Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 809

“Hello!”\n\n”We look forward to it.”\n\n”We brought these in case you get thirsty on the way.”\n\nMr. Choi blankly accepted the drink the child offered.\n\n”Oh, uh… thank you.”\n\nShould he be using honorifics?\n\nThey were being so polite that he couldn’t easily act casual.\n\n’The kids are so well-mannered.’\n\nThe way they greeted him, the way they smiled, it all seemed to stem from their usual behavior.\n\n’They’re like angels compared to my kid.’\n\nJust thinking about his own son, who barely acknowledges him when he gets home and spends all day glued to his computer playing games, made his blood boil.\n\nEven kids without parents grow up so well-behaved, so what’s his son’s excuse for being so twisted?\n\n’It’s all my fault.’\n\nMr. Choi sighed.\n\nHe should blame himself. Even kids without parents were so well-educated, yet he, a so-called parent, had failed to properly raise his own child.\n\n’It’s not too late.’\n\nLooking at these children made him reflect on himself. From now on, he would try to talk more with his son at home and fix this situation.\n\n”Is everyone on board?”\n\n”Yes, hyung [older brother or male friend].”\n\n”Everyone’s on this side.”\n\nKang Jin-ho got on the bus and checked the headcount.\n\n’He looks like a neighborhood thug, seriously.’\n\nActually, he was quite handsome for a neighborhood thug. The fact that he looked so good even in those old tracksuits meant he would be stunning if he dressed up properly.\n\nThose polite children seemed relaxed around this young man. It meant that he had earned their trust.\n\n’What does he do?’\n\nThe more he saw, the more curious he became about this young man’s identity.\n\nMr. Choi glanced at the man in the black suit who hadn’t boarded the bus.\n\n’He seemed like a very important person.’\n\nAccording to the phone call he’d overheard, that man had the power to make or break contracts with companies.\n\n’Where could he be from?’\n\nIn reality, bus brokerage companies often have contracts with multiple places at once.\n\nUnless they have a contract for a set period to provide shuttle services, they usually dispatch buses and supply vehicles as needed.\n\nIf one place runs out of vehicles, they have to send them to another place to avoid having idle buses. So, just from that conversation, it was impossible to tell which company he belonged to.\n\nHowever, considering his tone and nuance, it was unlikely to be a regular company. But…\n\n’Why is someone like that…’\n\nMr. Choi turned his head to look at Kang Jin-ho.\n\nRustle.\n\n”Ah, hyung! Have some of this!”\n\nKang Jin-ho was stealing snacks from the child sitting in front of him. The child turned the snack bag this way and that, but he relentlessly followed it, eventually snatching a few snacks and tossing them into his mouth.\n\n”This hyung has developed a weird habit lately. Even though he has a lot of money.”\n\n”It tastes better when I steal it.”\n\n”Ugh, seriously!”\n\nNo matter how he looked at it, it was pathetic…\n\nOf course, there were people in the world who wore running clothes and shorts, dragged their slippers around, but drove foreign cars. If you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you could be respected by others even without any personal ability.\n\n’But is he really a silver spoon?’\n\nHis clothes were so worn out. They looked like they would tear any minute.\n\nNatural-born silver spoons don’t know how to save. Even if a silver spoon had a habit of saving money, they wouldn’t wear such cheap workout clothes so sparingly.\n\nEven if they wanted to save, their parents wouldn’t let them go around like that.\n\n’Then what is he?’\n\nAs countless questions arose in his mind, Kang Jin-ho quietly approached Mr. Choi and bowed his head.\n\n”I think you can depart now.”