Staying Together Is an Option
[The Happy Chang-Hui House]
A YouTube channel starring nine-year-old Chang-su and seven-year-old Hui-su.
It was a comprehensive kids' channel featuring everything from mukbangs and toy reviews to gaming.
Stocks, kids' content, and mukbangs—these were known as the big three genres of YouTube.
Perhaps because it straddled both kids' content and mukbangs, the channel was a behemoth in the YouTube world, boasting 3.2 million subscribers and racking up nearly 2 million views per video.
But the memory that flashed in Dojin's mind when he heard the YouTubers' names had nothing to do with terms like "YouTube behemoth" or "president of elementary schoolers."
"Child abuse... you say?"
At Dojin's words, the Bandit King asked back, as if unable to believe his ears.
In fact, not just him, but even Do-hee and Seung-wan were so shocked by Dojin's words that they couldn't say a thing.
Yet, despite his companions' reactions, Dojin remained unfazed.
"The name of that junior who is the CEO is Kwon Chang-hwan, right?"
"Yes, that's correct, but..."
Dojin nodded at the Bandit King's answer.
Even the last shred of doubt had just vanished.
The name of the trash he remembered was indeed Kwon Chang-hwan.
'Hardly anyone knows it now, but in two years, that name will become synonymous with a heinous criminal.'
His crimes were so horrific that they would be covered not only in various news reports and articles but also in documentaries and special broadcasts.
Because he...
"The siblings, Chang-su and Hui-su, who appear on that channel, are orphans."
"What?"
"Ah?"
Dojin's words forcefully dragged the shocked group back to reality.
He had neutralized their shock with an even greater shock.
Looking at his stunned companions, Dojin continued to share what he knew.
"Bandit King, you said your hometown is Chungju, right?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes."
"Look into the orphanages in Chungju or the surrounding areas. There should be a place that has the children's personal records."
"Ah, you mean the care homes?"
"Ah, right. The care homes."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Dojin quickly corrected himself.
Although he knew in his head that "care home" was the correct term, he kept making mistakes because he had been calling it the other way out of habit for so long.
'Since Director Wang keeps calling it an orphanage, I can't seem to break the habit. This won't do. I'll have to correct her when I get the chance.'
With Director Wang's personality, she would correct herself quickly after just a few pointers.
It was just that no one around her had pointed it out to her until now.
'Before my regression, it was too awkward to bring up, but it should be fine now.'
As Dojin planned to call the director sometime soon, the Bandit King, who had been chewing over his words, spoke up.
"So, Mr. The Baek, you think that bastard Chang-hwan brought the kids from a care home."
Dojin nodded at the Bandit King's words.
In truth, he was absolutely certain, but if he said so here, he would have to explain further.
'On what grounds are you so sure?'
'If you were so sure, why didn't you report it?'
Since Dojin couldn't give a clear answer to any of these questions, it was best to keep things vague like this.
Even so, the Bandit King had been looking at Dojin with suspicious eyes for a while now.
"...Honestly, I don't know. How you know such things, Mr. The Baek, and why you're telling me this. But..."
The Bandit King stood up and walked toward the door.
Right before opening the door, he turned back.
"I'll look into it first. Fortunately, I have quite a few friends in Chungju, so it won't be too difficult. Let's talk again after that."
With those final words, the Bandit King left the office and walked out of Sekki House.
Along with managing staff and recruiting new personnel, he now had another urgent matter to investigate.
And exactly one week later, he returned to Sekki House.
"...What you said was true, Mr. The Baek. I knew that bastard Chang-hwan was trash, but I didn't know he had completely given up on being human."
Those were the first words out of the Bandit King's mouth as soon as he sat down, visiting Sekki House after a week.
However, Dojin and his companions weren't particularly surprised by his words.
And for good reason: the news about the Bandit King's investigation was currently broadcasting on the TV.
"Still, it looks like it's being resolved well. The truth came to light much faster than expected," Dojin said, looking at the TV.
The Bandit King, who was watching the same screen, nodded and replied.
"Fortunately, I have a few connections over there. Running around here and there paid off."
Slurp.
The Bandit King took a sip of his coffee as he spoke.
Perhaps because the weather was cold and the coffee was served piping hot, he couldn't gulp it down all at once like before.
"I won't ask how you knew. As it turns out, most people in the loop over there already knew about it. That idiot Chang-hwan bragged about it all over the place, not just to Shin-ho."
"..."
"Some police officers at the Chungju station will probably be forced to retire over this. Reports had already been filed several times, but they either brushed them off or intentionally ignored them."
