CH 409

Han Jin-Seong stared in awe at Lee Jong-Seok. “Wow. Saying the most obvious thing as a solution to an obvious problem is obviously a talent, isn't it? To think you'd have that talent, Jong-Seok!”

Other girls started chiming in next.

“Yeah, oppa! I think Jong-Seok has a little bit of a genius in him. He often thinks about stuff other people don't, you see?”

“I heard somewhere that geniuses often die young, and now I think I know why.”

“...Yeah, I totally agree.”

They must've been beaten up to death.

...For their lack of 'situational awareness', that was!

Who cared about when or how geniuses greeted their demise, though? When Lee Jong-Seok had accomplished a great feat by coming up with a solution to one of the biggest issues threatening the orphanage kids in recent memory!

“Good work, Jong-Seok.”

“Yeah, you did good.”

Girls older than Lee Jong-Seok began patting him on the head.

“Ehehehe~.” Lee Jong-Seong smiled like an idiot and accepted all the patting. It had been a long time since someone complimented him like this, and he couldn't hide how happy he was.

“Hang on a sec… If it wasn't for this idiot, we wouldn't have needed a solution in the first place...!”

“...Ouch?! That hurts! Ouch! Owie!”

Even before Han Jin-Seong could finish his sentence, all the patting hands suddenly transformed into knuckle sandwiches raining down on Lee Jong-Seok's head.

Lee Jong-Seok screamed and tried to get away, but his speed couldn't help him escape from merciless slaps landing on his back.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Slap! Smack!

Several loud impact noises later, Lee Jong-Seok was lying flat on his face on the floor.

“Okay, let's leave this idiot alone and get back to our emergency meeting!”

“I agree!”

Han Jin-Seong resumed the meeting by addressing the kids. “Our goal is simple, everyone. It's to maintain the orphanage's peaceful atmosphere by hooking Yeon-Ha noona up with Jin-Ho hyung!”

“Yeah!”

“I'm sure you already feel this way, and it kinda blows my mind knowing how fast it happened, but... I can no longer imagine our Seongsim Orphanage without Yeon-Ha noona.”

“Totally agreed!”

Everyone gravely nodded in agreement.

If they thought about this situation rationally… It wasn't as if they had gone through an event that fostered a deep emotional bond. Even so, the thoughts of Choi Yeon-Ha's absence from the orphanage left kids feeling empty in the corner of their hearts.

Even Han Jin-Seong felt this way, too.

'Since when did I get so close to her?'

The sociability of a woman named Choi Yeon-Ha seemed unexplainable by normal means. No, maybe calling it 'sociability' wasn't quite right. What she had done in the orphanage couldn't even be called 'social', after all. In that case, what other term would be more appropriate...?

An actress who looked like she might be the pickiest and most arrogant person in the world dropped all her facade and revealed her true moronic self while staying here? Something like that?

And the strong sense of friendliness and kinship coming from her frankness? That seemed more on point, at least to Han Jin-Seong.

'It might sound simple, but…’

Han Jin-Seong was not a dummy, so he knew. Almost every person visiting the orphanage would do so with a wall of varying sizes already built in their heart. Even if they wanted to help the orphanage kids, a part of their hearts would still worry about the children clinging to them too much and hindering their daily lives.

A bitter expression crept up on Han Jin-Seong's face.

So, what should he say about this situation, then? Although he had gotten a lot more... understanding these days, there were times when he thought all the volunteers coming to do community service in the orphanage viewed the children as… As cute little puppies.

It was as if… Those people were only searching for a place to make themselves feel better when it was convenient for them. A place they could keep enough distance from the children and leave whenever they want to return to their daily lives.

As if they wanted to pat themselves on the back for being such a kind human being who graciously showed kindness to these unfortunate children...

In a way, that sounded pretty similar to looking at cute puppies in a pet store. Puppies were cute. Adorable. Enough to uplift a person's mood. However, still not quite enough to make them want to take the responsibility of raising a dog…

'...Hah. I'm really twisted inside, aren't I?'

A bitter grin deepened on Han Jin-Seong's face. In the past, he rejected every visitor showing up with such intentions. Even if he was young, people like that flitting in and out of his life had hurt him too many times, and he didn't want to experience that ever again.

He only managed to stay sane thanks to Sister Yi, the orphanage director. After that, Park Yu-Min grew into a dependable adult for the others to rely on, and then…

'...And then, Jin-Ho hyung taught us in his disinterested-but-still-chick way that not everyone is like that.'

However, Choi Yeon-Ha was different. She didn't fit any of the types Han Jin-Seong was familiar with. So, how should he classify her?

Maybe because Choi Yeon-Ha didn't come here with an ulterior motive, she treated the orphanage kids like friendly neighborhood children.

