Chapter 1603. Standing Up (3)

“Uh? Jin-Ho hyung?”

“Mm?”

Han Jin-Seong’s expression brightened when Kang Jin-Ho stepped through the Seongsim Orphanage’s entrance.

However, Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze zeroing in on Han Jin-Seong was laced with a hint of disapproval.

Kang Jin-Ho asked weirdly, “Didn’t we set up a separate wing for college students?”

“Eh? Yeah, we did. Why do you ask?”

“In that case, why are you always here?”

“...Hyung, think about it for a second.”

“Think about what?”

“I’m the only one there, you know?”

“...Oh.”

Kang Jin-Ho clamped his mouth shut.

Han Jin-Seong muttered in bitterness and loneliness. “Everyone... Everyone has already left for college dorms, you know? I, I’m the... only one redoing the entrance exam...”

“Got it.”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t bear to hear this tear-jerking story anymore. He stared at the younger man with pity.

“How are your studies going, though?”

“Hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“Which evil creature do you think was responsible for cooking up the idea of exams?”

“...”

“Maybe it was the devil himself? As a way to torment poor humans without lifting a single finger?”

“...”

“Life... Just what is life, I wonder?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled wryly as Han Jin-Seong sank deeper and deeper into the floor. “People with no knowledge of what’s going on might think you’re the only exam taker in the world, Jin-Seong.”

“Don’t say that. I’m serious.”

“How come? Are you struggling to get good grades?”

“No, it’s not that. Hyung, why are the entrance exams so far away? Did you know that my friends are already going on blind dates? And are in clubs and crews and stuff? They are all enjoying their lives and doing fun things, but I... I am...”

“Then, you should’ve passed the exams in one go.”

Han Jin-Seong slowly turned his head to look at the source of that retort coming from somewhere behind him.

Jo Mi-Hye was walking toward the two men while making a sneering face. “I mean, no one told you to become an exam retaker, oppa.”

“Look, Jin-Ho hyung! Look! There’s another evil creature here!”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned brightly. It seemed these two had grown even closer while he wasn’t looking. While chuckling away, he took his shoes off and stepped inside. The Seongsim kids discovered him and rushed out of their rooms.

“Hyung!”

“Oppa! Stop being a stranger and come more often!”

“Snacks! Snacks!”

Jo Mi-Hye glared sharply at the little kid who had yelled “Snacks!” just now. “Hey, you! You already had snacks earlier! Besides, do you think Jin-Ho oppa is your snack delivery guy?”

“Yeah!”

“...”

Jo Mi-Hye nearly tripped on her feet in a fluster, unable to say anything.

However, Kang Jin-Ho still presented the kids with plastic shopping bags filled with snacks he had brought with him, his attitude one of pure unperturbed coolness. “Here, snacks.”

“Whaaaaaaah!”

The kids gleefully accepted the bags and rushed toward the living room.

Jo Mi-Hye sighed softly. “Sorry about that, oppa.”

“No, no need to apologize. This makes things easier for me.”

He had gotten half of the kids away from him, after all!

Jo Mi-Hye pointed to the couch. “Take a seat, oppa. Coffee or juice?”

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. “Mm... Coffee?”

“Okay. I’ll get it for you.”

“Hang on. I can brew it myself.”

“No can do. Sit tight and wait for me.”

When Jo Mi-Hye headed to the kitchen while humming away, Han Jin-Seong hurriedly raised his arm high in the air to draw her attention in. “Hey, wait! Mi-Hye! Me too! A cup of coffee, please!”

Jo Mi-Hye tutted. “Lower your arm before I chop off your hand.”

“...” Han Jin-Seong demurely lowered his arm, then whispered to Kang Jin-Ho. “Hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“How much money do I need to save up if I want to live independently?”

“I think you need to worry about something else first. Like, if you will be allowed to live by yourself or not.”

“...”

When Han Jin-Seong’s head faltered as if his soul had abandoned him, Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. Even he could see that this kid was destined for this kind of life.

Rather pitiful, indeed. However...

“Who was it?! Who drank my can of cola in the fridge! ‘Fess up!”

“...!” Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell in stupefaction when that familiar voice came from somewhere to slam into his hearing. Oh. So, she was also here?

Before his eyes was Choi Yeon-Ha, currently kitted out in baggy trackpants and a faded T-shirt, her hair rolled up into a bun. In one of her hands was a spoon, while her other hand carried a rather large bowl of rice.

“...!” Choi Yeon-Ha also discovered Kang Jin-Ho and flinched slightly in shock. “When did you arrive, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Just now.”

“...”

“...”

Choi Yeon-Ha sheepishly pushed the rice bowl toward Kang Jin-Ho. “Would you like some? It’s bibimbap.”[1]

“No, I’m fine.”

Yes, I’m fine, but... Why are you eating bibimbap at this hour and in this place? The kids should’ve already had dinner by now, after all?

Kang Jin-Ho curiously asked, “Did you arrive not too long ago?”

“Nope. I’ve been here for hours, since the middle of the day,” said Choi Yeon-Ha matter-of-factly.

