Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 326

“Why isn’t he coming out?”Choi Yeon-ha chewed on her fingernails.It was only after she had recklessly arrived in front of Kang Jin-ho’s shop that she realized the fundamental problem.

‘What if he leaves with his friends?’

If Kang Jin-ho closed up shop and left with his friends in a car, there would be nothing she could do. In the past, she could have calmly called out to Kang Jin-ho as he was getting into his car, but…

‘I can’t do that now.’

It was strange, but a sense of shame was starting to creep into the things she had been doing so nonchalantly until now.

If his friends saw her calling out to Kang Jin-ho, Choi Yeon-ha might go down in history as the first actress to die of embarrassment.

‘No, maybe that would be better….’

She had come all this way without a plan, but now that she was actually about to face Kang Jin-ho, she felt incredibly burdened.

‘Why did I even come?’

The more she thought about it, the more she felt like something was going wrong. When she came to her senses, she was already here.

Just as she was wondering if she should turn back, the lights inside the shop went out, and four people came outside.

‘Oh, no.’

The fact that there were four people was unsettling.

Since both Kang Jin-ho and Joo Young-gi had cars, there was a high chance they would split up and leave in two cars.

*Click.*

Choi Yeon-ha, who had bitten her fingernails tightly, watched the situation with a tense expression. She saw three people, excluding Kang Jin-ho, get into the car parked next to the shop.

‘Yes!’

Whether he knew it or not, Kang Jin-ho waved at the departing car as Choi Yeon-ha clenched her fist silently. As the car seemed to disappear into the distance, Choi Yeon-ha opened her car door and got out.

“Hoo!”

Her heart was strangely pounding, so she took a deep breath to calm herself.

‘Don’t overreact.’

She had seen him two days ago. What could have happened in the meantime to make her heart race like this?

What should she call this, a placebo effect? Whatever it was, it must be something like that.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head at the sound of a dry cough coming from behind him.

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes widened slightly as he discovered Choi Yeon-ha standing behind him.

“Choi Yeon-ha?”

“Ahem, ahem!”

Choi Yeon-ha coughed again.

She had come out without thinking, seizing the opportunity, but now she didn’t know what to say.

“The shop is closed, though?”

“Ah, no. I didn’t come to the shop.”

“…There’s no pizza left.”

“I didn’t come for pizza.” Her words were starting to get tangled.

“Then what brings you here?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s mind desperately began to come up with a reason. She had come to find someone late at night, but now she couldn’t explain why.

‘I absolutely can’t say, “I’ve been feeling restless because of you lately, and I thought seeing your face would clear things up!”’

Cold sweat began to trickle down Choi Yeon-ha’s forehead. This was a matter of pride.

“Ah… I was just passing by and stopped for a moment.”

“Is that so?”

‘Then why don’t you keep going, instead of standing here and holding me up?’ His gaze was fixed on Choi Yeon-ha. She didn’t know if Kang Jin-ho was actually thinking that, but that’s how it felt to her.

“My, my car broke down.”

“Pardon?”

“My car broke down nearby. So I couldn’t go home. Could you give me a ride?”

Choi Yeon-ha clenched her fist.

‘Perfect.’

For a spur-of-the-moment excuse she came up with late at night, it was quite appropriate. With this, she could naturally….

“Should I call your insurance company?”

“…Pardon?”

“If your car broke down, you should get it fixed. I heard you can just call your insurance.”

“Ah, no! I can’t do that at this hour. I’ll just leave my car and go home, then get it fixed tomorrow.”

“Then should I call you a taxi?”

“A taxi?”

“Yes.”

Choi Yeon-ha was horrified and waved her hand.

“Ah, no!”

“Why?”

“It’s not easy for a celebrity to take a taxi. The taxi driver might recognize me, and my whereabouts would be revealed. If it gets out that I was out late at night, it could cause a scandal.”

This wasn’t the Joseon era [a historical Korean dynasty], and that was unlikely to happen.

But Choi Yeon-ha was doing her best to make excuses.

“Hmm….”

As Kang Jin-ho seemed to be pondering, Choi Yeon-ha shouted!

“Just give me a ride! Don’t you have the basic etiquette to take a woman home who’s struggling alone at night?”

“Actually, that’s not easy, but it’s also a bit difficult.”

“Why? Are you going on a date?”

“It’s not that….”

Kang Jin-ho sighed as if he was in trouble and turned around.

“Just a moment.”

“…Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer and headed to the underground parking lot.

And then….

*Whoosh.*

With a low whooshing sound, Kang Jin-ho shot up from the underground.

“Huh?”

Choi Yeon-ha tilted her head.

“What is that?”

“It’s a bicycle. It’s called Geumdong.”

“A bicycle?”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged and replied.

“I used to ride it a lot, but recently I’ve gotten used to the car, so I haven’t been riding it much. So, I’ve decided to commute by bicycle for a while. If I had a car, I would have given you a ride, but as you can see, it’s a bit difficult to give you a ride with this….”

Kang Jin-ho looked apologetic, but somehow he didn’t seem apologetic at all. Rather, he seemed relieved to have found a way to avoid it.

