Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 827

Organizing (3)

[The scene is one of devastation.]

Crunch, crunch.

Kang Eun-young, who was lying on the sofa and inhaling snacks, widened her eyes.

“Mom! Mom!”

Baek Hyun-jung, who was coming out of the kitchen, glared with fiery eyes.

“Stop eating, you! You’re going to cause a scandal!”

“Scandal? What scandal?”

“That you’re pregnant!”

Kang Eun-young glanced down at her belly. Her lower abdomen was bulging, and it was somewhat convincing.

“…You have to see the sky to pick a star [a Korean idiom meaning it’s impossible to achieve something without the right conditions]. What kind of scandal when I don’t even have a boyfriend?”

Kang Eun-young’s expression suddenly turned gloomy.

It’s not like celebrities can’t date. There are many eyes watching, but flowers bloom even on the battlefield. How many of them manage to make time and date secretly, even under the watchful eyes of their agencies and the stalking of reporters?

But even that was not allowed for Kang Eun-young.

Other agencies monitor their celebrities, but they don’t really monitor them with their lives on the line. No, they can’t. If it’s a trainee or a rookie, that might be possible, but it’s difficult to restrict the private life of a celebrity who has reached a certain level.

The contracts are for a limited time, and if a celebrity gets fed up with the surveillance, they often transfer to another agency as soon as the contract ends.

After spending a lot of money to raise them, just when they’re about to recoup their investment, if the celebrity transfers, the original agency is left high and dry. So, they have no choice but to compromise.

We’ll let you have this much freedom, so please sign with us again later.

That’s how agencies treat celebrities who have reached a certain level.

But Kang Eun-young didn’t belong to that category.

Level?

It’s more than enough. In the current music scene, Kang Eun-young’s recognition and popularity among female solo singers are unmatched. At home, she’s a pathetic daughter who is ignored and nagged, but at the company, she has her own charisma.

She’s also doing well as an actress, so it’s meaningless to talk about her level.

Then why doesn’t she belong?

Kang Eun-young is not a celebrity discovered by her agency. To be precise, Kang Eun-young belongs to Jae-kyung, and her current agency is just managing her on their behalf.

It’s a rather unusual case. Usually, in such cases, the current agency’s surveillance should be more relaxed, but…

‘Brother, really.’

It was Kang Jin-ho who gave instructions to Jae-kyung, and Kang Jin-ho didn’t want Kang Eun-young to meet men while she was working. Kang Jin-ho’s philosophy was to work when working and date when dating.

Thanks to that, the agency can manage Kang Eun-young’s private life without worrying about contract renewals. Even now, they probably have a manager stationed in front of the house to make sure she doesn’t go out and cause a scandal.

Well, it’s all good. It’s all very good…

The problem is that it’s all useless.

“Mom.”

“What?”

“Oppa doesn’t seem to know that I’m a hikikomori [a Japanese term for a shut-in].”

Baek Hyun-jung looked at Kang Eun-young with a puzzled expression.

“You mean that thing about being a shut-in or whatever?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why are you a hikikomori! You!”

“Mom, you have to accept reality.”

Kang Eun-young shrugged and said.

“Think about it, Mom. When I don’t have a schedule, have you ever seen me go out and play somewhere?”

“Huh?”

Baek Hyun-jung’s face became serious.

Come to think of it, she had never seen this girl go out. She had been too busy with her schedule to think about it, but Kang Eun-young only went out when she had work.

“Tch, at least meet some friends…”

“I don’t have any friends.”

“…Why not?”

“Oh, Mom.”

Kang Eun-young smiled brightly and said,

“I’ve been skipping school and going to the office since middle school to be a trainee, what kind of friends would I have?”

“…That’s true.”

Having friends is not only about having a good connection, but also about how much you talk and how much time you spend together.

There was no way that Kang Eun-young, who had not properly attended school, would still have friends who contacted her.

“What about the other trainees? You had friends besides the ones who were going to be in your team.”

“Oh, Mom. When the agency blew up, we all lost contact. You’re talking about a long time ago.”

Baek Hyun-jung’s eyes twitched. What was she talking about?

My daughter is an outsider!

She goes out and sings, dances… Anyone can see she’s a social butterfly!

Kang Eun-young chuckled as she rubbed her bulging belly.

“I don’t know why they’re even monitoring me. It’s not that I don’t like being monitored, but it’s a waste of manpower. I don’t even go out of the house except to go to the convenience store, so I don’t know why they’re going through all that trouble.”

“No, come to think of it, now that they know I don’t go out, aren’t they just on vacation? It’s better to park the car and take a nap in it while getting paid than being at the company. Heh, I’m such a useful person to those around me, Mom.”

“You’re bragging, you!”

Baek Hyun-jung’s mind had finished processing reality. After thinking it through, none of Kang Eun-young’s words were wrong.

As she realized that her daughter was a serious homebody, anxiety began to creep in. Looking back, everything fit perfectly. The only images of Kang Eun-young she had seen in the past few years were either her working on her schedule or lounging on the sofa.

If she had to find another image, it would be her sprawled out on the bed, sleeping for 20 hours on a day without a schedule?

‘Will she ever get married?’

The first words she had heard hit her hard.

You have to see the sky to pick a star. How can she date when she doesn’t even meet people, let alone men?

