Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 61

“Huh?”

“I said, get on my back.”

“……No. I’ll just walk.”

“Just get on. You’re just wasting time.”

“No.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Okay.”

For some reason, Han Se-yeon obediently got on his back.

Kang Jin-ho carried Han Se-yeon and walked towards her house. Taking a taxi was an option, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t particularly enjoy riding in the back of someone else’s car.

It wasn’t like carrying Han Se-yeon was a burden for Kang Jin-ho. However, the perspective of Kang Jin-ho carrying her and Han Se-yeon being carried were clearly different.

“Am I heavy?”

“Not really.”

“Really not heavy?”

“Yeah.”

Han Se-yeon hesitated before speaking again.

“Oh, right. You’re strong.”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho answered Han Se-yeon’s meaningless question and let out a soft sigh. If she was going to feel sorry now, she shouldn’t have acted like that in the first place.

‘I’m never drinking with her again.’ It was a day he learned a lesson.

Han Se-yeon quietly rested her face on Kang Jin-ho’s back and whispered softly.

“I’m going to get a boyfriend in college.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to date a handsome and cool guy and have fun.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

A moment of silence passed between them.

Just as Kang Jin-ho was wondering if Han Se-yeon had fallen asleep, trying to gauge her condition, a low voice was heard.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Then what else should I say? ‘Go find a good guy’?”

“……Thank you.”

Han Se-yeon’s head was felt resting on his shoulder. Strangely, it seemed to be trembling slightly.

“Are you cold?”

“No.”

“Hmm…..”

Kang Jin-ho walked in silence.

Seeing her tremble, it seemed she was feeling the cold. Come to think of it, it was still chilly at night. It was different from Kang Jin-ho, who didn’t feel the cold or heat much. Then, it was right to take her home quickly.

Without Han Se-yeon noticing, he gradually increased his pace.

Before her head could lift, he momentarily put strength into his legs and dashed forward.

He even controlled the wind coming at him with his inner energy [a cultivation technique to control one’s internal energy], afraid she might notice the air trembling.

“Umm…..”

As Han Se-yeon seemed to sense something strange and flinched, Kang Jin-ho subtly slowed down. When her reaction faded, he sped up again. After repeating this a couple of times, he arrived at Han Se-yeon’s house.

“We’re here.”

“Huh?”

Han Se-yeon looked around with a bewildered expression.

It was definitely in front of her house.

It was strange. She had only lowered her head and closed her eyes for a moment, but how did she arrive here so quickly?

“D-did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you carry me all the way here? Was I heavy?”

“No.”

“Sorry. Let me down.”

Kang Jin-ho silently put Han Se-yeon down.

Han Se-yeon staggered a bit, then stood straight and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“Was it hard?”

“Not really.”

“You always say ‘not really’.”

Han Se-yeon sighed and opened her mouth.

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“I’m just sorry for being annoyed for no reason. I was being narrow-minded. I’m not usually like this… I’m really sorry.”

“……Were you annoyed at me?”

“Never mind.”

Han Se-yeon looked up at the sky as if feeling suffocated, then straightened her posture as if making a resolution.

“Kang Jin-ho?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m really sorry for today. Please understand my narrow-mindedness.”

Kang Jin-ho was taken aback by her bowing at a ninety-degree angle. He couldn’t understand why this woman was acting like this today.

“Anyway, thank you. Go in carefully.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho turned and walked away.

“Hey.”

“What now?”

Han Se-yeon came running and suddenly jumped into Kang Jin-ho’s arms.

“Why?”

Han Se-yeon stayed like that for a moment, then pulled away and looked up at Kang Jin-ho.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yeah?”

“I hope you trip and break your nose on the way home.”

“See ya!”

Han Se-yeon left those words and ran into her house.

Kang Jin-ho stared at the scene for a moment, then scratched his head.

“You can’t understand women.”

It was a statement that revealed his honest feelings.

“I’m home.”

“You’re back?”

His mother greeted Kang Jin-ho as he entered the house.

“Did you drink?”

“Does it look like it?”

Kang Jin-ho’s face slightly hardened. He had used his inner energy to completely dispel any remaining alcohol, but it seemed like there were still signs of it.

“Your face looks fine, but I can smell alcohol.”

“I went to a bar, but I didn’t drink much.”

Fifteen bottles.

He didn’t drink much. He wasn’t even drunk.

Of course, the day his mother found out how much he drank, she would endlessly lament about how a heavy drinker had appeared in the family.

That was something he wanted to avoid.

“Really? Well, there’s nothing more unsightly than a college student getting drunk and wandering around. You inherited my and your father’s genes, so you can’t drink much anyway. Be careful.”

“Yes.”

Mother, I’m sorry.

Your son has earned the nickname ‘God of Booze’ today. I drank fifteen bottles today.

Kang Jin-ho felt guilty as he thought of things he couldn’t say out loud.

“Did you eat?”

“I ate before coming home.”

“How’s college?”

Kang Jin-ho pondered how to answer.

