Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 534

There are days like that.

A day when the usual scent of coffee feels special, and you become aware of the sunlight on your face.

A day when you become conscious of the texture of the air that fills your surroundings.

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at his coffee cup. The black color of the coffee inside seemed strangely both pale and full today.

“Why are you like that? Not drinking?”

“It feels a little different.”

“What? The coffee?”

“Yes.”

“You’re stating the obvious.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly raised his head to look at his father. Kang Yu-hwan smiled and said,

“Coffee is bound to be different every time.”

“It’s different?”

“Of course, it’s different. Even the same coffee can taste different depending on the temperature, humidity, brewing speed, and amount of water that day. And how long have you been here?”

“…It’s been a while.”

“So, of course, it’s bound to be different.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head. It sounded right, but it was also hard to accept. He was approaching it emotionally, but his father was throwing facts at him, which felt more stifling than refreshing.

“And it could just be that your mood is different.”

“Hmm, I think so.”

“There’s no way you have the palate to notice such subtle differences.”

It was a languid afternoon.

It was past lunchtime, but there weren’t many customers yet. The spacious cafe was so quiet that it felt a little empty.

If it weren’t for the soft jazz music playing, it would have been even quieter.

“There aren’t many customers.”

“It’s hard when there are too many.”

“Still, isn’t it better to have some?”

“It’s not like I’m doing this to make money. It’s better to earn just enough. The cafe was so crowded recently that I had to close for a few days. It seems to have calmed down a bit.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at his father with a bewildered expression.

“Why? Is that not okay?”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to just close the cafe?”

“Why?”

“…Rather than wasting time on something that doesn’t make money.”

“Waste? You brat! It’s enough if I’m having fun.”

His father said firmly.

“That’s how life is. The things you really want strangely don’t come easily.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded without realizing it. His head nodded faster than he could think. His heart was agreeing with Kang Yu-hwan’s words.

“It’s the same with money. When I was struggling to earn it, it was so hard, but now that I just want to do my own thing and live comfortably, money keeps coming in. It’s like it’s mocking me.”

Kang Yu-hwan said with dissatisfaction, and Kang Jin-ho chuckled softly.

“Yeah, I know. Saying that money comes easily is something that will get you cursed. There are so many people in the world struggling because they don’t have even a few bucks. I should just keep my mouth shut.”

“You’ve worked hard for it.”

“I haven’t worked hard. If you call what everyone does hard work, you’ll get cursed.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled at his father’s jest.

“You brat.”

“Yes?”

“That’s how life is. If you live with a frown like you’re carrying all the worries of the world, even good fortune will run away.”

“Was I like that?”

Kang Yu-hwan raised his eyebrows with his finger.

“With that face. Like you’re saying, ‘I have all the worries of the world.'”

“…Was I?”

Kang Jin-ho kept denying Kang Yu-hwan’s remarks.

But Kang Yu-hwan didn’t seem to have any intention of listening to Kang Jin-ho.

“Is there anyone who doesn’t have worries? Everyone lives with their own worries. But if you get buried in those worries, you’ll end up just going around in circles.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded at Kang Yu-hwan’s serious words.

“First, take one step.”

“One step.”

“Yes. Taking one step. If you just keep worrying about how to do it, it won’t be solved. So, first, you take one step at a time, starting with the small things you can do. If you keep going like that, even if it takes time, you’ll eventually reach where you want to go.”

“While looking around, too.”

“That’s right.”

Kang Yu-hwan reached out and lightly tapped the coffee cup.

“If you had come quickly by car, would you have been able to tell that the coffee tasted different today?”

“Yes.”

“Huh?”

“Yes. Of course, I would know. My palate is perfect.”

“…Hey, the mood was good.”

“I hate this kind of mood.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out and gulped down his coffee. Then, he got up from his seat and walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I remembered things I need to do. Thanks for the coffee, Father.”

“Okay, you brat.”

As Kang Jin-ho opened the door and went outside, Kang Yu-hwan quietly smiled.

“Hmm.”

A soft hum escaped his lips.

Kang Jin-ho, finding himself humming unconsciously, gave a wry smile.

‘I’m so simple-minded.’

To feel so refreshed after hearing just a few words, he was indeed a simple person.

More than anything else, one phrase was firmly etched in his mind.

“One step at a time.”

Yes, one step at a time.

Problems arose because he tried to solve and proceed with everything at once. He wanted to sort things out, but he didn’t have the ability to do so.

It was because he couldn’t prioritize the importance of tasks.

Among the problems piled up around him, most of which he had caused, which one was the most important?

He couldn’t choose.

So, everything was happening at the same time, and the burden of everything was tormenting him simultaneously.

But now, he had found a solution.

