Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 377

It didn’t take long to realize the situation was worse than they thought.

After gathering the kids and doing a quick investigation, Kang Jin-ho and the others realized the severity of the situation. They had no choice but to close the shop the next day and dedicate the entire day to interviewing the children.

The results were horrifying.

“Seriously, these bastards…”

Joo Young-gi kicked a chair.

“Are they a bunch of pushovers? They’re getting treated like this at school, but they come to the orphanage all smiles, calling us ‘hyung’ [older brother or respected male figure]? Are they psychos or something?”

“Don’t curse at the kids.”

“…Sorry. Damn it, I’m just so worked up.”

Joo Young-gi continued to fume for a while, but unable to calm down, he eventually pulled out a cigarette.

Park Yu-min sighed as she watched Joo Young-gi inhale the cigarette.

“What do we do now?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’?”

“I think we need a plan.” Park Yu-min looked a little dazed.

“Would it have been different if the head nun was here?”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Still…”

“It’s not your fault. What was so different when the head nun was here? Did you ask her to solve things when something like this happened? You kept your mouth shut too.”

Park Yu-min nodded at Kang Jin-ho’s words.

‘There’s no way to speak up.’

It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by speaking up. It was just a story that would upset the listener. And speaking up would be no different than wanting to upset everyone else.

Park Yu-min was the same.

It was hard to get through each day, but she knew better than anyone that speaking up wouldn’t change anything. At the time, Choi Young-soo was someone that neither Park Yu-min nor the entire orphanage could do anything about.

So, they had no choice but to keep quiet and endure it all internally.

What really tormented Park Yu-min wasn’t that the kids were being bullied, but that she couldn’t be there for them when they were having such a hard time.

Even if she were in the kids’ shoes, she wouldn’t have spoken up first, but she couldn’t bear the thought that she hadn’t even considered the possibility that the kids might be going through what she had gone through. It felt like proof of her indifference.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

After quietly inhaling the smoke, Kang Jin-ho looked at Park Yu-min and said,

“Don’t blame yourself too much.”

“…I know.”

“No one can do everything. If you don’t know, you can’t help it. Now, just focus on how to solve this. If you keep blaming yourself and wasting time, the kids will only suffer longer.”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

She didn’t seem to have completely let go of her regrets, but she seemed to understand that finding a solution was more important.

But now, the real problem remained.

“So, what are we going to do about this?”

No answer came.

Joo Young-gi threw his head back and groaned.

“This is a real headache. They say even the king can’t solve bullying. If those smart, educated people can’t figure it out, what can we do?”

Joo Young-gi’s words were rough, but he hit the nail on the head.

“Even if the Ministry of Education can’t solve it, we can.”

But Kang Jin-ho seemed to think differently.

“How? Man, it’s easier said than done.”

“It’s not that difficult. We don’t need to solve all the problems of all the kids in the country, we just need to solve the problems of a dozen or so kids. And we can do a lot more than the government can with taxes.”

“…That’s true.”

“Let’s not overthink it. You said it yourself, there’s a reason why they’re being bullied.”

“That’s right.”

“Then we just need to eliminate that reason.”

“No, man.”

Joo Young-gi said, sounding frustrated.

“Preventing it from happening in the first place and reversing it once it’s started are two different things. It’s like giving a flu shot to someone who already has the flu.”

“Still, it’s better than doing nothing, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

Joo Young-gi scratched his head.

‘Damn, this is no ordinary problem.’

It wasn’t hard to come up with various solutions, but it was questionable whether those solutions would be effective.

“Honestly, this is a bit tough.”

“Why?”

“No matter what solutions we come up with, there’s no answer.”

“Why is there no answer?”

“Well…”

Joo Young-gi sighed and said,

“I really don’t want to say this, but there’s this thing called victim blaming, right?”

“Victim blaming?”

“Yeah. It’s the idea that the bullied also have some responsibility for being bullied.”

Park Yu-min frowned.

“What are you talking about? What did the kids do wrong to be responsible? The bullies are the ones at fault, what did the bullied kids do wrong!”

“I knew you’d say that, that’s why I didn’t want to say it.”

Joo Young-gi was annoyed.

“Who doesn’t know that the kids are innocent? What did the kids who were just being bullied do wrong? Of course, they did nothing wrong. But the situation wasn’t created by the perpetrators alone.”

Joo Young-gi looked at Park Yu-min with a slightly uncomfortable gaze.

“Sorry, but let’s be honest.”

“Huh?”

“You, when you walk down the street, you feel people looking at you a lot, right?”

Park Yu-min nodded.

Park Yu-min had no choice but to limp. Because of that, she naturally drew attention, even if she didn’t intend to.

“And there must have been times when you were treated unfairly for no reason, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“But what did you do wrong? It’s not your fault you were born that way.”

“So, what are you trying to say?” Joo Young-gi shrugged.

“Okay. The kids are not at fault. Those bastards are the ones at fault. But if the kids didn’t look weak, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s not the kids’ fault they don’t have parents. It’s not their fault they don’t have money. It’s not their fault they’re kind. But it’s not about who’s at fault. The fact that they look easy to pick on is what creates this situation. Just like you get weird looks just because you’re disabled, even though you’ve done nothing wrong.”

