Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 622

Being Nagged (5)

Bang!

Kang Jin-ho, who had roughly opened the door and entered the house after a long time, glared with wide eyes.

“Why are you barging in here with that look on your face?”

However, the power in his eyes couldn’t even shine before it quickly faded away.

“You were here?”

“Yes, I was here. Where else would I go at this hour?”

“Right.”

Kang Jin-ho, seeing Baek Hyun-jung sitting on the sofa in the living room, wore an awkward smile.

Kang Jin-ho, who had briefly regained his past vigor due to his family’s betrayal, was not in the Central Plains [a term referring to the heartland of China, often used metaphorically to denote a place of power or influence]. While he was unstoppable in the Central Plains, there were two people in this world whom he couldn’t possibly defeat no matter what he did.

And among them, the overlord was now clicking her tongue at him.

“It can’t be that you’re having a second puberty at your age. Why are you opening the door so roughly?”

“…Was I?”

“It’s quite touching to witness my son’s rebellious phase with my own eyes, but aren’t we both too old for that now?”

Kang Jin-ho took off his shoes without saying anything.

“Have you eaten?”

“I ate before coming.”

“It doesn’t look like you did?”

“Should I fix you something?”

“It’s okay, Mom. I can fix it myself. Please don’t do that anymore.”

“Son.”

“Yes?”

Baek Hyun-jung sighed deeply and then spoke.

“You seem uncomfortable with your mom constantly fixing you meals, even though you’re all grown up. Let’s look at it from my perspective.”

“Yes?”

“Even if I don’t fix it for you, you’ll still eat. Is it even possible that you can’t fix a meal at your age? Your mom knows that our son isn’t that useless.”

“Then why?”

“Because you don’t fix it properly.”

Baek Hyun-jung said firmly.

“When you fix it, the side dishes that should be ten come out as three, and the soup is cold! And if that’s too much trouble, you just eat a piece of bread with jam. Who would care if you ate like that when I’m not around? But when your mom is sitting on the sofa, and her only son is just shoving something into his stomach, it makes me feel guilty.”

Kang Jin-ho, having lost any room for excuses, subtly avoided his mother’s gaze.

“If you’re going to say, ‘I’ll fix it myself,’ then fix it properly. I made so many side dishes, and seeing you eat just rice with kimchi, how can your mom just sit still?”

‘Was it really something to be nagged about this much?’

Having lived for over a hundred years through three lives, Kang Jin-ho was still like a child in front of his mother.

“So, what should I do? Should I fix it for you, or not?”

“I-It’s alright.”

His mother scanned her son up and down with a dissatisfied look.

If his body were a bit weak or fat, she would have nagged him about it, but even she thought her son’s body was too perfect.

“You’ll ruin your health like that!”

But even perfection has its flaws. A mother’s nagging is like a fantastic crack that breaks through the defense.

‘This isn’t right…’

Kang Jin-ho, who had entered with great momentum only to be hit with a barrage of nagging and become dejected, was now looking around for a way to escape. Then, the door opened, and Kang Eun-young came out.

“Oh, Oppa, you’re here?”

“You!”

Kang Jin-ho raised his voice.

“Come here and sit down.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just come here.”

It was Kang Jin-ho’s stern face that she couldn’t remember seeing for a long time. To others, it was his usual stern face, but Kang Eun-young, who had a high understanding of Kang Jin-ho, could sense the subtle anger in his face.

“Why are you angry?”

“You, what did I tell you?”

“Huh?”

“I told you that family members should protect each other. Why are you passing on my information? When did you get so close to Choi Yeon-ha?”

“Ah, that?”

Kang Eun-young sat on the sofa as if it were nothing.

“It’s lonely when you live abroad. So, she would text me sometimes. I often go to events in the evening and travel in the car, so I get bored, and we got closer while texting. As I got to know her, she turned out to be a good older sister. She has a bit of a temper, but if that temper isn’t directed at me, it’s fine. She’s nice, you know?”

Nice?

Kang Jin-ho felt a strange dizziness.

Choi Yeon-ha being nice.

Even though Kang Jin-ho didn’t want to speak ill of her because he was friendly with Choi Yeon-ha, he couldn’t accept those words. It wouldn’t be this absurd even if he heard that a turtle couldn’t swim.

“Where is she nice?”

“Being pretty is being nice. That’s what guys say.”

Well, then she’s nice.

Um, yeah. Then she’s nice.

If that’s the standard, there would be no one who could deny Choi Yeon-ha’s niceness. Even Kang Jin-ho couldn’t deny that… Ah, that’s not the point.

“…It’s fine that you got close.”

Kang Jin-ho took a deep breath and spoke.

“Why are you telling her about my whereabouts? I told you that family members shouldn’t do that.”

“Oh, Oppa. I didn’t do anything wrong. I did everything you told me to do.”

“Everything I told you to do?”

“Yeah. You said that family members shouldn’t hide anything from each other, right? She’s not family yet, but she’ll be family soon. How harsh would it be to say to someone like that, ‘You’re not family yet, so I can’t tell you that’?”

“Family?”

“If you marry her, won’t she become family?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Just as Kang Jin-ho was flustered and trying to mumble something, Baek Hyun-jung bit on the bait that Kang Eun-young had thrown.

“Family? Who are you talking about?”

