Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1978

Standing on one’s own is important.

Kang Jin-ho had to admit that Jo Mi-hye was right. His excessive involvement with the orphanage was harmful to the children.

So now, he needed to remain as an ordinary… no, a slightly more than ordinary chairman.

Definitely…

Yes, that’s definitely how it should be…

“What? You’re saying the orphanage won’t support you if you go to college?”

“No! Then what am I supposed to eat?”

Kang Jin-ho stared at Han Jin-sung with hazy eyes.

There were many strange and bizarre people around him. But the creature in front of him now was a bit odd in a different way.

‘Sometimes…

Yeah. He’s somewhat mature and reliable.’ If Jo Mi-hye was the person Kang Jin-ho trusted most at the orphanage, then Han Jin-sung was the person he liked the most.

But…

‘Why is he only reliable sometimes?’

Why is he such an idiot the rest of the time! Why!

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Jo Mi-hye.

As expected, Jo Mi-hye was also looking at Han Jin-sung as if he were a disgusting bug.

“No…”

Jo Mi-hye clutched her chest as if she were speechless.

“This has been going on for a while now, and you’re just bringing it up…”

“No, isn’t hyung [older brother or male friend] going to make a dormitory for graduates to live in?”

“That’s right.”

“But do people just sleep and live? Do they just eat? What about my allowance? I want to try a lot of things when I become a college student!”

“Hyung! You’re not going to do that, are you? You’ll give me an allowance! Jin-ho… Aaaagh!”

Jo Mi-hye’s foot slammed into Han Jin-sung’s forehead.

“Die! Please just die! I’m begging you! Why do you have to live and waste oxygen! There’s already not enough oxygen!”

“W-Why is there not enough oxygen…”

“There’s none for you to breathe!”

Han Jin-sung, kicked by Jo Mi-hye, covered his head and curled up.

‘Good defense.’

Maybe he has a talent for martial arts?

No, is it because he’s been hit too much?

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

But what Han Jin-sung said wasn’t entirely wrong.

Basically, those who graduate from the orphanage at the age of 18 receive 5 million won in government support and have to leave the orphanage.

5 million won.

It was a large sum if you considered it large, and a small sum if you considered it small, but it was far from enough for one person to start a new life. That’s why those who graduated from the orphanage easily succumb to the temptation of crime.

Those who managed to get a job right away could somehow make money and maintain their lives, but those who couldn’t get a job or those who went to college like Han Jin-sung would immediately face a dead end.

It was only because this was the Seongsim Orphanage that they could try to retake the college entrance exam with Kang Jin-ho’s support. If they were from another orphanage, it would have been difficult to consider retaking the exam.

“Ah, no, I don’t have any money!”

“If you don’t have money, earn it!”

“H-How am I supposed to earn money!”

“You can tutor!”

Upon hearing that, Han Jin-sung stood up and smiled.

“Mi-hye.”

“…What are you going to say now?”

“You seem to be overestimating me, but even if I were a parent, I wouldn’t hire someone like me to tutor my child. There are so many college students in Seoul, why would they hire someone like me? Right?”

Jo Mi-hye closed her mouth at the undeniable truth.

“So, it’s more realistic to just get an allowance. Even if I get an allowance, it wouldn’t even be the interest on the interest on the interest of the money in Jin-ho hyung’s account, so what’s the problem…”

Thwack!

Kang Jin-ho flinched.

‘The talent for martial arts was over there?’

A well-aimed punch landed on Han Jin-sung’s forehead. Han Jin-sung collapsed sideways without even screaming.

Thud.

‘Is he dead?’

No, he seems to be alive, judging by the twitching…

“If you can’t tutor, you can work at a convenience store! Or do deliveries!”

“B-But studying during that time…”

“Keep talking, go on.”

“…No, I won’t.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had watched Han Jin-sung’s rebellion being suppressed in an instant, voiced a fundamental question.

“But Jin-sung.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you even pass?”

Han Jin-sung wore a triumphant smile.

“Well, isn’t that basic? It’s skill, skill.”

“Ugh… I hate looking at you.”

Jo Mi-hye looked disgusted, but she didn’t really argue, so it seemed like he had gotten good grades.

“In Seoul! Huh? In Seoul!”

“Seouuuul!”

“S-Stop it.”

Okay, okay…

Han Jin-sung’s shoulders rose excessively. He raised his shoulders so high that his neck was almost invisible.

“Are you that happy…”

“Of course, I’m happy!”

“A university that others go to in one try.”

Han Jin-sung pouted.

Looking at him, Kang Jin-ho silently looked up at the ceiling.

‘Standing on one’s own…

Mi-hye.

Wasn’t that a bit too early?’

“By the way, where did you go? The college entrance exam is over.”

“Where else? I went to work part-time.”

“Huh? Part-time?”

Just a moment ago, he was asking for an allowance?

Han Jin-sung chuckled at Kang Jin-ho’s expression.

“Our hyung is naive in strange ways. Of course, I was joking. How old am I to get an allowance? Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. I’m grateful just for being able to sleep at the orphanage. I’m saving on rent.”

That was very admirable.

But on the other hand, it was also a bit sad.

As Han Jin-sung said, it wasn’t uncommon for people of this age to support themselves by working part-time, but usually, they would receive support from their parents.

