CH 382

Choi Yeon-Ha groaned loudly at the end of Kang Jin-Ho's explanation.

“Okay, so…” She spoke while massaging her temples. Kang Jin-Ho's explanations had been too long-winded, and she needed a second or two to organize the information in her head. “...All the Seongsim kids are getting bullied one way or the other? Is that what you're saying?”

“Yes,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded.

“And you want to transform those kids somehow and help them escape the bullying at school?”

“That's correct.”

“And then... While the Kang Jin-Ho crew, which consists of three bachelors, have a rough idea on how to help the boys out, you have absolutely no clue about the mindset and habits of girls, so you asked me for help. Am I right so far?”

“Yes, Miss Yeon-Ha,” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded again, prompting Choi Yeon-Ha to massage her temples even more fiercely.

'Aigoo... My head...!'

Every little incident involving this man seemed overly complicated for some reason!

“You've been working in that orphanage for how long now? And you still didn't know about the bullying? Aaaand you want to fix it only now? You think that makes any sense to me?”

Choi Yeon-Ha finished rebuking Kang Jin-Ho, only for a new realization to hit her. She just realized she had an aptitude for...

'...Variety shows! That's what I should be doing, not making TV shows as an actress!'

Choi Yeon-Ha seemed only to search for a bone to pick with every single time she talked to Kang Jin-Ho. A handful of appearances in those variety shows later, and people might hail her as the next rising star in the world of savage verbal mauling! She might even get inundated with requests for guest appearances!

Kang Jin-Ho sighed. “Indeed. I have no excuses to offer in this regard. However, I do think we got lucky by finding out before it's too late.”

“Hmm…”

At least Kang Jin-Ho could be manly in moments like these. Choi Yeon-Ha liked that Kang Jin-Ho didn't waste time on useless excuses.

If one wanted to get technical about it, making excuses wouldn't have been that hard in this case. After all, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't required to keep up-to-date with every facet of the orphans' school life in the first place. And Kang Jin-Ho was not at fault for those kids getting bullied, either. He wasn't responsible for the welfare of those kids, both legally and morally.

Even then, he didn't offer up any excuses and accepted it as his fault.

“It's already happened, so we can't do much about it now. Okay, so. Girls, is it...?” Choi Yeon-Ha sighed deeply.

'That's gonna get complicated.'

Bullying among girls was a completely different beast from that of boys. While girls were less aggressive and direct than boys, they usually were more covert and cunning in their bullying.

All the reports of bullying appearing on TV news usually featured schoolboys, which indicated boys could often go too far with their bullying attempts. On the other hand, girls resorted to crafty, cunning methods to devastate the minds of their victims. That meant there was no silver bullet to stop the bullying attempts.

'Usually, that's the case. Usually...'

The worst part about bullying between girls was that it had no correlation to the victim's capabilities.

Kang Jin-Ho was right about something. By transforming the orphanage's children and helping them oppose the bullying attempts, the situation could improve for the boys. However, that wouldn't necessarily be true with the girls.

If a bullied girl suddenly transformed into an attractive and outgoing person, the mindset of the bullies would most likely change from 'What a pushover' to 'What an insolent and stuck-up b*tch!' In that case, what should they do?

“This is not an easy problem to solve, is it?” Choi Yeon-Ha sighed again.

“Yes. That's why we need your help. And I didn't have anyone to ask for advice besides you, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

“I see. I guess you're right…” Choi Yeon-Ha massaged her temples again.

'Why do you have to bring me this kind of problem?!'

There didn't seem like any suitable solution, but this problem still needed to be resolved. And, if Choi Yeon-Ha turned a blind eye to it...

'...There's no way the Kang Jin-Ho crew can handle the bullying issue between girls.'

What would happen if Choi Yeon-Ha left the matter to the trio? She could already imagine the end result.

One of the scariest things in this world was treading the road to hell paved with good intentions. By Choi Yeon-Ha choosing to not get involved, the trio might smile like the innocent idiots that they were while fanning the flames because they didn't know better. No, wait... Not just 'fanning', but they might even dump oil into the flames and even break out into a song-and-dance routine in front of the mess!

Choi Yeon-Ha believed in Kang Jin-Ho, but she still couldn't imagine him being sensitive enough to comprehend the uncertain nature of women's hearts.

“Whew-woo…” Choi Yeon-Ha spat out a lengthy groan.

If she hadn't heard about the bullying, there would be no reason to care. But she had, and it was impossible not to get involved now. Especially when she was acquainted with those kids, too!

