Descent of the Demon Master

Kang Eun-Yeong curiously asked, “You want me to change my agency?”

Choi Yeon-Ha nodded away. “Yeah. How about it? Interested?”

Kang Eun-Yeong narrowed her eyes and primly stared at the woman sitting on the other side of the cafe table.

‘Geez. How can a person be this freaking pretty!’

Obviously this wasn't Kang Eun-Yeong's first time chatting with Choi Yeon-Ha face-to-face. They had already shot a TV show together and met numerous times to discuss Kang Jin-Ho-related matters, too. Despite all those meetings, though, she never had a reason to objectively evaluate Choi Yeon-Ha's looks until now.

Her reason? Well, Choi Yeon-Ha was basically like a sky-above-sky senior to Kang Eun-Yeong, so her presence alone was enough to suppress any dissenting thoughts from forming back then. And when they were chatting about Kang Jin-Ho, Choi Yeon-Ha would subtly morph into a bit of an idiot, which lessened the impact of her beauty somewhat.

However, things were different today.

‘I knew it. This unnie can be such a boss when talking about stuff like this.’

Choi Yeon-Ha's presence would take on a completely different dimension whenever she talked business. All she did was cross her legs and leisurely lean back against her chair. Those might be all, but that wasn't all she did in reality.

Kang Eun-Yeong was no longer considered a rookie in the entertainment industry. Considering that the industry was going through somewhat of a dry spell for a solo female artist, the time she spent in the limelight was more than long enough to say she had a lengthy and successful career so far.

So, Kang Eun-Yeong thought she had halfway crossed the threshold of being a “veteran” which granted her the right to relax a bit more than before. However, such things meant nothing before Choi Yeon-Ha's might.

After all, Choi Yeon-Ha was already a top star in the country even before Kang Eun-Yeong made her debut as an idol. And after the debut, Choi Yeon-Ha still remained a top star. Not even once did Kang Eun-Yeong manage to catch up to Choi Yeon-Ha's shadow until now.

If it hadn't been for Choi Yeon-Ha's relationship with Kang Jin-Ho, she would've never even thought about meeting Kang Eun-Yeong like this.

‘That might be true, but I ain’t gonna grovel now.’

Kang Eun-Yeong sat up straight and held her head high. She acknowledged that Choi Yeon-Ha was an amazing person. However, Kang Eun-Yeong grew up watching her older brother's antics, so Choi Yeon-Ha's forceful presence would never be enough to make her cower!

“Unnie, don't you think this is way too sudden? Telling me to change my agency and all?”

Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head. “Even though your agency, Code, is in deep sh*t?”

“…”

“Weren't you thinking of switching, anyway?”

“Uh, mm, well…” Kang Eun-Yeong frowned, unable to think of something to say. Did Choi Yeon-Ha always throw straight pitches like this?

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled after noticing Kang Eun-Yeong's expression. “Let's not beat around the bush, okay? You and I are both super busy, anyway. Besides, it's not like we're strangers and need to feel each other out first. I'd much prefer if we just say what's on our mind without holding back.”

“...Well, I agree with you on that one,” Kang Eun-Yeong slowly nodded away.

She didn't want to wage a war of nerves with Choi Yeon-Ha, anyway. Because she knew she'd lose in the end. Kang Eun-Yeong had never heard of anyone in this industry who tried to psychologically one-up Choi Yeon-Ha and emerge victorious.

“But, why are you suddenly telling me all this, unnie?”

“Well, you know. He told me to look into it, you see?”

“He? You mean, my oppa?”

Choi Yeon-Ha casually shrugged. “Yup, him. Who else is there?”

Kang Eun-Yeong subtly scanned Choi Yeon-Ha’s expression.

‘Wow. My oppa is really amazing.’

There was nothing extraordinary about this development. People often asked their close acquaintances for help in fields they were not familiar with, after all.

‘The issue with this particular situation is that such a thing is pretty rare with this unnie.’

No, forget rare, it was totally unthinkable!

To think that one-and-only Choi Yeon-Ha would accept a request to act as someone's proxy! The sun might rise from the West, pigs might fly, etc., etc…

This development proved how much influence Kang Jin-Ho had over Choi Yeon-Ha. Kang Eun-Yeong figured the two people’s relationship must’ve advanced quite a bit, but the truth far exceeded her expectations!

Kang Eun-Yeong narrowed her eyes again. “Sure, my oppa could have asked you, but… I’m surprised that you even said yes, unnie.”

Choi Yeon-Ha cocked her head. “Why? Is there a reason why I shouldn’t humor Mister Jin-Ho’s request?”

“You usually find stuff like this bothersome, don't you? I mean, everyone has already heard about that story of you saying no when your talent agency's boss asked you to attend a birthday bash of a famous corporation's chairman. Didn't you say you have no time to humor some weird auntie?”

“Nope, that’s a misunderstanding,” Choi Yeon-Ha firmly shook her head. “I never said that.”

“Really? Then, what happened?”

