Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 285

“Is it a rare treat to ride home in Jin-ho’s car?”

Park Yu-min’s shoulders bounced as if he was excited.

“Hey, Park Yu-min. Your reaction is a bit different than when I give you a ride?”

“Your car is uncomfortable.”

“What did you say? What’s wrong with our ‘Bung Bung’ car!”

“Yeah. I know ‘Bung Bung’ is a good car, but you’re a terrible driver.”

“…Ha, you little… Don’t expect a ride from me again. I’m leaving first, you jerk!”

Joo Young-gi, pouting, stomped out. Kang Jin-ho chuckled at the sight.

“He’s really going to sulk.”

“No, Young-gi has a big heart, even if he acts like that.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

Having gone through so much hardship in the military, Joo Young-gi was quite understanding, despite his words.

‘Yu-min and him seem to get along well.’

It took Kang Jin-ho quite a while to become close with Joo Young-gi. But strangely, Park Yu-min became friends with Joo Young-gi quickly. It was odd, considering Park Yu-min’s lack of sociability in the past.

“We should go too.”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho turned off the lights and went outside. He opened the car door after reaching the car parked in the building’s basement.

“Is this a new one?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you scrap the old one?”

“Yeah.”

Park Yu-min shook his head, looking exasperated.

“You park a new car in a place like this. Aren’t you worried?”

“Worried?”

“…Never mind.”

Park Yu-min was once again reminded that Kang Jin-ho was a different breed. If he had bought such a car, he would be in a constant state of anxiety the moment it was out of his sight.

He would wail as if the world had ended if there was even a scratch on it. He couldn’t understand how Kang Jin-ho could park it in such a secluded place with such nonchalance.

‘Let’s not try to understand him.’

Park Yu-min knew from long experience that trying to understand Kang Jin-ho only led to headaches.

“Aren’t you getting in?”

“Oh… Yeah!”

Park Yu-min got into the passenger seat, feeling the familiar embrace of the seat, and shuddered.

‘Oh, I forgot.’

Park Yu-min, remembering what it meant to ride in Kang Jin-ho’s car, turned pale and said to Kang Jin-ho.

“Jin-ho, you must be tired too… Should I just take a taxi?”

“Why a taxi when you’re already in? I’ll take you.”

“No, no matter how I think about it, you should go and rest, so it’s better if I just take a taxi.”

“It’s okay. I’ll take you.”

‘I’m not okay! I’m not okay, you jerk!’

His inner scream echoed, but unfortunately, Kang Jin-ho hadn’t mastered mind-reading yet.

“You should buckle up.”

“Okay.”

Park Yu-min buckled up with a prayer in his heart.

‘Lord.’

He knew Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t cause an accident. Kang Jin-ho hadn’t even caused a minor scratch while driving all this time. Perhaps this was the safest place in the world.

But like a person with a fear of heights who can’t look down even with multiple safety measures, Park Yu-min couldn’t look forward, even though he knew there wouldn’t be an accident.

Looking down at his knees was the most resistance he could muster.

“Let’s go.”

Brrrrrrrrrrr!

The car started moving forward with the engine roaring fiercely.

‘I’m crazy.’

Park Yu-min trembled as he felt the familiar acceleration.

“Ugh…”

“Are you okay?”

“…Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You seem to get carsick easily?”

“…Yeah.”

Park Yu-min looked back at Kang Jin-ho, who was patting his back with a bewildered expression.

‘Carsick?’

Anyone who sits in the passenger seat of that car would get carsick, even Schumacher [Michael Schumacher, a famous Formula One driver]. No sane person could remain calm. Who could endure a situation where their life flashes before their eyes dozens of times in an instant?

‘Don’t look at me with such a calm face.’

Seeing Kang Jin-ho looking at him with a concerned expression made him feel like he was overreacting. Park Yu-min sighed and barely straightened up.

“Oh, I’m going to die.”

“Do you want some water?”

“Do you have any?”

Without a word, Kang Jin-ho took out a bottle of water from the car and tossed it lightly to Park Yu-min. Park Yu-min caught the water and gulped it down, then lowered the bottle.

“I feel a bit better.”

“Should we go in?”

“Let me get my head straight. If we go in now, I won’t even be able to wash properly.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded, and Park Yu-min sat on a bench on one side of the orphanage. Kang Jin-ho also sat down on the bench without a word.

“But Jin-ho.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you say you wouldn’t do the drama?”

Kang Jin-ho hesitated to answer.

He had already answered earlier. Yet, Park Yu-min was asking again, which meant he wanted a different answer than before. Not a vague answer, but Kang Jin-ho’s true feelings.

And Park Yu-min was one of the few people who could demand the truth from Kang Jin-ho.

“Because it’s a waste.”

“A waste?”

“Well…”

Kang Jin-ho pondered for a moment.

Park Yu-min was a close friend, but he had lived a very different life from him. Sometimes, it felt like it would be difficult to explain the depth of Kang Jin-ho’s life to his friend, who sometimes seemed so naive.

“Do you remember high school?”

“Of course, I remember. That was the most important time in my life.”

