Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 807

Vroooom!

“What the heck is this?”

Mr. Choi slammed his foot on the accelerator.

“I’m supposed to be resting on the weekend, what is this…”

Despite his grumbling, his expression wasn’t too displeased. He was, after all, a freelancer. To put it grandly, he was a freelancer, but to put it bluntly, he was a day laborer.

Does someone who works for daily wages even have weekends?

A day with work is a workday, and a day without work is a day off.

Especially for a bus driver like Mr. Choi, weekends were when he really had to work. There was always more demand for tour buses on weekends than weekdays.

On Sundays, the reservations should be full with clubs and alumni associations going to the mountains, fields, and the sea, but strangely, there was no work today.

What else is there to do on a day off? You should just lie down at home and rest.

‘I almost messed up big time.’

With nothing to do and the weather nice and cool… he was thinking of cracking open a bottle of soju [Korean rice wine] from midday at home, but it was a good thing he didn’t. If he had been drinking, he would have missed this suddenly arranged job. He couldn’t drive drunk, after all.

It was a relief that the place he had to go wasn’t far from his house. He didn’t have to speed to make it on time. If he got a speeding ticket, it would be a loss, considering how much he was getting paid.

‘But why are they urgently looking for a bus here?’

The place he was going to was an orphanage.

It wasn’t strange for an orphanage to charter a bus. Unlike in the past, orphanages had started to value the social experiences of the children, and with the support of the state, they often went on experience programs to various places.

Mr. Choi didn’t have such experiences, but he had heard other drivers say that they had taken kids from orphanages a few times.

‘But why on a Sunday?’

There were two things he didn’t understand.

Usually, experience programs are scheduled for Saturdays or Fridays. Teachers also need to rest on Sundays. Besides, even if there was a plan on Sunday, it was strange to charter a bus so suddenly. Usually, you would make a reservation a few days in advance, wouldn’t you?

‘Well, it’s not my problem.’

Mr. Choi just had to drive and get paid. It was a relief that he got some work on a day he almost had nothing to do.

Vroooom.

As he drove the bus a little more cheerfully, a large building came into view in the distance.

‘Is that it?’

Mr. Choi narrowed his eyes slightly. The navigation was definitely pointing there, but something seemed a little strange.

‘It’s clean?’

The building in sight was very clean. Anyone could tell it was a new building. It was the kind of building that looked like it cost a lot to build.

It wasn’t strange for an orphanage building to be new and expensive. It’s not like orphanages have to be poor. But the reason he couldn’t help but think it was strange was that the orphanage buildings Mr. Choi had seen so far were always old.

‘Does the foundation have some money?’

That couldn’t be.

Why would someone with money run a welfare foundation? No, it’s true that people with money run welfare foundations. But those people don’t use that money for the children.

Screech.

Mr. Choi stopped the car a little before the orphanage. Then he opened the front door and got out of the car.

Click.

Mr. Choi took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

In this day and age, you can’t smoke just anywhere. Since it would definitely be a no-smoking zone inside the orphanage, he had to smoke beforehand.

Mr. Choi took a satisfying drag of his cigarette and looked at the orphanage building with a slightly indifferent gaze.

‘Thieves.’

There was a time when he believed that the people who ran orphanages were all good people. But after learning a bit about the world, the colored glasses he had on didn’t seem to come off.

There were too many people in the world who wore the hat of doing good deeds while only looking out for their own interests. Not long ago, there was even an article about a foundation that managed donations holding a bonus party for its employees and going on a cruise trip with that money.

No one would want the money they donated with good intentions to end up in the pockets of the employees.

Of course, giving them a salary is understandable. But who would look kindly on them using that money to go on trips?

“Tsk, tsk.”

Mr. Choi took a rough drag of his cigarette.

‘It’s a world where you can’t trust anyone.’

People used to trust each other and live, but it seems like the world is becoming a place where people suspect each other more and more.

Then, has the world become harsher?

That wouldn’t be it.

The corruption in orphanages was definitely worse in the past. But since no one tried to dig it up and report it, no reform was made.

As the media started to make noise and there were more eyes watching each other, the world was slowly becoming cleaner. In the midst of that, the fact that distrust was sprouting was quite ironic.

“I’m thinking too much.”

Mr. Choi put out his cigarette and got back on the bus.

The heavy bus moved with weight and entered the main gate of the orphanage.

In the wide playground visible inside the main gate, two buses had already arrived. Mr. Choi glanced at his watch and let out a sigh of relief, confirming that he wasn’t late.

Mr. Choi parked his bus in line with the other buses, opened the door, and got off.

‘Who should I talk to?’

Mr. Choi turned his gaze to the people in the playground. Then he raised his eyebrows slightly.

‘Huh?’

There were children and some people who looked like teachers in the playground.

But something was a little strange.

‘Wasn’t this supposed to be an orphanage?’

Mr. Choi turned his head to look at the entrance. The five letters ‘Sungsim Orphanage’ were clearly embossed there.