Should he say it wasn’t much different, or that it was different but he didn’t seem to have any trouble adjusting? “I don’t know yet.”

“Well, it’s your first day. You wouldn’t know anything. You haven’t even had a class yet.”

“Yes.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Regret what?”

“You could have gone to a better university. Like Korea University.”

A hint of regret flashed in his mother’s eyes. She hadn’t said it, but Baek Hyun-jung had secretly hoped her son would go to Korea University. For various reasons, he had chosen Jaekyung University instead of Korea University, but in Korea, Korea University still had a much higher status.

“It’s close.”

“Did you really go to Jaekyung University because it’s close? Not because of Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo?”

“There are other reasons too.” Would she get angry if he said he went to Jaekyung University so he could go with Park Yu-min, who couldn’t go to Korea University?

To Kang Jin-ho, university didn’t really mean much. No matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t easy for him to get a job at a regular company and live a normal life.

For him, who had to walk his own path, a university degree was nothing more than a sign.

He had wondered if he really needed to go to university, but he went to university to repay his parents for investing in his education for twelve years.

So, he couldn’t care less about anything else.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Lately, I feel like you’re my son, but there are many times when I don’t know what you’re thinking. I guess it means you’ve grown up.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer.

It wasn’t good that Baek Hyun-jung felt awkward with him. It was an inevitable result since he couldn’t perfectly play the role of the old Kang Jin-ho, but it wasn’t good for parents to feel a sense of alienation from their child.

“Mother.”

“They say that’s how everyone grows up. But still, I feel a bit sad.”

“……Yes.”

Baek Hyun-jung waved her hand as if she thought she had said something unnecessary.

“Okay, go wash up quickly.”

“Where’s Father?”

“Your father will be home soon after closing the shop. He’s been coming home a bit late lately because business is good.”

“The closing time should be fixed.”

“He pushed the closing time back a bit. It’s a problem to close the shop early when customers keep coming in.”

“It’s not like we’re short on money, he should rest when he can.”

“That’s just his nature, what can you do?” Indeed, his father was a workaholic. Even if he was sitting on a pile of money, he would never stop working.

“What about Eun-young?”

“That girl is so busy these days that even her mother has a hard time seeing her. She says she’s practicing a lot. She said her debut isn’t far off……”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t miss the dark look that flashed across his mother’s face.

“Are you worried?”

“Worried… Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t really say much because I want you to live the way you want.”

“Yes, I know.”

“When I heard that Eun-young had passed the audition at an entertainment agency to become a celebrity, I didn’t like that she was putting aside her studies to sing. But I let her do it because she wanted to.”

“Yes.”

Baek Hyun-jung continued quietly.

“But seeing that child working so hard without even seeing her face, I wonder if I did the right thing.”

“There are so many groups that debut and disappear without becoming popular. I wonder if she’ll do well. If she doesn’t, it’ll be too late to start something new.”

“It’s not too late.”

“Still……”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

He seemed to know what his mother was worried about.

“She’ll do well.”

“Do you really think so?”

“She will. She’s your daughter. She’s my sister.”

“Yeah. I guess I’m getting old, I keep worrying about things.”

His mother didn’t look well.

Kang Jin-ho felt a surge of annoyance in his chest. Kang Jin-ho was usually not easily angered, but it was interesting how sensitive he was to his mother’s change in expression.

‘Family ties aren’t just something in my head.’

He had been away for so long and so far that he thought he had lost them…….

Kang Jin-ho said that and went into the bathroom.

‘I was careless.’

Come to think of it, he had been too careless about Kang Eun-young. In his quest to reclaim his life and find happiness, Kang Eun-young’s happiness was also very important.

Compared to that importance, he had been too indifferent to what Kang Eun-young was doing.

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

He had a lot to do.

He was also busy adjusting.

But those were not excuses. Not only his life, but also his family’s lives were important.

Without their happiness, Kang Jin-ho’s happiness was also impossible.

Kang Jin-ho turned on the shower.

“I need to have a conversation with her soon.”

Kang Jin-ho felt a sense of responsibility as an older brother for the first time.

It was a different feeling from what he felt for his parents. Protecting someone was a new feeling for him.

In the Demonic Cult, he had often fought with his subordinates behind him, but that wasn’t protecting them. It was just trying to reduce sacrifices more efficiently. What he was trying to do now was not that, but protection that came from the heart. It was a feeling that Kang Jin-ho hadn’t had for a long time.

‘Have I changed?’

Or should he say he had regained it?

Kang Jin-ho thought he had changed a lot.

Whether it was in a good or bad direction, Kang Jin-ho would never be able to return to the Cheokcheon Demon Lord [a title of a powerful demonic leader] he was when he first returned to this world.

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

‘It’s not bad.’

He knew well that living in any world was not always enjoyable.

For Kang Jin-ho, who had one foot in this world, his future life might be more harsh than others thought.

But still, it wasn’t bad now.

No, maybe it might even be a little enjoyable.

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes as the water poured over his head.