Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1695

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head to look at Choi Yeon-ha. She smiled slightly.

“You’ve been spacing out a lot lately, Jin-ho.”

“Ah…”

“You seem to have a lot on your mind, so I don’t want to bother you, but sometimes I get curious about what you’re thinking.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled awkwardly.

“It’s nothing much.”

“I still want to hear it.”

…

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head slightly.

“It’s really nothing. I’m just organizing things that happened recently, or thinking about what I need to do in the future.”

“Are you worried again?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged slightly.

“It feels like everyone’s been pushing themselves too hard lately…”

“Hmm.”

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho with a strange expression.

“If someone else said that, I’d think, ‘Oh, this person is so caring,’ but when you say it, Jin-ho, all I can think is, ‘Wow, your meddling knows no bounds.'”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes twitched.

It was something he couldn’t argue with.

“Saying ‘everyone’ is too vague. So, who are you worried about specifically?”

“…Lee Hyun-soo.”

“I knew it.”

Choi Yeon-ha rested her chin on her hand and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“In the past, when I saw you and Yoo-min hanging out, I was honestly a little jealous.”

“Jealous?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, and Choi Yeon-ha chuckled.

“Women are like that. Anyway, I used to feel that way about Yoo-min, but these days, it seems like you and Hyun-soo are the most in sync. More than your other friends.”

…

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

‘Is that so?’

Come to think of it, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

People naturally adapt to those they spend a lot of time with. And right now, the person Kang Jin-ho spends the most time with is, without a doubt, Lee Hyun-soo.

But the feelings Kang Jin-ho has for Lee Hyun-soo are a little different from the feelings he has for Park Yoo-min. If Park Yoo-min is a friend, then Lee Hyun-soo is…

“You’re categorizing things vaguely again. You.”

“Being closer is all that matters.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had become mute, nodded.

“You seem to be a bit fixated on how you meet people, Jin-ho. Meeting on equal terms and becoming close without any pretense or anything like that?”

“Huh?”

“You know, like how someone who wins the lottery can’t truly trust the people they meet afterward. They suspect that people might be with them for their money, that kind of feeling?”

“Uh… ?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head at the subtle feeling.

“In other words, it feels like you consciously put up a wall with people who know about your abilities.”

Is that so?

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his brow slightly.

“Yoo-min and I became friends without knowing what you did. You approach people like that very easily, but with Lee Hyun-soo, even though he’s done so much for you, it still feels a bit business-like?”

“It’s not exactly business-like…”

“That doesn’t really matter.”

“Huh?”

Choi Yeon-ha said a little indifferently.

“Whether I have a lot of money or no money, it’s still me. My abilities are part of me, and my luck is part of me. Asking people to look only at my inner self without considering those things is like throwing a tantrum.”

…

Kang Jin-ho frowned and fell into thought.

Watching Kang Jin-ho, Choi Yeon-ha smiled.

‘He’s such a kid sometimes.’

Of course, Choi Yeon-ha knew that Kang Jin-ho had a mature side that she could never hope to match.

But she sometimes found this childish side in him. That’s what made Kang Jin-ho such an interesting person.

“…I guess I did have that side.”

And he was quick to admit it.

Usually, people are prideful and can’t immediately admit when they’re wrong, but Kang Jin-ho was practically devoid of pride in this regard.

“And…”

“Yes?”

“If you’re worried, don’t just worry. Try to do something about it.”

“…Huh?”

“What have you done for Lee Hyun-soo lately?”

“I gave him a vacation.”

“…That’s basic, you evil boss. And you went with him.”

Kang Jin-ho lowered his head slightly.

Come to think of it, the General Assembly’s employees (?) were accepting a hellish workload as a matter of course, with no vacations, no time off, and no weekends.

‘If they filed a complaint with the labor board, I’d be behind bars in no time.’

In most places, complaints would have already erupted, but since the legendary outsider who had few friends, no hobbies, and whose only joy in life was practicing martial arts was the head of the Assembly, even complaints couldn’t surface.

“People need to express themselves to be understood. Whether you’re worried about someone or grateful to them. Those thoughts won’t be known by others just by keeping them in your head.”

“You’re like an old fogey.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed.

Looking at Kang Jin-ho’s way of thinking, she was reminded of the old stories of scholars from hundreds of years ago. Stories of building friendships through letters sent once every few years, even if they hadn’t met for ten years.

“Speaking of kids…”

“Yes.”

“You’re not bullying Eun-young these days, are you?”

“I’m going to get in trouble, seriously.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

‘I’d bully her if I could.’

Kang Eun-young, that sly one, seemed to have figured out how to deal with him. Whenever Kang Jin-ho tried to do something, she would pick up her phone and open her chat app, as if to contact Choi Yeon-ha right away.

