Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 343

The atmosphere can cloud a person’s judgment. Even someone who lives to make people laugh wouldn’t crack jokes at a solemn funeral.

Even if it weren’t disrespectful, humans are instinctively creatures that grasp the surrounding atmosphere.

Right now, Kang Jin-ho was experiencing just how much the atmosphere could shrink a person.

Kang Eun-young, with a face that looked like she could devour a ghost, Baek Hyun-jung, who looked like she was about to grab someone by the hair and drag them around the neighborhood (though he didn’t know who), and Kang Yu-hwan, who was glaring from behind with a face that said, ‘I raised my son wrong,’ were chilling the spacious living room with the mere force of their auras.

‘It’s cold.’

His body was cold, and his heart was cold.

The fact that he had arrived not at the warm embrace of his family after all that hardship, but at gazes that looked like they would kill him, made Kang Jin-ho feel miserable.

‘I should have just said I was in a car accident.’

If he had just said he had a minor head injury and was in bed for three days, his whole family would be fussing over him, saying, ‘Oh, my poor baby.’ Instead, he was about to get his ears boxed for saying this.

‘Incompetent.’

That was Jo Gyu-min’s assessment of Kang Jin-ho’s claim.

“While that might make things easier for you, Mr. Kang, wouldn’t it break your parents’ hearts? If their son got hit by a car while riding his bike home from work, lost consciousness, and was on the brink of death for three days, wouldn’t their hearts be torn apart?”

He was right.

It sounded absolutely right.

For Kang Jin-ho, who lived by the principle of not driving a stake into his parents’ hearts, even if he couldn’t be a filial son from the news, those words were the final blow.

So, the conclusion was, ‘Let’s make an excuse that won’t break my parents’ hearts and make Kang Jin-ho look like a bit of a bad guy’…

‘But why did that turn into going on a trip with Choi Yeon-ha!’

This was the scenario Jo Gyu-min had created.

That night, Choi Yeon-ha appeared before Kang Jin-ho as he was about to leave work. And suddenly, she suggested they go on a trip. Thinking it was something he could do, he said okay, and Choi Yeon-ha immediately took Kang Jin-ho to the airport.

He happened to have his passport, so they took a late-night flight overseas. He didn’t know how to roam, so his phone was out of service, and he lost his phone during the trip.

So, he just played around without thinking and came back now.

‘Is this even a scenario?’

It was basically saying, ‘I’m so thoughtless, stupid, and pathetic, everyone,’ in a very strong way.

Of course, Kang Jin-ho had a minimum of reason, and he said it didn’t seem right… but Jo Gyu-min was firm.

He said that instead of making a clumsy excuse, it was more realistic to say that he was charmed by a beauty like Choi Yeon-ha and went abroad, grinning like an idiot.

Jo Gyu-min said that if he said he went on a trip with someone else, he would be seen as a crazy person, but his parents would understand that no man could refuse a trip proposed by Choi Yeon-ha.

When he argued that it was too much, Jo Gyu-min strongly pushed back, saying that his parents would be happy if he went on a trip with a woman like Choi Yeon-ha.

Along with the explanation that that’s how dating is.

‘I should have realized that guy is a total loner…’

Jo Gyu-min was stupid for bringing it up, but Kang Jin-ho was also stupid for believing it. At the very least, he shouldn’t have listened to Jo Gyu-min when it came to dating…

It was like going to an expert when you don’t know about computers, but asking for a quote from someone who has never even touched a computer.

And the price was now hitting Kang Jin-ho hard.

“Without even contacting us?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Without a word?”

“Jin-ho?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“So, you’re saying our son was gallivanting overseas with a woman, grinning like an idiot, without even contacting his mother. And neglecting the store, too.”

Kang Jin-ho’s body shrank.

‘Incompetent!’

He felt like he wanted to run to Jo Gyu-min right now, grab him by the collar, and shake him. If he was going to discuss this kind of response, he should have called Joo Young-gi or Park Yu-min. Not Jo Gyu-min!

“And you didn’t even think about how worried your mother would be during the trip and didn’t call once? Did you go to Africa or something? There aren’t even public phones there?”

“…I didn’t know how to make an international call.”

“Can’t our son use KakaoTalk [a popular messaging app]? Was there no Wi-Fi?”

“…I lost my phone.”

“Did Choi Yeon-ha lose her phone too?”

Kang Jin-ho was getting more and more cornered.

At that moment, Kang Eun-young jumped up from her seat, literally spitting fire.

“Hey, you! You should have just said you had a car accident somewhere and had amnesia for three days and regained your memory today! Why are you spouting nonsense with an excuse that’s worse than a third-rate soap opera scenario!”

‘I should have gone with that scenario.’

Kang Jin-ho had also thought of that scenario, but he didn’t know he and his sister would be so in sync.

“You disappeared for three days without a single call and then shamelessly show your face, and what? A trip? A trriiiip? The tourism board would give you an award. How stifled you must have been, keeping someone who loves to travel so much at home all this time? I’m sorry! I am!”

He hadn’t realized that a rising star of the blame game was growing in the house. How could she turn someone’s insides out like that without even saying a single curse word?

Kang Jin-ho felt both sadness and admiration at the same time.

“What are you saying? Can’t you speak properly?”

“…It’s the truth.”

“The truth?”

Kang Eun-young’s eyes flashed.

With the determination to find evidence of her brother’s misbehavior, Kang Eun-young confirmed her detective instincts.

“Hey, I know how to check with the immigration office. What if it’s not recorded that you went abroad? Show me your passport.”

“I, I lost my passport.”

“Oh ho?”

