Chapter 4
Bokbok Interior
“Magic Steel Sword? What’s that supposed to be?”
“It’s a magic sword worth five thousand gold taels. It can slice through iron like tofu, and it’s said to absorb the blood essence of those it cuts.”
He was clearly speaking Korean, yet half of what came out of his mouth might as well have been a foreign language.
“So… basically, it’s an insanely evil weapon?”
“Don’t worry. Its monetary value is certain. We can sell it for a good price here as well.”
“Sell it?”
In that instant, Chaewon felt a wave of unease.
“Why would you sell it here? Just sell it yourself and bring me the cash.”
“Impossible.”
“What?”
“I am the Heavenly Demon.”
“…And?”
With a solemn face, the Heavenly Demon stared up at the ceiling.
“How could one who has achieved dominance over the Demonic Realm demean himself by haggling over a sacred weapon left by the Divine Demon Emperor?”
For a moment, Chaewon almost lost all rational thought. She took a long breath.
“Don’t you know anyone? You could do a consignment sale or something!”
“The Magic Steel Sword is one of the demonic weapons banned in the Martial World. Even if I tried to sell it, no martial artist with a shred of sense would buy it. Doing so would make them a public enemy.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Well, this is a different world. It shouldn’t matter, should it? Go ahead and sell it freely. I grant you permission.”
A heavy silence fell.
Chaewon shook her head, realizing the depth of her own patience.
“Forget that. Do you at least have gold or jewels?”
“I do.”
“What? Then great, just bring those!”
“How could the Heavenly Demon open his private vault for a personal matter? The subordinates would laugh.”
Snap.
That was the sound of Chaewon’s last thread of sanity breaking.
“Oh, I see. Got it.”
“So you understand now?”
The Heavenly Demon smiled faintly—right before Chaewon’s eyes went wild.
“Oh, yes. I definitely understand. You’re completely hopeless.”
Her eyes flared, as if countless blades were shooting from them.
“You’re like some kind of Terminator sent from another world just to drive me insane!”
The energy bursting from her body was so overwhelming that even the Heavenly Demon’s instincts screamed—
Death!
It wasn’t something he could withstand.
Death itself didn’t scare him—
but the thought of dying before reaching the pinnacle did.
“Wait!”
He raised a hand, his expression serious.
“If you don’t like my offer, let’s… discuss other possibilities.”
Chaewon was strong.
And the Heavenly Demon wanted to become even stronger—
to reach a state where he, too, could open the heavens and shake the earth.
That burning desire made him, for the first time in his life, attempt something utterly foreign to him—
persuasion and negotiation.
Ahem.
Clearing his throat, he looked at Chaewon’s still-glowing eyes.
“The important thing is compensation, correct? I am willing to compensate for the damages.”
Chaewon’s glare began to cool, her eyes lowering slightly.
“Then how do you plan to compensate me?”
“Immediate monetary payment may be difficult. But I can perform work of equivalent value.”
He whispered confidently.
“In my mind are 180,000 demonic manuscripts. In other words, even without internal energy, I can handle all sorts of tasks.”
“All sorts of tasks?”
“Yes.”
With a sly grin, his tongue flicked over his lips.
“If there’s… work you can’t handle directly, I can deal with it discreetly.”
“Discreet work, huh…”
After thinking a moment, Chaewon nodded.
Then she gave an answer he absolutely hadn’t expected.
“Fine. Then work at my shop—until you’ve earned a hundred million won’s worth!”
Pointing at his rock-like face, she continued.
“Internal energy or whatever, figure it out. You’ll be working.”
“Work… at your shop? You mean, that ‘trust’ thing?”
“Are you insane? I wouldn’t trust you with that! You’ll be working at the interior construction site.”
“What kind of work is that?”
“Obviously, interior work. Can’t you read? It says ‘Home Repair Specialist’ on the sign.”
The Heavenly Demon stared blankly at the business card on the table.
“Home repair… you’re saying I should become a carpenter?”
“Something like that. Carpentry’s part of it.”
“Bwahahaha!”