\n\n”Ah… yes.”\n\n”Thank you for your service.”\n\nSeeing Kang Jin-ho bow, Mr. Choi also bowed as much as he could from his seat.\n\n’This is awkward.’\n\nAnd so, the unsettling ride began.\n\n”Is everything okay on the other side?”\n\nHan Jin-sung sat next to Kang Jin-ho and sent a text. He received a reply almost immediately. Han Jin-sung, who had received reports from various places, raised his hand in a salute towards Kang Jin-ho and replied.\n\n”All other vehicles have completed boarding. No problems.”\n\n”Really?”\n\n”Yeah, hyung. All the teachers are on board too.”\n\n”But are you going too?”\n\nHan Jin-sung clutched his chest with one hand.\n\n”I, I want to play too, I also…”\n\n”It’s natural to want to play, but isn’t this a time when you shouldn’t be playing?”\n\n”Ugh.”\n\nHan Jin-sung was one of the few high school seniors at the orphanage. And among the seniors, only those who had decided to go to college, like Han Jin-sung, were suffering from extreme stress, while those who had chosen vocational paths didn’t need to focus on the college entrance exam.\n\n”I study without weekends, hyung.”\n\n”Is that so?”\n\n”Oh, just for today.” Kang Jin-ho chuckled.\n\n”You should play when you can.”\n\n”You always know what’s up, hyung.”\n\n”The problem is that you’re always playing.”\n\nHan Jin-sung shut his mouth. Kang Jin-ho, who had turned his head to look out the window, had a slight smile on his lips.\n\n’This hyung’s been talking a lot lately.’\n\nWhen he first met him, Han Jin-sung thought Kang Jin-ho was mute.\n\nThe only things he said were exclamations like ‘um,’ and most of his communication was done by shaking or nodding his head. He remembered clearly because he had avoided talking to him, not wanting to create an awkward situation.\n\nThat quiet person had started to say a few words here and there as time went on, and now he was just running his mouth.\n\n’And it’s all in a way that messes with people.’\n\nHe didn’t know who was influencing him, but they were definitely corrupting him.\n\n’Well, maybe not corrupting.’\n\nThere was no question which Kang Jin-ho was better, the old one or the current one. The current Kang Jin-ho was a hundred times better. Of course, the quiet Kang Jin-ho of the past was cooler than the current one, but the current Kang Jin-ho was much more comfortable and fun.\n\n’The girls might be a little disappointed?’\n\nThere were many girls who had a fantasy about the quiet Kang Jin-ho of the past. Well, if you had that face and were quiet, it was perfect to watch from afar.\n\nAs far as Han Jin-sung knew, there were quite a few girls in the orphanage who liked Kang Jin-ho.\n\nOf course, their dreams could never come true. Because Kang Jin-ho had Choi Yeon-ha. The girls who had some hope that maybe they could have a chance realized the reality the day Choi Yeon-ha appeared at the orphanage and threw their dreams into the trash.\n\nFrankly, it was a mismatch in class. To fight Choi Yeon-ha in terms of romance or charm was like charging at a dragon with a spoon. So, what could they do?\n\n’Dream as much as you want.’\n\nWho could stop them from dreaming? And the girls didn’t like Kang Jin-ho because they thought they could get with him. Just like people who stan [support] idols don’t stan them because they think they can date them.\n\nThey just liked the person they saw.\n\nHan Jin-sung’s gaze subtly turned back. He could see Jo Mi-hye sitting behind him.\n\n”What are you looking at?”\n\n”…Nothing.”\n\nHan Jin-sung’s head slowly returned to its original position. Scary.\n\n”Hyung.”\n\n”Yeah?”\n\n”I have a question for you.”\n\n”What is it?”\n\n”I’m asking because I think you would know, but she’s been treating me really badly lately, you know?”\n\n”Who?”\n\n”Mi-hye.”\n\nKang Jin-ho glanced back and nodded.\n\n”So?”