chapter 5
‘Did I give it too much strength?’
The first guest, Nam Woo-hyun, left the room, and Kang Tae-han was cleaning up afterward, recalling what had just happened.
‘I was concentrating without realizing it.’
Originally, I planned to do it in moderation according to the manual I first told you about. However, the moment she came inside and saw the man’s condition, her body moved without realizing it.
Where is the problem, where to look and how.
A rough picture was drawn as a whole, and the hand moved along the picture. I couldn’t even pay attention to the tone from the middle because I was concentrating only on that.
… No, not from the middle, but from the beginning.
Originally, this would have been an easy task, but it seems that as the body returned, the concentration dropped along with it.
‘If I do something wrong, there may be a claim.’
A service provider who speaks ill of customers. That this doesn’t make sense is common knowledge that Kang Tae-han, who stayed in Moorim for 60 years, also remembers.
“Wait a minute, Taehan!”
When I came out after cleaning up, Director Hwang, who was standing in the lobby, called Kang Tae-han and stopped him. At first glance, it was difficult to grasp his intentions as his expression was stiff.
“Is something wrong?”
“What happened? Hey! ha ha ha.”
However, the next moment, the corners of Hwang’s mouth went up and he let out an easy-going smile.
“Isn’t this, Taehan’s skill a joke? Earlier, a customer asked for Taehan’s name, and he even took the store’s business card, and he said he was just going to become a regular!”
Dare to pick up the store business card.
And asking for the name of the person in charge.
Both are indicators of a high level of intention to revisit, and are also indicators that the level of satisfaction with this visit was very high.
To put it bluntly, it is a massage shop attached to a sauna. Most of them are customers who come and stop by to get a sauna, and it is quite difficult to secure a steady stream of customers.
That’s why it’s important to leave a good impression on your first visit, and that’s why such a positive response came out. Literally, the result was beyond expectations.
“To be honest, I was a little anxious, but I guess it was for nothing. Just do this next time.”
“All right.”
Kang Tae-han also smiled brightly.
He was also worried about it, but it didn’t feel too bad to say that it went well. In other words, he saved the face of Choi Seong-hyeon, who recommended him.
“this. I’ve been putting this tired person up for nothing. Go in and rest.”
Director Hwang suddenly said sorry. It was only then that he remembered that Kang Tae-han had just left work.
“Then I will go in.”
“Yes~”
Kang Tae-han bowed his head and headed for the waiting room.
Chief Hwang quietly watched him from behind, then burst into small admiration.
“Yeah. Are you the same age as Sunghyun? You don’t look like a student.”
When you work in a sauna, you see a lot of people, and you naturally have a keen eye for understanding people.
If we talked to Chief Hwang a little bit, we could get a general idea of what kind of person he was… It was difficult to express what I, Tae-Han Kang, was.
Would you say the depth is different or the atmosphere is unusual? Either way, it wasn’t just the impression of a college student.
* * *
“Whoa.”
Meanwhile, Kang Tae-han, who entered the waiting room, sat down and leaned on a chair inside the changing room. This was the most deserted place in the world.
‘I’ll have to release it soon.’
Kang Tae-han sat cross-legged on a chair.
Place your hands lightly on your knees, close your eyes slowly as if cotton wool is falling down, and focus your consciousness on the inside of your body.
An excessive amount of vitality filled Nam Woo-hyun’s lower halves.
The vitality, which was not circulating and accumulated in one place to the point of obstructing blood flow, was now transferred to Kang Tae-han’s Danjeon.
The Great Law of Absorbing Stars.
It was the first martial arts that Kang Tae-han got in Moorim, and it was also the martial arts that allowed him to survive far away somehow.
‘I never thought I’d be writing this again.’
Absorption Great Law is a martial art that can be used even without internal energy. No, rather, it is easier to use if there is no internal hole. It is the principle of emptying one’s dantian in the first place and absorbing the opponent’s qi through the difference in pressure.
However, the Absorption Great Law only absorbs the other person’s energy. It means that a separate procedure is required to make the absorbed energy into one’s own.
If you accept the absorbed energy as it is, you can get sick, and if the compatibility is extremely wrong, you may fall into a coin intoxication, so you need to be careful in using it.
… Well, it’s something I’ve been through once in a while.
Kang Tae-han slowly raised both hands. Then, the energy inside the body flowed through both hands.
In his right hand, he held his inner strength, which he had transferred to the middle battle.
In his left hand, Nam Woo-hyun’s vitality that had been sucked into the bottom section.
After feeling that both hands are filled with energy, draw a big arc and bring your hands together in the middle while drawing a Taegeuk pattern.
Then, in a state where the strength is completely relaxed, the two hands join together with only the force of pulling each other, and the shape of the joint is naturally completed.
Taecheongsimgong of the shaman faction.
Shaolin Temple Reverse Root Sutra (易筋經).
It is an internal energy management method created by Kang Tae-han using the principles of the two mental methods to properly capture the internal energy in the body.
The two energies gathered in both hands are harmonized through the principle of Taecheong Simgong, and after being neatly arranged at the center of the body by the technique of the reverse root, they are merged into one through the joining of hands.