“I said I’d rather stay home and play games on my phone instead of cosplaying as a cheerleader in some old-ass witch’s birthday party.”

“...Oh. Yup, it's a misunderstanding, alright.”

Not just any, either, but a humongous misunderstanding, no less!

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled again. “You’re right, though. I wouldn’t have said yes if some random dude asked me for help. But it’s my boyfriend asking me for a favor, you know? Of course I’ll help out as much as I can.”

“Say what?!” Kang Eun-Yeong’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “B-b-boyfriend?!”

“Oh? You didn't know?” Choi Yeon-Ha blinked her eyes. She seemed also taken aback.

“Are you two officially dating now?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Eun-Yeong urgently asked, “Since when?!”

“It’s been a few days. Why are you so shocked, though? Everyone knew already, right? It’s just that we didn’t make it official until now, that’s all.”

“B-but…!” Kang Eun-Yeong gasped before freaking out a little. She hurriedly scanned the surroundings after realizing Choi Yeon-Ha had been a bit too loud just now!

She was worried about other patrons eavesdropping on this conversation, but, much to her relief, the cafe was rather sparsely populated at the moment. It seemed they were safe… For now.

Kang Eun-Yeong, still freaking out a little, hurriedly whispered to Choi Yeon-Ha. “You shouldn’t say that out loud, you know! What if someone heard you!”

Choi Yeon-Ha shrugged coolly. “I don't care.”

“Heol… This unnie must’ve lost her mind…” Kang Eun-Yeong muttered in stupefaction while sitting back down on her chair. She shouldn’t be saying such things to a super senior like Choi Yeon-Ha, but her shock was too great for her to keep a lid on her mouth.

Choi Yeon-Ha should know all about how badly dating rumors could impact an actress’s career. So why was she being so thoughtless right now?

Kang Eun-Yeong lowered her voice even more. “What if you get mired in some weird dating rumors, unnie!”

“Mm, yeah, that. I was also a bit worried about that, so… What should I do? Since things have come this far, should I just ask Mister Jin-Ho to marry me?”

“...M-m-m-marry?!” Kang Eun-Yeong's eyes, brows, and lashes all quivered in shock. That confirmed it, this top-tier actress was officially insane! However, it seemed Choi Yeon-Ha was puzzled by Kang Eun-Yeong's reaction instead!

“Why are you so surprised, Miss Se-Ah?”

“How can I not be surprised, unnie! You’re talking about marriage! When you’re still so young and all!”

“Mm? But isn't my age just about right for me to start planning for stuff like that?”

“But! You’re an actor, aren’t you?”

“So? Plenty of actors get married before turning thirty, right?”

“E-even so… But, uh…”

Choi Yeon-Ha nonchalantly shrugged while leaning forward. “Look at Hollywood, Miss Se-Ah. Plenty of actresses remain successful even after getting married over there. Heck, some girls get married several times and make a killing on divorce settlements alone! So why should we get scared like a bunch of idiots about getting married? I'm not gonna do that anymore.”

“…”

Maybe Kang Eun-Yeong should give up now?

Although the energy differed a bit, Choi Yeon-Ha just proved that she was still the one-and-only Choi Yeon-Ha. This bull-headed attitude of hers perfectly matched the “Choi Yeon-Ha” Kang Eun-Yeong often heard about from other people in the industry.

“U-unnie! You don’t marry alone, you know! My oppa probably isn’t even interested in marriage!”

“Yeah, and that’s the crux of my worries. What should I do to make him see the light, I wonder…?” Choi Yeon-Ha sighed grandly.

Kang Eun-Yeong sitting opposite this sighing woman couldn't make heads or tails of this strange situation.

‘What the heck? Why are you the desperate one here?’

Wasn’t this woman Choi Yeon-Ha? THE Choi Yeon-Ha?

Of course, that didn’t mean Kang Jin-Ho was a random nobody with no redeeming qualities. Kang Eun-Yeong spent all of her life next to that brother of hers, so she knew what an incredible human being he was.

Although Kang Jin-Ho wasn't like that during his youth, he changed significantly after reaching high school and began treading a miraculously super-duper elite path to the top of society.

However, that was only when viewed from the eyes of an ordinary person.

Objectively speaking, Kang Jin-Ho was just another university student. He should be nowhere near Choi Yeon-Ha’s level. That was supposed to be the case, so why was someone as mighty as her getting obsessed about some random dude like Kang Jin-Ho?

Kang Eun-Yeong's lips bobbed up and down a few times, but no fully formed words wanted to come out of her mouth. She just wasn't confident of asking a question that wouldn't spit on Choi Yeon-Ha's pride. Her gift of gab simply wasn't good enough for that!

Choi Yeon-Ha dismissively waved her hand. “Oh, well. That’s a story for another day, isn’t it? Let’s get back to what we were discussing earlier. So? Are you interested?”

Kang Eun-Yeong tilted her head. “Interested about what?”

“Switching talent agencies.”

