Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1616

The car engine rumbled roughly as Kang Jin-ho drove, gently coaxing the vehicle.

After passing through the large entrance and parking the car in a corner, Kang Jin-ho opened the door and stepped out.

Immediately, a person who had been waiting for his arrival rushed over and gave a sharp salute.

“Sir! All secure and accounted for!”

Kang Jin-ho’s face twitched slightly.

“Is this the military?”

“Ah, no, sir.”

“Relax, just relax.”

“How can I be relaxed in front of the Chairman!”

Kang Jin-ho looked up at the sky with a slightly melancholic expression.

‘This is why I didn’t want to hire anyone from the Assembly [a martial arts organization].’

The place he was visiting was one of the newly opened orphanages by the Sungsim Foundation.

Originally, there were no plans to have security at the orphanages, but…

“What kind of world is this! Who will take responsibility if there’s a robbery? Do you think Kang Jin-ho will be there to protect them?”

…after Choi Yeon-ha’s sharp words, security was deployed, even though it wasn’t in the original plan. Of course, the security was… well, something else.

“Is it manageable?”

“I’m very satisfied. I enjoy taking care of the kids, and the salary is generous!”

“…Don’t just say what you think I want to hear, be honest.”

“I am truly satisfied.”

It was a bit of a problem that they were martial artists from the Assembly.

It was like using a butcher’s knife to kill a cow [using excessive force for a simple task].

Even though they couldn’t endure the Assembly and chose a normal life, they still had the skills they had honed over a lifetime. Even without using their inner energy, they could easily take down an average martial artist with one hand.

And these were the people being used as security.

‘It feels like it’s appropriate, but also not…’

Kang Jin-ho looked at the security guard with a dubious expression.

“How’s the work?”

“There’s a lot to take care of.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Simply guarding this place isn’t a big deal… but how can we just do that? The world is so dangerous these days that it’s hard to send the younger kids to school alone. So, I also drive the school bus and take care of other errands when needed.”

The security guard scratched the back of his head lightly.

“It’s nothing special, but these days, I feel like I’m actually living a life.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly.

“That’s good to hear.”

Kang Jin-ho was doing various things for those who had left the Assembly. The most prominent of these was establishing franchises through MK.

However, people’s personalities differed, and some were hesitant to become their own boss and run a store.

He felt a little relieved that he could provide jobs for them in this way.

“But…”

“Hmm?”

“Am I really allowed to receive this much? The salary seems a bit high for a security guard.”

“You’re not just any security guard.”

They were the strongest security guards in Korea… no, maybe even the strongest in the world.

“I don’t do much, but I feel a bit sorry for receiving so much money…”

The security guard scratched his head.

“I always feel sorry to the Chairman. We’re practically dropouts from the Assembly, but you still care so much about us.”

“I was a dropout too.”

“…Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Just because I’m behind others now doesn’t mean I’ll be behind forever.”

“Ah…”

“And you’re not behind right now either. Everyone has different goals. Aren’t you more satisfied now than when you were living as a martial artist?”

“That’s definitely true.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled warmly. He kept smiling.

“Okay, that’s all that matters.”

“I will work with all my heart.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“How are the kids doing?”

“They still seem a bit unfamiliar. They don’t approach me easily.”

“It’s not because of how you look, is it?”

The security guard clutched his chest as if he was hurt.

If he was going to react like that, he should do something about the forearms that extended from his short sleeves.

They were thicker than a log.

“It’s like looking at chicks, you know?”

“Huh?”

The security guard smiled awkwardly.

“When I was in elementary school, they used to sell chicks in front of the school. When you bought one and brought it home, you wouldn’t know what to do. It felt like it would break if you touched it wrong, or die if you handled it carelessly.”

“…I see.”

“That’s exactly how I feel when I look at the kids. I’ve lived in such a rough place, you know? After being with those kinds of guys, looking at the kids makes me feel like they’ll explode if I touch them, or fly away if I breathe on them. So, I end up treating them like precious treasures.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but laugh.

He had felt this way before.

“And when the kids come up to me and bow…”

The security guard smiled a smile that was hard to describe.

“I think I was never meant to be a martial artist. Seeing the kids smile is better than breaking through a realm and becoming stronger.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out and patted the security guard’s shoulder.

“Then that’s all that matters.”

“…I’m sorry, Chairman.”

“You don’t need to say that.”

People have aptitudes, and there are many ways to be happy.

There’s no need for those who don’t fit to force themselves to become martial artists.

“Take good care of the kids.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let a single ant near them.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded, and the security guard glanced at him cautiously.

“And, uh, this is what Chief Lee said…”

“Hmm?”

“He said that when the time is right, you should teach the kids how to fight. Is that okay with you?”

Was he really planning on doing that?

