Chapter 10
“First, let’s get you washed up and buy some clothes.”
“Clothes? But I don’t have money…”
“I have a card I received for times like this, so it’s fine. And since Se-jin is a few years older than me, would it be alright if I called you ‘hyung’?”
“Yes, well… I don’t mind.”
“Se-jin hyung, speak comfortably too. What kind of hyung speaks formally to his dongsaeng?”
“I-is that so?”
As soon as Choi Chul-ho’s permission came down, Shin-hyuk had even succeeded in becoming blood brothers with Se-jin.
Looking at Se-jin, who was staring at him with an awkward expression, Shin-hyuk recalled the past.
‘The Bang family. Consider this settling our past-life connection.’
Back when he was a Challenger-tier player in the past.
Se-jin had been responsible for his weapons and armor.
No, having buried the Bang of Cheonggyecheon in the past, Shin-hyuk headed to a public bathhouse with Se-jin.
“…Even a third-generation chaebol comes to places like bathhouses.”
“I told you, I wasn’t treated as a third-generation chaebol growing up.”
“Ah, right, you did mention that.”
“Let’s wash up and scrub everything off clean. We’ll give a proper middle finger right in front of your former bosses.”
“I like that.”
Watching Se-jin’s untainted appearance as he smiled giddily at the thought alone, Shin-hyuk parted ways with Su-ah in front of the bathhouse.
“Shall we meet in an hour?”
“An hour is way too short! Women need at least two hours!”
“…Isn’t that too long?”
“Abso~lutely not. So let’s meet here in two hours.”
“…Fine.”
But Shin-hyuk simply couldn’t understand what one did in a bathhouse that took a minimum of two hours.
“Are they having a war in there, hyung?”
“I-I wonder? I don’t know much about women either…”
Of course, Se-jin didn’t know either.
In the end, the two men, who knew nothing about women, washed up and scrubbed themselves clean in the bathhouse, then ate an entire tray of eggs and a bottle of ion drink before they could finally escape.
“Ahh, it’s nice coming to the bathhouse after so long.”
“…I think there’s some kind of magic in the women’s bath.”
“I think so too.”
They had clearly gone to the same bathhouse, yet Su-ah’s skin was smooth and glowing, while the men had only gotten clean.
As the two men nodded at this magical phenomenon—
“Now let’s go shopping, hyung.”
Climbing into the luxury sedan that had arrived on time to pick up the three, Shin-hyuk gestured.
Soon after Su-ah and Se-jin got into the sedan one after another, the driver turned his head to confirm their destination.
“Shall we go to Shinhwa Department Store, young master?”
A natural question.
Having now clearly become a child of the Shinhwa Group, it was only natural to go to Shinhwa Department Store to buy Se-jin’s clothes.
But Shin-hyuk had no intention of walking the natural path.
“Please take us to the Ohsung Department Store Gangnam branch.”
“…Ohsung, you say?”
“Yes, Ohsung.”
“…Understood.”
Ohsung Department Store.
A place that dominated the department store market alongside Shinhwa Department Store.
Above all, the driver couldn’t hide his reluctance at the words to go to their rival’s store, but he pressed the accelerator.
“Shin-hyuk, what are you thinking? Shouldn’t we go to Shinhwa Department Store?”
“Normally, yes. But I feel bad.”
“Feel bad about what?”
Su-ah, who had been stomping her feet, insisting that they should go to Shinhwa Department Store even now, tilted her head at Shin-hyuk’s words.
Going to Ohsung Department Store because he felt bad.
Even after cleaning out her ears and listening again, it was a strange statement.
But Shin-hyuk curled the corner of his mouth and added the reason.
“I feel bad for Ju-ho. I heard he got placed in Bronze instead of Silver because of me.”
“Ah… Shin-hyuk, you’re truly wicked, aren’t you?”
Lee Ju-ho.
The eldest son of the Ohsung Guild Master, a player who had bled in the placement exam alongside Shin-hyuk.
Shin-hyuk had just said he was going to Ohsung Department Store because he felt sorry for Ju-ho.
At that, Su-ah stared at Shin-hyuk with a fed-up expression.
“Should I buy you some equipment too while we’re at it, Su-ah?”
“But considering what Ju-ho did to you for three years, Shin-hyuk, this is just self-defense. Hmm hmm!”
Of course, Su-ah fell for Shin-hyuk’s temptation of buying equipment and became corrupted by capital.
Watching Su-ah nod rapidly, Shin-hyuk chuckled, and the luxury sedan carrying him smoothly headed toward Gangnam.
—
* * *
Ohsung Department Store, Gangnam Branch.
It was always a place overflowing with people.
Naturally, when a celebrity appeared in such a place, a huge commotion was bound to occur.
“It’s Choi Shin-hyuk!”
“Choi Shin-hyuk, who got placed in Silver 1 in the placement exam?”
“Choi Shin-hyuk, who crushed Lee Ju-ho?”
“But why is he here?”
Shin-hyuk’s appearance was just like that.
But while surprised by Shin-hyuk’s appearance, people couldn’t hide their puzzlement.
Shin-hyuk’s family was the Shinhwa Group.
Naturally, he should go to Shinhwa Department Store—so why did he come to Ohsung Department Store? That was the question.
And from within the crowd, questions to resolve that doubt burst forth.
“Mr. Choi Shin-hyuk! Why did you come to Ohsung Department Store?”
“That’s right! Is it because Ohsung Department Store is better than Shinhwa Department Store?”
“Please answer!”
