Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 805: Throbbing (5)

“He’s sleeping.”

“Sleeping, sleeping~.”

“Definitely sleeping.”

...No, I’m awake now.

Kang Jin-Ho had suddenly morphed into a monkey in a zoo.

He hadn't dropped by at the orphanage lately. Not to forget, he had rarely spent the night here before, too.

Food should be eaten at a dining table. And one should sleep in their own bed. That was Kang Jin-Ho's principle. If you had a perfectly functioning pair of legs and could return home, why sleep anywhere else besides your own home?

...Even though he had been prevented from going home recently by various matters, but still!

The orphanage kids continued to whisper among themselves.

“Yeah, and breakfast is almost ready, too…”

“I’m hungry~.”

Kang Jin-Ho wondered what time it could be now. He could feel the warmth of the morning sun's rays on his face. That meant the sun was up, and it was already morning.

Although that shouldn't come as a surprise, it still surprised Kang Jin-Ho.

‘...It’s already morning?’

When was the last time he woke up this late?

From other people's perspective, waking up after the sun had risen shouldn't qualify as oversleeping, but to Kang Jin-Ho? He had definitely overslept today. It must've been several years since he last woke up at this hour in the morning.

Just as he began thinking that he should open his eyes, kids began approaching him.

“Still sleeping?”

Poke.

A tiny little finger began poking Kang Jin-Ho's cheek. And Kang Jin-Ho couldn't hold it anymore and guffawed loudly.

“He’s waking up!”

“Not sleeping sleeping anymore~!”

“Uwuuoh!”

Kids all rushed outside the room. Just as Kang Jin-Ho finished sitting up while chuckling hollowly, his hearing registered a commotion going off outside the room.

“I told you not to bother Jin-Ho oppa when he’s asleep, didn’t I! You rotten little…!”

“Run away!”

“The Witch is chasing me!”

Something sounded rather lively outside. Kang Jin-Ho got up and began sorting out the duvet.

‘This feels so weird.’

Folding and tucking the duvet away freshly reminded Kang Jin-Ho that he had spent the night in the orphanage. He hadn't slept for more than three hours in his own bed back home, so to think he'd oversleep in this place. What a mysterious event this was.

“Oppa, you’re up.” Jo Mi-Hye entered the room and silently tapped her toes on the floor while staring at Kang Jin-Ho.

Kang Jin-Ho looked back at her. “Mm, I’m up now.”

“Breakfast is ready. Please wash up and join us, oppa.”

“Mm, got it.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

Under normal circumstances, an outsider was not allowed to spend the night in an orphanage. However, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't an outsider but someone who occupied a bit of a weird space. As such, he could crash for the night in the boys' room without a problem.

Jo Mi-Hye tutted unhappily. “You’re supposed to set an example for others to follow, you know! But everyone’s already awake now.”

“Sorry, I have no excuses.” Kang Jin-Ho sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Of course, getting up early or late shouldn't be a big deal. However, this was an orphanage, and for lots of kids to live together in harmony, everyone matching each other's rhythm and routine was crucial. So Kang Jin-Ho had nothing to defend his conduct with.

“Still, it’s so weird, you know?” Jo Mi-Hye tilted her head. “I figured you are not the type to oversleep, you see?”

“Mm. I don’t wake up late like this. Not usually. But today was an exception.”

“I guess it really was comfortable here.”

“Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes in confusion.

Jo Mi-Hye replied nonchalantly. “I think it was really comfortable for you here, oppa.”

Kang Jin-Ho reflexively nodded at that.

‘Was it comfortable, though?’

If so, what a mystery that was.

It was indisputable that Kang Jin-Ho held deep affection toward Seongsim, but did he find this place more comfortable to stay in than his own home? No, that wasn't it. Yet here he was, acting like a lazy sloth.

‘That means I really needed a break.'

It seemed Jo Gyu-Min was indeed spot on with his diagnosis.

“Hurry and wash up, oppa,” said Jo Mi-Hye.

“Mm, got it.”

Jo Mi-Hye smiled refreshingly and left for the next room.

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head at that.

‘Mm? Why next door?’

Soon, he got his answer... in the form of Jo Mi-Hye's sharp and loud yell.

“Can't you see the sun's up already?! Get up, you dummy! Just what did you do last night that you are still snoring in bed?! Get up, right now! Wait a minute! You were watching p*rn again last night, weren't you?!”

“Uwaaaaaaahk?!"

Han Jin-Seong’s sorrow-filled yelp loudly rocked the orphanage.

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly shook his head.

***

“Oppa.”

“...Yeah?” Kang Jin-Ho glanced back at Jo Mi-Hye.

The younger girl was making a cramped smile. “Oppa, I get that you want to make sure everything’s okay since you haven’t shared a meal with us in a long time, but…”

“Mm?”

