“… Really?”

A chilly, desolate atmosphere flows around.

Although it is said to be a secluded vacant lot far from the accommodation, the sensation Jang Tae-chun is feeling right now is not at that level.

It feels like being isolated alone in the harsh winter. The feeling of intimidation and heaviness felt right behind his back was enough to create such an illusion.

“I really am! I am truly sorry!”

In the midst of this, Kang Tae-han’s calm voice was truly a voice that sent chills down the spine. He repeated the words of apology as if pleading.

Shall we call it the threat to life felt at the level of instinct? In my heart, I wanted to grab hold of my legs and beg, but because my body was stiff, I couldn’t even do what I wanted.

“Then isn’t the opponent wrong?”

“Yes… Yes?”

“That’s Mr. Chansu in front of you.”

At those words, Jang Tae-cheon turned his gaze to Kim Chan-soo in front of him. He was looking at him as if he didn’t understand the situation.

“Oh… … .”

Was it because he hesitated for a moment because he was proud of himself as a senior?

However, that was really short-lived. When Kang Tae-han’s hand, which was pressing on his shoulder, added some weight, he said in an urgent voice as if he was screaming.

“Chansu! sorry! I am such an ugly bastard!”

“Ehh.”

The moment he finished shouting, Kang Tae-han let out a small sigh and removed his hand from his shoulder. At the same time, Jang Tae-chun’s legs, which were trembling unknowingly, collapsed as if they were about to collapse.

‘It’s pitiful.’

Kang Tae-han looked down at him with the same kind of eyes. To be honest, it didn’t pose a huge threat. It wasn’t that I was spewing out murder, it was just a matter of putting pressure on my heart.

Well, even though his body stiffened, it was his intention, but as soon as he released the pressure, he collapsed like this pathetically. In other words, he is a man with no skill or ability.

Kang Tae-han pretended to go now with his chin, and Jang Tae-chun struggled to get up with his wobbly legs.

“thank you… … !”

“Okay, go quickly.”

“Yes Yes!”

At the same time, Jang Tae-chun began to walk hurriedly with trembling legs. It just seemed like she was trying to get away from him as quickly as possible.

“Wait a minute.”

“Hee!”

In the meantime, a word from Kang Tae-han called him up.

The voice was low, but Jang Tae-cheon stood still, visibly startled, as if he had received an electric shock.

“Why, why do you… … ?”

“You have to pick up the trash you threw away.”

Kang Tae-han pointed at the floor with his eyes, as if it was a waste to even gesture. There are cigarette butts lying there. It was the trash that Jang Tae-chun smoked and threw away a while ago.

“Poem, excuse me, excuse me!”

Normally, Jang Tae-cheon would not have snorted at such a sound, but now the story was different. He frantically picked up cigarette butts, and then started walking toward the dorm again.

“Tsk.”

Kang Tae-han looked at his back and clicked his tongue slightly. Then he turned his head to Chansu Kim and opened his mouth.

“I saw that we couldn’t see each other.”

“… That’s it. You showed ugliness.”

At Kang Tae-han’s words, Kim Chan-soo made a bitter expression. It’s true that he’s a bad guy, but he’s still a senior at the same school. It was exhilarating, but seeing him look so ugly made me feel complicated in many ways.

“I used to be that kind of person from the start, but more like that these days. Today, in the hallway, I grabbed the pod for not pretending to know… Phew.”

Kang Tae-han slowly nodded at Kim Chan-soo’s words. I didn’t hear the details, but I was able to guess the rough story from that.

“It looks like the Olympics are coming soon.”

“… Right.”

With the Olympics ahead, it is time for athletes to be very sensitive and careful. It is absurd to have an accident or cause social controversy anywhere, let alone manage your physical condition.

In other words, it is a situation that has no choice but to endure.

Most people would try to be more considerate of something like this, but sometimes there are humans who try to take advantage of the situation. Jang Tae-cheon was such a person.

It’s good because you can relieve stress one-sidedly if you don’t fight, and it’s even better because you can get a seat on the national team if you hit one.

Perhaps he was doing such a pathetic thing with such a petty and superficial thought. Kang Tae-han let out a small sigh at the obvious way of thinking.

“Anyway, thanks for your help, sir.”

“no. I interrupted because I couldn’t see it… I don’t think I’ve interfered in vain.”

