Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 245

Having made his way to the national highway, Kang Jin-ho was at a loss.

‘Where am I?’

It was fine when he was frantically driving while following the navigation, but after driving so mindlessly while only looking at the map, he had no idea where he was.

If he had his phone, it would be a good opportunity to use the map app he had learned about last time, but unfortunately, his phone had already been thrown to Kang Eun-young’s manager.

“Where should I go?”

Realizing he was lost, he even considered going back to Lee Hyun-joo and asking her to take him. However, the problem was that Kang Jin-ho was also a person who knew shame.

He turned his head to look around, but the place was so secluded that there wasn’t a single house in sight.

As he was wondering what to do about this situation, someone appeared to solve his problem.

Flash.

A sedan with its high beams on stopped right in front of Kang Jin-ho. Then, the window rolled down, and a head popped out.

“Are you finished?”

“When did you get here?”

“I came right away, wondering if I could make it on time. Luckily, I wasn’t late.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled back at Cho Kyu-min, who was grinning.

Come to think of it, it was always Cho Kyu-min who helped him in moments of crisis.

“Get in.”

“No. Before that…”

Kang Jin-ho quietly bowed his head towards Cho Kyu-min.

Cho Kyu-min, flustered, waved his hand.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Thanks to Chief Cho, I was able to rescue Eun-young without any problems. If it weren’t for Chief Cho, I wouldn’t have been able to find Eun-young in this vast place.”

To be precise, those who had taken Kang Eun-young hostage would have eventually contacted Kang Jin-ho, but in the meantime, Kang Eun-young could have suffered even more. She could have even lost her life.

Thinking about that made him shudder.

“Get in first. The night dew is cold.”

Even if this place were the Siberian wilderness, it wouldn’t make Kang Jin-ho cold, but there was no need to take the favor as a fact. Kang Jin-ho nodded and got into the passenger seat.

As soon as he sat down, Cho Kyu-min took out a cigarette and put it in Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

Click.

As Cho Kyu-min lit it, Kang Jin-ho silently took a deep drag and slowly exhaled the smoke. The smell of blood that had permeated his body felt slightly masked by the smell of the cigarette.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“…Yes.”

As if roughly guessing what had happened inside, Cho Kyu-min didn’t ask for details.

“How’s Eun-young?”

“I’ve arranged for a car with a driver to take her to Seoul. She said she would wait for Kang Jin-ho, but I thought it would be better to send her to a safe place first.”

“You did well.”

“I suggested she get a check-up at the hospital, but she stubbornly refused, so I couldn’t send her to the hospital.”

“Yes. There’s no helping it.”

Kang Jin-ho had already checked Kang Eun-young’s condition. She wasn’t hurt enough to go to the hospital.

He didn’t know if Cho Kyu-min had checked Kang Eun-young’s condition, but he was grateful for his concern for his younger sister’s health.

“Did Chief Cho contact Lee Hyun-joo?”

“I apologize for not asking for permission. But we are a company. We have no experience or knowledge of such illegal activities. I thought that side would be the best to handle the situation cleanly.”

“I see.”

“The chairman thought the same way.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded without answering.

He didn’t feel displeased or anything. If that was the most efficient way, it was natural to choose it. They didn’t need to ask for Kang Jin-ho’s permission for everything, nor should they.

“And in my opinion…”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t the end, is it?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded without answering.

Cho Kyu-min also made a sound as if he had guessed.

‘It’s only natural.’

For Kang Jin-ho, family was an inviolable area. They were beings that should never be touched. There was no way he would leave those who had touched his family alone.

“You wouldn’t listen even if I tried to stop you, would you?”

“…”

“Then, we need to maintain a friendly relationship with the General Assembly.”

“Friendly?”

Kang Jin-ho’s voice was somehow low.

He hadn’t expressed it in particular, but it wasn’t a pleasant voice.

“Don’t misunderstand. It doesn’t mean that Kang Jin-ho has to join hands with them.”

“Hmm…”

“From what I’ve heard… the number of people who targeted Kang Jin-ho this time is not small. I heard that those they belong to boast the largest scale in Korea.”

He had gathered quite a lot of information in a short time.

“When dealing with such people, it’s inevitable that Kang Jin-ho’s existence will be exposed to the outside world. Even if the martial artists desperately try to hide their existence, wouldn’t it be stranger if they didn’t reveal themselves while fighting against so many people in this world?”

Kang Jin-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled. The smoke circled the car once and then rushed out through the sunroof.

“If there’s something you can use, it’s good to use it. It’s not like using them will harm Kang Jin-ho, is it?”

“One of the truths of the world is…”

“Yes?”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Cho Kyu-min nodded.

“But in this case, it’s worth paying the price.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly stared at the road.

Getting involved with the General Assembly was not a pleasant thing. But if Cho Kyu-min was saying this much, it meant that objectively, it seemed beneficial for him to join hands with the General Assembly.

His words were mild, but the hidden meaning was clear.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Yes. That’s good enough.”

Cho Kyu-min smiled gently.

This was why Cho Kyu-min liked Kang Jin-ho.