‘They say raising a younger sibling is useless!’

After all he had done for her, she was clinging to Choi Yeon-ha, whom she had only met recently, and acting all cute.

What?

Blood is thicker than water?

Who says that? Who?

“Look at your face.”

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho with a pathetic expression.

“I’d understand if you were a typical brother who dotes on his sister and scolds his friends.”

“…You seem to watch too many dramas. There’s no such thing as a brother who dotes on his sister in this world.”

Ask anyone with a younger sister!

Whether they feel sorry for their brother-in-law or their sister.

They just don’t say it, but there must be more than a few people who feel so sorry for their brother-in-law that they can’t help but cry!

“You’re being loud.”

“Is my sister that untrustworthy? If she’s that untrustworthy, you should have raised her better in the first place.”

“It’s not like I’m raising my sister.”

Choi Yeon-ha shook her head.

‘He’s a really strange human.’

Just a moment ago, he was coolly accepting and reflecting on things that could be quite sensitive, but now he was nitpicking and pouting about something trivial.

Was it really such a big deal to complain about his friend dating his younger sister?

“Don’t you trust Yoo-min?”

“I do.”

“Then you should respect Yoo-min’s choice.”

“That’s a separate issue.”

“Why is it separate? If you trust them, you should trust them to the end.”

“People make mistakes. Mistakes should be corrected. Thinking that my friend won’t make mistakes isn’t trust, it’s indulgence.”

Wait, was this guy always so good at talking?

Choi Yeon-ha stared at Kang Jin-ho with a dumbfounded expression.

“…Then what are you going to do? They like each other.”

“Ugh.”

Kang Jin-ho covered his head.

‘I guess I’ve accepted it a lot more than I thought.’

His reaction was less intense than before.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yes?”

“I’m saying this because I know your way of thinking is from the olden days, but these days, just because people are dating doesn’t mean they’re going to get married.”

“If you leave them alone, people who would break up on their own will become more attached if you oppose them so vehemently.”

“…Yes.”

“So, don’t do anything unnecessary and leave them alone.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

“To be honest…”

“Yes.”

“It’s not that I hate it… It just feels awkward, and I wonder if it’s really okay.”

“…If they break up after dating, you’re worried that it’ll become awkward between you and them?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not a kid.”

Choi Yeon-ha chuckled.

“If you’re really worried about that, you should treat Yoo-min better so that even if things go wrong between them, it won’t affect your relationship with her.”

…

“It’s the same with Lee Hyun-soo. If you’re worried, you should try to help as much as you worry, and if you’re grateful, you should express it as much as you’re grateful.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Like this.”

Choi Yeon-ha took a small box out of her bag and handed it to Kang Jin-ho.

“…This?”

“It’s nothing much. Chocolate.”

“Huh?”

Choi Yeon-ha rested her chin on her hand with a sulky expression.

“I like you too, Jin-ho, so I want to do something for you and express it, but the more I think about it, the harder it is to do something for you compared to anyone else.”

“If I try to spend money, I have too much. If I try to give you pretty accessories, you won’t wear them. If I try to buy you clothes, you only wear tracksuits.”

“So, I just tried to feed you something, but you don’t seem to care what you eat. You like coffee, but your father is a professional and you’re almost a pro yourself, so it’s meaningless for me to give you any.”

Listening to her, it was all true.

“So, I found something that took a lot of effort and that anyone would see and think, ‘Ah, she put some thought into this.’ Handmade chocolate. I made it.”

Kang Jin-ho stared at the box with a slightly blank expression.

“Of course, if you focus on the shape, you lose. If you look with your heart, it’ll be pretty.”

“…Thank you.”

Choi Yeon-ha’s face flushed slightly. She had spoken casually, but she seemed to be nervous.

“Are you happy?”

“Yes. I am.”

“See?”

“…Huh?”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled brightly and said,

“I know you know I like you, but it still makes you happy when I do something for you, right?”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

“That’s how people are. You can know someone’s heart, but knowing it in your heart and expressing it are two different things. So, you should express yourself to the people around you too, Jin-ho.”

“I understand.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded emphatically.

“That was really helpful advice.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It feels like something’s been cleared up.”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled as she watched Kang Jin-ho, who seemed to be in a good mood.

‘I’m glad he seems to have understood.’

Kang Jin-ho was an awkward person.

Or, to be more precise, he was a person with something missing. For someone like that, you had to point out even the things that ordinary people would naturally know, like teaching a child.

‘But I’ve almost made him into a proper person now.’

Choi Yeon-ha smiled quietly as she looked at Kang Jin-ho.

But she didn’t know.

She didn’t know what kind of consequences this one casual remark would bring.

It was her mistake for not knowing that teaching a child required a little more delicacy and attention to detail.