Choosing to walk away because it was too annoying would only throw the children into the pits of despair.

“...I'll try to find a way.”

“Thank you,” Kang Jin-Ho slightly bowed his head.

“By the way…”

“Yes?”

Choi Yeon-Ha leaned in closer to ask in a hushed voice. “Did you really have to bring this matter to me? I mean... You could've asked other women around you, right?”

Kang Jin-Ho replied with his trademark expressionless face. “I don't have any women like that around me.”

“...No one? Like, absolutely nobody?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, so... Does that mean you don't know any women you can discuss these kinds of problems with? Or you don't have any female friends of similar age as you?”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow a little. “I... It's both, actually. I don't have anyone to discuss things with, and certainly no female acquaintances of similar age. You could argue that my little sister, Eun-Yeong, qualifies for the second category, but that girl is not all that knowledgeable about school dynamics as her teenage years were mostly spent as an idol trainee.”

“Aha. Hmm, so that's how it is.” A smile of satisfaction suddenly formed on Choi Yeon-Ha's lips.

'Wow. This guy really is wasting his looks, isn't he!'

Learning that Kang Jin-Ho, with his incredible looks, had no close female friends his age was quite a shock to Choi Yeon-Ha. And it kind of terrified her, too. Even if Kang Jin-Ho was doing nothing but just sitting quietly in a cafe, his looks ensured that a long queue of women wanting to get his phone number would magically materialize outside. So, to think he'd waste his looks like this and live a life a Buddhist monk would be jealous of!

Was there anyone in Choi Yeon-Ha's circle of acquaintances that also lived like a forever-solo player while boasting superior looks?

'...Hang on. That's me, isn't it?'

Choi Yeon-Ha rapidly became depressed.

Thinking about her situation made her want to cry. Up until now, Choi Yeon-Ha couldn't care any less about romance and whatnot, thinking that achieving success in her job would bring her all the joy and happiness she needed.

However, she felt something while barely surviving the brush with death. If death came for her right now, Choi Yeon-Ha wouldn't have any other memories to fondly look back on besides working herself to the bones.

If she couldn't enjoy the present, what were the odds of her finding enjoyment in the future? Her goal couldn't be achieved by working nonstop for a year or two, anyway.

If Choi Yeon-Ha hadn't encountered Kang Jin-Ho and kept believing her lifestyle until now was perfectly fine, then... She might have found herself on the wrong side of forty, having never dated a man or taken a nice overseas vacation with someone she treasured. And she would've ended as an old and bitter spinster.

Choi Yeon-Ha quietly muttered, “...That is scary.”

“I'm sorry?”

“N-no, it's nothing,” Choi Yeon-Ha quickly shook her head.

'Yup, I can't live like that.'

Maybe, that tunnel incident could be THE turning point in Choi Yeon-Ha's life, even if she never wanted to experience anything remotely similar to that ever again. And it must be, since she had made up her mind about living her life to the fullest and without regrets, even if a grim reaper knocked on her door tomorrow.

“Okay, Mister Jin-Ho. What will you do for me in return if I do this for you?”

“I'm sorry?”

“...Hold on. Were you thinking of looking the other way? While verbally thanking me and not much else?” When Kang Jin-Ho couldn't reply and fidgeted around, Choi Yeon-Ha sharply glared at him. “I'm shocked! I didn't think you'd be this shameless, Mister Jin-Ho!”

“...I am grateful to you. That isn't a lie.”

“Does expressing your gratitude cost so much for you? You know, anyone can say thanks thousands of times if they want. However, if you're really grateful, shouldn't you demonstrate it? A verbal thanks isn't quite good enough to express your gratitude, Mister Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho could only blink his eyes like an idiot, forcing a heavy groan to leak out of Choi Yeon-Ha's lips. What was she expecting from this dude, anyway?

At this point, she should just stop expecting Kang Jin-Ho to do something considerate of his own volition.

Choi Yeon-Ha sat up straight and looked at Kang Jin-Ho. “When I finish fixing this situation, you WILL go on a date with me.”

“A date, you say?”

“Yes. And it'll be a conventional date, too. We'll watch a movie, enjoy a nice dinner, that kind of a date. And we'll probably share a drink or two, too.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow slightly.

Choi Yeon-Ha subtly flinched at that seemingly negative response. “Y-you don't want to?”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “No, it's not that I don't want to, but... You told me to demonstrate my gratitude, but I'm not sure if going on a date will be enough to do that.”

