Chapter 35

‘Hmm, he said he was a master…’

Oh Jae-yoon was a little disappointed by the first impression he got of Kang Taehan, which was completely different from what he had imagined.

The image of Kang Taehan in his mind was entirely based on Choi Taejun’s description.

Someone slightly older, with an extraordinary air of a recluse…

The impression of a hidden master who has been working in one field for a long time.

On the other hand, the Kang Taehan he actually met was a handsome and well-built young man in his twenties.

Of course, this guy also gave the impression that he was pretty good at massage…

Still, it was true that he was quite far from the image he had in mind.

‘…Or maybe not?’

However, the moment he met Kang Taehan’s eyes, Oh Jae-yoon couldn’t help but overturn his first impression.

A person’s eyes reflect the depth of their life.

Looking into the depths contained within, one can vaguely understand not only the length of time they have lived, but also what kind of mindset they have had and what kind of life they have lived.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can figure out everything like a fortune teller…

Still, you can tell whether this person is genuine or a braggart, light-hearted or serious.

But this man’s depth is unfathomable.

It is not easy to guess the length of time he has lived, let alone what kind of life he has led.

Only the atmosphere he exudes hints at an experience beyond his appearance.

‘He might be older than he looks.’

Thinking that he now understood why Choi Taejun called this man “master,” Oh Jae-yoon quietly lay down on the bed.

“Is there any particular area that’s uncomfortable?”

“Ah, both of my wrists, shoulders, and knees have been aching lately. It’s quite uncomfortable. I’d appreciate it if you could take a look at them.”

But he didn’t forget the purpose of his visit.

Oh Jae-yoon spoke of the areas he had been thinking about beforehand.

“Hmm… wrists, shoulders, and knees, huh.”

Kang Taehan approached the bed, slowly repeating the areas he mentioned.

And the moment Kang Taehan’s hand rested on his back, Oh Jae-yoon felt a warm and heavy sensation pressing down.

‘…What is this?’

It wasn’t like a human hand, but rather like a moderately heated stone, a large boulder, placed on his back, both in terms of warmth and weight.

But the feeling was not uncomfortable at all, but rather comforting.

It was as if the tension in his body was loosening, centered around the pressure…

Oh Jae-yoon’s body naturally slumped onto the bed.

“It seems there’s a more urgent area than those.”

Meanwhile, Kang Taehan, having finished assessing his physical condition, placed his hands on both sides of his waist.

“So, let’s loosen this part up first.”

His hands firmly gripped both sides of his waist, his thumbs extending to the spine in the center.

And at the moment he applied pressure to the knotted back muscles…

“Huuuaaargh!”

With a scream that he could never let the Hanha Hawks players hear, Oh Jae-yoon’s back bounced slightly, forming a gentle arc.

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When muscles become stiff or knotted due to fatigue, people experience discomfort in those areas.

It feels stiffer or more sore than usual, and these light symptoms signal that something is wrong with the body.

If the condition worsens further, pain or even slight spasms may occur in the affected area.

And what if even more time passes in that state?

At some point, the pain is no longer felt.

The knotted muscles remain neglected, but the body and senses adapt to that state, becoming unable to feel any particular symptoms.

You just feel like your body is a little more uncomfortable than before.

You simply assume it’s because you’re getting older, that you’re not like you used to be, that things are different from when you were young.

Therefore, in most cases, the muscles that have truly deteriorated are not even recognized by the individual themselves.

For Oh Jae-yoon, the muscles surrounding his spine, his lower back muscles, were just such an area.

“Guhhaaa, uh, uh.”

As pressure was applied once more, a moan like a death rattle escaped Oh Jae-yoon’s lips.

He couldn’t believe it himself, but it felt like his upper and lower body were being severed at his waist.

“This is going to hurt a bit.”

Hard as a rock, it felt like bone.

It was a muscle that had been stiff for at least ten years, if not more.

He probably hardly felt any pain through this area for a long time.

But now, he was opening up the acupoints in this area and loosening the hardened muscles…

It was safe to say that this itself was one giant pain receptor.

Of course it would hurt.

“Just bear with it a little.”

But what could he do?

This kind of thing was bound to be incredibly painful even if he just gently massaged it.

In cases like this, it was more merciful to loosen it all up at once.

“Ma, uh, mas, ughh.”

Master. My back hurts so much.

Can’t you please take a look at my wrists and shoulders first and leave my back alone?

He wanted to say those words, but the pain that made his head go blank kept cutting him off.

He could only let out short screams in between Kang Taehan’s pressure, his back twitching.

How many minutes had passed in this half-conscious state?

Just as his flinching was starting to weaken…

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly, Oh Jae-yoon felt a stream of water flowing from his lower back up his spine.

Like water flowing into a streambed that had been dry for a long time…

It was a sensation of being refreshingly soaked and permeated.

As the large lump of muscle that had been blocking the flow of energy in his lower back loosened, the blood flow through his spine also became stronger and smoother.

