“What else do I say? I thought there was a problem with the reservation, or the opening date was delayed a long time ago, or something like that.”

Kang Tae-han smiled and shook his head lightly at Chief Hwang’s bland pun. Then he picked up the reservation ticket on the table and brought it closer.

“exactly… It’s almost full.”

Except for vague times like late morning or early afternoon, most of the times were already booked. Especially on weekends, there were already only one or two seats left.

“Is this an open tooth or something?”

“It is a bit different from that. I haven’t even opened it yet, but what kind of open teeth are there? To the massage shop too.”

At Kang Tae-han’s half-serious question, Chief Hwang laughed and said, It is safe to say that there is almost no such thing as an open shop in a business like the food service industry.

“This just means that Taehan’s regulars are very loyal. To the point that almost as soon as I sent a text message, I got a reply asking for a schedule.”

Is it a kind of advance reservation?

In the first place, the people who sent text messages to Chief Hwang were limited to those who could be called regulars. If you send it to just anyone, it’s likely to be treated as spam, and it could even make you feel offended.

Because of this, I sent text messages only to customers who had made reservations for Kang Tae-han’s artisan course more than a certain number of times, or to those who had asked to be contacted separately if the store was moved.

In fact, Chief Hwang did not set high expectations for this. No matter how regular customers are, how many people respond to a store promotion through text messages in this day and age?

He was thinking more of a kind of courtesy to the existing regulars rather than a publicity effect.

However, unlike his thoughts, the reaction of the customers who received the text message was explosive. To the extent that a week’s worth of reservations were filled before it even opened.

“It means everything is going smoothly.”

“So what. I haven’t even started yet, but at this level, I think rumors will come out on their own… At least I don’t think there’s anything to worry about when guests don’t come.”

It is Kang Tae-han who made this place attached to a jjimjilbang, a massage shop that had more free time than when it was busy, become crowded in less than a few months.

Because he was the manager who watched the influence from the side, he had no worries about whether the store would succeed or not.

“Is this because it only allowed one person to make a reservation for one day? If we made it possible to make multiple reservations, wouldn’t it have been full by the next week?”

“Well, Taehan’s massage skills are rather good.”

Seonghyun Choi, who was listening by the side, helped out.

It’s been a while since he learned massage from Kang Tae-han, and now he has become so skilled that customers often say, ‘You’re good at it’.

But that’s why I’ve been feeling more keenly lately how great Kang Tae-han’s skills are.

Did you say that you can see as much as you know?

As his massage skills improved and his experience accumulated, Choi Seong-hyeon’s level of Kang Tae-han was only getting higher and higher.

‘Even if I learn, there is no end to learning.’

When learning massage from Kang Tae-han, he excludes details as much as possible and teaches core techniques and tips that are very helpful in actual massage.

Among them, there are techniques that other massage therapists would not tell you, saying, ‘It’s a source of money for their business’, and if you add a little exaggeration, you can call it a secret technique.

Kang Tae-han not only teaches such secret techniques, but also teaches other techniques as soon as he learns one. They have at least a few dozen techniques and tricks that others can use as a source of business.

No, maybe it goes beyond a few hundred.

The fact that he cannot easily fathom the depth is the part that Choi Seong-hyun regards him as really great and even has respect for him.

“What is it, suddenly strange.”

“I’m just trying to impress the boss a little bit.”

When Kang Tae-han scratched his head with a sullen expression, Choi Seong-hyun lightly shrugged his shoulders while laughing. It was too close to show respect again.

“Come to think of it, how is the recruitment of other masseuses going?”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that part.”

At Kang Tae-han’s question, Chief Hwang nodded with a confident expression. Since Chief Hwang had a wide foot in the business side, most of the work of finding employees was left to him.

“First of all, several masseuses here decided to follow me. Needless to say Seonghyun next to me, Taejin decided to come yesterday too.”

“Are you Taejin Hwang?”

“Then, are there any other Taejin among the masseuses?”

At Director Hwang’s words, Kang Tae-han nodded with the corner of his mouth slightly raised. It’s because I thought it would be nice to come to the store a while ago.

“And Seonghun decided to come too.”

Seonghoon Kim. As a masseuse in charge of the artisan course with Kang Tae-han, it is safe to say that he was in the second position.

Kang Tae-han tilted his head at Director Hwang’s words.

“Sunghun too?”

“Yeah, they said it first, so I asked once, and they said they would come right away.”

After getting permission the other day, whenever Seonghyun Choi learns massage from Taehan Kang, it is Seonghun Kim who always sits next to him and listens to him.

Thanks to this, my massage skills, which had been stagnant for a while, started to improve, and the customer’s reaction improved noticeably… When Kang Tae-han suddenly leaves, he might want to follow him.

“that is a good news.”

“But then, what about here?”

“What do you know?”

When Choi Seong-hyun, who was listening, made a hint, Chief Hwang showed a cynical reaction with a chuckle.

“Thanks to Taehan, the business is going well, so masseuses have been around for a long time. The people who were there when Seong-hyeon first came have gone elsewhere.”

“that… Yes?”

Seonghyun Choi nodded. Certainly, it seems that masseuses changed often before Kang Tae-han came. Because of that, they didn’t seem to have any close friends.

