Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 634

“What’s there to be anxious about?” Choi Yeon-ha muttered, entering her hotel room and setting down her bag. Han Eun-sol’s earlier fuss had left her feeling strangely unsettled.

It was just a hotel room, not some dodgy back alley, so she shouldn’t be worried. Still, today, Choi Yeon-ha found herself being more cautious than usual, double-checking the door locks. There was no harm in being extra careful.

“It’s not like this is some remote area; it’s a hotel room,” she reasoned. It was highly unlikely someone would break into a hotel to cause trouble. If that happened, the hotel would be in serious trouble and no traveler would ever want to stay there.

Besides, Choi Yeon-ha was a well-known actress in Korea. If something happened to her at a hotel, it would be all over the news, and the hotel’s reputation would be ruined.

“I still feel strangely unsettled,” she admitted, placing a hand over her chest, where her heart was quietly pounding. The fact that she couldn’t shake off these thoughts was proof of her underlying anxiety.

RRRRRR.

“Ah! You scared me!” The sudden ringing of her cell phone startled her, nearly causing her to drop it. Irritated, Choi Yeon-ha answered the call.

“What?”

[Did you lock the door properly?]

“Am I a child? Of course, I did.”

[Just in case, go out into the hallway from time to time today. I’ve also asked the hotel to increase security. And the bodyguards will be guarding the door for a while. So, don’t be surprised if you open the door and someone is there.]

“Okay,” she replied curtly. Despite her short answer, hearing Han Eun-sol’s words did calm her down a little. Han Eun-sol was always complaining whenever she said something. If any other manager had acted like that, they would have been fired on the spot. But Han Eun-sol was different. She possessed a meticulousness that other managers lacked. Besides, her complaining was kind of endearing.

However, that meticulousness sometimes manifested in a bad way, like today. “If she hadn’t said all that, I could have relaxed with a clear mind, but now I feel a bit anxious because of her,” Choi Yeon-ha muttered, clicking her tongue.

She needed to take a shower to shake off this gloomy feeling. Her appetite, which had just returned, had completely disappeared.

“So when are you coming, you idiot!” Choi Yeon-ha, unfairly directing her anger towards Kang Jin-ho, clenched her phone. Should she call him? ‘No.’ That would make her seem too needy.

“Who do you think I am?” Her pride had already taken a hit when she yelled at him on the phone before. If she called again and whined about him not coming, Choi Yeon-ha’s mental state wouldn’t be able to handle it. It didn’t align with her image as a strong woman who didn’t care about men. But still….

“I’m done for,” Choi Yeon-ha sighed deeply. She wouldn’t have been like this if she were in Korea. Although she pretended not to be, she was feeling lonely living in a foreign country. It was strange. Even when she was in Korea, she wasn’t the type to socialize much. On her days off, she usually watched TV or exercised at home. She also cooked for herself. When she was very stressed, she would lay out snacks and watch cartoons, laughing to relieve it.

Thinking about it, her life now wasn’t that different from her life in Korea, so why was she feeling lonely? Many staff members had come with her, so it wasn’t like she didn’t have anyone to talk to in Korean. It was a mystery.

One thing was certain: there was someone she wanted to see the most right now, and that person wasn’t paying any attention to her.

“I’m going to bite him.” If he didn’t show his face by the time she returned to Korea, she would literally bite him. Even then, she couldn’t bring herself to choose the option of never seeing him again, and she headed to the bathroom.

“Is it here?” Guo Liqin looked up at the hotel.

“What a pain in the ass,” he grumbled. He had to do it because it was an order, but cleaning up after that arrogant bastard was not something he liked. His mood was always affected by who he was working for, even if the task was the same. Guo Liqin was particularly sensitive to that.

If it were an order from a superior, he would have followed it without any complaints, but this was not an order from a superior. The order he received was just to watch over that insolent guy.

Normally, he would have refused such errand-like tasks, but….

“I wonder how far ‘watch over’ goes. Tsk,” Guo Liqin took a long drag on his cigarette. To become a favored subordinate, one had to understand the superior’s intentions and act accordingly. A subordinate who asked about every little thing, whether it was okay to do it or not, might be seen as cautious at first, but later they would be seen as someone who couldn’t be trusted with work. He didn’t want that.

In the end, what the higher-ups wanted was to make money using that pretty boy. The money that so-called popular young celebrities made was enough to make a decent company rich. They had a straw stuck in there, so they had to suck it dry without any problems, right? If that guy’s love life didn’t go well and the movie flopped, there would be no greater loss.

‘There’s nothing particularly concerning,’ he thought. If it were something that happened between Chinese people, he would have to be careful. An actress who was good enough to be Liu Wei’s co-star must have someone backing her. If he messed with the wrong person and caused a problem between factions, Guo Liqin’s head would be the first to roll. Rather than unnecessarily escalating things, it was more reasonable to hand over a suitable scapegoat and wash his hands of it.

