Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1493

The wind brushes against his face.

Even though he wasn’t going very fast to keep pace with Park Yu-min, Kang Jin-ho felt incredibly refreshed.

‘It’s been a while.’

He realized he had forgotten this feeling for too long.

Come to think of it, after Goldie broke down… Goldie…

“Huh?”

Why did Goldie break down again?

Ah, it was the tunnel back then…

“Lee Hyun-soo broke it.”

Suddenly, a surge of anger welled up inside him.

When he thought about it, how amazing was Lee Hyun-soo?

He had the audacity to act like he was doing Kang Jin-ho a favor by buying a new bike with Kang Jin-ho’s card after breaking the old one. Even for someone with no conscience, that was too much!

But, sadly, his anger didn’t last long.

The feeling of the pedals sticking to his feet was subtly lifting Kang Jin-ho’s mood.

“It feels like it’s been ages since I rode a bike.”

“Yeah, it has.”

“I used to ride behind you back in the day.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and nodded.

Park Yu-min was also riding her bike with a fairly stable posture. It must not be easy to pedal with one leg shorter than the other, but seeing how skillfully she rode, she must have practiced quite hard when no one was watching.

Seeing that made him feel good for some reason.

“Ah, the wind is blowing.”

A slightly chilly breeze brushed past Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min.

Usually, headwind while riding a bike is tiring, but Kang Jin-ho liked this wind. He slightly turned his bike to block the wind for Park Yu-min and powerfully pedaled forward.

‘Refreshing.’

He felt like something was being released.

It wasn’t as fast as driving a car, but he felt more than that.

Kang Jin-ho glanced back. Park Yu-min was following closely behind him. It wouldn’t be bad to enjoy this as it is…

“Jin-ho!”

“Huh?”

“Hurry up and go!”

“……Huh?”

Park Yu-min smiled and waved her hand.

“I didn’t come here to ride with you. You go your way, and I’ll go mine.”

“What are you talking about? We should ride together.”

“No, thanks. It’ll make you uncomfortable, and it’ll be hard for me. I’ll just take my time and enjoy the ride, so you should go and try out your new bike.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘That’s just like Park Yu-min.’

She was always someone who thought of others before herself. Sometimes, to the point of being foolish.

“Go quickly. I’m uncomfortable.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Okay.”

He knew that her saying she was uncomfortable was probably just an excuse. Park Yu-min was really that kind of person.

Kang Jin-ho glanced back and said,

“Shall we meet at the orphanage?”

“No, I have to go to the practice room today. Go home quickly. You brought your clothes, too.”

“Okay. Then, let’s grab a drink next time.”

“Alcohol? Or soda?”

“…If possible, I’d prefer the latter.”

Park Yu-min giggled. Kang Jin-ho waved at her and then stepped hard on the pedals.

Whoosh!

The bicycle shot forward at an incredible speed.

“Whoa…”

Park Yu-min’s jaw dropped at the sight.

Kang Jin-ho was someone who didn’t surprise her anymore, but she never thought there would be a bicycle that could withstand his power.

Park Yu-min grinned.

“He’s having fun, alright.”

Park Yu-min hoped that her friend would just be happy in this moment.

Passing by.

The surrounding scenery flashed past Kang Jin-ho’s vision in an instant. The wind hit Kang Jin-ho’s body, and his clothes fluttered as if they were about to tear.

‘Not bad.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled without realizing it.

‘A hobby…’

Indeed, people need rest. He had been running forward for too long recently.

Even when he went to the US to rest, he ended up fighting, and it felt like he had returned buried in work. And even after returning to Korea, he hadn’t been able to rest at all.

In the midst of all that, he was riding a bike, forgetting about everything related to work, and it felt like something was filling the empty space.

What should he say…

In reality, it was more about getting away from his usual thoughts than the fact that he was riding a bike.

Anyway.

‘I’m starting to feel it.’

He hadn’t realized it himself, but it seemed like Kang Jin-ho had been feeling the pressure. The reason why all of this suddenly came to him today was probably because everything he could do for the successful launch of the cafe was finally over.

There was still the task of stabilizing the factory, but if the new recruits finished their training and were put in place starting this evening, it would be roughly stabilized, even if it wasn’t perfect.

One of the long-awaited projects of the General Assembly was finally over.

So, what’s next?

‘Let’s not think about it.’

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes slightly and then opened them.

He knew that there was still a long way to go. It didn’t feel as daunting as it used to, but there was still a lot to do. His world wasn’t safe yet.

But, shouldn’t he be able to rest a little now?

He had been running non-stop for too long.

Many people had emphasized and even forced Kang Jin-ho to rest, but this was the first time Kang Jin-ho himself had truly felt the need for it.

Then…

‘I should rest properly!’

Kang Jin-ho stepped hard on the pedals. Even without using his full power, the bike was able to withstand the force of Kang Jin-ho’s strength.

Thanks to that, it shot forward as he stepped on the pedals.

“Good!”

Kang Jin-ho grinned, showing his teeth.

It felt like he was finally running properly after a long time.

The solid rubber tires gripped the ground, and the hollow frame absorbed the impact with a heavy thud.

The surrounding scenery flashed past Kang Jin-ho violently, and the wind pressure literally slammed into his body.

“Should I really go around Seoul once?”

No!

Kang Jin-ho grinned and turned the handlebars.

Sung Joo-chan looked at the hall filled with customers with a strange expression.

“Good grief.”