Kang Eun-young turned to Baek Hyun-jung and said,

“Mother, he’s a repeat offender. My brother’s excuse is worthless. We should put him on the rack and get a confession.”

“Jin-ho!”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Are you going to tell me the truth or not?”

Kang Jin-ho just laughed.

‘Incompetent.’

Not just incompetent, but extremely incompetent.

It wouldn’t be easy for the evaluation of the life-saving benefactor who had saved him not long ago to fall to the bottom of hell like this.

“You, lying to your mother right now…”

At that moment, Kang Yu-hwan cleared his throat.

“Ahem.”

At Kang Yu-hwan’s cough, Baek Hyun-jung closed her mouth.

“Honey.”

“Um, just a moment.”

Kang Yu-hwan stopped Baek Hyun-jung and quietly looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yes, Father.”

Kang Yu-hwan looked at Kang Jin-ho quietly and then opened his mouth.

“In your father’s eyes, you haven’t done anything shameful, have you?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded firmly.

Because that was the truth.

What he had done was something to be praised, not something to be scolded for.

“Then that’s enough. Go in and rest.”

“…Yes?”

“You said you didn’t do anything shameful, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s enough. What’s the point of talking about it anymore?”

“Dad!”

“Honey!”

“Shhh!”

Kang Yu-hwan put his finger to his lips and shook his head.

“Of course, you know that what you did this time wasn’t good either, right?”

“Yes. I know.”

“Okay. The Jin-ho I know isn’t the kind of guy who wouldn’t contact his parents even if he could. If you didn’t contact us, there must have been a reason why you couldn’t.”

Kang Jin-ho bowed his head without saying anything.

Having someone who believes in you without having to explain everything was sometimes a heavy thing, and sometimes a source of strength.

“You must be tired, go in and rest quickly.”

“Yes, Father.”

Kang Jin-ho answered and then glanced at his mother and Kang Eun-young. The two of them had dissatisfied faces, but they weren’t opening their mouths. That was because immediately objecting here would be undermining their father’s dignity.

‘I should leave them alone.’

Kang Jin-ho quietly got up, gave a slight bow, and headed to his room.

As soon as Kang Jin-ho went in and the door closed, Baek Hyun-jung glared at Kang Yu-hwan with a fierce look.

“This isn’t something we can just end like this, honey!”

“Then? What do you want to do?”

“We should at least hear what happened. Even if there was a reason!”

“Do you not know his personality? Once he decides not to say something, he’ll never say it.”

“Still!”

“Let’s not do that.”

Kang Yu-hwan shook his head.

“My son said he didn’t do anything shameful, how can we not believe him? What have we done for him as parents that we can’t even believe him?”

“…Honey.”

“And has Jin-ho ever worried us before?”

“It’s because he’s not usually like this that it’s more concerning.”

“That’s what’s wrong!”

“…Yes?”

Kang Yu-hwan said firmly.

“If someone who doesn’t usually make mistakes makes a mistake, you should embrace them, not say they shouldn’t do it because they didn’t do it before. What kind of logic is that? Don’t force your children to live a life without mistakes or failures. Is someone who doesn’t make mistakes not human? Pressure can ruin a person.”

But Baek Hyun-jung still had a face that said she couldn’t accept it.

“Of course, if Jin-ho does something similar in the future, he’ll pay the price for his actions then. That price will be that we can no longer trust Jin-ho.
That’s for then. If a child has been doing well on his own and not worrying his parents, we should be able to laugh it off even if he makes a mistake once. If a child who always gets 100 points gets 80 points and we make a fuss like it’s the end of the world, the child will feel like their life is ruined if they can’t get 100 points in the future.”

Baek Hyun-jung nodded quietly.

Emotionally, she couldn’t accept everything, but she seemed to understand it logically. If they scolded and got angry at a child who had been doing well for making a mistake once, their son would be afraid of even the slightest mistake in the future, and he would try to hide it even if he did make a mistake.

‘I have to worry about such things.’

It was something she should have thought about before, but since Kang Jin-ho hadn’t worried them since high school, this kind of worry was now arising.

“Let’s think that a grown man can do that and laugh it off. His face clearly shows that he’s not comfortable, do we really have to pick at it? He’s our son. Don’t you trust Jin-ho?”

“…I do.”

“Okay. Then that’s enough. Instead of just nagging our child to be a good son, let’s try to be good parents too. Isn’t it still a time when we need to try a little harder?”

“You’re right.”

As Baek Hyun-jung seemed to be defeated, Kang Eun-young rebelled.

“Dad! I don’t understand?”

“Then should we hold a hearing for you too, using the same standards as Jin-ho?”

“My brother is not at fault!”

Kang Eun-young, who had compromised with reality, sank with a groan.

Kang Yu-hwan chuckled and said,

“Of course, I don’t like it either. I wonder why he’s doing this. But Jin-ho has already built up enough mileage. So, even if he made a mistake, we should understand it with his past merits. If we keep digging, it’s obvious that we’ll only hurt our feelings… let’s believe him and move on.”

“Yes. I’ll do as you say.”

At the moment when a dramatic agreement was reached, Kang Jin-ho was sitting with his arms crossed in front of the door.

‘Thank you, Father.’

More than anything else, the words that he believed in his son touched Kang Jin-ho’s heart the most.

And…

“But did that guy really go on a trip with Choi Yeon-ha?”

“…Should we ask?”

“A grown man and woman went on a trip together for three days, how could nothing have happened?”

“…Dad, are you going to see a grandchild?”

Grinding teeth.

Kang Jin-ho gritted his teeth at the sound coming from beyond the door.

‘Jo Gyu-min.’