Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 117

“Yes, Head Nun.”

As Park Yu-min and Jo Gyu-min stepped aside, the head nun gestured for Kang Jin-ho to take a seat.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho sat down. The head nun, who had been quietly watching him, began to speak.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer. If he said yes, he would have to say more, and if he said no, he would be lying.

In such cases, it was best to keep his mouth shut.

“I knew you were trying to do something. But I didn’t know it would be something like this.”

“It was your effort, Head Nun.”

Kang Jin-ho’s words were not a lie.

Even though she tried to minimize the backlash, it was still a process of burning away healthy flesh. Considering the burden it would place on her body, the head nun had endured it well.

“I don’t know what you did or how you did it.”

“But Jin-ho, remember this.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve done enough.”

Those words sounded strange.

They seemed completely out of place, yet there was something comforting about them for Kang Jin-ho. He had always respected the head nun.

Even though she was a weaker person compared to him, he believed that anyone who sacrificed everything for others, regardless of their position, deserved respect.

But the head nun now felt different.

She wasn’t just someone he couldn’t treat carelessly; she had an aura that was untouchable. Having lived her entire life in self-denial, she seemed to have transcended something as she approached the end of her life.

‘Is it detachment?’

It might be an inappropriate term for a nun, but she now exuded the same feeling as the high monks he had seen before.

Not like those monks who killed people with martial arts while preaching mercy, but those who had truly devoted themselves to Buddhism, they had a way of making others feel small, regardless of their martial arts prowess.

“You’ve done enough.”

It was the same thing she had said before.

The head nun smiled faintly as she repeated the same words.

“The value of a person’s work lies in doing their best. Even if the result goes against my wishes, if I did my best, that’s good enough.”

“Yes.”

“So, Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Smile a little more, and relax a little more.”

“When I look at you, I feel like you’re being chased. Doesn’t the feeling that you have to do something more make you anxious?”

“I’m not sure.”

He had been thinking that recently, but if asked if he had been living with that thought all along, he had no choice but to answer like this.

“How should I put it?”

The head nun reached out her hand.

Kang Jin-ho placed his hand over hers. The head nun, holding his hand tightly, spoke with a smile.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Some people live with a purpose, and some live to get what they want. Right?”

“Yes.”

“But most people just live.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes wavered.

“You don’t have to become something. You don’t have to achieve a goal. Just, just live like that.”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho’s mouth opened and closed.

He felt like he had to say something, but no words came out. It felt like something that had been tormenting him was welling up inside.

“Jin-ho, you’re doing well. You’re doing great. So now, you can let go a little and live.”

“Head Nun…”

“Yes?”

“You didn’t live like that, did you?”

“Do you want to live like me?”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer.

He respected and admired the head nun’s life. But if asked if he wanted to live like her… no.

Kang Jin-ho didn’t have the confidence to sacrifice everything like she did. It was a life that didn’t suit him. Now, he didn’t have the confidence or the right to live like that.

“Jin-ho, you just need to find your own life. Life is something you find, but it also comes to you on its own.”

“Comes on its own…”

“Yes, it comes on its own. Like the children who came to me, like the children who came to meet me. It wasn’t me who reached out, but those children who reached out to me. I just didn’t refuse them. So, Jin-ho, you don’t have to rush to reach out. If you just live, people will reach out to you.”

‘This is it.’

Kang Jin-ho felt like he understood why he felt comfortable around her.

Everyone said it.

To move.

To move and change life, the world. They said that if you didn’t move, you would fall behind. But she was telling him to wait. She was telling him not to be so hasty.

Both were not wrong, and both were right, but for Kang Jin-ho, who had been running non-stop, the head nun’s words were comforting.

“So, Jin-ho, you’ve done well, and you’ll do well.”

“Yes.”

“If you ever have a little time…”

The head nun looked at Kang Jin-ho and said.

“Could you become someone who can reach out to those who can’t reach out first?”

“…I don’t know what you mean.”

The head nun didn’t try to explain. She gently stroked Kang Jin-ho’s cheek a few times and then lay down on the bed.

“If I talk too much, I’ll become a meddling old woman. Can you call Yu-min?”

As Kang Jin-ho opened the door and came out, Park Yu-min rushed inside and clung to the head nun’s side.

“They said they’ll let us know the surgery date tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“Head Nun, it’s really, really…”

Kang Jin-ho went outside, listening to Park Yu-min’s tearful voice. It seemed best for just the two of them to spend time together now.

