Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 103

“Just come inside.”

“I’d like to, but…”

Kang Jin-ho stared at the children clinging to his legs, and Park Yu-min burst into laughter, approaching him.

“Alright, alright, let’s make way for Jin-ho to come in.”

“Okay.”

A vein throbbed slightly on Kang Jin-ho’s forehead.

‘The effects of my training have worn off.’

Before enlisting, Kang Jin-ho had the authority to line up the children with just a word.

But in just three months, his once-loyal soldiers were ignoring his authority and were busy clinging to him.

As the children let go of his legs, following Park Yu-min’s words, Kang Jin-ho sighed and went inside.

“…Were you cooking?”

“Yeah. I have to feed the kids.”

“You?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned. This was the time he should be practicing, so why was she at home cooking for the kids?

“What’s going on?”

“Let’s talk about it later. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“No.”

“Wait. I’ll get you food soon.”

“Hmm.”

He had a lot to say, but it was already a bit past lunchtime. Thinking that the kids were hungry, he couldn’t keep Park Yu-min any longer.

“Watch the kids while I cook.”

“I refuse.”

“Whatever.”

Park Yu-min grinned and headed to the kitchen.

As Park Yu-min, the suppressor, disappeared, the children’s eyes began to focus on Kang Jin-ho again.

Sweat started to form on Kang Jin-ho’s forehead again.

“Today’s menu is curry, it’s….”

Park Yu-min, who was coming out with plates, was speechless when she saw Kang Jin-ho being used as a jungle gym by the children.

“…Jin-ho?”

“I think…”

Kang Jin-ho, who was sitting and giving the children airplane rides with both hands, said with a stiff face.

“The kids seem to have gotten a lot rougher?”

Park Yu-min laughed and placed the plates on the table.

“That’s because they’re growing up. They’re almost two years older, so they can’t be as well-behaved as before.”

“They weren’t well-behaved back then either.”

Kang Jin-ho, who was patting and slightly pressing down on the children running at him from all sides, seized the opportunity when the children started looking at the table and said,

“Time to eat.”

Only after the children flocked to the table did peace finally arrive. Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat and went to the kitchen to carry the plates.

“Here’s yours.”

Looking at the plate filled with curry, about three times the size of the children’s portions, he wondered if Park Yu-min mistook his species for an elephant.

“Soldiers eat a lot, right?”

“That’s generally an undeniable statement.”

Thinking about how his seniors inhaled their meals, he had to admit it. Come to think of it, he was a little hungry, so he accepted the plate without a word.

It would have been nice if the peaceful meal had continued, but….

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Don’t touch mine!”

“Over, over.”

Kang Jin-ho was on the verge of enlightenment.

‘This is hell.’

Kang Jin-ho, who now understood what it meant to eat with ten children who were only about six years old, barely held onto his crumbling sanity.

Food was already a secondary concern.

Kang Jin-ho, who hadn’t even touched his own plate, started feeding the children around him.

He pulled down the kid trying to climb onto the table, dragged back the one attempting to escape, and threatened the child who refused to eat. After repeating this several times, Kang Jin-ho finally managed to feed all the children and collapsed onto a chair, half-exhausted.

‘It was easier when I was the public enemy.’ Back then, he just had to fight against the enemy. No matter who the opponent was, he couldn’t just give up his life to those who were after it.

But now, these small, cute enemies who were targeting his sanity were impossible to fight against.

They didn’t understand words, he couldn’t get angry at them, and he couldn’t attack them.

Faced with an invincible enemy, Kang Jin-ho was helpless.

“If you’re done eating, you should go to the playroom, right? The other kids will be here soon?”

At Park Yu-min’s words, the children awkwardly got up and headed to the playroom.

Park Yu-min followed the children, gave them toys, and then returned to her seat.

Park Yu-min, who burst out laughing at the sight of Kang Jin-ho, who was exhausted and out of it, reached out and pointed at Kang Jin-ho’s curry.

“Want to eat some?”

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Still, you should eat something, right?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho picked up his spoon. As he was putting the half-cold curry into his mouth, Park Yu-min also started eating her meal hastily.

“Eat slowly.”

“I need to eat quickly, clean up, and prepare dinner too.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes darkened. There was no reason for Park Yu-min to do all of that.

“Where is the head nun?”

At Kang Jin-ho’s gaze, Park Yu-min put down her spoon.

“I was going to tell you anyway.”

Park Yu-min sighed softly and said,

“There’s somewhere we need to go together.”

They waited for the children who had gone to school to return, then handed them off and went outside.

“…Can’t we take a taxi?”

“Is it far?”

“It’s not far, but…”

Park Yu-min sighed as she looked at Goldie, who was proudly showing off its form.

‘Do I have to ride that again?’

Of course, Park Yu-min also admitted that Goldie, driven by Kang Jin-ho, was faster than a taxi and had excellent ride quality. Moreover, she also acknowledged that there was almost no risk of an accident with Kang Jin-ho’s control.

But wasn’t it human nature to not want to ride behind this runaway train? She had no choice when she was used to riding it, but after being away from Goldie’s clutches for a while, a sense of fear was creeping in.

“Jin-ho.”

“Hmm?”

