Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 113

“Where are you?”

“I just got here.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had gone home to change his clothes, received a call as soon as he arrived at school. It was still 30 minutes before class, but it seemed Han Se-yeon had also come early.

“I’m at a cafe.”

“Which cafe?”

“The cafe in front of the main gate, come to Dreamer.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho hung up and looked for the cafe. He found it in a two-story building across from the main gate and walked towards it.

He went up to the second floor, opened the door, and saw Han Se-yeon sitting in a corner seat, raising her hand.

“Over here.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho went to where Han Se-yeon was and sat across from her.

“Aren’t you going to get a drink?”

“…I guess not.”

Kang Jin-ho went to the counter and ordered an Americano, then sat back down with the buzzer.

It felt like Han Se-yeon, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, had changed a bit. Or rather, it wasn’t that she had changed, but she seemed to have a similar vibe to the Han Se-yeon he had first known.

“How’s the military?”

“It’s a place where people live.”

“Ooh, that’s a typical answer, isn’t it?”

Han Se-yeon giggled.

“What about you?”

“Me? Well…”

Han Se-yeon trailed off. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the buzzer started ringing.

“Just a moment.”

Kang Jin-ho went to the counter with the buzzer and got his coffee. When he sat back down, there was a slightly awkward atmosphere.

“It feels a bit awkward seeing you after so long.”

“Really?”

There was a textbook in front of Han Se-yeon.

“Were you studying?”

“Yeah. I had nothing else to do, so I came out early to try and study. It didn’t go very well though.”

“Why not?”

“I just couldn’t concentrate. It’s hard to study on the weekend, you know?”

“I see.”

“When did you get out?”

“Three days ago.”

“Hmm.”

Han Se-yeon nodded as if she understood.

The subtle scent of coffee wasn’t bad. Kang Jin-ho leaned back on the sofa.

‘I don’t really have anything to say…’

He could talk about his military life for a long time, but he had heard that no woman liked that. Besides, Kang Jin-ho, who had only been in the military, didn’t have anything new to say.

“Did you see Yu-min?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

Han Se-yeon nodded quietly, then closed her mouth without saying anything more.

In the awkward silence, only the music playing was clearly audible.

“How’s school?”

Kang Jin-ho spoke first, and Han Se-yeon responded in an indifferent tone.

“I’m just going.”

“Are the classes manageable?”

“It’s just freshman classes anyway, how hard can they be? Everyone else is doing it, so I’m just going.”

“Okay.”

It felt like the conversation kept getting cut off. It felt strange to try and find something to continue the conversation, so Kang Jin-ho silently sipped his Americano.

“Have you eaten?”

“No.”

“Then let’s go eat.”

“Sure.”

She said that, but Han Se-yeon didn’t get up from her seat.

“Aren’t you going?”

Han Se-yeon, who had been quietly watching Kang Jin-ho get up first, opened her mouth.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yeah?”

“Sit down for a second.”

Kang Jin-ho sat down without answering. He could sense something unusual in Han Se-yeon’s tone and expression.

“I need to say something, but it feels weird to bring it up, so I haven’t been able to.”

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s not that.”

Han Se-yeon drank her cold lemon tea next to her and quietly put it down. Watching Han Se-yeon hesitate, Kang Jin-ho also felt suffocated.

“Do you remember what I said before you went to the military?”

“…Before?”

“I said that if you contacted Park Yu-min first when you got leave, I would kill you.”

“Did you?”

Kang Jin-ho coughed awkwardly.

Now that she mentioned it, he seemed to remember hearing that. He was so out of it at the time that he didn’t remember properly, but hearing her say it now, he clearly remembered.

“I’m sorry. I…”

“No, it’s not that I want to hear that.”

Han Se-yeon continued, stirring the straw in her lemon tea.

“It’s not about who contacted who first, but that I’m not a priority for you.”

“…”

“So, that’s just it. I just realized that, that’s all.”

“It’s not like that…”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“I heard from my father that something might be wrong with Park Yu-min, so I contacted him as soon as I got out. And then there was an issue at the orphanage, so I was dealing with that.”

“Yeah, I know. You must have had your reasons. And there must be a reason. I know you’re not the type to do that without a reason.”

But Han Se-yeon’s tone didn’t change.

“But…”

Han Se-yeon stared at Kang Jin-ho before opening her mouth.

“Couldn’t you have even made one phone call?”

“I know you’re busy. But if you had even a little bit of thought for me, there’s no reason why you couldn’t have made one phone call. Am I wrong?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Kang Jin-ho sincerely apologized.

Listening to Han Se-yeon, he realized that he had made a mistake.

“I know you’re not the type to take care of those things. I used to think that. Oh, he’s really the indifferent type. I have to take that into account.”

Han Se-yeon smiled a little sadly.

