Chapter 12
Shinhwa Workshop
Located within the ultra-tall building of the Shinhwa Guild in Gangnam, the workshop was a bustling place, filled with the heat and constant movement of countless people.
“Stack the equipment we’re sending to Hanmaeum Guild over here!”
“Where did you send the stuff that was here?”
“I’m sorry. I’m from Baekho Guild, but we need a little more of the shipment this time…”
Apprentices were moving the weapons crafted by the masters.
The masters scolded the apprentices as they worked.
And employees from other guilds came by to pick up items from Shinhwa Workshop.
It was noisy every single day.
Amid all this, the middle-aged man who could be called the owner of the workshop appeared.
“Ahem… lively as ever today.”
Holding an expensive branded coffee in one hand, the workshop owner, Kim Junhwan, surveyed the workshop with an utterly arrogant expression.
People flinched and bowed their heads whenever his gaze fell on them.
Each time he saw that, the smile on Junhwan’s face only deepened.
But his good mood didn’t last long.
“That bastard, Bang Sejin… still hasn’t given up? Tch, foolish kid. I told him I’d handle him properly, and he couldn’t even endure it and left the workshop on his own.”
Junhwan’s face twisted as he thought of Sejin.
From Junhwan’s perspective, it was obvious why Sejin’s actions were unacceptable.
He had immediately recognized Sejin’s talent when he joined Shinhwa Workshop.
But Junhwan didn’t choose to showcase that talent to the world; he monopolized it for himself.
He kept Sejin locked in the workshop, forcing him to make only the items he wanted, then announced them under his own name.
Because Junhwan treated Sejin as a tool rather than a person, when Sejin rebelled, Junhwan flew into a rage and forced him out.
“Tch… the guild master’s asking for new items anyway… he’ll eventually give up and come back to the workshop quickly. After all, he has nowhere else to go.”
Still, Junhwan regretted Sejin’s departure, having fattened his own pockets using Sejin’s talent.
So every day, Junhwan tried to persuade Sejin—through people or messages—to return.
Of course, if Sejin came back, Junhwan would continue to treat him like a tool, producing equipment as he saw fit.
Then, it happened.
“B-Bang Sejin? You’re back!”
The workshop door opened, and the familiar face of Sejin appeared.
Junhwan dropped the coffee cup he was holding but didn’t care and rushed to Sejin.
“Hahaha! Good, good thinking! No one treats you better than my workshop. Work under me for a few years, and you’ll become the next workshop owner!”
Reaching Sejin instantly, Junhwan embraced him and fired off a torrent of words.
Hearing only flattering words, it seemed as if Sejin had already rejoined the workshop.
But that was only Junhwan’s perception.
“Sorry, Workshop Master, I came today to return to Shinhwa Workshop, but I have no intention of working under you.”
“…What?”
Pushing Junhwan away lightly, Sejin said this with a calm expression. Junhwan stared, dumbfounded.
Sejin had spent years at Shinhwa Workshop without so much as properly rebelling, and now, at last, he spoke a single, defiant sentence.
Of course, it was only natural for Junhwan to be thrown off by Sejin confidently saying he wouldn’t work under him.
But humans tend to get angrier when someone they consider beneath them rebels.
Junhwan was no exception.
“You ungrateful bastard! After I fed you, clothed you, and housed you!”
“Yes, and in return, all the equipment I made bore your name.”
“That’s because my name had to be on it for proper payment! How many times have I told you that after a few years, your name would go on it too!”
“You said that when I was a first-year, a second-year… even until right before I left.”
“…And you dare talk back to me, an adult!”
Sejin, however, only spoke the truth, and Junhwan’s face turned crimson.
It was a classic case of “the one who farted gets angry.” Junhwan, used to always winning, expected Sejin to bow in submission.
Normally, anyone—apprentice, master, even outside guild staff—would have cowered.
But Junhwan was making a critical mistake.
“Yes, I’ve listened to all the nonsense you’ve said. Adults should act like adults if they want to be treated as such.”
“…What? Security! What are you doing wandering around in the workshop?”
“Sir… Workshop Master, this person is Choi Shinhyuk, the fourth grandson of Chairman Choi Cheolho.”
