Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1492

“What? Are you talking about the Goldie Mk. 2?”

[……Was that such a grand name?]

“Hehehe, it’s ready. It was already shipped to Korea and is stored in the General Assembly’s warehouse. There have been so many things happening that I haven’t been able to give it to you!”

Lee Hyun-soo spoke confidently, but a drop of sweat was rolling down his forehead.

‘I forgot!’

After assembling the delivered product, he had roughly shoved it into the warehouse and completely forgotten about it. By now, it was probably covered in a thick layer of dust.

‘And what is it!’

It was a product that the best Italian artisan had made stitch by stitch… no! Each and every part was handmade!

And everything was customized for Kang Jin-ho.

Ignoring weight! Ignoring elasticity! He ordered a product that could withstand a direct hit from a tank cannon, even if it weighed a ton. The manufacturer was reluctant to accept such an absurd order.

‘But the money was too good to refuse.’

When he offered a price far exceeding that of a regular bicycle, they replied that they would make it no matter what. And that’s how the Goldie Mk. 2 was completed.

While other bicycles focus on reducing weight and energy consumption, and on smooth steering, the Goldie Mk. 2 was a product where all the money was poured into making it withstand Kang Jin-ho’s power.

The most vulnerable part, the pedals, were fixed with a special metal, and the frame boasted the perfect resilience of a traitor, bending but never breaking.

“Yes?! Where are you? Yes, I’ll bring it right away! Yes? Did I come to work? Hehehe, what a silly question. But why aren’t you coming in today?”

Even while on the phone, Lee Hyun-soo was rushing towards the warehouse.

“Yes. Then I’ll bring it to you within an hour. Please wait a little longer, Chairman!”

Lee Hyun-soo hung up the phone and threw open the warehouse door.

“Hehehehehe!”

The chairman’s private warehouse.

In the middle of the empty warehouse, a bicycle emitting a dazzling light caught Lee Hyun-soo’s eye.

“Finally, the day has come for this guy to see the light!”

But first, I need to wipe it down.

Oh my, look at all this dust.

“When is he coming?”

“I don’t know?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Park Yu-min, who was fully equipped with protective gear, with a disgruntled expression.

“You, did you used to ride a bike?”

“I used to ride behind you a lot.”

“That’s right.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded slowly.

In the past, when they were in school, he always had Park Yu-min riding on his back seat.

“But after graduating, I didn’t have many chances to ride a bike, so I felt a bit sad. So, I bought one. With the prize money.”

“Ah!”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

It was kind of funny.

It was natural for Park Yu-min to ride on his back seat in the past, but now she rides her own bike. It made him feel proud.

“I haven’t been able to ride it much, though.”

“You can ride it today.”

“That’s the plan.”

Not long after, a truck came rushing towards them. The reckless driving style made it clear who was behind the wheel.

“Even though he doesn’t seem like it, Chief Lee has a surprisingly wild side.”

Screeeeeech!

Lee Hyun-soo quickly got out of the truck, which had stopped with a cloud of dust.

“Chairman, I brought it! Oh, Yu-min is here too!”

“Hello, Chief.”

“Haha, it’s been a while since we met in the US. I was sad that we didn’t get to talk properly back then. Congratulations on your victory. I was so moved.”

“Thank you.”

Park Yu-min smiled and shook hands with Lee Hyun-soo.

“The bike?”

“I’ll bring it down now.”

Lee Hyun-soo ran to the back of the truck and opened the door. Then, he jumped inside and brought the bicycle down to the ground.

The bicycle had a striking yellow frame, almost lime-colored.

“Hehehe! Chairman, this is the Goldie Mk. 2!”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

Why did I name a bicycle Goldie?

If I had known this day would come, I would never have done it. Why did I do that, past me?

“Everything was custom-made for you, Chairman. I asked the manufacturer to make a bicycle that even King Kong could ride. Because of that, the unit price was a bit too high.”

“……How much?”

“Do you remember how much the old bicycle was?”

“Probably…

Was it about 30 million won? [Approximately $22,000 USD]”

“I heard that the bicycle alone cost 30 million, and the special pedal manufacturing cost an additional 10 million. Jo Gyu-min told me.”

I was crazy.

Kang Jin-ho was reminded of how reckless he was as a high schooler. A high school student riding a 40 million won bicycle to school? A high schooler getting out of his dad’s sports car would look modest in comparison.

“But!”

Lee Hyun-soo gritted his teeth.

“There’s no way the bicycle I ordered could be the same level as the one Jo Gyu-min ordered! It’s on a different level, of course.”

No, don’t be competitive about useless things.

You’re not making it, you’re just ordering it, so why are you reacting like that!

“This bicycle is! Different from Goldie! Different from Goldie!”

“It refuses to be compared to a mass-produced product, no matter how expensive. It’s a product that’s perfectly customized to the Chairman’s body size.”

“Before that……”

“Yes?”

“How do you know my body size?”

Lee Hyun-soo coughed quietly.

“Let’s skip the minor details.”

