Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 237

Making Money (4)

“It’s a bit quiet today.”

Kang Eun-young’s impact was more intense than expected.

Even though Kang Eun-young hadn’t come in since the next day, word had spread that it was the pizza place run by Kang Se-ah’s family, and customers kept coming.

At first, it was chaotic, but as they worked, they got used to it. Eventually, they were able to handle the full house of customers without any problems.

After about a week, the crowds started to thin out little by little.

And now, it felt like only customers who genuinely wanted to eat pizza were coming, regardless of Kang Eun-young.

“This is normal, I guess.”

Joo Young-gi chuckled.

“Still, thanks to having a good sister, the store is somewhat on track.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

He also didn’t expect Kang Eun-young’s influence to be this significant. In the past, when she visited him in the military, it was chaotic, but he thought that was only because it was a place full of soldiers starved for female attention.

But it seemed that Kang Jin-ho was mistaken.

Kang Eun-young’s power hadn’t diminished at all in society. Rather, her influence was even greater than what Kang Jin-ho had seen in the military.

‘Being a celebrity is more amazing than I thought.’

Seeing how the customers at the tables kept talking about Kang Eun-young, it was clear that they had benefited from her this time.

“I feel like I can finally breathe. Oh my.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled, watching Joo Young-gi exaggerate.

“Hey, now that the store is somewhat stable, let’s hire a part-timer.”

“A part-timer?”

“We can’t keep coming here like this forever. It’s not like we’re going to keep this place open forever; we’ll close it down eventually. We need to get back to our own work.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

Even if they were to keep the store open, it wasn’t like Park Yu-min or Joo Young-gi could keep serving in a pizza place.

“But how do we hire someone?”

“…Jin-ho.”

“Hmm?”

“Sometimes I wonder what you’re actually good at.”

“It’s like you’re good at everything, but also like you’re good at nothing. Please, just pick one thing. You’re confusing the people around you.”

“Sorry.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched the back of his head, and Joo Young-gi sighed.

“I can put out the job posting, so you just think about the interview.”

“Okay.”

Just as Kang Jin-ho nodded, they heard someone coming in at the entrance.

“Welcome!”

Park Yu-min quickly ran outside.

“I don’t see Chief Jo around much.”

“He seems to be busy these days.”

“Really? What could that guy be busy with?”

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho shut his mouth. After all, Jo Gyu-min was an incredible person who was the chief secretary at Jae-kyung, one of the leading groups in the country [a large conglomerate].

It was just that he was dealing with trivial matters since he got involved with Kang Jin-ho, but originally, he was supposed to be doing important work, like attending to Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo.

But in Joo Young-gi’s eyes, he seemed like a comfortable older brother he could use when he was bored.

Buzz buzz.

Just as he was about to explain how much work Jo Gyu-min had to do, the inside of the store started to get noisy.

“Huh?”

Joo Young-gi tilted his head and got up from his seat.

“What’s going on?”

If it was noisy even after Park Yu-min went out, it meant something had happened. Joo Young-gi came out of the hidden staff waiting room and headed to the hall.

And a moment later.

“Hey, Jin-ho! We have a customer. Come out here.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

A customer?

Who could be a customer who would come looking for him at the store?

Kang Jin-ho took off his apron and went to the hall. Then, without realizing it, he frowned.

“It’s been a while.”

The person sitting at the table by the window was waving her hand widely. The others were staring blankly at the woman waving cheerfully.

“Why are you here?”

“Am I not allowed to come here?”

“You’re a busy person.”

“I don’t have any filming today.”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled at Kang Jin-ho, who looked dumbfounded.

“Is it wrong to come to a pizza place to eat pizza?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“I’ll pay for it, so don’t worry. I don’t really like celebrity discounts or anything like that.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed softly, looking at Choi Yeon-ha’s bright smile.

“How did you hear that I run a pizza place?”

“Se-ah told me.”

The gratitude he felt for Kang Eun-young was subtly fading.

“What’s good here?”

“Everything is good.”

“But there must be a recommended menu.”

“Everything is good.”

“Wow, you’re really being stiff. Still, a beauty like me came all the way here on her rare day off to buy pizza, isn’t that a bit much?”

Kang Jin-ho gave a wry smile.

“If you’re just here to eat without any other purpose, I won’t say anything.”

“Then please be nice to me. I promise I won’t try to persuade you today.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

If she wasn’t going to bother him about becoming an actor and just ate her pizza quietly, there was no need to be cold to her.

“Choose something.”

Kang Jin-ho handed her the menu, and Choi Yeon-ha started browsing it without a word.

But there were others who couldn’t remain calm.

“Isn’t that Choi Yeon-ha?”

“I think so?”

“…No way, why would Choi Yeon-ha come here alone to eat pizza?”

“Look, it’s really Choi Yeon-ha. Her head is half the size of other people’s; that’s not a head an ordinary person can have.”

“Are celebrities some kind of different species?”

“Someone like Choi Yeon-ha is a different species.”

