”

“Yes, sir, I’m all set.”

“You know all the things you shouldn’t do out there, right?”

“No fighting, no driving.”

“Yes, sir.”

“How does it feel? Aren’t you excited?” Jeon Hyuk-soo draped his arm around Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder, joking around.

“Not really, sir.”

“Really? Wow, I couldn’t sleep the night before my leave. I was too excited to sleep.”

“I just kept thinking about food all day. I even made a plan of what I’m going to eat on leave.”

“I was excited about seeing my girlfriend, sir.”

Kwak Hyun-woo’s words made Jo Won-gu speak in a sarcastic tone.

“You don’t have that girlfriend anymore.”

“…Please stop, sir.”

“Cheer up.”

“Please stop, sir!”

Jo Won-gu clicked his tongue as he watched Kwak Hyun-woo run out of the barracks with tears welling up in his eyes.

“He’s too sensitive. It’s not like he’s the only one who got dumped in the military.”

“Corporal Kwak really liked her, sir.”

“What’s the point if he’s the only one who liked her?”

There were so many people who broke up with their girlfriends in the military that they didn’t think it was worth comforting him.

“He’s making such a fuss. What’s he going to do if he’s still like that when he’s about to become a sergeant?”

“…He really liked her, sir.”

“Yeah, so what’s the point if he’s the only one who liked her?”

Jo Won-gu clicked his tongue and then came over to Kang Jin-ho.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Private Kang Jin-ho.”

“Go out there and have fun.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

“Say hi to Se-ah for me.”

When Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer, Jo Won-gu frowned.

“Come on, just admit it.”

“I’ll go clean, sir.”

“Why are you always cleaning!”

Jo Won-gu yelled, but Kang Jin-ho completely ignored him and walked outside.

“Oh, Jin-ho?”

Joo Young-gi waved at him from the hallway.

“Let’s go for a smoke.”

“I thought you were going to quit.”

“I’m bored. Let’s go for a smoke.”

“Okay…”

There was no reason to refuse. Joo Young-gi led the way to the smoking area. Kang Jin-ho sat next to Joo Young-gi on the bench.

“Here.”

Kang Jin-ho took the cigarette that Joo Young-gi offered and put it in his mouth. Joo Young-gi lit it for him, and Kang Jin-ho took a deep drag. It felt like it had been about two weeks since he last smoked, but he didn’t feel dizzy like he did when he first came back to Korea.

“Is it bearable?”

“What is?”

“Military life, I mean.”

“You just do it.”

Joo Young-gi chuckled. It was funny to say that to Kang Jin-ho. It was like Kang Jin-ho could be dropped in the middle of a war zone and just do it, like Rambo, mowing down everyone.

“…I don’t know how I would have survived without leave.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Joo Young-gi with a slightly surprised expression.

Come to think of it, Joo Young-gi’s face looked a bit gaunt. In the training camp, he had seemed confident, but now he looked dejected.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

The smoke he exhaled scattered into the air.

“Let’s just go on leave, let’s just go on leave.”

“…Yeah.”

It seemed like something was wrong, but if he didn’t want to talk about it, there was nothing more to say. If Joo Young-gi wanted to talk, he would tell him someday.

Kang Jin-ho felt that he had changed a lot too.

If it had been the old him, he wouldn’t have asked what was wrong first. Getting involved in other people’s lives was not Kang Jin-ho’s style. In the past, even if someone directly asked for help, he wouldn’t have tried to help them.

He didn’t know if he was being tainted by the world or if he was finding his old self.

“You’re going to Seoul, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I think I’ll have to go to Seoul first to take the KTX [Korea Train Express] down, so let’s go together.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat.

However, Joo Young-gi didn’t get up from his seat until Kang Jin-ho went inside. Kang Jin-ho turned his back on Joo Young-gi, who had put another cigarette in his mouth, and headed to the barracks.

“Be careful and don’t cause any trouble.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang Jin-ho walked outside, seeing off by the officer of the day.

“How are you going to get to Dong Seoul? Usually, people call a taxi.”

“I’ll just take the bus.”

“Do you even know where to catch the bus?”

“I heard there’s a bus stop over there.”

“…You’re really carefree.”

It was nothing new. If he waited, the bus would come, and if he took the bus, he could easily get to Seoul.

But unfortunately, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t take the bus. As soon as he passed the guardhouse, he had to see the sedan waiting for him.

“Have you come out?”

Jo Gyu-min got out of the driver’s seat with a bright smile.

“…What’s going on?”

“I came to pick you up. I’ll take you to Seoul.”

It was a bit of a burden, but he couldn’t just tell someone who had come all the way here to leave.

“Thank you.”

Kang Jin-ho went to the back seat without a word.

“Get in.”

“Huh? Okay.”

Joo Young-gi was confused, but he followed Kang Jin-ho into the back seat.

“Wow, this car looks really nice. Are you from a rich family?”

“It’s not my family’s car.”

Of course, there was a car at home that was much more expensive than this one, gathering dust, but there was no need to say that.

“How was your military life?”

“It was nothing special.”

Jo Gyu-min drove smoothly.

“I thought there would be a lot of trouble in the military with Kang Jin-ho’s personality, but it seems like you’re adapting well.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer and looked out the window.

‘Is my personality that bad?’

