Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1142

“Leave the orphanage?”

Han Jin-sung slowly nodded at Kang Jin-ho’s question.

“Why?”

“Why? Because I’m old enough to leave.”

“Isn’t it okay to stay while you’re in school?”

“Well, it is, but….”

The laws of South Korea weren’t that heartless.

While they might neatly ignore and pass over certain things that should be addressed, there were also aspects where they surprisingly took care of things one wouldn’t expect.

Basically, orphanages were responsible for the protection and education of children until they became adults, but that didn’t mean they would just throw them out into society the moment they turned into adults.

They would help children find jobs and places to live, and for those going to college, they would support them so they could stay at the orphanage while attending university.

“It’s a bit awkward.”

“What is?”

“There’s that. And realistically, it’s a bit….”

The problem was that staying at the orphanage only made sense if you went to a school that was within commuting distance.

Thanks to Kang Jin-ho’s support through Jae-kyung, the orphanage was located in the heart of Seoul, and with Han Jin-sung’s grades, there weren’t many universities he could attend nearby.

And more than anything….

“I don’t want to just take up space without being of any help. I’m an adult now, I should earn my own money and take responsibility for my own life.”

Jo Mi-hye pouted.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re such a great adult.”

“Look at him.”

Kang Jin-ho gave a wry smile.

“You think that’s right too, don’t you? A man….”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho cut off Han Jin-sung’s words firmly.

“Huh?”

“No, I don’t.”

“…Why?”

Han Jin-sung looked at Kang Jin-ho with a surprised expression.

He thought that if it were Park Yu-min, it would be different, but Kang Jin-ho would support Han Jin-sung leaving the orphanage and supporting himself. That was Kang Jin-ho’s nature.

“First of all….”

Kang Jin-ho said, looking at Han Jin-sung.

“You’re not an adult.”

“Hey. How old do you think I am?”

“Can you cook for yourself?”

Han Jin-sung pursed his lips. Of course, Jo Mi-hye answered for him.

“He can’t even make ramen properly.”

“Will you just be quiet! Please, just be quiet!”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Adulthood isn’t defined by age. An adult is someone who can take responsibility for themselves. In that sense, you’re not an adult yet.”

“But if I just stay here doing nothing, nothing will change.”

“That’s because you’re not doing anything.”

“Prepare after the college entrance exam. So you can live on your own.”

“No….”

“And….”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“If you’re prepared and decide to live on your own, I won’t object. That’s your choice. But right now, you’re just trying to leave without a plan. Aren’t you?”

“The world isn’t that easy.”

The world wasn’t so soft that someone who had just turned twenty could easily navigate it. The children here had at least experienced a bit more of the world, but that didn’t mean they fully understood its harshness.

“And lastly….”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“If there’s a better environment, choosing a different one is just pride. A wise person chooses benefit over pride.”

“…No, it’s not as good as you think it is to be in the orphanage.”

“It’s better than you think.”

“There’s the issue of living expenses….”

“I’ll take care of that.”

Kang Jin-ho said firmly.

“I’ve thought about that part. It’s just that there were hardly any kids going to college or they would drop out, so I didn’t really implement it. I’ll cover your tuition and living expenses while you’re in college.”

“Hyung [older brother/close male friend].”

Han Jin-sung frowned slightly.

“That’s what I don’t want.”

“Huh?”

Han Jin-sung sighed.

“I’m not your son….”

“That’s a horrible thing to say.”

“No, don’t cut me off there.”

Annoyance clouded Han Jin-sung’s face. Still, he didn’t want it, so what could he do?

“I’m not your son, nor your real brother, so I don’t want to just accept what you do for me as if it’s natural. Good intentions are good and all, but… I don’t think I should become someone who takes it for granted.”

“…Good intentions?”

“Yeah, good intentions.”

Kang Jin-ho looked sullen.

“You seem to be misunderstanding, I never said I’d give it to you for free.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll pay it back.”

“With interest.”

Han Jin-sung stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho.

“Once you graduate from college, get a job, and start earning money, you can start paying it back.”

“How is that different from a student loan?”

“It doesn’t matter if it takes ten or twenty years.”

“Pay it back. And then, if you have any money left over, support the orphanage. If one or two people do that, eventually the orphanage will be able to run on the money you guys send. And if more kids get jobs, the orphanage will get better.”

Han Jin-sung frowned slightly.

“Hyung, I know what you mean, but… the kids aren’t all as nice and capable as you think. Someone will try to take advantage, and someone might not even be able to earn that money.”

“I know.”

“Then why do a losing business?”

“Because it needs to be there.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed lightly.

He didn’t know.

Han Jin-sung wouldn’t understand no matter how much he heard.

How could he guess that Kang Jin-ho was once in a situation that was incomparably more difficult than Han Jin-sung’s current one?

A freezing winter. Even if you saw a young child dying while rummaging through trash, no one would reach out a hand. Kang Jin-ho knew all too well how terrifying it was to know that there was no one in the entire world who would reach out to him.

