Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 111

‘Something’s off?’

Baek Hyeon-jeong couldn’t shake the strange feeling she had since morning. It was a good morning, waking up to the sunlight streaming through the window before the alarm even went off.

She felt refreshed, and the aroma of the coffee she brewed as soon as she got up was delightful. The roasted beans her husband had bought were definitely delicious, even if they were a bit pricey.

Yet, Baek Hyeon-jeong couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

‘Ah!’

Finding the reason, Baek Hyeon-jeong headed towards Kang Jin-ho’s room.

She knew he hadn’t come home until she fell asleep last night, but Kang Jin-ho was always the one to wake up before her, no matter when he returned.

But this morning, Kang Jin-ho was nowhere to be seen. She would have noticed immediately under normal circumstances, but perhaps because she had grown accustomed to waking up alone during Kang Jin-ho’s time in the military, she didn’t realize the change right away.

‘Did he not come home?’

He was always so proper, so if he wasn’t coming home, he would have at least sent a text. But since there was no contact…

Worried that something might have happened to him outside, Baek Hyeon-jeong hurriedly opened Kang Jin-ho’s door.

‘Huh?’

There, she found Kang Jin-ho lying in bed, clutching the blanket.

‘What’s this? Is he sleeping in?’

Come to think of it, she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Kang Jin-ho sleeping.

Ever since he had the accident and returned home, she had only ever seen him awake. He was always the son who went to bed later than her and woke up earlier.

‘How hard must the military have been…’ Baek Hyeon-jeong couldn’t help but sigh.

Her son, who always woke up like clockwork before sunrise, was now sleeping in because of how hard the military must have been. He said he was fine, but it couldn’t have been easy.

‘Jin-ho.’

Baek Hyeon-jeong stroked Kang Jin-ho’s forehead.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes snapped open.

‘Mother?’

‘Jin-ho, are you feeling unwell?’

‘…No, I’m fine.’ Kang Jin-ho quickly sat up.

‘Did I oversleep?’

It wasn’t entirely unexpected. He had used up a lot of his inner energy [qi] during yesterday’s treatment.

Looking at the clock, Kang Jin-ho realized he hadn’t completely overslept and got out of bed.

‘I should go wash up.’

‘If you’re tired, why don’t you rest a bit more?’

‘I slept well.’

In reality, his body was still aching and tired, but he knew that more sleep wouldn’t fix it. A deficiency of qi could only be replenished through qi.

‘Alright. I’ll make you breakfast, so let’s eat.’

‘You have to go to work, so what do you mean breakfast? You eat and go to work. I’ll take care of my own meal.’

‘I want to eat with my son, that’s why.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

‘Then, please make something simple.’

‘Okay, okay.’

Baek Hyeon-jeong patted Kang Jin-ho’s back, and Kang Jin-ho, feeling a bit embarrassed, went into the bathroom.

‘My energy is depleted.’

As the water from the showerhead poured over his body, Kang Jin-ho realized that his physical body was quite damaged. Looking in the mirror, he saw that his eyes were sunken.

It wasn’t just a feeling; his body was actually losing its energy.

He had been prepared for it, but he realized it was no small task. If he kept repeating this for a few days, he might be reduced to skin and bones, he thought with a chuckle.

But even though his body was tired, his mind felt clearer than ever since he had come on leave. Now that he had a clear goal, there was no confusion.

Kang Jin-ho turned off the shower and came out to find a feast laid out on the table.

‘Simple…’

‘I tried to make it simple… hmm, is it too little?’

Mother, are you raising a cow?

Kang Jin-ho wondered if he had been in the Central Plains [a region in China often depicted in martial arts stories] for too long and had misunderstood the meaning of ‘simple’.

‘What’s this? Are we having a party?’

His father, who had come out of his room, was shocked at the sight of the table.

‘Jin-ho looks tired.’

‘Huh?’

Kang Ji-hwan frowned as he looked at Kang Jin-ho’s face.

‘Hey, cut back on the drinking. What’s with your face?’

‘Yes.’

A huge misunderstanding had occurred, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t bother to explain.

‘It’s good to hang out with your friends, but come home on time. What time did you come home yesterday?’

‘Around three.’

‘I’m not going to say anything since you’re on leave, but if you’re coming home at three, you should at least call.’

‘Yes, I’m sorry.’

‘And…’

‘What are you doing, standing there in front of the table!’

Baek Hyeon-jeong raised her voice, and Kang Ji-hwan flinched and ducked his head.

‘L-let’s eat.’

‘Yes.’

Baek Hyeon-jeong was radiating an aura that said she wouldn’t tolerate anyone blaming her child in front of her, even if it was his father.

‘If you spoil him like that…’

‘What?’

‘He’ll grow up to be upright and well-behaved.’

Kang Ji-hwan looked back and forth between Baek Hyeon-jeong and Kang Jin-ho, changing his words. Come to think of it, Kang Jin-ho was indeed very upright and well-behaved, even though he was his son. It made him wonder if he was really his child.

‘What about Eun-yeong?’

‘She didn’t come home.’

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes twitched.

‘She’s a student…’

‘I think so too, but she says she has a schedule and sleeps at the dorm. What can I do? I told her to try it out, so it doesn’t feel right to say anything now. I’m just keeping my mouth shut.’

‘Your mother’s patience isn’t that deep, you know? She’ll explode soon.’

Kang Jin-ho thought he should take action before his mother exploded. Work was important, and so was life, but it was definitely a problem for a high school student to skip home and sleep outside like it was nothing.

‘I’ll talk to her.’

