Chapter 19

‘If it’s like this, it’s okay to have some expectations.’

What if the location itself isn’t that great, and the bellflower liquor I had that time was just a coincidence?

I’ve had those concerns, but the location I just checked is an auspicious site that’s enough to completely erase those worries.

Of course, considering that this is an era where even the concept of （Qi） is scarce, there will be limitations no matter how good the location is…

Even considering that, it was like an oasis in the desert for Kang Taehan.

“Would it be alright if I enter the mountain next week?”

“Anytime is fine. How could entering the mountain be a big deal when my benefactor needs it? In the first place, it’s a mountain that’s practically left unused, doing nothing.”

When Shin Junho shrugged his shoulders and said that, Park Hoyeon, who was next to him, showed a surprised reaction.

“Really? Why bother?”

“I don’t know. I guess the location isn’t good. I tried planting several things as a test last time and even moved fruit trees, but they all weren’t doing well.”

That can happen.

Kang Taehan nodded inwardly.

Originally, spiritual energy is not only beneficial to life.

To give an analogy, it’s fundamentally closer to the concept of energy than nutrition.

It’s not for nothing that there are always martial artists who d*e from carelessly consuming expensive elixirs.

Especially pure spiritual energy in its raw form, formed naturally, is closer to poison if you don’t have the internal energy to handle and absorb it.

Most living things can’t survive long in such an environment or can’t grow properly…

Occasionally, there are individuals that can absorb a large amount of spiritual energy and remain unharmed, and those become （spiritual herbs） and （spiritual creatures）.

‘It’s not a suitable environment for farming or orchards.’

It’s difficult to grow things properly, and even if you manage to, ordinary grains and fruits will at best only be a bit richer in flavor.

And that’s only the story of a few individuals that have adapted to the environment, the rest are just duds.

Commercially speaking, it’s a business that doesn’t make sense at all considering the time and cost involved.

But anyway… it was welcome news to Kang Taehan.

The fact that crops don’t grow well also meant that the density of spiritual energy in the mountain was high.

Furthermore, the fact that it’s been left unused for a long time is truly icing on the cake.

“Would it be okay if I dug up some medicinal herbs and wild vegetables there?”

“Of course. It seems like you’re asking because of that, there’s no way I’d say no to that. However…”

Suddenly, Shin Junho made a worried expression.

“To be honest, it’s not a very easy mountain to get around. Since people don’t go there often, there are no trails… As far as I remember, the place where Wonho dug up the bellflower was only near the entrance of the mountain.”

“Then I’ll need to be careful.”

Kang Taehan pretended to agree with a worried expression, but inside, he could hardly hide his smile.

Just like before, it was rather welcome news.

⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢

The weather is chilly with a cold wind blowing.

There are many foods that come to mind at times like this, but when thinking of something warm and hearty, there’s nothing quite like Sundae Gukbap.

The milky-white broth bubbling away in the earthenware pot.

Season the deeply flavored broth to your liking.

Salted shrimp, which adds saltiness and umami, is good.

Spicy paste, which gives a spicy red color, is also good.

After adding your own flavor, take a spoonful of the still-boiling hot broth to check if you’ve seasoned it well.

“Ah, perfect.”

A simple appreciation came out of Kang Taehan’s mouth.

Choi Seonghyeon, who was watching him from across the table, chuckled.

“You’re eating it with such gusto. Didn’t you eat lunch?”

“Kind of skipped it.”

Looking back, Kang Taehan had gone to the hospital without realizing he’d missed lunch.

It was just that he ate a lot for breakfast, so he felt hungry late.

Only when leaving the hospital room after finishing his work did Kang Taehan realize he was on an empty stomach.

Maybe that’s why.

The hot warmth that passed down his throat felt especially special today.

Once you’ve tasted the broth, it’s time for kimchi.

Before adding rice to the soup, taste the kimchi with plain rice.

Baechu kimchi, slightly fermented and still retaining its crunchy texture.

Large chunks of radish kimchi, well-seasoned to the core.

They say you can tell the quality of a restaurant by the taste of its kimchi.

He first discovered this place when he was a freshman in high school, and it’s consistently been a great restaurant.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while.’

Even when he was in Murim, he often thought of the Gukbap from this place.

Recalling those thoughts, Kang Taehan added the remaining rice in his bowl to the broth.

The point is to eat about half the rice with kimchi beforehand.

If you add the whole bowl of rice to the soup at once, the stickiness of the rice will make the broth cloudy, but if you adjust the amount of rice beforehand, you can enjoy a clear broth even after adding the rice.

The spicy broth, chewy intestines, savory blood sausage.

And the rice, adding a subtle sweetness to balance it all out!

It didn’t take long for the two young men to empty their earthenware pots.

“By the way, did you take care of the business you mentioned?”

“I finished it well. Better than I expected.”

Choi Seonghyeon casually asked as they finished their meal, and Kang Taehan nodded.

He briefly recalled leaving the hospital room after finishing his work.

‘I’ll let him know, so please come and go whenever it’s convenient for you, Mr. Taehan. Just send me a text message.’

Shin Junho added that he wouldn’t be able to do that much for his benefactor and expressed his gratitude once again.

His tone seemed worried that Kang Taehan might feel burdened.

‘I’m glad I came.’

There’s the achievement of getting a definite answer about the mountain, but receiving gratitude and goodwill like this makes him feel good in itself.

It’s like feeling the reward for doing a good deed.

