Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 381

There are countless answers in the world.

People who think there’s only one answer are narrow-minded. As you live life, you realize that there isn’t just one answer. Among the many answers, there are correct ones and incorrect ones, but to live life more efficiently, you must strive to find the best answer among the many.

Among them, the answer that you should be most wary of is the wrong answer that seems right.

It’s an answer, and it sounds like the most correct answer, but sometimes that answer is blocked by reality and cannot be realized.

The answer Kang Jin-ho just gave was exactly like that.

“Oh, no!”

Han Jin-sung desperately tried to grab his wits that had flown to Andromeda [a distant galaxy, used here to emphasize how far his thoughts had wandered].

He was holding back his anger because the other person was Kang Jin-ho, but if someone else had said that, he might have cursed them out.

“Th-that’s the solution?”

“Yeah.”

Han Jin-sung thumped his chest.

Why does this guy always say things that turn people’s insides out with that calm… no, that handsome face?!

Last time, when he said he was worried about his poor grades, he said, ‘Then study harder and raise your grades,’ which made him so mad!

“If I could do that, I wouldn’t be in this situation!”

“You can do it if you try.”

“Hyung, people can’t win against five people.”

“Usually, that’s true.”

Han Jin-sung was venting his frustration, but Kang Jin-ho’s expression was as calm as ever. It was as if he was saying something very common-sense and obvious, like 1 plus 1 equals 2.

“That’s why I’m saying I’ll make it possible for you to do that.”

“Ah, okay.”

Han Jin-sung smiled faintly.

‘I shouldn’t have said anything.’

You talk to people who understand you. Talking to someone who doesn’t understand is like giving a lecture to a wall.

But the others didn’t seem to think so.

“So, if the kids bully us, we should beat them up?”

“Yeah.”

“…That’s a bit much.”

“Why?”

Kang Jin-ho asked with a genuinely puzzled look.

“I learned that it’s not right to respond to violence with violence.”

“Then what are you going to respond with?”

“You seem to be mistaken, but the reason this situation happened is not because you did something wrong, but because there’s nothing to protect you. If the price for bullying and assaulting classmates was expulsion or going to a juvenile detention center, no one would try to bully anyone. Even if they did, it would be less severe than it is now. But that’s not the case. It’s hard to prove, and even if you do, the punishment isn’t enough, so this is what’s happening. If you can’t protect yourself in any other way, does that mean you should just take the beating? Is that the answer?”

Kang Jin-ho spoke calmly. But now, his calm tone sounded even more chilling.

“You seem to be mistaken, but I’ve never said that I’m giving you the right answer. And I’m not going to tell you that you should only walk the right and righteous path. The world is too hard and dirty to live by everything the world says is right. People who keep all those rules either become heroes or miserable. Neither is happy.”

Kang Jin-ho pointed his finger at someone.

“Like him.”

Park Yoo-min, who was suddenly pointed at, jumped.

“Why, why are you bringing me into this!”

Park Yoo-min felt wronged, but the other kids seemed to understand what Kang Jin-ho was saying.

“Wow, this isn’t going to work.”

“I know, right.”

“That’s too hard.”

As soon as Park Yoo-min’s name came up, the kids started to sympathize.

Park Yoo-min looked around with a face that said, ‘What is going on?’ The kids were all looking at him with pity.

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Hyung, hang in there.”

“The world isn’t always that hard.”

“What’s wrong with me?” The kids all shook their heads. They had never seen anyone as kind as Park Yoo-min. And they had never seen anyone live as hard a life as Park Yoo-min.

Without anyone telling him to, he would wake up early to cook for the kids, prepare them for school, do all the work at the orphanage, and even after going out to work, he would check to see if the kids were okay.

‘He’s not even a mom…’

Even a real mom wouldn’t do that. And it wasn’t like Park Yoo-min was taking care of just one or two kids.

If living righteously results in that, then no thanks.

Kang Jin-ho continued.

“I’m not great enough to teach you the right path and solve all these situations. Don’t expect that from me. What I can do is give you a way to solve the immediate situation, and at least make sure you don’t get stressed out by other guys while you’re in school. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“But, hyung.”

“Hmm?”

Han Jin-sung looked a little hesitant.

“We’re okay, but what about the girls? We can’t hit them if they bully us.”

“There’s another solution for that.”

“Another solution?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer because I’m not the one making that solution.”

“Is it someone trustworthy?”

“Trust…”

Kang Jin-ho asked back.

“They’re trustworthy, right?”

Why are you asking me that, you idiot?

Han Jin-sung began to worry about whether this would be resolved well.

“Noona! Noona, where are you going again today?”

“Are you a stalker? A sasaeng fan [an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other inappropriate behavior]? What’s wrong with you, setting up a tent and sleeping in front of someone’s house?”

