“Then ask right away, how do you ask?”

“There are a lot of people who uselessly go round and round asking questions just to be considerate. Didn’t you too? When you’re sad or something.”

It’s definitely something I’ve experienced myself. Until Choi Tae-joon returned to his form, everyone he met talked about a similar story for a long time.

“This friend… It must be very difficult.”

But even taking that into account, it’s a pretty sensitive reaction.

In particular, Kang Joo-wan was known for his good personality and good interpersonal relationships, so Choi Tae-joon said with a worried expression. It also meant being mentally focused.

“… right, what Shouldn’t it be hard?”

Kang Joo-wan filled an empty beer glass with a bitter expression, then sighed deeply and said.

I usually acted like it was okay or nothing in front of reporters and fans, but when I was in front of my old friend, especially the same professional sports player even though they were in different sports, I felt a sense of candidness.

Obviously, soccer is a sport played with feet and legs. Even if you are a goalkeeper, you cannot fulfill your role if you cannot use your feet properly.

“No matter how many times I kick the ball, the old feeling doesn’t come back.”

However, I couldn’t use that foot properly.

There is no injury more devastating than this for a soccer player.

It’s not to the point that I can’t run or move at all, but I couldn’t feel that subtle sensation that was transmitted through my feet when I drove a ball or hit a shot.

It’s not just a simple feeling, but the actual performance is also terrible. It wasn’t just when I competed in the game, but just looking at the training data regularly recorded internally, I could see that my skills had dropped dramatically.

If you enjoy soccer as a hobby, there is no problem, but he is not somewhere in the middle, but a professional player active in the English Premier League.

A stage where top players from all over the world gather.

It is a place where the outcome of a game can be overturned with just a minor mistake or poor condition by one player, but there was no place for a player whose senses were dulled by injury.

“Still, you played a few games. Didn’t the director decide that there was a good chance?”

“Our director… You are very grateful.”

Everton manager Albert.

Regardless of where the player is from or what kind of person he is, he is a coach with a style of judging after giving the player a chance first.

Thanks to this, Kang Joo-wan was able to play as the team’s main force faster than expected, and was able to get a chance to play even after being injured.

However, it was only a problem because the results at that time were not good.

[river. For the time being, go back to your home country and focus on your recovery. And when you feel you’re ready, come back then. I’ll be waiting for now.]

That was the last thing I heard from director Albert.

The preparation he was talking about had an ambiguous meaning.

Recover your body and prepare to come back, or prepare your mind to leave the team. Because it meant choosing between the two.

“… what. Are you a grateful person?”

“For now, it is. I also waited for a long recovery period… Anyway, I’m giving you one last chance.”

Choi Tae-jun, who had heard the story, asked in a questionable voice, and Kang Ju-wan said so in a calm voice.

The professional world is cold. The only thing that can keep your place is your own skills. There is no such thing as a place for a player who can’t do his job properly.

If you don’t recover before the end of the season, at least until you renew your contract with the club… Kang Ju-Wan’s Premier League career practically ended there.

“Do you have any plans in mind?”

“… At the hospital, they said that we should try surgery then.”

At Kang Joo-wan’s voice, which was quite dark for someone with a plan, Choi Tae-joon crossed his arms and asked.

“Looks like an operation you don’t like.”

“Originally, it was a surgery that the hospital wanted to see more of. He said that even if he had surgery, it would inevitably feel different from his original ligaments.”

Surgery to replace ligaments in an injured ankle.

However, due to the nature of surgery where a knife is applied to the body, it is impossible to return to the original state after surgery.

First of all, the condition of Kang Ju-wan’s ankle was not serious or to the extent that daily life was difficult, and rather, there was a possibility that the sensation in his foot would be more strange than now as the ligament was replaced due to surgery.

Therefore, the hospital was originally in a position to observe the progress while undergoing rehabilitation training.

But no one could have predicted how long it would take. There was no point in recovering when his career was already interrupted and his career was over.

That’s why Kang Joo-wan originally thought that he would not have surgery, but now he has no choice but to worry.

“Well, I have no choice but to be a bit reluctant to do surgery.”

At the point of applying the knife, there is no such thing as surgery without side effects. Furthermore, for professional sports players who live on their bodies, even a slight side effect can be fatal.

In other words, I feel like I am gambling with my career as a player. In fact, it is easy to find cases where people retired because they did not return to form even after undergoing surgery with a big heart.

“Um… … .”

Taejun Choi thought for a moment and then emptied the beer in his glass at once. As the situation was the situation, his troubles were not long.

“Hey, Juwan.”

“What.”

“Are you free next Friday?”

“You returned to Korea during the season, do you have a schedule?”

Kang Joo-wan replied in a voice mixed with a bit of self-deprecating nuance.

“Then go to Seoul then.”

“Seoul? Why is Seoul suddenly? What are you going to do?”

At the doubtful voice, Choi Tae-joon pondered for a moment, ‘Should I just do something that didn’t exist? He made a decision with a big heart, but it was because he was disgusted with the attitude of the person who would receive it.

“Go and get some massage, you are a baby. When have I ever done anything bad to you?”

“If you look at it, how many times will there be? Rather… Why don’t you kiss me all of a sudden? Is there any reason to go all the way to Seoul to receive it?”

The place where the two are sitting right now is Suwon.

It wasn’t that hard to get to Seoul, but it wasn’t too far to go to get a massage.

