Chapter 10
“First things first—let’s get you cleaned up and buy some clothes.”
“Clothes? But I don’t really have any money…”
“It’s fine. I’ve got a card that’s meant to be used for things like this. And since you’re a bit older than me, would it be okay if I call you ‘hyung’?”
“Uh… sure. I don’t mind.”
“Then you can talk comfortably to me too, hyung. What kind of older brother speaks formally to his younger brother?”
“W–well… I guess you’re right?”
The moment Chairman Choi Cheol-ho gave his approval, Shin-hyuk successfully became like brothers with Se-jin.
Looking at Se-jin, who was staring at him awkwardly, Shin-hyuk quietly recalled the past.
‘Mr. Bang. Let’s call this even for the debt from my previous life.’
Back when he had been a Challenger-rank player.
Se-jin had been the one responsible for maintaining Shin-hyuk’s weapons and armor.
No—pushing aside the memories of “Bang of Cheonggyecheon,” Shin-hyuk headed toward a public bathhouse with Se-jin.
“…So even a third-generation chaebol goes to places like public bathhouses.”
“I told you, I didn’t even grow up being treated like a chaebol third-gen.”
“Oh, right. True.”
“Let’s wash up properly and scrub off all the grime. Then you can go shove it right in the faces of your old bosses.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Just imagining it seemed to make him happy, and Se-jin grinned innocently. Watching that, Shin-hyuk parted ways with Su-ah in front of the bathhouse.
“See you in an hour?”
“An hour is way too short! For women, it takes at least two hours!”
“…Isn’t that a bit long?”
“Absolutely not! So let’s meet back here in two hours.”
“…Alright.”
But Shin-hyuk honestly couldn’t understand what on earth women did inside a bathhouse that required a full two hours.
“Do they fight a war in there or something, hyung?”
“W–well… I wouldn’t know either. I don’t really understand women…”
Of course, Se-jin didn’t know any better than he did.
In the end, the two men—who knew absolutely nothing about women—finished bathing, scrubbed themselves clean, devoured a tray of eggs and a bottle of sports drink, and only then left the bathhouse.
“Ahh… it feels great to visit a bathhouse after so long.”
“…I think there must be some kind of magic in the women’s section.”
“I think so too.”
They had clearly gone to the same bathhouse, yet Su-ah came out with smooth, glowing skin, while the two men were simply… clean.
As the two of them nodded seriously at this mysterious phenomenon—
“Alright, hyung. Let’s go shopping now.”
Shin-hyuk gestured as he climbed into the luxury sedan that had arrived to pick them up.
Once Su-ah and Se-jin got in after him, the driver turned to confirm the destination.
“Shall I take you to Shinhwa Department Store, young master?”
A perfectly reasonable question.
Now that Shin-hyuk was clearly recognized as part of the Shinhwa Group, it was only natural to assume they would go to Shinhwa Department Store to buy clothes.
But Shin-hyuk had no intention of taking the obvious route.
“Please take us to the Gangnam branch of Ohsung Department Store.”
“…Ohsung, sir?”
“Yes. Ohsung.”
“…Understood.”
Ohsung Department Store.
A place that rivaled Shinhwa Department Store in dominating the market.
Hearing that they were going to their direct competitor, the driver couldn’t hide his discomfort as he pressed the accelerator.
“Shin-hyuk, what are you thinking? Shouldn’t we be going to Shinhwa Department Store?”
“Normally, yeah. But I feel kind of bad.”
“Bad? About what?”
Su-ah, who had been insisting they should go to Shinhwa instead, tilted her head in confusion.
Going to Ohsung because he felt bad?
No matter how she thought about it, that sounded completely strange.
But Shin-hyuk curled the corner of his mouth into a crooked smile and explained.
“I feel sorry for Ju-ho. I heard he got placed in Bronze instead of Silver because of me.”
“Ah… Shin-hyuk, you’re seriously evil, you know that?”
Lee Ju-ho.
The eldest son of the Ohsung Guild leader, and the unfortunate player who had taken a brutal beating in the placement test thanks to Shin-hyuk.
Right now, Shin-hyuk was saying he was going to Ohsung Department Store out of pity for that very Ju-ho.
Hearing that, Su-ah looked at him with an exasperated expression.
“Since we’re going anyway, want to buy some gear for you too, Su-ah?”
“Well… considering everything Ju-ho did to you over the past three years, I guess this counts as self-defense. Mhm!”
Naturally, Su-ah was instantly corrupted by capitalism at the mention of free equipment.
Watching her nod eagerly, Shin-hyuk let out a small chuckle as the luxury sedan smoothly headed toward Gangnam.
Ohsung Department Store, Gangnam Branch.
It was always packed with people.
And naturally, when a famous person appeared in such a place, chaos was bound to follow.
“It’s Choi Shin-hyuk!”
