Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1977

Crunch, crunch.

There’s definitely a term for people like him.

‘Someone who doesn’t live up to their looks,’ or something like that.

The perfect example was right here.

Kang Jin-ho, wearing a stretched-out tracksuit, was leaning against the wall, munching on snacks.

Looking at his unfocused eyes and blankly open mouth, a sigh escaped on its own.

Jo Mi-hye’s cheeks began to twitch slightly.

“Hey, Oppa.”

“…Huh?”

“…Never mind.”

“Why do you start talking and then stop?”

“No, it’s just…”

Jo Mi-hye shook her head.

‘People have their moments.’

Of course, it felt like those moments were a bit too frequent, way too frequent.

But to blame him for it, they were also at fault for keeping Kang Jin-ho’s personal tracksuits at the orphanage, just in case he came.

So, she understood.

Even if those snacks were bought for the kids, and that glutton was already tearing into his fourth bag…

“Should I get you a cushion? To support your back?”

“It’s okay.”

And…

She knew that Kang Jin-ho came here whenever he was mentally and physically exhausted. Depending on how you looked at it, he was a bad guy who only came when he was comfortable, but Jo Mi-hye didn’t dislike it.

People seek refuge when they’re having a hard time.

The fact that he felt a sense of stability in this place, where only people who weren’t related by blood gathered, showed how much Kang Jin-ho cared about the people here.

So, there was no reason to feel bad, but…

‘He looks especially out of it today… No matter how I look at it, he’s gone off the deep end.’

Usually, Kang Jin-ho was just lazy, not completely out of it. But today, Kang Jin-ho looked more like a spaced-out fool than a lazy bum.

“Are you having a really hard time?”

“…What?”

Jo Mi-hye shook her head as she watched Kang Jin-ho’s head turn with a creaking sound.

‘Let’s just leave him be.’

Everyone has moments when they want to hide under the covers and scream. Jo Mi-hye also used to hide in the closet and sob, avoiding her older siblings’ eyes when she was little.

Still, this person seemed to be an adult, after all. Seeing that he was ending it at this level.

“Unnie! Unnie!”

At that moment, a small child from the orphanage ran towards Jo Mi-hye.

“What is it?”

“The water dispenser isn’t working.”

“What…”

“What? Then we should buy one!”

Kang Jin-ho’s decaying eyes suddenly regained their spark.

“Wait a minute! I’ll go to a place that sells water dispensers… No, I’ll just tell Director Lee to buy one…”

“Oppa!”

Jo Mi-hye yelled at Kang Jin-ho, who was about to take out his phone and make a call.

“Why buy a perfectly good water dispenser! Just fix it and use it!”

“No, the water dispenser is old. This is a good opportunity…”

“What’s old! It’s still perfectly fine!”

Kang Jin-ho flinched and shrank back at Jo Mi-hye’s outburst. But even then, he didn’t give up, and started looking around with a fire in his eyes.

“That dining table is old…”

“It’s completely fine, okay?”

“The fluorescent lights seem a bit dim, don’t they? We should replace them with LEDs…”

“Those are LEDs! Are you getting old?”

“The TV is small! It’s too small!”

“Why? Are you trying to build a theater? Kids these days don’t even watch TV!”

“Then tablets! If kids don’t watch TV and watch video sites, then tablets…”

“Unnie already bought and distributed them all before. They’re brand new.”

Kang Jin-ho started biting his nails.

“Then… then what should we do?”

Like an alcoholic without alcohol, Kang Jin-ho, who was looking around with bloodshot eyes, clapped his hands as if he had found something.

“Moving! The building is old, so let’s build a new one and move…”

Thwack!

Thud.

Kang Jin-ho, who was hit squarely by the cushion Jo Mi-hye threw, fell sideways.

“Get a grip, you old man! How many years has it been since we moved here!”

“…About ten years?”

“It hasn’t even been two years!”

Kang Jin-ho got up with a sulky face.

“Then, is there anything else you need?”

“No.”

“There’s no way there isn’t… Surely…” Kang Jin-ho stopped talking and closed his mouth.

There was no way that the kids who lived in the orphanage without parents wouldn’t lack anything. But even if that was true, it wasn’t something he could say in front of Jo Mi-hye.

“What? You think there’s something lacking?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Even if there is, leave it be.”

“Huh?”

Jo Mi-hye shook her head.

“Too much of anything isn’t good.”

“Oppa, should I tell you something funny?”

“What?”

“The kids used to complain a lot when they were in the old house? Since they were living in an old place, there were things that were uncomfortable.”

“The kids?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Jo Mi-hye as if he was surprised.

When he asked the kids, no one told him that they were uncomfortable. They all just said that they were too happy.

“They can’t tell you.”

“…Because I’m an outsider?”

“No. You try to solve everything excessively when you hear about it. The kids know that too.”

“Anyway, the funny thing is, after moving to this building, everyone was so happy, saying that it was so comfortable and fun. But do you know what happened after about six months?”

“…What happened?”

A somewhat wicked smile appeared on Jo Mi-hye’s lips.

“It’s the same as before.”

“…Huh?”

