Dealing with the aftermath was always the hardest part.
Those words left behind by Jo Gyu-Min rang so true and so painfully for Kang Jin-Ho.
He never had a chance to properly feel the weight of those words before. After all, Kang Jin-Ho’s job was to cause trouble. He had other people to clean up after his mess until now.
Azure Demon took on that role in the past, while Jo Gyu-Min and Lee Hyeon-Su took care of things in the modern era. However, due to the unique nature of this particular situation, Kang Jin-Ho had no choice but to deal with the fallout himself.
Dealing with government officials or responding to rumors was the job of the other two men, but only Kang Jin-Ho could reassure and pacify the Seongsim people frightened by this event.
Park Yu-Min got the train going first. “Jin-Ho! The kids! They are fine, right? Right?! Where are they?”
“Noona! Where is noona? Is she okay?”
“Mister Jin-Ho?! Why can’t we go in and see the kids right now? Doctors said they are okay, but we still need to see them and make sure, you know?!”
“Why did this have to happen on Sunday, of all days?”
Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but squeeze his eyes shut.
‘How nice would it be if people talk to me one at a time...?’
It was truly lamentable, but Kang Jin-Ho was born with only one mouth. He didn't possess the miraculous ability to respond to all five questions at the same time.[1]
Being able to hear and process all five questions was still worthy of high praise, though.
This one-sided Q&A session was like a hellish torture, but much to Kang Jin-Ho's relief, all things would eventually come to an end.
Even though they tortured Kang Jin-Ho extensively, everyone instantly lost interest in him when the Seongsim kids began exiting the examination rooms. All those surrounding Kang Jin-Ho and tormenting him urgently rushed over to the kids to confirm with their own eyes and hands.
That meant Kang Jin-Ho was relegated to playing the third wheel... But he actually preferred that.
The result of the medical examination was that... No abnormalities were found.
As per the opinions of both Lee Hyeon-Su and Jo Gyu-Min, the Seongsim kids were scheduled to speak to trauma counselors, but it was postponed to another day. The thought behind the move was that chatting to shrinks right now would only add more stress to an already stressful day for these kids.
“Uhm, excuse me...?” Kang Jin-Ho cautiously raised his voice as the Seongsim people tearfully and emotionally talked to each other. “We're inconveniencing other people by standing around like this in the hospital lobby, everyone. How about we return to the orphanage...?”
What Kang Jin-Ho said was sensible enough. The Seongsim people would've unhesitantly agreed with him.
...If they had been listening, that was!
Even though Kang Jin-Ho was extra cautious in enunciating his words clearly, no one paid attention to him. It wasn’t the case of them roundly ignoring him, but... But it seemed like they genuinely failed to hear him.
“Uhm, uh...”
It'd be a little embarrassing to repeat himself only to be ignored again. However, standing around like a scarecrow and not doing anything was just as weird as well. Kang Jin-Ho, a man who became accustomed to people paying him the utmost attention even when he kept his voice low... was rudely reminded of how things were like a long, long time ago in his life.
‘Right, this... This is how it feels like.’
Something like this happened often during Kang Jin-Ho's first life. No one paid attention to him back then.
No, that wasn't quite right. People did pay attention to him. A disabled person stood out like a sore thumb among the populace, after all!
However, that was the extent of their attention. Even if they could see him, they weren’t interested in listening to him.
After recalling those old memories, Kang Jin-Ho was suddenly struck by a minor epiphany. Being surrounded by family and friends was one of the greatest luxuries a person could be blessed with. During his first life, Kang Jin-Ho had no one to watch him quietly wither away and die.
“...Jin-Ho Hyung!”
“...Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho sobered up and looked around him.
“What are you thinking about?” Han Jin-Seong asked while walking up to Kang Jin-Ho, who was deeply immersed in his memories.
“Oh. I was thinking about this and that.”
“It's a bit hectic here, right?” Han Jin-Seong asked with a subtle grin.
Kang Jin-Ho chuckled back without saying anything else.
He was still not used to places with lots of people. Naturally, it’d be difficult for him to feel settled in a chaotic environment like this. It was just that his sense of duty forced him to stay strong.
“Jin-Ho hyung, thank you.”
“What for?”
“I heard from Chief Jo. He said you were the one blocking the water.”
What did Jo Gyu-Min even say to these kids? Kang Jin-Ho couldn't help but frown slightly.
By now, these kids must’ve realized Kang Jin-Ho was no ordinary human being. Various events had happened along the way for them not to notice, after all.
Even so, Kang Jin-Ho wanted to hide the truth from them for as long as possible.
These kids must not get involved with the martial world. It was far too dangerous for regular people to get entangled in the martial artists and their unsavory businesses.
Of course, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't planning to raise these kids as flowers in a greenhouse. However, he at least wanted to give them a normal-enough life.
“...Mm. It’s not as grandiose as you might think,” said Kang Jin-Ho.
“Hyung, you have this habit of downplaying everything you do. Even though you’re amazing to us.”
“Oh, uh... That wasn’t my intention, though.”
“Anyway, thank you, hyung.”
“No need to thank me,” Kang Jin-Ho sighed loudly. “Actually, I should apologize to you all. We were supposed to have a fun day out, but I got you involved in something terrible instead.”
“But it wasn’t your fault.”
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