Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 254

“This is insane, seriously.”

Min So-young, the head of the code promotion team, stared wide-eyed at the real-time search rankings dominated by Kang Jin-ho and the drama title.

‘This is unprecedented, truly unprecedented.’

She tried to check the drama’s message board, but the website had been down since earlier, making it impossible to see the board’s status.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before…’

Has there ever been such a massive impact from a single scene?

The last time something like this happened was when a teen star, who was trying to change their image into a serious actor, became a top star overnight after a scene of them smiling while holding up an umbrella in the rain.

And back then, there wasn’t as much SNS [Social Networking Service] or viewer feedback as there is now, so the impact wasn’t as big. If SNS had existed back then, it would have been even bigger.

Anyway, the reaction to just the first episode was explosive. The word-of-mouth was so strong that the rerun in the early morning had higher ratings than the original broadcast.

“The inquiries are flooding in. I don’t know what to say.”

“Ugh…”

However, Min So-young knew that this wasn’t necessarily a good situation.

While the drama’s popularity was a good thing, Kang Jin-ho was taking all the spotlight. Even Choi Yeon-ha, who played Kang Jin-ho’s counterpart, was being overshadowed, so it was natural that Kang Eun-young was being buried.

Calmly rewatching the drama, Kang Eun-young’s acting was very stable. It wasn’t just ‘good enough,’ but so natural that the concern was that she wouldn’t stand out. There was no chance of any acting controversies.

‘Even if she had acted like a dog, there wouldn’t have been any controversy.’

Right now, people weren’t interested in whether the drama was fun or if the actors were doing a good job. What people cared about was ‘Who is Kang Jin-ho?’ and ‘When will Kang Jin-ho appear again?’

“What is Jung Seok-soo doing?”

“Huh? Why are you asking me that?”

“Call him. If we don’t grab him properly now and another agency snatches him, both he and I will lose our heads. Can you imagine how much the CEO will rage?”

“…I guess we’ll have to replace the glass again.”

Min So-young nervously bit her nails.

‘With that personality, he won’t stay still.’

The strange thing was that the CEO, who was known to be a terrible person, was quiet right now.

If he was just bad-tempered, he would never have become the CEO of a large agency like Code. He was more sensitive to trends and public opinion than she was. There was no way he wouldn’t know about this, but there was no pressure coming from him.

‘Has he lost his touch?’

“Manager.”

“Yes?”

“The CEO is calling for you. He wants you and Seok-soo to come to his office.”

‘Figures.’

There was no way that dog could have missed the scent. As soon as she entered the CEO’s office, he would start nagging her to get Kang Jin-ho’s signature or she would lose her job.

“I can’t do this, seriously.”

With a groan, Min So-young got up from her seat and trudged to the CEO’s office.

“Huh?”

Min So-young’s eyes widened.

Jung Seok-soo, sitting next to her, also looked at the CEO with a puzzled expression.

Lee Jin-gun, the CEO of Code Entertainment, said while puffing on a cigarette.

“Didn’t you hear me? I told you not to mess with Kang Jin-ho carelessly. Is that so hard?”

“No, no. CEO, I understand what you’re saying. But I don’t understand why you’re saying that. Don’t you know that Kang Jin-ho is causing a huge stir online and offline right now?”

“I know. If I didn’t know that, I should quit this job. If I didn’t know when it’s this big, I shouldn’t be in this business, right?”

“Yes, but…”

‘Not ‘bring him in,’ but ‘don’t touch him.’

It wouldn’t be this absurd even if you told a car salesman not to sell cars.

“No, but why?”

Lee Jin-gun irritably stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“In life, there are people you can mess with and people you shouldn’t. If you carelessly get greedy for someone you shouldn’t, the company will go down. Just keep that in mind.”

“…Yes.”

Min So-young nodded quietly.

She didn’t know what was going on, but she couldn’t argue with the CEO’s orders.

“What if Kang Jin-ho signs with another agency?”

“That won’t happen.”

“CEO, this industry is a place where anything can happen.”

“Yes, anything can happen. But does that mean Brad Pitt will sign with us tomorrow?”

“…That’s not going to happen.”

Lee Jin-gun nodded.

“Right, that’s the point. Why would that guy sign with us to film commercials and movies? He doesn’t need to do that. Anyway, just keep that in mind and get out of here.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Min So-young got up from her seat with a bewildered expression.

“Oh, and Jung Seok-soo.”

“Yes.”

“Take good care of Se-ah. You need to manage your actors well, especially at times like this. She’s a good actress. Even if she can’t create a buzz with this, make sure to get good reviews from industry insiders. Make sure word gets around that Se-ah is a good actress and very active on set. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

“And…”

Lee Jin-gun hesitated, then bit his lip and said.