“They start complaining the same way as before. This place is more uncomfortable than before. It’s farther to school than before. Other kids at school have things that we don’t.”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Jo Mi-hye before opening his mouth.

“Is it because something lacking wasn’t filled?”

“No, that’s the problem with you. What’s lacking can’t be filled by filling it. It’ll never be filled.”

“Don’t the richest people in Korea lack anything?”

“…They probably do.”

She could answer this with certainty.

Because Kang Jin-ho was like that right now.

The money Kang Jin-ho had was enormous, and his violence and power far exceeded the value of his wealth.

But even Kang Jin-ho was struggling like this, so there was no way that having a lot of money would make everything abundant. Of course, they could live a much better life than the poor, but life is about getting used to things, and once you get used to things, you start to see what’s lacking.

“That’s how people live, filling what’s lacking. People who don’t like their car earn money and save up to buy a car, and people who want a new house work hard to save and pay off loans.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s how most people live. Trying to get more of what they lack.”

Jo Mi-hye shook her head.

“Not here.”

“Here, if there’s something lacking, it’s filled as soon as you say it. You don’t have to do anything, just open your mouth and Oppa comes and fills it, and Unnie comes and shoves it in your mouth.”

“…That sounds a bit different.”

“It’s a secret from Unnie.”

Jo Mi-hye put her index finger to her lips and made a shushing sound.

“At first, I liked it so much. I was happy, and so grateful. But as I became the one who had to scold and teach the kids… I started to think about whether that was really a good thing.”

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t give the kids too much.” Jo Mi-hye smiled gently.

“You’re not going to take care of them for the rest of their lives. They’ll have to leave the orphanage and live on their own someday. But you won’t be there then.”

“I…”

“Why? Are you going to help them even then?”

Kang Jin-ho, who was about to nod unconsciously, tightened his jaw.

“You think that’s a bit much too, right?”

It wasn’t a difficult thing.

With Kang Jin-ho’s wealth and abilities, it wouldn’t be that hard to feed the children who graduated from the orphanage for the rest of their lives. But that was…

‘That’s keeping them as children forever.’

He had always emphasized to the members of the Assembly that they had to develop and become stronger. And he had boldly pushed out and discriminated against those who did not show the will to improve themselves.

Because he believed that was the way to go.

That was how warriors became stronger.

But for him, the children at the orphanage were just people he had to embrace and protect forever. If he had applied the same standards to them as he did to the warriors, would Kang Jin-ho have nodded?

“In the end, everyone has to live on their own. But Oppa, I’m afraid that our kids will get used to someone helping them when they open their mouths.”

“So don’t do that. You’ve done enough, Oppa. They’re living well enough now. They’re living better than kids with parents.”

“Even so, there are things that can’t be filled…”

“Everyone has things that can’t be filled.”

“It’s foolish to excessively fill other things to fill that. In the end, you have to solve or overcome it yourself. Why? Just because I grew up without parents, does it mean I’ll have a hole in my heart forever?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. You’re not that kind of person, Oppa.”

Jo Mi-hye smiled gently.

“Anyway, Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“The kids are stronger than you think.”

“Living without parents is like that. You get intimidated by the smallest things, you feel like you’re constantly comparing yourself to others, and no matter how much you try to act like it doesn’t matter, you get hurt by the smallest things.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

He had clearly felt that feeling when he became disabled in his first life.

“But the kids are all doing well without becoming twisted. Our kids are all stronger than you think. So, stop wandering around and trust the kids a little.”

He didn’t know what to say.

In a way, it seemed like what Kang Jin-ho had been doing so far had actually been harmful to the children. But Kang Jin-ho knew that wasn’t Jo Mi-hye’s intention.

“Trust them…”

Heh.

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

‘It’s the same thing.’

It wasn’t that different from what he had said in front of the Assembly members. Just as he had trusted the members and tried to entrust the future of the martial world to them, he had to trust these children and entrust their future to their own hands.

In other words…

‘It’s time to let go.’

There was a time when everyone only looked at Kang Jin-ho’s back.

But now, they were trying to stand on their own two feet. They were trying to do it themselves, without Kang Jin-ho holding them up so they wouldn’t fall, or pulling them along so they wouldn’t be late.

That was a very happy thing.

But…

‘It’s a little sad.’

It also meant that the role Kang Jin-ho had to play in the world was gradually decreasing.

As if…

As if the work he had to do was all done.

“Then…”

“Oppa, you just have to be there.”

“Huh?”

Jo Mi-hye smiled gently.

“People want to be independent from their parents, but they don’t want their parents to be gone. It’s the same thing. The kids have to stand on their own from you, but they don’t want you to be gone.”

“Just stay there like you are now, eating snacks, Chairman Kang Jin-ho.”

Jo Mi-hye whispered softly, putting her hand to her mouth.

“But stop making a mess with the crumbs, and wear some nicer tracksuits, some new ones. Okay?”

“Ha, haha…”

Kang Jin-ho, who had laughed, shook his head.

“This is your place, Oppa. So just stay there.”

He still had one.

A place where he needed to be.

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

For some reason, his eyes hurt at those simple words.

“Then, can I eat one more bag of snacks?”

“Get out.”