Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 110. Struggling (5)Kang Yu-Hwan gasped in surprise. “A foundation?”

A foundation in Kang Jin-Ho's name? What on earth was his son on about?

“Yes, Father,” Kang Jin-Ho replied in utter composure even as fluster and confusion swept Kang Yu-Hwan's mind at his sudden announcement.

“A... a foundation? What do you mean by that, son?”

“To clarify, I'd like to establish a welfare foundation.”

“Mm...” Kang Yu-Hwan noticed the look in his son's eyes and sighed softly. “You are serious about this, aren't you?”

“Yes, Father.”

“Jin-Ho, establishing a foundation is not as simple as you think. Not to forget, it's not something regular people like us can do, either.” Kang Yu-Hwan decided it would be best to dissuade his rash son. “At the very least, tell me why you suddenly decided to do this, son. Only then will I be able to understand.”

“Actually, what happened was…” Kang Jin-Ho nodded and explained the Seongsim Orphanage's matter and where the situation was at the moment.

After silently listening to it, Kang Yu-Hwan spoke in a grave voice, “I see now. Even then, you shouldn't be making such a decision lightly, son.”

“But, Father. I have carefully considered this matter.”

“You may have, yes. However, I still think you're underestimating its complexity. For one, there are laws and regulations to think about, and two, you can't operate a foundation without any clear plan.”

“I was planning to ask Jaegyeong for help during the early stages, Father.”

“I see. However, do you think it's correct to let Jaegyeong manage your foundation?”

“...”

“If you're not fully prepared and ready, you shouldn't dump the responsibility on someone else's shoulders. Don't you agree that you should start something only after you have finished all possible preparations?”

“Yes, I agree…”

“Starting something on an impulse will definitely cause issues later down the line. And the ones who’ll suffer will be the children under your care, not you.”

“I didn't think that far ahead.” Kang Jin-Ho nodded and readily admitted to his mistake.

Kang Yu-Hwan smiled contentedly. “I'm happy that you didn't try to argue with me and quickly acknowledged your mistake, son. Don't get me wrong; I fully understand what your intentions are. However, you're currently an enlisted soldier. You aren't even a part of society yet, so I think it's not the right time for you to do this. And I give you my word that we will seriously discuss a way forward if you still haven't changed your mind by the time you are discharged from the military.”

“Father, it'll be too late to wait until then. For one thing, we don't know what might happen to the orphans in the next two years.”

“Son, there are other ways to support them without establishing a foundation. If it's a registered organization, we can donate publicly. If not, we still have more than enough ways to contribute and support the orphanage.”

“...”

“Don't feel too pressed for time, son. I'm here, aren't I? And your mother is also here. No parents alive would pretend to be blind when their child is trying to do something commendable. I know you're thinking of preparing some kind of a countermeasure since you can't be here. But, Jin-Ho? Let us handle that. You should concentrate on what you need to do.”

“Understood, Father,” Kang Jin-Ho quietly replied, inwardly admitting that maybe he had been a bit too rash. He thought establishing his own foundation was the best method to support Seongsim Orphanage facing an uncertain future. After listening to his father, though... It seemed that Kang Jin-Ho had been too impatient in his thought process.

Kang Yu-Hwan rubbed his chin. “By the way, why did you suddenly think about setting up a foundation? Is it because of Yu-Min?”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. His connection to the orphanage certainly stemmed from his friendship with Park Yu-Min. There was no denying that. However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't choose to support the orphanage in the hopes of making his friend's life a bit easier.

“Father.”

“Yes?”

“My goal is to live an ordinary life.”

“...That's a tough goal to achieve, son.”

“Yes, I know. It's definitely not easy. And... Father, I realized a couple of things while observing the orphanage. One, I'm not the only person who yearns for an ordinary life. Two, some people face a different type of difficulty from mine in their quest to live that ordinary life.”

“Mm...”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “I certainly wouldn’t be so arrogant to say that I want to take responsibility for their lives. However, shouldn't they be given at least a chance to live an ordinary life? That's what I believe...”

Kang Yu-Hwan weightily nodded to his son's assertion. “Indeed. However, you do understand that such a thing isn't as easy as it sounds?”

“Yes, Father.”

