Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 407

“I should just die!”

People can die in many ways.

But if she were to die today, she would be the first person in human history to die of embarrassment, a ‘shame death.’

It’s not a joke; Choi Yeon-ha seriously realized that a person could die of shame.

Ever since she came to her senses and realized what she had done, her face was burning up like crazy, and she felt a sticky sweat all over her body.

“Ugh! You crazy woman!”

Thump! Thump!

The blanket rose and fell.

It was a mistake to lie down on the bed to try and forget it quickly. Her legs were kicking up towards the ceiling non-stop, as if trying to shake off every last speck of dust from the blanket.

“In front of the kids! The kids! In front of the kids!”

Thinking about the children’s blank stares, she wanted to run to the water purifier right now, stick her nose in a dish of water, and die. How pathetic must she have looked at that moment?

“Hehehehe! I should just die!”

Thump! Thump!

It was to the point where the neighbors might complain about her shaking the blanket too much at night.

But Choi Yeon-ha’s legs kept kicking out, regardless of her will. It was to the point where she had to wonder if there was something wrong with her motor skills.

“How am I supposed to go to the orphanage now!”

I’ll die of embarrassment if I go.

You crazy girl, what have you done!

“Haa……”

Exhausted, Choi Yeon-ha lay sprawled out, staring at the ceiling. She felt like her vision had been getting blurry for a while now.

‘Beautiful actress, mysterious death in bed.’

She thought that if she died now, she could at least die with honor, as a mysterious death. What if she dies of embarrassment the moment she faces the kids?

And then.

Bzzzzzz!

The phone rang incessantly.

But Choi Yeon-ha didn’t even pay attention to the phone. She was in no position to answer whoever was calling right now.

But the person calling was just as persistent.

Bzzzzzz!

Bzzzzzzzzzz!

Bzzzz! Bzzzzzzzzzz!

It seemed like the call had been disconnected about five times, but the phone kept ringing, and Choi Yeon-ha raised her head with a fierce look.

“Okay, you’re in for it.”

I’m already in a bad mood, so let’s cause some trouble today!

Choi Yeon-ha picked up the phone, ready to make whoever called her regret it for the rest of their life.

“Huh?”

Old soul.

Choi Yeon-ha’s face turned bright red again when she saw the name on the screen.

No, no, no!

Not this call right now…….

Bzzzzzzzzzz!

“I’m answering, you jerk! I’m going to answer!”

Choi Yeon-ha took a deep breath and pressed the call button with trembling hands. Then, she carefully put the phone to her ear and opened her mouth.

“…Why?”

[Noona. You’re kicking the blanket right now, aren’t you?]

“No, I’m not? Ha… You’re funny? Why would I kick the blanket? Me? Do you know who I am? I’m Choi Yeon-ha!”

[It sounds like you are?]

“No, I’m not! I never did that. I don’t even have a blanket in my house. I turn the boiler up so high that I don’t need a blanket.”

What am I even saying?

‘Let’s die.’

If I just leave this world cleanly, I can remain as a beautiful actress.

[Noona, don’t worry.]

“Huh?”

[We’ll take care of everything.]

“……Huh?”

[Just buy us something delicious later.]

“Uhhh?”

[Then sleep well today, and we’ll give you good news tomorrow.]

“Wai, wait a minute? Jin-sung? Jin-sung-ah?”

Click.

Choi Yeon-ha trembled as she looked at the phone that had been disconnected.

“What, what are those kids planning?”

Choi Yeon-ha was filled with unease.

“Let’s go to the amusement park.”

“……Calm down.”

“I wanna go!”

“I said calm down!”

Kang Jin-ho desperately resisted. But the children surrounded him and had no intention of letting him go.

If it were big guys surrounding him, he could try to solve it with force, but the children surrounding him, grabbing his legs and sticking to him, were kindergarteners and elementary schoolers.

There was nothing he could do with force in this situation.

“Hyung, I want to go to the amusement park!”

“Oppa! I want to ride the gyro drop.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes wavered.

What is going on?

As soon as he opened the door and entered, he was greeted with an unusual, excessive welcome, and it was a mistake to be pushed into the room.

Inside, the children had formed a siege, and under a tight and cruel siege that he had never experienced in his life, Kang Jin-ho was completely captured.

“Waaaaah! Amusement paaaark!”

“Jin-sung-ah?”

“……Aww, I got caught.”

Han Jin-sung, who had been adding to the excitement, stepped back with a click of his tongue. But the elementary school squad didn’t know how to retreat.

“All the kids go to the amusement park with their moms and dads!”

“We’ve never been even once!”

“……Le, let’s go.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded without realizing it.

The words ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ shook Kang Jin-ho relentlessly. The kids were already sad because they didn’t have parents, but even if they couldn’t go with their parents, they should at least have the experience.

“But I’m a bit busy……”

“I want to go with Hyung!”

“If Oppa doesn’t go, I won’t go either!”

Park Yu-min watched the scene from afar with a satisfied smile.

“It’s a mess.”

Kang Jin-ho’s neck was bent to the side as he sat on the bench.

“Are you okay?”

“……I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“Hehehehe.”