‘Why are the orphanage kids so well-dressed?’

Maybe this was a stereotype, but people tend to think that children in orphanages live a little more poorly than children who grow up in normal homes.

But the clothes the children were wearing didn’t look shabby or old. They were no different from the ordinary children you see on the streets.

No… if anything, they looked a little better off?

‘That’s strange.’

What added to that ‘better off’ feeling was the children’s expressions. Watching the children smiling so brightly, as if they had no worries at all, made him feel good without him even realizing it.

‘I was an idiot.’

Mr. Choi smiled happily.

Just because they don’t have parents and grow up in a facility doesn’t mean the children are gloomy. Mr. Choi was confirming that fact right now. They were just growing up a little differently, but they were no different from children of that age.

“So, who am I supposed to…”

“How long are we going to wait? Huh?”

Mr. Choi’s gaze turned to the side.

‘What is it?’

One of the drivers who had arrived earlier was raising his voice.

“We’ve waited for 30 minutes, we should be leaving now. The cars are all here, why are we still waiting? We’re all going to different places anyway, wouldn’t it be better to leave early?”

Mr. Choi frowned.

‘That bastard?’

Bus drivers are in the service industry.

Even delivery drivers are classified as service workers these days. In a world where even people who move things serve customers, it’s obvious that service is important for people who transport people.

A person who is employed should never act like that. That guy must know that too. Yet, the fact that he was acting so aggressively and picking a fight meant that he was definitely looking down on the people here.

‘Should I cause some trouble?’

It was obvious what he was thinking.

Since the orphanage wouldn’t have enough money to charter buses on their own, this money must have come from the local government or other sponsors. So, he must be thinking that he doesn’t need to look good to them.

If not, he must be the kind of person who thinks that he just needs to transport people and get paid, which is the kind of person who should never be in this profession. Either way, it was something he couldn’t just ignore.

‘One or two idiots like that ruin the image.’

How many drivers are there who take good care of their passengers? But the public image is often ruined by one or two crazy people like that.

Just as Mr. Choi was about to step in, thinking that he couldn’t let this go on, one of the children spoke.

“Could you wait a little longer? There are still some kids inside who aren’t quite ready.”

The child spoke politely.

‘Ah…’

Although polite, the child didn’t seem to be submissive or scared at all. Mr. Choi nodded his head without realizing it at the child’s confident response.

But the hopeless guy didn’t seem to think so.

“How long are we supposed to wait! If that’s the case, you should pay extra! Do you think we’re just people who waste time working? Where’s your person in charge?”

“No, this…”

Just as Mr. Choi, who couldn’t take it anymore, was about to lose his temper, the children started laughing.

‘Laughing?’

An adult was yelling at them. But the children were laughing?

It wasn’t just laughing either. That subtle emotion was… well, it wasn’t quite a sneer…

“Excuse me.”

One of the children reached out and pointed to one side.

‘Huh?’

There was a person where the child’s hand was pointing. A person was squatting close to the orphanage wall, smoking a cigarette.

‘Who is that?’

He didn’t look that old. Maybe just twenty?

Mr. Choi nodded his head without realizing it as he looked at the young man.

‘Yeah, that’s it.’

Hair like a bird’s nest, a sky-blue three-striped tracksuit that looked old to anyone, and black slippers that were the finishing touch.

A man who was expressing ‘I’m a local bum’ with his whole body turned his head slightly this way.

‘He really looks like a kid living in an orphanage.’

He was a man who embodied the image of an orphanage resident that he had vaguely thought about in his head. It was a shame that he looked a little older, but he would give him 99 out of 100 points.

“Oppa!” [Korean term for older brother, used by females]

“…Huh?”

“They’re looking for you, Oppa?”

“Huh?”

“Come quickly!”

“Okay.”

The man answered a few times in a listless voice, then got up from his spot with a ‘grumble’. Then, he dragged his slippers and trudged over here.

“Why?”

“They want the person in charge to come out.”

“…Huh?”

The man’s head turned slightly.

Flint.

The driver who was picking a fight trembled slightly when he made eye contact with the man.

‘Why is he like that?’

It was an incomprehensible reaction. What was so great about making eye contact?

‘Well, I guess it’s a little scary.’

Anyone could tell he was a thug. These days, it’s hard to find a local hoodlum like that even if you look around the streets. Even if you perfectly match the outfit, you can’t express the annoyance and listlessness that comes from his expression and gestures.

You shouldn’t mess with guys like that. They’re the kind of guys who have nothing to lose in life.

“Is there a problem?”

“…Uh, when are we leaving?”

“Is that the problem?”

When the man answered nonchalantly, the driver raised his voice as if his pride was hurt.

“Hey, if you’re going to do something, do it quickly. That’s why you live like this, dawdling around. You’re done, tell an adult to come out, an adult!” At that moment, the man’s eyebrows twitched.

The man, who had been staring at the driver quietly, opened his mouth.

“Like this?”