“Choi Shin-hyuk, the one who got placed Silver 1 in the placement test?”
“The guy who completely crushed Lee Ju-ho?”
“But why is he here?”
Shin-hyuk’s appearance caused an immediate stir.
But even as people were amazed, they couldn’t hide their confusion.
After all, Shin-hyuk belonged to the Shinhwa Group.
So why had he come to Ohsung instead of Shinhwa?
And from within the crowd, questions started pouring out.
“Choi Shin-hyuk! Why did you come to Ohsung Department Store?”
“Is it because Ohsung is better than Shinhwa?”
“Please answer us!”
Regular people, not even reporters, began throwing questions at him as if possessed by the spirit of journalists.
Shin-hyuk calmly placed the trembling Se-jin beside Su-ah and answered lightly.
“I came because I felt sorry for a friend.”
“A friend?”
“You came out of guilt?”
Just like Su-ah earlier, no one understood what he meant at first.
But once he elaborated, people couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“Yes. I think I was a bit too harsh on my friend Ju-ho during the placement test, so I came to help boost Ohsung Department Store’s sales.”
“Ju-ho… as in…”
“Lee Ju-ho?!”
“Pfft—he beat him into the ground and now he’s helping their sales out of guilt?”
“So this is what they mean by ‘poison then antidote’?”
“Ah, I need to post this on SNS.”
“Ju-ho’s gonna lose it if he hears this.”
He had come to raise sales for the very guy he’d personally crushed.
No matter who heard it, it was an absurd statement.
Laughter erupted from all directions.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way to fill Ju-ho’s wallet.”
After giving the crowd a bit of entertainment, Shin-hyuk casually disappeared with his group and his driver-bodyguard.
– Choi Shin-hyuk just appeared at Ohsung Department Store!
– Shin-hyuk says: “Lee Ju-ho is my friend. So I came to boost sales for him.”
– But the girl next to him is really pretty…
– Shin-hyuk should pay double taxes and get investigated. Seriously.
– Can we do an autopsy?
– You idiot, why would you autopsy a living person?
The spot where Shin-hyuk had stood quickly filled with posts spreading across social media.
Exactly as Shin-hyuk had intended.
“We’ll take everything from here to here. And give us all the shirts that fit his size. I’d like custom tailoring, but we don’t have time today, so we’ll go with ready-made.”
“T–thank you so much!”
Inside a luxury suit store, Shin-hyuk executed the legendary rich-person move of “from here to here.”
The store manager bowed deeply with a bright smile.
Of course, everything was paid for with the Shinhwa card.
“S–Shin-hyuk, I really don’t need this much. Once I start hammering again, I’ll just be wearing work clothes anyway. Why buy expensive suits?”
“Then you can hammer in a suit.”
“Why do something so uncomfortable and wasteful…?”
“Wouldn’t it piss off your old bosses more? Seeing the guy they used to bully using suits they can barely afford as work clothes?”
“…Ah. You thought that far ahead.”
“Exactly. So don’t worry about it. Considering all the equipment you’ll make for me later, this is a bargain.”
“H–haha… I guess so.”
Se-jin, overwhelmed by the generosity, was completely won over by Shin-hyuk’s reasoning.
There was no better revenge than showing off how successful he’d become in front of the people who tormented him.
“Go change. We’ll wait.”
“Alright. I’ll be quick.”
Watching Se-jin head to the fitting room, Shin-hyuk smiled warmly.
“Next, let’s go look at your gear, Su-ah. Ohsung should have decent stuff to use until Se-jin-hyung starts making equipment.”
“…Wow. I never imagined I’d be using Ohsung Department Store gear as temporary equipment. Guess I picked the right friend.”
“Of course. What’s the point of having a rich chaebol friend if you don’t use him?”
They joked around as they waited.
But as Shin-hyuk chatted with Su-ah, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
‘Wait… couldn’t I hold a hammer too?’
In his past life, he had focused only on combat skills to survive.
The title “All Master” had only applied to battle.
But this time—
‘If I’m going to be a real All Master, shouldn’t I master production skills too?’
The idea quickly grew more concrete.
And when Se-jin returned from the fitting room, Shin-hyuk laid out his thoughts.
After explaining his “All Master” job and “Versatile” trait in a simplified way, he waited for Se-jin’s response.
“…I think becoming my apprentice should be possible.”
Apprentice.
A trainee learning under a craftsman.
At those words, Shin-hyuk immediately knelt before Se-jin.
“Hyung… I want… to hold a hammer…”
Both older and younger brother were at an age where they desperately wanted to hold a hammer.
And just like that, Shin-hyuk succeeded in becoming the apprentice of the man who would one day be called the Hand of God.
‘This time, I’ll master not just combat, but production and crafting as well.’
It was a huge step toward becoming a true All Master.
