Chapter 1610: Pushing Forward (5)

What an odd couple they are.

Lee Hyeon-Su slowly shook his head at the spectacle unfolding before his eyes.

This was the sixth orphanage they had visited today. And the reactions of the children were largely the same—being deeply suspicious of the strangers.

No, rather than strangers, it felt more like they were wary of humans in general.

But Choi Yeon-Ha and Kang Jin-Ho still expertly broke down their walls and earned their trust without breaking a sweat.

Is it because of all the food? Or Cola? Pizzas? Fried chicken?

Of course not. Food, no matter how delicious, wouldn’t be enough to console a child with a broken heart. If it had been Lee Hyeon-Su instead of Kang Jin-Ho or Choi Yeon-Ha, these kids would have never touched the food.

However, Choi Yeon-Ha and Kang Jin-Ho only needed a few words and actions to get these kids to open up to them. Of course, that wasn’t enough to make them completely trust the duo, but it was still amazing to see them make so much progress so quickly.

Wait. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised?

After all, those two basically had set up camp in an orphanage, hadn’t they? Considering they treated the Seongsim Orphanage as their retreat, dealing with children should have become their second natu…

Hold on, hold on! The more I think about it, isn't this getting weirder and weirder? Who in their right mind would think of an orphanage as their preferred place to take a break?

Choi Yeon-Ha scanned the kids. “Okay! I’ll be going now, but we’ll be back next time.”

The children quietly stared at her.

“Also, this oppa here? He's your new director, so you'll see him pretty often from now on. If he does something naughty, you gotta tell me, okay? Let me know, so this big sis of yours can teach him a lesson he will never forget!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression stiffened. Dear children. This woman isn’t cracking jokes right now. My fate now depends on you.

“Okay, then! See you next time! And sweet dreams, too!”

“G-goodbye, ma’am…”

“T-take care…”

The children hesitantly bowed at Choi Yeon-Ha and Kang Jin-Ho. She smiled radiantly and waved at them. However, when she exited the orphanage, her expression instantly changed into a deep scowl.

For some reason, the way she rested her hands on her hips made Kang Jin-Ho wonder if she wanted to smoke rather badly right now.

“This… This is no good. At all,” said Choi Yeon-Ha.

“I’m sorry?”

“Just what have those caregivers been doing all this time? Did you look at the state of those children? Have you ever seen kids wearing smelly clothes like these orphans?!”

“…”

“Look, I can sympathize with having money problems. I really can. If the orphanage director was some son of a b*tch, he must've pocketed the money meant for the place for himself. So, yes, I understand why the facilities are so old and the kids' clothing is all worn out. But how could these caregivers not even bother to wash such smelly and stained clothes?!”

“…”

“Mister Jin-Ho, fire all of them. All of them! Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I hear you on this one. Loud and clear. I wouldn’t dare disobey your command, ma’am.

Despite thinking in a joking manner, however, Kang Jin-Ho was not planning to ignore Choi Yeon-Ha’s demands, at least when it came to this matter. She was pretty much an expert in this sort of thing by now, after all.

She was someone who racked her brain several times a day on what needed to be improved, which caregiver needed to go where, and what she needed to buy to guarantee the most comfortable and happiest childhood for the Seongsim kids.

In the past, her destressing ritual was to go on a shopping spree, but that had changed to buying various stuff to fill up the orphanage these days, so it was easy enough to imagine how dedicated she must be about it.

But, uh, that's why Seongsim is progressively getting more and more cramped lately, though.

Choi Yeon-Ha shook her head fiercely. “The condition of those kids was alarming, too. When I hugged them, I could actually feel how skinny they were!”

Kang Jin-Ho grimly nodded. “Mm, yes. I also saw that.”

Truth be told, though, he wasn't shocked by the state of the children's physical appearances, since even more emaciated and sickly kids could be found in abundance in ancient Zhongyuan. No, what concerned him more this time were the expressions of these orphans.

It was as if… as if they were sleepwalking, as if they had checked out already from this life. Their expressions made it easier for him to guess how bad the treatment by the director and caregivers in this orphanage must've been.

“Fuu-woo…”

Kang Jin-Ho sighed under his breath.

I’m always late, aren’t I?

If only he had known how bad things had been for the orphans, he would have established his welfare foundation much sooner. His mood soured slightly while thinking that he was always the last to find out about things he should have known about already.