“Daughter, sit over there.”

“…Can’t I just lie down?”

“Hey!”

“I’m getting up, Your Majesty. I’m getting up now.”

Kang Eun-young grumbled and got up. She seemed to be struggling a bit.

‘She’s supposed to be a dance singer…’

Who would say that this woman is Kang Se-ah when they see this?

“You, tell me honestly.”

“Okay.”

“I won’t get angry, so you have to tell me honestly. Really.”

“Okay. I don’t hide anything from Mom anyway. Ask me anything. I’ve lived a life without any shame!”

There has to be an event for there to be something to be ashamed of.

“You, honestly, have you really never dated anyone before?”

“No.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

Should she be happy about this, or should she be sad?

If it were just a few years ago, she could have been happy without a second thought, but now she couldn’t just be happy.

My daughter is a virgin!

What is she lacking!

“Have you, have you ever even held hands?”

“Oh, Mom. You have to say something that makes sense.”

“Right?”

Was that too much? That’s right, my daughter…

“How can I not hold hands when I’m doing choreography? I even hug people.”

“That’s dancing, you!”

“Whether it’s dancing or whatever, I held it.”

There was no answer.

Baek Hyun-jung’s face began to look serious.

“Go out! Go out and meet some men!”

“Mom. Other people’s moms manage their private lives, why are you trying to push your daughter out!”

“There has to be something to manage to manage!”

Baek Hyun-jung’s voice grew louder.

“You’re just lying at home, eating snacks, and getting fat, what am I supposed to manage!”

“It’s hard when you go out.”

“Say that after you go out! Go out!”

“Mom, look at that. It’s a mess right now.”

Kang Eun-young pointed to the TV.

Baek Hyun-jung, who was about to scold her again after glancing at it, couldn’t take her eyes off the TV.

“What’s going on?”

The screen showed broken buildings and people wrapped in blankets being moved into ambulances. The shaky screen seemed to indicate an urgent situation.

“The aquarium’s fish tank? What do you call it? Anyway, it burst.”

“A water tank?”

“Yeah. Is it a water tank? Anyway.”

“Why did it burst?”

“Anything can happen in Korea. It’s a country where buildings collapse for no reason, so what can’t happen? Look. It’s a mess.”

“Were many people hurt?”

“It seems like no one has died yet, but there are a lot of injured people.

Look, Mom. If you go out to places like that on a Sunday, you might get into an accident. Home is the safest place.”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

It was the kind of excuse a man in his 40s would make to his wife who wanted him to go out on the weekend, and it was coming out of the mouth of Kang Eun-young, who had just turned twenty.

‘How did my child become such an old soul?’

She thought she had matured early.

Well, she had started working early when others were growing up in their parents’ arms, and she had been working instead of going to school, so she thought it was natural for her to mature.

But now that she looked at it, it wasn’t that she had matured… she was just an old man.

“It’s hard when you go out. If you go out on a day like this, you’ll just spend money, your legs will hurt, and you’ll lose energy. Ugh, I hate it, I hate it.”

Did she work overtime at the company? Baek Hyun-jung, feeling that this wouldn’t do, grabbed Kang Eun-young’s hand and pulled her up.

“Get up. Let’s go shopping.”

“Shopping?”

“Yeah. Get up quickly! Let’s buy something.”

“Mom, I don’t need anything?”

“Why don’t you need anything! Why don’t you need anything at your age! Other kids are dying to buy clothes and stuff!”

“Well, I wear costumes anyway. I get sponsorships too. I don’t really need anything.”

“When you went to the department store with your brother last time, you were dying to buy something!”

“That’s because it was fun to see Oppa get flustered. I didn’t actually buy anything.”

That’s true?

“Mom, just leave me alone. I’m just going to work hard, save money, and buy a building later and live off of it.”

No.

Those were not the words that should come out of the mouth of a young woman in her early twenties. Baek Hyun-jung, feeling the need to take special measures, was about to open her mouth when Kang Eun-young’s eyes widened.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Huh?”

At the intense reaction, Baek Hyun-jung’s gaze followed Kang Eun-young’s.

“What is it… What? Why is he there?”

A familiar back of the head was visible on the screen.

It was just a back view, but she could recognize it for sure. If it was just the back of the head, it would be a suspicion, but seeing the training suit, she was certain.

“That’s your brother, right?”

“Judging by how handsome his back is, it’s definitely Oppa.”

Kang Eun-young jumped up.

“No!”

The usually quiet Kang Eun-young began to roar.

“If this guy was going to the aquarium, he should have taken me with him! How dare he go alone?”

“Mom, what are you doing! Call him quickly. He might be hurt. No, there’s no way Oppa would be hurt? If he was hurt, he would be getting carried away right now. Seeing him just standing there, he seems fine… But still, just in case, should I call him? Why did he leave me behind and get caught up in something like that! If he has nothing to do, he should come home and eat snacks!”

Baek Hyun-jung shook her head as she watched Kang Eun-young repeat her worries and anger.

The child’s condition is getting worse. Getting worse.

Baek Hyun-jung turned her gaze to the TV as she watched Kang Eun-young frantically call Kang Jin-ho.

‘He wouldn’t be hurt, would he?’

Baek Hyun-jung’s heart was pounding.