The fact that Han Jin-sung took it for granted that he would take care of his own life made Kang Jin-ho feel a little sorry for him.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No…”

Just as Kang Jin-ho was about to say something, the door burst open and the kids rushed in.

“Hyung! Did you buy snacks?”

“I told you to buy them on the way!”

“No! You guys! How much do you think I earn from my part-time job that you’re asking me to buy you snacks?! Jin-ho hyung is right there! The chairman!”

“Hey, Jin-ho hyung always buys them for us.”

“It only means something if hyung buys them.”

“That’s right. Snacks with blood, sweat, and tears.”

“…You little devils.”

The children surrounded Han Jin-sung and clung to him.

“Give us the snacks!”

“Ah! Get lost!”

“Search him! Search his bag! They must be there!”

“Ugh! You bastards!”

Kang Jin-ho burst out laughing at the scene.

‘It’s continuing.’

Although the scene was a little different, it was a scene Kang Jin-ho had seen many times.

In the past, it was a common sight at Seongsim. Park Yu-min preparing meals for the children, and the children following Park Yu-min around.

That was the original form of Seongsim Orphanage that Kang Jin-ho remembered.

Now, Park Yu-min had also left to find her own life and didn’t visit Seongsim often, but even though the building had changed, the people had changed, and time had passed, this scene hadn’t changed.

A smile appeared on Kang Jin-ho’s face.

In the past, Han Jin-sung was playing the role that Park Yu-min had played. And soon, Han Jin-sung would also leave the orphanage to find his own life.

Even so, the children who were clinging to Han Jin-sung now would take over the role that Han Jin-sung was playing.

‘That’s enough.’

What would the head nun have said if she had seen this scene?

Today…

He missed her face.

The image of her looking at Kang Jin-ho with a gentle smile and kind eyes.

‘She would have just watched.’

The nun would have known.

That everyone has to walk on their own two feet someday.

Even if you want to protect them a little more, and hug them a little more, sometimes it’s better to step back and watch.

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

‘It wasn’t me who did it.’

Seongsim wouldn’t change just because he wasn’t there. Those children would have lived like this even if Kang Jin-ho hadn’t been there, getting angry, laughing, sometimes fighting, and comforting each other.

It might have been a little more inconvenient, but that wouldn’t have been a big problem for these children.

‘It was arrogant to think that I had to be here.’

It was a little disappointing.

But it wasn’t necessarily bad.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you staying over tonight?”

Han Jin-sung asked in a nonchalant tone.

But in that blunt voice, there was a very obvious desire for Kang Jin-ho to stay over.

“…Should I?”

“It’s been a while since you stayed over.”

“What’s it to you, oppa [older brother or male friend]? You have to sleep in your own room.”

“Well, when you’re hanging out, you can sleep in someone else’s living room! How about it, hyung? A beer for old times’ sake?”

“…I don’t think I’ve ever had a beer with you?”

“Hey, what’s with the buzzkill?”

“Then, shall we have a beer?”

“Ah, I can’t drink alcohol.”

What is this guy?

How did such a bizarre guy get created (?) in the beautiful Seongsim Orphanage?

“…Then let’s have a cola.”

“Cola is good!”

“Snacks!”

“He hid them here. That hyung’s tricks are so obvious.”

“Th-These are my snacks, you guys!”

“What snacks go with cola! Just drink it! We’ll take these.”

“You heartless bastards!”

Kang Jin-ho smiled brightly at the scene.

Whether he was there or not…

This was Seongsim Orphanage.

Yes.

That was enough.

Fizz.

The sound of a cola can opening spread through the night air.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho, with a cigarette in his mouth, lit a lighter. The swing he was sitting on slowly swayed.

‘Cola…

When he was in the Central Plains, the modern things he missed the most were cola and cigarettes. When he opened his eyes in the hospital, wasn’t the first thing he looked for cola?

At some point, he was able to buy it so easily that he hadn’t drunk cola at all for a while.

‘It was so desperate at one time… So many things have changed.’

At one time, he was afraid of change, and he was scared of things changing.

But not anymore.

Changing means moving forward.

That was true for the members of the General Assembly, and for the children of the orphanage.

Each of them was carrying the burden they had to bear and walking towards the world.

So…

Kang Jin-ho raised his head and looked at the sky.

“I… I have to do what I have to do now.”

The white cigarette smoke slowly faded into the cold night air.

He was afraid.

That the time to settle things was a lie. The situation he had to overcome now was different from any battle he had experienced so far.

Even Kang Jin-ho didn’t know what the outcome would be.

Kang Jin-ho, who had never considered defeat even once, couldn’t guarantee the result even if he risked everything this time.

That’s why he was afraid.

That he might lose everything he had gained in this world.

But…

Now he knew.

That everyone lived with their own fears.

It was impossible for him to be afraid and not move forward while telling the children and the members to face the world.

So…

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho, who slowly exhaled cigarette smoke, smiled comfortably.

“I have to protect it.”

The world he had missed.

And the world they would live in.

This world where his family and loved ones breathed.

Kang Jin-ho put out his cigarette and got up from the swing.

Then, he drank the cola in his hand in one gulp and started to walk.

His steps towards the outside of the playground…

There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation.