Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 7

‘Where have you been!’

‘Huh?’

Kang Jin-ho, entering the hospital room, tilted his head, looking at the woman who was yelling at him.

She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Not particularly pretty, but she had a cute face.

‘Who are you?’

At Kang Jin-ho’s question, the woman tilted her head and approached him.

‘Are you crazy?’

‘……?’

‘Can’t you even recognize your own sister now? You’ve really lost it.’

‘Sister?’

Kang Jin-ho’s head tilted slightly.

Sister?

He definitely had a younger sister.

That memory still remained, but…

‘Was her face like this?’

Her face seemed a little different from what he remembered.

Of course, she would have aged, so it was natural, but still, there was a sense of disconnect from his memory.

‘Your face…’

‘Can’t you recognize your sister just because I put on some makeup?’

Come to think of it, it seemed like there was something smeared all over her face.

‘I see.’

The important thing was that this girl in front of him was his sister.

In the past, she had been going in and out of entertainment agencies, wanting to become a celebrity, but she had died in a traffic accident before she could even bloom.

‘Could she have made it if she had continued?’

Around the time she died, Kang Jin-ho’s family had begun to decline.

Even if she hadn’t died, she wouldn’t have been able to become a celebrity. She needed money to support her dream. One of the things that Kang Jin-ho couldn’t provide in the past was money.

‘What brings you here?’

‘Are you really crazy?’

‘……’

‘How could I not come when my one and only brother got into an accident? Mom could have just told me in advance, why didn’t she say anything?’

‘Were you not home?’

‘I went on a tour to Japan for a field trip. It was called a field trip, but when I got there, I was just a staff member. They were using me without paying.’

‘I see.’

‘Ugh, I’m so upset. When I came back, I heard that my brother had a traffic accident, and when I rushed here, you weren’t even in your bed.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly. Nagging seemed to be hereditary.

‘What about school?’

‘Is school more important than my dream?’

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

‘You still have to go to school.’

‘We already talked about this. Why are you like this?’

‘You still have to go.’

‘……’

Kang Jin-ho’s younger sister, Kang Eun-young, looked at Kang Jin-ho with strange eyes. It was strange that he didn’t recognize her, and it was also strange that he was bringing up a topic that had already been settled.

But what was even stranger was his way of speaking.

He wasn’t a talkative person to begin with, but after the accident, his way of speaking had become strange.

‘Oppa, are you really in a lot of pain?’

‘You’ll regret it later.’

Kang Jin-ho’s tone became stronger.

‘If you choose a different path from others, whether it’s a dream or anything else, there’s too much you’ll have to lose.

Finding your dream is your business, but if you can, don’t lose both [referring to both the dream and the stability of a normal life].’

‘Okay…’

Kang Eun-young nodded without realizing it.

There was an undeniable weight in Kang Jin-ho’s words.

‘It’s strange…’

Mom said his memory was confused, and it seemed to be true. Otherwise, a person couldn’t change this much.

The door opened, and Kang Jin-ho’s mother came in.

‘Mom, you’re here?’

‘Yes.’

‘Mom, Oppa is acting strange!’

‘Why are you talking like that!’

‘No, Mom!’

‘Can’t you be quiet?’

As her mother’s voice became sharp, Kang Eun-young shut her mouth.

From experience, she knew that if she tried to argue any further, she would be in for a storm.

‘Jin-ho, are you okay?’

‘Yes.’

‘But…’

Her mother’s eyes became sharp.

‘Why is your hand like that?’

‘I got a little hurt.’

‘How did that happen?’

‘Well…’

Kang Jin-ho pondered whether he should tell the truth.

In the past, he wouldn’t have hesitated to tell the truth, but now, Kang Jin-ho was relearning that the truth should be hidden when necessary.

‘So, it was…’

Someone helped Kang Jin-ho, who was struggling to come up with an excuse.

The door opened, and doctors and nurses in white gowns came in.

‘Oh, doctor!’

‘Yes, hello.’

The head of surgery bowed his head and greeted them, then looked at Kang Jin-ho.

‘Jin-ho, I heard you hurt your hand?’

‘Yes.’

‘I heard you were treated in the emergency room, but may I take a look?’

‘Yes, please do.’

The head of surgery smiled as he examined the wound and looked at the mother.

‘You have a very admirable son.’

‘Yes? What do you mean by that?’

‘Oh? Haven’t you heard? Actually…’

After hearing the doctor’s explanation, the mother’s eyes shot up like a tiger’s.

‘Jin-ho.’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have any sense? What were you thinking doing such a thing? What if you had gotten hurt? It’s a miracle that nothing happened, but what if you had gotten seriously injured or even died? No, that’s not it. You’re already hurt! I told you so many times, but you…’

Cold sweat formed on Kang Jin-ho’s forehead.

His mother was so angry that she was about to start hitting him.

‘Haha…’

The head of surgery, who had been watching the scene, gave an awkward laugh and slowly backed away.

‘I shouldn’t have…’

‘Doctor, you too! If a child does something like that, you should scold them as an adult, not praise them for being admirable!’

‘Yes, I’m sorry. Yes, I didn’t mean it that way… Yes, no… that…’

The head of surgery, who had been scolded for saying the wrong thing, gave an awkward smile and ran out of the hospital room.

