Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1488

“Should we go to a cafe?”

“If you have nothing to do, don’t suggest meeting up. What’s with the cafe?”

Han Mi-jin frowned.

Cafes aren’t just places to get drinks. They’re places you go to when you have nothing else to do. But conversely, it also means that cafes aren’t places worth making time for.

And yet, when the cafe talk came up again, she couldn’t help but sigh.

“Isn’t there anything special?”

“What’s so special? They’re all the same.”

“Never mind, forget I asked.”

You should know what to expect.

Han Mi-jin, who was about to say something with a sigh, tilted her head.

“What’s that over there?”

“What?”

“There are people gathered up ahead.”

“They’re probably having some kind of event. Maybe they’re giving out coupons?”

There’s nothing special. This place is a competition ground for all sorts of businesses. All kinds of events are constantly happening to attract customers.

It was common to see crowds swarming when special products were released or when there were branch sales.

“But isn’t it a bit strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“Usually, when they do that kind of thing, people slowly push their way forward. But over there, it’s like… well, it’s a bit strange?”

It was hard to put into words, but it felt like time had slightly stopped just in that spot.

The cars speeding on the road and the people passing by in the background showed a normal world, but that place was like a scene from a silent movie.

‘What are they looking at?’

“Let’s go take a look.”

“Ah, there are so many people, why would we go there?”

“Ah! Just come on!”

“Tsk.”

Han Mi-jin grabbed her boyfriend’s arm and pulled him towards the crowd. Then, she narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the sign above.

Caffe Luogo.

‘What does Luogo mean?’

It doesn’t seem to be English. Well, what does it matter what it means? Most of the cafes that are opening these days just slap on some fancy foreign words anyway.

The problem was that there were so many people gathered in front of the cafe.

Han Mi-jin, thinking that maybe they were giving out souvenirs for the opening, approached the front of the cafe and frowned.

“It doesn’t look like they’re giving anything out.”

“Huh? Huh?”

But her boyfriend reacted differently. Unlike her, he was tall, so he could see what was happening in the front.

“What is it? Are they having some kind of event?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that… in that cafe…”

“Huh?”

“Over there…”

Her boyfriend said in disbelief.

“Isn’t that Choi Yeon-ha?”

“Huh?”

Han Mi-jin chuckled.

“Does Choi Yeon-ha have nothing better to do than drink coffee here at this hour?”

“No, it’s really her! That’s why people are gathered like this.”

Oh?

Come to think of it, is that so?

“So, all the people here are gathered to see Choi Yeon-ha?”

“I think so?”

“Oh my…”

Han Mi-jin frowned.

‘That’s so like Koreans…’

It’s probably amazing to see a celebrity in person. But someone sitting in a cafe means they want to relax, right? No matter how happy you are to see a celebrity, it’s not etiquette to swarm around like you’re watching a zoo animal.

You should know how to look and pass by.

“People really have nothing better to do. Just standing around to see that.”

“Hey, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”

“Huh?”

“She’s sitting with a guy. That guy seems to be Choi Yeon-ha’s boyfriend? They’re sitting across from each other and talking.”

“What?”

Then that’s a different story!

Choi Yeon-ha’s boyfriend!

He was the person who became a hot topic in the media a while ago.

The guy who was accused of being a spy or something, and then was released after being falsely accused.

Choi Yeon-ha defended him and got a lot of hate, but later, she cleaned up her image as a loyal woman who believed in her boyfriend until the end and overcame the crisis!

‘I want to see him.’

I really wanted to see what kind of man he was.

“Oppa! Lift me up! I want to see too!”

“Me? Lift you?”

“Yeah! Lift me up.”

“So, I’m going to lift you?”

“…You little punk?”

The war had begun.

Kang Jin-ho spoke softly with a gentle smile.

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

Choi Yeon-ha replied in an even more gentle tone.

“I feel the same way, so please bear with it a little.”

“Hmm.”

Choi Yeon-ha understood Kang Jin-ho.

Choi Yeon-ha, who was somewhat used to people’s attention, felt like a zoo animal right now, so how much more would Kang Jin-ho, who basically disliked people’s attention, feel?

“Jin-ho.”

“Yes?”

“There’s no easy way to make money. If you really want this place to do well, you have to grit your teeth and bear it.”

“…I will.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes became resolute.

Of course, it was true that the glances he was getting were very, very, very burdensome, but if enduring this could increase sales by even 1%, he had to endure it.

“But is this really helpful?”

“Word of mouth is scary.”

Choi Yeon-ha said in a low voice.

“I can’t say for sure that this will help, but it’s better than doing nothing. This is a big gamble for us too.”

“That’s right.”

“Then we have to grab at straws. For now… for now, at least this place is packed.”

That was true.

Kang Jin-ho slightly twisted his lips as he looked at the crowded counter.

The seats were already full with people who came to see Choi Yeon-ha and Kang Jin-ho, and people were still constantly coming in to order coffee. Even while waiting for their coffee, they could see Choi Yeon-ha and Kang Jin-ho.

If only one of them had come, this situation wouldn’t have happened.

However….

‘It’s a public date.’

‘Are they asking us to look?’

‘Are they trying to create some news?’