No, wait… Rather than neighborhood children, Choi Yeon-Ha, she… She treated the orphanage kids like a bunch of the world's weakest pushover underlings who would keep their lips sealed no matter what...!

“What the...! We were treated like pushovers?!”

“Eh? What are you on about, Jin-Seong oppa?”

Han Jin-Seong didn't respond and just facepalmed.

He wasn't 100% sure whether treating the orphanage kids that way was right or wrong, but… Well, the kids seemed to like it, so…

That was because Choi Yeon-Ha wasn't here to pity them. And she never looked at the kids with those pitying but condescending eyes, either.

Then again, from her perspective, it wouldn't have mattered whether the children still had their parents or not. All children would've been equally annoying little…

'...Okay, let me just stop thinking there.'

Han Jin-Seong suddenly smiled brightly. The more he dug into this, the darker the truth got. Sometimes, it was better to pretend to not notice anything…

Who cares about reasons, anyway? As long as the economy improves…

N-no, as long as the children are happy, everything is hunky-dory.

“In any case! To ensure Yeon-Ha noona will come to visit us often, she must first get a hold of herself and sew back her tattered pride! Even if it resembles a chewed-up mop! And to do that, we must urgently prioritize advancing her relationship with Jin-Ho hyung!”

“Yes, we agree!”

“However, we have one problem!” Han Jin-Seong loudly declared, prompting everyone to focus on him. “How are we supposed to create that situation?”

“...”

The eyes of all the children powerfully quaked.

Han Jin-Seong scratched his head. “T-this is a serious problem, everyone. I've racked my brain like crazy, but… I just can't see a way to conquer that wall called Jin-Ho hyung.”

“Really?”

“...Yeah. It's totally hopeless.”

The children were immediately plunged into despair. Because, they knew. Way too well, in fact. Having spent so much time with Kang Jin-Ho, they knew oh-so-well how he operated.

To explain what Kang Jin-Ho was like…

An amoeba? An inorganic substance? Maybe a clam? A description like that suited Kang Jin-Ho to a T. He didn't respond much to external stimuli, and if someone put him down in a corner of a dark room, he'd just sit there doing nothing until people came looking for him. That was Kang Jin-Ho in a nutshell!

If he wasn't required to do anything, Kang Jin-Ho would literally do nothing. That was what he was like. No wonder Han Jin-Seong despaired at the prospect of getting someone as unresponsive to stimuli as Kang Jin-Ho interested in a woman!

“...Gee whiz. Sweet-talking a Buddhist monk might be easier than this.”

“The difficulty of that is a cakewalk compared to this, you know! It feels like we're walking inside a Hell of Fire!”

The children's intimate knowledge of Kang Jin-Ho's behavior plunged them even further into despair.

“L-let's… Let's take our time thinking about this, okay?”

“Okay, Jin-Seong hyung.”

“We already have a precedent to work with, right? Let's try to remember how Jin-Ho hyung hooked up with Se-Yeon noona, and that might get us the answers we are looking for. How did they meet up, anyway?”

“...Dunno.”

“Eh?”

“C'mon, hyung. We were all wet-nosed brats back then, so how should we know? I mean, all the hyungs and noonas old enough to spectate Jin-Ho hyung's romance back then have all left the orphanage already, so who else is…”

“...Yu-Min hyung!”

Suddenly, the eyes of the children began sparkling like early morning stars.

***

“Yu-Min hyung!”

“Oppaaaa!”

“Hyung, hyung!”

Park Yu-Min jumped up in alarm and stumbled back when the orphanage kids rushed at him like a pack of ravenous dogs as soon as he stepped through the front door. “W-wait! Didn't you guys have supper already?”

“No, it's not about that! Hyung, hurry up and come inside! Hurry!” Han Jin-Seong grabbed and yanked at Park Yu-Min's arm.

Park Yu-Min could only dazedly stare in confusion as he was dragged inside the living room.

'What's gotten into these kids?'

Once he was forced to sit down, the orphanage kids swiftly surrounded him.

Park Yu-Min blinked his eyes in bewilderment before raising his right hand. “This candidate… swears to speak only the truth.”

“Eh? What?”

“Isn't this a confirmation hearing? As such, I declare that I've no skeletons in my closet, your honors. Well, if I'm being honest, I did drink that carton of milk in the fridge yesterday morning, but other than that…”

“Uwaaah?! That was my milk!”

“Shut up!” Han Jin-Seong kicked Lee Jong-Seok trying to pounce on Park Yu-Min and resumed the interrogation. “Hyung, hyung!”

“Okay, okay, I'm listening. What's up?”

“How did Se-Yeon noona seduce Jin-Ho hyung?”

“...Eh?” Park Yu-Min stared in shock at Han Jin-Seong as if he just heard the world's most absurd question.

These kids dragged him in here as if something urgent had happened, but the thing they asked him about was… What?

“Hang on, let me see if I heard you correctly. Can you say that again?”

