Chapter 51

The talk that the Hanha Hawks’ recent consecutive successes are thanks to a massage therapist.

If that’s true, it’s good to have found the information, and even if it’s not, it wouldn’t be a loss as you can get a massage and relax.

Song Namseop approached it with such a lighthearted thought, but…

“Gahhhh!”

His current appearance, lying on the massage table and receiving a massage, didn’t show even a hint of relaxation.

The thought of getting a light massage and leaving had long since vanished.

Usually, as a training coach, he would tell the players, ‘Just bear with it a little longer and let’s do one more set~’, but his current state seemed far from patient.

“Does it hurt?”

“Ye, Ye! It hurts!”

At the massage therapist, Kang Taehan’s words, Song Namseop nodded his head roughly as if protesting.

He had expressed his opinion so strongly, hoping that the pressure would ease up a bit.

“Endure it.”

“Gaaaaah!”

Kang Taehan continued the acupressure without a care.

The moment his hand traveled down the spine and pressed firmly on the lower back near the kidneys, Song Namseop’s limbs trembled like a washing machine in the middle of a spin cycle.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to win the game tomorrow?”

Kang Taehan looked down at him calmly, then with a smile on his lips, he gently pressed on the acupoint near the Dazhui point below his neck.

Then, the tremors in Song Namseop’s limbs subsided as if by magic.

‘What the!’

Song Namseop himself couldn’t hide his surprise at the phenomenon.

He felt like half of the strength below his neck, where the pressure was applied, had drained away.

Just like when your limbs go numb, his hands and feet wouldn’t move properly.

“Ugh!”

Meanwhile, Kang Taehan’s hand started moving again.

Just because his body couldn’t move properly didn’t mean the pain had lessened, so Song Namseop clenched his teeth unconsciously.

‘Is there anywhere you feel particularly uncomfortable?’

Song Namseop recalled the question Kang Taehan had asked him earlier.

At that time, Song Namseop had fallen into a brief contemplation.

In reality, people usually get massages when they are uncomfortable or in pain somewhere, but he himself wasn’t particularly feeling bad anywhere and had just come out of curiosity.

But it felt awkward to just say, ‘Do whatever you think is best’…

In the end, he said, ‘I have a marathon race in a few days, and I want to boost my condition for that day.’

It was an impromptu answer he came up with on the spot, but he had somehow managed to give a good answer that matched his purpose.

What he wanted to confirm was the truth about this massage therapist, whether he could really improve the players’ condition to that extent.

But he didn’t know it would lead to this result.

“Kuhhhh!”

It felt like all the muscles in his body were being loosened and then reassembled.

Just from the description, it sounds refreshing, and in reality, a sense of refreshment did come after some time, but…

The process was accompanied by considerable pain.

Of course, if his body was extremely fatigued or if he was actually participating in a marathon, he would endure this level of pain…

The problem was that Song Namseop didn’t need to.

‘Should I increase the intensity a bit more?’

Meanwhile, Kang Taehan’s thoughts were flowing in the opposite direction of Song Namseop’s expectations.

Originally, a massage isn’t something a massage therapist can do as they please.

Even if the situation calls for stronger pressure, if the client’s muscles or acupoints can’t handle it, adjustments have to be made.

The number of clients who have screamed from Kang Taehan’s hands has surpassed three digits, but naturally, Kang Taehan has always adjusted his strength accordingly.

In that sense, the client in front of him was quite healthy, at least physically.

His muscles were large yet firm, and because his muscles supported him well, his skeletal structure was also straight.

This meant he could withstand a certain amount of strong pressure.

Kang Taehan increased his strength by 30% compared to his usual pressure.

“Gulp..!”

Now that the muscles were relaxed, it was time to open up the blocked acupoints and create breathing holes for the Qi to flow.

Kug kug kug kug

A pair of thumbs started from the lower back, pressing on acupoints on both sides, and moving up along the spine.

‘My spine… opened up?’

Song Namseop, experiencing this physically, suddenly thought of the image of instant cup noodles.

More precisely, the container of instant cup noodles.

Just like poking holes in the container with chopsticks to drain the water later, it felt like holes were being poked in his back.

Furthermore, he felt a breeze flowing in and out of those holes.

Of course, how could wind pass through a human body and be felt, but Song Namseop didn’t know a better way to describe the sensation he was feeling right now.

“Haaa….”

It was a very unfamiliar sensation that even made him feel a bit scared…

But with the pleasure and refreshing feeling rising from his lower back and along his spine, Song Namseop unconsciously let out a moan of delight.

‘It’s definitely different.’

The improvement in Hanha’s performance might not entirely be thanks to this massage therapist.

