The Heavenly Demon Will Give You a Massage – Chapter 67

Chapter 67

‘What is this?’

The moment Shim Taeyoon made eye contact with Kang Taehan, he felt quite perplexed.

People often judge others based on their first impressions.

This is partly because once an image is imprinted, it doesn’t change easily, but also because one can infer a lot about a person just from their first impression.

Their gaze, the shape of their eyes, their gait, the angle of their waist and shoulders, and the aura they possess.

Although not an absolute standard, observing these things can give you a sense of what kind of life a person has lived and what kind of person they are.

Especially Shim Taeyoon, who considered himself to be quite good at judging people.

There are many abilities required of a professional baseball team manager, but he was particularly excellent at spotting talent.

‘I can’t grasp his depth.’

However, the first impression this massage therapist gave him was ‘unreadable.’

The only thing he could say for sure was, ‘He looks much younger than his perceived aura and experience suggests.’

“Lie down on your stomach for now.”

“…Ah, yes.”

He had been staring intently for a while. When Kang Taehan, who had been waiting, pointed to the bed and spoke first, Shim Taeyoon finally nodded and lay down, then lifted his head again and took off his sunglasses.

He had been spacing out and had almost lain down with his sunglasses on.

“So, are there any areas that are particularly uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable areas? Hmm…”

Shim Taeyoon thought for a moment, then belatedly realized that his reaction might seem a bit strange.

It was quite odd for someone who had paid to get a massage to be pondering what was uncomfortable.

It was like a patient going to the hospital and not knowing what was wrong with them.

“…Both of my shoulders are quite bad.”

In the end, Shim Taeyoon mentioned the area where he had a chronic condition.

After all, it was true that his shoulders were uncomfortable.

“When I raise my arms up like I’m doing a ‘hands up’ pose, it feels like something is stabbing my shoulders.”

The hospital had diagnosed him with frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis.

They said it wasn’t due to lack of exercise, but rather a natural occurrence due to aging.

Although it wasn’t incurable, it was a chronic condition he had been suffering from for a long time because there was little progress in treatment.

However, he wondered if he had been too vague in describing a symptom that couldn’t be helped with massage.

“Hmm… shoulders, huh.”

Kang Taehan only responded with a light voice, nodding his head.

It wasn’t a lack of sincerity, but rather a voice filled with fundamental confidence, as if it was no big deal.

“Let’s have a look.”

With that, Kang Taehan placed his hand on his back.

It was as if he had gently placed it, just barely touching, but Shim Taeyoon’s feeling underneath was completely different.

‘They say true masters are different from the smallest details.’

A heavy pressure as if a weight had been placed on the center of his body.

And a warm energy spreading throughout his body.

Just this alone made him feel refreshed and his body slightly languid, as if the effects of the massage were already kicking in.

Even though the massage hadn’t even started yet.

‘Maybe Coach Song wasn’t entirely exaggerating.’

If it felt this comfortable and refreshing already, how good would it feel when the massage actually began?

With that anticipation, the corners of Shim Taeyoon’s lips twitched.

“You definitely have some issues with your shoulders.”

Meanwhile, having assessed his condition, Kang Taehan withdrew his spread out Qi sensing and removed his hand.

Then, placing both hands on his waist, he positioned his two thumbs on the Shenshu (BL23) acupoints located on either side of his spine.

“This might hurt a bit.”

The next moment, starting from the Shenshu points, Kang Taehan’s two thumbs pierced through a dozen acupoints along his spine.

“Ughhh?!”

Shim Taeyoon, who had been loosely relaxed and releasing all tension in his body, involuntarily straightened his back and let out a scream filled with surprise.

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‘I need to loosen up the meridians first.’

Kang Taehan had made that judgment when he checked Shim Taeyoon’s condition just now.

The pain itself was due to the stiff shoulder muscles and the stagnant Qi accumulated around the joints, but the root cause lay in the internal meridians.

While the main channels directly connected to the major acupoints were almost intact, the fine meridians branching out like twigs from there were nearly dried up.