“It’s not a meddling. Maybe if the teacher hadn’t come, I would have just squeezed it.”

Kim Chan-soo said with a smile. Although the tone was playful, it was a voice mixed with sincerity as if it were not empty words.

“How are you feeling?”

“It’s brisk. Thanks.”

“What sure… Now there is nowhere else to go.”

Kang Tae-han looked up and down Kim Chan-su’s body and said.

Kim Chan-soo is one of the athletes who came to the massage parlor due to the aftereffects of a car accident. When I first saw it, the degree of aftereffects was quite severe, but now it has been cured and is showing off more than before.

“Then, let’s go.”

“Yes. Please go in carefully.”

Taehan Kang responded with a smile.

Then I turned around and continued my night walk. No, I was going to continue.

“… I, the director!”

By the time I finished the story and was just about to go.

Kim Chan-soo, who was watching Kang Tae-han’s back, carefully called Tae-han and stopped him. It was a voice of hesitation, as if he had pondered whether to sing or not.

“Perhaps… Can I talk to you if it’s okay?”

“Yes, what.”

Kang Tae-han didn’t have a purpose in particular, he was just taking a walk to spare time. To that voice, Kang Tae-han nodded happily.

* * *

“Coffee, did you have this?”

A small bench in a park located near a convenience store.

To Kang Tae-han, who was sitting there, Kim Chan-soo carefully asked, holding out the plastic bottle coffee he had brought. Then he added:

“I saw it at the store the other day, and all the other masseuses used it as well.”

“If you don’t burn it yourself, you have no choice but to do that. This is the only coffee in the bathroom.”

To be precise, Director Hwang likes this coffee.

Among ready-made products, this one has the best taste and aroma.

In fact, Kang Tae-han also agreed to some extent, and the coffee in the tea room was unified with this product.

“Anyway, I’ll have a good drink. There are a lot of people who get this and eat it.”

“no. Thank you for taking the time out of nowhere.”

Kang Tae-han smiled, opened the bottle cap, and took a sip as if to quench his thirst. It felt like the cool night air and the strong aroma of coffee went well together.

“by the way… You must have had a fist before.”

And the silence that followed.

In the slightly awkward atmosphere, it was Kim Chan-soo who spoke first. He cautiously threw a hwadu with the feeling of trying to lighten the atmosphere a little.

“The atmosphere is completely different from when you were massaging.”

“is that so. Not really.”

Kang Tae-han spoke in a calm tone with a light smile on his lips. It wasn’t really a lie. In fact, modern Kang Tae-han has lived a life quite far from ssambakjil.

Of course, the story would be different if I included the time I was in Moorim, but… At that time, swords were mainly used rather than fists, so it was not just a lie.

“Um, the atmosphere is quite good for something like that. Actually, I was a little creepy at the time. Do you think there was a feeling of being overwhelmed with just the eyes?”

“haha… I will take it as a compliment.”

Kang Tae-han smiled lightly and took another sip of coffee. Then, sneakily examining Chansu Kim’s face, he opened his mouth insinuatingly.

“So, what did you ask to talk about? I don’t think he did this because he was curious about whether I had done a fistful in the past.”

“What… It’s no big deal. Maybe he’s just saying something full.”

Kim Chan-soo scratched his head with an embarrassed expression. After a brief pause, he opened his mouth in a cautious voice.

“Actually, that nobleman said something like that earlier. After all, it’s a massage brush or something, that’s the story.”

… did you?

Maybe it was because he didn’t hear it, or because he didn’t want to hear it in the first place because it was so pathetic, Kang Tae-han doesn’t really remember.

“It was.”

But that doesn’t mean you have to cut off the story. When Kang Tae-han responded appropriately, Kim Chan-soo continued the conversation in a calm voice.

“Actually, I was thinking that too. It’s true that my skills have improved, but is this my skill, or am I using skills that don’t fit the subject in an expedient way… I think so.”

It is only because of his skills that he became the national representative.

At the time of the selection, he still had the pride he felt after winning the qualifications for the national team in his heart.

However, his current skills are a little different.

Although he was showing off his outstanding performance and skills more than ever, it is also true that he feels a little ambiguous when asked if this is his skill.

“Is it okay to compete for the national team in this condition…? It may sound really full, but I have such a concern these days.”