“Humans have a scientific invention called a car.”

“Goldie is faster.”

Of course, it would be.

Of course, but still, my friend.

“Or should we go to where the car is and drive?”

“Nice to see you, Goldie.”

Park Yu-min, who remembered the times she had ridden in Kang Jin-ho’s car, suddenly changed her attitude.

“You’re so predictable.”

Kang Jin-ho unlocked Goldie and got on.

“Get on.”

Park Yu-min made the sign of the cross and got into the back seat with a resigned look, gripping the handle tightly.

“If I get into an accident, there’s no one to take care of the kids.”

“Accident?”

Kang Jin-ho frowned as if his pride was hurt.

“When you’re riding, I deliberately cut my speed in half to avoid accidents.”

So that was half.

Park Yu-min realized a new fact.

Ah, that was half.

“Can’t you make it half of half?”

“Hold on tight.”

Park Yu-min resigned herself and gripped Goldie’s handle tightly.

Thump thump thump thump!

The sound of the pedals being pressed reached her ears. If she closed her eyes and just listened to the sound, it sounded like a 12-cylinder engine.

“Where do we need to go?”

“…Go straight for now.”

“Where are we going?”

“The hospital.”

“I told you there won’t be an accident?”

“It’s not that… the hospital was where we were going from the start.”

At this rate, it might not be a visit but an admission.

“Ugh.”

Park Yu-min, who got off Goldie, grabbed the wall and dry-heaved.

“Your stamina has weakened.”

“…What have I been riding all this time?”

Thinking about the days when she rode Goldie to and from school without a second thought, she realized how immature she had been.

“It’s a miracle that I’m still alive.”

“Huh?”

“No, never mind.”

Park Yu-min shook her head. Even if she told Kang Jin-ho, he wouldn’t understand.

Leaving Park Yu-min, who was still out of it, Kang Jin-ho turned his head. A large, modern building came into his view.

‘A hospital…’

It was the first time since he had returned to this world.

He had felt it before, but a hospital was not a pleasant place. If he had to name one thing that had changed the most about modern humans compared to the past, it would be that their lifespan had increased through modern medicine. However, the hospital, which played a central role in this, was still a place he disliked.

It was rare to find someone who liked a place they wouldn’t go to unless they were sick.

“Let’s go in.”

Kang Jin-ho followed Park Yu-min, who was walking ahead. He felt like his feet were not moving easily.

After passing through the crowded lobby and taking the elevator up for a long time, they finally arrived at the ward. Kang Jin-ho, who had never had trouble finding his way, found the hospital ward to be a place where it was easy to get lost.

“Hurry up.”

“Okay.”

Park Yu-min, urging Kang Jin-ho, whose steps were unusually slow today, walked ahead.

“It’s here.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the hospital room.

“Let’s go in.”

“Hmm…”

Park Yu-min opened the door and went inside. Kang Jin-ho sighed softly and followed her.

“Head Nun, I’m here.”

“Yu-min, you’re here?”

“Jin-ho is on leave.”

“Oh.”

Kang Jin-ho bowed his head to the head nun, who was lying on a bed by the window.

“It’s been a while.”

“Jin-ho, you look more like a man after shaving your head. Is the military tough?”

“It’s something everyone does.”

While talking, Kang Jin-ho’s body was busy observing the head nun’s body, which was covered by a blanket.

“Let me see.”

The hand that was extended out of the blanket towards Kang Jin-ho was extremely emaciated.

“…”

Seeing the skeletal hand, he felt a lump in his throat. She had always been thin, but now she was excessively thin, and it felt like only bones were left.

Kang Jin-ho reached out and took the head nun’s hand.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“It’s nothing.”

“You too, and Yu-min too… you’ve been through a lot. Yu-min can’t even practice because of me.”

“Oh, don’t say that.”

Park Yu-min waved her hand.

“You need to get better soon.”

“Yes.”

The head nun gave a warm smile.

“Are the kids doing well?”

“Yes. I was going to bring them, but bringing all the kids to the hospital seems like it would be a nuisance to others.”

“Yes, you did well. What good would it do to show them this?”

“Chul-jung and Su-yeon said they’re bringing the older kids. They’ll come during visiting hours, so it’ll probably be the weekend.”

“Tell them they don’t have to come. They must be busy studying…”

Park Yu-min tidied up the area around the bed.

“Are you eating well?”

“I’m trying to eat and gain strength, but it’s not going down well.”

“You need to eat to gain strength.”

“Yes. I need to get up soon.”

While Park Yu-min and the head nun were talking and laughing, Kang Jin-ho sat on a chair in the corner without saying a word. He was just quietly watching the two of them.

“Then I’ll go. I want to stay longer, but I’m worried about the kids.”

“I’ve been feeling uneasy too. Go quickly.”

“I’ll come again.”

“Yes. Jin-ho, have a good leave.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho bowed his head. As they walked out, leaving the head nun waving goodbye, Park Yu-min headed to the elevator without a word. Kang Jin-ho also followed him without a word.

They went down to the lobby, and Park Yu-min went to the smoking area outside and sat on a bench.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been silently staring at Park Yu-min for a while, opened his mouth.

“What happened?”