Chapter 1503 Continuing On (3)

Lee Hyeon-Su blinked his eyes.

“Sorry? You mean the Golden Elephant Mk.2, sir?”

—Why... such a grandiose sounding name?

“Fufufufu~, don’t worry about that, sir. I assure you, your bicycle has been ready for you for quite some time. I had it stored carefully in the Assembly’s storage after it arrived in Korea. It’s just that I couldn’t give it to you with so many events happening at the time!”

He tried to sound quite confident, but a solitary streak of cold sweat still trickled down his forehead.

Damn it! I’ve completely forgotten about it!

After he had the delivered parts assembled together, he tucked the bicycle in the storage and forgot about its existence until now. With how long it had been sitting in there, the layer of dust covering it alone should resemble snow by now!

And it was such a valuable item, too!

The best Italian craftsmen shed sweat, blood, and tears to... hand-manufacture each part, after all!

All of them were designed to match Kang Jin-Ho’s specs. No thoughts were given to its weight or flexibility! Lee Hyeon-Su commissioned a bicycle that could withstand a shelling from a tank, even if such a thing could potentially weigh as much as a ton!

Unsurprisingly, the manufacturers expressed how troubled they were at such an absurd demand, but...

But the money I offered them was too good to say no!

When Lee Hyeon-Su came up with a number that no normal bicycle could ever command as its price tag, the manufacturer replied they would get it done come hell or high water. And the Golden Elephant Mk.2 was the result of their dedication.

Other bicycles were designed to weigh as little as possible while minimizing the energy required to operate it. And much attention was also given to its handling. But not the Golden Elephant Mk.2. Lee Hyeon-Su dumped a truckload of money into it so that it could perform one job—withstanding Kang Jin-Ho’s physical strength!

The weakest points in a bicycle, the pedals, had been fixed by employing special alloy. Meanwhile, its frame boasted the will-bend-but-never-break fighting attitude of a traitor to one’s mother country.

“H-hang on, sir?! Where did you say you were? I-I’m coming right away! Sorry? You want to know if I’m at my office? Hahaha, of course, sir! Saying something so obvious and all. By the way, I didn’t see you at the office earlier today?”

While chatting on the phone, Lee Hyeon-Su rushed to the Assembly’s storage.

“Yes, sir! I’ll bring the bicycle to your location in less than one hour. Just wait a little while longer, Assembly Master!”

Lee Hyeon-Su ended the call, then threw open the storage’s entrance.

“Fufufufufufu~!”

He stared into the storage reserved for the Assembly Master’s exclusive use. In the center of this empty space was a bicycle with a halo of light surrounding it.

“Finally! The day has finally come for you to strut your stuff!”

Of course, before that happens, let me clean you first.

Goodness me, look at all the dust!

***

Park Yu-Min curiously asked, “When did Chief Lee say he’d come?”

“One hour, but...” Kang Jin-Ho studied his friend’s attire and the shiny bicycle next to him before furrowing his brow, somewhat unimpressed. After all, Park Yu-Min was kitted out in various safety gear right now. “Since when did you start riding bicycles?”

“Remember how you used to give me rides to school on the back of your bicycle?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded while remembering his school days when he always gave Park Yu-Min a ride.

“After graduation, though, I didn’t get a lot of chances to ride on your bicycle again. I kinda missed that, so when I got some reward money saved up, I bought myself a bicycle, too.”

“Ah!”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned gently. Something about this development was amusing to him. And he was proud, too, since someone who always rode in the back of his bicycle as if that was the most natural thing in the world now wanted to pedal a bicycle on his own.

“Having said that, I rarely got a chance to ride it until now.”

“Let’s change that today, shall we?”

“That’s the plan.”

A little while later, the two of them spotted a pickup truck speeding toward them from far away. One look at how reckless the driving was, and they could easily guess who was behind the wheel.

Park Yu-Min chuckled wryly. “Even though he doesn’t look it, Chief Lee has this secret wild side to him, doesn’t he?”

“...”

Screeeeeech!

The truck screeched to a halt while scattering dust everywhere, then Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly climbed out of the driver’s side. “Assembly Master! I’ve brought your bicycle! Oh, Mister Yu-Min! You were here, too!”

“It’s great to see you again, Chief Lee.”

“Hahaha! Goodness me, we haven’t seen each other since our trip to America, have we? I felt bad about not congratulating you properly back then, you know? Although it’s a bit late, congratulations, Mister Yu-Min. Kuh-uh~, you were seriously cool back then.”

“Thank you for your kind words,” Park Yu-Min grinned while shaking Lee Hyeon-Su’s hand.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the truck. “What about my bicycle, though?”