Don’t prioritize the importance of tasks. Start with the task that can be solved first, the one that is closest.

Once he set the direction, he realized what he needed to do first.

Brummm.

Kang Jin-ho lightly stepped on the accelerator.

He was going relatively slowly, but the 12-cylinder engine was incredibly loud. But to Kang Jin-ho now, even that loud engine noise sounded like peaceful music.

“Is it there?”

Kang Jin-ho quietly drove the car into the hotel. As he followed the well-paved road, a large hotel building came into view.

As the attendant guided him to park in the front, a parking attendant hurriedly ran towards the driver’s side.

“I’ll park for you.”

“No. I’m here to pick someone up.”

“Ah…”

The parking attendant looked around in confusion.

It was understandable to be flustered by a Lamborghini suddenly appearing in the middle of the day. As a luxury hotel, even more expensive cars came in from time to time. But a bright red sports car like this was not something you saw easily.

“Sir, could you please move your car a little to that side? This is a waiting area for parking…”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho readily nodded and moved the car.

The parking attendant let out a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness he’s not a crazy guy.’

It might be a prejudice, but those who drove cars like that were all difficult to deal with. Even with a simple request to move the car, they would often glare with their eyes wide open, as if saying, ‘Who do you think you are, telling me where to go?’

‘A rich guy with a good personality, that’s an unlikely combination…’

The parking attendant looked at the red sports car moving to the side, with a hint of envy and jealousy in his eyes.

Of course, he was mistaken.

Among the people he had seen, Kang Jin-ho was probably the one with the worst personality.

Kang Jin-ho, having parked the car, leaned back in his seat.

It seemed like the appointment time was about now…

Sure enough, a gray-haired gentleman in a black suit walked out of the hotel’s main entrance. His gray hair suggested his age, but his broad shoulders and neatly trimmed beard, which were not typical for his age, made one realize the meaning of the word ‘dandy’.

Behind him was a blonde woman in casual attire.

Of course, the two were Knight Wiggins and Elena.

Having spotted Kang Jin-ho’s car, the two approached with slightly excited faces. Kang Jin-ho also got out of the car to greet them.

“Did you have a good night, Lord?”

“…Lord?”

Knight Wiggins smiled at Kang Jin-ho’s bewildered reaction.

“The system is important.”

“…Just call me Kang Jin-ho.”

“I cannot do that, Lord.”

“No…”

“Titles are the simplest way to prove a relationship. And it is also the most certain way. Right now, I can call you Kang Jin-ho and still maintain my position, but as time goes on, people tend to become lax. To prevent such a situation from the beginning, we need accurate titles and relationships. No matter what you say, Lord, I have no intention of changing this title.”

Kang Jin-ho looked up at the sky with an astonished expression.

‘I feel like I’ve experienced something like this before?’

That was the case with Shaolin and Wudang [two famous Buddhist and Taoist martial arts schools in China].

In the Demonic Cult, where inhuman beings gathered, titles and etiquette were mostly skipped. At least the secular families or those with a strong secular tendency, like Mount Hua, were somewhat reasonable to talk to.

But those like Shaolin and Wudang, who truly lived apart from the secular world, emphasized etiquette and formality to the point that it made the observer breathless.

Kang Jin-ho was feeling exactly like that now.

‘If he were bald, the feeling would be even more vivid…’

Kang Jin-ho shook his head, imagining Wiggins in a monk’s robe. Whether it was a prejudice or a stereotype, he couldn’t imagine a Westerner in a monk’s robe.

Especially if it wasn’t just a simple monk’s robe, but a Shaolin yellow robe.

Someone once said that the idea that Westerners don’t value etiquette is a misconception from an Eastern perspective, and that seemed to be true. At least, among the Koreans Kang Jin-ho had met so far, no one was as obsessed with etiquette as these two.

“Let’s sort that out later, and go to the general meeting first.”

“Please lower your tone, Lord.”

“…Let’s sort it out later.”

Although Kang Jin-ho’s life was probably longer than Wiggins’s, so it wouldn’t be a problem to lower his tone, Kang Jin-ho felt strangely uncomfortable.

“Then…”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned to Elena.

Elena, with a slightly flushed face, stood a little behind Knight Wiggins.

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head.

“I was planning to go by car, but my car is a two-seater, so I don’t think both of you can ride? If I had known, I would have brought a different car.”

“We cannot impose on you like that. Don’t worry. I will take care of it.”

Knight Wiggins seemed to ponder for a moment, then turned his head.

“Elena.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Did you hear?”

“Yes?”

Knight Wiggins said in a serious tone.

“Will you stay at the hotel?”

“…”

“Or take a taxi?”

“…I’ll go on my bike.”

“That’s wise. Smart. You’re my daughter after all.”