Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 283

Instead, a strange question came back.

“You have a lot to do too, don’t you?”

“Do you think it’s as much as Jin-ho?”

Park Yu-min quietly got up from his seat and looked at the door his friend had left through.

“He seems to have a lot on his mind these days, so let’s leave him alone for a while. He’s a capable guy, he’ll manage.”

“Ugh.”

Joo Young-gi shook his head as if he couldn’t understand at all. He couldn’t figure out where Park Yu-min’s almost religious faith in Kang Jin-ho came from.

“You’re a believer, a believer.”

“Stop complaining so much. You know Jin-ho isn’t the type to be doing this kind of thing here.”

“This kind of thing, you jerk! What’s wrong with this? Am I the type to be doing this kind of thing?”

“He’s a bit different from us.”

“……You’re a total fanboy, seriously.” Joo Young-gi shook his head and headed to the kitchen, and Park Yu-min chuckled.

‘How long will this time last?’

These days were enjoyable.

Come to think of it, Park Yu-min had hardly ever had such a comfortable time. While he was in school, he had to juggle studying and taking care of his younger siblings, and by the time he graduated, he was already working as a professional gamer, which was not easy.

When he had to wrap up his life as a pro gamer, the head nun’s health was not good, so he had to take over the orphanage.

For Park Yu-min, these days were just enjoyable. He was running a store with his friends, and he didn’t have to worry about much else. The orphanage was stable thanks to Kang Jin-ho’s help, and in his spare time, he was diligently preparing to try out new games.

‘This time won’t last long.’

Both Kang Jin-ho and he would get busier as time went on.

If Kang Jin-ho set his mind to it, he could make the store a success no matter what. Unlike other entrepreneurs who couldn’t do everything because they didn’t have the capital, Kang Jin-ho could pour money into it and create the best store if he wanted to.

However, Park Yu-min and Joo Young-gi knew that the reason he was starting from the bottom like this was because he wanted to be with them.

“I wish this time could last a little longer……”

Thinking that it might be too greedy, Park Yu-min headed for the door to open the store.

* * *

“It’s been a while.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the man who bowed his head and greeted him.

He was someone he recognized.

Was his name Jeong Seok-su?

He was the person who had been kidnapped along with Kang Eun-young when she was taken to the abandoned factory.

“Yes, hello.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Kang Eun-young and Jeong Seok-su sitting across from him, and Choi Yeon-ha sitting next to him, and quietly turned his head towards the window. The remaining seats at the four-person table were full, and he was sitting in the corner where the window and wall met.

‘This feels like I’m surrounded.’

It wasn’t intentional, but it felt that way.

Kang Jin-ho wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed softly.

“It feels like something is planned?”

“No, Oppa [older brother/term of endearment for a male], it’s not like that?” Kang Eun-young said with a bright smile, still cute as ever.

She was so cute that he wanted to bite her.

“Okay, what do you want to say?” Jeong Seok-su bowed his head again and said.

“First of all, thank you for coming out here.”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho was merciless to people who were rude, but he was also uncomfortable with people who were overly polite.

Seeing Jeong Seok-su being overly humble, he had a feeling that this meeting would be uncomfortable.

“First, please consider that I am here as a member of Core Entertainment, not as Kang Se-ah’s manager.”

“Core?”

“Yes, Kang Jin-ho.”

Jeong Seok-su took a deep breath and continued.

“Since you appeared in the drama, we have been receiving inquiries about you at Core. It has died down a bit now, but we are still getting inquiries.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho’s expression became a little indifferent.

He had agreed to meet, but this kind of talk was outside of Kang Jin-ho’s interests.

“We keep making excuses, but the media’s interest in celebrities is more persistent than you think. If we keep holding them off like this, people will eventually start showing up at your house.”

“……I’ll have to report them.”

“It’s not that easy……”

Jeong Seok-su sighed.

“That’s why I’m asking, do you really have no intention of working in this field?”

“No.”

Jeong Seok-su’s face was a little dumbfounded at Kang Jin-ho’s immediate answer without any room for thought.

‘The PR team is going to kill me……’

It was fortunate that the president wasn’t very proactive, but the PR team’s influence could not be ignored.

The PR team, which always had to cover up Kang Jin-ho’s story while dealing with media coverage, was on the verge of exploding from stress.

Jeong Seok-su looked at Choi Yeon-ha with a desperate face, and she opened her mouth with a determined expression.

“Kang Jin-ho, you really have no interest in the entertainment industry, right?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“No.”

He didn’t even give a reason.

Choi Yeon-ha, having confirmed that persuasion was impossible, let go of the string she had been holding onto.

‘I can’t keep holding onto someone who doesn’t want to do it.’