“...You sure are hopeless, aren't you?”

“I'm sorry?”

Choi Yeon-Ha glared at him with a pair of burning eyes. “I'll be the one to decide that, okay! So, do we have a deal or not?!”

“Y-yes, we do.”

“Okay! Great!” Choi Yeon-Ha started smiling brightly.

Kang Jin-Ho, too dazed to say anything, could only stare outside the cafe's window.

'...I just can't figure this woman out.'

It seemed even the combined years of Kang Jin-Ho's three lives were insufficient to figure out the mystery of a woman's heart. Another two hundred years, and maybe he might...

***

The day was drawing to a close.

Kang Jin-Ho drove to the Seongsim Orphanage as the kids should be coming home from school.

'I've been too distant and uninvolved...'

He remembered a warning someone gave him in the past. Believing he was doing something meaningful compared to strangers just because he was thinking about the orphanage kids would be nothing more than an attempt at consoling himself.

Kang Jin-Ho thinking about the orphans wouldn't improve their lives whatsoever. If he didn't put his thoughts into action, it was as good as not caring about them.

Keeping them in one's thoughts and being there for them to provide a shoulder to cry on... Those were nothing more than offering consolation to ease the pain in one's heart.

In that sense, Kang Jin-Ho hadn't done much for the orphanage kids.

'No, wait. Rather than me not having done much...'

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Being next to Choi Yeon-Ha had taught Kang Jin-Ho something about himself. He absolutely had zero sense of what to do to make other people's lives more... comfortable.

It was easy to figure that out after seeing Choi Yeon-Ha freak out during her first visit to the orphanage. He used to believe the orphanage's environment was pretty good, all things considered, but her visit showed him otherwise.

Due to his experience of living in the demon cult, Kang Jin-Ho treated his military service like a brief camping trip to a remote mountainside. Since he was someone like that, there was simply no way he'd be able to objectively analyze the living conditions of other people. And that would also apply to the school lives of the orphanage kids.

'I should've paid more attention.'

Consideration toward others was born from being interested in them. Kang Jin-Ho should have been more active in the kids' lives. He should've thought about what they might need and acted accordingly. However, he couldn't do any of that.

'I need to be more aware of my surroundings.'

Kang Jin-Ho bit his lower lip. He certainly had lots of excuses.

Of course, there was no denying that his time recently had been mostly taken up with the matters of the 'other' world involving the Yeongnam Group and the Martial Assembly. Even so... Kang Jin-Ho thought they were still convenient excuses.

Just because he was busy with something, should his family be inconvenienced? Since he was too busy, should he accept injustice happening to his acquaintances?

Of course not! If he had no time to spare, he only had to make time!

In all honesty, Kang Jin-Ho didn't really need to get personally involved in this bullying case. If only he had been more interested in the orphans and requested help from others, this matter wouldn't have spiraled out of control to this degree.

And the kids were paying the price of his inattentiveness. Kang Jin-Ho parked his car near the orphanage's entrance while feeling this bitter pain in the corner of his heart.

Just as he climbed out of the car, the building's door flew open, and Park Yu-Min came outside. “Hey, man.”

“Mm? How did you know I was coming?”

“Your car, dude. I can hear it from proverbial miles away.”

“...Oh, is that so?” Kang Jin-Ho turned his head and glanced at the sleek supercar behind him before sighing softly.

'If only it was less raucous...'

The massive engine's roar sounded exciting while driving it. Kang Jin-Ho wasn't going to deny that. However, he had to admit that he was scared of turning the ignition of this Lamborghini on in the middle of the night. While nice, this car was also a useless piece of junk in another sense!

Kang Jin-Ho asked Park Yu-Min while heading to the doorway. “Where are the kids?”

“They are waiting for us.”

“Okay.” Kang Jin-Ho nodded before looking up at the heavens.

'I'm sorry...'

He should've paid more attention. Before the kids could ask for help, Kang Jin-Ho should've thought about if they were having a tough time in school first.

'She... probably meant this, too.'

Sister Yi, the former director of the orphanage, once told Kang Jin-Ho to become someone capable of extending a helping hand. When she said those words, Sister Yi must've also wanted Kang Jin-Ho to become someone capable of understanding the hearts of those unable to ask for help.

What would Sister Yi say if she was looking on from somewhere up there?

'...Don't worry, ma'am.'

I might have made a mistake, but I promise you, I will fix this.

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded at the sky, then entered the orphanage building.