‘This is infuriating, isn’t it?’

She had come to see him at night, and his reaction was that he was annoyed to death.

She didn’t expect Kang Jin-ho to react like other men. She already knew that the stoic man wouldn’t show such a reaction.

But he should at least look happy to see her!

Choi Yeon-ha puffed out her cheeks in anger.

“So, unfortunately….”

“Give me a ride.”

“Pardon?”

“You can give me a ride on the bicycle, right?”

“…I can, but wouldn’t it be uncomfortable?”

“It can’t be helped.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to call your manager?”

“I can’t ask someone to come out at this hour. I’m not that inconsiderate.”

Kang Jin-ho felt speechless.

Was she unable to judge which was more of a nuisance, calling her manager to take her home because her car broke down, or asking him to take her home on a bicycle late at night?

He desperately wanted to argue.

“You didn’t even buy me dinner.”

“That’s because you were just leaving….”

“Anyway, you still owe me one!”

“…Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho cleanly gave up on trying to persuade her. It was not a situation where words would work. Right now, Choi Yeon-ha’s eyes clearly showed her determination to get a ride home on Kang Jin-ho’s bicycle no matter what.

“Then, get on.”

“…Where do I sit?”

Kang Jin-ho pointed to the back seat of his bicycle.

“Here.”

“Ummm.”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had never sat on the back of a bicycle before, got on the bicycle with a stiff face.

“Where is your house?”

“H-here.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded after checking Choi Yeon-ha’s house on his phone map.

“Then, let’s go.”

The bicycle carrying Choi Yeon-ha began to move forward.

The bicycle carrying the two of them sped down the darkened road.

If you looked at it with a slightly warmer gaze, it would be a very romantic scene, but life is a comedy when viewed from afar and a tragedy when viewed up close.

“Kyaa! It’s shaking! Are we going to fall? Kyaa!”

“Ah, my hair! Don’t grab my hair! My hair!”

That day, Kang Jin-ho realized that there was a weakness in his body that he didn’t know about.

No matter how great a master he was, he could not train his hair.

Fortunately, his hair follicles were strong enough to prevent the worst-case scenario of his hair being pulled out, but there was nothing he could do about his hair breaking.

“Kyaa! I said we’re going to fall! I said we’re going to fall!”

“My hair! Ah! My hair!”

It was the first time since returning to the modern world that Kang Jin-ho had screamed.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I was really scared….”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer. The veins on his forehead explained how angry he was.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

“You seem angry?”

“I’m not.”

“…You are angry, aren’t you?”

“I said I’m not!”

Choi Yeon-ha quietly closed her mouth as she watched Kang Jin-ho shout.

‘He’s definitely angry.’

If he was angry, he should just say he was angry. Strangely, men tended to think that if they got angry, they would become the most petty person in the world.

“H-here, this….”

Choi Yeon-ha carefully handed Kang Jin-ho the coffee she was holding.

“Ha….”

Kang Jin-ho accepted the coffee Choi Yeon-ha offered with a slightly defeated look.

‘I never screamed even among those monsters of the Demonic Cult….’

Even when a sword was stuck in his body, Kang Jin-ho didn’t even groan. But he was screaming just because his hair was grabbed.

If Cheongma saw this, he might have laughed himself to death.

Kang Jin-ho gulped down the coffee Choi Yeon-ha had brought.

“Isn’t it hot?”

“Yes.”

It did feel a little hot, but it wasn’t enough to damage Kang Jin-ho’s body. Kang Jin-ho was someone who wouldn’t get burned even if he drank boiling water in one shot.

Choi Yeon-ha, who had made Kang Jin-ho scream, was quite amazing.

Kang Jin-ho sighed softly as he looked at the river in the distance.

“I said I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not that….”

Kang Jin-ho, who was about to say something, burst out laughing.

‘So many things have happened in my life.’ Today was the day he truly realized the meaning of that phrase.

“D-don’t worry. I’ll take a taxi.”

“You said you couldn’t take a taxi?”

“…I’ll figure it out. I can’t ride on the back of that bicycle.”

“You won’t fall.”

“I know. I know, but I’m too nervous….”

Choi Yeon-ha looked at Geumdong with a very anxious face. It was a very unpleasant thing for Geumdong, who boasted 5 years of accident-free riding, but fortunately, Geumdong had no ears.

“Are you always that scared?”

“No. I’m usually known for being fearless. I didn’t know I would be like this either.”

“Have you never ridden a bicycle before?”

“I think I rode a tricycle when I was little….”

“It must be because of trauma. I heard you fell a lot when you first learned to ride a bicycle. So now, just seeing a bicycle makes me a little nervous….”

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened slightly.

“…Don’t make that face. I know I’m pathetic.”

“No. It’s not that….”

Kang Jin-ho tried to explain something but shook his head.

“You said you’re scared of bicycles, right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t grab my hair, grab my waist.”

“Pardon?”

“Hold my waist tightly and don’t lift your head no matter what. Then I’ll take care of it.”

“What does that mean?”

“This way.”

Kang Jin-ho got on his bicycle and pulled her towards him.