“There were many things that happened back then, but after so much time has passed, I don’t remember much except for the important things.”

“…Well, yeah.”

Park Yu-min recalled his high school days.

Before meeting Kang Jin-ho, Park Yu-min’s school days were nothing but darkness. Due to his congenital disability, he couldn’t make friends and was a target of bullying.

‘I don’t really remember anything.’

The things he remembered were all depressing. It was only after meeting Kang Jin-ho that he had some happy memories.

“It’s nothing when it’s over. In other words, it feels like that time passed too quickly. Like school, like the military.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“It’s probably the same with life.”

“…Huh?”

“When it’s the end, will I feel really satisfied? Usually, wouldn’t there be some regrets? It feels like there was enough time, but I didn’t spend it wisely. Life passes by faster than you think, so why didn’t I do more of the things I wanted to do and cherish it?”

“Hmm, maybe.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Park Yu-min quietly and said.

“I don’t want to have those thoughts when it’s the end. So, I don’t want to waste the time I have now.”

Park Yu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho with a look that said he understood, but not really.

‘It’s hard to understand.’

It was an emotion that Park Yu-min, who was still in his twenties, wouldn’t understand.

Kang Jin-ho had already seen the end in two lives.

Once, he saw the end relatively young, and once, he lived longer than he expected.

But whether it was short or long, the feeling Kang Jin-ho felt at the end was similar.

Regret, and disappointment.

The peaceful death without regrets that appears in movies or novels was like a fantasy that didn’t exist for Kang Jin-ho. Death was always disappointing and bleak.

So, he had to cherish his current life more.

He didn’t have time to waste on things like filming. At least for Kang Jin-ho, that time was meaningless. Kang Jin-ho’s honest feeling was that he wanted to be more faithful to the life he was living now.

“…I understand what you’re saying, but isn’t that even weirder?”

“What is?”

“Usually, becoming an actor by filming, or becoming famous, those things are more important. Not running a shop like kids playing house.”

“I don’t think so.”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“I don’t think so? At least for me, this is more important.”

“You know you’re really weird, right?”

“…Am I weird?”

Park Yu-min nodded vigorously.

“Of course, you’re weird. Usually, people would think that filming a movie with a top actress is much more important than three ordinary guys struggling together. But you think the opposite, so it’s weird, obviously.”

“Is that so?”

Park Yu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho, who was answering calmly, and laughed.

‘It’s not weird.’

That’s just who Kang Jin-ho was.

“What’s the point of saying anything?”

No matter how much he talked, Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t change his mind. And when he thought about it, it would feel strange if Kang Jin-ho became a celebrity and filmed movies and dramas.

The Kang Jin-ho that Park Yu-min knew wasn’t that kind of person.

“So, you’re really not going to do it?”

“I don’t know, maybe I’ll want to do it someday. But at least not now.”

“You’re fickle?”

“Maybe.”

The two looked at each other and laughed.

“It’s late. Go quickly. I’m going in now.”

“Should I say hello before I go?”

“The kids are all asleep. And the people who take care of them need to sleep too. Don’t wake the kids up, just go quickly.”

“I feel a bit uneasy just leaving after coming here after so long.”

“The kids said they missed you. The high schoolers come to the shop sometimes, so they don’t say anything, but the little ones are whining that they miss you.”

“…I should make some time.”

“If you bring another gift like that next time, I’ll lock the door.”

“I’ll just break it and put a new one.”

Park Yu-min sighed deeply. Kang Jin-ho was capable of doing that.

“I’m going.”

“Yeah.”

He watched Park Yu-min wave his hand and go inside the orphanage, then slowly turned around.

‘Because it’s important…’

Kang Jin-ho felt that his thoughts had become clearer while talking to Park Yu-min.

There was no particular reason why he didn’t want to do it.

It was just that he found more value in idly hanging out with Park Yu-min and Joo Young-gi than spending time there.

‘What’s important isn’t how others see it.’

What was important to Kang Jin-ho was how satisfied he was with his current life.

And now, he felt like he had a firm direction.

To do that, there were things he needed to take care of first. Kang Jin-ho quietly got into the car and lit a cigarette.

Two days had passed.

The time he had given to Lee Joong-gul had already passed. But neither Lee Hyun-joo nor Lee Joong-gul had contacted him.

That meant only one thing.

Kang Jin-ho smiled quietly.

Perhaps Kang Jin-ho had been hoping for this. He might have never wanted a bland situation where the terrified people gave up everything and retreated.

‘I should stop by home.’

It was time to take out the guys he had put under the bed. He would finish everything before the sun rose tomorrow morning.

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes quietly.

The direction was set. He had to live his life to the fullest. He didn’t want to end this life with regrets.

So…

He had to remove all the obstacles that were interfering with his life and trying to twist it. Today, his first step would be for that.

Bzzzzzz.

Kang Jin-ho, who had answered the ringing phone, opened his mouth with a calm look.

“Are you ready?”

[Everything is ready. We’re just waiting for you, Mr. Kang Jin-ho.]

“I’m going now.”

Kang Jin-ho hung up the phone as if there was nothing else to hear, started the engine, and stepped on the accelerator.