Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1416

“I always feel this, but…”

“Things always start small. But the end isn’t grand, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

‘How many people are there?’

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head, watching the people getting off the bus to board the plane.

There were almost thirty kids from the orphanage, and then Wiggins and the magic soldiers joined them. It looked like a large group of almost fifty people.

‘I never thought going to see a final would turn into something this big.’

And more than anything, he was proud of himself for managing to get this many people to America without any problems.

Luckily, the airline had a 100-seat charter plane for situations like this, so they didn’t have to waste time rearranging seats.

If things had gone wrong, they would have had to tear out the economy seats and install business class seats, which would have been a real pain.

Of course, not for Lee Hyun-soo, but for the airline.

Anyway, they managed to make the schedule work. Though, there would be more things to do in America.

So, what’s the situation now?

“It’s a plane!”

“Be quiet! You’re embarrassing me!”

“Why? It’s amazing!”

“Is this your first time on a plane?”

“Yeah. Have you been on one before, oppa?”

“…No. It’s my first time too.”

It was like a school trip.

The orphanage kids were just happy to be on a plane, their faces full of smiles.

Lee Hyun-soo smiled contentedly.

‘This is why people work hard.’ Seeing the kids happy made him feel like his fatigue was melting away.

“Are you happy to be going to America?”

When Lee Hyun-soo asked casually, the kids smiled brightly.

“No. I’m happy we don’t have to go to school.”

“I wish we could skip school for a couple more days, but this is good enough.”

‘These kids are something else these days.’

Or was I like that too?

Han Jin-sung swallowed hard, looking at the plane.

“This thing isn’t going to fall, is it?”

“…Don’t say such unlucky things, oppa! I’m already feeling uneasy because I’m a re-taker [a student who is retaking the college entrance exam].”

“Why are you talking about re-taking here!”

“It’s because you said something unlucky!” Han Jin-sung looked at the plane with a gloomy face.

He already felt a subtle guilt about skipping school to go to America, and being called out on it made him feel a wave of sadness.

“…I’m definitely going to college this time. I’ll get the energy of America.”

“Yes. Nice excuse. Here.”

“What’s this?”

“What do you think? It’s a book. I brought a study guide so you wouldn’t be bored on the plane. Study.”

‘Even Satan wouldn’t do this, even Satan!’

‘She’s a devil, a real devil.’

Han Jin-sung sighed and boarded the plane after confirming that all the orphanage kids were on board.

‘Still, thanks to Jin-ho hyung, I’m having a unique experience.’

He might have a chance to go to America later, but he never thought he would go to America with the orphanage kids as a group.

‘That hyung is too generous.’

When he flipped the orphanage and rebuilt it because the facilities were bad, he thought it was something that could happen. Of course, it wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful, but he thought that someone with a lot of money could do that.

But when he sent the kids to academies and brought in top-tier instructors to teach them, it felt like… well, it felt like he was doing something with a very low return on investment.

And now, he’s putting the kids on a plane to go see a game. And he even chartered a plane.

His scale is about thirty thousand light-years away from that of an average person.

‘This is a waste of money.’

The reason why Kang Jin-ho’s spending spree doesn’t look bad is probably because the money is rarely used for himself.

‘He always wears such shabby clothes.’

If Han Jin-sung were Kang Jin-ho, he would live in a department store. He was confident that he could make a luxury brand employee spot him from 300 meters away and run to the entrance on their knees.

The problem is that Han Jin-sung isn’t Kang Jin-ho.

“What are you thinking about again! Hurry up and get on!”

“Ughhh.”

Han Jin-sung sighed deeply and boarded the plane after being scolded by Jo Mi-hye.

‘What is the ghost doing, not taking her away?’

Recently, Jo Mi-hye has evolved into a dictator of the orphanage, with no one to stop her.

With Han Jin-sung moving to the independent living facility, Park Yu-min not being able to visit the orphanage often due to competitions, and Kang Jin-ho only showing up occasionally, all the power in the orphanage was concentrated in Jo Mi-hye.

From the start, Jo Mi-hye had crushed all the boys her age since middle school and was a legend as the strongest middle schooler, so no one dared to oppose her after she became a high schooler.

The male residents tried to unite and resist, but they were suppressed before they could even try and were swallowing their tears. Even when Han Jin-sung was a senior in high school, he couldn’t mess with Jo Mi-hye, so how much worse would it be now?

‘Poor guys.’

Recently, the thing Han Jin-sung is most grateful for is that he was born earlier than Jo Mi-hye. He’s being treated like this while being called ‘oppa’ [an older brother or male friend], so how much worse would it be for the kids younger than Jo Mi-hye?

A flight attendant greeted Han Jin-sung as he boarded the plane.

“Welcome aboard.”

“Ah, yes. Excuse me, do we…”

“If you make a joke about taking off your shoes, I’ll throw you out.”

Han Jin-sung shut his mouth at Jo Mi-hye’s ominous voice from behind.

‘She has no humor, no humor.’ He was trying to lighten the mood with a joke!

But the flight attendants seemed relieved that they didn’t have to hear such a joke and gave Jo Mi-hye a thankful nod.

…I should just go in.

I need to give up on my desire for bad jokes.

“This way.”

Han Jin-sung’s mouth dropped open as he entered the plane, guided by the flight attendant.

“Wow, are plane seats always this wide? It feels better than the KTX [Korea Train Express]? Is this why people fly?”

