Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1598

Twitch.

Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed slightly as he noticed the subtle trembling of the children’s bodies.

Then, Choi Yeon-ha nudged him in the side with her elbow.

‘Loosen up your face! You look scary!’

Kang Jin-ho sighed softly and looked at the children in front of him.

He knew he should smile, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

The thin arms sticking out from under their short sleeves kept making Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrow.

‘I didn’t expect it to be this bad…’

The standard for orphanages in his mind was the Seongsim Orphanage. [A fictional orphanage, likely a reference point for good care.]

He had seen the children of Seongsim being mistreated in other places for being orphans, but he had never seen them not being fed properly or discriminated against within the orphanage itself.

‘I was too complacent.’

People tend to perceive the world based on what they have seen and heard.

Because of that, even if the children were suffering under those terrible directors, he thought they would at least maintain a minimum standard.

However, the condition of the children he was facing now was far more serious than Kang Jin-ho had imagined.

Emaciated bodies.

And…

‘Eyes that fear people.’

He had seen those eyes often.

He had seen them countless times.

But those eyes were not the kind that these young children should have.

Suddenly, anger began to surge from deep within him.

At that moment, Choi Yeon-ha nudged Kang Jin-ho’s side with her elbow again.

“Ahem.”

Kang Jin-ho cleared his throat.

Choi Yeon-ha, thinking that Kang Jin-ho would be of no help, stepped forward with a bright smile.

“Hello?”

“…H-Hello…”
The children bowed their heads.

They were scared, but it seemed they had been taught to bow back when an adult greeted them.

Seeing them awkwardly bowing made him sigh involuntarily.

“You were surprised.”

Choi Yeon-ha slowly approached the children.

The children flinched and took a half step back.

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his brow.

He had seen many children before, but this was the first time he had seen children so extremely wary of people.

“Hmm.”

Choi Yeon-ha frowned, clearly displeased.

‘This method won’t work.’

“Teachers.”

“Yes?”

Choi Yeon-ha gestured to the childcare teachers who were standing behind the children.

“Take all the kids to the cafeteria!”

“Yes.”

As the children followed the childcare teachers to the cafeteria, Lee Hyun-soo sighed softly.

“It’s no joke.”

“Personally, I’m not a big fan of kids, but seeing them makes me feel bitter. Children usually don’t have those kinds of expressions.”

Kang Jin-ho spoke with a blank face.

“Are the directors and the head still in Korea?”

“…They’ve already been shipped out as cargo. Please calm down.”

“Bring them back.”

“I told you, it’s not possible.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

Kang Jin-ho was making unreasonable demands, but Lee Hyun-soo fully understood him.

‘I want to catch those bastards and kill them right now.’

They had already been tormented enough, and they were sent to a place where they would continue to suffer, but seeing the dark expressions of the children made him feel like it wasn’t enough.

“I should have cut off at least one of their legs.”

Lee Hyun-soo grumbled, and Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth.

“Aren’t the childcare teachers the ones who were originally here?”

He meant why they were still left there when they clearly knew what was happening.

“It seems the childcare teachers didn’t know much. Or, to be precise, some of the childcare teachers knew… but it seems the ones who are still here didn’t know.”

“Isn’t that just saying they’re incompetent?”

From Kang Jin-ho’s perspective, it was incomprehensible.

Childcare teachers, who should be taking care of the children like parents, were not aware of the children’s suffering, or they were ignoring what they saw. That was incompetence.

Those people were not qualified to be childcare teachers.

Lee Hyun-soo made a bitter face.

“I want to fire them right away, but Jo Gyu-min told me not to.”

“Why?”

“He said that children get anxious when their environment suddenly changes. It’s already a shock that the orphanage is changing, and if all the childcare teachers they know are fired, the shock will last a long time.”

“Haa…”

It was a frustrating reason, but it made some sense.

Kang Jin-ho’s face contorted.

“I’ll let it slide for now, but I have no intention of using those people.”

“Of course. I won’t forget and will take care of it, Chairman.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Are you done talking?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho raised his head and looked at Choi Yeon-ha.

“But why the cafeteria?”

“It’s useless to say anything to them right now. Even if we say we’ll treat them well, do you think they’ll believe us? Everyone they’ve met so far would have said the same thing.”

“…That’s true.”

“Then we have to show them through actions.”

“Huh?”

Choi Yeon-ha grinned.

“People become more generous when their bellies are full.”

“Can I eat this?”

“Of course! Eat as much as you want.”

“I don’t think I can eat it all…”

“It’s okay to leave some!”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“Of course. From now on, you don’t have to force yourself to eat what you don’t like, and you can eat as much as you want. But you can’t just stay inside, you have to go outside and exercise too, okay?”

“Yes!”

Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo stared blankly at Choi Yeon-ha.

‘What kind of sociability is that…’

‘Wow, a class act.’

On the tables in the cafeteria, food was piled up like mountains.

From hamburgers and pizzas that the children liked, to pasta, bulgogi [Korean marinated beef], steak, and chicken.

