Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 406

Han Jin-sung looked at Lee Jong-seok with an admiring expression.

“It’s a talent to come up with such an obvious idea so obviously, and this guy has that talent!”

“Yeah. He seems like a genius. He easily thinks of things that others don’t.”

“They say geniuses die young, and I can see why.”

“……I understand.”

He probably got beaten to death.

For being so clueless.

Anyway, whether he gets beaten to death later or not, the fact that he solved one of their biggest problems right now was a truly great achievement.

“Excellent.”

“Amazing.”

The older girls among the children patted Lee Jong-seok’s head.

“Hehehe.”

Lee Jong-seok, who had received praise for the first time in a while, smiled and accepted their touch.

“No, if he hadn’t caused trouble in the first place, we wouldn’t even need a solution.”

“Ah! Ahhh! Ouch!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the patting hands turned into smacking hands. Lee Jong-seok screamed and ran away, but he couldn’t escape the slaps on his back.

With a few resounding smacks, Lee Jong-seok was completely knocked down and collapsed on the floor.

“Let’s leave the idiot and continue our strategy meeting.”

“Agreed!”

Han Jin-sung began to chair the meeting.

“Our goal is simple. To connect Jin-ho hyung and Yeon-ha noona well and somehow maintain a peaceful atmosphere in the orphanage.”

“Yeah.”

“As you all know, and even I’m surprised by this fact… in that short amount of time, the orphanage without Yeon-ha noona has become unimaginable.”

“I agree.”

Everyone nodded.

When you think about it, they didn’t really have any emotional exchanges, but the thought that Choi Yeon-ha might not come often made their hearts feel empty.

Even Han Jin-sung felt that way.

‘When did we get so close?’

Choi Yeon-ha’s sociability was truly mysterious.

No, it’s a bit ambiguous to call it sociability. When you think about what Choi Yeon-ha did here, it can’t be called sociability.

What should I call it…

It’s the kind of familiarity you feel when a seemingly fastidious actress completely lets her guard down and shows her goofy side.

‘It seems simple, but…’

Han Jin-sung knew.

The people who come to see them all come with a certain wall in their hearts.

On one hand, they want to think about them and help them, but on the other hand, they don’t want these children to get too attached and interfere with their daily lives.

Han Jin-sung made a bitter expression.

So, what should I call it?

Now he’s much more mellow, but at one time, Han Jin-sung thought that the people who came to the orphanage to volunteer were like people who came to see a pet.

They find a place where they can go when they have time, a place that can satisfy their mood, and after keeping a proper distance, they get the satisfaction of ‘I’m such a kind and warm person who shows compassion to these struggling children’ and then quickly return to their daily lives.

Like looking at a cute puppy in front of a pet shop. It’s pretty, cute, and satisfying, but they don’t want to take on the responsibility of raising that puppy, that kind of…

‘I’m really twisted.’

Han Jin-sung smiled wryly.

In the past, he rejected everyone who came with such thoughts. Because even at a young age, he was hurt by the people who passed by like that.

He was able to endure it because of the head nun. Later, as Park Yu-min got older, he became their support…

‘Jin-ho hyung showed me, in his own nonchalant way, that not everyone is like that.’

But Choi Yeon-ha was different from any other type.

What should I call it?

It’s as if Choi Yeon-ha didn’t come here to get something from the beginning, so she treated them like neighborhood kids.

No, not like neighborhood kids… like the most easygoing underlings in the world, with no fear of secrets being leaked.

“This is, like, treating us like pushovers?”

“Huh?”

Han Jin-sung rubbed his forehead.

He didn’t know if it was wrong to treat the kids that way, but at least the kids liked it. Choi Yeon-ha didn’t pity them. She had never looked at them with that kind of gaze.

Because from her point of view, whether they had parents or not, they were all equally insignificant…

‘Let’s stop.’

Han Jin-sung smiled gently.

The deeper you dig, the darker it gets. Sometimes it was better to leave things covered up.

What does the reason matter? If the economy is good… no, if the kids are happy, that’s all that matters.

“Anyway, if we want Yeon-ha noona to keep coming here, we need to fix her tattered mental state and get back her pride that’s buried deep in her core! To do that, we need to urgently advance her relationship with Jin-ho hyung.”

“That’s right!”

“There’s only one problem!”

Everyone’s eyes focused on Han Jin-sung.

“How are we going to create that situation?”

The children’s eyes wavered.

“Th-this is a serious problem. I’ve been racking my brain, but I can’t seem to find a way to approach Kang Jin-ho.”

“Right?”

“…This is impossible.”

The children were in despair.

They knew. They knew very well. Having spent a long time with Kang Jin-ho, they knew too well what kind of person he was.

To describe Kang Jin-ho, what should I say…

An amoeba? An inanimate object? A clam?

Anyway, he was the kind of person who fit those descriptions.

He didn’t really react to external stimuli, and if you left him sitting in a corner, he would just keep sitting there until someone called him.

He was the kind of person who really wouldn’t do anything if he didn’t have anything to do.

The current situation, where they had to somehow coax a person who didn’t react to stimuli to advance their relationship, made Han Jin-sung despair.