Kim Chan-soo paused for a while, then looked at Kang Tae-han and said that in a low voice. At those words, Kang Tae-han made an expression of surprise.

‘More than I thought… He’s a much more sincere person.’

People love to say it’s a fair match.

Is it because there is something that stimulates romance there? However, in most cases, when you are in a position to compete, you only think about winning.

In fact, it was the same in Moorim.

As a member of the Murim Alliance, they speak of great cause and justice, but it was the factionalists who did not choose any means if there was an important enemy.

Still, this is a legitimate act and self-justifying… Rather, Sapa guys who openly admit that it is a shameful trick look pleasant.

Among them, there were some really noble and lofty warriors, and they used to blow their reputation… The fact that such people are praised in the first place is also a counter-proof that such people are rare.

Of course, this is not Moorim.

However, even though the times may be different, in the end, they are the same person, and this part will not be too different. In fact, it was quite common for illegal doping scandals to break out whenever there was something big.

In the meantime, what are you worried about?

‘Well, it’s true that I’m full, but… … .’

Apart from that, it is also true that it is a worry that seems quite unique. It’s a worry that can’t be thought of unless you’re a person who takes his work seriously. At least from Kang Tae-han’s point of view, it was considered that way.

“This may sound like a different story… Quite a few professional baseball players are getting massages at Cheonma Massage regularly.”

At those words, Kim Chan-soo nodded slowly. He also met some players in person when he visited Cheonma Massage.

“It’s a little hard for me to say it myself, but you must be thinking that if you get a massage from me that much, your game performance will improve, your skills will improve.”

“Isn’t it really so?”

“It’s not like nothing at all. However.”

Kang Tae-han then added in a low voice.

“That’s not all. For example, the first and most popular team for me is the Hanha Hawks. But are the Hanha Hawks the number one team right now?”

“ah… no. Third place, I know it was like that.”

“That’s it.”

Kang Tae-han leaned back on the bench and said with a light smile on his lips.

“It’s true that I warm up with massage, but it only allows me to use the skills and skills I’ve accumulated over the years.”

In other words, no matter how brave Kang Tae-han is, he cannot create something out of nothing. Just like you can’t turn a carp into a dragon.

“Of course my massage can affect the game. However… If your performance improves after receiving a massage, it means that your skills that have been buried for so long have been revealed, not skills that you unfairly brought from somewhere.”

“… Is that so.”

Kim Chan-soo sat there blankly as if he was speechless for a moment at Kang Tae-han’s words, then slowly nodded his head and replied.

Maybe it was just something nice to hear to soothe yourself. But there was no particular intention, he knew intuitively.

“thank you. It’s good that you asked the director.”

Kim Chan-soo said with a smile. Perhaps it was because the troubles that had been buried deep inside had been resolved, but that smile was quite refreshing.

* * *

“This must be a busy time, I’m sorry.”

Chief Hwang is in the passenger seat. When he said it in an embarrassing voice, the person sitting in the driver’s seat shook his head gently and replied.

“no. The staff and managers are busy, but I was just free. Rather, it’s nice to come out together.”

He is none other than Kwak Sang-young, the general manager of the Liner Hotel.

It was a position that could be called a serious responsibility, but it was not that he was lying. In fact, being a general manager is a position to decide and take responsibility for something, not a position to take the lead.

“Chief Hwang is busy, isn’t it?”

“I’m not really like that either. Especially since the reservation app was established, my work has decreased a lot.”

“Ah, I saw it the other day and it was really good. Where did you get such a developer from?”

“This is a long story, but I didn’t save it… … .”

Two people who move naturally exchanging stories.

Maybe it’s because they’ve both been involved in the business for quite some time, and even though it might be an awkward situation, the conversation didn’t stop and flowed naturally.

“Looks like we arrived soon.”

“Ah, I remember. I think it was this alley.”

In the meantime, as Kwak Sang-young spoke as he entered the alley, Chief Hwang also nodded and replied. Before long, the image of the destination began to be visible through the window.

“Hey… It’s a completely different building from the last time I saw it, isn’t it?”

“Haha, I will. It’s the first time I’ve been here since construction began, and the remodeling came out beautifully.”

A large three-story building that has been neatly renovated.

This place was no different, it was the building that the We Reach Group decided to give away last time, and that the Cheonma Massage Academy was scheduled to be built in the near future.