Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 547

Kang Jin-ho trusted Han Jin-sung.

On a personal level, that is.

However, Han Jin-sung wasn’t the most suitable person to explain how the academy operated. So, Kang Jin-ho called someone more appropriate.

And the effect was remarkable.

“It’s hard to get the textbooks I need for personal study right away.”

“Uh… personal?”

“Yes. I need them for studying at school and at the orphanage.”

“…So, you’re saying you study on your own at school?”

“Yes.”

“Then what about classes?”

“The classes are just reviewing things I’ve already learned. It’s better to study on my own during that time.”

“You have to attend classes.”

Cho Mi-hye sighed at Kang Jin-ho’s firm words.

Having this conversation with him wasn’t wise right now. Kang Jin-ho had no idea how much things had changed since he was in school.

Besides, this guy got into Jae Kyung University through self-study without any academies or online lectures. How could she possibly make him understand?

“Anyway, I need textbooks to study at home. Academy textbooks are good, but I want to study more in areas where I’m lacking.”

“Hmm. Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

“I’m sorry, Oppa [older brother/male friend].”

“What for?”

“I know this all costs money. And I know we shouldn’t be asking you to do this like it’s a given.”

“It’s fine.”

Kang Jin-ho said firmly.

“Still…”

“Unlike Jin-sung, you’re smart, so I don’t think I need to explain it to you. So, let’s stop here.”

“Jin-sung Oppa is also quite smart.”

“Ri…ight.”

Kang Jin-ho mumbled vaguely.

“And that’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Yes?”

“It’s good to study hard. But if it’s too much, it’s worse than not doing enough. It seems like what you do at school and here is enough, but studying at home on top of that seems excessive.”

“Ah…”

“Efficiency is important in everything. Simply increasing the time will only reduce the time you can concentrate. Proper rest is essential. It’s better to rest at the orphanage if possible.”

“But successful people all study and work by cutting down on their sleep time.”

“That’s not always the case.”

“And isn’t that what you should be hearing, not me?”

“Huh?”

Cho Mi-hye said, sounding worried.

“You said you wanted to visit here, but you’ve been too busy to come. I’ve never heard of a college student on leave being so busy. Aren’t you the one who needs some rest?”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer. He had no choice but to be speechless.

“If you’re going to tell us that, you should rest first. You look tired these days.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho shut his mouth at Cho Mi-hye’s firm words.

He looked tired?

Anyone else might have said it casually, but Cho Mi-hye was a very sharp girl. You could tell by how she apologized but still said everything she wanted to say.

“Of course, I know you’re different from us. You have good stamina and can manage yourself well. But it seems like you’re too busy. You haven’t been visiting the orphanage much lately either.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

“So, please rest a little. I don’t know why you’re so busy, but I don’t think anything bad will happen if you rest for a few days.”

“…I need to rest, huh?”

“Yes, you do.”

“Okay. I will.”

“You have to.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

After leaving the academy and getting into his car, Kang Jin-ho didn’t start right away. He lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

‘I got one-upped.’

Cho Mi-hye was right.

He was telling others they needed rest, but Kang Jin-ho wasn’t taking any proper rest himself. He was ashamed of himself for talking so confidently while doing that.

He rubbed his slightly flushed face.

‘I need to rest.’

This might not have been Kang Jin-ho’s fault.

Kang Jin-ho had only learned how to work hard until now. He had subconsciously thought that he would fall behind if he stopped even for a moment.

He knew how important rest was, but he had excluded himself from the list of people who needed it.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke and looked up at the dark sky. He couldn’t see any stars, and he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

When he missed that sky so much, he had to cut down on his sleep time. And even when he fell asleep from exhaustion, he couldn’t sleep soundly. He might be attacked while sleeping, or the situation might worsen while he was in a deep sleep.

That dark sky was a symbol of stability for him.

A society where people could live without trying to take each other’s lives. A world where you wouldn’t be attacked while walking down the street. And a place where he had a family who looked at him with warm eyes.

But even under the dark sky he had longed for, Kang Jin-ho was still living as if he was being chased by something. Cho Mi-hye’s words had made him realize that.

‘I didn’t want to rush.’

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply. He kept saying to take it slow, but it seemed like he still looked rushed to others. These days, everyone he met was telling him to look around and rest.

“Then I should do that.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes became firm.

He knew it himself. That he was stubborn. In the past, he had failed because he didn’t give up his stubbornness and pushed himself too hard. So, in this life, he had decided to listen to others as much as possible. If everyone was saying the same thing, it was right to follow their advice.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke and stepped on the accelerator. The car slowly headed home.

“I’m home.”

“You’re home early?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes lit up as he saw Baek Hyun-jung and Kang Eun-young sitting on the sofa.

“Eun-young is home early.”

