Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 19

“So, what do you think of these!” Kang Yu-hwan exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the bicycles leaning against the wall.

Kang Eun-young pouted, her voice laced with disappointment. “What are these? They’re just bicycles!”

“Yeah, they’re bicycles.”

“I thought you bought something amazing, calling us out here so early in the morning.”

Two new bicycles stood where Kang Yu-hwan was pointing. They weren’t high-end models like road racers or mountain bikes, but rather the affordable, common Korean-style steel bikes.

Still, they were new, with a decent shine that gave them a pleasing look.

“The company is closer now, so there’s no need to waste gas unnecessarily. I’ve decided to bike to work for exercise,” Kang Yu-hwan declared.

Jin-ho’s mother, Baek Hyun-jung, frowned. “You’re thinking about gas, but not about the extra laundry these bikes will create? If you wear cycling gear every morning and evening, how much laundry will there be?”

“How much more could there be? It’s not like you’re the one doing the laundry anyway; the washing machine does it.”

“Then you do it yourself!”

“You work so hard. Why would I not know that?” Kang Yu-hwan said, his tone placating.

Kang Eun-young burst into laughter at the sight of Kang Yu-hwan becoming so submissive.

“Anyway, I’ll be biking to work now, so keep that in mind,” he said, trying to regain some authority.

He had found a new job in just three days, and now he was even going to bike to work. They said finding a job was like picking a star from the sky, but Kang Yu-hwan had picked that star very easily.

He was the father who had said he would never go back to his old job.

He had said he didn’t want to work for a company that had betrayed his trust.

“But why two?” Baek Hyun-jung asked, her curiosity piqued.

“One is for me, and one is for Jin-ho.”

“Huh?”

“Come to think of it, the school is awkwardly far—too far to walk but too close to drive. There’s nothing better than a bike for that.”

Baek Hyun-jung’s expression turned serious. “What are you talking about! How dangerous are bicycles! How can you even mention a bike to a kid who was in a traffic accident not long ago? How can you be so thoughtless!”

Kang Yu-hwan looked at Baek Hyun-jung with a hurt expression. “You weren’t worried when I said I would ride it.”

“Are you the same as him?”

“What’s so different?” Kang Yu-hwan grumbled.

Leaving the sulking Kang Yu-hwan behind, Kang Jin-ho looked at the bicycle.

‘A bicycle…’ he thought.

Come to think of it, this was also a tool of civilization.

To others, it might seem insignificant, but in the past, in the Central Plains [a historical region in China], the only ways to move were by walking, riding a horse, or taking a carriage. Being able to move more easily with human power was a great thing.

Modern people didn’t know that.

No, it would be more accurate to say that they were so used to the tools of civilization that they didn’t think much of it.

“Hmm…” Kang Jin-ho muttered.

Kang Jin-ho got on the bike with his bag on. Then, he slowly turned the pedals of the bicycle.

Wobble.

“…”

Wobble.

“…”

Thud.

“…”

Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed as he barely managed to put his foot on the ground and avoid falling.

Kang Eun-young, oblivious, said something she shouldn’t have. “Oppa, can’t you ride a bike?”

“…”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked at Kang Eun-young.

Choi Young-soo’s assessment of Kang Jin-ho’s gaze, which was enough to make anyone flinch, was very simple. “Is he, like, an idiot?”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head back weakly.

Not being able to ride a bike at this age was not something to be ashamed of. How many people in the world can’t ride a bike? Why should he be ashamed of that?

But something…

This strange fighting spirit that was welling up inside his chest!

“Jin-ho can’t ride a bike,” Kang Eun-young stated matter-of-factly.

“…”

“You can learn. Riding a bike isn’t difficult. It’s simple if you think about keeping your body straight,” Kang Yu-hwan encouraged.

“Yes,” Kang Jin-ho replied, his determination renewed.

Kang Jin-ho gained strength from Kang Yu-hwan’s encouragement and turned the pedals while keeping his body straight. Maybe it was because he straightened his body, but the bike went straight forward.

“That’s it! Keep the handlebars straight!” Kang Yu-hwan cheered.

He pedaled a few times, and he was going well without wobbling.

Kang Yu-hwan shouted excitedly. “Yes, do that and then turn at the corner!”

Bang!

“…”

Kang Yu-hwan looked at the dust rising in the distance at the corner and said quietly, “Should I have said that sooner?” Baek Hyun-jung also nodded.

“Maybe.”

Kang Eun-young shrugged and sighed. “Idiots can’t be helped.”

After several trials and errors, Kang Jin-ho, who had made the new bicycle look like it had been through a war, went forward, cutting through the wind.

At first, it was very awkward, but eventually, Kang Jin-ho adapted to the bicycle.

In the process, there were troubles that would have hospitalized a normal person, but his extreme athletic ability and reflexes protected Kang Jin-ho’s body even in those terrifying accidents.

His hair fluttered in the wind, and the surrounding scenery rushed past.

‘Not bad,’ he thought.

Compared to using his lightness skill [a martial arts technique for moving quickly and lightly], it was like crawling, but there was a charm to it.

It had a certain charm, like taking a stroll.

Kang Jin-ho hummed as he headed to school.

Up to this point, there was nothing particularly wrong.

He had a new bicycle, and what problem could there be in riding it to school?

The very minor problem that arose in the meantime was that Kang Jin-ho had recently created his dantian [an energy center in the body, often associated with martial arts], and thanks to that, Kang Jin-ho’s body was already far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Screeeeeech!

