Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 238

Joo Young-gi’s mouth dropped open as he watched the situation unfold.

‘Is that woman secretly a bit of a pushover?’

She wasn’t just anyone; she was a top actress. Even Joo Young-gi, who had almost no interest in the entertainment industry, had heard the name Choi Yeon-ha. If he knew of her, she was definitely a well-known actress in South Korea.

But for such an actress to say something like that in front of so many people? It was something that couldn’t be accepted logically.

‘Come to think of it, there aren’t any normal people around Kang Jin-ho.’

A person who was on an elite track at a major corporation became a pushover around Kang Jin-ho and almost ruined the store. His singer sister was a siscon [a person who is overly attached to their sister] who turned her company upside down to come to her brother’s store for an event. His father was a coffee fanatic, and his friend was…

‘Wait. Does that mean I look weird to others too?’

That couldn’t be. Where else could you find someone as normal as him?

Anyway, the atmosphere in the store instantly turned cold.

Choi Yeon-ha seemed to realize the meaning of her words, and she started to panic, turning her head left and right.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

“The date, it’s not that kind of date, I mean… it’s not a private date between a man and a woman… I mean, let’s just take some time to talk, something like that.”

Park Yu-min, who was wiping the floor, casually threw in a comment.

“Usually, in society, that’s what you call a date.”

Choi Yeon-ha became speechless, stammering.

And Kang Jin-ho, seemingly not grasping the situation at all, calmly opened his mouth.

“I appreciate the date request, but I don’t think I’ll have time to go.”

“Who said anything about a date!” Choi Yeon-ha’s face turned red as she shouted.

“…Huh?”

“M-my words didn’t mean that.”

“I don’t know what tune to dance to [a Korean idiom meaning ‘I don’t know what to do’].”

“Ah, this isn’t it…”

Choi Yeon-ha covered her face with both hands. When she touched it, her skin felt hot, as if she had a cold.

‘I shouldn’t be like this.’

If she showed such embarrassment, it would really seem like she had asked for a date.

She had lived her whole life acting, but she couldn’t even manage her expression in this situation!

And those who had cleanly captured her flustered appearance began to play with their phones, looking like they were about to die of excitement.

= Choi Yeon-ha asked for a date and got rejected. Witnessing it live.

= Bullshit.

= It’s real. It’s at the pizza place run by Kang Se-ah’s brother. Choi Yeon-ha came to visit and asked Kang Se-ah’s brother for a date. But Kang Se-ah’s brother coolly rejected her.

A photo of Choi Yeon-ha covering her cheeks with a red face was uploaded with clean wording.

= It’s a composite.

= It’s fabricated.

= Looks like they got a photo from a filming set.

= The fact that Choi Yeon-ha asked for a date and got rejected already confirms it’s fake. No man can reject her. You have to write a plausible story. Go back and add some consistency.

“Have you all been living being deceived?”

As he tried to take another photo, a hand as big as a pot lid blocked the camera.

“Ah, what is it?”

When he looked up from his phone, Joo Young-gi was smiling gently at him.

“Photography is prohibited, sir.”

“…Yes.”

There was no room for argument in the face of Joo Young-gi’s intimidating presence.

Joo Young-gi, who had silenced those who were raising their phones with just a look, sighed as he looked at Kang Jin-ho.

Joo Young-gi approached Choi Yeon-ha and Kang Jin-ho and picked up the pizza on the table.

“You haven’t finished eating?”

“Let’s go inside. There are too many eyes here, so we can’t even talk properly.”

“There’s a room inside?”

“There’s a staff break room. It should be fine for you to eat there.”

“Thank you. Please move us quickly.”

Choi Yeon-ha, realizing that the situation was going strangely, nodded with a brightened expression. At Joo Young-gi’s signal, Park Yu-min quietly approached and gathered the utensils.

Choi Yeon-ha, who had moved to the break room, fanned herself to cool her flushed face.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“It looks like a weird scandal is about to break out.”

“It doesn’t seem like I did anything in particular.”

Choi Yeon-ha readily agreed with Kang Jin-ho’s words. He wasn’t someone she could get her way with by being stubborn.

“Anyway, since I’ve been harmed because of you, give me a day off. I won’t have time for that soon.”

“No time?”

“This store will probably be overflowing with people soon.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

“Because Choi Yeon-ha came?”

“No.”

Choi Yeon-ha covered her mouth and laughed.

“I’m not a narcissist. No matter how popular I am, the store won’t suddenly become popular just because I came.”

“Then why will it be overflowing?”

“…You really don’t know. Then it’s fine. It’s better to experience it without knowing than knowing it.”

“I don’t understand what you mean…”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

But Choi Yeon-ha didn’t bother to answer.

You’ll know when you experience it, you’ll know.

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply as he looked at Choi Yeon-ha, who was making a puzzled expression.

“Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come here in the future.”

“I’ll keep coming.”

“Aren’t you busy? Do you have that much time to spare?”

“I’m always short on time. But I can’t waste time investing in my life.”

“Coming here is an investment in Choi Yeon-ha’s life?”

“Yes. Kang Jin-ho, you just need to change your mind once.”

“That won’t happen.”

Choi Yeon-ha nodded deeply.

“I understand what you mean, but that doesn’t mean I’ll give up. I won’t force you, and I won’t bother you. But don’t stop me from coming here.”