‘Will you?’

Kang Ji-hwan knew that Kang Eun-yeong listened to Kang Jin-ho much better than she did to him or his wife, so he smiled as if he was enjoying the situation.

He could almost see Kang Eun-yeong’s face, sulking and complaining.

‘Alright, let’s eat.’

Kang Ji-hwan, who was eating slowly, looked at the table again.

‘Such luxury from the morning.’

Wasn’t Baek Hyeon-jeong the type to just throw a piece of bread in the morning, saying, ‘Are you the only one working? I work too’? Kang Ji-hwan wiped his eyes, which were stinging as he recalled Baek Hyeon-jeong’s words, who would even say, ‘Where else would you find a wife who gives you bread at your age?’

It seemed like she was getting more assertive as she got older.

But unfortunately, Baek Hyeon-jeong wasn’t wrong. Now, Baek Hyeon-jeong managed more of the cafe than he did.

Kang Ji-hwan, who couldn’t even retort in the face of such cruel facts, felt the preciousness of his son. If he could somehow tag along, he could at least get a warm meal.

‘So, Jin…’

Kang Jin-ho suddenly got up from his seat, picked up his rice bowl, and walked towards the rice cooker.

‘Huh?’

He had only taken about two spoonfuls, but had he already finished his rice?

‘Jin-ho’s appetite has gotten better since he went to the military.’

‘I guess so.’

Kang Jin-ho, who had refilled his bowl with a large portion of rice, sat down and started eating again.

‘Still, it’s nice to have Jin-ho here. I get to eat a warm meal in the morning.’

‘It’s better to eat simply in the morning.’

You’re on your second bowl, you know?

When you get to my age, you’ll see if it’s good or bad to eat simply in the morning.

Kang Ji-hwan’s intention to complain was thwarted again when Kang Jin-ho suddenly got up from his seat.

Three bowls in the morning? Is he possessed?

It was a bit strange, but he figured that his appetite had naturally improved because he had been working his body hard in the military. But when Kang Jin-ho finished the newly refilled bowl in one go and started scraping the rice cooker again, sweat began to form on Kang Ji-hwan’s back.

‘…Were you starving?’

‘No, I wasn’t.’

‘Then why…’

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer and called out to Baek Hyeon-jeong.

‘Mother.’

‘Yes?’

‘Do we have any instant rice?’

Kang Jin-ho, who had emptied the rice cooker, started looking for instant rice.

‘Yes, we do. I’ll heat it up for you.’

‘No, just tell me where it is.’

‘It’s in the cupboard.’

Kang Jin-ho went to the sink, took out two packs of instant rice, and started microwaving them.

‘…You said you were going to eat simply?’

Kang Jin-ho pretended not to hear Baek Hyeon-jeong’s dumbfounded voice.

Kang Jin-ho, who silently endured Kang Ji-hwan’s playful nagging that he would end up spending all his money on food, saw his parents off to work and immediately changed into his outdoor clothes.

He didn’t have anything specific to do, but he didn’t think it was a good idea to just stay home on his leave. It would be nice to rest at home if he was tired, but for Kang Jin-ho, who could get rid of all his fatigue with a single circulation of qi, home was just a boring place.

‘Where should I go?’

The first place that came to mind was the university, but there wasn’t anyone he could meet there.

‘The university?’

But thinking of the university reminded him of someone.

Kang Jin-ho picked up his phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang, and a voice came from the other end.

– Are you on leave?

‘Yeah.’

– When?

‘Three days ago?’

– Oh, really?

Her voice sounded a bit stiff.

‘I wanted to see you.’

– I’m busy during the day. I think I’ll have some time in the evening, so let’s meet then.

‘Okay.’

– We could meet near the university or your place. Where do you want to meet?

‘Anywhere is fine.’

– I see. Then let’s meet near the university. I’ve been going there a lot lately, so I’m familiar with it.

‘Okay. What time?’

– Six o’clock.

‘Okay. See you then.’

– Yeah.

After the call ended, Kang Jin-ho casually put his phone in his pocket.

‘Is something wrong?’

Her voice sounded cold for some reason.

Was Han Se-yeon’s voice always like this?

Considering Kang Jin-ho’s memory, if her voice had always been like this, he wouldn’t have felt that way. Kang Jin-ho felt a little uneasy, but he quickly brushed off the feeling and went outside.

‘Should I go to the university early?’

He didn’t have any close friends at the university, but he thought it would be good to show his face. Then he realized that today was Saturday and sighed.

Come to think of it, his social circle was extremely small. His only friends were Park Yu-min and Jeong In-gyu, the trio, but it was a bit awkward to meet with the others separately, except for Park Yu-min.

In the end, the only people he could meet were Park Yu-min and Han Se-yeon.

‘Hmm.’

Kang Jin-ho pondered for a while, then realized he had no other options and trudged towards the garage.

After riding Geumdong [likely a nickname for his bike] for a while, Kang Jin-ho eventually parked his bike in front of the Seongsim Orphanage and walked inside. It felt like he had been coming to the orphanage more often than his own home since he had come on leave, but what could he do?

When he opened the door, the children didn’t react much, as if it was natural. It was as if the enthusiastic welcome they had given him on the first day was all a dream.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been demoted from a rare, hard-to-get item to a common item, walked past the children who weren’t paying attention to him and headed towards Park Yu-min’s room.

Park Yu-min, who saw Kang Jin-ho entering the room, asked with a sulky expression,

‘You’re here again? Don’t you have anywhere else to go?’

Kang Jin-ho felt a little pathetic.