“Assembly Master? You shouldn't feel discouraged by this situation,” said Lee Hyeon-Su, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if to say he had figured out Kang Jin-Ho's current mood. “You should be commended for everything you've done so far, sir. Allow me to be frank with you, though. Sometimes, I can't help but notice that you set too high a standard for yourself, that you try to do too much. Let me remind you that you can't look after every single person on this planet.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

“It’s better late than never, sir. To understand that, I mean. Besides, it’s not like we’re abandoning those kids, anyway. Aren’t we going to build a new orphanage just so that we can look after them better? Please don’t kick yourself for not doing something sooner, since we’ve all been trying our best to survive until now.”

That was when Choi Yeon-Ha cocked her head weirdly. “What was that? Kicking yourself?”

Kang Jin-Ho flinched nastily when her cold gaze stabbed into his face. She wasn’t done, however.

“Wow, I didn't know you were Superman, too? Please don't get too full of yourself, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

When Kang Jin-Ho pouted slightly in dejection, Lee Hyeon-Su began cackling as if he was deriving a lot of enjoyment. But he immediately shut himself up the moment Kang Jin-Ho’s glare landed on him.

Choi Yeon-Ha tutted. “Still, after going around all these orphanages… At least now I know this one thing.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “What is it?”

“The Seongsim caregivers are truly high-level… Mm, that's not quite right. Yes, now I know that those aunties are genuinely kind, and their love for the Seongsim kids is the real deal.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded in agreement. He had known that for a while, after all.

“Mister Jin-Ho, we need to pick good caregiver unnies. Without their help, things will get really difficult for us.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Also…” Choi Yeon-Ha deeply furrowed her brow. “We’ve made it through today somehow, but that doesn’t change the fact that all these kids need healing. Physically, they can recover through good food and enough rest, but… Their emotional scars run deep, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“Mm… Are you thinking of getting psychiatric help?”

“Yes. We should consider coordinating with the local children’s welfare organizations, and…”

That was when Lee Hyeon-Su cautiously raised his hand.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at him. “…? Why are you raising your hand like that? Just speak what’s on your mind.”

“Since it's come down to this, how about hiring dedicated trauma counselors as the foundation's employees? Wouldn't that be more sensible? So that they can visit this orphanage one day, then visit a different one the next day. So on and so forth."

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. That sounded like a good plan. “Yeah. Let’s do it that way.”

“Understood. I’ll look into it, sir.”

Choi Yeon-Ha listened to the two men’s conversation, only for her brow to cock a little higher. “By the way?”

“Yes?”

“What happened to the social services agent assigned to this place?”

“…!”

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su reflexively flinched at how icy Choi Yeon-Ha sounded just then.

“Sure, I get that those agents are overwhelmed with work and can't pay attention to every place. Even then! If they had bothered to pop in at least once a year, they should have figured out something was wrong from how skinny these kids are."

“Mm…!”

“They must’ve been paid off. I’m sure of it, Mister Jin-Ho. You mustn’t let them get away with this.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded, his expression stiff. “We’ll find out what happened.”

He had pointed this out in the past, but had to back off due to Lee Hyeon-Su's insistent dissuasion, but now…?

“I won’t stop you this time, sir.”

This time, though, Lee Hyeon-Su quickly raised several white flags of surrender.

“I honestly didn't think things would be this bad, sir. I figured they simply didn't care, even though their job was to care. But this level of neglect is verging on child abuse at this point. However, there is a possibility of them getting threatened into not doing anything."

“Mm… Find out, then.”

“Yes, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly chewed his words out. "Find out the truth. And if any criminals were involved in disrupting the social services meant for these orphanages… Bring them to me."

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly nodded after noticing how icy Kang Jin-Ho sounded just then. Holy cow… Looks like anyone stupid enough to get involved will die for real this time.

“Sir, this matter will require a formal inquiry by the authorities, which means it’ll be difficult for me to do it alone. I’ll contact the relevant parties and get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.”

“Got it. I’ll leave the methods up to you.”

“Understood.”

Click!

Kang Jin-Ho lit up his cigarette. The more he thought about it, the worse his mood got. This had crossed the line.

“This won’t do,” said Choi Yeon-Ha while sighing deeply. “There’s only so much I can do by myself. It’s time to send the SOS signal.”

“I’m sorry?”

The SOS signal? Send it to whom?

***

“Look! It’s the latest release!”

“Ohh! A video game?”

“Let’s play!”

“Oh, ohh!”

A child pulled an even smaller kid closer and began playing a video game. The younger child was obviously struggling with the game's controls, but the slightly older kid proved to be a splendidly patient teacher.

“There! There you go! You’re getting the hang of it! Munch on this while you’re playing.”

The slightly older kid placed a potato chip in the younger kid's mouth, then brought the latter onto his lap to watch him play the video game. That wasn't the only event inside this orphanage, however.