“I’ll bring it out now, sir!”

Lee Hyeon-Su rushed to the enclosed cargo area, then threw open the door before jumping on to the load bay. A few seconds later, he stepped outside with a shiny bicycle, its frame gleaming in a golden hue that verged on being lime-ish from some angles.

“Fufufufu~! Here it is, sir! I proudly present to you the Golden Elephant Mk.2!”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned brightly. Why... Why the hell did I name my previous bicycle the Golden Elephant? If I knew what might happen in the future, I wouldn’t have done that. Why, oh why did you do it, the past me?!

“Every part of this bicycle has been crafted in consideration of you, sir! I asked the manufacturer to give us a bicycle that can even withstand the rampage of King Kong, you see? Of course, that pushed its price through the roof, but still!”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “How much was it?”

“Do you remember how much was your previous bicycle?”

“Mm? Wasn’t it around...”

Wasn’t it thirty million won, give or take a few million?

“I heard from Jo Gyu-Min that, on top of thirty million won, he spent another ten million won just on manufacturing special pedals for you back then, sir.”

Oh, wow. I really was crazy in those days, wasn’t I?

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly realized what an absurd high schooler he was back then. To think he went to school on a bicycle that cost forty million won! A high schooler commuting to school in their father’s sports car would’ve looked like a pauper in comparison.

“However!”

Lee Hyeon-Su gritted his teeth noisily.

“A bicycle I have personally ordered should never be compared to some shabby crap ordered by Jo Gyu-Min! Of course, mine is in another realm altogether, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced slightly. You shouldn’t get competitive over strange things, Chief Lee. Besides, you weren’t the one making this bicycle, anyway. Why are you so fired up when you merely put in some orders?

“This bicycle is! Totally! Different from your old Golden Elephant! Totally!”

“...”

“That thing, despite how expensive it was, was still a mass-produced item. In other words! They shouldn’t be compared! It’s wrong! Because this guy here was designed to exactly match your physical measurements, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked his head slightly. “Stop right there.”

“Sir?”

“How or why do you know what my measurements are?”

“...”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su sheepishly fake-coughed. “Kuh-hmm. Let’s overlook minor matters like that, shall we? Sir?”

Park Yu-Min leaned in closer and whispered to Kang Jin-Ho after witnessing how evasive Lee Hyeon-Su was being. “Will you be okay, Jin-Ho?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure.”

He genuinely was not sure. Because this person named Lee Hyeon-Su was getting harder and harder to understand with every passing day.

Kang Jin-Ho forced himself to sweep aside the so-called minor matters and ask the most pertinent question in this situation. “So... How much was it?”

Lee Hyeon-Su sheepishly avoided meeting Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze again. “It wasn’t that expensive, sir.”

“Then, how much was it?”

“Sir, it’s an amount that you can handle without batting an eyelid.”

“Want me to hit you?”

“It’s, uh... It probably cost the same as your car, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes. “The same as what?”

“Your car, sir.”

My car? You mean, my Zoom-Zoom, the supercar?

Didn’t Kang Jin-Ho wonder if he had spent too much money on a car the first time he saw it? But this bicycle cost as much as that?

“...”

Even the one and only Kang Jin-Ho was momentarily rendered speechless.

“What the... What kind of bicycle costs that much?”

“Fufufu~! This is no mere bicycle, sir. It’s a one of a kind, crafted by some of the most skilled craftsmen in the business! Honestly, this thing deserves to be praised as a work of art!”

“Ohh? And you kept such a work of art locked up in some storage?”

“W-well, with how hectic our lives have been...”

“...”

“...”

A vein bulged on Kang Jin-Ho’s forehead. “I seem to remember telling you to not waste the Assembly’s funds on unnecessary stuff?”

“I know, sir. That’s why I paid for it using your card.”

“...”

This fool didn’t seem to realize that doing so was even worse. Besides all that...

Why does he have my bank card?

Kang Jin-Ho groaned loudly. If he started picking faults, it’d be endless. Even at a conservative estimate, they might have to stay here for at least one hour!

However, what would grilling Lee Hyeon-Su now change? Since the bicycle wasn’t some off-the-shelf product but a specially commissioned item, returning it and asking for a refund would be impossible. Besides, even if it was possible to return it, the time limit should have run out a long, long time ago.

Selling it wasn’t a viable option, either.

I mean, who’d want to buy this?

Which crazy fool would want to pay that much money for a bicycle, after all? Worse still, it weighed a ton because it was supposed to be Kang Jin-Ho’s exclusive bicycle, anyway, which made it ridiculously inefficient in almost every way imaginable. At least it had one redeeming quality, which was its sturdiness!