But the woman Liu Wei was currently obsessed with was Korean, and even if he messed with her, there wouldn’t be any repercussions. That was why Guo Liqin had accepted this job. There were no consequences.

“The problem is dealing with it without any aftermath….” That actress was apparently famous in Korea. It wasn’t difficult to carry out the task, but the problem was what would happen after it was over. If she talked about it in China, no one would take her seriously, but if she went back to Korea and made an issue of it, it would be a headache.

But so what? There were many ways to do it. Choosing the easiest way wasn’t bad. It would be quite a hot topic. He could think about that after the job was done. Guo Liqin picked up his phone. Then, he found the contact saved as ‘pretty boy’ and pressed the call button.

[I was waiting.]

“Where are you showing off?”

[You told me to come nearby, so I’m nearby.]

“So, where is ‘nearby’?”

[Right next door.]

Guo Liqin turned his head and checked the building next to the hotel.

“I’ll call you later. Cover your face well and come in. I can handle everything else, but I can’t do anything if you get caught coming in.”

[You don’t have to worry about that. But make sure you handle it so that people don’t find out.]

“You worry too much.” Guo Liqin hung up the phone.

“Idiot.” Handle it without getting caught? Did he think he was going to steal something? There were CCTV cameras everywhere, so how was he supposed to handle it without getting caught? How could a celebrity be so clueless about the world?

“Let’s stop.” The more he cursed that idiot, the more pathetic he felt for cleaning up his mess. He was a respected member of the organization, but he never thought he would end up doing something like this. On the other hand, it meant that this idiot was making a lot of money. In the end, people needed money to live. Even a martial artist couldn’t live on dew alone. If he was so upset, he should become a god.

‘Let’s see.’ Guo Liqin raised his head and checked the hotel exterior, frowning. Climbing up the outer wall and breaking the window of the room where that Choi Yeon-ha was staying wasn’t a bad idea. But that would be more likely to be noticed by others. Moreover, considering the noise and debris caused by breaking the glass, it wasn’t a good method. Maybe if it was later, but even more so at this time. He could wait until dawn to deal with it, but that would reduce the time he had to clean up.

“No choice.” Guo Liqin decided to take the direct approach. He walked slowly towards the hotel’s main entrance, opened the door without hesitation, and went inside. He headed to the counter and smiled at the person providing assistance.

“Where’s the manager?” Guo Liqin, sitting on the sofa in the manager’s office, slowly took a drag of his cigarette.

“……Are you a public security officer?”

“That’s not important.” The manager’s face froze like a stone when he saw the card Guo Liqin had handed him.

“What can we do for you?”

“There’s a woman named Choi Yeon-ha staying in one of your rooms, a Korean.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Control that floor. Give me the key.”

“But……”

“Hey.” Guo Liqin chuckled and leaned forward. The smoke that puffed out of his mouth lightly hit the manager’s face.

“‘But’?”

“No, that’s not it……”

“I prefer to be a gentleman. But I also know that I can’t always be a gentleman. Is it wrong for me to ask for your cooperation right now?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Then do as I say.” The manager nodded, looking frightened. Ensuring the safety of the guests staying at the hotel was the hotel’s biggest responsibility. But if he disobeyed the words of the person who had this card, this hotel would simply disappear. He knew that very well.

“Should I remove everyone from the floor?”

“You became a manager with that brain?”

“Yes?”

“If you tell people to leave this floor without a reason, there will definitely be someone who thinks it’s strange. Don’t you think?”

“……I’m sorry.”

“I’ll take care of it, so just give me the key.” The manager’s face showed a brief conflict. A conflict about whether it was okay to hand over this key. It was a conflict that anyone would have. But the result of that conflict was obvious. The manager sighed deeply and got up from his seat, heading to where the spare keys were kept.

The manager checked the room number and took out the key card, handing it to Guo Liqin.

“Good. You’re like a dog. You listen very well.” The manager couldn’t say anything at Guo Liqin’s sneer.

“Her companions are staying on the same floor.”

“Ah, I know.” Guo Liqin smiled lightly at the manager.

“If any problems occur, please take care of the aftermath. Don’t make that face. It’s a common occurrence. If you act like you’ve never cleaned up anything dirty before, I’ll be disappointed.”

“After a reasonable amount of time, come out into the hallway and listen. You might hear something interesting. Think of it as a reward for your cooperation. Hahahaha!” Guo Liqin got up from his seat and went outside, and the manager quietly closed his eyes.

The hidden world was several times darker and dirtier than the visible world. For those who lived with one foot in that world, patience was the most necessary element.