\n\n”I want to take the lead a bit, but how can I avoid being ignored and treated poorly?”\n\n”Hmm…”\n\nKang Jin-ho was lost in thought. His eyes, looking out the window, were filled with melancholy.\n\n”Jin-sung.”\n\n”Yes, hyung!”\n\n”I’ve been thinking…”\n\n”Yes.”\n\n”I don’t think I’m the right person to answer that.”\n\nThe two men quietly lowered their heads. The bus continued on its way, carrying the two men lost in sorrow.\n\n”Is this it?”\n\n”Get off, get off!”\n\n”Don’t go anywhere, just get off and stay there.”\n\nThe children who had arrived at their destination got off the bus. Kang Jin-ho bowed his head to Mr. Choi.\n\n”I’ll call you when we’re ready to get back on. It’ll probably take a few hours, so you can rest.”\n\n”Yes. Don’t worry. I won’t go far and will keep the bus parked here.”\n\n”Okay, then.”\n\nAs soon as Kang Jin-ho got off the bus, Mr. Choi sighed and closed the bus door.\n\n’That was nerve-wracking.’\n\nHe felt like he had never had such a tense ride in his life. Mr. Choi shook his head and drove the bus towards the parking lot.\n\n”Have the others arrived at their destinations?”\n\n”I think so.”\n\nHan Jin-sung checked his phone and nodded.\n\nThe initial plan was for all the children to go to one place together, but it was met with fierce opposition from the childcare teachers.\n\n”If you split up a bomb, it’s less of a problem when it explodes.”\n\n”Are you suggesting we take all these kids to a busy area? It’s not a desert or the sea! Are you kidding me?”\n\nThey couldn’t argue any further.\n\nKang Jin-ho could drop by whenever he was bored and have fun, but these people lived with the children. If there was a conflict of opinion, it was right to follow their lead.\n\nSo, the children were divided into three groups. The younger children, the slightly older children, and…\n\n”Line up, you hopeless cases.”\n\nThe hopeless… no, the slightly older children. As Han Jin-sung called the children together, some complaints erupted.\n\n”This isn’t some school trip, why do we have to line up like this? It’s embarrassing.”\n\n”We’ll get lost.”\n\n”Do you think we’re so dumb that we can’t find our way home if we get lost? We’re not all idiots like you, hyung.”\n\n”You wanna die?”\n\nAs Han Jin-sung raised his fist, the children hid behind Kang Jin-ho.\n\n”Hyung! Hyung! Jin-sung hyung is trying to hit us.”\n\n”Sue him.”\n\nThe children stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho.\n\n”Don’t hesitate to use the law. The law is there to be used.”\n\n”Ah, okay.”\n\n”We will.”\n\nThe children whispered in the corner that this hyung had become strange. Kang Jin-ho ignored their reactions and herded the children like a sheepdog.\n\n”Let’s go in.”\n\nThe children began to move in a rush.\n\n”Hey, I said line up, line up!”\n\n”You line up!”\n\nHan Jin-sung tried to control the children, but they completely ignored him and ran inside.\n\n”Hyung, is it okay to leave him like that?”\n\n”It’s fine.”\n\n”But what if the kids get lost?”\n\n”I’ll find them.”\n\nHan Jin-sung, who had nothing to say, lowered his shoulders and walked quietly.\n\n’Ah, whatever. I came here to have fun too, I shouldn’t worry about the kids and just enjoy myself.’\n\nHan Jin-sung raised his head.\n\nA large sign came into his view. It was brightly written with the name Sea Paradise Aquarium.\n\nThe largest aquarium in the country, which had opened five days ago.\n\nToday’s playground.\n\n”I wonder if there are sharks, sharks?”\n\n”Are there whales too, whales?”\n\nHan Jin-sung clicked his tongue at the excited children.\n\n”Seriously, you’re not kids, why are you so…”\n\n”Are there sharks here?”\n\nHan Jin-sung’s head turned slightly.\n\nAt the mention of sharks, Kang Jin-ho’s face, which rarely changed, was slightly excited.\n\nWell…\n\nIt’s good to have a childlike heart.\n\nIt’s good, right? Hehehe…