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The Heavenly Demon Will Give You a Massage – Chapter 8

8

Chapter 8

“…Huh.”

Kang Hoyeon stood still for a while.

He quietly watched his son’s back from that spot, and only after he became a dot in the distance did he move his steps.

‘How did he grow up so much, I wonder…’

Even in the past, he was mature compared to his peers.

He had always taken care of himself, and after being discharged from the military, he hadn’t even asked for allowance.

But this wasn’t simply a matter of that level.

It felt like he had matured beyond maturity.

It couldn’t be, but it was as if he had aged decades more.

‘He grew up much better than his father.’

Naturally, the awkward father-son relationship was a burden on Kang Hoyeon’s mind as well.

It was just that he was clumsy and didn’t know how to resolve it.

He had a mountain of things he wanted to ask in his heart, and he wanted to compliment him, but why did he get so tongue-tied when they faced each other?

But this time was different.

His son, Taehan, was the first to open up warmly.

It must have been a difficult thing for him as well. He was just grateful and proud of that alone.

“Besides… he’s incredibly good at massage.”

Kang Hoyeon muttered as he rotated his right shoulder three or four times.

Until yesterday, it had just felt a bit refreshing, but when he woke up, the feeling was definitely different.

It was as if a broken screw had been replaced with a new one and everything had been freshly oiled.

It was too excellent to be just the effect of one massage.

‘Well, I guess it’s a placebo effect.’

How long had it been since Taehan had massaged his shoulders?

If he remembered correctly, it was almost 10 years.

It would make sense for even sore spots to feel fine after that long.

In fact, he was that happy.

Kang Hoyeon knew that his shoulder wasn’t something that would heal with a few massages.

It must be a placebo or something.

Thinking roughly along those lines, Kang Hoyeon arrived at the store and started preparing for business as usual.

“…Huh?”

But something was different.

It was definitely different.

Kang Hoyeon had been working in the kitchen for over twenty years.

Therefore, he could roughly tell when he had to do what and how long it would take.

Especially these days when he was running the store alone.

But today, things were getting done quickly.

Transporting ingredients, cleaning the store, preparing and pre-prepping ingredients.

He had finished everything at twice the usual speed.

But his physical condition showed no signs of fatigue, as if he had just come to the store from home.

“How… how did this happen?”

Originally, it would have taken much longer, and after finishing, he would have had to catch his breath for a while, drinking some water.

And he would have had to stretch his aching shoulder for a long time.

But now it was fine.

He wasn’t out of breath, and he couldn’t even feel the pain in his shoulder.

No, he rather felt like he was overflowing with energy.

‘You’ll probably be able to make hand-pulled noodles soon.’

Taehan’s words suddenly came to mind.

He thought, ‘He’s good at joking now,’ but he wondered if it wasn’t just empty words.

His gaze suddenly turned to a corner of the kitchen.

A space with a large window facing outwards.

That place, where a large dough board was placed, was once where Kang Hoyeon used to make hand-pulled noodles every day.

It was originally a space that was like a symbol of this store.

And it was a space he hadn’t used once since he had aftereffects in his shoulder.

But perhaps because he still had lingering feelings, he couldn’t bring himself to remove it and had left it as it was until now.

‘…Shall I just give it a try.’

Was it because he had a lot of time left?

Was it because he had energy to spare?

Kang Hoyeon got up from his seat and headed to the dough board.

It felt a bit awkward because it had been a while, but his hands quickly moved familiarly.

Thump, thump, thump.

Soon, the sound of making hand-pulled noodles echoed through the alleyway.

⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢

After reuniting with his father, Kang Taehan headed to the jimjilbang as soon as he arrived in Seoul.

He had slept well at home, and he intended to start work right away.

『 Can I come out a little earlier? Of course you can! 』

Fortunately, Manager Hwang seemed to welcome this. As soon as Kang Taehan mentioned it, his voice went up a notch.

Was it because they were short-staffed?

No, that was what Choi Seonghyeon had said in case it became burdensome.

Then that meant the customers’ reviews were good.

‘Well, the effect must have been excellent.’

He had awakened the stiff muscles and opened the blocked meridians, so of course there would be an effect.

To slightly exaggerate, it would have felt like they had a new body.

This wasn’t arrogance, but a purely objective effect.

‘It’s not bad to have good reviews.’

Anyway, it was welcome news to Kang Taehan.

He had been thinking that this part-time job was profitable.

First of all, as Choi Seonghyeon had said, the pay was pretty good, and depending on the customer, he could also gain internal energy through the Star-Absorbing Great Method as part of the treatment.

In other words, killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, there might be better jobs if he only considered the pay, but considering that he could gain both money and internal energy, it would be hard to find a better job than this.

Then it would be more profitable to do it properly.

