Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1596

“As you instructed, we are proceeding with the plan to send the staff from Seongsim Orphanage to other orphanages as responsible caregivers.”

‘Are you trying to cook beans in a flash of lightning?’ [A Korean idiom meaning ‘are you trying to do something too quickly?’]

It’s only been two days since we talked about it, what’s with all this ‘proceeding’ already?

“What exactly do you mean by ‘proceeding’?”

“We are currently negotiating with the childcare teachers. We promised them better pay and higher positions, but it seems they are all hesitant.”

“What’s the reason?”

“There could be various reasons.”

Jo Gyu-min shrugged his shoulders.

“First of all, changing jobs isn’t easy. Besides, the orphanages they have to move to are far from where they live now, right? They’ll have to move, of course.”

‘I wonder if Kang Jin-ho will understand, but for ordinary people, changing their living area isn’t that simple. Moreover, most of the childcare teachers at Seongsim Orphanage are married, so there are also their husbands’ job issues.’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

‘That’s definitely something to consider.’

“And the fact that most of them don’t want to leave Seongsim Orphanage is also a big problem.”

“Why is that?”

“…The childcare teachers aren’t doing this job just to make money. If they put the effort they use to take care of the children into other jobs, they could earn more.”

“Of course, Seongsim pays well thanks to the chairman, so it can’t be called a low wage, but there are more people who work because they love the children. It seems they don’t like the idea of leaving those children.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

‘So, things aren’t going smoothly.’

But instead of feeling bad, he felt rather good. It was because of people like them that Seongsim Orphanage had become such a good place.

“Let’s say we’ll take care of the housing issue.”

“Excuse me?”

“Build residences or buy apartments near the orphanages. Tell them we’ll let them live there.”

“…That’s a good idea. But it’ll cost a lot of money, won’t it?”

“If we buy them, we can sell them again someday. Then we’ll make money, right?”

“It’s an investment concept… We have enough funds to build residences or buy apartments, but you shouldn’t think about making money with that. They’re all in the outskirts, so the house prices won’t go up.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes. Then I’ll proceed in that direction. Since they’re bringing their families, I’ll try to provide them with enough money for a deposit, considering that.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Anyway, it’s an important matter.”

“Yes. It’s not just about building orphanages. We’ll try to create an atmosphere as similar to Seongsim as possible.”

“It won’t be easy.”

Kang Jin-ho knew well that this was just wishful thinking. The atmosphere he wanted wasn’t something that could be created just by trying.

“The important thing is that there are people who care about the children.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Only then did Kang Jin-ho nod, as if relieved by Jo Gyu-min’s words.

“What about the pay?”

“We’re offering about double.”

“It’s okay to raise it more, so try to make sure they can come with us.”

“We also need to consider the difference with other childcare teachers. If the salary difference is too big, there will inevitably be a sense of alienation.”

“Can’t we just raise it for everyone?”

“That’s a good solution. Except that the merit of those who moved would completely disappear.”

“Ugh.”

It was a difficult problem.

Jo Gyu-min smiled at Kang Jin-ho, who was troubled.

“That’s how business is. If you start digging into every little thing, there’s no end to the problems. You have to adjust them to a reasonable level.”

Jo Gyu-min, having finished speaking, realized something.

“Ah! I’m sorry, Chairman, I spoke presumptuously.”

“Don’t do that.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“It makes me want to use honorifics again.”

“Please bear with it.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled bitterly.

In the past, he had learned a lot from Jo Gyu-min and discussed many things with him. Being like this made him feel like old memories were coming back to life.

“Any other problems?”

“The acquisition is a bit of a problem.”

“Huh?”

“We’ve made a list of the worst places to acquire. The facilities are terrible, and the children’s nutritional status isn’t good.”

“Are the public officials just standing by?”

“Public officials are just salaried workers anyway. How many of the public officials who went into welfare have the will to support the welfare of this country? At first, they try to meet their standards, but after meeting a few malicious complainants and seeing a few shoulders on their way home, they have no choice but to turn away.”

“…Does that kind of thing happen?”

Jo Gyu-min looked at Kang Jin-ho with a rather dumbfounded expression.

“Aren’t you underestimating ‘Hell Joseon’ too much?” [A term used to describe the harsh realities of life in South Korea.]

Kang Jin-ho was speechless, and Jo Gyu-min chuckled.

“I’m saying this in case you misunderstand, but I don’t like this word very much. There aren’t many places as good to live as Korea. However… yes. This kind of thing happens everywhere in the world. It’s not Korea that hasn’t developed, but people.”

‘Well, yeah.’

‘To be cold-hearted, isn’t Kang Jin-ho also the kind of person who tries to solve things through conversation, but if things go wrong, he’ll chop off heads?’

‘It’s not something I should be surprised about.’

“Anyway, that’s the situation. Besides, Korea is a country with a surprisingly small number of public officials, so it’s difficult to go around and inspect orphanages one by one. Not only are they not welcomed, but if they leave their posts, they get complaints that they’re slacking off.”

It was something Kang Jin-ho couldn’t understand with his common sense.

