Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 50

Woong, woong, woong!

With the violent engine sound, the man in the passenger seat turned pale.

“Ugh! There! Can’t you see there! What are you doing right now! Brake, brake!” A yellow car with ‘Driving Test’ written on it narrowly passed in front of a car that suddenly appeared from the side road. The middle-aged man shouted, his face red.

“You should look to see if a car is coming from the side before stepping on the accelerator! You have to drive defensively! How many times do I have to say it! Ah, wait! Stop! Stop! I said stop!” Even then, the yellow car passed between a parked car on the side of the road and a truck waiting at a traffic light by a hair’s breadth and made a right turn.

“Why are you going in there! In there!” The young man holding the steering wheel replied calmly.

“I could pass through sufficiently. As proof, the car wasn’t scratched at all.”

“No! Can a human eye distinguish that? You were just lucky!”

“I can distinguish it.”

“Stop the car! I said stop the car!”

The young man shook his head.

“I haven’t finished the course yet. I have to finish the test.”

“You failed, so stop the car!”

“……Is that so?”

The young man parked the car on the side of the road and opened the door to get out.

The police officer, who was riding along for the road test, got out of the passenger seat with staggering steps, put his hand on the hood, and took a deep breath.

Just by riding in the car, the police officer looked ten years older than before he got in. The young man tilted his head, looking at him.

‘Why is that person so tired?’

All he did was sit comfortably in the passenger seat.

The police officer, who had finally calmed himself down after taking deep breaths for a while, looked up at the young man.

His face seemed to say, ‘What kind of human is this?’

But the young man had no idea why.

“……Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho answered the police officer’s call.

“I clearly told you to drive defensively, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

“Where! Which part!”

“You told me to drive in a way that would safely protect my car in case other cars made sudden moves.”

“That’s right!”

“So, I did just that.” The police officer, trembling, threw his hat on the ground and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Hey, you! Passing through a place where the car’s side mirror almost touched at 50km/h, and passing through even faster when a car is coming from the side, how is that defensive driving!”

“Even at 100km/h, there would be no one inside, and the parked car wouldn’t suddenly pop out, and as long as the driver of the car parked on the left doesn’t turn the steering wheel abruptly, there was no risk of collision. It was enough to pass through.”

“Enough?”

“Yes.”

The police officer grabbed his forehead.

‘Why is heaven giving me the trial of riding in a car driven by such a guy?’

The police officer had met countless Ms. Kims [a common stereotype for bad drivers] and novice drivers while riding along for the road test, but he swore he had never met such a person before.

“As a result, the car is safe.”

‘I’m not safe! I’m not!’ The police officer shook his head.

“Anyway, you failed.”

“Why is that?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

Kang Jin-ho asked seriously.

“I clearly followed all the stated rules, perfectly kept the stop lines, and never exceeded the speed limit even once. And the car wasn’t damaged either. So why did I fail? And without even finishing the driving test.”

“The rules are the minimum! The minimum! You have to meet at least that standard to be qualified to go on the road! Everything else is wrong with you, Kang Jin-ho! If an accident happens, will only you get hurt? Other people will get hurt!”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

‘What on earth is the problem?’

He kept the speed limit, drove so slowly that he yawned, and drove so safely that it was excessive.

There was not even a 1% chance of the car colliding.

Kang Jin-ho was capable of tilting the car and passing through on two wheels if he wanted to.

So, what on earth was wrong?

“Please tell me exactly what I did wrong. That way, I can drive properly next time.”

“If you think it’s dangerous, you should slow down and drive safely.”

“I did that, though?”

The police officer shook his head. He was a person who was impossible to communicate with.

“Anyway, you failed. Learn how to drive more leisurely and come back.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

It was a decision he didn’t like, but the police officer in front of him was the supervisor of this test, so he had to respect and accept his decision. That was the rule Kang Jin-ho had learned in this society.

“Then, I’ll see you at the next test.”

“Are you taking it again?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I didn’t pass.”

“……When are you planning to take it?”

“Why are you asking that?”

‘So I won’t have to come out that day!’ The police officer cried inwardly.

Kang Jin-ho recalled what had happened right after the school break, watching the police officer’s expression change in real-time.

* * *

“Driver’s license?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head at Jung In-gyu’s words.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? Of course, you need a license. Aren’t you going to drive a car?”

“I haven’t really thought that I needed one.”

A car.

Is he talking about that narrow carriage that makes you feel suffocated just by riding in it? No, a carriage would be better.

Rather, the space became even narrower with the development of vehicles.

If Jung In-gyu were to see the 12-horse carriage that Kang Jin-ho used to ride, he would be horrified. It was so luxurious that it was like pulling a house around.

