Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1322

Choi Yeon-ha was in a very complicated state of mind.

Was it because of the sudden, embarrassing incident?

No.

Was it because the events from just before were still lingering in her mind?

That wasn’t it either.

Of course, it wasn’t because she hadn’t secured a proper contract in China.

Although she had been somewhat critical, Lee Hyun-soo’s rescue and the way he handled things had left a deep impression on Choi Yeon-ha.

She had come to see Lee Hyun-soo in a completely new light. Whether that was for better or worse.

His sly demeanor, combined with the coldness and ruthless efficiency he occasionally displayed, made her realize just how charismatic Lee Hyun-soo truly was.

And yet.

Lee Hyun-soo’s groans sounded pathetic.

“Stop faking it.”

“No, I’m not faking it, my back really hurts…”

“Your back hurts?”

“…No, it doesn’t. I’m fine.”

The same charismatic Lee Hyun-soo was currently banging his head against the wall in the corner of the hotel room.

The reason was quite simple.

Lee Hyun-soo, intoxicated by the fact that he had accomplished something for the first time in a while, had returned to the hotel with Choi Yeon-ha, full of anticipation. After rambling on about his accomplishments, he finally realized that he was late in reporting everything.

At the very least, he should have called Kang Jin-ho the moment they left the room and got into the taxi. That was the proper order of things.

As a result, he had started to stutter mid-sentence and, in the end, had voluntarily gone to the corner and started banging his head at Kang Jin-ho’s gesture.

Choi Yeon-ha was unsure how to process this situation.

A man who had turned over twenty people into a pulp, like something out of a comic book, was now banging his head and being punished at Kang Jin-ho’s single gesture.

“You seem to be getting carried away in China.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Hmph…”

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, as if he was displeased. Then, he looked at Choi Yeon-ha, realizing what he had done.

“Go ahead and smoke.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Just smoke. This place is so big, the smell won’t linger.”

“Then, just one.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled awkwardly and lit his cigarette.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Did you send Lee Hyun-soo knowing things would turn out this way?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“I just thought that normal contracts aren’t usually done in the evening. Since we’re not in Korea, I thought it was better to be cautious.”

“…It feels a bit strange. I thought I was quite sharp when it came to handling things, but when I’m in front of you, Kang Jin-ho, I feel like a troublemaker.”

Kang Jin-ho gave a wry smile.

Han Eun-sol was also smiling wryly.

‘It’s not wrong, though.’

If Choi Yeon-ha hadn’t smashed Woo Cha-oh’s head with a beer bottle in the first place, things wouldn’t have escalated this much. It could have ended with just words.

So, it was clear that Choi Yeon-ha had made things worse.

However…

‘Honestly, he deserved it.’

It wasn’t right to just endure it there. She would have returned after being ridiculed anyway. Not knowing her limits was the problem.

Perhaps Kang Jin-ho knew about Choi Yeon-ha’s tendencies, which was why he sent Lee Hyun-soo along, to prevent things from escalating. That was Han Eun-sol’s thought.

“You’ve worked hard. It would have been better if I had gone.”

“No, really. It was okay because Chief Lee was there. If he hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened today…”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed.

Now that her excitement had subsided, her body was trembling. Her hands kept shaking, so she deliberately sat on them to hide it. She didn’t want Kang Jin-ho to see her trembling.

“Are you okay?”

But trying to deceive Kang Jin-ho’s eyes was an impossible mission from the start.

“I’m fine. Well, for the most part.”

Kang Jin-ho stared at Choi Yeon-ha silently. Choi Yeon-ha felt a little relieved by his gaze.

“No, honestly, I’m not okay… but I have to be. It’s not like trembling will change anything, I just have to think of it as a crazy dog attacking me.”

Kang Jin-ho slightly narrowed his brow.

He didn’t like it. Lee Hyun-soo had done what he thought was best, but ending it like that wasn’t Kang Jin-ho’s style.

“I said I’m fine.”

“Yes?”

“Stop trying to cross the line. You came here for work, too, Kang Jin-ho.”

“What I hate the most is being a hindrance to you, Kang Jin-ho. I’m already being a hindrance enough.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is, though.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed.

“If you want to comfort me, buy me a meal. I’m out of it from drinking on an empty stomach. I think I’ll feel better after eating something delicious.”

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo jumped up from his spot.

“Who’s getting up…”

“I am! I’ve made a reservation at a great restaurant!”

Lee Hyun-soo raised his hand and said, causing Kang Jin-ho to open his mouth slightly.

“I figured you hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, and you probably wouldn’t eat anything there, so I thought you’d be hungry when you got here! I’ve made a reservation at the most famous restaurant around here.”

“At this hour?”

“Hehe, you don’t know how many 24-hour restaurants there are in Beijing. I searched and searched and made a reservation at the restaurant with the best reviews.”

Choi Yeon-ha also stared at Lee Hyun-soo with her mouth open.

‘That guy, what exactly is he?’

The statement that he would have become a legend if he had been a manager didn’t sound so far-fetched anymore. He was definitely capable of it.

“But why are you getting up?”

“I’m sorry. I made the reservation a bit tight, so I think I need to guide you right away! I think it would be best if I escorted you myself…”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at the floor.