“It still won't be easy even if you pour your entire being into it. Simply having a lot of money won’t be enough, either. Seongsim's children will always be discriminated against in some form by society. To show such kids what an equal world looks like... Your dream might just be that—a dream. Even then, are you still willing to try?”

“Yes, Father.” Kang Jin-Ho resolutely nodded.

Kang Yu-Hwan smiled gently and patted his son's back. “I see. You're indeed my son.”

However, Baek Hyeon-Jeong's expression wasn't as bright as her husband's. “If I'm being honest, I don't see why you need to do this, Jin-Ho.”

“Honey, that's…” Kang Yu-Hwan looked back at her in a slight fluster.

“Let's be realistic about this, dear. There are plenty of wealthy folks in this world, and every single one of them only thinks of themselves and clings to their wealth, so why does our Jin-Ho need to spend his money and look after those children? I just can't agree with that.”

“It's the other way around, dear. Jin-Ho's right while they’re wrong.”

“Yes, that is true, but…” Baek Hyeon-Jeong deeply groaned. It would be wonderful if she were the kind of parent who would proudly tell her children to always walk on the righteous paths. However, she knew too well that she wasn't that type of a person. Her honest wish was for her children to spend their money on themselves, like eating good food and buying nicer clothes, rather than donate to strangers.

“I… I want to help, too!” Kang Eun-Yeong raised her hand and exclaimed, “How about I go there and hold a concert? The kids there will love it for sure!”

Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “That will only impede their mental development. A concert’s too noisy and chaotic.”

“Sad puppy face.” Kang Eun-Yeong made a pouting, sullen face while cosplaying as a snail.

Unfortunately for her, Kang Jin-Ho didn't even bother to spare her a glance. “Father, it seems like I must take my time and think about this more.”

“Yes. It's not as urgent, so the right thing to do is to take your time.”

Kang Jin-Ho slightly nodded, but he didn't say anything else. His family continued to discuss other things afterward, but what he said still dominated a large part of everyone's thoughts, and their conversation didn't really go anywhere.

Kang Jin-Ho finally got up from his spot. “I'd like to turn in for the night.”

“Already?”

“Yes. I have a lot on my mind, so I thought I should get an early rest.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong was about to say something, but Kang Yu-Hwan beat her to it first. “I see. In that case, do get some rest, son.”

“Thank you. Good night.” Kang Jin-Ho bowed his head a little and stepped inside his room.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong immediately turned her attention to Kang Eun-Yeong. “Why don't you go to your room and get some rest, too?”

“Eh? But, Mom, I'm not tired, though. If you don't mind, I'm gonna watch some TV before bed.”

“...I'm sure you're more tired than you think, so go and get some rest, my dear child.”

Kang Eun-Yeong pouted. “I'm really okay, Mom. Don't worry about me.”

“Go to your room, you dummy!”

“I'm going!” Kang Eun-Yeong jumped up to her feet and rushed inside her room.

Only after confirming that Kang Eun-Yeong had closed the door behind her did Baek Hyeon-Jeong address her husband, “Shouldn't we try to stop Jin-Ho?”

Kang Yu-Hwan shrugged his shoulders. “He has already made up his mind, honey. Nothing will change even if we try to talk to him about it.”

“Even so…” Baek Hyeon-Jeong could barely hide her disappointment in her husband for failing to dissuade their son. “Dear, our son is barely past twenty years old. He's still so young; how will he take on such a big responsibility?”

“Honey, it sounds like you're unhappy about the prospect of our son wasting his money. Am I right?”

“Yes, I am.” Baek Hyeon-Jeong readily admitted it. “Even if we have money now, no one can tell what will happen in the future, you know? And I think it won't be too late to do what he wishes after enjoying his life a bit more, too. That money might have landed on our lap without us doing anything, but I... I still can't agree to it, dear.”

“Honey, listen.” Kang Yu-Hwan gently held his wife's hand. “It still hasn’t been decided yet, right? Besides, even if Jin-Ho doesn't change his mind later on, it's still our job to cheer him on instead of stopping him.”

“That's... true.”

“If we can't believe in our son, who will?”

“You're right, dear.” Baek Hyeon-Jeong softly sighed. Why did it feel like trying to keep track of all the incidents her son had been creating was taking every ounce of her energy?