“Hang on? All I needed was a sturdy bicycle, right? In that case, did you really have to order it from Italy?”

“...? Eh?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head in confusion. “Now that you mention it...”

Kang Jin-Ho was given a fresh lesson on the meaning of the concept “dying from an ulcer” just then.

“Forget it. Just give me the bicycle.”

Since he couldn’t even resell this dang thing, he might as well ride the hell out of it and get his money’s worth that way!

He only wanted to find himself a new hobby, but it felt like things had gone beyond the level of a casual hobby now. However, what could he do about it? That ship had set sail a long time ago, after all.

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned like a villain. “Fufufu~! Once you take her around the block, all your dissatisfaction will fly out the window, sir! This saddle here, for instance. It’s a special item crafted out of water buffalo hides, and...”

“Why don’t you stop before I use your hide to pay for this thing?”

“...Yes, sir.”

Park Yu-Min guffawed at this exchange. I don’t remember Chief Lee being such a character, though?

The “Lee Hyeon-Su” he remembered used to be as sharp as a knife yet now? He was friendly to the point of being a mischievous prankster! What was even more entertaining, however, was Kang Jin-Ho, who matched Lee Hyeon-Su’s pace and displayed such a variety of responses.

The “old” Kang Jin-Ho would’ve just cocked his head a little and brushed aside whatever antics Lee Hyeon-Su was up to. But here he was, responding to every little thing his subordinates did and said.

Watching the duo from the sidelines proved to be more entertaining than Park Yu-Min had anticipated.

“I-in any case! How about giving it a go, sir?”

“Urgh...”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned softly before mounting the saddle. The pedals weren’t the clipless type, it seemed. Lee Hyeon-Su noticed Kang Jin-Ho glancing at the pedals and grinned triumphantly.

“The concept of efficient energy transfer is meaningless to you, after all. This design lessens the load exerted on the pedals, you see?”

In other words, regular pedals had been... No, specially reinforced pedals had been reshaped to resemble regular pedals. At least, that was what Lee Hyeon-Su was implying.

Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “I hope this bicycle is worth all the fuss you’ve raised.”

“You will be satisfied, sir. Definitely.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced one last time at Lee Hyeon-Su, his expression still filled with dissatisfaction, then gently depressed the pedals. And then...!

Whoooooosh!

The Golden Elephant Mk.2 surged forward without deviation or hints of unsteadiness. Even Kang Jin-Ho’s head shot up in surprise at how immediate the response was.

What’s this?

It felt completely different from riding the previous Golden Elephant. Should he say it was as if his body was now glued to the bicycle’s frame? Goosebumps broke out on his skin at this unmistakable sense of being one with an object, something he hadn’t sensed in a long while.

“Fufufufu~! How was it, sir? Didn’t I tell you it’d be great?!”

If only Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t say that so triumphantly! Kang Jin-Ho might have enjoyed this feeling a bit more.

Lee Hyeon-Su walked up closer and reached out. “Give them to me, sir.”

“Give what to you?”

“Your car keys, of course.”

“And why should I?”

“I mean, aren’t you going to ride this home now? I’ll drive your car to your house, sir. You left it by the orphanage, didn’t you?”

“Chief Lee... I want you to be honest with me this time.”

“Sir?”

“Did you plant a listening device on me?”

“Sir, I’m disheartened to hear you say that. Only a man who knows what you want without hearing you expressing it can truly call himself your aide, you see?”

That sounded more like a stalker rather than an aide. Or a fortune teller. Despite his reservations, though, Kang Jin-Ho handed his car keys over without complaining. Because he had a strong hunch that he’d ride this bicycle home, exactly as Lee Hyeon-Su had predicted.

It felt like he was dancing on Lee Hyeon-Su’s palm somewhat, but the dissatisfaction arising from that feeling was quickly quashed by the stunning sensation he got from riding this bicycle.

“Well, then! Sir, I hope you have fun!”

Kang Jin-Ho helplessly shook his head, then glanced at Park Yu-Min. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Yeah!”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned brightly while watching Kang Jin-Ho and Park Yu-Min get on their bicycles and smoothly glide away down the road.

Yup, a man needs to take a break now and then, exactly like that.

Even to Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes, Kang Jin-Ho seemed far too exhausted lately, so the latter’s decision to start riding bicycles again was an encouraging development, indeed. Having said that, Lee Hyeon-Su had a feeling that Park Yu-Min probably played a key role here.

“I guess I owe Mister Yu-Min a hearty meal as my thanks, then.”

Lee Hyeon-Su wasn’t sure if Park Yu-Min would want that, but still!