“You know, Yeon-ha unnie [an honorific term used by a younger female to address an older female].”

“Choi Yeon-ha?”

Kang Jin-ho shrank back as his mother’s eyes widened.

“No, Mom. It’s not like that, she…”

“It’s okay, Mom.”

“…Yes?”

Baek Hyun-jung said with a bright smile.

“I was already thinking about it before, and after thinking about it, it seems hard to find a daughter-in-law as good as her. It’s Choi Yeon-ha, after all.”

“I was a bit hesitant because she’s an actress and might be picky, but then I thought, we have an idol in our family, and my son doesn’t seem to be lacking either. So, it’s fine.”

“I, I didn’t think that far ahead?”

“Who thinks about marriage when they’re dating these days? You just meet often, and when it’s time to get married, you do it.”

“…It’s not like that.”

“They all say it’s not like that these days. But is her personality okay?”

“Yes, Mom. She has a bit of a temper, but when I think about it, my brother needs to meet a woman like that. That guy has no backbone or opinions usually. He’s good at his work outside, but why is he so lifeless at home? He needs someone to pull him along. In that sense, she’s perfect.”

“I’m a bit worried. If her personality is strong, it might be hard to deal with.”

“No, no, Mom. A fox-like daughter-in-law is a hundred times better than a bear-like one.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. And seeing how well she treats me, she seems like someone who knows how to handle things. She’s the type to bring people around her rather than trying to assert herself. Mom, you’ll be treated like a queen.”

“Then it’s fine.”

Kang Jin-ho’s head was spinning from the sudden daughter-in-law evaluation.

Kang Jin-ho had never once thought about marriage in his life. Wasn’t he a solo for a hundred years?

But marriage, not even dating, out of the blue?

“I really have no intention of that, so please both of you calm down.”

When he threw a net over the runaway train, the conductors turned to Kang Jin-ho with disappointed faces.

“Why is he so weak as a man?”

“He’s a herbivore. A harmless man.”

“…I think he’s too harmless. A man should have some edge.”

“Mom, that’s why we have to do a good job. If we leave him like that, he’ll end up never holding a woman’s hand in his life.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been hit with a barrage of attacks, slumped down.

Kang Jin-ho, who prided himself on being invincible in physical fights, had no way to defend against verbal attacks.

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

“What are you going to take care of? Have you ever even held a hand?”

“Have I?”

“Have you ever kissed?”

“You, you, how can a woman say such things?”

“Ha…”

Kang Eun-young turned her head to look at Baek Hyun-jung.

“See?”

“He’s hopeless.”

Baek Hyun-jung also looked at Kang Jin-ho with a pathetic gaze. She had already understood her son’s harmlessness, but she didn’t know that his harmlessness was being displayed to others, not just his family.

“With that physique.”

“I know, right!”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head this way and that. He was trying to find reinforcements. But his father, who should have been on his side, was not coming out, with the door firmly closed.

‘I can feel his presence right behind the door!’

Even though he was listening to all the conversations in the living room, his father had no intention of coming out. He felt a deep sense of betrayal, but even for his father, it would be too much to deal with these hungry lionesses.

“Mother.”

Kang Jin-ho firmly tried to change the atmosphere.

“I’ll take care of that myself.”

“…Who said anything?”

“I appreciate your concern, but we’re not at that stage yet.”

Kang Eun-young quietly muttered.

“If we just leave it, it’ll never get to that stage.”

“You be quiet.”

Kang Eun-young subtly avoided his gaze when Kang Jin-ho became serious. She was unstoppable when she was on a roll, but facing Kang Jin-ho’s serious gaze head-on was a burden even for her.

“Well, if you say you’ll take care of it, what can I say? I just think she doesn’t seem like a bad person, so if you have feelings for her, I won’t oppose it. That’s all.”

“Yes, don’t worry. But that won’t happen for a while.”

“…Boring, boring.”

His mother smacked her lips like a lion that had to forcefully spit out the meat it had put in its mouth.

“Okay. Then go in and rest.”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho hesitated as if he had something to say but couldn’t.

“What is it?”

“Ah, there’s something I need to tell you…”

“What?”

Kang Jin-ho hesitated, unable to open his mouth right away.

Thinking about it, the timing was the worst. Saying this now felt like digging his own grave…

“Did you do something wrong to your mom?”

“No, no, it’s not that.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes tightly and opened his mouth.

“I think I’ll have to leave home for a while.”

“Huh? Leave home? Where are you going?”

“Chi…”

“Chi?”

Kang Jin-ho, having given up, surrendered.

“China.”

The atmosphere turned cold.

Baek Hyun-jung, who had been looking at Kang Jin-ho silently for a while, quietly asked again.

“China?”

“Yes.”

“China?”

“Yes.”

“Is that the China where Choi Yeon-ha is now?”

“…Yes.”

“Oh, I see. It seems our son has something to do in China. I hope that thing isn’t going to see Choi Yeon-ha? After being so serious with us just now.”

Squeak.

His father, who had opened the door casually, saw the situation and quietly closed the door again and went back inside.

“Ah, Fath…”

Thud!

Kang Jin-ho groaned at the breaking bond between father and son as he watched the door close firmly.

“Come here and sit down.”

“…Yes.”

He must feel like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes as he watched Kang Eun-young, who had a wicked smile, loosen her lips.