He was lucky enough to meet a teacher, and he was able to survive thanks to his kindness.

Demon Heavenly Sovereign? [A powerful, often villainous, figure in martial arts fantasy novels]

The leader of the Demonic Cult? [A fictional organization often associated with dark magic or martial arts]

That’s a joke.

That was a position he was able to reach because he survived.

If he hadn’t met his teacher, Kang Jin-ho would have frozen to death that day.

The hardships he experienced after he was able to live on his own couldn’t even be called hardships. For Kang Jin-ho, the most terrible memory was the cold and hunger he had to endure as a young child who couldn’t do anything.

Supporting one’s own life?

Living alone and supporting oneself?

That sounds nice.

But it’s better not to choose that if you don’t have to. If there’s a place to lean on, people want to lean on it. To criticize those who want to lean as weak is just the grumbling of someone whose only pride is that they don’t lean on anyone.

“I’m not looking down on you. I don’t think you’ll go terribly wrong if you start living on your own now. If it’s you, I know you’ll do well.”

Kang Jin-ho said, looking directly at Han Jin-sung.

“But that’s just being able to live. You’re losing the opportunity to receive help and live a better life. You might feel pride in living on your own right now, but you’ll regret it in a few years.”

Kang Jin-ho was the same.

His second life and his current life had taught him the importance of relationships.

Kang Jin-ho affirmed others.

He didn’t hesitate to reach out and ask for help.

To become someone who can reach out to others first, you have to be someone who can ask for help yourself. That’s how you can understand those who ask for help.

“Accept help. And then become a better person, a more capable person. It’s not too late to pay it back after that.”

“But….”

Han Jin-sung still looked hesitant.

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Han Jin-sung before opening his mouth.

“What would the head nun say in a situation like this?”

Han Jin-sung flinched at the mention of the head nun.

Although it had been quite some time since she had passed away, her teachings and her touch remained like a brand on the children of the orphanage.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

Han Jin-sung lowered his head.

“The choice is yours.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

“However, as you said, you’re not my real brother, but you are my brother. Don’t be proud with your hyung.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly got up from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to have a smoke….”

“Quit it!”

“Oppa [older brother/close male friend], quit it!”

Kang Jin-ho looked gloomy.

This nagging didn’t disappear even here.

In a way, it was something to be grateful for since they were thinking about Kang Jin-ho’s health….

Kang Jin-ho left the room as if he was running away without saying anything.

Watching him, Han Jin-sung let out a deep sigh.

“See, I told you I’d get scolded.”

“You didn’t get scolded.”

“Instead, you got hit harder than a scolding.”

“Ugh.”

Han Jin-sung sighed.

“I’m told I’m mature when I go somewhere.”

“In the end, that means you’re like a kid. They don’t say that to adults.”

“Now that I hear it, that’s true….”

Han Jin-sung quietly looked at the place where Kang Jin-ho had left.

No matter how hard he tried to follow, it was too far. When he talked to Kang Jin-ho and listened to his words, he realized that he was still a child.

“It’s too far, really.”

Han Jin-sung chuckled.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho, who had left the orphanage, lit a cigarette.

‘I spoke as if I knew it all.’

He spoke as if he was thinking about them a lot, even though he had been neglecting the orphanage. Thinking about it, it was embarrassing.

But what he said was also Kang Jin-ho’s true feelings.

Kang Jin-ho wanted these children to succeed, but what he truly wanted wasn’t their future.

It was the present.

It was good for the children to become better people in the future, but Kang Jin-ho just wanted to be someone they could lean on right now.

Just like he had once wished for.

When he was driven to the end of despair, what he had hoped for wasn’t a miracle.

It was just a hand.

A hand reaching out to him, filled with warmth.

That belief, that one belief, that even if you fell off the cliff of the world, there was someone below to catch you.

That was what Kang Jin-ho truly wanted to give these children.

It wouldn’t be easy though.

“Hoo….”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke.

It was here.

Everything that had changed his life, everything that had changed his thinking, was right here.

That was why Kang Jin-ho couldn’t leave this place.

‘Maybe Lee Hyun-soo is right.’

The reason he might be different from the other rulers was perhaps because of this place. If he hadn’t experienced this place and felt what he felt here, Kang Jin-ho would have ended up becoming the same Demon Heavenly Sovereign as in the past.

This place was the last bastion where Kang Jin-ho could be Kang Jin-ho with his family.

And….

“Have you become someone who can reach out a hand?”

Kang Jin-ho, who was looking at the dark night sky without a single star, quietly closed his eyes.

‘No. Not yet, not yet.’

He hadn’t yet become someone who could easily reach out a hand to someone.

But….

‘But, I haven’t forgotten.’

Whenever he was lost, he thought about it.

The words the head nun had said to him, the expression she had shown him.

The only person in his entire life that he had ever wanted to be like.

And someday….