“...?” Kang Jin-Ho stared weirdly at her. “Then... Why the late dinner?”

“Oh, this? It’s because I was fast asleep and missed dinner.”

“...”

Choi Yeon-Ha suddenly scowled. “Geez, that reminds me! Thinking about it still pisses me off! Hey, you! I told you to wake me up when it’s dinnertime!”

Jo Mi-Hye shot back like a wrongfully accused bystander. “Wha?! Unnie! I tried to wake up five times, you know! But you said you weren’t hungry!”

“That’s because you didn’t tell me we’d be having bulgogi for dinner! How could you all be so heartless?! And not leave me any! Even though I was starving to death in the room!”[2]

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes.

Hold on? Fundamentally speaking, that food is not meant for you, Miss Choi Yeon-Ha, so why?

“Isn’t that from our tax and donations?”

When Kang Jin-Ho muttered quietly, Choi Yeon-Ha snapped her head in his direction, her glare as sharp as a serial killer’s.

“With all the donations I’ve made to this place, kids here can enjoy top-shelf white rice and gogiguk every meal for the next ten years, okay!”[3]

“...”

Choi Yeon-Ha snapped her head in Jo Mi-Hye’s direction instead. “Even if you can’t treat me like your Dear Leader, at least you shouldn’t be nagging me about eating food in this place, you know!”

“I never did that!” Jo Mi-Hye replied while looking mortified. “It’s Jin-Ho oppa who’s the weird one, unnie!”

“Mister Jin-Ho being a weirdo isn’t news, though. Let him be.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned deeply. These two really got on well, no?

Then again, Choi Yeon-Ha had a point. Excluding Kang Jin-Ho, the biggest supporter of Seongsim was undoubtedly her, after all. Actually, considering the amount of money she had spent in recent times, Kang Jin-Ho shouldn’t even raise his voice in Choi Yeon-Ha’s presence.

The real question was, however, did she do that out of her affection toward these kids?

Choi Yeon-Ha yelled loudly. “Argh, seriously! I told you, we should’ve gotten massage chairs in here!”

Jo Mi-Hye replied in a mortified voice again. “U-unnie! You know we can’t do that! We get donors visiting us all the time, you know? They will get the wrong impression of this place if you keep bringing expensive stuff like that.”

“Why should I care about what they think?! When it’s my stuff!”

Jo Mi-Hye pleaded with Choi Yeon-Ha. “N-no, please... Stop...”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Choi Yeon-Ha’s generosity wasn’t coming from a good place in her heart! No, she only wanted to make her stay as convenient as possible. That was all.

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply again. Can’t you do that at your own home?

He couldn’t understand why Choi Yeon-Ha was behaving this way when her own home was decorated more sparsely than a rented room belonging to a college student.

Choi Yeon-Ha glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. “By the way, what brings you here?”

“...”

Why was she asking him that question? When he should be the one asking her?

Of course, there was no way Kang Jin-Ho could voice his dissatisfaction to the world. Why? Because he could see that Jo Mi-Hye and Han Jin-Seong were standing next to the rice bowl-holding Choi Yeon-Ha right now!

This sight alone proved who held the actual authority in this orphanage.

Ah, so this is how you felt, Yu-Min? I had no idea, man. I’m sorry.

While stewing in this indescribable feeling, Kang Jin-Ho muttered at the trio. “I had a few things to announce, you see.”

“Really? Okay, let’s hear it.”

You want to hear about it, too, Miss Yeon-Ha?

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow while thinking that this situation was unfolding in a weird direction, but still began “briefing” the trio, nonetheless.

***

“Okay, so...” Choi Yeon-Ha furrowed her brow. “You’ve finally got the approval for your welfare foundation.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “Yes.”

“And the plan is for your foundation to devour Seongsim...”

“Saying we’re devouring it is a bit...”

That made it sound like Kang Jin-Ho was doing something bad, didn’t it?

“In any case! So, you want to take over other orphanages, not just Seongsim, and even open new ones, too. Isn’t that the gist of it?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Hmmmm...?” Choi Yeon-Ha leaned against the living room wall while sitting down before cocking her head back a little and staring at Kang Jin-Ho haughtily. “Mi-Hye?”

“Yes, unnie?”

“I’m worried.”

“About what?”

Choi Yeon-Ha loudly tutted away. “Here’s a dude who can’t even handle one orphanage and only shows up once in a blue moon, so do you honestly think he can turn several other orphanages into respectable dwellings for human beings?”

“Eii~, that’s impossible.”

“You think so, too?”

“...!” Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes twitched ominously. Jo Mi-Hye?! How could you say that! Even though I’ve been so good to you!

Jo Mi-Hye sharply shook her head. “Don’t you remember how much Jin-Ho oppa has done for our orphanage? There’s no way he can do the same with other places. He’s human, after all.”

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes. Oh... You meant it in a good way.

“Hmm. Still worried, I tell ya...” Choi Yeon-Ha glanced at Kang Jin-Ho again. “Does that mean the caregivers in this place will get reassigned elsewhere?”