“Should I bang my head again?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

It was a protest that he could find the restaurant he had reserved without him. Lee Hyun-soo was unbeatable in these kinds of situations.

“Let’s go.”

“I’ll escort you.”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

He was quite annoying, but he had done a good job, so she didn’t want to blame him anymore. Right now, managing Choi Yeon-ha’s mental state was more important than Lee Hyun-soo.

“Eun-sol, let’s go eat.”

“…I’m okay. I feel like I’m going to throw up if I eat now.”

Lee Hyun-soo frowned.

“Were you under a lot of stress?”

“No. It’s because of the alcohol. Ugh!”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

“If you go to the hotel counter, they’ll give you some over-the-counter medicine, so go get some hangover and stomach medicine.”

“I should. I’m sorry. I can’t eat… Ugh!”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Han Eun-sol with a pitiful expression. How could she handle things with such a low tolerance for alcohol?

“Then, Eun-sol, you rest. We’ll go by ourselves. Is that okay?”

“Yes, sis. It’s really okay, please go.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Choi Yeon-ha got up from her seat.

“Let’s go.”

As Kang Jin-ho got up, Lee Hyun-soo immediately ran to open the door for them.

“I’ll escort you.”

“…The reservation has been canceled?”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at the manager with a dumbfounded expression.

“Yes.”

“No, wait a minute. I didn’t cancel it, so why was the reservation canceled without my permission?”

“There’s an issue at the establishment today, so we can’t let anyone in. Please leave.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face hardened.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

He had made a reservation, and it was canceled without his permission? It wasn’t like he had no-showed, nor was he late for the reservation time. Was it something the owner could just cancel as they pleased?

Lee Hyun-soo glanced to the side.

He saw people who had received the same explanation as him leaving without saying a word.

‘Is this normal here?’

It was something Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t understand with his common sense, but the others seemed to accept the situation without complaint.

‘I thought I heard that Chinese people couldn’t stand this kind of thing?’

The manager’s attitude was too confident, and the attitude of those accepting it was too calm. Only then could Lee Hyun-soo grasp the situation.

‘Did a high-ranking official of the Party rent out the entire restaurant?’

If someone could make such an absurd thing possible, one could imagine how much power they had. Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

If this were Korea, no matter how powerful someone was, they wouldn’t be able to pull something like this off, but this was China. The common sense of China was different from Lee Hyun-soo’s common sense.

There was no need to cause trouble. They were in a position where they shouldn’t stand out.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had been staring at the manager’s brazen face, shook his head and turned around.

“I’m sorry. It seems we’ll have to go to another restaurant.”

Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed.

‘What is it?’

It wasn’t that the situation was unpleasant.

Surprisingly, Kang Jin-ho had a low boiling point. He wouldn’t get angry over something like this. What was making him uncomfortable was the strange sensation he had been feeling since a little while ago.

A subtle sensation that even Kang Jin-ho himself couldn’t understand.

“Hah…”

Kang Jin-ho, suppressing the subtle discomfort, sighed and turned to look at Choi Yeon-ha.

“Things are getting complicated. Another…”

At that moment, Choi Yeon-ha, unable to hold back any longer, shouted in a sharp voice.

“What does this country think promises are? They cancel reservations as they please, and if they break a promise, they should at least apologize properly! Is it so hard to say ‘I’m sorry’? What kind of country is this!”

Choi Yeon-ha clenched her fists, her neck veins bulging.

Normally, Choi Yeon-ha wouldn’t get agitated in front of people even if she faced worse situations, but she had gone through too much today. Her shattered mental state was making her lose her reason.

Kang Jin-ho, with a slightly flustered expression, placed his hand on Choi Yeon-ha’s shoulder.

“Calm down a little…”

“No, this is too much! There’s such a thing as common sense! No, that’s right. This is a place where there’s no common sense!”

“That’s a bit hard to accept.”

Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo’s heads snapped around.

In an instant, the face of someone familiar, if familiar, entered their eyes.

“What…”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes trembled. His whole body tensed up like a poisoned cat.

Instantly, his body entered an awakened state, and all his senses opened up. His body had judged that a situation equivalent to combat had occurred.

“It’s been a while.”

Lee Hyun-soo groaned as he looked at the man who spoke calmly.

“…Cai Kechang.”

Cai Kechang, who had been staring at Lee Hyun-soo, shifted his gaze to Kang Jin-ho. Cai Kechang, facing Kang Jin-ho, bowed deeply with a light smile.

“I greet the Demon King.”

“I will guide you. Please come this way. King Hong is waiting for you upstairs.”

Cai Kechang pointed inside with a gentle smile.

It was a gesture full of goodwill, clearly polite.

“Is this a tiger’s den?”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

He seemed to know what the source of the unpleasant sensation that had been bothering him since earlier was.

“It is certain that the person inside is a tiger, but please consider this an invitation. It is not polite to send away an ally who has visited our country.”

“I suppose so.”

Kang Jin-ho strode inside.

Cai Kechang smiled and walked in step with Kang Jin-ho.

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and turned to look at Choi Yeon-ha.

“Let’s go.”

“…What’s going on?”

How would I know? Damn it.