Joo Young-gi looked at Park Yu-min as if he was sorry for having to use this example.

“Then who should we blame? Should we blame you for being disabled? Or should we blame society for not seeing disabled people as normal people?”

“Of course…”

It’s the latter.

The world is wrong for not properly accepting that disabled people are equal human beings.

But that was just an ideal.

“I understand what you’re saying.”

“Those bastards won’t change. They’ll never change. Do you think those guys who were born that way will change? Are we going to educate them and solve the problem? That’s ridiculous. It’s just their nature. Do you think it’s just people? Even dogs, if you put them together, they’ll bite the weakest one. They’ll just bite them for no reason and steal their food.”

“So, what are we supposed to do?” Park Yu-min asked, and Joo Young-gi sighed.

“Honestly, most of the ways people think about it are dead ends. It’s good to say that we’re not responsible. But what are we going to do about it? In the end, our kids are the ones who suffer. If those bastards don’t change, then we have to change, right?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

‘That’s how people are.’

Trying to gain an advantage by bullying the weak is human nature. The fact that education constantly insists that we shouldn’t bully the weak is, paradoxically, proof that humans bully the weak so much.

Kang Jin-ho had no intention of denying that fact.

He had learned well enough in the Central Plains [a historical region in China] how miserable the powerless could be.

“Then the solution is simple.”

Joo Young-gi and Park Yu-min’s eyes turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“Simple?”

“The kids just need to change.”

“Is that as easy as it sounds?”

“It’s not that difficult.”

Joo Young-gi frowned.

This guy, because he makes everything in the world easy, he tends to think everything is easy. If changing people was that easy, who would suffer?

“No, Jin-ho. Changing kids’ personalities isn’t that easy.”

“Who said anything about changing their personalities?”

“Then?”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up slightly.

“We don’t need to touch their personalities. It’s not a problem that can be solved by changing their personalities. You said it yourself, the reason those guys mess with the kids is because they look easy to pick on. Then we just need to make them not look easy to pick on, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“So, let’s start by fixing the parts that make them look easy to pick on.”

“Huh?”

Joo Young-gi’s eyes were filled with confusion.

* * *

“Hoo…”

Choi Yeon-ha stepped off the treadmill and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

‘My body has gotten so weak.’

She never skipped exercising, whether she was working or not. As an actress, her schedule was unpredictable during filming, with no set time for sleep or meals.

Physical strength was crucial to handle the grueling filming schedule. Moreover, she had to maintain her figure, so exercise was essential.

Choi Yeon-ha looked at the full-length mirror across from the treadmill and made a dissatisfied face.

“This won’t do!”

She hadn’t gained weight, but she had lost muscle, making her look less healthy. Being thin was important, but she also needed to have curves in the right places to look firm and toned. That’s how clothes looked good on her.

“I need to get back in shape!”

Choi Yeon-ha was burning with determination.

Now that she had a goal, there was no looking back. She was no longer the wavering Choi Yeon-ha of the past. With a clear and firm goal, all that was left was to charge forward, using any means necessary, just like she always had.

‘Maybe it’s because my head is clear, but I feel strangely refreshed.’

It was strange how she had been so tormented by fear in the hospital, but these days she felt at peace. It made her wonder if her anxiety had been due to the unfamiliar environment of the hospital.

“Anyway,

my condition

is back,

so…”

It was a goal she had never attempted in her life, but the method wouldn’t be any different.

Anyway, if she worked hard…

Just then, Choi Yeon-ha’s phone started ringing loudly.

“I told him I wouldn’t answer, seriously.”

It was probably that damn manager, saying he’d get the script…

“Huh?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s eyes widened when she saw Kang Jin-ho’s name on the screen.

‘What’s this?’

She never thought the day would come when this guy would call her first.

Did the sun rise in the west today?

They say people’s lives change when they make up their minds, and it felt like everything was going well since she had made her firm decision.

Choi Yeon-ha cleared her throat and answered the phone.

‘How should I answer?’

Should she act a little happy? Should she be as blunt as usual? Or should she act like she’s busy to make herself seem more valuable?

Each option had its pros and cons, making it hard to decide.

Finally, Choi Yeon-ha decided to answer as usual. She carefully pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear.

“Yes, what is it?”

Choi Yeon-ha felt like her voice sounded a little cold, and she anxiously waited for Kang Jin-ho’s reply.

“…Huh?”

When Kang Jin-ho didn’t say anything, Choi Yeon-ha checked the screen again and frowned.

“He hung up!”

What kind of man is so impatient!

Even if she didn’t answer, he could have waited a little, why did he hang up so quickly?

Choi Yeon-ha got annoyed and called Kang Jin-ho. After a few rings, a familiar voice was heard.

“You couldn’t wait a second and hung up! What kind of man is so impatient! What’s going on?”

Choi Yeon-ha tilted her head at the words coming from the other end.

“Help?”