Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 76

Whirrrrr!

Park Yu-min shuddered at the sound of the electric clippers. That menacing machine was approaching Kang Jin-ho’s head.

“Ugh…”

Park Yu-min watched the gruesome scene, feeling as if his own head was being shaved.

“Looks like you’re not going, huh?”

“Yeah.”

And I absolutely don’t want to go!

Whirrrrr!

Before Park Yu-min could even answer, the clippers smoothly moved up the back of Kang Jin-ho’s neck.

“Pfft.”

Park Yu-min couldn’t help but exhale a puff of air, seeing the long, bare strip down the middle of Kang Jin-ho’s head.

“Are you laughing?”

“Ah, no, Jin-ho. I coughed.”

“…”

Kang Jin-ho gritted his teeth quietly, looking at Park Yu-min in the mirror.

Saying you coughed with that face is not convincing.

“Wow, but it’s really brutal.”

Park Yu-min trembled in fear as he watched Kang Jin-ho’s hair being shaved off without hesitation.

It wasn’t like Kang Jin-ho had been living with long hair, so it wasn’t that strange, but the sight of the bare scalp was enough to give a subtle sense of dread to men of that age.

Whirrrrr!

“Isn’t it too short?”

Even the Marines probably keep their hair longer than that…

“This student asked me to shave it like this, though?”

“Why, Jin-ho!” You wouldn’t even get a haircut like that if you were deployed to Afghanistan. That’s just a buzz cut.

“It’s annoying.”

“Ugh.”

Kang Jin-ho never bothered to style or manage his hair.

‘If he just managed it a little, he’d look so much better.’

Even with that haircut, he looks handsome because of his well-shaped head. If he just put a little effort into his appearance, he could be a celebrity, but Kang Jin-ho was too indifferent to that.

‘Well, he’s enlisting soon, so what’s the point of managing it now?’

It’s not like there’s a girl in the military who’ll think he’s handsome because of it.

Thinking about it, Kang Jin-ho’s choice might be right. Most people can’t do it because of lingering attachments.

“What about Se-yeon?”

“She’s probably at home.”

“Didn’t you contact her?”

“Nope.”

Park Yu-min clicked his tongue.

What a heartless guy.

How can someone be so indifferent?

“You know, you might get dumped?”

“Dumped?”

“There are so many girls who change their minds.”

“Then they will.”

“Wow, listen to him?”

It might sound a bit harsh, but thanks to what happened yesterday, anything related to Han Se-yeon had become trivial.

As the slightly excited emotions subsided, it was unclear what he had felt yesterday.

‘I’ll figure it out when I get back.’

He thought he was too inexperienced with relationships. It wasn’t that he had no experience with women, but the women he met in the Murim world [a world of martial arts and cultivation] were never his equals.

Surrounded by women who were only focused on pleasing him, he lacked a proper understanding of normal relationships.

He would get better as he became more accustomed to this world and lived a little longer.

“All done.”

Kang Jin-ho looked up at the mirror at the hairdresser’s words.

“Well, you look handsome?”

“Hmm…”

Why does he look even more handsome than before, even after getting his head shaved like Park Yu-min?

“How little did you manage your hair that you look better without it?”

“When did you start managing yours?”

Park Yu-min grinned.

“Have you never heard of camera massage?”

“Camera massage?”

“If you’re going on TV, you have to do makeup and style your hair.”

“I’m not a celebrity, I’m a pro gamer, do I have to do that?”

“Everyone does it. You’d think they’d be practicing before a match, but before a match, they go to the stadium to get their makeup and hair done.”

“What a strange world.”

It seemed that there was no easy job in the world. A pro gamer should just be good at the game, but they even had to style their hair.

“Come to think of it…”

He thought he had become a bit more refined after graduating high school, but it seemed that it was because of the styling, not because he had graduated.

“It seems subtly better.”

“…You’re next to me, so it doesn’t show.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize! It makes me feel pathetic.”

Park Yu-min and Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘Definitely.’

Kang Jin-ho had to admit that he was more joyful and had more fun when he was with Park Yu-min than with Han Se-yeon.

“So, is it tomorrow?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded as Park Yu-min asked casually.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, Jin-ho is going to become a true man.”

“I’m already a man.”

“You seem a bit more flexible?”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and paid the bill.

After paying, the two went outside and headed to a nearby cafe.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Hmm, an Americano.”

“You used to say it was too bitter and only drank sweet stuff?”

“I like it these days.”

“There won’t be any Americano in the military, that’s a big problem?”

Park Yu-min chuckled, took Kang Jin-ho’s Americano and his own drink, and went to sit down.

Slurp.

Kang Jin-ho took a sip of the steaming hot Americano.

‘The one my father makes is better.’

Kang Jin-ho’s father, Kang Yu-hwan, had recently become interested in making coffee.

Not long ago, he had bought a roasting machine worth tens of millions of won [Korean currency] without saying a word, making his mother furious.