"..."
"This is all thanks to your help, Mr. The Baek."
Despite the Bandit King's words, Dojin had been silently sipping his coffee.
That gratitude wasn't meant for him.
"I didn't do anything. I merely asked someone else for help," Dojin said, shaking his head slightly, embarrassed by the repeated expressions of gratitude.
In truth, all he had done was explain the situation to Director Wang.
So the person who deserved the thanks was Director Wang, not him.
Yet, the Bandit King didn't stop thanking Dojin.
"That single phone call was crucial. If you hadn't asked her for help, she wouldn't have helped me either."
Indeed, when the Bandit King had tried to move on his own, progress had been sluggish.
Finding out information about Chang-hwan was quick, but for some reason, filing the report and launching the investigation had hit a wall.
At that time, after hearing about the situation from the Bandit King, Dojin had told him to wait a moment and hung up.
Shortly after, the Bandit King witnessed a miracle that shook the Chungju Police Station.
"It was truly a miracle. Those people who ignored me no matter how many times I visited suddenly started treating me like a VIP, and an entire team threw themselves into the case. You should have seen it, Dojin."
The Bandit King smiled bitterly, perhaps recalling that moment.
His heart was heavy, having witnessed the ugly reality of his hometown.
Dojin offered words of comfort to the Bandit King.
"Don't worry. I'm sure not everyone working there is corrupt. It was probably just an incident born from them being overwhelmed with work."
"...Thank you."
The Bandit King smiled faintly at Dojin's words.
It wasn't a complete cure, but it brought him some comfort.
Observing him for a moment, Dojin quietly spoke up.
"By the way, there's something I've been wondering about."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Those children... why did you bring them here?"
Having asked, Dojin looked out the window.
On the playground, dyed white by the first snow of December, unfamiliar children were running around.
Well, strictly speaking, they weren't unfamiliar.
They were a very famous sibling duo, and he had just seen them on TV.
"Actually, more than that... why are you the one looking after the Chang-Hui siblings, Bandit King?"
Normally, those siblings should be under the care of a professional facility right now.
Since their adoptive parent and guardian, Chang-hwan, was arrested on charges of child abuse and other offenses, they had no other guardians.
Yet, for some reason, the Bandit King had brought the siblings here as if it were the most natural thing in the world, leaving Dojin bewildered.
The Bandit King laughed awkwardly and said,
"Well... I had nowhere else to take them."
"What? What do you mean... don't you have a house in Ganghwado?"
It was a well-known fact that the Bandit King filmed at his home.
Just like Dojin, his house served as both his living quarters and his studio.
So what did he mean by having nowhere to take the children?
But at the Bandit King's next words, Dojin couldn't help but press his hand to his forehead.
"Well... that bastard Shin-ho sold the house behind my back."
"...Then you shouldn't be sitting here like this. You need to go get your money back right away—"
"I can't get it back."
"What?"
"He already blew it all on gambling. Apparently, he's been doing illegal sports betting for quite a while now."
"..."
"And they say that bastard Chang-hwan was the one who introduced him to it."
"*Sigh*..."
Listening to the Bandit King, Dojin let out a sigh without realizing it.
For some reason, he could see exactly where this was going.
Sure enough, the very words Dojin had anticipated slipped from the Bandit King's mouth.
"So... could you watch those kids for just a little while?"
"...For how long?"
Perhaps because he had prepared himself mentally, the answer came out of Dojin's mouth much more easily than expected.
The Bandit King was actually the one surprised by his reaction.
*Pfft.*
Looking at the flustered man, Dojin chuckled in spite of himself.
'Well, normally, anyone's first thought would be to send them to an institution.'
To be honest, it wasn't that Dojin hadn't thought about it.
If it was the care home managed by Director Wang, he could trust them to look after the kids.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
'The kids are too famous. In their state, rumors will spread instantly no matter where they go.'
It was the same anywhere children gathered, but rumors spread particularly fast in care homes.
Since they were all children with wounds, they reacted sensitively to even the smallest piece of information.
'If the Chang-Hui siblings come, the other kids will find it fascinating and welcome them at first... but in the end, they'll just be grouped together with the children whose adoptions were dissolved.'
Even among children in care homes, subtle discrimination existed.
And for children whose adoptions had been dissolved, that discrimination was the most severe.
Envy toward those who had been chosen first, combined with relief that they had returned anyway and a bit of disdain, created a wall between the children.
'If it's the care home managed by Director Wang, the teachers would do their best to prevent it...'
But there was no way to control individual emotions.