‘Do you understand what I mean?’

‘Yes.’

‘Just an answer?’

‘I really understand.’

‘Really?’

‘……Yes.’

Kang Jin-ho was ready to jump into fire to prove that he understood. He felt like he could do anything to get out of this situation.

‘I’ll be watching you. And Eun-young, you come out with me.’

‘Why me…’

‘Don’t talk back!’

‘No! Mom, I’ll go!’

Kang Eun-young glared at Kang Jin-ho slightly, then followed her mother out.

Kang Jin-ho let out a deep sigh. If he had to listen to this kind of nagging one more time, his ears would bleed.

‘It’s too much.’

In the Demonic Cult, there was no such thing as nagging. When a mission was given, if you succeeded, you received a reward, and if you failed, you were punished. There was no constant lecturing, so he had no immunity to this kind of nagging. He must have heard it often in the past, though.

He could hear the two of them talking outside the door. They were trying to talk quietly so that it wouldn’t be heard inside the room, but unfortunately, Kang Jin-ho’s hearing was more sensitive than they expected.

‘Be careful what you say to your brother.’

‘Why?’

‘Your brother is confused right now. If you say things like he’s strange, it’ll be even harder for him!’

‘Why is he confused?’

‘The doctor said his memories are fragmented. It’s nothing serious, and he’ll be fine soon. Just keep that in mind. So, don’t say anything weird to your brother. Okay?’

‘Okay, Mom.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly.

‘Amnesia, huh?’

That was how the gap between the past Kang Jin-ho and the present Kang Jin-ho was explained. From a medical point of view, that was the most reasonable explanation.

It would be better if it was amnesia, but now, Kang Jin-ho had too many memories coming in, and his past memories were becoming blurred.

And it wouldn’t get much better than this.

He could adapt, but it was impossible for Kang Jin-ho to recover what he had forgotten.

After a while, his mother and Kang Eun-young came back into the hospital room.

Kang Jin-ho looked out the window.

Time would solve it.

Fortunately, Kang Jin-ho had plenty of time left.

Whisper, whisper.

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly.

Strangely, since a few days ago, he could hear whispers behind his back whenever he passed by.

Most of the nurses and nurse’s aides working at the hospital were women.

They were second to none when it came to spreading rumors. The fact that Kang Jin-ho had fought a serial killer had spread throughout the entire hospital in just half a day.

Thanks to that, Kang Jin-ho had to try to ignore the piercing gazes he felt behind his back whenever he walked around the hospital. They didn’t have any malice, and they were just looking out of curiosity, so it was hard to say anything.

His discharge was scheduled for tomorrow.

The surgical area had almost healed, and the wound on his hand wasn’t serious enough to require hospitalization, so there was no reason to stay in the hospital.

‘Alien Oppa!’

Kang Jin-ho turned his head.

Ji-eun was running towards him.

‘Oppa!’

‘Yeah?’

‘Oh, what should I do? I didn’t buy you a cola.’

‘It’s okay.’

To Ji-eun, Kang Jin-ho seemed to be treated like a machine that ran on cola.

‘Oh, that’s a relief. I saw you, Oppa.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m moving to another hospital tomorrow.’

‘They said I’m going to another hospital. I don’t want to go…’

Ji-eun looked gloomy. She didn’t seem to like the idea of moving hospitals. It wouldn’t be easy for a young child to adapt to new nurses and doctors.

‘Can’t you just not go?’

‘They said I can’t. I cried and got hit by my mom.’

‘I see.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled without realizing it.

Mothers seemed to be similar everywhere.

‘Aren’t you getting discharged, Oppa?’

‘Tomorrow.’

‘Really? I’m going tomorrow too, that’s a relief. It would be weird if I left while you were still here. You’d be lonely too.’

She seemed to be misunderstanding something, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t bother to correct her.

‘Oh…’

Ji-eun, who was about to say something, suddenly grabbed her chest.

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened.

‘Does it hurt?’

‘……No, I’m okay.’

She said she was okay, but she didn’t look okay at all. There was a problem.

‘Let me see.’

‘Where are you looking!’

‘……’

Kang Jin-ho, who was about to lift her patient gown, flinched and stepped back at Ji-eun’s sharp voice.

‘Pervert!’

‘It’s a misunderstanding.’

‘It’s okay. I’m fine. It happens sometimes. It’s been happening more often lately.’

Kang Jin-ho focused on observing Ji-eun’s body. There was definitely a blockage of energy flow in her chest area. He could know more if he touched her, but he couldn’t draw unnecessary attention.

‘Then, Oppa, I’ll go back up now.’

‘Okay.’

‘If I’m away from my room for too long, the nurses get mad… It’s gotten worse than before, and now they keep scolding me even if I just go outside the room.’

‘I understand.’

‘Then, Oppa, goodbye.’

‘Okay…’

Kang Jin-ho called out to Ji-eun as she walked away.

‘Wait a minute.’

‘Yeah?’

‘……What do you want to do when you get better?’

Ji-eun giggled.

‘Why are you asking something so obvious? I want to go to school and play like everyone else.’

‘I see.’

‘Then, Oppa, I’m going.’

Kang Jin-ho watched Ji-eun’s retreating figure and nodded.