His laugh echoed like thunder, but a cold gleam spread through his eyes.
He didn’t want to die before reaching the heavens—
but he refused to live humiliated.
“Your joke goes too far.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“You mean to make me your laborer?”
“You wish! You’re not even qualified for that yet. This isn’t work just anyone can do.”
“Not just anyone, you say?”
Chaewon smirked.
“Yeah. Do you know how long it takes to learn this trade? Even if you’re gifted, it takes three years of hard work to become an A-class technician.”
“Ha! Hahaha!”
The Heavenly Demon burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Three years to learn something as trivial as house repair?”
“Trivial?”
Now her eyes flared with fire.
“Interior work requires skill and precision. It’s not something you can learn overnight!”
“That applies to ordinary people. I’ve said it already—
I am the Heavenly Demon. Don’t compare me to mediocrities.”
His casual remark stabbed right at her pride.
“What… what did you just call me?”
“Mediocre.”
He said it dead serious.
“Three years to learn one skill? I’ll master one in a single day.”
Then, curling his lips into a smug smile:
“I’m the only genius to ever master all demonic martial arts since the founding of the Demonic Path.”
He wasn’t bluffing.
He truly had mastered all 180,000 arts stored in the Demon Treasury in barely a decade—
a genius of both talent and effort, heaven’s own chosen martial god, the unrivaled Heavenly Demon.
“A genius, huh?”
Chaewon snorted.
“You can learn in a day, huh? And if you can’t?”
“I told you— I’m the Heavenly Demon.”
“So if you can’t do it in a day, what then?”
“Then I’ll accept your earlier offer. I’ll work for you, silently, for three years.”
His eyes gleamed sharply.
“But if I do finish the work in a day?”
“Fine. Then your 100 million won debt is cleared.”
“Hahaha! Now that’s the kind of boldness I respect.”
Though she looked like a young woman, Chaewon had the composure of a seasoned veteran.
The Heavenly Demon bared his fangs in a confident grin.
“Then let’s begin immediately.”
* * *
Screech.
A white van loaded with flooring rolled to a stop in a residential area.
The doors opened, and out stepped the unlikely duo—Chaewon and the Heavenly Demon.
“What is this place?”
He gazed up at the red-brick multi-family house.
Chaewon opened the trunk and pointed to a large roll of flooring.
“Here. We’re installing that.”
“Flooring?”
“Just grab it and follow me.”
“Hmph. Very well.”
He slung the 100-kilo roll over his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
Chaewon checked the notes in her pad and punched in a code on the basement door.
Beep-beep.
The electronic lock clicked, revealing an empty two-room apartment.
“I’ll show you once. No complaints.”
“Of course.”
“Good. Watch carefully.”
She pulled a measuring tape from her pocket and measured the room.
“Okay, width is 3,400mm, length 3,500mm. The flooring roll is 1,800mm wide, so two sheets should cover it.”
She cut the paper wrapping off the roll with a box cutter.
“This is linoleum flooring. The price depends on the thickness. You got that?”
“I understand.”
His answer was flat—his expression anything but pleased.
The Heavenly Demon… doing menial work like this? Absurd.
Thinking he hadn’t understood, Chaewon explained again.
“Look here—these lines are 10 centimeters apart. Ten boxes make a meter.”
“So, roughly four inches per box. I see.”
“Good. Now, we cut it to size and lay it out…”
She sliced through the flooring with practiced ease, slipped on gloves and a mask, and said:
“Now we remove the old flooring.”
She rolled up the existing one neatly and swept the dust away.
“Next, we apply adhesive to the floor.”
“Adhesive?”
“Yeah, glue. The sticky stuff.”
She slit open a white container, scooped up a glob of glue with a trowel, and began spreading it evenly on the floor.
Swish, swish.
The trowel moved in circles, spreading smooth, wavy patterns.
“Now we just lay the flooring on top.”
She aligned the sheets perfectly, trimmed the corners, and repeated for the other side.
“Lastly, we weld the seams.”
Cutting along the overlap, she made the two sheets look like one seamless surface.