Kang Jin-ho went up to the rooftop and took out a cigarette.

“Smoking is not allowed on the rooftop.”

Jo Gyu-min, who had followed him up to the rooftop, said this as he lit Kang Jin-ho’s cigarette.

“You said it’s non-smoking?”

“Since there’s no one to fine me, I guess I have to smoke one. But if someone comes up, you have to put it out right away.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly puffed on his cigarette.

How should he put it? He felt strange.

It felt like he had solved one thing,

and yet it also felt like he hadn’t solved anything.

He felt relieved, but also…

“Are you anxious?”

“I guess I am a little.”

It had been so long since he had felt anxiety that he couldn’t explain it properly, but Jo Gyu-min’s words gave him certainty.

This was anxiety.

Why was he feeling anxious?

“I will take care of the rest.”

“I understand that you want to see the surgery and the end of everything. You don’t like things being left unfinished. But there’s nothing more for you to do. You can leave it to others now.”

‘Is that so?’

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

He definitely wanted to see the end of all the treatments with his own eyes. Even though there was nothing more he could do now.

He didn’t like not finishing what he had started.

But there was a limit to his leave, and his return was near.

“I guess so.”

Kang Jin-ho looked up at the sky with a slightly lighter heart. The blue sky seemed particularly high today.

Kang Jin-ho and Jo Gyu-min sat in a cafe and started talking.

“First, we’ve found all the childcare teachers.

We’ve selected people with experience and good backgrounds, especially since the children are not ordinary.”

“Experience?”

Jo Gyu-min smiled wryly at Kang Jin-ho’s question.

“The children at Seongsim Orphanage have disabilities. Ordinary childcare teachers can’t handle it. We’ve agreed on the salary, but we’ve reduced the working hours a bit and promised 1.5 times the pay. We could negotiate a bit more if we wanted to.”

“No. Pay them as agreed.”

Fair labor deserves fair compensation.

He couldn’t ask them to take care of the children without upholding that basic principle. Even though orphanages usually had poor finances and often overlooked such things, Kang Jin-ho had decided to get involved, so he couldn’t allow it.

“Yes. And we’ve received a recommendation for a very skilled cook. She used to cook for a chaebol family…”

“The Chairman’s house?”

“Yes. She used to cook at the Chairman’s house. Since his children were all kicked out, they didn’t need as many people, so she left. When we contacted her, she readily agreed to take the job.”

It was a strange feeling.

The person who used to cook for Hwang Jung-hoo would now be cooking for the children at the orphanage.

“The amount will be quite a lot, won’t it?”

“If you think about the number of dishes they eat in one meal at a chaebol’s house, the work will be easier.”

“Hmm…”

He thought that could be true. When he saw the scenes of chaebols [large family-owned conglomerates] eating in dramas, he thought it looked like a Korean full-course meal restaurant.

He didn’t know if it was actually like that.

“What about the salary?”

“It’s a bit higher than ordinary cooks, but she’s very skilled.”

“Then pay her that.”

If Jo Gyu-min recommended her, there must be a reason.

“Then this.”

Kang Jin-ho handed his card to Jo Gyu-min.

“Use this for the salaries and operating expenses. I’m sorry.”

“Not at all. What do I have to do?”

When the head nun returned, there would be someone to take over the management again, but in the meantime, they needed someone to handle things. The only people Kang Jin-ho trusted were his family and Jo Gyu-min, and among them, Jo Gyu-min was the most suitable.

“Even if the head nun returns later, please make sure that the salary payments can be handled from here.”

“Yes, I will.”

He felt a bit uneasy about asking someone with a job to do something that didn’t pay, but Jo Gyu-min was practically in charge of Kang Jin-ho’s affairs in the finance department, so he told himself it was okay. It was like compensation for the invasion of privacy.

“So, you’re going back now.”

“I have to.”

“It feels like a very long vacation. I heard you feel like it’s been very short, is that right?”

“You’re talking like you’ve never been on leave before.”

“Oops, you caught me.”

Jo Gyu-min and Kang Jin-ho smiled at each other.

Jo Gyu-min felt a little sad. He had grown quite fond of Kang Jin-ho, and he felt disappointed that Kang Jin-ho was going back to the military.

“Please call me once in a while. I need something to report, don’t I?”

“I’ll try.”

He said that, but he knew that he wouldn’t hear from him.

“Ah, and…”

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth with a slightly stiff expression.