Descent of the Demon Master

’s head tilted so much he was practically resting it on his shoulder.
Things necessary during filming shouldn ’t even be found at home, so what was this all about?

“Mother? What am I supposed to deliver to Eun-Yeong?”

“A ‘pact.”

When Kang Jin-Ho heard that, he became serious and gravely nodded away.
“I see.
This son will make sure to remind your daughter about her pact with the family.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong looked at her son weirdly.
“What are you talking about? I meant this, a compact.
It ’s a makeup kit, son.”

“…Oh.” Kang Jin-Ho received a paper bag from his mother while inwardly groaning.
“But, wouldn ’t the film set have their own makeup people? Why do I need to deliver this to Eun-Yeong?”

“This is an expensive makeup kit, Jin-Ho.
Eun-Yeong directly purchased it from an overseas supplier, saying it suits her skin the best.
But she forgot it at home and has been calling me since early morning to whine at me.
Can ’t you just take it to her?”

“Hmm…” Kang Jin-Ho groaned again, then slowly nodded.
“Understood.
But where is the filming location?”

“Mm? Where was it again? Hold on…” Baek Hyeon-Jeong scrolled through her phone ’s screen, then smiled at her son.
“It ’s in Yeongdeok.[1]”

“…I ’m sorry?”

“You should hurry and get going, son.”

“W-wait a minute, Mother?”

***

Vroooom…

Kang Jin-Ho groaned once again while depressing the accelerator of his vehicle.

’I ’m not getting a lot of chance to ride my Golden Elephant these days, huh. ’

’

It seemed that after his discharge from the military, Kang Jin-Ho hadn ’t gotten much riding time on the saddle of his trusty bicycle.
Then again, his scope of activity had become far wider than before.
And that meant some distances were simply too great to be covered on a bicycle, even if the rider was none other than Kang Jin-Ho.

Besides, he had gotten a lot more familiar with this Lamborghini ’s capabilities at this point.
Traveling at a speed incomparably faster than what the Golden Elephant could produce was also pretty entertaining in its own right.

“…But why do they need to travel to Yeongdeok to shoot a TV show?”

If the production wanted a place near the ocean, they could have used Incheon or even somewhere in Gangwon province, so why did they have to go so far away? Kang Jin-Ho just couldn ’t understand it.

Vroooom!

The red supercar, which he affectionately named Zoom Zoom, issued a low, bassy exhaust note as it sped toward the destination.
Kang Jin-Ho only needed around half of the time estimated by the GPS navigation system to reach the filming location.
After finding a suitable parking space, he got out of the car only to sigh again after sensing that the crowd ’s attention was fixated on him.

“Do I need to put a cover on the car or something…?”

His car ’s biggest downside was when he needed to get in or out.
Obviously, a car driving closer while making a racket would draw people ’s attention.
And when such a car parked somewhere close by, those same people would wait to see just who was driving it.
Kang Jin-Ho escaped from the skin-prickling attention aimed at his face and hurriedly sought out a deserted location before taking out his phone to call Kang Eun-Yeong.

“Where are you, Eun-Yeong?”

– Is that you, orabeoni~?

“I said, where are you?” Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly muttered, his voice sounding anxious.
He wanted to quickly hand over this paper bag and get out of here as soon as possible.

– I ’m in the middle of a makeup session…
Sorry, but can ’t you come over here?

Kang Jin-Ho shuddered grandly.
“Can ’t you come out for a second?”

– No can do.
If I exit from the makeup trailer, that ’s gonna delay the process, and…
the unnies working here won ’t get a break, you see?

“…Got it.
Where are you, then?”

– If you go past the entrance and head deeper, you ’ll see a bunch of trailers.
I ’m in one of them, so hurry.
I can ’t speak now, so talk to you later.

Drop.

The call ended there.
Kang Jin-Ho sucked in a few deep breaths.
What a difficult mission this was, finding the one trailer with Kang Eun-Yeong in it amidst the gaggle of people over there.

’…Here I go! ’

Kang Jin-Ho ’s eyes gleamed in a determined light as he stepped into the busy crowd.

***

“Sorry, sir.
But you can ’t go inside,” said the security guard standing before the makeup trailer ’s entrance.

“Is Kang Eun-Yeong inside?” Kang Jin-Ho asked the guard.

“Kang Eun-Yeong? I don ’t know anyone by that name.”

’

“…It ’s Kang Se-Ah, then.”

“…Aha, Miss Kang Se-Ah?” The guard scanned Kang Jin-Ho from top to bottom, then shook his head.
“You still can ’t go inside.
If you want to give her a present, deliver it to her agency.”

“No, wait, I…”

“And outsiders are not allowed to enter the film location, so how did you get this far? You ’re not supposed to be here, sir.
Please exit the premises right away.”

“No, listen.
I ’m not here to deliver presents.
She said she needed something from home, so I brought it over.”

“Yes, yes, sure thing…
Please hand that something over to her agency, sir.
No matter what, you are not going inside, so turn around and go home, sir.
Before I call the police, that is.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded at the firm attitude of the security guard.
It wouldn ’t be strange to lose one ’s temper in a situation like this, but Kang Jin-Ho didn ’t feel that way.
He was actually glad to see this level of strict security.
If he was allowed inside without anyone stopping him—that would have enraged him even more.

Kang Jin-Ho pulled out his phone and called his little sister.
“Yeah, I ’m right outside but can ’t go in.
So, you gotta come out instead.”

After that brief explanation, he ended the call and stood around waiting for Kang Eun-Yeong.

“…Mm?” The security guard narrowed his eyes at how relaxed Kang Jin-Ho was, then did a double take on the young man ’s face.

’Huh? Isn ’t he…? ’

Didn ’t this young man appear in that famous online clip involving Kang Se-Ah? This young man had the same face as Kang Se-Ah ’s older brother who did that impromptu interview.
He was currently wearing a baseball cap low down on his head, making it harder to identify him.
Now that the guard had taken a closer look, however, he became sure of it.

The guard tried to say something.
“E-excuse—”

But the trailer ’s door suddenly flew open as Kang Eun-Yeong peeked her head out.
“Orabeoni~!”

Kang Jin-Ho shot a glare at her while slowly gritting his teeth.
“You…!”

However, she urgently ran up to him even before he could admonish her, then began pulling him by his arm toward the trailer.
“Hurry! Come on!”

“Urgh…”

After Kang Jin-Ho and Kang Eun-Yeong disappeared into the trailer, and the door slammed shut behind them, the security guard quietly groaned at length.

’Gee whiz.
I ’d have recognized him without that cap, though. ’

Kang Se-Ah ’s older brother was wearing a cheap baseball cap along with a worn-out and fading tracksuit.
Wasn ’t that a standard outfit for any aspiring stalker?

“I don ’t get it.
He’s good-looking, so why does he dress that way?” The security guard slowly shook his head.

1.
The county of Yeongdeok is over 240km away from Seoul.
☜