“Then this—” she held up a small bottle— “is welding agent. It seals the gap.”
She squeezed the liquid into the seam, and the line disappeared instantly.
“There. Think you can handle it?”
“That’s not even worthy of being called a skill.”
“…Excuse me?”
Clenching her teeth, she pointed to the next room.
“Then do it.”
“Fine. Watch closely.”
He ripped the old flooring up in one motion—effortless.
“Glue, yes?”
He spread the glue… horribly. It lumped up everywhere.
“You said it’s not a skill, yet you can’t even spread glue properly?”
“Have patience.”
He then crouched low, his eyes flashing red.
Chaewon’s eyes widened. That stance—
“Wait! Don’t—!”
“Fist of the Demonic Wind, Soaring Dragon!”
He punched.
BOOM!
The floor erupted. The linoleum split like it had been bombed.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Poor durability.”
She held up the shredded flooring, fuming.
“I gave you a knife! Just cut it properly!”
“Knife? You mean a weapon?”
She pointed to the box cutter at his waist.
“This! Use this!”
“Unnecessary. I can cut it myself.”
“Use. The. Knife. That flooring costs money!”
“…As you wish.”
He picked it up lazily, spun it—whirrr—and with a flash—
SHNK!
The flooring split into two perfectly smooth halves.
“Whoa…”
Chaewon blinked at the glasslike cut.
“The form was awful, but the cut… it’s like you used a laser.”
“I am versed in all weapon arts under heaven. This is nothing.”
He smirked and began sticking the flooring down.
But as he worked, wrinkles appeared—like an old donkey’s belly.
“Wow. Incredible talent. It’s actually hard to make it that ugly.”
Ignoring the sarcasm, he said flatly:
“Do you know the saying ‘Even if one walks sideways, as long as one reaches the capital, it’s fine’?”
“What?”
“It means it doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as the goal is achieved.”
He pressed the flooring down with confidence—still wrinkled.
“Now, to cut the overlap.”
He sliced again—but too forcefully. Sparks flew.
Each movement left jagged scars. The floor looked like a battlefield.
“Done.”
Chaewon stared, aghast.
“Are you blind? It looks like a monster skin rug!”
“As long as it sticks to the floor, does it not serve its purpose?”
“Are you kidding me? It’s supposed to look nice!”
Avoiding her gaze, he said shamelessly,
“That is the essence of Demonic Martial Arts—prioritizing practicality over aesthetics.”
“Unbelievable. You said you could copy it after one look!”
She laughed incredulously.
“Some genius you are. In your world, do they call idiots geniuses?”
“Hmm…”
Even he couldn’t understand. He could master the most complex martial arts instantly, yet interior work—utter failure.
Is it this world? The loss of inner power?
He didn’t know.
But his pride as the greatest under heaven still burned.
“I wield swords better than knives.”
“What?”
“And I’m better with palm techniques than fists. Though without inner power, I must rely on fist forms…”
“What are you even saying?”
“As with martial arts, every task requires proper aptitude.”
“…What?”
“This, it seems, does not suit mine.”
Narrowing his eyes, the Heavenly Demon declared:
“I shall try another task.”
After that, he followed Chaewon through various interior construction jobs—
and came to a shocking realization.
The Heavenly Demon…
had absolutely no talent for interior work.
“This cannot be!”
He fell to the floor, wailing.
“I entered the Demon Treasury and mastered 180,000 arts! Before I was of age, I achieved the Twelve Stages of the Reverse Heaven Divine Art—something that takes others decades! And now… I can’t even handle manual labor?!”
“‘Manual labor’? Watch your mouth.”
Arms crossed, Chaewon looked down at the fallen Heavenly Demon.
“Nothing left to say, huh? From now on, no backtalk. You’ll start with demolition and trash cleanup until you get the hang of it.”
“Demolition? Trash… cleanup?”
“Forgot the bet already?”
She leaned in with a bright, devilish smile.
“You said if you couldn’t do it right the first time, you’d work for three years.”
Her eyes curved into crescents—
but to the Heavenly Demon, they looked like the eyes of a demon risen straight from hell.