After riding in such a thing, riding in a car was very uncomfortable. In the first place, Kang Jin-ho didn’t prefer to ride anything. It was faster and more comfortable to go on foot, so why would he need a vehicle?

From Kang Jin-ho’s point of view, both a carriage and a car were equally slow.

“Then how will you go far away?”

“By bicycle.”

Jung In-gyu looked at Kang Jin-ho as if he was dumbfounded.

“Are you going to ride a bicycle to Busan?”

“Then I can take the train.”

“What about the outskirts of Seoul?”

“The subway.”

“What about going to a place where you have to walk far after taking the subway?”

“I’ll take my bicycle on the subway.”

“What if it rains?”

“I have a raincoat.”

Jung In-gyu stared at Kang Jin-ho, speechless.

It was a perfect process. There was no room for disagreement.

But what was this unsettling feeling?

“Hey! Are you going to travel all over Korea by bicycle?”

“If necessary.”

At that moment, Park Yu-min opened his mouth.

“Jin-ho.”

“Yeah.”

“Then what about when you have to take your mother or father?”

“I have a bicycle.”

“There’s only one seat on the back, right?”

Kang Jin-ho fell into thought.

Park Yu-min was right. The maximum number of people he could carry on a bicycle was one. More than that was impossible. It wasn’t like he could attach a sidecar to a bicycle.

“You might not need it when you’re going alone, but there will be times when you need it. Wouldn’t it be good to get a license in preparation for those times?” Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“You’re right.”

Jung In-gyu shouted.

“Hey! When I said it, you hated it so much, but why do you understand right away when Park Yu-min says it!”

“Because your explanation is crude, and Park Yu-min’s explanation is convincing.”

“……You bastards.”

Jung In-gyu looked at the two of them with a sad face.

“You two are so in sync, now you’re just mocking me.”

“By the way, you……”

“What!”

“Aren’t you studying?”

Jung In-gyu’s shoulders slumped.

For Jung In-gyu, who had decided to retake the college entrance exam early on, there was no time for this. It might be free time for others, but for him, it was time to study.

“When the new semester comes……”

“Usually, people who spend their time like that fail their retake.”

“No! There’s a set curriculum!”

“It’s right to do some advance learning.”

“You damn bastards.”

Jung In-gyu grumbled and took out a book from his bag.

Park Yu-min comforted Jung In-gyu. Kang Jin-ho watched the scene and fell into thought.

‘A license……’

Certainly, as Park Yu-min said, it might be good to get it early. Even if Kang Jin-ho didn’t need it right away, it was a kind of certificate, so it might be helpful somewhere if he got it.

And decisively, he couldn’t take his parents on a bicycle.

Even Kang Eun-young thinks of Kang Jin-ho’s hair as a handle when she rides behind his bicycle.

‘Let’s get it.’

Kang Jin-ho came to a simple conclusion.

These days, it doesn’t take long to get a license, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

* * *

The beginning of the incident was that simple. The problem was what came after.

Strangely enough, the written test and the skills test went well, and he passed them cleanly in less than a week.

The written test was at a level where you could pass just by skimming through the workbook, and for Kang Jin-ho, who could memorize all the leaked questions so far if he wanted to, there was no way he could fail. The skills test was also graded by computer, so there was no way Kang Jin-ho, who didn’t exceed the speed limit, kept the stop lines accurately, and moved the car like his own body, could fail.

However, the core of the problem was the road test.

Kang Jin-ho drove really safely. He had heard that the road test should be like that, so he was extra careful about safety, and after checking and rechecking several times to the point of yawning, he made a decision and drove perfectly defensively.

But strangely, the person in the passenger seat started to freak out.

That was already the third time.

Today was the third road test, and he had failed without even reaching half of the designated course.

Moreover, the reasons for his failure were always ambiguous.

If there was a clear reason for failure, like ‘this is it,’ he would have understood, but everyone kept saying ‘defensive driving this, danger that,’ so he couldn’t understand.

“Anyway, you failed!”

“……Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but be dissatisfied. But the chance of passing was already gone. He already knew from experience that even if he argued here, the result wouldn’t change.

‘I didn’t even make it to the end today.’

The previous examiners had screamed, but they had somehow let him drive the car back to the test center. Although there were times when the car stopped once or twice in the middle.

But this examiner seemed to lack patience.

“Get in.”

“Yes.”

“Not there!”

Kang Jin-ho, who was opening the driver’s seat door, stopped.

“Is this person trying to shorten someone’s lifespan! Get in the passenger seat! I’ll drive!”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho got into the passenger seat with a gloomy face.

Failing the test wasn’t a big deal. He could take it again.

But if he failed even the third test, how much would those devilish guys laugh at him?

Even though the college entrance exam was over, Kang Jin-ho was just depressed.

“Maybe not driving a car is also an option?”