“…Don’t even get me started.”

“Why?”

“The album got delayed.”

“Huh?”

Kang Eun-young looked like she was about to cry.

“The song we were going to use as the title track got flagged during the internal review. They said it was similar to a foreign song. If we released it like that, we’d get accused of plagiarism, so we have to delete it and record a new title track.”

“…Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It is. It’s a hundred times better than releasing it and getting destroyed. But thanks to that, the album release date has been pushed way back! So, I’m completely unemployed! I even turned down a drama to promote the new song, but now I’m a sitting duck!”

“First, put down those snacks.”

Kang Eun-young looked at the snack bags in her hands and then looked at Kang Jin-ho with her deer-like eyes.

“Can’t I?”

“…Shouldn’t you hold back a little?”

“I’m not promoting anyway. I can just lose it later.”

“Stop it! It’s not that bad, so why are you whining so much?”

Baek Hyun-jung slapped Kang Eun-young’s back. Kang Eun-young just sighed, even as she was being hit on the back.

“So, you’ll be resting for a while?”

“Yeah, I guess. Forced vacation. Even if I wanted to practice, I have to match with the choreography team. The choreography won’t be made until the new song comes out. I have nothing to do now.”

“What about you, Mother?”

“Me? Why me?”

“Don’t you have any appointments or plans?”

“What kind of plans would a housewife have?”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Then, since it’s like this, let’s go somewhere for fun.”

“Huh?”

Baek Hyun-jung and Kang Eun-young’s eyes widened at the same time.

“Go for fun?”

“Yes.”

“Wh-where?”

“That’s up to you, Mother. Let’s go on a summer vacation before summer ends.”

“…Oh my god.”

Baek Hyun-jung looked at Kang Jin-ho with eyes that said, ‘Is that really my son?’

Summer vacation. Summer vacation.

She couldn’t believe those words were coming out of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

“Eun-young, did I hear that right?”

“Wait a minute, Mom. I’m going to go clean my ears.”

“It seems like we heard the same thing, so I guess we heard it right.”

Baek Hyun-jung looked at Kang Jin-ho with distrustful eyes.

“You really want to go on a summer vacation?”

“Yes.”

“…Really?”

At this point, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but realize that his image was seriously flawed.

“Should we not go?”

“No! We should go! We should go! I’ve been trying to go on a family trip for five years, but I couldn’t because you always said, ‘Go without me.’ We have to go this time!”

Baek Hyun-jung clenched her fist and stood up as if she couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Can we go for about three days?”

“Set the dates as you like. I’ll adjust to it.”

“Oh my. I can’t believe this day has come.”

“Oppa, did you eat something wrong? The military changes people a lot. Before you went to the military, we said we should go to the valley, but you said it was more efficient to wear a swimsuit in the bathtub than to waste time going to the valley.”

Kang Jin-ho’s cheek twitched.

‘Did I really say that?’

What was even scarier was that he remembered saying that. Kang Jin-ho realized how drastically he had changed in the past few years.

So, it was natural for them to react like that.

“I’m really going.”

“Okay. Then I’ll talk to your father and set a date.”

Looking at Baek Hyun-jung, who was visibly happy, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but realize how unfilial he had been.

“Th-then, I’ll go to my room.”

“Okay. Go on in. Oh my. Now that we’re planning a summer vacation, I have so much to do. I need to buy clothes.”

“Mom, me too!”

“You should throw away the clothes you don’t wear in your closet, you brat! You have five closets!”

“I wear all of them!”

Kang Jin-ho quietly headed to his room, watching the two of them bicker. If he didn’t escape now, he would have to listen to their chatter for an hour.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho closed the door and sat on the bed.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he sat on the bed and looked around the room.

The monochromatic room, devoid of any decorations, seemed to reflect Kang Jin-ho’s desolate inner self.

“But how am I supposed to rest?”

Since he had never had the concept of rest in his mind, he had no idea how to rest properly.

Kang Jin-ho quietly took out his phone and pressed the call button.

The phone connected right away, before the signal even rang a few times.

– Yeeeess!

“…Why are you reacting like that?”

– I can’t help it. The great Kang Jin-ho called me first. This is a very rare occurrence.

“It can happen.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

His conversations with this person were always like this.

– So, what’s the matter? Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t call without a reason. Let’s quickly resolve the issue and move on to casual conversation.

“…”

– You’re thinking I’m like a ghost right now, aren’t you?

“A little.”

– Tell me quickly. I’m curious too.

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly.

“It’s a bit of a strange question.”

– What is it?

Kang Jin-ho paused for a moment and then asked.

“I want to rest properly, but I’ve never rested before. What should I do to rest?”

– ……

Choi Yeon-ha, who had received the most absurd question in the world, was silent for a while.