“How did she seduce Jin-Ho hyung?”

“N-no, hang on a sec…” Park Yu-Min frowned while holding his head. How was he supposed to respond to this… crisis? He couldn't brush it aside with a joke since the faces of the kids surrounding him were way too serious for that.

Their determination even made Park Yu-Min wonder if the fate of Korea hung in the balance.

Park Yu-Min groaned loudly before looking back at Han Jin-Seong. “Before we start, don't you think you should give me an explanation first?”

***

“...So that's what happened.” Park Yu-Min stared at the ceiling in a slight daze.

'Just when did she get so close to the kids?'

In his eyes, the woman named Choi Yeon-Ha was a total mystery. Even when he looked back to her past behavior…

Despite being unacquainted with everyone, she barged into the pizzeria to forcibly become 'acquaintances' with everyone there. Someone like Park Yu-Min, a card-carrying loner, could never imagine the pinnacle of creating bridges with strangers Choi Yeon-Ha had reached. In that case, becoming friends with the orphanage kids wouldn't have been difficult for her, but...

'Even if that's true, these kids are worshiping her to that degree already?'

One of Park Yu-Min's pet theories was that the orphanage kids only liked hanging out with good people. He was confident that the kids boasted accurate judgment in things like this. He only needed to look at how the orphanage kids surprisingly took to Kang Jin-Ho when he first showed up here. Even though Kang Jin-Ho back then was as gruff and unfriendly as a person could get!

'And no, it wasn't because Jin-Ho's good-looking, either.'

Park Yu-Min had to believe that was the case, and…

'...Wait a minute? Now that I think about it, I don't remember Jin-Ho being that good-looking when he first came to visit us at the orphanage? What the heck? Did he… get plastic surgery?'

“Yu-Min hyung, what are you thinking about?”

“Ah? N-no, it's nothing important,” Park Yu-Min hurriedly shook his head. They rarely, if ever, stayed apart for more than a week, so when would Kang Jin-Ho find the time to get plastic surgery on his face?

'Besides, that's not important, now is it!'

Park Yu-Min brought his brain back to reality and sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, so… You want Miss Choi Yeon-Ha to date Jin-Ho. And you want to help out with that.”

“Yeah.”

“But, you can't think of a way.”

“Also, yeah.”

“And when you thought about it, Se-Yeon used to date Jin-Ho, so you want to learn how she managed to conquer him.”

“That's correct, hyung!”

“Mm…” Park Yu-Min stared at the children around him with eyes full of untold dilemmas before finally speaking his mind. “Okay. I hear you. And I get what you're all saying. However, Jin-Ho's opinion is just as important as yours in this…”

“Nope. We don't need to hear Jin-Ho hyung's opinion.”

“Yeah, Yu-Min hyung. We ain't gonna hear it. And we don't have time for it, either.”

“Yu-Min oppa, if you keep asking Jin-Ho hyung for his opinions, he'll spend his whole life as a solo player.”

That solo player bit painfully stabbed Park Yu-Min in the heart. He grimaced and tried to defend himself. “Y-you might be right, but…”

“It's not 'might', but 'definitely', Yu-Min hyung! You know Jin-Ho oppa is not interested in dating anyone.”

“Well, that's true…”

“Even if Jin-Ho hyung has no interest, shouldn't he at least respond like a human being if a pretty girl is waving her hand at him?! He's not even a stone Buddha, you know!”

“...Right. He does have a problem in that regard,” Park Yu-Min couldn't help but chuckle. “Truth be told, I have no idea. So, you do what you think will work. And Se-Yeon didn't even resort to weird tricks to date Jin-Ho, you know? It's just that they have been together for a long time, so they naturally started hooking up, that's all.”

“Mmmm…”

“I think the priority should be on… Making Jin-Ho think of Miss Yeon-Ha as his closest female acquaintance. I'm sure that's the crucial point to remember.”

“Ah! That's it!”

“Thanks, Yu-Min oppa!”

Fighting spirit began burning in the eyes of the children.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, other than on the first day, I'm pretty sure Jin-Ho and Miss Yeon-Ha have spent zero time together while dealing with the bullying problem.”

“What?! That's crazy! How can we overlook that?!”

“In that case, you should work toward increasing the time they spend in each other's company. And so, my soldiers, it's time to tackle this problem from another angle!”

Park Yu-Min smiled while watching the kids chat with each other in a lively atmosphere.

'You guys…’

They were clearly grateful. Grateful to Kang Jin-Ho, to Choi Yeon-Ha…

And they obviously wanted to do something for them. Even if the way they expressed their gratitude was a bit wonky.

'By the way, I haven't heard that name in such a long time…’

Han Se-Yeon, was it...?

Park Yu-Min turned his head and stared outside the window. His expression grew somewhat bitter as he took in the pale moon high up in the sky.