Although he sometimes had his stubborn moments, Kang Jin-ho basically knew how to listen to others.

Considering how easy it was for people in certain positions to ignore others, the fact that someone like Kang Jin-ho respected Cho Kyu-min’s words was a great thing in itself.

Although he didn’t seem to be aware of it at all.

“I’ll take you home for now.”

“Please do.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

‘I’m tired.’

Tiredness was rapidly washing over him. He had to think about the future, but right now, he didn’t want to think about anything.

“Oppa!”

One thing he learned thanks to the phone call he received when he arrived in Seoul was that Kang Eun-young hadn’t gone home.

Kang Eun-young was resting at Kang Jin-ho’s shop, not at home.

Kang Jin-ho patted Kang Eun-young’s back as she ran to him and hugged him.

“I told you to go home.”

“My cheeks are swollen…”

Kang Jin-ho slightly frowned.

Indeed, if she went home with swollen cheeks and met her parents, it was obvious that they would worry. Even in this situation, he felt both admirable and foolish about his sister worrying about such things.

“The hospital?”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Still, you should get a check-up.”

“No, Oppa. I’m really okay.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly grabbed Kang Eun-young’s arm and channeled his true energy into her. It was out of concern that there might be a problem.

But fortunately, there was no other abnormality in her head.

“Were you surprised?”

“No. I wasn’t really surprised. I was worried because you didn’t come back from there.”

“You weren’t surprised.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed and stroked Kang Eun-young’s hair.

“What about those people?”

“I sent them away after talking to them.”

“Why didn’t you report them to the police?”

Cho Kyu-min helped Kang Jin-ho, who was at a loss for words.

“It seems they were trying to kidnap Kang Eun-young and demand money, but celebrities can have their image tarnished just by being involved in such an incident. Just the fact that a young female celebrity was kidnapped by robbers can cause gossip. People pretend not to be like that, but they like sensational material and enjoy talking behind other people’s backs.”

“Ah…”

Kang Eun-young nodded as if she understood.

But in her mind, she was thinking something completely different.

‘Those guys said they were targeting Oppa, not me.’

She didn’t want to give Kang Jin-ho another worry by showing that she knew that fact. Besides, she felt like she wanted to hide the reason.

Kang Eun-young buried the incident in her heart and changed the subject.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. You’re the one who’s the problem.”

“No, Oppa. I’m really okay.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“Okay. For now, go to your accommodation and sleep.”

“Can’t I sleep here? I’m a little uneasy.”

“Then let’s go home.”

“My cheeks…”

“They’re all better.”

“Huh?”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, Kang Eun-young took out her phone. Kang Eun-young, who took a picture of her face in selfie mode, tilted her head.

“Huh? They were swollen just a little while ago, when did they all go down?”

Kang Jin-ho patted Kang Eun-young’s shoulder and said.

“Go home.”

“What about you, Oppa?”

“I’ll finish up a few things and go right in, so go home for now.”

“…Can’t I stay with you and then go in?”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. Then you have to come quickly. I’m honestly a little scared.”

“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll be right in.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Jung Seok-soo, who was still standing next to Kang Eun-young, and said.

“I know it’s a bother, but could you please take Eun-young home?”

“Of course. That’s my job.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Jung Seok-soo jumped up from his seat.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Kang Eun-young kept looking back at Kang Jin-ho as she went outside, looking uneasy.

Kang Jin-ho smiled at her as she kept looking back, but as soon as Kang Eun-young went outside, he let out a low sigh.

“Cancel all her schedules from tomorrow, and make an appointment for a psychiatric consultation.”

“The consultation isn’t difficult, but the schedules…”

“She’s just a twenty-year-old girl who’s pretending to be strong. There’s no way she wouldn’t be shocked after going through something like this.”

“Yes. I’ll cancel them right away.”

Cho Kyu-min nodded. Kang Jin-ho was right. If they weren’t looking at Kang Eun-young as a product, it was right to take care of her health first.

‘This is going to be a headache.’

Canceling schedules in a situation where they couldn’t openly reveal the circumstances was not an easy task. Handling it without causing resentment was even more difficult.

“But…”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know about the other things, but it’s difficult to cancel her appearance in the drama. Dramas aren’t one-offs, so they can’t be easily canceled like other schedules, and Kang Eun-young will never want to drop out.”

“Hmm…”

“Besides, if she drops out like this, she’ll have to give up her acting career. It’s not about the people involved, but the fans who watch the drama will turn their backs on her. It’s not a drama that has started airing yet, so it’s possible to fix it to some extent, but it’s hard to stop bad rumors from spreading.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“Then we need to buy some time, even if it’s just a few days.”

“That’s not easy. To buy time for Kang Eun-young’s schedule, the schedules of other actors will become even tighter.”

“…I’ll take care of that.”

“Yes?”

Cho Kyu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho with strange eyes.

No, how was Kang Jin-ho going to solve that?

“Anyway, I’ll take care of that part, so please cancel the other schedules.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Kang Jin-ho looked out the glass door with sinking eyes.

The long night was passing.