The fact that the two of them were sitting openly in a crowded place at this time was nothing less than a declaration that ‘we don’t care about your attention,’ and people responded faithfully to that declaration.

Thanks to that, the manager was half-dead.

“Would you like to order?”

Americano! Americano! Americano! Americano! Americano! Americano!

“Yogurt Frappe, please. And an iced macchiato too.”

“Yes. I’ve taken your order….”

Why only the complicated ones!

Don’t people in this neighborhood drink Americano?

People were ordering expensive items because they felt sorry for filling the store for other reasons, but right now, the manager had more trouble dealing with the flood of orders than making money.

Kang Jin-ho watched the scene quietly and nodded.

“I think this place is enough now?”

“Then we should go.”

“Are we going home now?”

“No.”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled and said.

“Now we have to go to Hongdae. We have to visit four more places today.”

Kang Jin-ho thought that maybe this woman should have been in business from the start.

“I’m… back.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had returned home, collapsed, exhausted.

“Oppa, what did you do today? It’s all over social media?”

“What?”

“They said you went around declaring your relationship or something? That you went to crowded places and drank coffee?”

How did it spread in just one day?

Kang Jin-ho was realizing the power of the internet. He thought it would take at least three days for the rumors to spread, but Kang Eun-young, who was at home, found out in just half a day.

Kang Jin-ho sighed as he took off his shoes and went inside.

“How’s the reaction?”

“Half support, half hate. You’re getting a lot of hate, oppa? Are you full?”

“…Why are they hating?”

“Because you’re dating Choi Yeon-ha. You’re the public enemy to Choi Yeon-ha’s fans. I bet some of your pictures were shredded with razor blades today?”

“Surely not in this day and age…”

“This guy is ignoring the fans’ hearts. There’s nothing scarier than a fan’s heart.”

Kang Jin-ho made a grim face.

To a fan who really likes Choi Yeon-ha, Kang Jin-ho might be a villain. It’s not just a matter of stealing Choi Yeon-ha’s heart, but he was the person who almost completely ruined Choi Yeon-ha’s future.

“It’s okay. The CF [Commercial Film] will start airing tomorrow, then they’ll know it’s viral marketing.”

“No. They already know it’s an ad.”

“…Really?”

“Of course. You went to five different cafes that opened today, are people stupid? Of course, they know it’s an ad.”

“…They know it’s an ad and they’re still hating?”

“That’s the way the world is. Just give up and take the hate. Is making money easy?”

“I guess… not.”

Kang Jin-ho resigned himself.

If you expose your face to the public, hate is bound to follow. If you weren’t prepared for that, you shouldn’t show your face to people or in front of a camera.

‘I’m never doing this again.’

This is enough. Now I’m going back to my daily life….

RRRRRR.

At that moment, the phone rang. Kang Jin-ho picked up his phone and put it to his ear.

“Yes?”

[Chairman, this is Lee Hyun-joo. I’m reporting on today’s situation.]

“Okay.”

[We’ve hit three times the expected sales for the opening.]

“Huh?”

Three times? What’s with the sudden three times?

[It’s not like we were being conservative with our sales estimates, we set them quite high, but the sales were higher than expected. A notable point is that sales in the metropolitan area were five times higher than in the provinces.]

“Wow?”

They had never separated the metropolitan area and the provinces. The strategy was the same, and the support was similar. Yet, the fact that sales in the metropolitan area were much higher meant only one thing.

[It seems that people were waiting in advance in the places you were likely to visit, Chairman. That’s why the overall sales increased.]

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

Fortunately, this crazy stunt seemed to have some effect. Kang Jin-ho was once again impressed by Choi Yeon-ha’s skills.

“That’s a relief, it had an effect.”

[But there’s one problem.]

“Huh? A problem?”

[Yes. The branch owners in the provinces are protesting. They’re saying that it’s not like only the metropolitan area paid the franchise fee, so why are you only supporting the metropolitan area?]

[So, I think you’ll have to visit the provinces again tomorrow.]

“Huh?”

[It’s a request from the branch owners that you visit the provinces as well. It’s not easy to ignore. We could suppress them with force, but there’s a lot of dissatisfaction because money is involved.]

“Y-yeah, I guess so.”

Kang Jin-ho desperately racked his brain.

“But this isn’t something I can do alone. Choi Director must have a schedule too.”

[Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve already spoken with the director. She said she’s planning to tour the provinces for about three days.]

“…She doesn’t have a schedule?”

[She’s postponing it. She seems very encouraged by the good sales?]

No, shouldn’t she be focusing on the agency’s work? Why is she getting involved in the franchise business and doing that? Why?

[MK is all one family. She said that if she, as a director, doesn’t work hard, who will? I almost cried.]

Ah….

Well, that’s a touching thing to say….

[So, about that, will you do it?]

[Yes? You’ll do it, Chairman?]

“…I will.”

[Thank you. We’ll prepare the transportation. We need to move quickly, so we’ll arrange a helicopter.]

No, why go that far?

[Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.]

The call ended abruptly.

Kang Jin-ho stared at the disconnected phone and rubbed his eyes.

‘I dug my own grave.’

It was too late to regret it now.