“…It would be easier to seduce a monk.”

“The difficulty level drops drastically, man. It feels like escaping from hell.”

The fact that they knew Kang Jin-ho so well made them even more desperate.

“L-let’s think step by step.”

“Yeah.”

“We already know one case. Let’s think about how Jin-ho hyung ended up dating Se-yeon noona in the past. Why was it?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“We were all snot-nosed kids back then, how would we know? Back then, the older brothers and sisters who were excited to watch them play have all left the orphanage, and the only person who might know is…”

“Yu-min hyung.”

The children’s eyes shone like morning stars.

“Yu-min hyung!”

“Oppa!”

“Hyung! Hyung!”

As soon as Park Yu-min opened the front door and stepped inside, he was startled by the children who rushed at him like a pack of dogs and stepped back.

“Did someone not feed you?”

“It’s not that! Hyung, come inside quickly! Quickly!”

Han Jin-sung grabbed Park Yu-min’s arm and pulled him in.

Park Yu-min made a puzzled expression as he was dragged in by Han Jin-sung.

‘Why are these kids like this?’

As he sat down in the room, the children surrounded him.

“The candidate… will only speak the truth.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t this a hearing? Hyung didn’t do anything wrong. To be honest, it was me who drank the milk that was in the fridge yesterday morning.”

“Ugh! My milk!”

“Shut up!”

Han Jin-sung kicked Lee Jong-seok, who was rushing at Park Yu-min, and pushed him away before asking.

“Hyung! Hyung!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“How did Se-yeon noona seduce Jin-ho hyung in the past?”

“…Huh?”

Park Yu-min looked back at Han Jin-sung with an expression that couldn’t be more dumbfounded.

They dragged him in like something had happened, and what they asked was… what?

“Did I hear that right?”

“How did she seduce him?”

“No, that…”

Park Yu-min pondered how to deal with this situation. It was too serious to just take it as a joke, as the faces of the children surrounding him were all so serious.

It was as if the fate of the nation depended on this matter. Seeing their expressions, Park Yu-min sighed and said.

“First of all, shouldn’t you tell me why you’re doing this?”

“…I guess so.”

Park Yu-min looked at the ceiling with a slightly dazed expression.

‘When did I get so close to the kids?’

The woman named Choi Yeon-ha was a mysterious person to him. Come to think of it, she was the kind of person who barged into a pizza place without knowing him and made a connection.

Creating relationships with strangers was something that a recluse like Park Yu-min couldn’t even imagine, so it wouldn’t be that difficult for her…

‘But still, the kids follow her this much?’

Park Yu-min’s belief was that there were no bad people among those who the kids liked. The children’s eyes were accurate. Weren’t they the same children who followed the aloof Kang Jin-ho so well when he first came to the orphanage?

‘It can’t be because he’s handsome.’

He had to believe that… no, wait a minute? Come to think of it, when Kang Jin-ho first came to the orphanage, he didn’t think he was that handsome?

Did this bastard get plastic surgery?

“Hyung, what are you thinking about?”

“Ah, no.”

Park Yu-min shook his head.

They hadn’t been apart for more than a week, so there was no way he could have gotten plastic surgery.

‘And that’s not the important thing.’

Park Yu-min brought his brain back to reality.

“So, you want Choi Yeon-ha to get together with Jin-ho?”

“Yeah.”

“But you don’t know how?”

“Yeah.”

“So, you thought that since Se-yeon dated Jin-ho in the past, you want to try the same method that Se-yeon used?”

“Exactly!”

“Hmm…”

Park Yu-min looked around at the children with a troubled expression before opening his mouth.

“I understand your opinions, but first of all, Jin-ho’s opinion is important in this…”

“We don’t need Jin-ho hyung’s opinion.”

“Yeah. We won’t listen. Go back.”

“Oppa, if we let Jin-ho oppa do what he wants, he’ll be single for the rest of his life.”

The last words definitely struck a chord with Park Yu-min.

“Maybe…”

“It’s not ‘maybe,’ it’s ‘he will.’ Jin-ho oppa doesn’t have the will to date.”

“Y-yeah, that’s right.”

“Besides, even if he doesn’t have the will, he should at least respond if a pretty person is waving at him. He’s like a stone Buddha!”

“There is a problem.”

Park Yu-min chuckled.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. You guys figure it out. The reason Se-yeon dated Jin-ho in the past wasn’t because of any special method. It was just because they spent a lot of time together and played together.”

“Hmm…”

“First of all, it was important to secure the position of ‘this person is the closest woman to me’ for Kang Jin-ho, or that was the point?”

“That’s it!”

“Yeah, I understand!”

The children’s eyes burned with fighting spirit.

“Come to think of it, except for the first day, they haven’t moved together during this whole thing.”

“It’s a blunder. A mistake!”

“Then we just need to create and increase the time they spend together. Everyone, let’s start brainstorming again.”

Park Yu-min smiled as he watched the children chattering away.

‘You guys.’

He was grateful.

To Jin-ho, and to Choi Yeon-ha.