‘Daily life itself won’t be a major problem.’

Muscles that are frequently used continue to develop, while those that are rarely used gradually weaken.

This is why even if you’ve built up your body, if you neglect maintenance, it quickly reverts to its original state.

And the same applies to meridians.

If the surrounding muscles are used frequently, blood flow circulates actively and the meridians acting as pathways remain clear. However, if left unattended for a long time, blood flow weakens, stagnant Qi accumulates, and eventually problems arise in the meridians themselves.

Of course, major acupoints, which serve as the main channels, don’t get blocked even if stagnant Qi accumulates, but it’s a different story for fine meridians, which are like smaller branches.

If stagnant Qi is left unattended for a long time, the meridians themselves literally dry up, lose their strength, and eventually can even break.

In fact, if this happens without any particular cause, it means that the area is rarely used, so it wouldn’t significantly affect daily life in the immediate future.

However, if left unattended, it will gradually worsen and start to affect other fine meridians, eventually reaching a point where it can’t be ignored, like in this case.

‘Let’s try to activate the meridians first.’

Having opened up the pathways by piercing the acupoints along the spine, it was time to get things flowing.

Kang Taehan placed his left index finger on his Mingmen (GV4) point and extracted a small amount of Original Qi, then clenched his right hand into a fist and swept it up from his waist to just below his neck.

“Ugh!”

It was a measure to strongly stimulate the meridians, awaken them instantly, and use that momentum to send blood flow even to the drying fine meridians.

But from Shim Taeyoon’s perspective, it felt as if his back had been pushed with a heavy road roller.

It was the most refreshing sensation he had ever experienced, but perhaps an equal amount of pain came along with it.

Moreover, as the meridians were activated all at once, he felt a tingling sensation as if electricity was spreading throughout his body from his spine.

In other words, he was experiencing an outrageous amount of stimulation both externally and internally.

The naive thought of leisurely and languidly enjoying this time had long since vanished.

No, his mind was blank, as if it had been burned white.

“Huff, huff…”

But humans are creatures of adaptation.

His breathing, which had been ragged and mixed with screams, gradually stabilized, and as he became accustomed to the pain of acupressure, the feeling of refreshment and pleasure began to outweigh the pain.

‘Ah… it feels like I’m getting a massage down to my bones.’

It wasn’t just about loosening the muscles, it felt like it was loosening up every part of his body, deep inside.

Of course, there are no sensory cells in bones, so it was just an illusion, but it felt so refreshing that the corners of his mouth, which had been screaming incessantly, were now slightly upturned.

“Ah… this is so good.”

He had originally come to hear Coach Song’s story and confirm its truth, but Shim Taeyoon was now completely absorbed in the massage, forgetting his original purpose.

“Does it feel good?”

“Yes. It’s like my blood is circulating vigorously, and I can feel the muscles in my shoulders completely relaxed.”

Shim Taeyoon, whose screams had now completely stopped, exclaimed in admiration.

He hadn’t tried moving his shoulders yet, but just shrugging them slightly made him feel that his joints and muscles had become much smoother.

“Shoulder muscles?”

“Yes. Wow, you’re really good at this!”

“I’m just about to start the shoulder massage.”

Kang Taehan said, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

Then, grabbing his right shoulder with his left hand, he began to press down on his shoulder with his right elbow.

“Uh? Uh? Uhhh!”

The sudden resurgence of pain!

He thought he was gradually adapting to Kang Taehan’s massage, but that was just the process of loosening up his body and activating blood circulation.

‘Wait, that means…’

Naturally, a person has two shoulders.

Left and right, one on each side.

That meant that the pain he was currently experiencing, and would continue to experience for a while, would have to be… experienced once more on the other side.

Of course, having already experienced some of the refreshment that would come after the pain, he felt a thrill, but an even greater sense of vague fear washed over him.

However, his thoughts didn’t last long.

“Ugh, ugh…”

He was Shim Taeyoon, the manager of the Daeseong Whales, who had never shown a weak side in front of his players.