Well, even in the Central Plains, famous people had gathered to eliminate him, so it seemed like he didn’t have a smooth personality. And he didn’t really have any friends in his previous life either.

“How’s Eun-young?”

“…She’s undergoing a forced concept change.”

Jo Gyu-min sighed as Kang Jin-ho nodded as if he was satisfied.

‘She could have risen to the top in one go…’

‘Doesn’t she know how important it is for an idol to be in the spotlight?’

‘At this timing, they should be pushing her hard to barely get a foothold in the system. There are dozens of idol groups debuting every year, and only one or two of them survive.’

‘They should have rowed when the water came in…’

He was full of complaints, but that logic didn’t work for Kang Jin-ho. In the first place, Kang Jin-ho had let Kang Eun-young become an idol because she wanted to, not because he liked the idea of idols.

“Should I take you to Kang Jin-ho’s house?”

“Please take me to the station.”

“Seoul Station?”

“Yes.”

Jo Gyu-min glanced at Joo Young-gi in the rearview mirror.

“Yes. I’ll take you to Seoul Station.”

Joo Young-gi had been quiet since earlier, probably intimidated by Jo Gyu-min’s presence in his black suit.

After driving for more than two hours, they finally arrived at Seoul Station, and Joo Young-gi got out of the car.

“Have a good leave.”

“Why don’t you have a meal before you go?”

“It’s okay. I have to go quickly. It’s not that I don’t want to have a meal with you, but I want to go home quickly.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going in first, so I won’t be able to see you later. If you come up a little early, I’ll call you, so let’s have a meal.”

“Okay.”

Joo Young-gi waved his hand and went into the station, and Kang Jin-ho got back into the car.

“Is he your friend?”

“He’s my comrade.”

“He looks very burly, but he’s surprisingly polite.”

“That’s the funny part.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

Jo Gyu-min drove the car towards Kang Jin-ho’s house.

“The chairman asked when you would be visiting.”

“Tell him I’ll go when I feel like it.”

“Understood.”

Hwang Jung-hoo had already visited Kang Jin-ho’s unit once.

Hwang Jung-hoo had wanted to visit him inside the unit, but Kang Jin-ho, not wanting the unit to be turned upside down, had persuaded him to meet outside during a weekend outing, which was a hassle.

‘I definitely need a solution…’

In fact, there was no need for Hwang Jung-hoo to see him and get treatment once a month. It was just a casual remark, but Hwang Jung-hoo had believed it so firmly that he couldn’t bring himself to tell him that it was just a casual remark, which led to this situation.

It was just a matter of cleaning the already opened blood vessels so that they wouldn’t get blocked again, but it was hard to tell Hwang Jung-hoo, who thought it was some kind of great treatment, the truth.

‘I should tell him that he only needs to get it done once every two months from now on.’

At least that way, he could prevent Hwang Jung-hoo from visiting him while he was in the military.

“The chairman is very worried.”

“He’s always been a worrier.”

“It’s not just a saying. He said he needed someone to receive information about Kang Jin-ho in the unit and tried to enlist me.”

“Enlist you? Haven’t you been to the military?”

“I was a non-commissioned officer…”

Kang Jin-ho was speechless.

To think that he would try to enlist someone who was working well at a large company as a non-commissioned officer, Hwang Jung-hoo was definitely not an ordinary person.

“It must have been a joke.”

“If Director Baek hadn’t stopped him, I would be in non-commissioned officer training right now. He told me not to worry about going to the unit and to just get good grades.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

In a way, Hwang Jung-hoo seemed to be much more of a fuss than his parents.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“…Just know that I’m suffering.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the back of Jo Gyu-min, who was driving.

Come to think of it, although he was in a position to receive instructions from Hwang Jung-hoo, the person who had taken the best care of him since he was a student was Jo Gyu-min, no matter what anyone said.

Kang Jin-ho arrived home, got out of the car, and bowed to Jo Gyu-min.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Have a good leave.”

“Okay.”

As Kang Jin-ho went inside, Jo Gyu-min picked up his phone.

“Chairman, this is Jo Gyu-min. I’ve taken Kang Jin-ho home. I’ll be returning now.”

“I’m home.”

Only after comforting his mother, who was happy that her son had come home after a long time, could Kang Jin-ho go into his room.

He turned on his phone, which had been charged in advance.

He was grateful to his parents for not canceling the phone, saying that their son would need it when he came out.

Kang Jin-ho immediately called Park Yu-min.

— Hello?

“It’s me.”

— Jin-ho, are you on leave?

“Yeah.”

— Has it already been that long? I’m sorry. I’ve been so out of it that I didn’t know.

“Never mind that. Where are you?”

— Me? I’m at the orphanage.

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked at the clock.

It was still only lunchtime, but he was bothered that Park Yu-min was there on a weekday.

“I’ll go there now.”

— Huh? No, Jin-ho. You’re on leave, so you should rest first. Let’s see each other later in the evening.

“I’m going now.”

Kang Jin-ho hung up the phone and changed his clothes.

“Jin-ho, where are you going?”

“I’m going to see Yu-min.”

“You should have dinner with us today. Don’t be late.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho went to the garage and looked at his car.

‘A burden.’

He cleanly ignored the car and picked up the gold scooter in the corner and went out of the garage.

He felt good holding the handlebars of the gold scooter after a long time.

“Shall we go?”

Kang Jin-ho got on the gold scooter without hesitation.