Ordinary people who weren’t even reporters bombarded him with questions as if possessed by reporters—it was quite a curious sight.
Shin-hyuk placed the trembling Se-jin next to Su-ah and lightly answered the questions.
“I came because I feel sorry for a friend.”
“Friend?”
“Feel sorry, you say?”
Naturally, like Su-ah, others also couldn’t understand Shin-hyuk’s words at once.
But at the following explanation, people couldn’t hold back their bursting laughter.
“Yes, I felt like I was too harsh on my friend Ju-ho during the placement exam, so I came to help boost Ohsung Department Store’s sales.”
“By Ju-ho, you mean…”
“Lee Ju-ho?!”
“Pfft, he stomps on him like that and then says he came to boost department store sales because he feels sorry.”
“Is this what they mean by giving poison and then the antidote?”
“Ah, I need to post this on my socials.”
“Lee Ju-ho’s going to be furious if he finds out about this.”
Coming to boost department store sales for Ju-ho, whom he had personally crushed.
Those words sounded ridiculous to anyone who heard them.
Snickering could be heard from all around, and some even burst into loud laughter.
“Well then, I have to go fill Ju-ho’s wallet, so I’ll be off.”
Having provided a delightful time for the people, Shin-hyuk disappeared smoothly with his group, accompanied by his driver-slash-bodyguard.
—
-Just now, Choi Shin-hyuk appeared at Ohsung Department Store!
-Choi Shin-hyuk said: Lee Ju-ho is my friend. So I came to boost sales.
-But the girl next to Choi Shin-hyuk is pretty…
-Choi Shin-hyuk should pay double taxes and face a special investigation. Seriously.
-Can’t we do a post-mortem?
-Crazy bastard, why would you do a post-mortem on a living person?
—
The place where Shin-hyuk had vanished.
There, the words Shin-hyuk had just spoken were rapidly spreading through various SNS platforms including social media.
Naturally, it was exactly as Shin-hyuk intended.
—
* * *
“I’ll take everything from here to here. And give me all the shirts that fit my size. I’d like custom-made, but there’s no time right now, so I’ll buy off-the-rack for now.”
“Th-thank you!”
Entering a luxury suit store, Shin-hyuk pulled the classic rich-person move—”from here to there”—and the store manager bowed his head with a bright smile.
A natural reaction, as they received incentives based on sales revenue.
Of course, the payment was made with a Shinhwa card.
“Sh-Shin-hyuk. I don’t need this much. Besides, once I start swinging a hammer again, I’ll just wear work clothes—why do I need these suits?”
“Is that so. Then you can just wear suits while hammering, I suppose.”
“Why would I go through the inconvenience and waste…”
“That way, your former bosses who harassed you will get angry, won’t they? When the guy they bullied uses the suits they barely managed to buy as work clothes?”
“…Ah. Shin-hyuk, you were thinking that far ahead.”
“Yes, so you don’t need to worry too much. Besides, considering the value of the equipment you’ll make for me in the future, this is more than a good deal.”
“Hah… Haha, is that so?”
Se-jin, who had been bewildered by such a large gift, was thoroughly won over by Shin-hyuk’s persuasion.
Because there was no more perfect and satisfying revenge than showing those who had bullied him that he was doing better than them.
And with Shin-hyuk even joking for him not to worry, the atmosphere became even more relaxed.
“Go change into the clothes. We’ll wait here.”
“Alright. I’ll be right back.”
Watching Se-jin head to the fitting room with the pre-selected suit and shirt, Shin-hyuk smiled warmly.
“Next, let’s go look at equipment for you, Su-ah. Ohsung Department Store should have something decent enough. Since Se-jin hyung will need some time to properly make equipment, it should be enough for the meantime, right?”
“…Wow, I never imagined I’d be using Ohsung Department Store equipment as temporary gear. I guess I really made a good friend?”
“Yeah. This is when you use your rich chaebol friend—when else would you use him?”
At Su-ah’s delighted reaction to his words, Shin-hyuk joked and laughed.
He spoke that way, but Su-ah had been his friend since before Shin-hyuk had anything at all—a true friend.
That’s why Shin-hyuk was doing everything from recruiting Se-jin—who needed as few people to know about him as possible—to buying expensive equipment.
As Shin-hyuk spent time chatting with Su-ah while Se-jin changed clothes, a thought suddenly struck him.
‘But wait, can’t I also wield a hammer?’
The thought that not only Se-jin but he himself could also wield a hammer.
‘In the past, I was so focused on surviving and raising my tier that I only honed combat-related skills. The name All Master was ultimately only in the context of combat. But… if I’m truly an All Master, shouldn’t I master not only combat but also production?’
And that imagination quickly began to take concrete shape.
Unlike the past when only combat was All Master, this time, could he become a ‘true’ All Master? Just as that thought crossed his mind, Se-jin emerged from the fitting room.
Seeing that, Shin-hyuk immediately confided his thoughts to Se-jin.
Having finished explaining—mixing the class All Master with the trait Versatile appropriately—Shin-hyuk waited only for Se-jin’s choice.
“…An apprenticeship level should be possible, I think?”
Apprenticeship.
A term referring to a trainee learning the trade under a master craftsman.
At those words, this time it was Shin-hyuk who knelt before Se-jin.
“Hyung… I want to hold a hammer…”
Both brothers were at an age where they wanted to hold a hammer.
And so Shin-hyuk succeeded in becoming the apprentice of the man who would later be called the Hand of God.
‘In this life, I’ll master not only combat but also production and crafting.’
The added bonus was taking a big step closer to his dream of becoming a true All Master.
