Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1627

“Here, have some of this.”

“Huh?”

“You probably didn’t get a proper meal before coming out.” Kang Eun-young handed Park Yu-min a hamburger she had bought in advance.

“Isn’t it usually mealtime right now?”

“Ah…”

Park Yu-min gave an awkward smile.

“Yeah, it is.”

“I’m sorry. You couldn’t eat because of me.”

“No, it’s okay. I came out because I wanted to, so…”

“Again!”

Kang Eun-young smiled brightly as Park Yu-min hesitated.

“Just say it one more time.”

“…I came out because I wanted to.”

“Hehe, right?”

Watching Kang Eun-young smile brightly, Park Yu-min also smiled faintly.

‘It’s still not familiar.’

It was a bit awkward for Park Yu-min to treat someone he had only known as a younger sister as his girlfriend. But he would soon get used to it.

“I’m a bit sorry, but please understand, oppa [older brother, a term of endearment used by a younger woman to an older man]. My time to come out is limited. If I come out too often, my mom or oppa might get suspicious.”

“〒

“And the album preparation is almost finished now. Once the promotions start, we might have even less time to meet, so I need to see you a lot now.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Park Yu-min said calmly.

“I would have said something if I were really in trouble. But I’m okay, so I’m coming out. If you feel sorry, it makes me more uncomfortable.”

Kang Eun-young smiled.

‘Oh, so cute.’

Where did he learn to say such kind things?

If Kang Jin-ho had seen this situation, he would have nagged, with his usual stern, expressionless face, ‘Still, you should have assessed the situation first and acted accordingly.’

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something I’m really curious about.”

“What is it?”

“How are you and my brother friends?”

Park Yu-min smiled awkwardly.

Kang Eun-young probably wasn’t expecting an answer anyway.

“Sometimes I understand it, but other times I really don’t.”

Kang Eun-young sighed and glanced at her phone.

‘No message yet.’

If Kang Jin-ho had returned, her mom would have sent a message, so it seemed okay for now.

“By the way…”

“Yes?”

“Have you noticed anything strange about Jin-ho lately?”

Kang Eun-young tilted her head at Park Yu-min’s words.

“He seems the same to me?”

“Really?”

Park Yu-min nodded slightly.

“Then it’s okay.”

“Why did you ask that all of a sudden?”

“Um, just because. I met Jin-ho the other day, and he seemed a bit different from usual.”

“In what way?”

Park Yu-min fell into thought.

In what way, in what way…

It wasn’t easy to put into words. It was more of a sensory thing.

“Jin-ho is usually quite laid-back.”

“My brother is?”

“No. When he does something, he rushes through it, but before that, he seems a bit spaced out, like you can’t tell what he’s thinking.”

“He’s always spaced out?”

Park Yu-min thought he should avoid talking about Kang Jin-ho in front of Kang Eun-young as much as possible.

“Anyway, I saw him the other day, and he seemed a bit rushed. He’s not usually like that.”

“Oh, oppa.”

Kang Eun-young chuckled.

“He’s a person too, he’s bound to change a bit.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. When you think about it, my brother wasn’t even like a real person when he was in high school. Back then, he barely said two words a day. And those were just ‘um’ or ‘uh’.”

“…That’s right.”

Come to think of it, that was true.

Back then, Kang Jin-ho was someone who barely spoke. It wasn’t that he avoided conversations with people, but it was like he really had nothing to say.

“But these days, that guy’s got a loose tongue! He even makes jokes now!”

“…Haha.”

“But what’s the big deal about his personality getting a bit rushed? Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.”

Park Yu-min answered lightly. But his inner thoughts were a bit different.

‘His personality has become rushed, huh…’

It wasn’t that kind of feeling.

It felt like he was being chased by something.

Of course, it might be presumptuous for Park Yu-min to worry about Kang Jin-ho.

None of his advice would mean much to Kang Jin-ho. That’s the kind of person he was.

But what could he do about being worried?

“You need to help him a lot from the side.”

“Huh?”

Park Yu-min looked at Kang Eun-young with serious eyes.

“You know how much Jin-ho cherishes you, right?”

Kang Eun-young, who was about to make a joke, looked at Park Yu-min’s eyes and nodded silently. Now was not the time to joke around.

“Jin-ho has always valued his family very much. So you need to help Jin-ho so that he doesn’t have a hard time.”

“Don’t worry, oppa. I’m just saying that, but I really like my brother.”

“Okay.”

“It would be even better if he didn’t act like a kkondae [a condescending older person].”

Let’s think about that.

“More than that, oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“You said you were thinking of retiring after this season, right?”

“I did.”

Park Yu-min nodded quietly.

From the beginning, when he joined the team, it was natural for Park Yu-min to be treated as a veteran. Now, he was slowly reaching the limits of his career as a player.

“Aren’t you sad? You’re doing the best right now.”

“Rather than sad…”

Park Yu-min scratched the back of his head.

“No, I am sad. Yeah, I’m sad too. If I try a little harder, I think I could continue my career as an average player for a few more seasons.”

