Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 448

“China?”

The name sounded familiar.

Perhaps China was even more familiar to Kang Jin-ho than Korea. Although his roots were in Korea, he had spent a significant portion of his life in China.

For others, it might be a different concept, but for him, he had practically lived his entire life in China.

In that sense, the word ‘China’ felt more like home than a foreign land to Kang Jin-ho.

However, right now, Kang Jin-ho felt a strong sense of unfamiliarity towards the word ‘China’.

It was as if he had heard the name of a distant country he had never visited.

“Yes.”

Choi Yeon-ha nodded slowly. Her nod seemed a little forced.

Reaching out, Choi Yeon-ha pulled her drink on the table closer, tapped the straw with her finger, and continued.

“That’s how it is.”

“Why suddenly?”

“It wasn’t sudden.”

Choi Yeon-ha took a sip of her drink, put the cup down, and looked directly at Kang Jin-ho.

Their eyes met, followed by a moment of silence.

“I got a good offer from China. They want to do a drama,” she said.

“I see.”

“It’s a big project, so the appearance fee is substantial. And the chance to enter the Chinese market is a big plus.”

“That’s a good opportunity.”

“Yes. But the problem is… it’s a historical drama, so we have to do all the location shooting in China.”

“That makes sense.”

“And they do all their productions pre-filmed… so once filming starts, it’ll be hard for me to come back to Korea for a while. They really push the schedule to finish all the episodes at once.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded. It wasn’t a bad method.

“So how long will it take?”

“Six months.”

“What?”

Choi Yeon-ha said with a sullen face.

“This is… an eighty-episode drama.”

“Eighty episodes?”

“…Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes widened.

“Aren’t dramas usually about sixteen or twenty episodes? That’s what I thought I heard.”

“That’s how it is in Korea, but China is a bit different. Their scale is just enormous.”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Choi Yeon-ha.

“So you’ll be in China for six months?”

“That’s how it is.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t find the right words to say. What should he say in this situation?

“Should I tell you to have a good trip?”

“What’s that?”

Choi Yeon-ha laughed as if she was dumbfounded. Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but give an awkward smile.

‘This is strange.’

He felt a little strange.

It was hard to define exactly what he was feeling. But it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar feeling. He felt like he had felt this way before…

“Aren’t you going to ask?”

“Ask what?”

Choi Yeon-ha made a ‘hmm’ sound and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. Her slightly narrowed brows and raised eyes seemed to be telling of her feelings.

“Why aren’t you asking why I’m going to China?”

Kang Jin-ho replied, sounding a little bewildered.

“You said you’re going for a project, right?”

“I could do it in Korea too.”

“You said the appearance fee was substantial earlier.”

“I have a lot of money.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes twitched.

“Th-then why are you going?”

Only then did Choi Yeon-ha chuckle. She leaned forward again, made eye contact with Kang Jin-ho, and smiled. Kang Jin-ho coughed awkwardly.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Are you aware that you’re the type of person who makes things quite difficult for the people around you?”

“What?”

Choi Yeon-ha didn’t answer, but stretched her hand out and placed it on the table. Then, she raised her hand above her head.

“The hurdle is high.”

“Hurdle?”

What was she talking about?

When Kang Jin-ho looked at her, completely unable to understand, Choi Yeon-ha looked as if she expected it.

“I knew you wouldn’t know.”

“It’s hard for me to understand what you’re saying.”

“Yes. I thought so. There’s no way you’d be aware of it.”

Choi Yeon-ha shook her head.

‘Those people are really amazing.’

At this point, Kang Jin-ho’s friends seemed more amazing than Kang Jin-ho himself. To be able to live around someone like him, you’d need a strong mentality.

“Promise me first.”

“Yes?”

“No matter what I say, don’t get upset.”

“…You want me to promise that?”

“Yes!”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Choi Yeon-ha with a face that said, ‘What the heck is this woman talking about?’ before nodding.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll promise for now.”

“Good.”

Having received the answer she wanted, Choi Yeon-ha took a deep breath and continued without giving Kang Jin-ho a chance to think.

“Kang Jin-ho, you’re a pretty amazing person.”

“Yes?”

“Listen!”

“…Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho pursed his lips.

“I can’t explain exactly why, but when I’m with you, I feel incredibly inadequate.”

Kang Jin-ho looked puzzled, but Choi Yeon-ha’s face was so serious that he couldn’t open his mouth.

“Because of that, everyone who is with you ends up following you. They participate in the things you do.”

Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed slightly.

He had never thought of it that way before. But after hearing Choi Yeon-ha’s words, he realized that they weren’t entirely wrong.

Thinking about it, after his discharge, Park Yu-min got caught up in Kang Jin-ho’s affairs and moved away from being a pro gamer to work at a pizza place, and Joo Young-gi, who had said he would find his own work after his discharge, had now become the owner of a pizza place.