“You’re making our cooks really anxious, you know?”

“…”

“Can we, like, just enjoy our meal? Ng?”

“Got it,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded unwillingly while smacking his lips. Then, he wordlessly received the food on his tray.

The Seongsim Orphanage used to be a small-scale operation, and the caregivers also cooked food for the kids. However, after the new building was constructed and everyone moved there, a new kitchen was set up, and professional cooks were hired to provide balanced, nutritious meals for the children.

Since that was the case... Kang Jin-Ho had to inspect and ensure everything was up to par!

While everyone was checking out whether the food tasted good or not, Kang Jin-Ho was busy inspecting everything with hawk-like eyes to see how fresh they were and how generous the servings were, too.

‘Very good.’

Kang Jin-Ho's satisfied nod of approval prompted a loud chorus of relieved sighs to escape from the kitchen. Kang Jin-Ho noticed that and grimaced apologetically.

‘I kinda feel bad about this…’

It seemed that while Kang Jin-Ho was snoozing away, someone told the cooks to pay more attention to today's meals. It'd be better if that hadn't happened, but it was also understandable why something like that would happen.

Didn't something similar happen while Kang Jin-Ho was in the army, too? Even if the division commander was merely stopping by to use the loo, the whole base would still go into overdrive. Whether the division commander intended to inspect the base or not didn't even matter in that scenario.

Kang Jin-Ho approached one of the tables and sat down before asking Han Jin-Seong. “How's the food?”

Han Jin-Seong suddenly grew solemn. “Hyung?”

“Mm?”

“I have a favor to ask you. Can you speak to the director and ask them to drop this whole experimental mindset?”

“...Huh?”

“I'm happy with just regular meals, hyung. Don't you think it's a bit of an overkill to eat paella as cafeteria food? Sometimes, I can't figure out whether this is an orphanage cafeteria or I've somehow accidentally stumbled into a world cuisine expo.”

“Oh. I guess the food is great, then.”

“Yup. The food is really great. But now I can’t stomach the school cafeteria lunch, you know? Kuh-euh! I’m supposed to uphold my duty as a member of the cafeteria freeloader gang, but my palate has become too refined lately!”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. What Han Jin-Seong said didn't surprise him.

The Seongsim Orphanage received the level of financial support that other orphanages could only dream of. First of all, Hwang Jeong-Hu was supporting it as the chairman of the one and only Jaegyeong Group. And Kang Jin-Ho was also pumping his considerable wealth into this place. Even without the government's financial assistance, this place functioned just fine.

Besides, every dime sunk into this place was 100% used for its upkeep. Since Kang Jin-Ho was deeply invested in this place, Jo Gyu-Min obviously had to pay particularly close attention, and that attention translated into the strictest of all strict management.

The headache of deciding where to spend the donations happened in other places routinely, but that never occurred in Seongsim.

Unsurprisingly, everything was now locked in a virtuous cycle. Sufficient funds were spent on the children. In return, they could grow up worry-free in the most optimal environment possible under the circumstances. At a casual glance, it all seemed like everything was great. Even so…

‘Looking at people as statistics and numbers, is it…?’

Maybe because of the situation he was in, Kang Jin-Ho couldn't help but scrutinize what was happening here more closely. This level of abundant treatment was only possible because Seongsim was the sole orphanage under Kang Jin-Ho's care. However, what would happen once he took charge of more orphanages?

Would it be still possible to offer this level of management and support while running dozens and dozens of orphanages around the country?

By then, he’d probably see the orphanages as numbers and stats on some spreadsheets. If all of them were managed like Seongsim, he’d require a truly astronomical sum of money.

The reason for Seongsim's kids enjoying such blissful lives was that this orphanage was operating extremely inefficiently. Rather ironically, this inefficiency was responsible for all these people's happiness.

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly dipped his spoon into his bowl of guk.

In the meantime, kids chatted amongst themselves. Jo Mi-Hye glanced at Han Jin-Seong.

“What’s wrong? Not hungry, oppa?”

“Nah, I am.”

“But aren’t you just nibbling at food?” Jo Mi-Hye frowned in dissatisfaction.

But Han Jin-Seong countered with a deep groan. “What the heck! Half the food on the tray is gone already, yet you call that nibbling? You want me to dump the food in my mouth with a shovel or something?”

“Oppa?”

“What!”

“I get that you wanna act like a big boy in front of Jin-Ho oppa. But you won’t live long if you keep doing that.”

“...Sorry.” Han Jin-Seong immediately shrunk back with his tail tucked between his legs.

The sight of a boy being squashed by a girl two years younger than him was also making Kang Jin-Ho sad for some reason.

‘Why are girls so bossy these days?'