If the reviews were good, the number of customers would increase, and as a result, the bonus would increase, and the chances to gain internal energy would also increase.

“…Huh. What a simple story.”

Kang Taehan chuckled to himself without realizing it.

It was a really small-scale story considering he was a Heavenly Demon who had been praised until recently.

But he wasn’t in a bad mood.

He had been feeling a sense of boredom since he had no more enemies in Murim, so perhaps that was why this simple day-to-day life felt fresh to him.

“This isn’t bad either.”

…But.

Kang Taehan’s simple day soon became a little less simple and busy.

“I’d like to get a massage now.”

“Yes. Is there anyone in particular you’re looking for?”

“I’d like to see Mr. Kang Taehan…”

“Ah…”

Manager Hwang trailed off, scratching the side of his head with the end of a pen.

He pushed the notepad in front of him forward.

There were five or six names and numbers written on it.

“This is all Mr. Taehan’s waiting list right now.”

After Kang Taehan started working in earnest, the number of customers looking for him increased day by day.

This was also largely due to Manager Hwang’s role.

If he thought a customer was important, he would assign Kang Taehan to them.

From first-time customers to difficult customers.

The effect was especially excellent when he assigned difficult customers, and even customers who were almost at the level of troublemakers would miraculously call him ‘Teacher’ after receiving a massage from Kang Taehan.

No matter what kind of business it is, it’s hard to satisfy difficult customers.

But these types of people are also the ones who quickly become regulars once they’re satisfied.

As a result, the number of customers looking for Kang Taehan alone increased rapidly.

“Are all these people here?”

“Yes. Some have left, but there are still three left.”

“Hmm…”

The man fell into thought for a moment.

At first, he seemed bewildered, but soon a deep regret covered his face.

It was too bad to turn back like this.

“How long will it take if I wait?”

“Let’s see… It’ll take at least three hours.”

“Then I’ll come back in three hours.”

“Huh?”

Manager Hwang, momentarily surprised, asked back.

He didn’t intend to belittle his own business, but frankly, it was a massage shop attached to a jimjilbang.

This kind of reaction was bound to be unfamiliar.

“Is that not possible?”

“…No, it is. Of course it is.”

Manager Hwang was simply pleased.

Quickly regaining his composure, Manager Hwang nodded and took down the customer’s name and number.

“Wow…”

And at the sight, an exclamation naturally escaped from Choi Seonghyeon’s mouth.

“Why? What’s up?”

At the sound of the exclamation, Kang Taehan, who had just finished a session and came out to rest, asked.

“No, I was just wondering if I might have discovered an outrageous talent. Right now, shock and joy are mixing in my head.”

“What are you talking about?”

“More importantly… aren’t you tired?”

Choi Seonghyeon said, staring intently at Kang Taehan.

It was 2 p.m. now.

Kang Taehan had come to work at 7 a.m. and had been receiving customers nonstop except for meal times and short breaks.

Actually, massage itself is harder work than you think.

Even massaging your parents’ shoulders for 5 minutes makes your arms sore, and this is about massaging the whole body thoroughly for tens of minutes.

They don’t give you a bonus for nothing.

‘Did he dig up some wild ginseng in Daejeon or something…’

But this guy, even though he had just finished massaging for an hour, wasn’t even showing signs of fatigue, and his breathing was even.

The only human thing about him were the beads of sweat on his forehead.

But Kang Taehan said in an indifferent voice, as if asking what he was talking about.

“Of course I’m tired. That’s why I came out to rest.”

“No, that’s not what I meant… Never mind. Let’s have dinner later.”

“Dinner? Sure. What do you want to eat?”

“Let’s have a bowl of gukbap. You’re buying.”

“Why are you nagging? Who said I wouldn’t buy?”

Choi Seonghyeon burst out laughing instead of answering.

He had been worried that Kang Taehan might be overdoing it, but it seemed like it was an unnecessary worry.


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(🇰🇷)The Heavenly Demon Will Give You a Massage

🇰🇷)The Heavenly Demon Will Give You a Massage

Status: Ongoing Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
Kang Taehan, the formidable Heavenly Demon finds himself abruptly back to the modern world.  Stripped of his immense power and forced to adapt, he becomes Korea's best massage therapist.  While his martial arts skills are dormant, his profound understanding of the body and Qi remains.  He uses this knowledge to give incredibly effective massages, inadvertently absorbing excess life energy from his clients and slowly rebuilding his internal power.   His newfound career allows him to reconnect with his estranged father, whose health he revitalizes with his unique massage techniques.  Simultaneously, Kang Taehan’s reputation grows, attracting a diverse clientele, including overworked office workers, a slumping baseball star, a famous actress, and even a webtoon artist struggling with writer's block.  Each encounter provides him with opportunities to hone his skills, regain his power, and find fulfillment in helping others.

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