“Spread rumors on set. Say that Kang Jin-ho appeared in the drama because of Se-ah, and that if you use Se-ah, Kang Jin-ho might appear. You need to ride his coattails at times like this.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Okay, get out of here.”

Min So-young, who came out of the CEO’s office, kept looking back at the office with a puzzled expression.

‘Why is he acting like that, seriously?’

She couldn’t say it out loud, but he was known as a ‘Verman’ because he never let go once he bit. It wasn’t often used in a positive way, but Min So-young thought that kind of tenacity was necessary to succeed in the harsh entertainment industry.

But for that Verman to back down before even biting… this was a first.

‘That rumor might be true.’

It was an open secret among industry insiders that Kang Eun-young was being sponsored by Jae-kyung. Code hadn’t officially acknowledged it, but everyone who knew anything knew it.

Wasn’t it strange that Jae-kyung’s chief secretary had taken a position as an outside director? If you didn’t suspect anything after seeing that secretary only taking care of Kang Eun-young, you would be called blind.

However, Kang Eun-young was denying that fact even to her close managers. She was openly saying that she had nothing to do with Jae-kyung.

At first, she thought she was just being coy, but now that things had come this far, she thought that it might not be just a coy statement. It was true that she was being sponsored by Jae-kyung, but she wasn’t related to Jae-kyung.

If you interpret that literally, it means that someone else is related to Jae-kyung.

If Kang Jin-ho had influence over Jae-kyung, and Jae-kyung was sponsoring Kang Eun-young because of Kang Jin-ho, then everything would fit perfectly.

If Kang Jin-ho was such a big shot that he could influence Jae-kyung, then Lee Jin-gun’s reaction earlier could also be understood.

Except for one question.

‘Then what is the relationship between Kang Jin-ho and Jae-kyung?’

Min So-young sighed quietly. These thoughts were meaningless right now. What was important was that the drama was getting unprecedented attention thanks to Kang Jin-ho, and the promotion team was being flooded with inquiries.

“…If I say he’s not going to debut, no one will believe me, right?”

And so, another victim of Kang Jin-ho was added here.

Seeing Kang Jin-ho opening the car door and getting into the passenger seat, Jo Gyu-min smiled broadly.

“Wow, the superstar has arrived?”

“Should I get out?”

“No, you shouldn’t.”

Seeing the smile on Jo Gyu-min’s face, Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

“The real-time search rankings are a complete mess.”

“…That’s something.”

“Everyone is saying you’re so handsome. Wow, I’m with you all the time, but I didn’t think you were that handsome. But seeing you with makeup on the screen, my heart is pounding…”

“…I’m getting out.”

“I’m just kidding.”

Jo Gyu-min chuckled and started the car.

“But isn’t it fun? It’s not often that you get the chance to receive so much attention from so many people. It’s the kind of attention that only politicians who are shaking up the country or top celebrities can get.”

“I’d like to decline.”

“Are you getting a lot of customers at the store too?”

“…How did you know?”

“It’s obvious. I saw the store address being shared on SNS. Even if they’re not Kang Jin-ho’s fans, people want to go there once they hear about it.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly. Well, these days, it’s an era where people judge food with their eyes. In a world where famous places are accepted just because they’re famous, it was understandable.

“So, where are we going now?”

“Jae-kyung headquarters.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t I tell you that the item arrived? And we need to discuss other things. You’ll understand when we get there.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly as he looked at the cars passing by.

‘Item, huh…’

Arriving at Jae-kyung, Kang Jin-ho and Jo Gyu-min took the chairman’s private elevator to the top floor.

People passing by glanced at Kang Jin-ho’s face as he waited for the private elevator.

‘Did those people watch the drama too?’

He suddenly thought that he should check what kind of scene it was that made people go crazy.

“Calm down. Those people are looking at who is using the chairman’s elevator. I can’t ride it alone either.”

“…Can’t we just take the regular elevator?”

“You should have said so earlier. The elevator is here.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed and got on the elevator. It seemed like Jo Gyu-min was having fun teasing him these days.

Arriving at the top floor and entering the secretary’s office, Kang Jin-ho sat on the sofa at Jo Gyu-min’s request to wait a bit. After a little while, Jo Gyu-min came to Kang Jin-ho, struggling with a large box.

“Here it is.”

Without a word, Kang Jin-ho quietly opened the box.

He didn’t need to ask what was inside. He had been hearing muffled noises from inside the box since a while ago.

Creak.

With the sound of the wooden box twisting, the lid of the box opened. Kang Jin-ho picked up two swords placed in the middle of the box, which was filled with straw.

Cheongru and Jeokru.

The two swords that shared his fate had finally returned to his hands, crossing the West Sea.