Kang Yu-Hwan wrapped his arm around his wife. “Let's believe in our boy.”

“Okay,” Baek Hyeon-Jeong replied in a bitter, unwilling voice.

***

'Was I too impatient?'

Kang Jin-Ho asked himself, and he quickly got an answer.

No, he wasn't…

He wasn't being impatient. By announcing his desire to set up his foundation now, he could avoid all sorts of potential teething pain later when it was time to put his plan into action. He might have 'failed' in his quest for the time being, but he still walked away with something valuable.

For one, he succeeded in letting his parents know about his plans, which he had no thoughts of giving up. Two, he got to learn that there were still many things he had to prepare for. He wouldn't have realized that if he just sat on his butt and schemed without actually doing anything.

'Don't be impatient, but don't be indecisive, either.'

Kang Jin-Ho told himself that while closing his eyes.

***

Sister Yi was finally transferred to Jaegyeong's hospital on the following day. According to Jo Gyu-Min, there was some friction with the sister's parish, which was expected, but everything seemed to have been resolved more or less fine in the end.

Kang Jin-Ho and Park Yu-Min accompanied Sister Yi to the VIP hospital room. They stayed by her side until sunset. Afterward, Kang Jin-Ho took his friend back to the orphanage. He then patiently waited for the darkness of the night to settle in.

Eventually, the night deepened, and the visiting hours came to an end. Kang Jin-Ho's figure, hidden in the shadows, slowly emerged to welcome the late night’s air. His cold, still eyes took in the sight of Sister Yi's room located on the hospital's top floor.

He slowly walked into the hospital and used the emergency stairs to go up rather than the usual elevator.

Creeeaaak...

He opened the heavy steel door and stepped inside the ward. He easily avoided the nurses at the nursing station and silently made his way to the VIP room.

“Mm? Did you hear something?” One of the nurses tilted her head.

“Hear what?” Her co-worker looked at her in puzzlement.

“That's weird. I thought I heard something from over there?”

“Probably a patient sneezing or something.”

“You think so?”

Kang Jin-Ho remained undetected by the nurses as he closed in on Sister Yi's room. A security passcode was needed to access her room, but that didn't matter to Kang Jin-Ho, as he had memorized it earlier in the day. After spreading a thin layer of qi around the doorway to prevent any sounds from escaping, he patiently entered the passcode and opened the door.

Chwu-wuwuwu...

The automatic door slid open, and Kang Jin-Ho silently slipped inside. The hospital room was deathly quiet save for Sister Yi’s soft breathing as she slumbered away on the bed. Kang Jin-Ho walked carefully toward her while making sure not to make any noises.

Kang Jin-Ho scanned Sister Yi's sleeping figure, then carefully depressed the gaunt-faced woman's Spirit Gate meridian point to deepen her state of slumber. After ensuring the patient was in a deep sleep, Kang Jin-Ho's expression tensed up as he began injecting his qi into her body.

'How terrible...'

So, this was the disease called cancer? It was as if her entire abdominal area was filled with nothing but venomous dark energy. Her state was shockingly bad that Kang Jin-Ho briefly wondered how she managed to hold onto her life until now.

'Is this the power of modern medical science?'

A resident of Zhongyuan in this state would have died long ago. However, modern medicine allowed such a patient to continue living without too much difficulty.

'It's not going to be resolved in one or two days.'

He suddenly remembered Moon Ji-Eun from back then. That girl's state had also been terrible, but Kang Jin-Ho still healed her without many issues. However, Sister Yi's state was in another realm altogether. Even if he devoted a lot of time to her healing, he wasn't even sure if it would be effective at all.

Even so...

'I won't sit still just because the outcome is uncertain!'

At the very least, he had to do his best. Kang Jin-Ho slowly extended his hand and pressed his palm on her abdomen.

'Hmph...!'

His skin detected the intense, terrible energy, and it began to tingle painfully.

'If I rush this, her body won’t be able to take it.'

More carefully than he had done ever before—as careful as handling a precious diamond, he focused his entire mind on being as gentle and slow as humanly possible. Just one moment of letting his guard down could result in an irreversible situation.

Kang Jin-Ho gnashed his teeth and carefully—oh-so-carefully injected his qi into Sister Yi's body.

All of a sudden, her body spasmed. Then, she began to violently convulse.