Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 157

Travel (4)

The day of the trip.

“Be careful on your way.”

“Call us.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho left the house, seeing off his parents.

He wanted to use Goldie [referring to his bicycle] as much as possible wherever he went, but even he thought it was a bit much to ride a bicycle to Incheon. Besides, he had luggage.

“Hmm…”

Taking a taxi was an option, but Kang Jin-ho, having become accustomed to Jo Gyu-min’s stable driving, had grown reluctant to take taxis.

“I have no choice.”

Kang Jin-ho headed to the garage. On a day like today, he decided not to hesitate to drive.

Roar! Rrrrr!

“Tsk.”

This car seemed to have no concept of quietness. It was just starting, but the engine was already screaming. It wasn’t a high-pitched sound, but a low bass, yet it was still grating on the ears.

“It guzzles gas too.”

He had only driven it once with a full tank, and the gas gauge was already showing empty. At this rate, it was more like he was spraying gas on the road rather than burning it while driving.

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t understand why people liked to drive such a noisy, gas-guzzling, attention-grabbing car.

The only thing he liked was… Wooooong!

The instant acceleration when he stepped on the gas pedal.

When he drove the slow cars at the driving school, he felt frustrated, but this car was good because it didn’t have that problem.

Kang Jin-ho slowly stepped on the accelerator and started driving, taking out his phone.

“Hello?”

[Yes, Mr. Kang Jin-ho. Are you ready?]

“I’m on my way now.”

[I’m also getting ready to leave now. But it seems like it will take some time.]

“It’ll take time?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

[I had my last morning lesson, but someone parked their car in front of mine, so I can’t get out. I think I’ll have to take a taxi.]

“Are you at the academy?”

[Yes.]

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

It seemed like he was really into it. Morning lessons until the day before departure.

Jo Gyu-min had confidently told him to trust him, but Kang Jin-ho, unable to rely solely on that, had found another similar academy and studied on his own.

So, there was no need for Jo Gyu-min to work so hard.

“Then wait there. I’m nearby, so I’ll pick you up.”

[Ah, would you do that?]

“Yes, I’m going now.”

[Then, I’ll be in your care.]

Kang Jin-ho drove towards where Jo Gyu-min was.

He had forgotten.

But he shouldn’t have forgotten.

The moment Jo Gyu-min saw Kang Jin-ho’s car, he felt a strange sense of unease, but he got into the car right away, worried about missing his flight.

And that was a mistake.

The moment Kang Jin-ho stepped on the accelerator, Jo Gyu-min immediately remembered what he had forgotten, but once he was in the car and had his seatbelt on, there was no turning back.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

The car, accelerating rapidly, changed lanes, narrowly missing the car in front, and shot forward.

Screech! Screech!

The brakes, slammed on suddenly, screamed, and the car body shook violently.

“No! Why are you in such a hurry! Ugh, aaaaah!”

Jo Gyu-min screamed, but Kang Jin-ho just frowned as if he didn’t understand.

“What’s wrong?”

“No! Mr. Kang Jin-ho! Why are you driving like this! Ugh, aah, defensive driving! Don’t you know about defensive driving?”

“I am driving defensively.”

Is this?!

Hey, you crazy bastard! Is this defensive driving? The car is jumping around like it’s defending itself!

He was about to curse, forgetting about his job, but what stopped him wasn’t his will, but Kang Jin-ho’s sharp turn.

Screeeeeech!

It was a rare experience to hear the sound of tires screeching in real-time while riding in a car on public roads. Jo Gyu-min covered his mouth with both hands, thinking foolishly, ‘Those tires are expensive, will they even last?’

‘I’m crazy.’

To ride in a car driven by Kang Jin-ho.

Have you forgotten what you experienced in the past, Jo Gyu-min!

Jo Gyu-min regretted it with tears in his eyes, but it was already too late.

Objectively speaking, it wasn’t that Kang Jin-ho was a bad driver.

No, he was good.

Just looking at his driving skills, he was beyond good, he was unbelievably good.

Look at him now.

He was skillfully weaving through the gaps between the cars, taking the perfect line.

The problem wasn’t that.

“Hey, you son of a…”

He could faintly hear curses from behind.

‘I feel the same way.’

Normally, if someone curses at you, you would curse back, but Jo Gyu-min was empathizing with the driver who was cursing.

He was unbelievably good, but that was the kind of driving you did on a track, not on public roads.

With repeated rapid acceleration and braking, Kang Jin-ho’s Lamborghini was charging towards Incheon, overtaking every car in sight.

‘P-please…

Let there be some traffic.

Even if he had the skills of a dragon, he couldn’t get through traffic, so Jo Gyu-min prayed that there would be traffic.

“Waaaaaaaah! We’re going to have an accident!”

If we have an accident at this speed, we’ll die instantly, you crazy bastard!

“You worry too much.”

“Don’t do ittttt!”

Jo Gyu-min screamed at the top of his lungs.

Lee Mi-hye headed to first class with a very tense expression.