And if you send the organized internal energy back to the Danjeon, it’s finished. Kang Tae-han slowly opened his eyes, which had been closed until then.
“Whoa.”
Kang Tae-han let out a long breath.
2 minutes at most. It had only been that much time, but Kang Tae-han’s whole body was wet with sweat and his energy had declined. If the amount absorbed had been doubled, he would have collapsed from exhaustion on the way.
‘still… It’s not a bad achievement.’
The energy absorbed from Nam Woo-hyun.
Of course, compared to his days in Moorim, it is only a minor level that can be compared to a grain of sand.
However, to Kang Tae-han now, it was literally predation.
Vitality to the extent that it can’t build up in the danjeon and affect the blood flow.
I wonder how big a normal person’s Danjeon should be, but it was still roughly 1.5 times the amount of energy that Kang Tae-han has now.
Of course, there was a loss in the absorption process, and he had to take into account that his energy was muddy due to being stagnant for a long time, but even now, Kang Tae-han’s internal energy had doubled at once.
“Don’t… It might not be as bad as you think.”
In modern times, nutrition is overflowing and diet is a virtue. It won’t have the same guests as before, but it won’t be rare either.
If so, there will be many opportunities to build up your inner skills.
Receive money, build internal skills. It’s like eating a pheasant and eating an egg.
“Hey Taehan! What are you doing here?”
At that moment, I opened the locker room door and Seonghyun Choi appeared. Choi Seong-hyeon had just entered the waiting room after a massage.
“I was resting.”
“It’s cool outside, so come out and rest. Why are you here?”
“He left his smartphone in his clothes and came out.”
Kang Tae-han said while holding the smartphone next to him. I just remembered it, but it wasn’t a bad excuse.
* * *
The part-time job wasn’t bad, as Sunghyun Choi said.
I spend time sitting in the waiting room, and when there is a small task, I help out, and when it is my turn, I go out and give a massage and come back. continuation of this.
“Sir, are you still here? Then, I would definitely like to visit again next time… … .”
“It was by far the best massage I’ve ever had.”
Kang Tae-han received two more customers after that, and the overall satisfaction of the guests was good. Even though the tone of speech changed halfway through, just like it was the first time.
‘It felt like my attitude subtly changed before and after the massage.’
Is it because of my young age? When Kang Tae-han first entered, there was a customer who showed a disapproving look. However, after finishing the massage, isn’t it natural to attach the honorific title of ‘teacher’?
And that wasn’t all. All three of the guests I received today had the impression of being subtly polite after the massage.
‘What… It doesn’t matter since there are no claims.’
Anyway, it’s all over, so it’s fine.
Kang Tae-han shrugged and changed his clothes and came out. Time passed and it was time to go to work.
“You worked hard, Sung Hyun-ah.”
“Haha, I had a hard time today.”
“There were a lot of guests. So after all your hard work, how about dinner time?”
“a… That’s not it.”
At Director Hwang’s words, Seonghyeon Choi immediately waved his hand. In response, Chief Hwang burst out laughing.
“how about it. Taehan, don’t you have any plans for dinner time?”
“I have somewhere to go.”
“Well… If you say you work until evening, I can raise your hourly wages a bit more.”
“Oh, really?”
“Not you.”
“Oh, why!”
I tried to sneak a deal, but it was not Kang Tae-han, but the wrong Choi Seong-hyun. Kang Tae-han just smiled.
“Thank you, but I really have work today. Let’s talk again tomorrow.”
“All right. You worked hard today… Here, today’s payoff.”
Chief Hwang said as he pulled out an envelope from his chest.
“Are you paying in cash?”
“haha. Originally, only the bonus on the first day will be given like this. In the sense that we will do well in the future.”
Kang Tae-han bowed his head and accepted the envelope. It was said that the bonus was quite good, but the thickness in the hand was not too bad.
‘That’s good.’
The public transportation cost was close at hand, so I would be grateful if they gave it in cash right away.
“How is it, how do you feel about working?”
“Not bad. It was good that you came.”
The way to get money and go out.
To Choi Seong-hyeon’s words, Kang Tae-han answered honestly.
“Haha, right? I thought it would suit you well. Director Hwang was also a little nervous at first, but seemed to completely like it.”
Seonghyun Choi laughed and said. Kang Tae-han also smiled at the appearance of being happy as if it were his own work.
“uh? Aren’t you going home?”
“I’m going to stop by somewhere.”
A forked road that diverges along the subway line. Kang Tae-han’s answer made Choi Seong-hyeon remember.
“Ah, come to think of it, there was work.”
“Then did you think it was a lie?”
“If you say that in your original work place, you mean you want to take a break, right? Anyway, see you tomorrow then.”
Sunghyun Choi waved his hand and entered the station.
Kang Tae-han waved his hand a couple of times at his back and turned around. Suddenly, there was a subway map in front of me, so I glanced at it.
‘The express bus terminal… This one is right.’
I wondered if it was right to ride here, but when I looked at the route map, fortunately it seemed my memory was not wrong.
‘Please stay safe… No, nothing has changed.’
Still, my heart is worried.
Time here did not last long, but for Kang Tae-han, it was the first time in 60 years that he was on his way to see his father.