“Hey, will the story change after receiving it? You will be grateful for me. And maybe… … .”

“perhaps?”

It might work for your ankles too.

The words reached his throat, but Choi Tae-joon barely swallowed them. Even if you are a teacher, you may not be able to do everything.

The teacher could also be in trouble if he brought up the word for nothing, and more than anything, it could have made this friend have vain expectations and then disappointed him.

“Maybe, what is it? Why don’t you talk?”

“I could be a regular there, son.”

Choi Tae-joon turned around in an awkward voice. Kang Ju-wan shrugged and leaned back on the backrest while holding a beer mug.

“done. It looks like you’re conceding to me something that’s very difficult to get to, so take it and come. I didn’t do anything, so what kind of massage is this?”

I don’t deserve it, I don’t deserve it. Kang Joo-wan muttered with a cynicism as if he was helping himself. Then, Choi Tae-joon spoke with an unusually straight face.

“As you said, I’m making concessions with a big heart, so just go obediently. huh? Just decide now.”

“That, yes. okay. What are you so serious about? I will definitely go You can go.”

In response to Choi Tae-joon’s violent reaction, who had never been angry even during his school days, Kang Joo-wan unknowingly gave a bewildered voice and motioned for him to calm down.

* * *

After Kang Tae-han talked with Kwak Sang-young, the general manager of the Liner Hotel, about the service partnership, the matter took shape in earnest.

“Then, this is what I said then.”

three days after that.

In the cafe of the hotel where the interior work as well as the cleanup were completed, the two sat face to face with the papers on the table between them.

Kang Tae-han, resting his chin on his right hand, slowly read aloud the part Kwak Sang-young pointed to.

“Well, the hotel side posts the massage parlor’s promotional content on the pamphlet in the room. And massage parlors give hotel guests discounts only for regular courses.”

“you’re right. Is that just what I said last time?”

At those words, Kang Tae-han nodded slowly.

Immediately below, the ‘sauna discount benefits for massage parlor customers’, which Kang Tae-han talked about separately, was also separately mentioned.

“It’s good. Maybe it’s because I talked to the general manager directly, but it feels like the work is progressing quickly.”

“Haha, what is it? It is because the staff under me are so competent and the director actively cooperated.”

At Kang Tae-han’s words, Kwak Sang-yeong answered with a good laugh. While speaking modestly, naturally praising the people around him and the person in front of him was a speech technique that vaguely reminded him of his experience at the hotel.

“By the way, how are you preparing for the opening?”

“Ah yes. It’s running smoothly. I wonder if it was worth the fuss the other day, now it’s just waiting for the opening, well.”

Thanks to this, most of the employees were on vacation, except for managers and team leaders in each department. It means to recharge before opening. Still, the situation was so smooth that it didn’t matter.

“The sauna and fitness center are also open… Then, now, the commercial district is going back in earnest.”

Kwak Sang-young smiled lightly as he placed his interlocking hands on his lap. Even in the situation ahead of the opening, there was no sign of nervousness. He seemed to have that much confidence.

“Ah, I see.”

Now, the main story is already over.

While taking a sip of coffee that hadn’t cooled down yet, Kang Tae-han suddenly came up with an idea and put the cup down.

“Do you have any room left at the hotel?”

“You mean our hotel? When are you talking about?”

“It’s next Wednesday.”

At that time, it was four days after opening.

“Weekdays are quite spacious. There are open spaces in hotels too, but… Still, the only one who gets a full reservation before it even opens is the director.”

Kwak Sang-young shrugged while holding a glass in his hand.

It was a scene that left a deep impression on Kwak Sang-young that customers were constantly coming and going in and out of the building, which had few shops open yet.

“Then could you make a reservation for a seat with a good view?”

“A place with a great view… The top floor is all out, but there should be some rooms on the 18th floor. Shall I prepare it for you?”

“Yes, I would like to ask you a favor.”

Kang Tae-han nodded and said.

Kwak Sang-young took out a small notebook from his inside pocket and wrote down what Kang Tae-han asked for in it.

“By the way, who are you planning to stay with? If necessary, we can arrange a small event for you. Like floating rose petals in the bathtub.”

“Ah, that’s fine. I just wanted to give my father a treat.”

“… Aha.”

Kwak Sang-young, who was grinning, burst into a small exclamation at Kang Tae-han’s words. Then, a soft smile appeared on his lips.

“You are a filial son.”

“It was nothing.”

“Then, in the sense of cheering for the director’s filial piety… A bottle of good traditional liquor, let’s prepare it separately.”

At the same time, it was Kwak Sang-young who added the contents to the memo with a happy expression.

* * *

and next Wednesday.

“Aye! The building is one tall!”

“Taehan said he was successful, so he really succeeded!”

Two men walked out of the backseat of a taxi that had stopped in front of the Liner Building, looked up at the building, and exclaimed admiration.

“Oh, what are you talking about like that? embarrassing.”

Kang Tae-han’s father, Kang Ho-yeon, came out after paying the bill in the passenger seat. That’s what he said, but he also looked quite excited, wearing sunglasses and a suit.

“But Mr. Kang, don’t you look like you’re not shaking? You mean this big building belongs to Taehan!”

“Wow… I didn’t know it would be like this, I.”

Mr. Kim and Mr. Choi giving thumbs up from both sides.

“… Who is it? This is all from Taehan.”

At the absurd words of the two, Kang Ho-yeon tilted her head slightly to the right with a puzzled expression.