The bicycle sped at a speed that was unimaginable for a bicycle.

The bicycle, which had entered the road, began to run alongside the cars.

Kang Jin-ho was pedaling without much thought, but the bicycle, unable to withstand Kang Jin-ho’s power, was groaning in pain, making creaking noises all over.

However, Kang Jin-ho did not feel any of that and comfortably pedaled.

Screeeeeech!

“Oppa.”

“Huh?”

“Hurry up.”

“What are you talking about? I’m going fine.”

“The bicycle next to us is keeping pace with you?”

“What?”

The man driving the car was horrified and looked at the dashboard.

“It’s 70 km/h now!”

“Is that fast?”

“Armstrong [a famous cyclist] can’t even run at that speed! That bastard couldn’t run at that speed even with drugs! This isn’t a velodrome [an arena for cycling], how can 70 km/h be possible on the road?”

“It’s going over there. Huh? The bicycle is going ahead.”

“What?”

The man’s mouth slowly opened as he turned his head and saw the bicycle overtaking the car.

“What, what is that!”

Is it a dream?

No, is his common sense about bicycles wrong?

“Bicycles aren’t supposed to go that fast?”

“Haha… Hahaha.” The man laughed as if he was dumbfounded, then found the most rational answer he could choose.

“Yeah, a pro athlete must be testing a new product.”

“Really? You said Armstrong couldn’t go that fast?”

“That’s a normal bicycle, but an electric bicycle might be able to do it. The electric motor could give it speed.”

“Really?”

The woman who heard the man’s words seemed to understand, then suddenly tilted her head. “But the person riding that bicycle. It looked like he was wearing a school uniform?”

“You must have seen wrong.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-ho, oblivious to the people looking at him from all over the road, hummed as he headed to school.

He arrived at school in less than 5 minutes.

“Did I get here too early?” he wondered.

He felt like he wanted to ride a little more. But he thought it was ridiculous to do another lap since he had arrived at school, so Kang Jin-ho parked his bicycle.

Kang Jin-ho, who had parked his bicycle in the bicycle rack, went up to the classroom.

It felt a little strange, as if it was his first time at school in a week.

“Strange?” Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly.

It was natural. It hadn’t been many days since he had started going to school.

He had been suspended for a week, and before that, he had only been to school for three days.

The fact that he was thinking this way meant that he had become accustomed to modern life.

As he entered the classroom, the kids who saw him shouted in surprise. “Kang Jin-ho!”

The loudmouth Jung In-gyu ran towards him. “Are you coming to school from today?”

“Yeah.”

“Man, I was so bored while you were gone.”

Then, Lee Tae-ho quietly approached and tapped Kang Jin-ho on the shoulder. “Did you practice Galaxy [likely a reference to a video game] a bit? You noob?”

“You can win now just by moving your mouse,” Kang Jin-ho replied, his tone nonchalant.

“Hey, when Kang Jin-ho says that, it doesn’t sound like a joke?” one of the students said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

They approached Kang Jin-ho one by one and said various things.

Were they happy to see Kang Jin-ho after a week?

No, it was more likely that they were trying to relieve their guilt for not standing up for Kang Jin-ho, even though they knew he had been unfairly suspended.

But Kang Jin-ho had no intention of blaming them.

Blame and betrayal arise from those you expect something from. Since Kang Jin-ho had no expectations in the first place, there was no reason for him to be disappointed in them.

If he had had even a little expectation of them, he might have felt betrayed, but from the beginning, they were not significant to Kang Jin-ho.

Choi Young-soo had not yet come to school, and his lackeys had gone outside after seeing Kang Jin-ho, so the atmosphere in the classroom was very friendly.

Except for one person.

Screech.

The sound of a chair slightly sliding was heard, and one person stood up and walked out.

Limp.

A child with an unusual gait.

Park Yu-min.

Park Yu-min had been looking down when Kang Jin-ho came in, and then he went outside.

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Park Yu-min and then turned his head.

It was not his concern.

“Jin-ho, you’re here?” The door opened, and teacher Kim Sung-joo came in and looked for Kang Jin-ho first.

“Yes.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re back.”

“It’s not class time yet.”

“I know, you punk! I just came to check if you were here,” the teacher said, a smile playing on his lips.

Laughter erupted.

Kang Jin-ho sat down in his seat.

‘Peaceful,’ he thought.

There was a minor problem, but it had been resolved so cleanly that there was nothing to bother him.

Kang Jin-ho, who was enjoying the peace after a long time, looked at the textbook in front of him with a serious expression.

Come to think of it…

He was supposed to have studied.

It was not the time to talk about peace. In this school, Kang Jin-ho was the only one who was attending high school with knowledge that was no different from that of an elementary school student.

‘I have to study,’ he thought.

Now that he had decided to use his inner energy, he was confident that he could make a living even if he didn’t study.

No, it would be difficult for him not to make a living no matter what he did. Kang Jin-ho’s body had now far surpassed that of ordinary people in modern times.

But he had to study.

First of all, it would be difficult to see his parents having a fit when his report card was sent home. And he had also realized something after living for a long time.

He didn’t need to be better than others, but he needed to be as good as others.

It was essential for a person to live in harmony with others. Kang Jin-ho knew well that if he relied only on his physical strength and neglected his studies, he would end up associating only with people who were similar to him.

The classes were difficult to understand even if he listened. Kang Jin-ho spent the entire class time scanning the textbook, trying to catch up on the missed material.

And until lunchtime that day, Park Yu-min did not make eye contact with Kang Jin-ho even once.