“But it seems like the store owner and Choi Yeon-ha know each other?”

“He’s Kang Se-ah’s brother, so they might be acquainted.”

“What kind of business do singers and actors have to be so close that their families know each other?”

“Don’t you know that Kang Se-ah is filming a drama with Choi Yeon-ha? They might have become close there.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“But isn’t it a bit strange that Choi Yeon-ha came here alone? It would make sense if she came with Kang Se-ah. Or she could have come when Kang Se-ah was here. It’s a bit weird that she came alone to her acquaintance’s brother’s store to eat pizza when Kang Se-ah isn’t here.”

Listening to the murmuring voices, Kang Jin-ho pressed his temples.

‘This is a headache.’

People started looking at them with strange eyes.

“…Did you come here to mess with me?”

“Honestly, would you believe me if I said I’m a bit flustered right now?”

“No.”

“It’s true.”

Choi Yeon-ha awkwardly brushed her hair back.

“Actually, I haven’t moved around alone much, so I didn’t really know. But what do we do now?”

Looking at her, it seemed like this woman didn’t have a plan either.

“U-um, please give me a pizza. The basic pizza here.”

“Yes.”

“And add extra cheese.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded and went into the kitchen with the menu. Choi Yeon-ha took out a hand mirror from her bag and started fixing her face.

The face she saw in the mirror was beautiful enough to make her admire it. But…

‘What kind of person is that guy, really?’

If Choi Yeon-ha came looking this pretty on a weekday, shouldn’t he at least show some interest? That’s just basic human decency.

He was looking at her with eyes that said, ‘Why are you here, you nuisance?’ It was infuriating and ridiculous.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m filming a drama in real life.”

She thought she was good at separating work from personal life, but she never imagined that Choi Yeon-ha would feel ‘You’re the first man to treat me like this’ in real life. Really.

“How cliché.”

Choi Yeon-ha bit her lip.

It was a mistake to try to persuade him to become an actor from the start. If she hadn’t done that, she could have gotten closer to him as a person and naturally seized the opportunity. But now, in Kang Jin-ho’s mind, she probably looked like a multi-level marketing salesperson.

It was very humiliating, but she had to admit it to move forward.

‘I’m a leech, Mr. Kang Jin-ho.’ She had no intention of playing tricks. What she had in mind was a war of attrition.

People tend to grow fond of each other when they see each other often, and it’s natural that their influence grows when they become fond of each other. If she kept showing up and talking to him, breaking down that wall, Kang Jin-ho would listen to her a little more seriously.

“Here’s your pizza.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t prepare it in advance, knowing I was coming, did you?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at her with a subtle expression, and Choi Yeon-ha laughed awkwardly.

“I was just joking, can’t you play along?”

“I’m not really good at that kind of thing.”

“Aww.”

Choi Yeon-ha clicked her tongue.

Kang Jin-ho placed the steaming pizza in front of Choi Yeon-ha.

‘It looks delicious?’

Kang Se-ah had bragged that it was so delicious, and it seemed like it was true. Just the visuals alone made it look delicious. Actually, pizza isn’t hard to make delicious if you use good ingredients.

Choi Yeon-ha took a bite of a cut slice of pizza and widened her eyes slightly.

“Are you good at cooking too?”

“Wow, this is ridiculous. How can it taste like this?”

“Enjoy your meal.”

“W-wait a minute. You’re going to leave me here to eat pizza alone?”

“Yes?”

“…You haven’t even taken my order. I’ll look like a total loner if I eat here alone. Please fill the seat while I eat.”

“Me?”

“Please? I’m actually really awkward right now. Everyone is staring at me.”

Kang Jin-ho glanced around and chuckled before sitting down.

Well, it was true that it was hard for a young woman to eat alone while enduring the stares of others.

It might be doable if there were no stares, but it was impossible for Choi Yeon-ha not to attract attention.

“You kicked me out because you said you were doing something meaningful instead of being an actor, is this meaningful?”

“The situation is quite complicated. I don’t think there’s any reason to explain it all.”

“Wow… you’re so cold.”

Kang Jin-ho cut her off firmly.

“If you’re going to keep talking about that, I’m going to get up.”

“Ah, no, I won’t.”

“Okay.”

Choi Yeon-ha chewed her pizza aggressively.

‘This is too much.’

If she showed this much sincerity, he should at least pretend to listen. It wasn’t just anyone; she had deliberately taken time out of her schedule to come here, but he was looking at her like she was just an annoying leech. It made her feel wronged and angry.

“When is the store closed?”

“It’s not.”

“There must be a day off. A day when you close.”

“There isn’t one.”

“…Are you an iron man?”

“I’m not an iron man, but there isn’t one.”

Choi Yeon-ha’s face flushed red.

“Take a day off. Close the store for a day.”

“I don’t think there’s any need for that?”

“Why not! You might be okay, but shouldn’t other people rest?”

“…Why are you so insistent on making me take a day off?”

Thump!