Seeing Lee Hyun-soo’s reaction, Park Yu-min whispered quietly.

“Jin-ho, are you okay?”

“……I don’t know either.”

I really don’t know. Every day, it becomes harder to understand Lee Hyun-soo.

In the end, Kang Jin-ho had to gloss over the minor details and ask the most important question.

“So, how much is it?”

“It’s not that expensive.”

“How much is it?”

“It’s something the Chairman can definitely afford.”

“Do you want to get hit?”

“……It’s probably about the price of the Chairman’s car?”

“What price?”

“The car price.”

Car?

So, that sports car?

Was he talking about the sports car that Kang Jin-ho had worried about being too extravagant when he bought it?

The price of this bicycle is as much as that car?

Even the mighty Kang Jin-ho was speechless at this moment.

“No, what kind of bicycle is……”

“Hehe, this isn’t just a bicycle. It’s a one-of-a-kind product made by skilled artisans. Honestly, you could say it’s almost in the realm of art!”

“And you left that work of art in the warehouse?”

“I’ve been too busy.”

A vein popped out on Kang Jin-ho’s forehead.

“I told you not to use the General Assembly’s money carelessly, didn’t I?”

“Yes. So, I charged it to your card, Chairman.”

Does he not think that’s worse?

No, before that… why do you have my card?

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

There was no end to the things he could complain about. He would need an hour of leeway. But even if he scolded Lee Hyun-soo now, nothing would change. Since it was a custom-made product, it probably couldn’t be returned, and even if it could, the return period would have already passed.

And he couldn’t sell it either.

‘Who would buy that?’

What crazy person would buy a bicycle for that much money? Especially one that was made specifically for Kang Jin-ho, which was terribly heavy, inefficient, and only sturdy.

“No, in the first place, it’s just a sturdy product, so why did you have to order it from Italy?”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head slightly.

“Now that I think about it……”

Kang Jin-ho was feeling the full meaning of the phrase ‘my stomach is churning’.

“……Never mind. Just give me the bike.”

I have to ride this useless thing to get my money’s worth.

It felt like something that started as a hobby had become something else… but what could he do? The ship had already sailed.

“Hehe, once you ride it, you’ll forget all your complaints. This saddle is also a special custom-made product, made of buffalo leather……”

“Before I skin you and leave only the leather, stop talking.”

“……Yes.”

Park Yu-min laughed at the scene.

‘Chief Lee didn’t seem like that kind of character before.’

He used to be very sharp, but now he’s so round and playful. What’s even more interesting is that Kang Jin-ho is showing a very diverse range of reactions to Lee Hyun-soo.

If it were the old Kang Jin-ho, he would have just ignored Lee Hyun-soo no matter how much noise he made, but now he’s responding to everything Lee Hyun-soo says.

It’s fun to watch from the side.

“Anyway, try riding it!”

“Ugh.”

Kang Jin-ho groaned and got on the bicycle. The pedals didn’t seem to be clipless. When Kang Jin-ho glanced at the pedals, Lee Hyun-soo smiled meaningfully.

“Power transfer doesn’t mean much to the Chairman. And we need to reduce the load on the pedals.”

So, he had made the regular pedals… no, the specially reinforced pedals, into a regular type.

“I hope it’s a good bike after all that fuss.”

“You’ll be satisfied.”

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Lee Hyun-soo with a still very dissatisfied look and then quietly pressed down on the pedal.

And at that moment.

Whoosh!

The bicycle moved forward without the slightest wobble. Even Kang Jin-ho was surprised by the powerful reaction and raised his head.

‘This?’

It was a completely different sensation from when he used to ride Goldie. It felt like the bicycle was stuck to his body.

He got goosebumps from the deep sense of unity he felt for the first time in a long time.

“Hehehe, how is it? I told you!”

If it weren’t for that smug face, he could have enjoyed the sensation a little more.

“Give it to me.”

“What?”

“The car keys.”

“Why the keys?”

“You’re going to ride this home anyway, right? I’ll drive the car home. You left it at the orphanage, right?”

“……Chief Lee, be honest with me.”

“Yes?”

“Did you install a bug on me?”

“How could you say such a hurtful thing? A true aide must know without seeing and understand without hearing.”

That’s not an aide, that’s a ghost. Or a fortune teller.

But Kang Jin-ho handed the car keys to Lee Hyun-soo without a word. As Lee Hyun-soo said, he would definitely be riding this bicycle home today.

It felt like he was being played by Lee Hyun-soo, but the shocking sensation he felt from the bicycle quelled all his complaints.

“Well then, have a fun ride!”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head and looked at Park Yu-min.

“Let’s go, Yu-min.”

“Okay!”

As Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min smoothly rode onto the road, Lee Hyun-soo smiled faintly.

‘People need to rest sometimes.’

Kang Jin-ho had looked too tired lately, so it was a relief that he decided to ride a bicycle. It was probably because Park Yu-min had poked him in the ribs.

“I should buy Park Yu-min a meal.”

Though he didn’t know if she would want that.