“I think so too. You still have the class. It’s the same with us. Even if a popular team disbands, the main members still make money as solo artists. Of course, it’s not as much as before, but there are still fans who like them.”

“Yeah. It’s similar, I guess. But…”

Park Yu-min shrugged.

“It’s just like that. If I continue my career like that, I might be able to continue my career as a player a little longer, but in the end, it might just delay the time when I start a new life.”

“Hmm, that’s true too.”

It’s the same in the entertainment industry.

Even stars who shine like stars in the sky will eventually lose their light. Especially for idols, the change is extreme.

Kang Eun-young had seen many of those people.

People who couldn’t be decisive even while watching their popularity decline, and who ended up continuing their entertainment careers awkwardly, and ultimately ended up being neither here nor there.

” Q.”

M..•

Kang Eun-young nodded quietly.

“It’s fine either way.”

“Huh?”

Kang Eun-young smiled brightly and looked at Park Yu-min.

“You’ll make the right choice, oppa. I believe that whatever you choose will be the best path for you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. More than that… what are you going to do after you retire?”

“Um, Jin-ho actually stopped by because of that.”

“Yes?”

Park Yu-min explained what happened with Kang Jin-ho.

After hearing the whole story, Kang Eun-young frowned slightly.

“So, at that foundation?”

“ O ”

흐 •

“I’m against it!”

“Huh?”

Park Yu-min’s eyes widened as she said it without a second thought.

“Why? Is it bad to work with Jin-ho?”

“No. It’s not that, but I wish you would do something other than working at the orphanage.”

“…Why?”

Park Yu-min looked slightly puzzled. Did she not like the orphanage?

“You’ve experienced it too much.”

Kang Eun-young said calmly.

“You can help. You can donate the money you earn, or you can sponsor them regularly. But if you grew up in an orphanage and then work at an orphanage again, it feels a bit disappointing. There are so many fun things in the world. How many of those things can you experience? You should experience more, see more.”

Indeed.

It seemed like she could think that way.

As Kang Eun-young said, if Park Yu-min got a job at the welfare foundation, it would be like he had lived his whole life related to the orphanage, except for the brief time he was a pro gamer.

“But it’s something I want to do.”

“I think you should think about that too.”

“Huh?”

Kang Eun-young raised her hand and poked Park Yu-min’s cheek.

“If you’re always at the orphanage, seeing the kids at the orphanage, and worrying about the orphanage, you’ll end up finding what you want to do at the orphanage. Isn’t that right?”

He had never thought about it that way…

But when he heard it, it wasn’t wrong.

“So let’s look at it a bit more. Don’t think things like ‘Once my gamer life is over, I need to study hard again to help the orphanage.’ Just relax. Go on a trip, enjoy hobbies you haven’t tried. You need to make yourself a little more comfortable.”

Park Yu-min looked at Kang Eun-young with slightly dazed eyes.

“Why?”

“No…”

He had never heard such words before.

“Are you trying to live like our brother again?”

“Huh?”

Kang Eun-young put her hands on her hips and made a stern face.

“People must strive and strive again. Resting is just wasting yourself.”

Park Yu-min burst out laughing at Kang Eun-young’s impersonation of Kang Jin-ho.

Her voice wasn’t similar, but her expression was too similar.

“Well, that’s not wrong either. But oppa, you can’t live like our brother.

People can’t do that.”

“…That’s true.”

He couldn’t keep up with that guy. He had to admit that.

“So, oppa, let it go a little.”

“Huh?”

Kang Eun-young shook her head.

“When I look at you, I feel like you’re too much like that. Like you have to prove your worth by working hard? Like you have to prove that you’re not someone who’s falling behind?”

“Hey, you don’t have to.”

Kang Eun-young smiled.

“You’re valuable enough without doing that. I’ll play with you. So don’t live like someone’s chasing you from behind. What’s left if you do that?”

Park Yu-min knew.

This was…

This was what he had said to Kang Jin-ho once.

That it was enough, so don’t push yourself so hard.

But…

‘So that’s how I looked to others too.’

He was doing the same thing himself.

“Even if you don’t struggle so hard, I’ll be there to hold you, so let’s live a little more comfortably. I’m worried that if I live with you, we won’t even be able to travel together. Okay?”

“…Okay.”

Park Yu-min smiled.

‘Let it go, huh…’

Come to think of it, he had been thinking about what he would do after retiring, but he had never thought about what he would do to rest after retiring.

It wouldn’t be bad to find himself a little more.

It wouldn’t be bad to see the world a little more.

“…Then I guess I’ll have to do it for another year.”

“Why?”

“So that you can have a break too.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Don’t worry. I’ll finish my promotions right when you retire. By then, we can travel together, go to good restaurants. Okay?”

“Okay.”

The two of them quietly looked at each other.

It was so warm…

“Oh, they’re just oozing sweetness. Hey, you two. That’s just temporary. You guys need to know that too.”

Crunch, crunch.

Lee Hyun-soo, chewing popcorn, sneered indifferently.

It was so cringey he couldn’t stand it.

“Travel? That’s good, travel.”

But what to do?

The next travel destination was likely to be hell.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Yes?”