Food armed with excessive calories was attacking the fortress of the children.

“Eat! Eat! Don’t worry about us, just eat!”

The children, who were initially hesitant, began to pick up food one by one.

Realizing that they wouldn’t be scolded for eating a lot and were instead being looked at with pleased eyes, the children began to eat voraciously.

“Drink water, water! And soda too! Jin-ho! Director Lee! What are you doing! Why aren’t you pouring the drinks!”

“Oh… Yes, yes!”

“I’ll do it now!”

“No! It’s for the kids! You have to put straws in them, you bachelors who have never raised a child!”

You haven’t raised a child either.

There were many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t dare to challenge Choi Yeon-ha’s authority right now.

She was holding a small child in one arm, feeding them french fries, while walking around and talking to the children.

‘This is her calling.’

‘She had a talent here too.’

After living in the orphanage for a few months, Choi Yeon-ha had reached max level as a childcare teacher.

Even Kang Jin-ho, who was quite good at handling children in the past, was left speechless.

‘This is why you have to keep trying.’

It was a moment of gaining a new realization (?) about learning in everyday life.

The children were hesitantly approaching Choi Yeon-ha.

Even the shy ones didn’t refuse when Choi Yeon-ha approached them.

‘She wasn’t originally this sociable…’

Come to think of it, Choi Yeon-ha had really changed a lot.

At first, she was only half acting like a good person, but now no one could call Choi Yeon-ha a bad person.

“Her personality is still terrible though…”

“What?”

Kang Jin-ho subtly turned his head and pretended not to hear.

‘Her ears are sharp.’

And he had only said that her personality was terrible, but how did she know it was about her?

Choi Yeon-ha, who was glaring at Kang Jin-ho, quickly softened her face when she saw the children looking scared.

“No, no. It’s because there’s a bad uncle. What happens to bad uncles, kids?”

“They get punished.”

“That’s right. They should be punished, right?”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

I’d rather you glare at me.

Looking at me like that is truly terrifying.

Choi Yeon-ha moved around, taking care of the children. She wiped the mouths of children who had spilled food and fed the hesitant ones with her own hands.

It was nothing special.

Really, nothing special.

But Kang Jin-ho realized something new as he watched her.

It doesn’t take anything special to open someone’s heart.

For these children, all they need is the assurance that the people they are seeing now won’t hurt them.

“Let’s go.”

“…Me too?”

“Hmm, no. It’s better for you to stay here.”

“Wait a minute, Chairman. What do you mean by that?”

“It’s okay. Stay here.”

Kang Jin-ho stepped forward and began to take care of the children like Choi Yeon-ha.

The children, who were initially unfamiliar with Kang Jin-ho, soon entrusted themselves to his touch. After about five minutes, some children were already clinging to Kang Jin-ho’s legs.

‘They must be hungry.’

Not hungry for food, but hungry for people.

The children needed a fence that would be on their side no matter what. They needed someone to run to when they were scared, and someone to rely on when they were afraid.

The children, realizing that Kang Jin-ho and Choi Yeon-ha would protect them, subtly narrowed the distance while still being wary.

Some of them even playfully hit Kang Jin-ho.

“I…”

“Stay still.”

Lee Hyun-soo tried to stop the child in a hurry, but Kang Jin-ho firmly pushed Lee Hyun-soo away.

This wasn’t bullying.

It was out of fear.

Was Kang Jin-ho scary?

No.

They were afraid that Kang Jin-ho would suddenly change, yell, and scold them if they did something wrong. So, they were just testing how much was acceptable.

“It hurts when you hit people.”

“…Okay.”

“You shouldn’t hit people, right?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Come here.”

Kang Jin-ho pulled the child who had been swinging their arm at him into a hug.

The child slightly pulled their waist back with a sulky face. But they didn’t swing their hand at Kang Jin-ho’s face like before.

‘It’ll take some time.’

These children were tired of people.

They wouldn’t open their hearts just because someone came and acted friendly for a day or two. Once a child’s heart is closed, it’s several times more solid than an adult’s.

But…

‘It’s not too late yet.’

If they consistently spend time and manage them, these children will eventually become as bright as the children of Seongsim. The children of Seongsim Orphanage weren’t bright like this from the beginning either.

It would take a lot of effort until then, but there was no need to be scared already. This wasn’t something they could do, but something they had to do.

At that moment, a child toddled up to Kang Jin-ho.

“Want it?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the girl who was offering him a can of cola.

“…Here.”

Kang Jin-ho took the can of cola. Then, he quietly took a sip of the cola.

The refreshing carbonation hit his throat…

“Hey, he bought cola for the kids and he’s drinking it himself! Look at him!”

“Hey, you jerk! Are you so hungry that you’re stealing the kids’ food? Get out!”

The girl who gave him the cola whispered softly.

“Sorry.”

“…It’s okay.”

If… just if, the day ever came when he married Choi Yeon-ha…