“Let's go outside and play football! Anyone interested?”

“…?”

“Come on, let’s go! This big bro will show you how. I can’t stand being cooped up inside, you know!”

A few orphans hesitantly got up and followed the older boy outside the building.

Meanwhile, girls had taken up a space to the side of the living area.

“Mm, look how damaged their hair is!”

“We need solutions, ma’am!”

“Yes! For now, we need hair treatment products to… What’s going on here? They only have shampoo?! How can anyone be this senseless in the 21st century?! Hey, you! Go tell Jin-Ho oppa to buy the hair treatment products right now!”

“Be careful, unnie! Yeon-Ha unnie might hear you!”

“…Please request Jin-Ho orabeoni to procure us hair treatment products.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Kang Jin-Ho grew more and more stupefied while observing these spectacles unfolding before his eyes.

What was going on here? What were these Seongsim kids even doing here?

Kang Jin-Ho’s head slowly, oh-so-slowly, turned to the side.

“Oh, this?” Choi Yeon-Ha responded indifferently while sitting on the couch and slurping on the ice cream. “These are our rehabilitation specialists.”

“I’m… sorry?”

Choi Yeon-Ha smirked softly. "Don't you know that elementary school kids fear middle school kids the most? But the same elementary school kids will feel better about hanging out with other kids their age. We can talk as much as we want, but none of it will get through to these kids. But with the Seongsim kids? Oh, that’s going to work 100%.”

“Oh…!”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. He could see the logic in this argument.

In the army, the ones who could put a private’s mind at ease the most were either private first classes or sergeants, not division commanders. Since that was the case, the ones more suitable for healing the emotional scars of these children than Kang Jin-Ho or Choi Yeon-Ha were…

...She’s saying it’s the Seongsim kids.

To a group of kids who viewed adults as nothing more than sources of their pain, other children their age had a higher chance of helping them feel at ease much faster.

Scarred orphans interacting with each other wouldn't get them anywhere if they were on guard like angry porcupines, but with the Seongsim kids? This ploy should be more effective in breaking down the walls around their hearts.

Jo Mi-Hye walked up to Kang Jin-Ho. “Oppa? Here, drink this.”

“Mm?”

“It’s fruit juice.”

Kang Jin-Ho accepted the drink with an apologetic expression. "Sorry. It feels like we're unnecessarily imposing on you."

“No, don't say that. We've come here to hang out, anyway. Besides, our kids are used to things like this, you know?"

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

Jo Mi-Hye chuckled softly. “We get new kids in the orphanage all the time, after all. A lot of them are like these kids, you see? Should I say, this dark force is overflowing out of them when they reach Seongsim? Something like that?”

“Oh…”

“Getting such kids used to us with snacks and video games is a piece of cake for us, you know? I mean, we’ve been doing it for over ten years now, after all.”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn't help but view Jo Mi-Hye in a renewed light just then.

Most people would think the children in the orphanages were helpless and weak, but as it turned out, they had their own world where they constantly helped each other out.

“They had a hard life until now, right? So we gotta be even nicer to them,” said Jo Mi-Hye. “Don’t worry, oppa. They are just scared, that’s all. But they’ll feel better soon.”

“Mm…”

“And once the new orphanages open their…”

Before Jo Mi-Hye could finish her sentence, though…!

“What the! It’s my turn, okay?! What’s the matter with you, trying to play ten games in a row! You wanna die?!”

Veins bulged on Jo Mi-Hye's forehead when she heard Han Jin-Seong yelling over the video game. “That… That idiot?! I told him to stay back in Seongsim, but he insisted on tagging along! But now he's bickering with a little kid?! Is he deliberately trying to piss me off?! Hey, you! Han Jin-Seong!”

She rushed at Han Jin-Seong at full tilt before landing a picture-perfect double kick on the latter’s side.

“Aaaaaahk?!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell. Wow, that was a clean hit. He’s not getting up from that any time soon!

“Don't worry about us and keep playing, okay? It's all good, you see? As for you, you moron, you're coming with me!”

Jo Mi-Hye smiled gently at the shocked child before grabbing Han Jin-Seong’s ear and dragging him away.

“Aaaaaahck?! M-my ear! Mi-Hye, my ear’s gonna fall off!”

“Shut up and come here, you dumbass!”

“Aaaahkk! My ear! Myyyy ear?!”

Kang Jin-Ho and Choi Yeon-Ha sighed in perfect sync while watching Han Jin-Seong getting dragged outside.

Seriously… Thank you all for growing up so splendidly, everyone.

…Except for you, Jin-Seong.