“Anyway, don’t expect anything from public officials. It’s not that they’re doing anything wrong, but under the system of Korea, they can’t handle it. It would be much faster if current affairs programs took an interest. But even then, it’s just a cover-up.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Jo Gyu-min with a subtle expression.

‘Ah, he was always like this.’

Come to think of it, this guy was also a very cynical person. If Lee Hyun-soo was the type with a playful cynicism that felt like being hit with a toy hammer, this guy was really like being stabbed with a knife.

“Anyway, so?”

“Yes. I tried to approach some of the worst ones… but it’s impossible to communicate. They try to start a fight right away.”

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his brows.

“That means we have to handle it ourselves.”

“Yes. Before that…”

Jo Gyu-min took off his glasses.

Then, he reached out and took out a few pieces of paper from a briefcase under the sofa and handed them over.

“These are documents I’m giving you personally.”

“What are they?”

“They’re the guys who lay their hands on the children.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened.

“Does ‘lay their hands on’ mean what I think it means?”

“Yes. According to my investigation, it’s certain. If you need evidence…”

“That’s enough.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“We can find the evidence ourselves. If we keep an eye on them for a few days, we can confirm it.”

Kang Jin-ho handed the documents back to Jo Gyu-min without even looking at them.

“Send it to Director Lee.”

“Ah, I’ve already sent it.”

“Then it’ll be easy.”

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho, who exhaled a short puff of smoke, said with a blank face.

“If it’s a misunderstanding, we should talk to them again.”

“What if it’s not a misunderstanding?”

Kang Jin-ho glanced at the front of the document. After checking the photos and ages, Kang Jin-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“It seems like they’ve lived long enough, haven’t they?”

“…Please don’t kill them. They deserve to die, but still…”

“Then I’ll hand them over to the police.”

“That would be best.”

Jo Gyu-min sighed softly.

‘This is why they talk about power, power.’

Was this the only time those guys had committed crimes? They had already been reported several times and investigated several times. But every time, they were released without any punishment.

The local bigwigs maintain good relationships with the police. The crimes they committed are neatly erased in front of expensive liquor and white envelopes late at night.

However, it would be unfortunate for them, but power is more powerless than a candle in front of stronger power.

The moment Kang Jin-ho put in a word to the police, the police station would probably be turned upside down, and there was a high probability that investigators from higher organizations would come down. Then it would be clean.

“But…”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t that kind of handling the norm?”

“…I guess so?”

“Since we’re going to all this trouble, we should get a service fee.”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“They can live in prison without a leg, right?”

Jo Gyu-min stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho before chuckling.

“Would there be a big problem?”

“Right?”

Only then did Kang Jin-ho change his expression as if he was relieved.

He wasn’t particularly sensitive to other people’s crimes. Kang Jin-ho wasn’t qualified to criticize other people’s crimes.

But touching children was a different matter.

It wasn’t a matter of justice. It was just that he personally couldn’t tolerate the fact that those guys who did such things were living and breathing in society.

“If it were up to my temper…”

“Absolutely do not get involved directly, absolutely!”

“I know.”

Kang Jin-ho clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

“Anyway, while investigating this time, it’s no joke. These bastards, they’ve really been eating well.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

“Does that mean the overall condition of the orphanages is bad?”

“As I said before, that’s not the case. Most of them are well-run. Of course, there are minor embezzlements or parts that slightly cross the line between illegal and legal, but that’s excusable, isn’t it? We’re not the police, after all.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s the minority, less than 10%, that’s the problem. I don’t know what these bastards are thinking when they run orphanages. There are too many children, so we can’t handle them all.”

Jo Gyu-min glanced at Kang Jin-ho’s expression.

Seeing that expression, Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“What’s the conclusion?”

“This is just my personal opinion, but…”

“Tell me.”

“Could we increase the number of orphanages? It’s hard to find new directors, and it seems like we’ll just be cleaning up messes.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

“Didn’t I just say that we should start small?”

“That’s true… I know it’s unreasonable, but the human heart…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled and took a satisfying puff of his cigarette.

‘That’s right.’

‘That’s why I liked Jo Gyu-min.’

‘He was a cold person on the outside, but warm on the inside.’

“Increase it to a level you can handle.”

“Understood. Then, how much funding?”

“No.”

“…Excuse me?”

Jo Gyu-min tilted his head, and Kang Jin-ho said calmly.

“Increase it to the level that Director Jo can handle. You don’t have to worry about funding. I don’t have anywhere else to spend the money anyway.”

“Is MK officially supporting it?”

Kang Jin-ho opened his phone without a word. Kang Jin-ho, who opened a banking app there, handed the phone to Jo Gyu-min.

“Oh… wow?”

Jo Gyu-min looked surprised, alternating between Kang Jin-ho and the screen.

“Director Lee Hyun-joo deposited my salary, dividends, and the proceeds from selling my previous assets. I didn’t have anywhere to spend it anyway… Is this enough?”

“Do you use banking apps?”

“Oh my god…”

‘Ah…’

‘That was the point of surprise.’

‘Haha…’

Kang Jin-ho was determined not to say that Lee Hyun-soo had set it up for him.