“I’m sorry?” Kang Jin-Ho asked back, wondering what Choi Yeon-Ha even meant.

But that only made her tilt her head in confusion. “Then... Are you going to separate the kids instead?”

“I don’t follow, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

Choi Yeon-Ha’s brow furrowed more and more. “Excuse me, Mister Jin-Ho? The whole point of setting up a welfare foundation, taking over a whole bunch of orphanages, and even building new ones, was to create places similar to Seongsim, wasn’t it?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. Actually, it was because he wanted the children in other orphanages to grow up in an environment similar to Seongsim’s, at the very least. Other people might think this orphanage was nothing to write home about, but in his view, there was no other place as good as this one.

Choi Yeon-Ha tutted again. “In that case, you’d need people capable of doing that, no? You can’t possibly be thinking of going to all those orphanages personally and supervising every employee? Were you?”

“...!”

When Kang Jin-Ho faltered and couldn’t reply, Choi Yeon-Ha pouted, then glanced at Han Jin-Seong. “Hey, Jin-Seong!”

“Yes, noonim!”

“Do something about your hyung. A dude like him wants to open up another orphanage.”

“Should I make him sleep with the fishes?”

“And you think you can?”

“Well, I’m sure I can work something out with the boys and take care of it, noonim!”

“What the?! Are you trying to turn me into a widow?!”

Choi Yeon-Ha kicked Han Jin-Seong in the butt, then groaned at Kang Jin-Ho. “Look, Mister Jin-Ho. When you’re opening a branch store, you’re supposed to dispatch one of the employees from the head office as its manager.”

“Uh... Yes, I’ve heard about that from Ju Yeong-Gi.”

“That’s right, because the employees in the head office know what needs to be done the best, you see? And the story is the same in this situation, too. Once the new orphanages are finished, you’ll have to dispatch the caregivers from Seongsim to look after those places.”

“Mm...!” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. “However, there’s the issue with the distance...”

“You have to dispatch someone if doing so is viable. If it’s not, you’ll have to find an alternative. Whatever it is, though, you still have to try, right? If you don’t, all the hard work you’ve put into this thing will backfire and produce unexpected and totally strange outcomes instead.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“For the time being, you’ll have to rely on the existing manpower from this place as much as possible. If that’s not feasible, you should let the caregivers here interview the applicants to find the best possible people for the job.”

Without a doubt, Choi Yeon-Ha was offering a genuinely useful piece of advice here.

For some reason, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t view the act of looking after the orphanage or the foundation as the same as running a business, which led to him not noticing obvious things like this. Maybe he had subconsciously drawn a line between the two?

Still, he was given valuable advice here, so he better accept it.

“Understood. I’ll do that.”

Choi Yeon-Ha nodded, then gripped her spoon. “Now that’s done, I’m gonna finish my dinner. Take care of the rest, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho watched her trotting back to her room with the rice bowl in tow. Her steps had no hesitation whatsoever. After the door closed behind her, he glanced at Jo Mi-Hye and Han Jin-Seong.

“Is she here often?”

Jo Mi-Hye replied, “Yup. Whenever she’s going to the States or China, she’s always packing her bags here.”

“...”

“She said she’s never had siblings before, so being around us is a lot of fun for her.”

Was that okay, though? Really okay? Well, since Choi Yeon-Ha herself was having fun, it should be fine, no?

And the kids seem to be happy with... Mm? Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. “Wait. When did you guys get a new fridge?”

“Unnie bought it, saying our old one was too small and could store only a few bottles of sodas.”

Han Jin-Seong chimed in. “She also bought water purifiers, too.”

Jo Mi-Hye weightily nodded. “Yeah, that too. She said she didn’t want to queue up for a glass of water. So, she bought two of them.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned brightly.

It seemed there had been a lot more changes besides those things, but he didn’t feel the need to interrogate these two. It wasn’t as if he was playing a game of finding hidden objects, anyway.

“Let me know if something’s bothering you, okay?”

Jo Mi-Hye cautiously asked back, “Can I? Really?”

“Yes, you definitely can.”

“Mm, then... Oppa, please let us know ahead of time if you’re thinking of stopping by.”

“...I wasn’t talking about me, though.”

“Oh. You meant Yeon-Ha unnie... No, we have nothing to complain about there.”

Is that right? I guess you’re all content, then. Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. Looks like I better finish setting up other orphanages quickly.

After all, Seongsim was no longer his orphanage.

1. “Bibimbap” is a Korean rice dish that’s a mixture of rice, meat, and assorted vegetables. You can make endless variations of bibimbap to suit your mood and preferences. ☜

2. “Bulgogi” is a dish made of thinly sliced marinated meat, most commonly beef, grilled on a barbecue or a griddle. It’s also often stir-fried in a pan. ☜

3. Why does it feel like I have to make more food-related TL’s notes than usual in this chapter? “Gogiguk”, literally meaning “meat soup”, is a Korean dish usually made with beef. It’s a variation of “guk”, the Korean soup dish. ☜