Kang Jin-ho thought it was good that his father had a hobby and agreed, but his mother didn’t seem to like it.

He had agreed because he wanted his father to enjoy his life, but after being forced to taste it a few times, he realized that his father’s coffee was quite good.

He especially thought so whenever he went to other cafes to drink coffee.

“Did you prepare everything?”

“What is there to prepare for enlisting?”

“If you say that, I have nothing to say.”

Park Yu-min stared at Kang Jin-ho.

Usually, people who are going to the military are a little anxious. But this guy, as if his nerves were made of steel, showed no sign of it.

It seemed like a high school student going on a field trip would be more worried.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Scared?”

“Aren’t you anxious about going to the military?”

“Why?”

“…I said something unnecessary.”

That’s Kang Jin-ho, but it was also absurd.

Even so, he should be a little anxious.

Kang Jin-ho smiled quietly at Park Yu-min’s reaction.

‘What a good world.’

If you gave the people in the Murim world a chance to enlist in the South Korean military, the competition rate would exceed a thousand to one.

It’s a place where you get paid, fed, and housed just for exercising moderately.

Without even mentioning the Demonic Cult, even the prestigious orthodox sects of that time had harsher training and a more strict atmosphere than the current South Korean military.

When those prestigious orthodox sects accepted disciples, the gates were filled with people who wanted to enter the mountain.

Did they want to become masters?

No.

Most of them were satisfied just to be able to eat one meal a day without starving.

It hasn’t even been a hundred years since food started to be abundant. Before that, people prioritized filling their stomachs and surviving before worrying about human rights.

The situation was not much different when Kang Jin-ho was in the Murim world.

Why would Kang Jin-ho be worried about going to the military after experiencing such a life?

Considering the checks and jealousy he faced when he joined the Demonic Cult, Kang Jin-ho could enlist in the South Korean military as if he were going to kindergarten.

“What did your parents say?”

“My father told me to have a good trip, and my mother said she was sad.”

“Sad?”

“Because I applied for enlistment without saying anything.”

“…You didn’t tell them?”

“I forgot.”

“Isn’t that a situation where you deserve to get your back burned?”

“I didn’t get hit.”

“Ugh…”

Park Yu-min shook his head. Sometimes he had no idea what this indifferent friend was thinking.

“What about your sister?”

“Eun-young?”

“Yeah.”

“Eun-young doesn’t come home often, so I didn’t tell her?”

“You’re enlisting tomorrow, and you didn’t tell your sister?”

“I’m the one going to the military, do I really have to tell her?”

Park Yu-min smiled.

“You’re hopeless.”

His attitude was so firm that Kang Jin-ho silently drank his Americano.

“Ah, and…”

“Yeah?”

“It’s awkward what to do with the car while I’m in the military.”

“Yeah.”

“I told my father to drive it, but he said it’s too flashy, my mother doesn’t have a license, and Eun-young has a company car, so she doesn’t need one.”

Park Yu-min’s back began to sweat.

“So, I was thinking you could drive it while I’m gone…”

“No!”

“…Why?”

“Every time that door opens, everyone in the neighborhood looks. No way. I can’t drive that.”

“You can endure it if you pretend you don’t know anyone.”

“No, I said no! I’m a bit known now… My salary is so low, if I get caught driving that, people will say I’m getting ahead of myself. And it’s fine if it’s just a rumor, but if it goes wrong, people will say I’m making money from match-fixing. I can’t do it.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

He had no choice but to tell Jo Gyu-min to return it.

“What about Geum-dong?”

“My father will take care of it.”

“I’ll check on it from time to time to make sure it’s okay.”

“You seem more worried about Geum-dong than my car?”

“Well, your car is none of my business, but Geum-dong is the bike that took me to school all the time, so I should at least do that much.”

“You’re silly.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

That’s why he liked Park Yu-min.

At first, he was just a friend he kept around because he caught his eye, but now he enjoyed being with him.

“Ah, and…”

“Yeah?”

“When I told the head nun that you were going to the military, she got angry and asked why you didn’t visit her before enlisting.”

“…The head nun got angry?”

“Yeah, I saw it for the first time too.”

Kang Jin-ho’s body trembled slightly.

For that kind person to get angry, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like.

“L-let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t want to see hell when you get leave, it’s better to go see her now.”

“That’s wise?”

Park Yu-min smiled and got up from his seat.

“But where are you enlisting? Nonsan?”

“102 Replacement Depot.”

“I heard they were getting rid of that?”

“It’s still there for my class.”

“There’s Nonsan, why did you apply for 102 Replacement Depot?”

“It’s close.”

Park Yu-min nodded silently.

That’s Kang Jin-ho.

That’s so like Kang Jin-ho.

As Park Yu-min chuckled and went outside, Kang Jin-ho sipped his Americano and followed him.

‘Is this the last day?’

Maybe this is the last Americano he’ll drink in society for a while.

Kang Jin-ho emptied the last drop of Americano from his cup into his mouth.

The bitter aftertaste of the Americano lingered on his lips.