Chapter 48

“…….”

After receiving a massage and waking up from a deep sleep.

Lee Byeongho couldn’t come out of his shock for a while.

“This is practically the same as acupressure.”

The moment both shoulders were pressed down at the end of the massage, Lee Byeongho’s consciousness was cut off as if a switch had been flipped.

And when he came to his senses and woke up, an hour had passed.

Sleep Point, which can put the opponent to sleep the moment you press it.

It was a concept that only appeared in martial arts novels, but it was the exact same phenomenon as if he had pressed that spot.

He couldn’t believe that such a thing actually happened, and that he had even experienced it himself.

And that’s not all.

When he woke up, he felt an awkward surge of vitality throughout his body.

His joints couldn’t be smoother, and elasticity was felt everywhere, as if he had grown muscles he didn’t have before.

His body, which had been exhausted and rusted due to his long writing career, was neatly organized as if it had been put in and taken out of a dishwasher.

“Huh, this is… amazing.”

Lee Byeongho tilted his head and checked his right wrist.

Since he started working on his work, he had never put down his pen, so carpal tunnel syndrome naturally settled in here.

It was a given that it tingled normally, and if he used his wrist for a long time, a stabbing pain would accompany it, which was one of the factors that interfered with the serialization schedule and condition management.

But now, even if he turned and bent his wrist this way and that, it didn’t hurt.

Far from hurting, it moved smoothly unlike before, as if ‘this is how the wrist originally moves’.

‘It’s like I’m dreaming.’

He once thought that he would like to feel healthy and refreshed even just once, and his wish came true.

Lee Byeongho picked up a teacup on a small table and took a sip.

A wrist that doesn’t hurt, a refreshed body, and a sip of warm tea.

It was paradise.

“Huh… I wonder if this is how it feels to have your meridians opened.”

One day, he was suddenly beaten by a certain eccentric, but it turned out that the reclusive master had opened up his blocked meridians, so all the blood in his body was opened and he made great progress in martial arts.

It’s a kind of cliché that often appears in martial arts novels.

Well, he wasn’t beaten up, but there was a process of writhing in pain, so wouldn’t it feel similar?

Not only did his body feel better, but his mind was also clearer and his blood circulation was smoother, so it felt exactly like he had his meridians opened in martial arts.

Of course, acupressure or opening meridians don’t exist in reality.

Such things only exist in novels.

This is something Lee Byeongho is well aware of.

But it doesn’t really matter if it’s true or not.

The important thing was that this mysterious experience gave him a lot of inspiration.

A clear mind and new inspiration.

These two things created synergy, and new plots were emerging one by one.

If he went home like this, he felt like he could complete the storyboard for the next episode, which had been sluggish even after holding onto it for a long time.

“But it’s a shame to go back like this.”

The most mysterious-looking man he had ever met.

He wanted to talk to him more.

Of course, that man couldn’t be a martial artist like he imagined, and it was even more unlikely that he was someone who had experienced rejuvenation, but he still had a feeling that if he talked to him, his understanding of the martial arts genre would deepen.

So Lee Byeongho decided to wait for Kang Taehan for a while.

Just as he was about to sit in the lobby… he ran into Kang Taehan, who was coming out of the waiting room.

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“… I’m not that kind of person.”

And that led to the current situation.

At Kang Taehan’s reaction, waving his hand and cutting him off, Lee Byeongho belatedly realized that he had made a big mistake.

‘Ugh! Even if you’re going to say something, asking him to teach you the Way is too much!’

A statement that could easily be misunderstood if people around him heard it!

He ended up making Kang Taehan in front of him look like a cult leader from somewhere.

It was an accident caused by being too nervous.

“No, that’s not what I meant, and I’m not a suspicious person either… I didn’t mean it that way, but the energy is clear, or something…”

But since he was nervous and flustered, the situation couldn’t get any better.

As suspicious remarks continued, the surrounding eyes became more and more suspicious.

Tap.

But at that moment, Kang Taehan’s right hand went over Lee Byeongho’s left shoulder.

And when he started pressing down on the acupoint below his neck.

‘Huh…?’

Lee Byeongho’s shoulder, which had been stiff with unnecessary anxiety and tension, relaxed, and he felt a sense of peace for a moment.

“Phew.”

Lee Byeongho stopped rambling and regained his composure.

Looking at him, Kang Taehan let out a short breath.

“So, what is it that you want to ask me?”

“Actually, I’m a webtoon artist, and I was wondering if I could get some material to use in my work, so I wanted to talk to you.”

The words that followed were so coherent that it was hard to believe he was the same person as before.

“It would have been better if you had said that from the beginning.”

“Haha… I’m sorry. But your touch is truly amazing. As soon as you put your hand on my shoulder, the tension disappeared like a lie.”

When Kang Taehan smiled lightly and said that, Lee Byeongho burst into a hearty laugh.

The ‘Please teach me the Way’ incident that had just happened was the worst, but there was still a warm atmosphere between the two.

“So, would you be able to spare some time?”

“No. I can’t today.”

But a warm atmosphere and granting a favor are separate matters.

Kang Taehan’s answer was a clean refusal.

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“Taehan. Here.”

Yoo Se-ah, who found Kang Taehan, waved her hand and called him.

However, her voice was a little smaller than usual.

The place where the two met was Daeseong Department Store.

It was a weekday and there was only about an hour left until closing time, so there were relatively few people, but it was still better to be careful.

Well, maybe it was because it was a bit awkward to control it again after freely letting it go during her days as an unknown actress, but her agency never touched or scolded her about this part.