“Ugh…”

Kang Jin-ho rubbed his face as if he was frustrated.

‘She’s sticking to me like a leech trying to take off a traveler’s clothes.’

If she went at Kang Jin-ho too strongly, there was a high chance she would be strongly rejected. He was a person with firm convictions and wouldn’t change his decisions due to external pressure.

The way to target such a person was obvious.

It was to put in so much effort that the person felt sorry. Right now, his wariness of her was so strong that the best she could do was to make contact and create a connection, but if he lowered his guard even a little, there would be room to break through.

Choi Yeon-ha smiled without realizing it as she watched Kang Jin-ho sigh.

‘His visuals are really amazing.’

Choi Yeon-ha had worked with the most prominent male actors of the time. As such, she knew how important style was. Even with his messy, unkempt hair and casually worn clothes, he exuded such visuals.

‘When he had makeup on last time, he was out of this world.’

She couldn’t let him go.

Absolutely not.

Moreover, she liked his personality, which was firm in his convictions but didn’t come off as aggressive.

A type that usually accommodates those around him while not losing his own center.

He was someone who would go far.

And his family was also decent…

“…Am I crazy?”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Choi Yeon-ha pulled at her face.

‘Did I come here for a blind date? Get a grip.’ Why was she even thinking about his family?

As the atmosphere became a bit awkward, Kang Jin-ho changed the subject.

“By the way, what is Eun-young doing?”

“Se-ah? Se-ah has a shoot today.”

“The lead doesn’t have a shoot, but Eun-young does?”

“You don’t know the shooting mechanism well. Se-ah has a shoot in the countryside today. I don’t have any scenes in the countryside, so I didn’t go with her.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded with an expression that seemed like he understood.

“She’ll probably be back this evening.”

“I see.”

“So, it’s okay for me to stay until the evening, right?”

Kang Jin-ho unconsciously grabbed his thigh.

* * *

“Ugh, I’m going to dieeeeee.”

Kang Eun-young got into the van with a deathly expression.

“You worked hard, you worked hard.”

“I’m going to die! Please give me some food. Do you have any kimbap [Korean seaweed rice roll]?”

“…The manager told you to control your diet because you’ve gained weight recently?”

“Weight gain! Where is there any weight on this delicate body? Who’s spreading such malicious rumors!”

“Se-ah, let’s be honest. Frankly…”

“That’s enough!” Kang Eun-young boldly cut off her manager and slumped into her seat.

“Ugh, they make me work all day and don’t even give me food. This is exploitation, exploitation! You have to give food to make people work!”

“You can survive on what you’ve eaten so far.”

“Does that make sense?”

“What you’ve eaten has been piling up as fat, waiting for you to use it.”

“You devil.”

Kang Eun-young, who had fastened her seatbelt, leaned her chair halfway back and stared blankly at the ceiling.

‘I feel exhausted after just one shoot.’

It was a different feeling from standing on stage as a singer. When she poured out her passion on stage, she felt a surge of adrenaline. Whether she was satisfied with the performance or not, a sudden excitement took over her body, and when she came down from the stage, she felt a sense of emptiness that she couldn’t put into words.

But acting was different.

Acting felt like it was constantly draining her energy. Immersing herself in a different role that wasn’t her own was never an easy task.

It was also a big burden to have to endlessly grasp the character and wait to film a scene that was only 30 seconds long.

‘But it’s still fun.’

Kang Eun-young quietly closed her eyes. It would take three hours to get to Seoul from now, so she was thinking of catching some sleep in the meantime.

Brummm.

As if knowing Kang Eun-young’s mind, the van started smoothly.

‘She must be tired.’

Jung Seok-soo looked at the sleeping Kang Eun-young with a fatherly smile.

She was such a beagle-like kid who caused a lot of trouble here and there, but she was a kind person at heart. She cared deeply for her family and never treated her managers carelessly.

He had seen so many kind kids change as they became famous, so he didn’t have high expectations, but Kang Eun-young was no different from when she was a trainee.

She would make strange jokes about how there was a devil waiting to break her neck if she got arrogant, and she never tried to lose her humility.

How could he not like her?

Moreover, she had a passion for her work, so she was an incredibly welcome kid from a manager’s perspective.

‘I should drive carefully.’

He didn’t have any other schedules, so he was thinking of driving slowly and smoothly even if it took a little longer, when…

“Hmm?”

Jung Seok-soo frowned as he saw a car approaching from directly behind him with its high beams on.

“Ah, what is it?”

What if there was an accident because of driving with high beams on?

Anyway, there were too many drivers in South Korea with terrible manners.

“…There are really too many?”

Several more cars with their high beams on followed right behind his car.

Jung Seok-soo, sensing that the situation was unusual, stepped on the accelerator. He didn’t know what was going on, but he had an instinctive sense of danger that he needed to get out of there.

Booooooom!

A black sedan that had suddenly pulled up next to him started to push his car into the corner.

“What, what is it! You crazy bastard!”

Crash!

The sedan hit the side of the van, causing the car to shake violently.

“W-what’s going on?”

Kang Eun-young, startled awake, turned her head, and she saw the sedan rushing towards them at high speed through the window.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaak!”

Kang Eun-young’s terrified voice echoed on the road.