“But that wasn’t it. You weren’t indifferent, you were uninterested.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Kang Jin-ho denied Han Se-yeon’s words.

But Han Se-yeon’s next words took away any strength Kang Jin-ho had to deny it.

“Did you think about me in the military?”

“Yeah.”

Should he nod?

If she asked if he thought about her, he could say yes. But he knew that the ‘thinking’ Han Se-yeon was talking about was not the kind of ‘thinking’ Kang Jin-ho was thinking of, so he couldn’t easily answer.

“I once heard that it’s not that a person is indifferent, but that they’ve met someone they can be indifferent to. That relationships are relative and change depending on how the other person acts.”

“I understand that I was wrong.”

“No. It’s not your fault. I’m not talking about who’s at fault, but…”

Han Se-yeon sighed, as if she was a little frustrated.

“It’s not that, I’m talking about the situation. It’s a bit funny, but you know. I’m not even your girlfriend, but it’s kind of funny that we’re having this conversation about who contacted who first.”

Kang Jin-ho silently stared at Han Se-yeon without answering.

Kang Jin-ho’s attitude became serious as he understood that her words were not just a simple tantrum.

“I just think that both of us… were a bit young. I was too hasty, and you were too indifferent. It’s not about whose fault it is, but that we just didn’t know how to be considerate of each other. I just liked you, so I blindly believed that you would like me back.”

“I…”

“But as I liked you… I felt like I was losing myself too much.”

“The friends I thought I was close to are all gone, and I gave up my dream of becoming a celebrity. And now I’ve come to college following you and I’m left alone.”

“Se-yeon.”

“I’m not blaming you. I know it’s not your fault, and I’m not trying to subtly criticize you. What I want to say is!”

Han Se-yeon’s voice trembled slightly.

“After knowing you, I lost myself. The confident me from before disappeared. It happened at some point. Do you know what I thought first after you went to the military?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“What do I do now?”

“Yeah, ‘What do I do now?’ It wasn’t, ‘Oh, I wonder if Jin-ho is doing well in the military,’ but… when you disappeared from my life, I didn’t know what to do.”

Kang Jin-ho listened to her words silently.

Her words were not only for Kang Jin-ho but also for herself.

“So now I’m going to try and find myself, try to go back to the confident Han Se-yeon from before.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

She was right.

Park Yu-min’s life changed for the better after meeting Kang Jin-ho, but Han Se-yeon was someone who didn’t really receive anything from Kang Jin-ho.

He didn’t think he had harmed her, but if she felt that she had been harmed by the time she spent with Kang Jin-ho… that was also true.

“It’s weird that I’m thinking about how I can try to do something with you when I can’t do anything without Kang Jin-ho. If people want to stand together, they have to be qualified, and they have to be on the same level… I guess I was mistaken in thinking it would be okay because I kept thinking about the you I knew. If I wanted to be your girlfriend, I should have become someone who was worthy of you on my own.”

“I’ve never thought that.”

“That’s how I feel.”

Kang Jin-ho felt his throat burning. He drank the hot Americano like it was cold water.

“Now I want to study and do things on my own so that I can become a better person.”

He could understand that feeling.

It was a frustrating and upsetting feeling, but he understood what Han Se-yeon was saying.

“It’s funny now that I’m saying it. Who am I to say all this?”

Han Se-yeon raised her hand and wiped her eyes.

Kang Jin-ho felt frustrated that there was nothing he could do.

“So, I’d like us to be friends now. We’re friends now, but you know.”

“Okay.”

Han Se-yeon stared at Kang Jin-ho.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“…I don’t know what to say.”

“Yeah, I thought so.”

She smiled brightly.

But was it Kang Jin-ho’s imagination that her smile looked even more sad?

“We were too young. You and me… If we grow up a bit more and know each other a bit more, we might become good partners again.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll get going first.”

Han Se-yeon, who was packing her bag, covered her mouth and laughed.

“I think I’d get indigestion if we ate together now, so I’m just going to leave. Have a good leave and go back safely, Kang Jin-ho.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“…I’m going.”

Han Se-yeon left after saying those words. He saw her covering her face as she went outside, but Kang Jin-ho just stared blankly at the ceiling, frozen like a statue.

‘It’s so difficult.’

The world, and relationships between people.

Just living was so difficult.

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat and went outside. He moved to the smoking area in the corner and put a cigarette in his mouth.

‘I’m sorry.’

It was because they were a bit young, but in the end, it was Kang Jin-ho who created this situation. If he had paid a little more attention and put in a little more effort, he wouldn’t have hurt her.

He still had so much to learn.

It was like the smoke from the cigarette was scattering, and it wasn’t that his relationship with Han Se-yeon was scattering, but the fact that they could never go back to the happy times they had before made Kang Jin-ho’s chest feel tight.

“I’m sorry.”

Kang Jin-ho muttered those words and stood there like a statue for a while.