Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 399

What does it feel like to see someone getting beaten up right next to you?

At first, you just pray that the violence doesn’t come your way. Especially if the violence is from someone you can’t resist, all you can do is hope that you’re not the target.

But that’s only at the beginning.

If you keep watching someone getting brutally beaten, at some point, you realize that just watching the violence is even harder.

That’s exactly how Han Jin-sung felt right now. At first, he was just bewildered.

He didn’t know why he was called out here, why Jo Hyuk-tae was looking for him, or why Jo Hyuk-tae suddenly started beating up Kim Dong-min and the others.

But now, none of that mattered.

‘Just hit me instead, you bastard.’

Watching someone get turned into a rag doll right next to you wasn’t something a person could just endure. It was a good thing he had gone to the bathroom before coming up to the back of the school. Otherwise, he might have peed himself a little.

*Whack!*

Jo Hyuk-tae’s hand, as big as a pot lid, smacked Kim Dong-min’s cheek mercilessly. It was a miracle that blood didn’t splatter and his face didn’t swell up like a bun. His neck snapped with each blow, and it was amazing he could even stand it.

“Hey, you little shit. What did I tell you last night?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry? You little bastard?”

*Whack!*

His neck snapped again. Jo Hyuk-tae, looking displeased, kicked Kim Dong-min in the stomach.

“Ugh.”

Kim Dong-min gasped for air and rolled on the ground.

“You gonna keep resisting, you bastard?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kim Dong-min jumped up as if he would be in big trouble if he stayed down.

“Do you think I’m a joke now that I’m out of school?”

“Absolutely not.”

“If you didn’t think I was a joke, you wouldn’t have ignored what I said yesterday and let him get into this state. You little shit, did you do this to him because you were pissed off at what I said? Huh?”

“…That’s really not it.”

“It’s not?”

“No.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“Ha, these little shits, I treated them like they were something special because they’re older… Now they’re trying to climb all over me. Okay, fine. Let’s settle this today. Let’s see what you got, you bastards.”

*Whack!*

Jo Hyuk-tae started slapping the third-year students mercilessly. Seeing almost ten seniors getting beaten without a peep made it clear how terrifying Jo Hyuk-tae was.

‘I’ve heard the rumors… I’ve heard many times that there was a really scary senior in the third year, but who would have thought that ‘scary’ meant this level of scary?’

The seniors who are now in the third year, the ones getting beaten without being able to make any excuses, are respected in other schools, but they were getting beaten like little kids getting smacked by an adult.

*Whack!*

Han Jin-sung couldn’t take it anymore and started fidgeting.

“What the hell…”

Jo Hyuk-tae, who was about to curse, noticed Han Jin-sung fidgeting and changed his expression.

“Oh, sit down, sit down. Ah, sorry. I made you stand.”

“Huh?”

“Sit there. Relax. You… Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you here this long. I didn’t handle things properly.”

Jo Hyuk-tae sighed deeply.

“I’ll let you go soon, so just sit there and wait a bit. Sorry. Okay?”

“…Yes.”

Han Jin-sung nodded blankly.

“Hey, I said sit down. Don’t be nervous, just sit.”

“Ah… Okay.”

As Han Jin-sung sat down, Jo Hyuk-tae smiled at him and then turned his head. Jo Hyuk-tae’s face turned demonic again as he started slapping the third-year students.

“You bastards, I!”

*Whack!*

“Ah! I… haa…”

*Whack!*

Jo Hyuk-tae, as if unable to control his anger, slapped the kids and then turned his head to look at Yoon Da-bin.

Yoon Da-bin’s face was as white as a sheet. Looking at his bloodless face, it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed right now. But Jo Hyuk-tae didn’t seem to care about Yoon Da-bin at all. He had spoken to Kim Dong-min, so it seemed he was only going to hold them accountable.

Thanks to that, Yoon Da-bin couldn’t do anything but watch the ten seniors get beaten because of him.

Han Jin-sung, who was sitting down, saw Yoon Da-bin’s legs trembling like aspen leaves.

‘He’s scared.’

If he was this scared, how much more scared would Yoon Da-bin be?

“Ah, you bastards.”

*Whack!*

Jo Hyuk-tae slapped them one last time, grabbed Kim Dong-min by the collar with one hand, pulled him slightly, and said,

“Listen carefully.”

“Yes.”

“From today on, if Han… Ah, shit! What’s his name again?”

“It’s Han Jin-sung.”

“Right, Han Sung-jin.”

“…Han Jin-sung.”

“Ah, right. If I hear that Han Jin-sung has even a scratch on his body at school, you’re coming back here. And if he has a bad day at school, you’re coming back here again. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Even if Han Jin-sung gets dumped by a girl, you’re coming back here.”

No, that’s a bit much… Please calm down, mister.

“Anyway, if I hear that Han Jin-sung has any problems, you little shit, I’ll kill you even after you graduate. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

“Manage the kids properly. Before I kill you all. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You little bastards, seriously.”

Jo Hyuk-tae let go of Kim Dong-min’s collar, reached into his leather jacket, took out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth. He lit one, threw the rest of the pack at Kim Dong-min, blew out smoke, and said,

“Do well, okay?”

“Yes!”

“I hope this doesn’t happen again. I want you to know that I didn’t beat you because I had a grudge against you.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Good. You guys can go.”

Jo Hyuk-tae threw the cigarette he had taken a few puffs from on the ground, turned around, and approached Han Jin-sung.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“I said let’s go. I’ll give you a ride home.”

“…Ah, no. It’s okay.”

“Don’t be silly and get on. If you get home too late, I’ll get in more trouble. Ha, shit. I’m probably going to get in trouble anyway.”