Still, the fact that people’s attention was focused on her was uncomfortable.

Anyway, she was here alone with Kang Taehan to look at tea leaves.

She wanted to avoid being disturbed as much as possible.

“You dressed up more than usual?”

Kang Taehan, who approached her, said with a smile.

He wasn’t talking about her makeup, but about her disguise.

Half of her face was covered by large sunglasses, and a deeply pressed hat was covering her appearance.

Moreover, there were no eye-catching accessories like necklaces or earrings, and her attire was overall plain, quite modest for a celebrity.

“Don’t tease me like that.”

“Hehe, but I like Miss Se-ah even when you’re not dressed up.”

Kang Taehan said that with a light laugh.

His words were not empty.

The elegant and graceful image of Yoo Se-ah that usually appears when you search for her on the internet is good, but even in this simple attire, there was a sense of sophistication, which gave her a different feeling.

“I said don’t tease me.”

“I wasn’t teasing you this time.”

Yoo Se-ah’s eyes met Kang Taehan’s, who was pretending to be sulky.

Yoo Se-ah was the first to turn her head away.

“Ahem. So where do they sell tea leaves?”

Was it because she felt that Kang Taehan’s words were sincere?

Yoo Se-ah coughed and started walking towards the escalator.

“It was on the basement floor.”

“Ah… right, tea leaves are food too.”

Kang Taehan naturally took the lead.

As they went down the escalator and walked a little, a themed event hall appeared, decorated quite handsomely in an oriental style.

“Oh… It’s bigger than I thought!”

Yoo Se-ah exclaimed with her fingertips together.

Not only the size, but also the interior of the event hall and the decorations placed everywhere were quite fancy, so it was fun to look around.

‘…Hmm?’

Meanwhile, her gaze suddenly stopped at the place where teaware was displayed.

Various products that filled one display shelf and continued on and on.

Just looking at the teacups, they were divided into almost thirty different designs.

Thinking that Kang Taehan had chosen one of these many products and given it to her as a gift, thinking of her, Yoo Se-ah felt shy and a smile spread across her face.

“The tea leaves should be over there.”

“Ah, um. Is that so?”

She briefly turned her head away and managed her expression, and when she walked to the place Kang Taehan pointed to, there were tea leaf containers lined up on a three-tiered display shelf.

Was it because of the visual effect, or was it because such a scent was actually emanating, but just taking a few steps in this direction, she could smell the bitter and deep scent of tea.

“Green tea is this way. Here, this is the West Lake Dragon Well that Se-ah drank.”

Kang Taehan said, picking up a container and handing it to her.

Then, Yoo Se-ah, who was looking around the tea leaves that filled the display shelf, asked casually.

“But what’s the difference between all these tea leaves?”

“Well… First, they are broadly divided into types such as green tea, black tea, and oolong tea according to the degree of oxidation, and within the same green tea, they are classified again by production area.”

“Ah… So all the ones here now seem to be West Lake Dragon Well, why are the packages slightly different?”

“They are divided again according to when the leaves were picked. They are also graded, so they are divided again by that.”

He could have just roughly explained it and moved on, but Kang Taehan answered each of Yoo Se-ah’s questions in a gentle voice.

Then he smiled and said.

“But I don’t know all the types of tea either. As I said before, I think it’s best to drink comfortably, and there’s no need to know everything.”

Kang Taehan was just telling the truth, but.

‘This is what makes him so considerate.’

Yoo Se-ah thought of his words as consideration for her, like he had said at the teahouse before, ‘Don’t think too hard, think comfortably,’ and smiled.

“Then what kind of tea would be good for me?”

“Well… as I recommended at the teahouse, this one, West Lake Dragon Well, will probably suit you best. Since it’s your first time, why don’t you try this one first?”

“Okay.”

When Yoo Se-ah nodded, Kang Taehan immediately went to the cashier with the product.

“Uh… Taehan, I’ll pay! It’s tea leaves for me to use.”

“It’s okay. I should have given you a tea set with it as a gift, but I missed it.”

In the end, despite Yoo Se-ah’s dissuasion, Kang Taehan finished paying and handed her the shopping bag.

Yoo Se-ah, who received the shopping bag, said with a dissatisfied expression.

“Then I’ll buy you a gift too, Taehan.”

“Huh? Why?”

“You bought it for me, so I have to buy you one too to make it even.”

At her words, Kang Taehan tilted his head.

He did this because he missed the tea leaves for the tea set, so why would it be like that?

Anyway, he thought about it for a moment since she said she would buy him something.

“Is there anything you need?”

“Not really… Ah.”

Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, Kang Taehan clapped his hands lightly and said.

“I do need some camping gear.”

“Camping gear?”

“Yes. I go often.”

Kang Taehan, when going to Shin Junho’s spiritual mountain to get medicinal herbs, if he had some time to spare, he would prepare for camping and go, leisurely practicing breathing exercises and coming back.

He was a bit reluctant to bring camping gear because it would take up space in his backpack, but now that he had a car, he didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

“Taehan, you camp too?”

“Yes. I do sometimes.”

Meanwhile, Yoo Se-ah also fell into thought for a moment at the unexpected word.

Camping.

The chilly night breeze and the warm bonfire, the starry night sky in the forest, and the person sitting next to her…

“That’s nice.”

“Yes. It’s nice.”

The two people thinking similar yet different thoughts.

“Let’s go see camping gear together.”

And for some reason, Yoo Se-ah was moving a little more actively than when she was going to buy her own tea leaves.