Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1318

The Great Explosion (2)

Waiting isn’t that difficult.

It might be torture for those who can’t stand boredom, but Kang Jin-ho wasn’t a very active person, nor was he the type to feel uncomfortable in a confined space.

Rather, he was feeling quite relaxed, having found a moment of peace away from the hustle and bustle.

That is, if it weren’t for the one person in front of him radiating murderous intent.

*Click.*

At the sound of teeth grinding, Kang Jin-ho subtly lowered his gaze.

Many things had changed since he became ‘Kang Jin-ho’ from the Heavenly Demon Lord. But if he were asked what had changed the most, Kang Jin-ho would pick one thing.

Fear.

In the past, he didn’t know fear.

There was nothing to fear in the first place. Basically, fear comes from ‘loss.’

Losing one’s life.

Losing what one has.

Losing relationships, social status, face, etc… Worry about losing something is bound to manifest as fear.

But back then, Kang Jin-ho had nothing to lose.

His life was like a spare, and he had no relationships to lose in the first place. He was just living and enduring each day, a life where he wouldn’t have any regrets even if he died that day.

But now it’s different.

Fear had taken root in Kang Jin-ho. In other words, he had something to lose.

From a normal point of view, a person who had no fear developing fear wouldn’t be a good change. But Kang Jin-ho thought this change wasn’t bad.

Humans don’t have unnecessary emotions. Fear ultimately leads to caution, and caution creates carefulness. He had become able to think more and worry more, so this was a change that should be called progress rather than regression.

He certainly thought so, but…

‘Is it really progress?’

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Choi Yeon-ha’s face.

Looking at Choi Yeon-ha’s face, which looked like it would explode at any moment, a very subtle emotion enveloped him.

It was like…

‘It doesn’t feel good.’

It felt rather sad.

“No.”

Choi Yeon-ha opened her mouth, grinding her teeth.

“These bastards are playing with people, what the hell is this?”

Even Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t look Choi Yeon-ha straight in the eye and slightly turned his body. In the midst of all this, the most pitiful one was Han Eun-sol.

“Huu…”

Han Eun-sol didn’t seem to feel fear or awkwardness. She was just slumped on the sofa like a corpse, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes, as if her mind had completely given up.

“I didn’t come here to see this…”

*Grind, grind.*

‘She’s going to break her teeth at this rate.’

Choi Yeon-ha was fiercely grinding her teeth, but no one could stop her. Everyone understood why she was so angry.

“There’s a limit to how much you can screw people over.”

They had made an appointment and come all the way to China, but the people they met all changed their words at once.

Even those who had seemed almost certain about the contract changed their expressions, declared it impossible, and turned away. Those who at least apologized were considered decent, and those who showed up at the meeting place were the better ones.

More than half of them unilaterally broke their appointments and refused to even meet Choi Yeon-ha.

“So, I…”

“Don’t.”

“…Okay.”

Han Eun-sol, who was about to say something, slumped back down like a corpse. She seemed to have a bit of life when she spoke, but then the life was draining out of her body again.

“Hey, give me a can of beer.”

“Don’t drink, sis.”

“If I don’t drink at a time like this, when will I?”

“You’ll cause trouble. Calm down. And the schedule isn’t over yet.”

“Those bastards will call in 10 minutes and say they can’t make it because something came up, and that the contract is off! Is this the first time this has happened?”

“It’s the seventh time.”

“Then I can drink!”

Han Eun-sol quietly turned her head towards Kang Jin-ho.

It was a request for him to do something. But Kang Jin-ho didn’t have the power to stop the rampaging Choi Yeon-ha. He avoided her gaze, but Han Eun-sol didn’t give up and stared intently at Kang Jin-ho.

Finally, Kang Jin-ho sighed and raised the white flag, opening his mouth.

“But why are they all acting like this, as if they’ve planned it?”

“How would I know?”

Choi Yeon-ha shouted and then glanced at Kang Jin-ho. It wasn’t a good habit to take out her emotions on those around her. Choi Yeon-ha took a deep breath and spoke, slightly suppressing her anger.

“They’re making excuses about some Korean Wave ban, but who knows! It’s not like they can’t come out at all!”

Han Eun-sol, unable to watch any longer, gave a proper explanation.

“First of all, the Party is currently banning Korean celebrities from appearing on TV or importing Korean movies, so they say it’s difficult to sign contracts.”

“But the problem is, it’s like putting a ring on your ear or a ring on your nose [a Korean idiom meaning it’s a superficial restriction]. It’s not like movies aren’t being imported at all. Some works are getting through. Also, it’s not like Korean celebrities can’t appear in Chinese dramas at all. One or two are still appearing…”

Han Eun-sol sighed, her soul leaving her body.

“I thought at least one or two would get through, but it’s like they’ve all been wiped out.”

This wasn’t just a contract gone wrong; it was a complete explosion. She thought that at least one or two would try to avoid the regulations somehow…

“This doesn’t make sense, actually. It’s like the Party specifically told them not to sign contracts with us.”

“That could be the case. She was so popular, after all.”

At Lee Hyun-soo’s words, Han Eun-sol glared fiercely. It was something unimaginable under normal circumstances, but now Han Eun-sol had nothing to lose.

