Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 212

Lee Hyun-joo followed behind Kang Jin-ho with a blank look on her face. She couldn’t understand why she had to follow him like a zombie.

But the moment Kang Jin-ho told her to follow, it was as if his words had become an absolute command, and she couldn’t refuse.

Kang Jin-ho led her and Jo Gyu-min into the cafe.

“You’re here?”

Her father looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, ‘You said it would be quick, but you’ve been gone a long time. I think we’ve missed about ten customers because you weren’t here.’ Kang Jin-ho gave an awkward smile.

“Ah, is the back room empty?”

“Hmm…”

Kang Ji-hwan nodded as if he understood.

She thought he would scold her for not working during her shift, but Kang Ji-hwan pointed to the back as if he understood everything.

“Go on in. You’ll have an Americano, right?”

“…Yes.”

“What about you, Director Jo?”

“I’ll have an Americano, sir.”

“And you?”

Lee Hyun-joo was flustered and couldn’t speak.

“Do you like lattes? Our lattes are quite popular.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll have that…”

Lee Hyun-joo nodded with a dazed expression, and Kang Jin-ho led the way into the staff room at the back of the cafe. It was usually a place for changing clothes or eating, but it was quite spacious, so there was no problem having a conversation with several people. There was also a table.

“Please, have a seat.”

Kang Jin-ho pointed to a seat, and Jo Gyu-min nodded and sat down. Lee Hyun-joo also sat next to Jo Gyu-min with an uneasy expression.

Usually, in this kind of meeting, it would be normal not to sit next to Jo Gyu-min, whom she had just met, but Lee Hyun-joo was refusing to sit next to Kang Jin-ho, as if she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

Kang Jin-ho, sitting across from them, crossed his arms.

A slightly awkward silence fell.

“What’s going on?”

“…Let’s talk when the coffee comes.”

“Yes.”

After a while, her father came in with coffee on a tray. Kang Ji-hwan, who silently put down the coffee, looked at Kang Jin-ho and said,

“There aren’t many customers anyway, so take your time.”

“Yes.”

“Then.”

Kang Ji-hwan closed the door and left. Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-joo and opened his mouth.

“Explain everything you know.”

When she first came here, she didn’t think she would be unilaterally spilling information like this, but Lee Hyun-joo knew that there was no other way now.

“Before that, can I go to the bathroom?”

“The bathroom?”

“…I think I need to go.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded. As soon as Kang Jin-ho gave his permission, Lee Hyun-joo quickly got up, opened the door, and went outside.

Jo Gyu-min stared at the door Lee Hyun-joo had gone out of, then opened his mouth.

“Is it okay to leave her like that?”

“Is there a problem?”

“I don’t know the exact situation, but that young lady seems very uncomfortable here… What if she runs away?”

“She won’t run away.”

“Why are you so sure?” Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

To Jo Gyu-min, that smile felt rather cynical.

“It’s something I’ve thought about before, but humans tend to overestimate their own power.”

“I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but I’m not as smart as you think, Kang Jin-ho. I’ll try my best to understand if you explain it simply.”

“It’s simple. What would you do if you encountered something you couldn’t handle?”

“I’d give up… or if it’s a business matter, I’d ask for help from higher-ups.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“People usually tend to mistake the power of their background or the group they belong to as their own. If it’s something I can’t handle, I’ll try to draw on the power of the organization. That’s the typical response.”

“Then?”

Kang Jin-ho replied calmly.

“If you can’t do it yourself, you’ll bring in someone you think can.”

“…Why aren’t you answering the phone!”

Lee Hyun-joo sat on the toilet with an anxious look on her face, pressing her phone. Her grandfather, who was usually her greatest support, wasn’t answering her calls. It seemed he had thrown his phone aside and gone into his training room.

“Ah…”

She let out a frustrated scream and covered her mouth. If she made a sound and Kang Jin-ho noticed something, her end would not be good.

‘I’m crazy.’

She shouldn’t have been so confident that she could bring him over. She should have listened to what her grandfather always said. That there were monsters everywhere in this world, and compared to them, she was just a novice.

But it was too late to regret it now. Her body was already in the monster’s mouth.

‘What kind of person is he?’

The only thing she had gained today was that she hadn’t wet her pants when he glared at her with anger and hatred.

She had seen many martial artists, but she had never met anyone like him. His sudden bursts of anger and his personality changes, like a split personality.

Most of all, what confused her was that she couldn’t understand why this man held such resentment towards her.

There was no reason for a madman, but this madman wasn’t just a madman. He was half-mad and pretending to be normal, which was confusing.

“Please! Please answer the phone!”

She had probably called more than ten times, but unfortunately, her grandfather seemed to have left his phone somewhere.

Just as she was about to throw her phone in frustration, she felt a vibration at the perfect moment.

Her eyes lit up as she quickly checked the screen.

“Hello.”

[Oh, what’s this? You’re actually answering the phone?]

Lee Hyun-joo sighed in relief.

It wasn’t as good as talking to her grandfather directly, but the person she was talking to now was also capable enough to resolve this situation.