“That’s why I said that I had to raise the basic conditions to retain skilled masseuses, but he didn’t listen, and since Taehan came and got the color of the past, let’s try to expand the business, so he said that was fine… … .”

Director Hwang still spoke with a cynical expression and voice. It seemed that there were quite a few things that had accumulated over the years, completely different from his usual impressions.

“In other words, it’s self-employed. I did enough.”

I don’t know how well the next head of department will do the job, but it’s obvious that if Kang Tae-han leaves, they’ll disperse. In that case, wouldn’t it be much better to bring skilled people with you?

“Meantime… You must have been having a hard time?”

“I thought of a cigarette for the first time in ten years.”

Chief Hwang leaned his back against the back of his chair and stretched lightly. Now, work here ends in three days. His expression as he stretched out showed more relief than regret.

* * *

“Chanhyuk, here you are!”

A cafe located inside the QBS broadcasting station.

When Cho Chan-hyeok opened the cafe door and entered, a man sitting in the corner waved his hand and called him. Cho Chan-hyeok raised his hand and pretended to know him, ordered a drink, and walked to his seat.

“Hello, PD Seo.”

Kyung-Woo Seo. As one of the representative program directors of QBS, he is a person who has become famous at once, starting with the long-lived program Blind Mission and successively succeeding in three or four short-term entertainment shows.

In particular, despite being quite young for a main producer, he was famous as such a charismatic figure who skillfully grasped and coordinated not only the staff but also the cast on set.

“Aww, it’s been a while. Mr. Cho Chan-hyeok… … . I’m so sorry about this last time. It’s just because of our program.”

However, what he shows in private is just a friendly, humble, and considerate person. When he apologized as soon as he saw him, Cho Chan-hyeok smiled and shook his hand.

“it’s okay. You have already apologized several times.”

“Thank you for saying that, but… Still, Chan-hyuk could have been placed in a less crowded place, I do have some regrets about that.”

During the blind mission, Cho Chan-hyeok almost lost consciousness due to the overlap of migraine and panic disorder.

Fortunately, there was no such thing, and the emergency room came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong, but Seo Kyung-woo considered it his fault and was reflecting.

“It’s okay because you don’t have to. It’s my fault for not managing my schedule in the first place, and it’s also my fault for failing to manage my condition.”

Cho Chan-hyeok put a straw into the Ahh that just came out, took a sip, and said so.

“And thanks to that, I met a good friend.”

“Uh, is that so?”

“Yeah, just looking at it, doesn’t it look good now?”

He smiled and pointed to his face.

Originally, Cho Chan-hyeok had a bright expression on his face and smiled often, but he gave the impression of feeling tired that he couldn’t hide.

But now, like someone who had been resting for a few days or weeks, her complexion was bright and her skin was shiny. It was such a natural look that the expression that the face was lively was well suited.

“… Has your complexion really changed?”

“Because it is.”

Cho Chan-hyeok smiled and asked for the coffee straw again.

Originally, the word actor really suited me, but with his complexion brightened like that, even holding coffee in a cafe like this made me feel like a pictorial.

“What kind of person do you think that good relationship was?”

Seo Kyung-woo asked in a voice full of curiosity. It wasn’t just a match for the conversation, it was a question of sincere curiosity.

“I think there was an article at that time… He was the one who helped me on the spot.”

“Ah, do you remember? that man.”

Seo Kyung-woo nodded.

“He’s not a masseuse, but his skills and taste… Big, it makes no sense, really.”

While speaking, Cho Chan-hyuk lightly turned one shoulder with a sad expression on his face. It was because the memory of receiving a massage at that time came to mind while talking.

“that… what?”

“Yes, thanks to you, I can’t be so comfortable these days. My body is my body, and even minor migraines have completely disappeared.”

Originally, migraine attacks that were unbearable occurred once in a while, but less severe migraines often appeared on a regular basis. I just didn’t show it because I was patient.

However, after receiving Kang Tae-han’s massage, even those minor migraines completely disappeared.

The seizure hasn’t happened yet, so I don’t know if it’s gone or if it’s still there… Cho Chan-hyeok had a hunch that such worries would not be necessary, at least for a while.

“Does your migraine go away?”

At his words, Seo Kyung-Woo showed particular interest.

“Come to think of it, PD-nim also said that he suffered from migraines, right?”

“Yes, well, not as much as Mr. Chanhyuk.”

It’s not like he collapsed like Cho Chan-hyuk, but it was one of the factors that significantly lowered the quality of Seo Kyung-woo’s life, as the sudden severe pain and then being fine again continued for over an hour.

“… Come to think of it, your complexion has gotten a little worse.”

“Hey, I always hear that.”

As I was working on a long-term program and short-term projects at the same time, the fatigue in my body was indescribable.

“… Then would you like to give him a massage?”

“Is that okay?”

Seo Kyung-woo reacted right away because he was looking forward to it. Because that expression looked so bright, Cho Chan-hyeok took out his smartphone with a sad expression on his face.

“They said they were opening a new store this time, so you can contact them here… You should probably make a reservation sooner. It seems that the reservation is almost full.”

“… Opening a new store, almost fully booked?”

“Yes, but it is worth it.”

Anyone who has received a massage from Kang Tae-han will be able to understand. At Seo Kyung-woo, who was puzzled, Cho Chan-hyeok nodded with a natural expression.