Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1545

Nurturing (1)

‘You need to think, think!’

‘Do you think we’re heartless people who would leave that little thing outside to sleep?’

‘You’d rather pee yourself, you would!’

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

Baek Hyun-jung’s nagging poured out, hitting Kang Jin-ho in rapid succession. But Kang Jin-ho had no way to counter this nagging.

‘Why did I do that?’

It was a good night.

A very good night.

The existence of a small life to protect brought back thoughts that Kang Jin-ho had long forgotten. And thanks to the puppy, he was able to fall into a deep sleep for the first time in a while.

That is, until he woke up to find the sheets a mess with pee.

‘How could I sleep through the smell of pee?’

Perhaps all the fatigue had washed over him at once. Considering that Kang Jin-ho had only been getting light sleep and hadn’t been able to fully rest, it was actually a good thing.

If it weren’t for this situation.

‘Why did you put the dog on the bed! Didn’t you think that a dog can’t get off the bed when it needs to pee? And why did you close the door, the door!’

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

‘I can’t believe I could be this stupid.’

He should apologize to Lee Hyun-soo for saying he lives with his head in the clouds sometimes. The one who actually lives with his head in the clouds is none other than himself.

‘Ugh, I have to wash all this again!’

‘I, I’ll wash it.’

‘You just take off your clothes, you!’

Kang Jin-ho lowered his head slightly.

There was a round, yellow circle on his top.

‘To not even feel a mere creature peeing on me.’

Even if it’s an act without any intent to harm, this is a disqualification for a martial artist.

‘Hurry up and go take a bath. And!’

‘Yes?’

‘Wash that one too.’

Kang Jin-ho saw the puppy, stained yellow.

The way it tilted its head was so cute that Kang Jin-ho felt even more miserable.

‘A dog?’

‘……Yeah.’

‘No, you’re raising a dog?’

‘It’s not me who’s raising it.’

There were many explanations needed, but Kang Jin-ho, who didn’t want to bother explaining, just sighed.

Lee Hyun-soo, sensing Kang Jin-ho’s feelings, chuckled.

‘It’s not an easy thing. If you have a dog at home, you have to worry about leaving the house, and there are many more things to do.’

‘Then why do people raise dogs?’

‘Well, it’s because they think they get more out of it than the hassle.’

‘Ugh……’

‘……Maybe it’s not a bad choice for the Clan Lord [a title for a leader of a martial arts clan].’

‘Why?’

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head at Lee Hyun-soo’s sudden words.

‘The biggest problem with the Clan Lord is that you think you can get an answer by pushing something.’

‘……Huh?’

Lee Hyun-soo narrowed his eyes.

‘Even if they’re hopeless, you think they’ll become decent people if you just push them like hell, right?’

‘Isn’t that right?’

‘Of course not. People have talents and limitations. You can’t get an answer just by pushing them.’

‘You’ll realize it when you raise a puppy. Everyone is born with their own limitations. Will a dog do a handstand just because you push it? If it can’t be done, it can’t be done.’

‘What if it can?’

‘……Huh?’

‘What will you do if it can?’

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

‘And another problem is that you think everything is a bet.’

‘Please calm down, Clan Lord. You’ve been too on edge lately. Sometimes, it might be good to relax a little by dealing with a dog that doesn’t need to be guarded against.’

‘Hmm.’

Kang Jin-ho nodded slightly.

‘I understand what you mean.’

‘Yes. You understand……’

‘You’re saying I should make it do a handstand, right?’

Lee Hyun-soo closed his eyes tightly.

Short legs flailed.

But the eyes of the one watching those short legs were resolute.

‘You need to go to the bathroom.’

A small whimper pierced his ears, but Kang Jin-ho resolved to abandon his human heart.

‘The bathroom is right in front of you.’

At that moment, Baek Hyun-jung, who had come out of the room, stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Yes?’

‘What are you doing?’

‘As you can see.’

Kang Jin-ho pointed to the fence he had set up around the bathroom and the puppy trapped inside. Inside the bathroom was a new pee pad he had bought.

‘If I make it pee in there, they say it will find the bathroom on its own next time.’

‘……That dog will go in there?’

‘Yes.’

‘The threshold looks taller than it is?’

Kang Jin-ho looked at the dog and the threshold at the same time.

‘I need to revise my strategy?’

Should I cut the threshold a bit… no, should I put a staircase for the dog?

Baek Hyun-jung watched the scene and rubbed her forehead.

‘He’s my son, but why is he acting like that?’

Recently, people around her had heard that Kang Jin-ho was the president of a small company and were saying, ‘He did well in school, so he’s doing well in society too.’

But Baek Hyun-jung, Kang Jin-ho’s mother, knew exactly how much of a pushover her son was.

‘You rascal, where did you learn this!’

‘It was written like that on the internet……’

‘You can’t make it do anything until it grows up a bit!’

‘They say you have to catch them young……’

‘You never give up a single word!’

‘Don’t torment the kid, just clean that up quickly.’

‘If you spoil them too much, they’ll get bad habits……’

‘I spoiled you too! And are you ill-mannered?’