On top of that, there was one more decisive reason why the Chang-Hui siblings couldn't be sent to a care home.
'Those siblings have too much.'
Of course, they probably had nothing in their hands right now.
Since the channel belonged to Chang-hwan, all the revenue generated from it would have gone to him.
However, that didn't mean the siblings had absolutely nothing.
'They have recognition. And it's recognition remembered by a whopping 3.2 million subscribers.'
With this level of fame, even if they started a new channel, they could easily get a Gold Play Button within a year.
If they were sent to a care home under these circumstances, it was obvious that greedy hands would reach out to them from all directions.
'Once the trial is over and they even receive the revenue that trash Kwon Chang-hwan kept, even more flies will swarm around them.'
He didn't know exactly how that would be possible.
He only believed it because Yeong-jin, who had volunteered to handle the matter on behalf of Hye-seok, had said so.
However, Dojin was the only one who knew this fact.
"Um... if you could just watch them for two months, no, just one month, I will definitely come back to get them," the Bandit King pleaded.
Dojin stared at him silently.
'If his house was sold, it means this man has nowhere to stay right now either...'
He should be worrying about himself, yet the Bandit King had been worrying only about the siblings this whole time.
It wasn't even his duty to look after them.
"He's a rare breed these days. A classic, old-school man."
Dojin finally understood what Yeong-jin had meant when he said those words about the Bandit King during their phone call.
At the same time, he thought he understood why Yeong-jin had paid more attention to this matter than usual.
Even Dojin would have helped if he saw someone like the Bandit King running himself ragged for the sake of the children.
"It's snowing quite a bit for the first snow of the season," Dojin said, looking back at the playground.
Out on the playground, Sun-jam, Do-hee, Seung-wan, and even the security team were making snowmen and snow ducks.
'They were walking on eggshells at first, but it looks like they've gotten used to it now.'
He could see Chang-su and Hui-su standing with Sun-jam, watching Do-hee make snow ducks.
Every time a snow duck was completed, they clapped and gasped in wonder, looking exactly like children their age should.
After watching the playground for a while, Dojin turned his head to look at the Bandit King.
He, too, was smiling as he watched the siblings play.
"Bandit King, I don't think I can wait for you."
"Ah... I see..."
At Dojin's words, the Bandit King's face darkened instantly.
But that was all; he didn't plead again.
He seemed to think his request was too much of a burden for Dojin.
However, Dojin's next words left him utterly stunned.
"Instead, staying together is an option."
"...Pardon?"
"Where else are you planning to go, leaving those kids behind? They've already been hurt so many times. If you disappear too, do you know how anxious they'll be?"
"..."
"I'm telling you to stay here until you're financially able to find a new studio. Fortunately, we have plenty of empty space here."
Dojin spread his arms and shrugged.
Even in the main building where they were standing, there were far more empty rooms than occupied ones.
After hesitating for a moment at Dojin's playfulness, the Bandit King smiled and said,
"Heh, thank you. I will make sure to repay this debt."
"I don't know about debts, but there is something I need you to do instead."
"Just say the word. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely do it."
At the Bandit King's words, Dojin pointed out the window.
"I think we need to start a new channel for the Chang-Hui siblings, and I want you to manage it, Bandit King. Since you're their guardian anyway, and you need to hire a new editor and manager, you might as well recruit staff for the kids' channel at the same time."
"...What?"
The Bandit King's expression shifted subtly at Dojin's words.
Faced with such unexpected instructions, he was caught between embarrassment and sheer absurdity.
But Dojin wasn't finished.
"I recommend registering as the siblings' legal guardian as soon as possible. It will probably go through soon, but since the dissolution of adoption isn't finalized yet, their legal representative is still technically that Kwon Chang-hwan guy."
"Uh... uh..."
"Well, doing occasional collab videos with the siblings would be nice too. Not provocative like the previous channel, but maybe a mukbang where their uncle slices meat for them? Something like that sounds good."
"No... wait..."
"Come to think of it, if it's that kind of content, our Sun-jam could easily participate without any pressure. Think about it."
"..."
"But 'Bandit King' is a bit... isn't the name too scary for collabs with kids? Since you're hiring a new manager anyway, you should think of a new YouTuber name. If changing it is too hard, you could just make it an alter ego."
"...Well... yes... I'll think about it."
Finally, a proper answer came out of the Bandit King's mouth.
He was flustered at first, but as Dojin kept talking, he realized it was actually a pretty good idea.
In December 2020,
with not much time left before the year drew to a close,
one young man and two children newly joined them.