“It’s because you don’t contact me and won’t meet me. Who would want to sleep on the street in this weather? Noona, I’m your manager. Other managers are with their celebrities 24/7, but I’m seeing your face for the first time in a month. Does that make any sense?”

“Hey!”

Choi Yeon-ha said with a chilling gaze.

“Do you think I’m the same as those idol kids who go to events? Huh? Are we the same?”

“…N-no, you’re different.”

He had to answer carefully here. If he carelessly touched the pride of that nasty woman, who knows what kind of disaster would happen.

It was a well-known fact that one of Choi Yeon-ha’s previous managers had been flipped over along with the president’s office table after saying that if she didn’t work on any projects, she would lose her place to the younger kids who were coming up.

Usually, people think of the relationship between an agency and its actors as an absolute power dynamic, but for a big shot like Choi Yeon-ha, that power dynamic is reversed. No one, not even the agency president, can raise their voice in front of Choi Yeon-ha.

“Do I have a schedule right now? Do I have anything? So why are you contacting me and bothering me? Don’t you know it’s bad manners to text and call people from the company when they’re resting? Are you being a jerk to me right now?”

“A, a jerk? Did you just say I’m being a jerk?”

It’s possible for a convenience store worker to slap the franchise owner in the face, but it was absolutely impossible for him to be a jerk to Choi Yeon-ha.

Choi Yeon-ha clicked her tongue at the bewildered manager.

“Let’s rest during the break. Huh? Why do you keep contacting me and bothering me when I don’t have a schedule! And you need to have some sense, why don’t you take down that tent? It’s embarrassing for the neighborhood.”

“…It’s not that you don’t have a schedule, it’s that you’re not taking any schedules.”

“Then I don’t have one! Does the result change?”

The manager was on the verge of giving up.

‘Who on earth is going to marry this woman?’

What’s the point of having a pretty face if your personality is trash?

It’s not surprising that celebrities have bad personalities, but Choi Yeon-ha was a different type from those other nasty female celebrities.

She was unnecessarily sensitive and sharp, getting excited about everything, getting angry by herself, getting depressed by herself, and then causing trouble everywhere. Unlike the many female celebrities who would ruin their groups by playing politics with each other, Choi Yeon-ha was… what should I say…

‘She’s just crazy.’

She’s just weird from the root.

If the viewers who think of Choi Yeon-ha as a pure goddess saw her usual self, they would foam at the mouth and collapse.

Someday, this must be revealed to the world. That way, there won’t be any more unfortunate victims.

‘That’s why she doesn’t have a boyfriend.’

Unlike the many agencies that work day and night to prevent their female celebrities from dating, Choi Yeon-ha’s agency was actively encouraging her to date.

This was because the idea that she needed to meet a good man and date to reduce her unpredictable and sensitive nature was considered very realistic.

So they begged her to go somewhere and meet a good man…

‘Why is she saying she’s not interested in dating again!’

The manager’s forehead veins popped out.

When you think about it, she’s not a bad celebrity to manage. There are many celebrities who go out to clubs and parties every night, get drunk, and can’t be contacted, but Choi Yeon-ha was a herbivore who would just stay home or work out at the gym when she didn’t have a schedule.

She hated alcohol, hated parties, and hated the combination of alcohol and parties ten times more.

‘Handsome men are too greasy because they’re handsome, ugly men are annoying because they’re ugly, and average men are not attractive.’

What am I supposed to do? The words just came out.

It was clear that this woman was going to die an old maid.

“Where are you going?”

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re going out now. Where are you going?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s eyes narrowed slightly. When Choi Yeon-ha had that look, it meant she was really in a bad mood.

The manager quickly shut his mouth.

“It seems like I’m supposed to report my private life to you? I don’t remember putting that clause in the contract. Should I go to the office and ask the president if they’ve revised the contract?”

“Ah, no! I’m sorry. It’s not that, I was just curious…”

“You, I…”

The moment Choi Yeon-ha’s eyes narrowed, her phone suddenly started ringing.

He thought she would hang up and keep getting angry, but Choi Yeon-ha glanced at the screen, cleared her throat, and turned around to answer the phone.

“I, I’m leaving now.”

‘Why does her voice sound like that?’

The manager’s face went blank. That wasn’t it… That wasn’t the Choi Yeon-ha’s voice he knew. What should he call it? Wasn’t that the bubbly voice she used when she was playing a lively role? The one where she would get goosebumps and feel greasy in her mouth after each cut, so she would tell him to go buy something bitter?

“Yes. Ah, no. I just woke up. I overslept a little. I’ll just throw something on and go, so wait a little.”

‘Noona, you’re fully made up right now.’

If that’s throwing something on, where is she going when she’s dressed up?

A fashion show?

The manager, who was watching Choi Yeon-ha fan herself while talking on the phone, suddenly had a glint in his eyes.

‘N-no way… is this it?’

This is a major situation.

Choi Yeon-ha is dating.