“They said a VIP is on board today, so you absolutely can’t make any mistakes!”

That was what the purser had told her during the briefing before boarding. Even when the board members of the top five national groups were on board, she had never received a separate notice about a VIP. So, how important was this person that they were giving such a special warning?

‘If I make a mistake, I’m dead.’

If she made a mistake and got on the wrong side of the VIP, the purser, not the VIP, would kill her.

Lee Mi-hye entered the first-class cabin with stiff movements.

‘Huh?’

There were only two people in the twelve-seat first-class cabin.

‘Who’s the VIP?’

At the very least, since they had paid to be here, it was clear that they should receive the same level of service. Providing different services based on someone’s status was absolutely unacceptable.

But she was human, so she couldn’t help but be curious about who the VIP was.

However, based on the current situation, she couldn’t tell who the VIP was. There were only two people on board. One of them was wearing an expensive-looking suit, but his face was half-dazed and blank.

“S-sir, are you okay?”

Normally, she wouldn’t start a conversation like this, but right now, that was the first thing she had to ask.

“…Could I have a glass of water?”

“Yes! I’ll get it right away.”

The man who drank the cold water finally looked like he had regained his senses and glared at the seat in front of him.

‘Who’s there?’

Peeking her head out, she saw a young man looking at his phone.

‘It’s that one.’

Lee Mi-hye immediately knew who the VIP was.

Clothes that didn’t look expensive and a style that didn’t seem to have anything to do with money.

And his young age.

He didn’t look like he belonged in first class at all.

‘So, he’s the VIP.’

If someone felt it was natural to be in first class, the purser wouldn’t have given a special warning. So, this one must be the real VIP.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir. I am…”

While she was giving her briefing, the VIP barely listened, and then said he would call if he needed anything, and then lay down and closed his eyes.

‘I need to be on my toes from now on.’

The real battle starts after the plane takes off. The moment the seatbelts are unfastened and the in-flight service begins is the moment she needs to step up. Lee Mi-hye sat in the flight attendant’s seat, fastened her seatbelt, and took a deep breath.

Service should be neither excessive nor lacking, and it should respond immediately to the customer’s needs.

Today, she was determined to achieve the basics of that service.

But…

Lee Mi-hye looked at the cabin with a sulky face.

Usually, if a normal person were to fly first class, they would try to do everything they could. Because it wasn’t a common opportunity, they would try to enjoy all the services available.

Moreover, in this day and age, information about first class is shared online, so many people try to experience all the possible services.

Thanks to that, there were more and more cases where they had to cook ramen for the number of first-class passengers or taste ten different types of wine.

But…

‘Why did they even fly first class?’

Of course, they flew because they had the money.

But even if you have a lot of money, if you pay this much for first class, shouldn’t you at least enjoy the minimum service?

During the four-hour flight to Guangzhou, the two men in first class didn’t call her even once.

Feeling so anxious and uneasy, she went to them first to ask if they needed anything, but they just waved their hands and repeated that they would call if they needed anything.

‘They could have at least flown during mealtime.’

It was a time when they didn’t even eat in-flight meals. Thanks to that, she had to sit on her chair with a glare for four hours.

‘They should have just used me!’

This was torture in its own way.

She thought that customers who made her do everything were difficult, but seeing these people, she realized that those customers were actually grateful.

Who knew that moving in a fixed position for four hours without being able to relax for a moment would be this difficult?

[Our plane will now arrive at Guangzhou. Guangzhou Airport.]

She sighed deeply after hearing the in-flight announcement.

‘In the end, all I got was a sip of water.’ If that’s all, they should have just flown economy.

To fly first class just to get a glass of water, that’s something you can get in economy if you ask for it!

The words of the passengers who unfastened their seatbelts and got off the plane made her explode even more.

“Ah, that was fast.”

“It’s nice because the seats are spacious.”

The two of them left the plane with those words.

“…Are they a new kind of troublemaker?”

Lee Mi-hye shook her head.

Kang Jin-ho and Jo Gyu-min, who had passed through immigration and arrived at the airport, went to the smoking area and lit cigarettes.

“I thought four hours would be quick, but once I was on board, four hours felt long.”

“Yes.”

“But where are we going? Please tell me now.”

Kang Jin-ho turned on his phone and opened a map.

“Huh?”

Jo Gyu-min frowned when he saw where Kang Jin-ho was pointing.

“Here?”

“Yes.”

“No, what is this place?”

Jo Gyu-min couldn’t help but be surprised. He thought that since they were going to Guangzhou, they would move to nearby places like Macau or Hong Kong, but what Kang Jin-ho was pointing at was a huge mountain range between Nanning and Guangzhou.

“…What is this place called?”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho seemed to ponder for a moment before opening his mouth.

“It’s usually called the Shiwan Mountains.”

“The Shiwan Mountains?”

“In other words…”

Kang Jin-ho paused for a moment before speaking.

“It’s called Cheonsan.”

The place where the Demonic Cult was located. That place was called Cheonsan.