No, that wasn't right. Maybe all the females around Kang Jin-Ho happened to be strong-willed? That could be the answer.

After shaking his head, Kang Jin-Ho asked Han Jin-Seong another question. “How are your grades looking? Are they good?”

“I’m dying here, hyung,” Han Jin-Seong theatrically groaned. “I’m studying my butt off, you know? But my grades aren’t getting better at all. I don’t know what else I can do at this stage.”

Han Jin-Seong’s response puzzled Kang Jin-Ho, so he glanced at Jo Mi-Hye next. Rather than verbally explaining, though, she simply used her thumb to point up. It meant Han Jin-Seong’s grades had improved.

Kang Jin-Ho nodded, then asked the boy again. “Which university are you aiming for, though?”

“It’s Jaegyeong Uni.”

“...Huh?”

Han Jin-Seong shrugged his shoulders. “I'm not aiming for Jaegyeong because I've lost my mind, hyung. Chief Jo told me I'd receive a full scholarship that pays for everything if I enrolled there. I don't wanna drown in student debt, so I gotta go to Jaegyeong.”

“Chief Jo said that?”

“Yeah. He also said we’ll be strangers if I go to another university.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. If Jo Gyu-Min had said all those things, it could only mean Han Jin-Seong had a pretty good chance of making it to Jaegyeong University. Jo Gyu-Min wouldn't have encouraged the boy if there was no hope in hell in the first place.

“I see. What about cram school? You doing okay there?”

“That place is bonkers, hyung,” said Han Jin-Seong, his expression even more solemn than before. “I had no idea until recently, but all the tutors were super famous!”

“Oh, really?”

“Actually, it’s more like… They are getting more and more famous now. What was it again? First tier?”

“Hmm…”

“Hyung, just how much did you splurge on that place?”

“...I’m not sure myself,” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head.

He wasn’t lying here. After all, Jo Gyu-Min was in charge of constructing the cram school for the kids to study in. In that case, he could’ve spent a bit too much to meet this goal.

‘Wow. I sure have done something crazy, haven't I?'

When Kang Jin-Ho looked back, he quickly realized how insane this whole thing was. Setting up a private cram school and hiring some of the most well-known tutors around to teach a handful of orphans had to be at the extreme end of the inefficiency scale.

However, Kang Jin-Ho committed acts like these without care up until recently. And worrying about them was the furthest thing in his mind. Why would he, when this 'inefficiency' was still well within the boundaries of Kang Jin-Ho's financial muscle? It was up to him where and how he chose to spend his money, anyway!

However, the situation had changed a little now. The Martial Assembly was not Kang Jin-Ho’s personal bank account, after all.

He couldn't spend the Assembly's wealth as inefficiently as he had done until now. This meant he had to find the perfect middle ground where efficient spending and inefficient but still fruitful spending could meet.

Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho had no waypoint to help him find that magical spot just yet.

‘What is the right call here?’

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly shoved the spoon into the mound of rice but didn't eat it. Even though he was told to stop worrying about stuff like this and get some much-needed rest, his mind didn't want to let his dilemmas go. With so many things to worry about… No wonder he didn't have much of an appetite.

Jo Mi-Hye noticed Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly pushing the food around on the tray and tilted her head. “Oppa?”

Kang Jin-Ho looked up at her. “...Mm?”

“What will you do after breakfast?”

“Mm? What do you mean…?”

“Are you going home?”

Kang Jin-Ho pondered what he should say here. Jo Gyu-Min told him to take at least three days off. That was why he told his family he wouldn’t be back home for at least three days before showing up here. In that case, going back now would be a bit awkward, so…

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “Hmm. I haven’t thought of anything yet.”

“That’s great!” Jo Mi-Hye smirked.

“Mm?”

“We're scheduled to organize the storeroom today, you see? Please help us out, oppa.”

“Mmm?”

“Lately, older boys here slink off to cram school on weekends to study, so we don't have enough hands for this job, you see?”

“What? You don’t have enough people?” Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly.

It wasn't surprising to hear that the kids were asked to tidy up the storage. Even children growing up in regular households helped out with chores, after all. So, it made sense for the orphans to share the workload and maintain the orphanage.

However, if the unavailability of a few older boys threw a wrench into the orphanage's operation… Didn't that sound like a serious issue? After all, the children here were not supposed to take the lead in manual labor like that.

Kang Jin-Ho’s frown deepened slightly. “In that case, the management should have hired more people. Why haven’t they?”

“Oh, no. Oppa, it’s not the issue of lack of manpower.”

“Mm? Then, what?”

“You’ll see when you get there,” Jo Mi-Hye smiled brightly.

Since he still had no idea what was going on, all Kang Jin-Ho could do was nod away in silence.