However, his skills were enough to significantly influence the improvement of the players’ form.

Song Namseop was also someone who made a living out of sports.

He didn’t know why it felt so refreshing, but he could roughly tell what state his body was in.

Although there was still some pain and throbbing in various parts of his body, he believed that if he rested and recovered his muscles, he would be able to achieve his best condition.

But this was the effect when his body was already in a decent state.

If a player with poor condition or reduced performance due to injury received this…

They would surely see noticeable effects.

While he was lost in such thoughts…

“Do you have any urgent business to attend to in an hour?”

“Huh? No, I don’t.”

“Good.”

Kang Taehan spoke in a casual tone and placed his hands on both of Song Namseop’s shoulders.

Then, he felt something poke both of his shoulders.

‘…Huh?’

His eyelids drooped involuntarily…

“…Whoa!”

The next moment, Song Namseop opened his eyes in a dark room.

He looked around to grasp the situation, then tilted his head as he saw a digital clock emitting light beside him.

‘An hour has passed?’

It felt like he had just closed his eyes and opened them again, so he thought the clock was wrong, but…

Wiping the drool from his mouth with his sleeve, he realized that he had indeed slept for about that long.

“Crazy… How is this possible?”

Suddenly, Song Namseop realized how refreshed his body felt.

The pain and throbbing that had lingered until just now had completely disappeared.

His body was already fully recovered and radiating vitality.

Although an hour had passed, it was still an absurdly short amount of time, even considering that.

“If I told anyone about this, they wouldn’t believe me, would they?”

He seemed to have grasped the truth, but at this point, it was hard to believe without experiencing it himself.

Even he himself was still struggling to believe it.

‘I wonder if they’ll just take it as a joke again.’

Song Namseop let out a long sigh, scratching his head, and took out his smartphone to write a KakaoTalk message.

⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢

“No, you have to go in from this side.”

“Really? From here… Like this?”

“Yes. Manager Hwang, how does it feel compared to before?”

At Kang Taehan’s words, Manager Hwang nodded and said,
“It definitely feels more direct now. There’s a feeling of being poked deep inside.”

Manager Hwang had a faint smile on his face with his eyes closed.

He looked as if he was carefully savoring the sensation in his shoulder.

Behind him, Choi Seonghyeon was pressing on his shoulder acupoints with a puzzled expression, and Kang Taehan was standing next to him.

The training sessions continued intermittently.

Kang Taehan taught Choi Seonghyeon about the major acupoints and massage techniques, and Choi Seonghyeon immediately put them into practice, using Manager Hwang as a training subject.

And Manager Hwang, the subject, was satisfied with receiving the massage. This was the structure of their training.

“But Seonghyeon’s touch has gotten much better these days.”

Manager Hwang said, rotating his massaged shoulder.

Of course, it couldn’t compare to Kang Taehan, but it felt quite refreshing.

“Really? I don’t really know.”

“No, your skills have definitely improved a lot.”

Kang Taehan added to Manager Hwang’s praise as Choi Seonghyeon shrugged.

Choi Seonghyeon then scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

“Well, the number of clients has increased a bit, right?”

“That’s right. Seonghyeon’s getting more reservations these days, so this must be proof that his touch has gotten better.”

Kang Taehan had to check his schedule to make reservations, and Kim Seonghun, who also handled the Master Course, had a pretty full schedule for the week, but other than that, the other massage therapists rarely received reservations.

However, regular customers looking for Choi Seonghyeon started to increase.

This meant that Choi Seonghyeon’s massage skills had considerably improved.

In reality, there was no more intuitive data than the number of regular customers.

“Ah, it’s nothing special, haha!”

At Manager Hwang’s compliment and being acknowledged by Kang Taehan, even a little, Choi Seonghyeon’s lips curled up slightly, and then he burst into laughter.

‘Hmm?’

At that moment, Kang Taehan’s smartphone buzzed with a KakaoTalk notification.

Kang Taehan discreetly took it out and checked the message.

It was a message from Yoo Se-ah.

『Taehan! I’m filming Blind Mission today, and I just realized it’s near your neighborhood! What a coincidence~!』

『Maybe I’ll run into you by chance? Haha』

Come to think of it, she had mentioned filming Blind Mission at the department store last time.

Kang Taehan chuckled and started writing a reply.

“What is it? Are you seeing someone?”

Choi Seonghyeon, who was watching him, asked casually.

It was a question he threw out of habit without much thought.

“Maybe?”

But Kang Taehan’s answer was different from usual.

At his reply, Choi Seonghyeon and Manager Hwang unconsciously stared at each other.

⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢

Friday evening variety show, Blind Mission.

