Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1621

Clink! The crisp sound of a cola can opening echoed in the air.

They both silently gulped down their colas, setting the empty cans down simultaneously. A long silence followed.

Finally, it wasn’t Kang Jin-ho who broke the quiet.

“How can…”

“How can someone not improve at all after all this time? How can you still not know how to get a cola out? Does your planet not have vending machines?” she teased.

“I thought there was some weird alien here who couldn’t even get a cola, and it turns out that alien is you,” she added, laughing in disbelief.

“Uh, so…”

“Moon Ji-eun.”

Moon Ji-eun pouted slightly, her voice a bit sulky. “I guess so. You probably forgot my name too. Oh, no, I know. There’s no way someone who doesn’t know how to get a cola from a vending machine would remember my name.”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled. “I remembered.”

“…Really?”

“Hmm, I’m suspicious.”

Ji-eun leaned her face slightly towards Kang Jin-ho’s. In response, Kang Jin-ho subtly moved back.

“Well, whatever. I’m just happy to see you again. It doesn’t matter if you remember my name or not. Right, pervert oppa [older brother]?”

“But why do you keep calling me a pervert…”

“The statute of limitations hasn’t expired.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed, dumbfounded.

Moon Ji-eun.

The girl he met when he returned to the modern world and was taken to the hospital.

‘I didn’t even know she was a girl back then.’

She was such a small child. She had a heart condition and couldn’t go to school, spending her life going back and forth to the hospital.

She was the child whose heart Kang Jin-ho fixed as a favor for the cola he received.

That child…

“But really, Moon Ji-eun?”

“Huh? What are you going to say now?”

“No…”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Moon Ji-eun with slightly surprised eyes.

‘She’s grown up way too much?’

Even though a lot of time has passed, how could that small child have become such a lady?

“So, are you in high school now?”

“College!”

“…Huh?”

Moon Ji-eun raised her eyebrows. “I was in middle school back then, so of course I’m in college now!”

“…Middle school?”

You were?

Moon Ji-eun puffed out her cheeks. “Look at this oppa! How old did you think I was?”

“Uh…”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

He hadn’t really thought about it much, but he thought she was in elementary school… Middle school?

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, if she was a child who had to go back and forth to the hospital because of her heart condition, it’s natural that her development would be delayed.

“You were in middle school.”

“And now I’m in college!”

“Hmm.”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up.

It was a strange feeling.

An old memory he had half forgotten.

Yet, the reason he couldn’t completely erase it was because this child was the first connection he made after returning to this world. Other connections continue to this day, but he hadn’t properly maintained his connection with this child.

‘She’s doing okay.’

He had operated on her heart, but he wasn’t sure if it was completely fixed. Seeing how much she had grown, it seemed she was living a normal life without any problems.

“How’s your illness?”

“I’m all better, of course! Who fixed it for me?”

Kang Jin-ho subtly turned his head to look at the distant sky.

This is awkward.

“But what are you doing here, oppa? At this hour?”

“I was going to ask you that?”

Moon Ji-eun subtly turned her head and pointed to the car parked in the distance.

“I was visiting relatives and am on my way home.”

“What about you, oppa?”

“I’m just…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled bitterly.

He couldn’t exactly say that he was driving like crazy because he had worries and ended up here.

“Just out for a drive.”

“Oh?”

Moon Ji-eun made a strange expression.

“It seems this mortal has some worries.”

“Come on, tell me about it. I owe you a favor, so I’ll listen to your worries.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

Strangely, his heart felt warm.

He didn’t know why, but looking at Moon Ji-eun made his agitated heart feel calm.

“Why are you just laughing?”

“Just because.”

“Well, you were like that back then too.

Nothing has changed… No, your face seems to have gotten a lot more handsome? It was kind of ambiguous back then.”

He wanted to ask what an ambiguous face was, but he decided not to. There was no point in hearing the answer.

“Do you know how surprised I was when I saw you on TV again?”

“…Really?”

Well, yeah.

Come to think of it, he had no way of seeing Moon Ji-eun, but Moon Ji-eun would have seen Kang Jin-ho often. He was on TV a lot for commercials and such.

“Yeah. Someone who looks like they can’t even feed themselves is in commercials…”

Moon Ji-eun stopped talking and smiled brightly.

Her pure smile was nice to see.

“I was relieved, it seemed like you were living happily. I wanted to meet you again someday. I was going to contact your agency… but I was afraid I’d get hurt if you didn’t remember me, so I didn’t. But if you were going to remember me, I guess I should have contacted you.”

“I guess so.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

“Have you been well?”

“Yeah. I’ve been well. I’m busy these days. I still have to study in college.”

“That’s right.”

Moon Ji-eun grabbed a chair and lifted her leg up.

“I thought everything would be great if I could just go to school, but once I got better, I realized I was so behind because I was sick for so long. I’ve been so busy catching up that I’ve made it this far.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

It was more of a grumble than a complaint.

“Ah!”

Moon Ji-eun turned her head and said to Kang Jin-ho.