No.

He was more than enough to take down a mad dog.

“Can you come here right now?”

[Huh? What’s the occasion? Are you finally going on a date with me? Are you finally ready to accept my feelings… or something?]

“Don’t talk nonsense! I have something to do.”

[If it’s work, I don’t really want to do it.]

“Even if I’m about to get beaten to death?”

Silence came from the other end of the phone.

[Where are you?]

“I’ll send you the address in a message. You need to come quickly. It’s really dangerous.”

[No time to talk. I’m going right now.]

“Hurry.”

Lee Hyun-joo hung up the phone, attached a map to a message, and sent it. Then, she sighed in relief.

It was like bringing a madman to deal with a mad dog, but everyone in the council acknowledged the skills of the person who was coming. He had a bit of an unpredictable personality, but it was hard to find anyone with good skills who also had a good personality.

‘I just need to buy some time.’

Lee Hyun-joo stood up with a determined look on her face.

“It’s the Yeongnam Association.”

“The Yeongnam Hometown Association?”

“The Yeongnam Association.”

Jo Gyu-min gave his honest opinion.

“It’s a very nostalgic name. It feels country-like, but also like it has a strong bond.”

“…It’s a name that was made 50 years ago, so of course. What were you expecting in the 60s? Did you want something like the East Korea Organization?”

“Of course not, but…”

Jo Gyu-min was grateful to Hwang Jung-hoo.

Even though it was a name made in the same 60s, compared to the Yeongnam Association, Jae-kyung was such a sensible and modern name.

“The martial artists of Korea are divided into several groups. The most central of them is the Korean Martial Arts Council, which I belong to. And the most influential group right now is the Yeongnam Association.”

Kang Jin-ho was quietly listening to Lee Hyun-joo’s words.

Since Kang Jin-ho wasn’t responding, Lee Hyun-joo had no choice but to talk to Jo Gyu-min. Fortunately, Jo Gyu-min was a very good listener. He added appropriate interjections and reactions, so much so that she thought he could be successful on a variety show.

“So, what about the Yeongnam Association?”

“It’s probably someone sent by the Yeongnam Association.”

“…A murderer?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Jo Gyu-min glanced at Kang Jin-ho and then opened his mouth.

“Actually, I don’t really understand…”

“Yes.”

“Let’s put aside why that murderer is targeting Kang Jin-ho. Let’s also put aside why the Yeongnam Association is trying to kill Kang Jin-ho, who was living peacefully. Then why is that murderer killing other people instead of targeting Kang Jin-ho directly?”

“That’s just how they are.”

“How they are?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-joo sighed and continued.

“They call him the ‘Outsider.’ He’s like a hunting dog for the head of the Yeongnam Association.”

“…Then why are you guys condoning these crazy acts?”

“Because there’s no evidence.”

Lee Hyun-joo shrugged and replied.

“We know it implicitly. That the head of the Yeongnam Association is using him. But the head himself denies it, and there’s no conclusive evidence that he’s using the Outsider. If someone with power denies it with the backing of a powerful organization, do you think we can catch them?”

“It’s difficult.”

Jo Gyu-min had no choice but to agree. And it wasn’t surprising.

Such things were common in society.

Even if everyone had a suspicion that a powerful person was acting badly, if there was no conclusive evidence to prove it, no one could push the powerful person. There was a limit to what you could do with just suspicion.

“So…”

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth.

“What makes you so sure that the ‘Outsider’ is the culprit?”

“…Because it’s similar.”

“Similar?”

“He’s more like a cleanup crew than a hunting dog. And we’re not supposed to know about him. But the reason we know about him is… because there’s always trouble wherever he goes. We’ve had to clean up after him several times. This incident is similar to those.”

“So it’s not the first time.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

“Then…”

At that moment, the outside became noisy.

“Hyun-joo! Where’s Hyun-joo!”

The moment the sound came from outside, Lee Hyun-joo jumped up, ran to the door, and rushed outside.

“H-here!”

Jo Gyu-min sighed at the sudden turn of events.

“How can he never deviate from the expected?”

He felt like he wanted to stick a bamboo spear into Kang Jin-ho’s back. Kang Jin-ho met Jo Gyu-min’s gaze, chuckled, and got up from his seat. Then, he slowly walked towards the entrance.

“Is it you?”

A man with a short buzz cut looked at Kang Jin-ho, who was coming out of the door, and snorted. He was definitely over 190 cm tall [approximately 6’3″], with shoulders that looked twice as wide as an average person.

The man, who looked like he could take down a bull with his bare hands, charged at Kang Jin-ho without warning.

“Jin-ho!”

Kang Ji-hwan’s panicked cry echoed.

Kang Jin-ho took a step towards the opponent who was throwing a punch at him, grabbed his head, and slammed it straight into the floor.

Thud!

A loud sound, that didn’t seem like it could have come from a person’s head hitting the floor, echoed. Kang Jin-ho looked down at the man he had slammed to the floor and opened his mouth.

“It’s not appropriate to do this in a business, sir.”