It was a program where the cast members started from their designated locations, carried out their assigned missions, and gathered at a meeting point, all while avoiding someone designated as the seeker.

The program’s format itself was simple, but it had the unique characteristic of actively utilizing the participation of citizens on the streets through missions without limiting the filming locations.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a variety show.”

Meanwhile, a van stopped at a quiet park, and a man got off, muttering to himself loudly.

A man with a familiar face.

It was Jo Chanhyeok, who had been active as an actor for a long time and had his name listed in two blockbuster movies.

“Here’s your mission, Mr. Jo Chanhyeok.”

As he appeared, a staff member who had been waiting handed him a mission note.

Jo Chanhyeok took the note, checked the contents, and burst into a hearty laugh.

“What is this? Run on a treadmill for 8 minutes and take a certification shot?”

Although this program was known for its somewhat random mission contents, this was still too unexpected.

How could he find a treadmill in the middle of this neighborhood?

“We’ve reviewed everything to ensure it’s possible.”

“Well, I guess so. It’s not impossible for an earthquake to happen in the next second.”

Jo Chanhyeok chuckled lightly and started walking.

A treadmill.

Although he had spoken bluntly, the production team wouldn’t give him a truly impossible mission.

That meant there was a fitness club nearby.

“I wonder if this jimjilbang has a treadmill?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, if they did, they would have written it on a huge sign, wouldn’t they?”

Jo Chanhyeok continued walking, conversing with the cameraman.

He searched online and, fortunately, found a fitness club not too far away.

A smile spread across his face as he checked the map.

“At first, I thought, ‘What kind of mission is this?’ but it seems like it’ll be done quickly. Don’t you th….”

Jo Chanhyeok turned around to talk to the cameraman.

But suddenly, his body swayed. He barely managed to keep his balance by placing a hand on the cameraman’s shoulder.

“Ugh….”

However, the problem wasn’t solved.

Jo Chanhyeok frowned and grabbed his forehead, squatting down on the spot as he slid his hand off the cameraman’s shoulder.

‘Why now…’

His chronic migraine.

Although there was no known exact cause for migraines and they could strike suddenly, in Jo Chanhyeok’s case, once he had one, he could go for a couple of months without much worry.

But it had suddenly attacked him like this.

Was it because he hadn’t slept much due to a busy schedule the previous day, or was it due to accumulated fatigue?

Whatever the reason, Jo Chanhyeok’s face quickly turned pale, and the cameraman next to him also became restless.

“M-Mr. Chanhyeok? Should I call 119?”

“No, then what about the filming….”

Even in this situation, his professionalism shone through as he worried about the filming, but that didn’t make the symptoms disappear.

Still, Jo Chanhyeok clenched his teeth and slowly raised himself.

“…Huh?”

But the moment he lifted his head, Jo Chanhyeok couldn’t think straight.

“Isn’t that Jo Chanhyeok?”

“Why did he suddenly squat down earlier? Is that part of the acting too?”

“They must be filming!”

“Mr. Jo Chanhyeok, I’m your fan!”

A crowd had gathered before he knew it.

Originally, this was also one of the scenes naturally captured in Blind Mission, but it was a fatal poison to Jo Chanhyeok in his current state.

Panic disorder.

An anxiety symptom that had developed alongside his migraines.

Fortunately, his panic disorder had almost disappeared, and he had stopped taking medication for it a few years ago, but…

Suddenly encountering a crowd of strangers in a state of confusion due to his migraine triggered a sudden attack.

“Haa, haa, gasp, haa.”

Jo Chanhyeok clutched his chest and gasped for breath.

All he could do now was support himself so he wouldn’t collapse and slowly crouch down on the ground.

“Mr. Chanhyeok? Are you okay?”

“…Call 119, call 119. 119, 119.”

Jo Chanhyeok, crouching on the ground, grabbed his head with trembling hands and buried his face between his knees.

His head felt like it was about to split open, his heart pounded like it was about to explode, and the combination of the two made him feel like he was about to lose consciousness.

‘Ah, this is no good.’

The moment he instinctively felt his consciousness slipping away…

Jo Chanhyeok let go of the thread of consciousness he had been desperately holding onto, and the strength in his body naturally drained away.

…But.

‘…Huh?’

Jo Chanhyeok’s body didn’t collapse.

Far from collapsing, his breathing and heartbeat gradually calmed down, and even the piercing headache began to subside.

“What… What is this.”

“Just stay still for a bit longer.”

At the sudden voice beside him, Jo Chanhyeok turned his head.

The man who met his gaze, Kang Taehan, smiled gently, keeping his right hand on the back of his neck.