Park Yu-min couldn’t help but laugh and patted Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“Our Jin-ho has changed a lot. If it were the old days, you would have just said ‘no’ and crushed all the kids.”

“……Was I like that?”

“Yeah. If you said no, the kids wouldn’t have dared to say anything, but now you’re being harassed by the kids and you’re all worn out. You’ve really become like a human. You look so ordinary that it’s strange.”

“Hmm……”

Park Yu-min waved his hand as Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed slightly.

“It’s not that something is wrong, but that it looks better. Don’t you think the kids like you more these days?”

“……Really? I feel like I’m being bullied?”

“They’re bullying you because they’re close to you. How can you bully someone you’re not close to?”

“Huh?”

“……Ah, that’s bullying.”

Park Yu-min, realizing that his logic was twisted, changed the subject.

“Anyway, the kids are doing it because they like you, so don’t take it too strangely. It seems like they want to go to the amusement park with you.”

“Haa……”

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply and shook his head.

“I’m uncomfortable in crowded places.”

“Right?”

“……Should I send them all out?”

“Huh?”

“If I coordinate the time well at night, I think I can secure time for the kids to play. I’ll talk to Manager Jo so the kids can play comfortably.”

“No, Jin-ho. That’s not it.”

Kang Jin-ho turned to Park Yu-min with a puzzled look. But Park Yu-min spoke with a resolute face.

“Then the kids might be able to play a little more comfortably. But if the kids wanted to play comfortably, would they have said they wanted to go to the amusement park?”

“……No.”

“Right, no. The kids just want to spend time like other kids. They want to be pushed around in crowded places, and they want to wait in line bored… For other kids, that might be a choice, but for those kids, it’s something they can’t experience unless they make special time and someone helps them.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

“You’re right.”

He felt like he knew that feeling well.

Ordinary time and ordinary life.

That was what he missed the most when he was in the Central Plains [a region in China often depicted in martial arts stories]. That’s why he tried so hard to live an ordinary life like others in the early days after returning to this world.

It was something that was half ruined now, but now that he knew what the kids wanted, he wanted to accommodate them as much as possible.

“……Okay, I guess I have to.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

‘I still can’t do it alone.’

In the past, he thought he was helping Park Yu-min. Although they were friends, the relationship between Park Yu-min and Kang Jin-ho was closer to one where Park Yu-min unilaterally relied on Kang Jin-ho. He didn’t feel superior because of that, but that was the reality.

But recently, he felt like he was getting help from Park Yu-min instead.

Park Yu-min would probably be fine even without Kang Jin-ho now. He had established his own way of life, and he had no financial problems. He was taking a break now, but if he started moving again, he would find his share in some way. He had grown that much.

But Kang Jin-ho had not adapted to this world as much as Park Yu-min had grown.

Sometimes, his adaptation was so slow and frustrating that he wondered why it was so late.

‘It would have been even later if Park Yu-min hadn’t been there.’

Still, he was relieved to have a friend by his side who was always watching over him and trying to help him in case he made the wrong choice.

If Park Yu-min hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t become friends with Park Yu-min, Kang Jin-ho would have been living a completely different life by now.

“Okay. It’ll be a bit tiring, but since you’re here. We can just work hard together.”

“Huh?”

“……Why?”

Park Yu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho as if to say, what are you talking about?

“I’m not going?”

“……Huh?”

“I’m busy.”

“I’m also a bit tired. You take the kids this time. I have to go for a test this weekend.”

“……Park Yu-min?”

“Well, what can I do? I won’t have any time for about a week. The kids don’t seem to have any intention of waiting. Then you have no choice but to take them. Ah… I’m going in now.

I have to practice.”

“Park Yu-min?”

“I’m going.”

“Park Yu-min?”

But Park Yu-min quickly went inside the orphanage without looking back.

Kang Jin-ho, who was quietly watching his back, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and put it in his mouth.

“Haaa……”

Kang Jin-ho took a deep puff of his cigarette and muttered quietly, looking at the sky.

“Life……”

It’s a lonely life, what’s with the friend crap.

“Is this Korea?”

The woman gently swept back her flowing hair.

The woman, who had deeply imprinted the unfamiliar Korean scenery into her eyes, frowned slightly.

“This is a very unpleasant country.”

Being dispatched to a foreign country was always a hassle. Especially if the reason for the dispatch was something she couldn’t understand at all.

But the order of the organization she belonged to was absolute. She looked at the document in her hand, then stared at the photo attached to it and chuckled.

“He’s handsome for an Asian.”

The dazzlingly fluttering blonde hair caught people’s attention.

“Kang Jin-ho… I hope he’s someone worth monitoring.”

A black sedan approached her as she pulled her carrier towards the road.

She naturally opened the back door, pushed the carrier in, closed the door, and got into the passenger seat.

“Welcome to Korea.”

“Enough with the useless greetings. Let’s go to the branch office first. I want to know why I have to monitor that Asian.”

“Yes.”

The blonde woman sighed quietly as she looked out the window of the slowly moving car.

‘Did they say to eliminate him if he’s not worth it?’

The woman crumpled the document, thinking that this job might end sooner than she thought.