He couldn’t dare refuse anymore. You can only refuse someone who you can actually refuse, how could he refuse this?

“Okay.”

“Put on the helmet.”

Jo Hyuk-tae was so kind, he even put the helmet on Han Jin-sung’s head.

“Ah, wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

“Give me your phone, your phone.”

“…Here you go.”

“I’m a total idiot and always forget things. I’m doing this because I might forget and just send you off later. This is my phone number, so if anything happens, don’t tell anyone else, just call me directly. I’ll take care of everything related to your school life perfectly. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay, get on.”

Jo Hyuk-tae got on his bike first and then had Han Jin-sung get on the back. Then, he sped off aggressively.

*Click!*

Watching the bike disappear, Kim Dong-min put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

The other third-year students approached Kim Dong-min, took cigarettes, and lit them silently. The third-year students, who had smoked a cigarette without saying a word, put out the butts and turned to look at Yoon Da-bin.

Yoon Da-bin couldn’t even breathe.

Kim Dong-min curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“Was it fun?”

“Was it fun watching us get into this mess because of you?”

“Ah, no.”

“Oh, okay. It doesn’t matter. It’s going to be fun now. It seems like it wasn’t fun for you. But it seems like it’s going to be fun for us.”

The third-year students surrounded Yoon Da-bin.

*Vroom, vroom.*

The bike stopped without going all the way into the orphanage.

“Is this good enough?”

“Yes!”

“Get off, get off.”

“Yes!”

Han Jin-sung, full of energy, quickly got off the bike. Then, he took off the helmet and carefully handed it to Jo Hyuk-tae.

Jo Hyuk-tae took the helmet, looked at Han Jin-sung quietly, and sighed deeply.

“Ha, shit. I’m screwed.”

“…Yes?”

“I’m sorry, Jin-sung.”

“It’s Jin-sung.”

“Right, Jin-sung.”

Jo Hyuk-tae looked at Han Jin-sung with a very anxious look and said,

“That, that… your busted lip, can you say you fell?”

“Yes?”

“No… I heard that if anyone lays a finger on you, they’re dead… but this, shit, before I could even do anything… ah…”

Han Jin-sung stared at Jo Hyuk-tae with a blank look.

‘This isn’t a pyramid, what’s the end of this food chain?’

Kim Dong-min was holding Yoon Da-bin, and Jo Hyuk-tae was holding Kim Dong-min. But there’s someone holding Jo Hyuk-tae too.

“…Ha, shit. If Chun Tae-hoon finds out about this, he’ll try to kill me.”

‘The top of the food chain is Chun Tae-hoon…’

Wait a minute, Chun Tae-hoon?

That guy who was always following around Mr. Bang Jin-hoon? The assistant?

Then, is Mr. Bang Jin-hoon the top of all of this?

‘What the hell is he?’ A gangster? He must be a gangster.

I knew something was suspicious.

“But… I don’t know if that’ll be a good excuse.”

“Right? Ha…”

Jo Hyuk-tae was really troubled. It might not be the right word, but he looked like he was really shaking. Just like Kim Dong-min was shaking like an aspen tree in front of Jo Hyuk-tae earlier.

‘I don’t know anymore.’

He had no idea what was going on. But Han Jin-sung had some sense.

“Um…”

“Yeah?”

“Should I tell Mr. Bang Jin-hoon that Jo Hyuk-tae was really nice to me?”

“Ah! Then…”

Jo Hyuk-tae, who was thinking about something, grabbed Han Jin-sung’s hand with a desperate look.

“I’m really sorry…”

“Yes?”

“If possible, can you tell Kang Jin-ho? Tell him that I was really nice to you, and ask him to tell Chun Tae-hoon to let me off the hook.”

“…Jin-ho hyung?”

“Yeah. That works right away. Chun Tae-hoon has a bit of a germaphobe thing, so even if the chairman tells him to let it go, he won’t, but if Kang Jin-ho says one word, he’ll let it go right away. So… I’m really sorry, but can you do that? Then I’ll stay at your school and watch over your school life.”

That’s a threat, you crazy bastard!

“Ah, no. You don’t have to do that. I’ll talk to Jin-ho hyung.”

“Re, really? Oh, thank you so much. I won’t forget this favor.”

What did I do to deserve a favor?

Han Jin-sung nodded blankly, and Jo Hyuk-tae smiled happily and patted Han Jin-sung’s shoulder.

“Okay. Then please do that for me. It’s a must.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

With those words, Jo Hyuk-tae rode off on his bike.

Han Jin-sung, who was quietly watching him, walked into the orphanage with heavy steps.

“I’m home.”

As soon as he went inside, Han Jin-sung threw his bag in his room and went into the main room, where he found Kang Jin-ho wearing a stretched-out tracksuit, lying on the floor, eating snacks, and watching TV.

Two elementary school kids were lying down, using Kang Jin-ho’s legs as pillows.

Han Jin-sung sat down silently by Kang Jin-ho’s head. Kang Jin-ho, who had raised his head after seeing him come in, frowned.

“Did you get hit?”

“I fell.”

“You didn’t get hit?”

“It’s already been revealed that I got hit, why would I be ashamed to say I got hit?”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-ho held up a snack.

“Want some?”

Han Jin-sung silently reached into the snack bag, grabbed a snack, and put it in his mouth.

*Crunch.*

The sound of the hard snack breaking filled the room.

*Crunch, crunch.*

After a long time had passed.

“Hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“…Never mind.”

“You’re so boring.”

*Crunch, crunch.*

A time without conversation, the low sound of the TV.

And…

For a long time, only the sound of eating snacks…

Quietly mixed with the sound of the TV in the room.