But she could try to make a deal to some extent.

“Okay, fine. I can’t keep pushing someone who’s not interested. But I have one request.”

“……A request?”

“Yes.”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had quenched her thirst with the juice in front of her, opened her mouth with a slightly humble tone.

“Could you appear in it just one more time?”

“Are you talking about the drama?”

“Yes.”

Choi Yeon-ha fidgeted with her fingers. When Kang Jin-ho remained silent with a sullen look, Choi Yeon-ha, who had become a little impatient, opened her mouth.

“Actually, the drama’s ratings have been dropping a bit lately.”

“I know. I know it’s not right to ask this of you. If the drama’s ratings are falling, it’s probably because of the poor directing or the bad script.

Or maybe it’s because our actors didn’t do a good job. I know that, but……”

Choi Yeon-ha glanced at Kang Eun-young. Kang Eun-young also had her head down.

“That’s how people are. We know something is wrong, but there are things we can’t let go of.”

“Hmm……”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back in his chair.

“Oppa, no smoking here.”

“I know.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand and said.

“I understand what you’re saying, but I have no intention of appearing in it.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I’m asking you.”

“……”

“I know you don’t like this kind of work. So, I won’t ask you if you have any intention of working as an actor in the future. So, I’m asking you if you could help us just once, just once.”

The Choi Yeon-ha that Kang Jin-ho knew was a very confident woman.

Seeing such a person being so humble made him think of many things.

‘Is this that important?’

She must have filmed more than one or two dramas. Some of them must have been successful, and some must have failed.

But why does she need to be so obsessed with the success of this drama?

She has a lot of experience, so it doesn’t seem like there would be a problem if this drama flopped?

“Is it that important for this drama to do well?”

“Yes. It’s a matter of life and death.”

“Really?”

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Kang Jin-ho quietly and sighed.

“Kang Jin-ho, you might think that we’re always on TV, but in reality, we only film one or two projects a year.”

“Hmm……”

“For me, appearing in this drama will be almost all of my activities this year.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

Come to think of it, it seemed like the drama was all that Kang Eun-young had been doing since she was discharged from the military. Even though quite a bit of time had passed.

“People don’t remember how hard an actor worked. Investors and viewers only remember whether the drama the actor appeared in did well or not.”

“You have a lot of experience.”

“How many of the people who were called top actors just a few years ago are still called that? It’s even more so for actresses. Even if you’re at the top now, you might not be at the top later. If you mess up one project, you fall from grace from that moment on.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

He didn’t know if that was really the case, but he could tell that Choi Yeon-ha was working on the project with that mindset.

“It’s the same for Kang Se-ah. If her debut project is ambiguous, the actress will also become ambiguous.”

“Hmm……”

“It’s not like the project is completely ruined yet. If it ends at this level, it could be a moderately successful drama. But we can’t let a project that could be a huge hit be evaluated as a moderately successful project.”

“Yeah, Oppa. That’s why I’m asking you.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly.

‘It was planned.’

No wonder Choi Yeon-ha and Kang Eun-young were both at the store this morning. There was a reason for it.

They probably gathered together and decided to pressure Kang Jin-ho.

It was a situation that could make him angry, but the reason he wasn’t angry was because he knew that they didn’t intend to take advantage of him, and he could feel their desperation.

He didn’t want to do it.

It was annoying.

In fact, he didn’t even know why he had to listen to this story.

However…….

‘Should I see this as them reaching out?’

Choi Yeon-ha and Kang Eun-young were not people who could be considered weak by the world’s standards. But they were now desperately reaching out to Kang Jin-ho.

If it was a difficult and challenging task, he wouldn’t need to help them, but from Kang Jin-ho’s point of view, filming wasn’t that difficult.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been thinking, turned to Kang Eun-young.

“You tell me.”

“……Huh?”

“You know how much I hate filming, right?”

“……Yeah.”

“You also know how much trouble I have to go through because my face is known. Do you still think I should help you?”

Kang Eun-young lowered her head.

After a long silence, Kang Eun-young slowly opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry. Honestly, I know that I can do all this because you helped me, Oppa, but I’m embarrassed and sorry to ask you to help me again. Honestly.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t rush her and quietly waited for Kang Eun-young’s answer.

“But Oppa, I think if I just do a little more, I can move forward without bothering you anymore…… That little bit is just too hard.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been looking at Kang Eun-young with a stern face, nodded.

“So, you want to receive help?”

“……You could say that.”

“Hmm.”

A displeased look appeared on Kang Jin-ho’s face.

In the past, he wouldn’t have hesitated. But now, he knew that other people weren’t as strong as he was.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been thinking, slowly opened his mouth.

“I……”