“But I’m happy, oppa.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s better to live like this, walking on my own two feet, even if it’s hard, than just looking out the window in a hospital room. I can do what I want, and I can decide what I want to do.”

A smile formed on his face.

Strangely, it kept happening.

“Ah! Oppa, I got into medical school.”

“Huh?”

Moon Ji-eun tapped her chest lightly.

“I don’t want to go back to the hospital, but I want to become a doctor. I’m planning to specialize in pediatrics. I want to become a doctor and help kids who are sick like I was.”

“…I see.”

There were many things he wanted to say.

That’s a good idea.

That’s a very admirable thought.

But the only words that came out of his mouth were, “I see.”

“Your reaction is so weak. How boring.”

Moon Ji-eun stretched and jumped up from her seat.

Then, she walked forward, spun around, and bowed her head to Kang Jin-ho.

“Thank you, alien.”

“Huh?”

Moon Ji-eun raised her head and smiled brightly.

“That’s the proper greeting I couldn’t give you back then. I always thought I had to meet you again someday to thank you.”

“I feel a bit relieved now.”

Moon Ji-eun said, looking at Kang Jin-ho with a smile.

“How about you, oppa? Are you doing well?”

“…Me?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

Many things flashed through his mind.

The things he had done.

The people he had met.

And the things he wanted to do.

Kang Jin-ho, recalling all of that, curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Yeah. I’m doing well.”

“Yeah.”

Moon Ji-eun nodded her head vigorously.

“I thought you would be. You were like that back then too. You’re still blunt and boring, but whatever. That’s your charm.”

Moon Ji-eun was about to say something more.

“Ji-eun-ah.”

At the voice coming from over there, Moon Ji-eun turned her gaze slightly and nodded.

“It would have been nice if we had met somewhere else, but the timing is awkward today. I can’t keep my mom waiting, so I have to go now, oppa.”

“Ah… Okay, you should.”

“You’re not even showing any signs of regret!”

Moon Ji-eun crossed her arms and made a dissatisfied face.

“Phone.”

“Huh?”

“Your phone. Quick.”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho took his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. Then, he entered his number and called it.

“I know you’d never contact me even if I gave you my number. I’m going to text you starting today, so you better answer. If you read and ignore me, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth. I’ve already looked up your agency’s address!”

“Got it?”

“Y-yes.”

Moon Ji-eun handed the phone back to Kang Jin-ho and smiled slightly.

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“It was really… really nice to meet you. Really.”

Her smile turned into a bright laugh.

“Next time we meet, I’ll buy you ten cans of cola.”

“Okay.”

“Hmm, I wonder if your girlfriend will dislike that? Well, whatever. It’s not like we’re meeting for that reason. Right?”

“Of course.”

Moon Ji-eun bowed her head once more.

“This person is living well with a strong heart. Thank you always, oppa. Always. And I’m going to live like you, helping people I can help.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t say anything.

He could only smile and look at Moon Ji-eun.

“Well then, see you next time, alien oppa.”

Moon Ji-eun waved her hand and walked away. Kang Jin-ho also waved his hand towards the departing Moon Ji-eun.

Moon Ji-eun’s mother, who was waiting in front of the car, bowed her head to Kang Jin-ho. She seemed to remember him saving Moon Ji-eun from a robber in the past.

The car with the two of them slowly left the rest stop.

Kang Jin-ho, who had experienced a storm-like moment, lay down on the pavilion, watching the car disappear.

“And I’m going to live like you, helping people I can help.”

‘People I can help…’

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

It was a strange feeling.

A strange feeling.

Just looking at her made him happy and his heart warm.

Kang Jin-ho knew very well that this wasn’t a romantic feeling.

It was more like…

‘She’s living her life.’

The seed that Kang Jin-ho had sown for the first time after coming to this world.

That seed had grown without Kang Jin-ho knowing and was now walking in the world.

It was natural to be scared.

It was natural to be afraid.

If he had made a mistake, he might not have been able to see that.

This was such a wondrous experience.

‘Thank you?’

He was the one who should be thankful.

Moon Ji-eun had proven with her life that everything Kang Jin-ho had done was not in vain, that all his actions were right.

It wasn’t just Moon Ji-eun.

Park Yu-min, Jo Gyu-min, Hwang Jeong-hu, Lee Hyun-soo, Bang Jin-hoon, Choi Yeon-ha, Bator, Wiggins.

Countless names and countless connections.

It was only natural to be afraid of not being able to protect them.

It wasn’t because he was weak.

It was because he was strong that he was afraid.

Weak people don’t even think about protecting others.

‘I…’

Kang Jin-ho opened his eyes.

The night sky, filled with stars, poured into his eyes.

The sky no longer felt awkward to him.

Kang Jin-ho was creating countless stars in this world, not in the sky.

“I have to protect them.”

He had to protect them.

Without missing a single one.

Kang Jin-ho jumped up from his seat and walked towards his car. His steps no longer felt hesitant like before.

‘Just do what you can.’ It’s not those who don’t know fear who are strong.

It’s those who move forward even with fear who are strong.

Kang Jin-ho smiled and grabbed the car door handle.