“What?”
Junhwan’s loud voice worked only on his subordinates.
He had tried to dismiss Shinhyuk, calling him an outsider, but upon learning his identity, Junhwan stared in shock.
“Hahaha… what brings you to a sweaty place like this? If you needed equipment, a call would’ve sufficed.”
But Shinhyuk’s gaze at him was as contemptuous as if Junhwan were nothing.
“No. I have no business with someone who only makes rare-grade equipment.”
“…Only rare? There are few in the country who can supply rare-grade weapons consistently! And I’m a master who’s even made rare+ grades! Retract that statement!”
Junhwan was irritated, as it undermined his lifetime achievements.
But Shinhyuk only smirked at him.
“Is that true, Sejin?”
“No. The rare+ weapons are my creations. The Workshop Master just registered them under his name.”
“See, isn’t that right, Workshop Master?”
“L-Lies! That guy got kicked out because he had no talent!”
Because Junhwan’s achievements were no different from Sejin’s.
Recalling the past, Sejin explained it clearly, while Junhwan angrily pointed and shouted.
Shinhyuk smiled at Junhwan.
“Then let’s make a bet.”
“A bet?”
“Sejin and the Workshop Master will have a duel. Use the materials you have or the workshop’s materials.”
“And if I win, what do I get?”
“I’ll overlook your previous corruption, and I won’t interfere with how you treat Sejin.”
“Alright—”
“But if you lose, you must step down as workshop master. Sejin will take your place.”
“…What!”
Junhwan nodded eagerly at the reward for winning, but hearing the penalty for losing, he was shocked.
“The workshop master is appointed by the Shinhwa Guild Master. Even the fourth young master of Shinhwa Group has no right to decide that!”
“Yes, that’s correct. But what if someone higher than the Guild Master intervened?”
“…What?”
At that moment, the doors of Shinhwa Workshop slowly opened, and dozens of men in black suits filled the workshop.
“What… what is this—”
“The Chairman is here. For his safety, do as instructed.”
“Security chief… the Chairman himself came?”
Junhwan, who had only met Guild Master Choi Inho a few times, turned pale.
Chairman Choi Cheolho, far above Inho, had personally arrived.
Cheolho didn’t bother accommodating Junhwan.
“This is Shinhwa Workshop… I hadn’t been here since it was first built. Looks like I’m in for some entertainment thanks to my grandson.”
Cheolho casually inspected the workshop as if it were his own home.
Everything in Shinhwa Workshop had been funded by Cheolho, down to the foundation stones.
After looking around, Cheolho sat in a seat prepared for him.
“Let’s begin. If you win, Shinhwa Group will fully support the workshop. But if you lose, you’ll step down as workshop master, as my grandson said.”
“…Gulp!”
Junhwan swallowed nervously at the Chairman-sanctioned duel.
“I am confident.”
“Ha, that youthful courage is admirable. The conditions are simple: create a sword using workshop or personal materials. Other masters and apprentices may assist.”
Cheolho’s eyes sparkled as he watched Sejin confidently.
The conditions, however, favored Junhwan.
Shinhwa Workshop was in his hands. He knew every material and every skilled master and apprentice.
Yet Sejin remained unshaken.
“I don’t need other masters or apprentices. Shinhyuk helping me is enough. I’ll use the White Lotus Steel in addition to my own materials.”
“Sanctified steel… a rare-grade material combined with White Lotus Steel… a decent combination.”
Sejin boldly declared he would only accept Shinhyuk’s help and use only those materials.
“Arrogant brat. I’ll mix Celestial Steel with lower-grade iron.”
“Ah, also a unique-grade material with a rare-grade supplement. Using the same conditions?”
“Yes. I’ll show this brat why I’m the workshop master of Shinhwa Workshop.”
“Interesting. Let’s begin.”
Junhwan, riled by Sejin’s arrogance, chose materials of equal grade, though the textures differed.
Unlike Sejin, Junhwan intended to use help from other masters and apprentices.
Once Cheolho gave the start command, Junhwan and Sejin quickly took their positions.
The contest for the Shinhwa Workshop’s future had begun.