If the place was full of customers, it should be a good thing, but Sung Joo-chan couldn’t shake off the strange feeling.

‘I worked so hard all this time, and there were no customers.’

Of course, it wasn’t like there were absolutely no customers.

But he had only made enough money to barely break even. After deducting the costs of the store from the sales, there wasn’t even enough left for minimum wage.

When he thought about the taxes he had to pay, he even thought it might be better to close the store and work part-time.

But just by changing the interior and the name of the store, customers were coming in non-stop.

Of course, that wasn’t all.

The coffee taste had changed, and the menu had changed. And the space was used more efficiently, and the system and customer service had changed.

And more than anything…

‘Marketing is really amazing.’

After Kang Jin-ho and Choi Yeon-ha visited once, the sales doubled. And when the commercial aired, it doubled again.

If Sung Joo-chan hadn’t already had experience running a cafe, he would have thought that cafes were a place where you could easily make money. And maybe even now, other store owners might be thinking that.

‘I feel kind of wronged.’

Those guys should see their stores with flies buzzing around!

Those dirty bastards used to frequent his store, but as soon as they opened their own, they stopped coming as if it were a lie.

It was understandable that the guys who lived in the countryside stopped coming, but wasn’t it too much that even the guys from the next neighborhood stopped coming?

Of course, he could understand that they were busy with their own stores and lives, but that’s not how people’s hearts worked.

“Heartless bastards.”

Sung Joo-chan shook his head.

“Excuse me.”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

Sung Joo-chan shook off his thoughts and quickly headed to the counter.

“Would you like to order?”

“Two iced Americanos, please.”

“Yes, thank you. Would you like to use your points?”

Sung Joo-chan skillfully took the order, calculated the price, and handed over the buzzer. As soon as he took the order, the part-timers started making the coffee.

‘I might actually become rich.’

Of course, it would take a considerable amount of time to recover the money he had paid for the franchise fee. If he made a lot of money, the cost of ingredients would also increase, and there were also the labor costs for the additional part-timers he had hired, so it wouldn’t be as much money as it seemed…

‘Still, I think I’m making more than four times as much as before…’

Maybe even more.

Sung Joo-chan was once again grateful to Kang Jin-ho.

“He’s really an amazing person…”

He had pushed forward like a bulldozer to provide a way for those who had left the General Assembly to make a living, and he had finally succeeded.

Of course, not all of those who had left the General Assembly had jumped into this industry, but now that the cafe was successful, they could try second and third franchises.

Then, in the future, those who had come from the General Assembly would be able to earn money stably and integrate into society.

This dream-like situation had really come true. He was deeply moved.

Sung Joo-chan knew.

He knew how much pain those who had left the General Assembly were going through to adapt to society. Even he himself had wanted to quit the job he had been doing several times a day.

In that difficult situation, this Cafe Luo Go would definitely become a way for the people of the General Assembly to live in normal society.

Sung Joo-chan couldn’t help but smile, and then the front door opened, and someone came in.

“Welcome… Chairman?”

Sung Joo-chan’s eyes widened.

The person who had come in was none other than Kang Jin-ho.

“One iced Americano.”

Seeing Kang Jin-ho order as soon as he came in, Sung Joo-chan nodded hastily.

“Y-yes, I’ll prepare it right away!”

As Sung Joo-chan was about to run to the roasting machine, Kang Jin-ho frowned.

“Pay.”

“H-how can I take money from you…”

“Pay.”

Kang Jin-ho handed over his card, and Sung Joo-chan swallowed hard and swiped the card.

‘Ah, I’m so nervous, I’m going crazy.’

It was crazy enough to receive money from the chairman and sell him coffee, but the problem was that this person wasn’t just the chairman of MK. He was the head of the General Assembly who had held his life in his hands until recently.

‘No, why did he suddenly come?’

It hadn’t been long since he had come!

Sung Joo-chan made the coffee with a pale face. Then, he quickly grabbed the coffee and handed it to Kang Jin-ho.

“H-here you go.”

Kang Jin-ho took the coffee that Sung Joo-chan handed him and immediately stuck a straw in it and took a sip.

Sung Joo-chan watched the scene with a very nervous face.

“■h O O uh”

—– W •

Kang Jin-ho placed the iced Americano he had taken a sip of on the counter with a thud.

Then, he frowned.

“When did you grind the beans?”

“Huh? Ah… a while ago…”

“I told you that even though the coffee has to be extracted automatically, the beans should be ground immediately with a grinder, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“When did you grind them?”

“Actually, I didn’t grind them in advance, but I used the old automatic grinder…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled gently.

“Is that so?”

“…I-I will correct it.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Kang Jin-ho leisurely typed something on his phone.

“You’re getting re-educated.”

“Lee Hyun-soo is in charge of re-education.”

“Hic!”

“Good work.”

Kang Jin-ho turned around. But then, he realized something and turned his head slightly again.

“Ah, and…”

“……Yes?”

“Don’t tell the other stores. I’m planning to visit all the stores in Seoul today. You wouldn’t want to see the others get away with it, would you?”

A fierce look appeared in Sung Joo-chan’s eyes.

“…If we’re going to die, we’ll die together.”

“Good attitude.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled at Sung Joo-chan and then left the store.

Sung Joo-chan sighed and shook his head.

‘I really can’t beat him.’

Sung Joo-chan hoped that as many guys as possible would get caught for re-education. That way, he would feel less wronged.