“Oh, that. You gotta tell me first which agency you have in mind before I start thinking about it, unnie.”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’ll be mine, of course. I’ll be setting up my own agency.”

“...I’m sorry?”

Choi Yeon-Ha sat up haughtily, her nose slightly pointing toward the heavens above. “I said, I’ll be setting up my own agency.”

“...Oh.” Kang Eun-Yeong slowly nodded after finally figuring out what Choi Yeon-Ha was trying to say. “Are you going independent?”

“Maybe?”

“And you want me to join your agency? The one you’ll be setting up soon?”

“Probably?”

“And you’ll be the president of the operation?”

“Nope,” Choi Yeon-Ha resolutely shook her head. “The boss will be your oppa, Miss Se-Ah. I’ll be more like a member of the board? A director, maybe?”

“My oppa will be the boss?”

“Yup. Nothing's stopping him, right? He's got the money, he's got the ability… The only thing that might get in the way is how busy he is already. But other people can handle the work for him.”

Kang Eun-Yeong stuttered again. “B-but! Isn’t this the case of easier said than done?”

“Nope, it really is easy,” Choi Yeon-Ha smirked softly. “You know this already, don’t you? That our industry is run by a bunch of clumsy children. Out of all the top talent agencies in our country, how many of them are run systematically like proper businesses?”

“…”

“Besides, I’m not trying to do something ambitious here, you know? I merely want to create an environment where you and I can do what we want without worrying about others’ opinions. That’s not that hard, right?”

Kang Eun-Yeong slowly nodded away.

Truth be told, someone like Choi Yeon-Ha should have no problem setting up a one-person talent agency. After all, it wasn't as if she needed people to advertise her work or manage the sales department. She only needed someone to sort out the casting offers landing on her desk several times a day, plus a PR person to deal with the media.

Kang Eun-Yeong's case was a little different, though. Unlike Choi Yeon-Ha, she was ultimately a singer. And a singer needed to record and publish an album full of new music. But a one-person talent agency would inevitably run into various problems while trying to hire top-tier producers and songwriters.

However, that story might change with Choi Yeon-Ha’s help.

“Unnie… Since when did you start thinking about this?”

“For a while now. Ever since my current agency's president got on my nerves really bad this one time. And a pretty good opportunity came knocking recently, you see?”

“A… pretty good opportunity? What?”

“Yup. A pretty good opportunity."

Kang Eun-Yeong tilted her head this way and that. Choi Yeon-Ha should be capable of setting up her own agency whenever she felt like it, so what did she mean by a good opportunity?

Choi Yeon-Ha noticed the puzzled look on Kang Eun-Yeong’s face and grinned deeply. “Miss Se-Ah?”

“Yes?”

“If I set up a one-person talent agency, I'll become its boss, right?"

“Well, I guess so?”

“Can you imagine it working out with me as the boss?”

“…” Kang Eun-Yeong couldn’t say anything. At the same time, though, she 100% understood what Choi Yeon-Ha meant by a good opportunity.

Being a boss of anything meant one would be running the show. In other words, Choi Yeon-Ha would be in charge of what roles she'd play and how her schedules would pan out in the future. However, she was infamous for being a near-uncontrollable bull that even the best talent agency in the land couldn't stay on top of.

In that case… What would happen if someone like that became the president of an agency?

‘...It’s gonna be an utter disaster.’

Choi Yeon-Ha would try to keep her wild antics down to an absolute minimum since she was the boss and all. However, if she could control herself at will like that, her infamy wouldn't have become a scary myth passed along within the Korean entertainment industry in the first place!

By her own admission, Choi Yeon-Ha needed someone to keep her under control. That was for her sake, too.

“And my oppa will play that role?” Kang Eun-Yeong asked again.

“Yup,” Choi Yeon-Ha coolly nodded.

“…”

After Kang Eun-Yeong finished digesting everything she heard, her thoughts were dominated by one simple question.

‘What the freak? What did this unnie see in my oppa that she trusts him so much?!’

There was absolutely no doubt that Kang Jin-Ho was an accomplished individual. As his little sister and family, Kang Eun-Yeong knew she could trust and rely on him. She'd even go as far as saying that Kang Jin-Ho was the most trustworthy and reliable person in this world.

However, such an evaluation was only possible because Kang Eun-Yeong was Kang Jin-Ho's little sister. When objectively evaluated, he was surprisingly impulsive, authoritarian, sometimes irresponsible, and… Generally speaking, a bit of a dullard, too.

Kang Eun-Yeong suddenly felt very much responsible for this crisis. It now fell on her shoulders to wake Choi Yeon-Ha up and bring her back to reality!

“Excuse me… Unnie?”

“Mm? Yeah?”

“I know it sounds weird, but I definitely think you’ve been blinded by your feelings, unnie. How about, you know, you give it some more thought before…”

Choi Yeon-Ha smiled brightly. “Why? This feeling is pretty great, you know?”

“…”

It seemed this woman was beyond help now.

Probably.

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