Kang Jin-ho was once again taken aback by Lee Hyun-soo’s drive.

“…What do you think?”

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea. We’re not going to teach them inner energy anyway, and there’s no problem with them learning some simple self-defense, right? It’s one thing for kids to have a little power struggle, but the world is so dangerous, they need to have the ability to protect themselves.”

“Hmm.”

He had opposed sending martial artists to teach self-defense, but they were solving it this way.

‘Since there are security guards at each orphanage.’

It wouldn’t be difficult to teach them some self-defense in between their duties.

“Discuss a program with Lee Hyun-soo. If we’re going to do it, we should do it properly, not haphazardly.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Kang Jin-ho patted the security guard’s shoulder again and walked towards the orphanage.

“Sir!”

…I told you, this isn’t the military.

Kang Jin-ho opened the door and headed towards the stairs. The first floor consisted of an auditorium and a dining hall, and the children’s living quarters were upstairs.

Kang Jin-ho walked up the wide stairs and headed towards the children’s dormitory.

“Huh?”

The children froze slightly when they saw Kang Jin-ho.

They weren’t scared. It was more like they didn’t know what to do.

“Ah, hello…”

“Hello?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly and waved his hand.

Only then did the children relax and bow.

“Ah, hello, Chairman.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly, then quickly relaxed his expression.

The word ‘Chairman’ carried a subtle hint of fear. It wasn’t that Kang Jin-ho had done anything wrong, but it seemed that the fear they had received from the previous chairman was being passed on to Kang Jin-ho.

‘It shouldn’t have ended so easily…’

He thought he had given them a fair price, but every time he saw the children flinch, he felt something rising from his gut.

He decided to talk to Lee Hyun-soo about this again and patted the head of the child in front of him.

The child flinched slightly, but soon relaxed.

“Is it uncomfortable living… no, never mind.”

It wasn’t something he should ask a child who was probably only six or seven years old.

At least on the surface, things were much better than before. It was still a bit disappointing that they hadn’t gained much weight, but they looked very different in clean clothes and after being properly washed.

At this point, they didn’t look like the slightly thin children of the Sungsim Orphanage. If it weren’t for Park Yu-min’s damn curry, the Sungsim kids would have been several times fatter.

Ah, would the kids hate that?

“Hey kids, where… huh? Chairman?”

The director, who had come out from inside, flinched when she saw Kang Jin-ho.

“You’re here?”

“Ah, yes. I had some time to spare.”

“Please come inside. Kim Mi-young! Please watch the kids here. The Chairman is here.”

“Ah, no…”

Kang Jin-ho tried to stop the director, but it was already too late. As soon as the word ‘Chairman’ came out, teachers popped out from everywhere.

“Hello, Chairman!”

“Welcome!”

“Greetings!”

Kang Jin-ho lowered his head, seeing the orphanage teachers greeting him with military-like discipline.

‘Ah, I hate this.’

This kind of atmosphere was not familiar to him at all.

At the Sungsim Orphanage, Kang Jin-ho was practically an NPC [Non-Player Character, a background character].

He held the title of chairman back then, but it was mostly nominal. Since Kang Jin-ho didn’t interfere with the orphanage teachers, the teachers didn’t interfere with Kang Jin-ho, and they only knew each other’s faces.

But here, the feeling was a little different.

The orphanage teachers, who didn’t know the atmosphere of Sungsim, were terrified at the word ‘Chairman’.

‘It’s like seeing officers who have seen a division commander at the base.’

He felt like he had to make them feel more comfortable somehow…

“Would you like to go to the reception room?”

“…Sure.”

That wasn’t why he came, but it seemed better to leave for now.

“How did you come without contacting us?”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, it’s okay. Why would you be sorry? It’s natural for the Chairman to visit the orphanage.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

Although she was the director, she had been an orphanage teacher at Sungsim until recently.

They had appointed the older and more experienced teachers as directors at each orphanage. So, they were all quite familiar with each other.

Kang Jin-ho sat down in the reception room, and the director opened the refrigerator and brought out juice.

“I’m sorry. I know you enjoy coffee, but we don’t have any here.”

“It’s okay.”

“Thank you for understanding. I know it’s unnecessary meddling, but the kids try to copy everything. If they keep seeing us drink coffee, they’ll want to drink coffee too, so we don’t allow coffee in the orphanage…”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

He didn’t necessarily agree with that, but they had their own educational philosophy for running the orphanage. He had to respect that direction.

The director, sitting across from him, smiled and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“So, what brings you here?”

“There’s no particular reason. I just wanted to see if there were any problems. I could have heard about it over the phone or in writing, but…”

“You wanted to see it with your own eyes?”

“Yes.”

The director smiled.

“You’ve always been amazing. It must be hard to take time out of your busy schedule to visit each place.”

“It’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho looked awkward.