Descent of the Demon Master

tying the floors, stopped shouting and quietly pointed out a suitable spot to store the bike after listening to how expensive it was.

“Wait, Oppa! Let me go with you!” Kang Eun-Yeong rushed outside the home just then.

“Isn't this a little earlier than usual for you?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“I have something to do at school, you see.”

“Is that so?” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, then pointed at the rack attached to the bicycle.
“Want a ride, then?”

She silently stared at the bike before nodding gravely in determination.
Kang Jin-Ho felt a bit unhappy about her solemn attitude, though.
He wasn't like some runaway train or something—was her determined face really necessary?

Kang Eun-Yeong warned him in a quiet voice.
“You better be slower this time, okay?”

“Got it.”

“If you go crazy like last time, I'm gonna pull out all of your hair.”

“I said, I got it.”

Out of curiosity, Kang Eun-Yeong asked for a ride on her older brother's bicycle sometime ago.
Unsurprisingly, the crazy speed ended up giving her a mental trauma.
She screamed at the top of her lungs to make Kang Jin-Ho stop the bike, then plopped down on the ground to wail like a baby.
He could still vividly recall all the unprintable curse words she hurled in their way back then.

Even so, how commendable was she for tackling the challenge of riding Kang Jin-Ho's bike once more despite her trauma!

As a sign of respect for the girl's courage, Kang Jin-Ho was very gentle with propelling the bike today.
Of course, his definition of gentle was still a bit out of whack.

Grab!

Something suddenly grabbed the back of his hair.
Then, a chilly voice followed soon afterwards.
“I told you to go slower, didn't I?!”

“But…
I am…
going very slowly, though?”

“Slower…”

“As you wish,” said Kang Jin-Ho, then slowed his bicycle down to a crawling pace.

'At this speed, I must be going slower than other bicycles…'

He should have ignored his sister and just headed to school by himself, but he just had to ask her if she wanted a ride, didn't he?

They eventually arrived at Dongmyeong Middle School at a speed slow enough to make him yawn.

Kang Eun-Yeong climbed off and declared in a voice filled with playful haughtiness.
“Good work, Chauffeur Kang.”

“Thanks.
And my fare?”

“Get lost.”

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“Sure thing.
I hope you trip and fall flat on your face soon, dear customer.” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled.
He oriented his bicycle, then rode away at a speed so much faster than when he was carrying his sister with him on the bike.

Kang Eun-Yeong watched him disappear while waiting for her friends to join her.

One of her friends spoke in an excited voice, “Hey, your oppa is really hot, isn't he?”

Kang Eun-Yeong snorted and said, “I had no idea your standard was that low, you know?”

“What do you mean? Your oppa is pretty hot, isn't he?”

“In what way? Because he's got two eyes, one nose, and a mouth?”

Her friends burst into raucous laughter.
“You're so funny, Eun-Yeong! It's you who's not seeing it, though! Oh, hey! Can you, like, introduce us to your oppa?”

Kang Eun-Yeong dismissively waved her hand.
“No way.”

“Why not?”

“Because you're too good for him.
My oppa is totally unsalvageable.
Do you have any idea how weird he is at home?”

“Oh, come on! It's fine, really! So like, just introduce us already!”

“I'm telling you, no! Hey, stop clinging on to me!”

“Why are you getting so pissy, Eun-Yeong!”

“I said no! End of! Got it?!” Kang Eun-Yeong yelled at the top of her lungs, then turned around with a huff.

'How dare an ugly hag like you lust after my oppa!'

She glanced at Kang Jin-Ho riding the bicycle in the distance.
From the way his hair danced in the breeze and how sleek and athletic his figure was, even Kang Eun-Yeong had to admit that her oppa cut quite a stylish figure these days.

'That's right, he has become a bit of a heartthrob lately, hasn't he?'

Unfortunately, though, the improvement in her dear brother's looks had the side effect of attracting annoying insects.

'I'll never let that happen even if it kills me!'

Kang Eun-Yeong's fighting spirit fiercely burned.

***

Kang Jin-Ho picked up his bicycle and headed to the chief director's office.

'Shouldn’t I stop doing this already?'

Since this whole routine was annoying and too eye-catching, he tried to leave his bicycle at the school's bike storage not too long ago.
However, when he got there after the classes ended for the day, the bicycle had been magically transported to the chief director's office somehow.
After that incident, Kang Jin-Ho decided that it was better to just carry the damned bicycle to the office himself instead of making someone else sweat for no good reason.

He opened the office door and stepped inside.
Jo Gyu-Min was already in the office and in the middle of brewing coffee.
“Here's your coffee, Mr.
Jin-Ho.”

“Coffee? What for?”

“Drinking coffee in the morning is the way it's meant to be, Mr.
Jin-Ho.”

“I just finished my morning exercise, yet you want me to drink hot coffee?”

Jo Gyu-Min grinned.
“Don't worry about that.
I've prepared iced americano just in case.”

“You're pretty thorough, Mr.
Gyu-Min.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled and put Golden Elephant down before settling down on the office couch with the iced coffee in his hand.
Initially, frequenting the chief director's office day in and day out felt quite weird as he was still a student of this institution.
However, that awkwardness gradually went away after repeating the routine for a while.

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Kang Jin-Ho downed the entire cup of coffee in one go.

Jo Gyu-Min sighed.
“Mr.
Jin-Ho, you should take your time enjoying the aroma of…”

“Thanks for the coffee,” said Kang Jin-Ho and exited the office without hesitation.

Jo Gyu-Min chuckled helplessly while thinking that his young boss had always been doing things at his own pace.

***

Kang Jin-Ho discovered someone was waiting for him in front of his class.
It was none other than Han Se-Yeon.

“I was waiting for you, Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head, wondering what she wanted from him so early in the morning.
“What's up?”

Han Se-Yeon grumbled in a slightly annoyed voice.
“You're supposed to say hello first, you know?”

“Right back at you.”

“You just don't wanna lose at all, do you?”

“Maybe.
What do you want, though?”

Han Se-Yeon grinned meaningfully.
“You know what day is today, don't you?”

He shrugged his shoulders.
“Sure.
It's mock exams today.”

“Let's have a wager, shall we?”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes.
“A wager?”

“You said you can beat me, right? That will be our wager.
How about it?”

“A wager with you?” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.
It was his code to always accept all types of challenges regardless of his situation.
“Sure, I accept.”

“A wager requires stakes, though.
What will be yours?”

“Hmmm, not sure.”

Han Se-Yeon's grin deepened just then.
“If I win…
How about you listen to one of my wishes?”

“What if you ask for something impossible?”

“Don't worry, I'll only ask for something realistic.
And if it's still too much for you, you can always chicken out.”

“Fine, I accept your terms,” said Kang Jin-Ho with a firm nod.

“What about you, though?”

“My demand is the same as yours.”

“Got it! Don't forget, okay! The loser must do as the winner says!” Han Se-Yeon grinned, then walked toward her classroom.

“Hmm…” Kang Jin-Ho also grinned faintly and entered his own class.
She was in for a rude surprise if she thought he was still the same as he had been a few weeks ago.

Having realized the importance of studying, Kang Jin-Ho had been focusing a lot on improving his grades lately by relying on his brain, which had become several times sharper and more energized than before.
This was why he felt quietly confident about improving his performance this time around.

'Being too outstanding is not good, but still…
I should at least get back to my old grades.'

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely settled down at his desk.
Soon, the exams began and he confidently picked up his pen.

Unfortunately for him, though…
It didn't take too long for him to realize that this world wasn't as easy as he thought.