“That’s good. Then, how about we play some billiards together after a long time… Ah, Hanha lost again.”

Choi Seonghyeon’s smartphone showed the score of the previous day’s baseball game.

2:4.

It was a come-from-behind loss where they lost three points in a row in the top of the ninth inning.

“It’s Choi Taejun again. That guy is the problem, that guy.”

“Who’s Choi Taejun?”

“He’s a pitcher, his form has been weird since last year, and this year he’s really bad. If they’ve been getting blown out or losing come-from-behind games lately, nine times out of ten it’s because that guy was on the mound.”

Come to think of it, he thinks he’s seen the name in online articles a few times.

Descriptive words like ‘super rookie’ and ‘promising pitcher’ were often attached to the front… and words like ‘decline’ and ‘fall’ were often attached to the back.

Is he a player who was good but is now going through a slump?

Actually, you could tell just from what Choi Seonghyeon said.

The fact that his form has been weird since last year means he was good before that.

‘It’s a common occurrence.’

A promising player who shone early on suddenly stops growing and even regresses compared to before.

It’s quite common, even without mentioning examples from Murim.

As a result, there are cases where they give up or choose the wrong path and become unable to recover.

But it has nothing to do with Kang Taehan.

He was neither a baseball player nor a baseball fan.

He picked up the bill in front of him and stood up.

“More importantly, you were talking about billiards. Where do you want to go?”

“Oh… what’s gotten into you? Are you going to pay for the billiards instead?”

Choi Seonghyeon said with a smirk.

He’s a friend who’s always been confident in his billiards skills.

He’s never lost a game of billiards for money.

However, Kang Taehan is different now.

Of course, this was his first time playing billiards in the modern world…

In other words, he doesn’t know his limits yet.

Kang Taehan also smirked.

“I wouldn’t even suggest it if I thought I’d lose.”

“Alright. We’ll have to order coffee at the billiards hall then.”

The bet was made, each of them confidently smiling.

But an hour later.

“…Why are you suddenly so good?”

“I had some business, so I practiced a bit.”

“You should go pro at this rate…”

Choi Seonghyeon had to pay not only for the billiards hall but also for coffee and even Kang Taehan’s train ticket back to Seoul the next day.

⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢

People’s expectations are scary.

Choi Taejun felt that at some point.

It was different in the past.

He was a better player than others since his elementary school baseball team days.

He was better than anyone else around him at throwing a ball, at least.

Therefore, it was only natural to receive others’ expectations, and it was also natural to meet those expectations.

He had the skills, and he didn’t lack effort.

However… the professional world was different.

People around him praised him as a super rookie and a promising pitcher, but he wasn’t the best.

He wasn’t a genius, and the top spot was only for true geniuses.

He was still receiving expectations.

But meeting those expectations was no longer a given.

It was only possible with a combination of skill, talent, and luck.

‘…It’s really hard now.’

Especially lately, Choi Taejun was feeling burdened by even holding a ball.

The turning point was a shoulder injury he sustained last year.

It was an overuse injury from excessive practice. The injury itself wasn’t that serious, so he quickly returned to the mound…

But since then, his condition hadn’t been the same.

Especially lately, it’s been rock bottom.

He’s been giving up runs here and there, and he’s lost come-from-behind games more than once.

It happened a few days ago too.

‘Should I retire?’

If it really doesn’t work anymore, giving up cleanly is also an option.

But Choi Taejun shook his head.

Even if he retires, it’s not now.

He didn’t want to retire leaving only this image behind.

“Taejun.”

“Yes, Coach.”

“Take a break.”

“…I’m taking it easy.”

Coach Jang said as he sat down next to him.

Where he was sitting was a bench at the training ground.

He always had a high training volume, but lately he hasn’t left the training ground at all.

It’s even more unfortunate that he can’t seem to get out of his slump despite that.

Coach Jang looked at him with a worried expression.

“That’s not what I meant… Never mind. How’s your shoulder? Is it still bothering you?”

“Yes. It’s not going away.”

Choi Taejun said, rotating his right shoulder a couple of times.

His shoulder injury had completely healed.

However, he was bothered by a foreign body sensation he felt behind his shoulder joint from time to time.

It felt like a grain of sand was stuck between his bone and muscle.

When he went to the hospital for tests, they only said there was nothing wrong.

Rehabilitation therapy didn’t work, and acupuncture at a Korean medicine clinic didn’t help either.

“Goodness. What’s wrong with me…”

Is it possible that there’s actually nothing wrong and it’s all in my head?

Did I create this symptom because I needed an excuse for my poor condition?

Now he’s even thinking that.

“Taejun. You don’t have a game tomorrow, so take some time to go to Seoul.”

Coach Jang said to Choi Taejun, who was lost in thought.

“Seoul… Sir?”

“My wife found out about this massage shop, and they say it’s amazing. Apparently, some husband in our apartment building had his lower body rejuvenated or something.”

“Massage, you say.”

A wry smile appeared on Choi Taejun’s lips.

It hasn’t gone away even after visiting so many places.

He didn’t have the slightest hope that this problem would be solved by a mere massage.

“It’s by appointment only, so you can’t just get one whenever you want, but the day my wife booked happens to be tomorrow. Go and clear your head.”

“…Alright, sir. Thank you.”

But he wasn’t the type of person to rudely refuse someone’s concern.

Choi Taejun slightly bowed his head and thanked Coach Jang.