The spine is the center of the body, the pillar of the body, so to speak.

The feeling of the blocked blood flow coursing through it and spreading throughout his entire body…

It was a thrilling, almost pleasurable sensation, like electricity flowing through his blood vessels.

“Huuuh…”

A small sigh escaped Oh Jae-yoon’s lips.

It was a voice completely opposite to the pain-filled voice from before, a voice filled with pleasure.

‘This is so refreshing.’

He had only applied pressure to one point on his lower back, but the pleasant sensation spread throughout his entire body.

He didn’t know how to describe this feeling.

Only the cliché “refreshing” came to mind.

A bright smile spread across Oh Jae-yoon’s relaxed lips.

‘But my back was this bad…’

At first, he wondered why he was getting his back destroyed, but now he understood.

This refreshing state was actually the normal state, and his previous state had been that bad.

His body had simply become accustomed to it and he hadn’t realized.

“I guess it’s bearable now.”

“Ah, this is so refreshing.”

Oh Jae-yoon replied with a much brighter face.

The unblocking of the acupoints also meant that his muscles had loosened up.

The hard lump had almost completely disappeared, and Oh Jae-yoon’s voice was now filled with a sense of ease.

In response to his amazed reaction, Kang Taehan smiled kindly and said,

“Then I guess I can go a little harder on the next one.”

“…What?”

It sounded like he was saying there would be another pain similar to the one he just experienced.

Oh Jae-yoon was startled and instinctively turned around, but Kang Taehan’s pressure was faster.

“Guhhaaaargh!”

The center of his lower back, where it met his spine.

If one spot in this area was knotted, there were bound to be similarly knotted spots above and below it along the spine.

And those spots were still as hard as bone, just like before.

The moment he applied pressure, a stimulation as intense as the first, no, even more intense, hit Oh Jae-yoon, and his back bent once more.

“Ah, after I’m done with your back, I’ll take a look at your shoulders and wrists like you said before, so don’t worry.”

Kang Taehan added casually.

It was a voice filled with the spirit of service, trying to accommodate the customer’s request as much as possible.

⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢

‘It’s about time for the director to wake up.’

Choi Taejun checked the time on his smartphone and stood up, lightly stretching.

The maximum sleep time for the Master Course was one hour.

Exactly one hour had passed, so it was time for him to wake up and experience the unbelievable change in his body.

‘I knew this would happen.’

Kang Taehan’s Master Course consisted of a thirty-minute massage and a one-hour recovery sleep.

Oh Jae-yoon had insisted before going in that he wouldn’t sleep for an hour and would come out right away, but Choi Taejun had expected this to happen.

After having your entire body relaxed by the massage, you fall into a deep sleep and experience a sweet slumber.

How could anyone refuse that?

Especially right after receiving a massage, it was even harder to resist.

A few minutes passed.

Sure enough, Director Oh Jae-yoon emerged from the room, looking refreshed and with a radiant face.

It was as if he had come back from a few days of restful vacation.

“Oh, Taejun. Sorry, did you wait long?”

Choi Taejun lightly shook his head at Oh Jae-yoon’s words.

He already knew this would happen, so it didn’t really matter.

“No, I finished my massage a while ago, so it’s fine.”

It wasn’t comparable to Kang Taehan’s Master Course, but it was a pretty good massage that loosened him up quite nicely.

Choi Taejun smiled faintly.

“How was it, Director?”

“…Man, it was good.”

It was a short and simple answer, but his voice and tone were laced with lingering ecstasy.

Oh Jae-yoon placed his hand on his lower back and said,

“I initially asked him to work on my shoulders and wrists, like I had thought. But he said, ‘There seems to be a more urgent area,’ and he pointed right here.”

He had to endure the pain that made his head spin…

But now, after everything was over and he had a good sleep, he felt incredibly comfortable.

His smoothly moving back felt unfamiliar.

“I don’t know how to describe this feeling. It’s like I’ve become ten years younger.”

At least, it wasn’t an exaggeration for him.

With his entire body feeling lighter and energized, it felt like he had literally become ten years younger.

“Even my eye level is different now.”

As his knotted back loosened up, his curved spine straightened, and as a result, Oh Jae-yoon had actually grown a little taller in that short time.

His statement about his eye level being different wasn’t entirely an exaggeration.

“See, I told you. No exaggeration, right?”

Choi Taejun chuckled in response to Oh Jae-yoon’s words.

Having experienced something similar himself, he could roughly imagine what Oh Jae-yoon was going through.

“So, what have you decided?”

“What do you mean?”

“About Master Kang Taehan. You said you were going to bring him to the team if he was good, didn’t you? You said you’d talk to him and come out.”

“…Ah, right.”

Oh Jae-yoon had only nodded while lying on the bed after the massage.

He belatedly remembered his original purpose and unconsciously brought his hand to his forehead.