And Jo Gyu-min, who had been doing well, had half-stepped away from the financial world and decided to join Kang Jin-ho.

Whether the results were good or bad for them, it was undeniable that they had been strongly influenced by Kang Jin-ho.

“But…”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t hold back and finally opened his mouth.

“Is that wrong?”

“No.”

Choi Yeon-ha said without a second thought.

“It’s what they chose. It’s not like you forced them to do it, they chose it themselves, so it’s not like you did anything wrong.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho thought so too. But then why was she bringing this up?

“The problem is with me.”

A low sigh escaped Choi Yeon-ha’s lips. Kang Jin-ho thought that Choi Yeon-ha was being too serious today.

“I’m being influenced by you, but I’m not in a position to follow you. So, my recent life has just been revolving around you.”

“I didn’t even realize it, but Eun-sol told me. She said that’s what I’ve been doing lately. When I thought about it… well.”

Choi Yeon-ha shrugged.

“It’s true. It’s not wrong. I’m just hanging around without doing anything. When I think about it, I feel pathetic. I’m Choi Yeon-ha, but the great Choi Yeon-ha is just following a man around.”

What should he say when he hears something like this?

Should he try to convince her that it’s not true?

Or should he comfort her by saying it’s not something to worry about?

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t do either. Finding the right words to encourage someone in this situation was still difficult for him.

“That’s why, that’s why.”

“What do you mean?”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled slightly.

“Before I completely fall apart, I’m going to try to get back to my old self. I know you’re not interested, but I’m a really successful actress. Really.”

“I know. And it’s not that I’m not interested.”

“Really? Then have you ever looked up a drama I was in? No, do you even know the title?”

Choi Yeon-ha clenched her fist tightly. Seeing the veins popping out on the back of her hand, Kang Jin-ho quietly turned his head.

“You’re good with words! You’re good with words!”

“Ahem.”

“Anyway!”

Choi Yeon-ha slammed the table.

“When I think about it, it’s like I’m a puppy, just following you around, and I can’t stand it. I need to restore my self-esteem, look back at my life, and achieve my goals as an actress! So, I’m going to go for it!”

“Question!”

“Oh, I don’t have any?”

“You don’t? Really?”

“Yes.”

Choi Yeon-ha’s face became more and more distorted.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

Kang Jin-ho became restless and kept drinking his drink. But he wasn’t completely clueless, so he knew that he needed to ask a question, but he didn’t know what to ask.

“That’s good.”

“Yes?”

“One annoying person is going to disappear.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened.

“You must be relieved now. You’re happy, right?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head firmly. Then he looked directly at Choi Yeon-ha. When Kang Jin-ho met her gaze without looking away, Choi Yeon-ha’s face turned slightly red.

“I won’t say that I haven’t found you annoying. That would be a lie. But I’ve never thought that I disliked you, and I’ve never thought that I wanted you to disappear from my sight.”

“…Really?”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had been staring intently as if trying to figure out the truth of Kang Jin-ho’s words, lowered her head slightly and avoided Kang Jin-ho’s gaze after seeing his unwavering eyes.

‘Why is he staring at me like that? It’s awkward.’

She wanted to cool her flushed face, but if she fanned herself awkwardly, she would be letting the person across from her know that she was flustered. Choi Yeon-ha clasped her hands together under the table.

“And I don’t think it’s good that you’re going to China now. Rather, I feel a little sad. I can’t say exactly why I feel sad, but…”

“S-stop it.”

“Yes?”

“I get it, so stop it.”

Her face was about to explode, really.

Kang Jin-ho had a puzzled look on his face, but Choi Yeon-ha was dying.

‘This guy doesn’t do anything, but then he suddenly comes in with a hook.’

Just by the way he acts, he’s a player.

The problem was that he wasn’t aware that he was a player.

Choi Yeon-ha, who had calmed her trembling heart by drinking cold water, took a deep breath and said,

“That was true, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What you just said.”

“Do I have any reason to lie?”

Choi Yeon-ha stared at Kang Jin-ho.

‘No, I guess not.’

She had gone too far ahead. What Kang Jin-ho was saying now was closer to what he would say to a friend. It wasn’t the kind of meaning she had been hoping for.

A little disappointment.

But also a little relief.

And…

‘Yeah. This is good enough.’

It was a problem to expect anything more from this stone-like man. And even if she heard those words now, she didn’t think she would be happy about it herself.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“I wanted to say this.”

“Go ahead.”

Choi Yeon-ha, who had been quietly looking at Kang Jin-ho, smiled slightly. Then Kang Jin-ho felt himself falling slightly into that face.

“At least in front of you, I’m going to become someone who doesn’t feel small. I hate being the kind of woman who clings to a man for support.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled back at Choi Yeon-ha, who was smiling brightly.

He had thought this before…

She was beautiful.