“So, is there no solution?”

“If the people who are paying don’t want to sign the contract, what can the people who are getting paid say?”

Han Eun-sol sighed deeply once again.

It’s not like Choi Yeon-ha absolutely needed the Chinese market. There are definitely celebrities who can’t make it anywhere but China, and for them, the Korean Wave ban would be like cutting off their last lifeline as a celebrity, but Choi Yeon-ha was already a top star in Korea.

The money she made in China was enormous, but it wasn’t like she would have problems if she couldn’t make money in China.

The problem was…

“There’s a limit to how much you can trample on someone’s pride.”

Choi Yeon-ha was trembling.

The fact that she had come all the way to China and was being openly mistreated was shattering Choi Yeon-ha’s mental state into pieces.

‘If she goes back to Korea like this, she’ll definitely lose it.’

Even Han Eun-sol was on the verge of losing her mind, so how much worse would Choi Yeon-ha be? This time, Han Eun-sol wanted to understand even if she caused a scene in the middle of the street.

“So, there’s one meeting left today?”

“Yes. It’s the biggest one. If we can land this one, we don’t need any of the others…”

Han Eun-sol scratched her head.

“It’s a big drama produced by CNTV [China National Television]. It’s practically state-run, so they’ll push it like crazy. If we can get on this, it’ll be a huge hit…”

Choi Yeon-ha scoffed.

“Hey, even the small fries won’t accept us, do you think they’ll accept us there? Wake up. Reality isn’t that easy.”

“Still, now that things have come to this, we have to grab at any straw…”

“There has to be a straw to grab! There isn’t one. It’s a vast ocean here. Not even a piece of plastic is floating down, let alone a straw.”

“I heard there’s a lot of trouble with plastic in the ocean these days.”

“Not here.”

Choi Yeon-ha said in a cold tone, as if she had faced reality.

“It’s only painful to have vain expectations. We should just go back to Korea…”

At that moment, Han Eun-sol’s phone started ringing. Han Eun-sol took out her phone and checked the screen. Then, she put her index finger to her lips.

Choi Yeon-ha, who was talking, closed her mouth.

“Yes. This is MK Entertainment.”

A slightly awkward Chinese came out of Han Eun-sol’s mouth.

“Yes. Ah… Ah, yes!”

Han Eun-sol’s face became serious.

After a few simple conversations, Han Eun-sol hung up the phone and turned to Choi Yeon-ha.

“They said to come?”

“Huh?”

“They said to come to the appointed place at the appointed time.”

“Really?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s face seemed to brighten slightly, but it quickly turned cold again.

“If it’s not going to work out, it’s better not to go. I’m afraid we’ll just be wasting our time.”

“Well, at least we’ve gotten over one hurdle.”

“Who knows, who knows. We might have gotten over one hurdle only to find ourselves in a swamp.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed deeply. She wasn’t such a negative person in the first place, but the situation wasn’t easy.

CNTV was one of the biggest channels in China.

Big meant it had a strong influence, and strong influence meant that the government was also watching it with interest. Even small production companies that didn’t receive government attention were wary of Choi Yeon-ha, so there was no way a channel of that size would use Choi Yeon-ha.

“They’re busy people, too. If they weren’t going to do it, they would have just notified us by phone. They were the most lukewarm ones.”

“Hmph.”

Choi Yeon-ha made a face that showed she wasn’t happy. But as Han Eun-sol said, they had to grab at any straw.

“What time was the appointment?”

“We have to go right now.”

“I’m afraid we’re just going to waste our time.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed deeply and got up from her seat. Then, Han Eun-sol also got up, her face looking a little better.

“I’ll be back.”

“Don’t worry. Even if it doesn’t work out, I won’t cause a scene when I get back.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I won’t be too late, so don’t nag.”

“Oh my, it’s a problem to get too much attention. That’s why it’s tiring to be pretty.”

“Okay.”

Choi Yeon-ha chuckled and waved her hand before going outside. Han Eun-sol also bowed her head and went outside.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had been quietly watching them, opened his mouth.

“Shall we follow them?”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his cheek.

It wasn’t like he thought something bad would happen…

“I’m just feeling a little uneasy.”

“I guess so?”

“Yes.”

Living in this world, he had seen similar cases several times. Unreasonable situations always come with unreasonable conditions.

“I’m just uneasy, so I’ll go and follow them.”

“I won’t say that the Lord sent someone because he was being lovey-dovey over a woman, so just let me go.”

“Okay.”

As Lee Hyun-soo was about to go outside without a word, Kang Jin-ho grabbed him.

“Wait a minute.”

“Hey, I’ll take care of it. Lord, you just…”

“That’s not it.”

“Yes?”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head. Then, Kang Jin-ho said awkwardly.

“But if something happens, can you handle it?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s cheek twitched.

“But I’m a martial artist.”

Lee Hyun-soo shouted.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you just go yourself! Just say it directly, say it directly!”

“I was just asking. Go ahead.”

“Ugh, really!”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his body with a *thwack*, opened the door, and went outside. Kang Jin-ho shrugged his shoulders as he watched Lee Hyun-soo.