Jo Mi-hye poked Han Jin-sung’s back with a flushed face.

“Please, just go sit down without saying anything. Please!”

“Why? Aren’t you amazed?”

“It’s because it’s business class! I know, so please don’t say anything in front of other people. Please consider the orphanage’s reputation and social standing!”

‘What’s with the social standing?’

Before he could even complain, Han Jin-sung was pushed inside by Jo Mi-hye.

The kids were each taking a seat and looking around curiously.

‘I’m not the only one who’s amazed!’ Han Jin-sung didn’t know that being amazed and advertising that amazement to everyone were two completely different things.

“Sit here. Hurry.”

“Okay.”

Heh.

Jo Mi-hye sat next to Han Jin-sung as he took his seat.

“Why are you sitting here?”

“Then where should I go? Jin-ho oppa is going to sit in the front. So I have to sit here.”

Well, she’s not wrong, but it feels strangely awkward.

But there was no time to focus on Jo Mi-hye’s words. Soon, the kids wouldn’t leave Han Jin-sung alone.

“Hyung! Hyung! This is automatic! If you press the button, the chair reclines!”

“There’s air conditioning coming from above too? Isn’t it amazing?”

Only then did Han Jin-sung understand what Jo Mi-hye had said to him. Just as Han Jin-sung was about to say something, someone walked over from the front, making a clicking sound.

“You have to be quiet. The flight attendants are having a hard time. You guys should try working for money. You’ll know how frustrating it is when kids are yelling and you can’t say anything.”

“Unnie!”

“Unnieeeeee!”

Jo Mi-hye and the girls jumped up from their seats.

Choi Yeon-ha took off her sunglasses and smiled.

“Look at you all dressed up for America. You guys are excited.”

“Unnie, are you coming with us?”

“We didn’t hear about it. It’ll be twice as fun if we go with you, unnie!”

Choi Yeon-ha slightly curled up the corners of her mouth, receiving the kids’ enthusiastic welcome.

‘This is why I like it here.’

The kids here like the human Choi Yeon-ha, not the star Choi Yeon-ha. She doesn’t intend to discriminate against fans who like the star Choi Yeon-ha, but the level of comfort is different.

First of all, she doesn’t have to pretend in front of these kids.

“What’s with you guys? Are you going to go to America dressed like that?”

Choi Yeon-ha frowned, looking at everyone who was dressed up.

“It’s a trip, so we wanted to dress nicely.”

“Hmm, good idea. But this plane ride is going to be about fourteen hours, are you going to be okay?”

“It’s that long?”

“America is a bit far. I knew that, so I brought tracksuits. Eun-sol, give one to each of the kids.”

“…Why do I have to do all the work, but it feels like you’re taking all the credit, unnie?”

“Because I paid for it.”

“Ah…”

That’s right. Money is the best.

Choi Yeon-ha smiled. There were pajamas prepared on the plane, but it was embarrassing to walk around in just pajamas. And some of the kids might not have prepared comfortable clothes to wear at the hotel, so she just bought them in all sizes.

Han Jin-sung nodded contentedly, watching the kids receive their clothes.

‘This is a match made in heaven.’

When it comes to generosity, Choi Yeon-ha is not inferior to Kang Jin-ho. No, when it comes to generosity, Choi Yeon-ha might be even more so. Kang Jin-ho is the type to spend big when he needs to, but Choi Yeon-ha is the type to spend big even when she doesn’t need to.

Choi Yeon-ha narrowed her eyes, watching the kids receive their clothes.

“Hey! Don’t take off your clothes here! Where are you showing off your flesh! Change in the bathroom after we take off!”

“Yes! Nuna! [older sister]”

“Yes! Unnie!”

Choi Yeon-ha narrowed her eyes, thinking that they were well-trained.

“If you need anything, tell the flight attendants. But don’t bother them. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Choi Yeon-ha sat down with a satisfied look on her face.

Then, Lee Hyun-soo came in with the people from the General Assembly and moved to the front.

Kang Jin-ho, who was the last to enter, looked back and forth between the front and the back, and then, after making eye contact with Choi Yeon-ha, he quietly went to the back.

It seemed like he was wary of Choi Yeon-ha’s gaze to sit with the people from the General Assembly. As Kang Jin-ho approached and sat next to her, Choi Yeon-ha smiled and turned to look at Kang Jin-ho.

“You’ve finally developed some sense, haven’t you?”

“I’m just trying to survive…”

“One point deduction for adding unnecessary comments.”

“But I’ll give you a passing grade overall.”

“Thank you.”

It was something to be truly grateful for.

“Kang Jin-ho-ssi, is this your first time going to America?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

“Choi Yeon-ha-ssi, how many times have you been?”

“Oh, of course. I’ve been there several times for film festivals and things like that.”

“Then you must be good at English?”

“I don’t know any.”

“You can just pay for an interpreter, why learn something so difficult? I’m fine.”

It was a confident declaration from an actress who dreams of one day making it to Hollywood.

There were several things he wanted to point out, but Kang Jin-ho was someone who knew that sometimes it was important to hold his tongue for the sake of peace.

‘America…’

Kang Jin-ho glanced around.

It seemed like nothing good ever happened whenever he took a plane, but hopefully, nothing would happen this time.

Kang Jin-ho smiled and leaned back in his seat.