Kang Jin-ho had only ever raised the demonic cult members like hell. There was no way Kang Jin-ho could win against Baek Hyun-jung, who had raised two children.

‘Jin-ho.’

‘Yes?’

‘It’s good to raise a dog, but don’t make it do everything it’s supposed to do.’

‘What do you mean?’

Baek Hyun-jung sighed.

‘I feel a little sorry when I see dogs bringing the remote, sitting when told to, and rolling over. That’s how much training they have to do. But would the dogs be happy? Only the person raising them is satisfied.’

‘When I raised you, I wanted you to do what you wanted and grow up. It’s the same with dogs. What if they’re a little ill-mannered and cause trouble? If that’s their happy path, you should let them be.’

‘Comparing people and dogs is a bit……’

‘A dog is better than a human baby. Look at your father. He says he’s lonely and wants to raise a dog, but he doesn’t say he wants to have another youngest child.’

Kang Jin-ho’s face twitched.

A younger sibling?

One is enough.

‘So, don’t torment a kid who can’t even walk properly, and just leave it alone. And don’t put it on the bed.’

‘……Okay.’

Kang Jin-ho removed the fence.

Then the puppy, as if it was happy, came and climbed onto Kang Jin-ho’s leg.

‘By the way, is its name Dong-dong or Choco?’

‘I haven’t decided yet. Think of a good name.’

‘……You’ll decide, right?’

‘Us?’

‘No. Well……’

Kang Jin-ho, who glanced at the yellow screen on his phone, shrugged.

‘There’s a place like that.’

‘You’re talking nonsense. Anyway, feed the kid first.’

‘……They say it’s eaten five times today, do I have to feed it again?’

‘Kids are supposed to eat small meals several times a day. When you were little……’

‘I was wrong. I’ll just feed it.’

If she starts talking, she always brings up Kang Jin-ho’s childhood, so he can’t argue.

Kang Jin-ho, who had soaked a handful of feed in warm water, stared blankly at the puppy biting and tearing at his big toe.

‘Happiness, huh……’

It was a slightly strange word from Kang Jin-ho’s perspective.

The reason why people raise dogs is to gain satisfaction from them. But his mother said she wanted to see the puppy happy. Can the fact that something else is happy give satisfaction to those who watch it?

Kang Jin-ho picked up the puppy with one hand and went to sit on the sofa.

Then, he looked at Baek Hyun-jung sitting next to him and asked.

‘Mother.’

‘That’s disgusting. Call me Mom!’

‘……Mom.’

‘Yes, my son.’

‘Is it good just to watch a dog being happy?’

‘Of course.’

‘Even if the dog causes trouble?’

‘If it’s too much, you have to correct it. But you shouldn’t try to make it exactly how you want it.’

‘Why?’

‘You’re the same. You don’t live exactly how I want you to.’

‘You have your own way of living, so even when your mom and dad tell you to come home, you work day and night, right?’

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

‘Actually, this might not be the way to raise a dog. But I don’t want the people I see to be exactly how I want them to be. That’s greed. I just want them to grow up well.’

‘Okay.’

Baek Hyun-jung reached out and patted Kang Jin-ho’s back.

‘Look at you, my son. How well you’ve grown?’

‘When you had that accident, Mom thought, if you just lived and opened your eyes, I wouldn’t want anything else. I wouldn’t try to make you do anything, and I would just be grateful that you were alive.’

‘……Mom.’

‘Sometimes there are times like that. When my son plays games all night……’

Twitch.

‘When you play games all night and then go to school with clear eyes in the morning, I get an itch in my mouth. But if I got angry at you then, would anything have gotten better?’

‘……Probably not.’

‘Right. I’m just happy that my son is healthy.’

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head as if he didn’t quite understand.

Then Baek Hyun-jung smiled and said.

‘You’re the same, aren’t you? You didn’t like the fact that Eun-young was going to become a singer.’

‘I didn’t.’

‘But you were the one who pushed her the most. And you don’t say anything even when Eun-young is just lying on the sofa these days.’

‘Because she looks comfortable.’

‘It’s the same thing.’

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

Kang Jin-ho was lost in thought for a moment.

He just supports and trusts his family and friends. He tries to help them achieve what they want and live their lives. But he forces his subordinates to work hard. He wants them to train more and work harder to become stronger.

Where does this difference come from?

Closeness?

Well, it’s not that.

Kang Jin-ho distinguishes between martial artists and non-martial artists. In other words, he doesn’t force non-martial artists to train. But he thinks it’s natural for martial artists to become stronger.

Perhaps this is what Lee Hyun-soo was talking about.

‘He’s telling me to think of them a little more like family.’

Maybe he wants them to trust him and push them a little more.

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Kang Jin-ho thought he was thinking about all sorts of things because of a small puppy……

‘Ack!’

Kang Jin-ho grabbed the puppy on his lap and jumped up from his seat.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

The puppy’s yellow pee sprayed fiercely towards his pants.

A warm sensation was felt on his leg.

‘Don’t just stand there, go take off your pants.’

‘And clean the floor well.’