But now, he was just lying face down on the bed, letting out weak groans, unaware that drool was escaping from the corner of his mouth.

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“Excuse me, Taehan?”

“Yes?”

While he was sitting in the waiting room browsing internet news, someone spoke to Kang Taehan.

It was another massage therapist who worked there.

“Is it true that you’re moving shops?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kang Taehan nodded, as there was no reason to hide it.

Once the news spread among the customers, it was only natural for it to spread among the staff as well.

“Sigh… I guess what was bound to happen is happening.”

The massage therapist then let out a big sigh, slapping his forehead.

The fact that Kang Taehan wasn’t someone who would stay here forever.

That wasn’t just Manager Hwang’s thought.

“Thanks to you, Taehan, I’ve benefited a lot and it’s been enjoyable coming to work lately… but I guess this is where it ends.”

“It seems like you’ve gained a lot of regular customers lately, too.”

It was true that the number of customers at the massage shop had increased severalfold, and as a result, other massage therapists were much busier than usual.

But even in such a situation, skilled massage therapists would naturally see an increase in appointments, while those who just wanted to coast along would fall behind.

And this massage therapist in front of him, Hwang Taejin, belonged to the former category.

At least, it was difficult to get a massage from him without an appointment on the same day.

While the increase in the number of customers was undoubtedly due to Kang Taehan’s influence, it was Hwang Taejin’s skill that had secured him regular customers.

“Well, that’s all thanks to you, Taehan.”

However, he only scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

It wasn’t false modesty, he genuinely seemed to think so, and his voice was filled with gratitude towards Kang Taehan.

‘It would be nice if I could bring him to the shop too.’

Kang Taehan briefly thought that, but since he had delegated the task of finding massage therapists to Manager Hwang, his thought remained just a thought.

Manager Hwang would handle it when the time and situation were right.

“Is Taehan here?”

At that moment, Manager Hwang, unable to act like a gentleman, opened the door and entered the waiting room.

“I’m here.”

“Can you spare a moment? There’s a customer waiting for you in the office.”

At Manager Hwang’s words, Kang Taehan glanced at his watch.

As expected, it was a while after Manager Shim Taeyoon had left.

‘I knew this would happen.’

He had roughly guessed it the moment he came all the way here.

He had just treated him as a customer since he had come as one.

“Should I go to the office right now?”

“Yes. Should I ask the next customer to wait?”

“No, it won’t take long.”

He had anticipated this, so he had prepared his response.

Kang Taehan waved his hand at Manager Hwang’s words and headed out to the hallway towards the office.

And as he stepped inside.

“Ah, Master! It’s good to see you again.”

As expected, Manager Shim Taeyoon was waiting.

He took off his sunglasses, rose from his seat, and greeted Kang Taehan with a slight bow.

“It’s good to see you too, Manager.”

“Ah.. did you already know?”

Shim Taeyoon, who was searching for a business card in his wallet, said with an embarrassed expression.

Since Kang Taehan hadn’t shown any sign of recognizing him, he had assumed he didn’t know.

“Then… I guess you know why I asked to see you separately.”

“Well, there’s only one thing that comes to mind.”

“I understand. It seems you’re not in a position to spare much time, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

Shim Taeyoon began speaking directly.

“Would you be able to come to our Daeseong Whales? Of course, I’m asking for a massage.”

At those words, Kang Taehan smiled faintly.

And slowly shook his head from side to side.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“…Is that so.”

At Kang Taehan’s reply, Shim Taeyoon paused for a moment and spoke in a low voice.

His expression was filled with deep regret.

“May I ask why?”

Shim Taeyoon hesitated for a moment before asking.

Having experienced his massage skills, it was difficult for him to simply let go.

“I’ve been enjoying watching baseball lately.”

The process of seeing the players he had worked on perform their respective roles in games, and further, seeing the team win.

Although his perspective was quite different from that of ordinary fans who supported the team, Kang Taehan had recently become quite interested in baseball.

He even took the elixir and occasionally watched game highlights after finishing his daily routine.