Chapter 89
‘It happened just like Manager Hwang said.’
For a moment, Kang Taehan recalled the conversation they had at the raw galbi restaurant last time. Back then, when Choi Seonghyeon said, “There’s no way a player like Kang Juwan would ever come to our shop,” Manager Hwang had replied, “You never know.”
And now, the situation was unfolding exactly as he had said.
It didn’t really matter to Kang Taehan, but he still found it fascinating how their paths crossed like this.
“So, is there anywhere in particular that’s uncomfortable?”
“Hmm… My lower back feels a bit stiff.”
After a moment of thought, Kang Juwan replied to Kang Taehan’s question in a calm voice. It went without saying, but there was another area that was truly uncomfortable for him.
‘It can’t be fixed anyway… There’s no need to create an awkward situation.’
This was because he didn’t have high expectations for this place yet.
Had Kang Juwan never received a massage before?
Of course, the atmosphere of the shop was certainly excellent, and the massage therapist had an aura of expertise as soon as he entered, making it seem like this wasn’t an ordinary massage parlor. However, he couldn’t imagine that a massage could do anything about the injury on his left ankle.
Although he had been introduced to this place by a close friend… Kang Juwan’s expectations were simply that it would be a good massage parlor to relax in, nothing more, nothing less.
“Hmm. You’re saying your left ankle isn’t uncomfortable?”
However, the massage therapist, who had been carefully observing him, especially around his ankles, asked again in a surprised voice.
“Yes? Uh… Ah. That’s not what I meant.”
At those words, Kang Juwan flinched for a moment as if the therapist had seen through his condition, but then slowly shook his head with an understanding expression.
He didn’t want to say it himself, but he was a celebrity. Even someone who wasn’t interested in soccer would know his name and the extent of his left ankle injury if they had been keeping up with the latest news.
“Since it can’t be healed anyway, I thought it might be an unnecessary burden on you, sir.”
It might have been a bit rude, but he didn’t feel the need to beat around the bush. Kang Juwan expressed his thoughts honestly.
“You’re honest.”
“I apologize if that was rude.”
“Well… for now, let’s see if it’s an unnecessary burden or not. Would you lie down on your stomach?”
There was no forceful tone, but there was a strange magnetism in his voice that made him feel like he had to obey.
Kang Juwan obediently lay down on the bed, and Kang Taehan quietly placed his hands on his back as usual.
“…Huh.”
A small gasp escaped Kang Juwan’s lips.
It was just a hand on his back, but he felt a sense of pressure as if a boulder had been placed on him, along with a feeling of being completely subdued.
At the same time, his muscles began to loosen.
A warm sensation flowed into the loosened gaps.
And although he didn’t know if it made sense… he felt as if the therapist was looking into every part of his body through that hand.
But the feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
It was rather comfortable, he would say. Kang Juwan buried his head in the pillow and quietly exhaled a deep breath that seemed to escape from within.
‘It’s definitely different…’
The actual massage hadn’t even started, but he could already feel a clear difference from other massages. Frankly speaking, even if he were to stay like this for the rest of the session, he would gladly pay for it. That’s how satisfied he was.
A comfort he hadn’t felt even when soaking in the bath earlier.
Truth be told, Kang Juwan had been so stressed out lately with all the emotional turmoil that he hadn’t been able to properly rest. With a drowsy expression, he savored the warm feeling spreading throughout his body.
“I think I can tell you this much.”
“…What do you mean?”
Kang Taehan, who had finished his assessment and removed his hands from his back. Kang Juwan then spoke in a voice tinged with a hint of disappointment. He had been feeling so relaxed that he was almost dozing off, but that had been interrupted.
“Even if you had told me about your ankle earlier, it wouldn’t have been an unnecessary burden.”
Meanwhile, Kang Taehan said that in a calm voice and placed his left hand on the upper part of Kang Juwan’s spine and his right hand on the lower part.
“Wait, does that mean…”
Does that mean you can heal my left ankle?
It was hard to believe, but Kang Taehan’s voice didn’t sound like he was making empty promises or boasting, so Kang Juwan unconsciously tried to ask back.
However, the question was cut short.
The moment Kang Taehan’s left hand pressed the Dazhui acupoint on the upper part of his spine, and at the same time, his right hand pressed the Mingmen acupoint on the lower part.
“Hooooaaaagh!”
As if a dam had burst, Kang Juwan screamed without thinking about his dignity as an intense sensation suddenly flowed through his spine.
⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢
When Kang Taehan examined Kang Juwan’s body, the first thing he felt was that he was very similar to Choi Taejun, whom he had seen before.
‘The type who tries to push through with physical effort when they hit a wall.’
It’s effort when put nicely, and overworking the body when put harshly.
Just like Choi Taejun, who had been stuck in a slump and had blindly focused only on practice. It seemed like the two were acquaintances, and they must have been similar in this aspect.
‘Originally, it wouldn’t have been a problem…’
Until then, this would have served as a foundation for improving his skills. Appropriate talent and constant effort. The synergy of the two must have made him one of Korea’s representative soccer players.
However, if Choi Taejun had started to ruin his body due to excessive self-blame… in Kang Juwan’s case, it was a more direct cause, an injury he sustained during a game.
“You seem to have continued your training without fail.”
“Huu… Huu. Yes? Ah, yes.”
Kang Juwan, who was calming his rough breathing, answered a beat later. Kang Taehan nodded as if he had expected it.
He could feel that there was a problem with his left ankle without even touching it. The flow of energy itself was unstable due to the twisted meridians.
However, what Kang Taehan found strange was… that he didn’t feel much life force in that area.
It might seem obvious, but when there’s a problem somewhere, the body tries to solve it on its own.
Just as a scab forms on a scratched wound and blood vessels constrict when bleeding occurs, the body reflexively concentrates life force on the painful area to increase its recovery ability, at least partially.
But the fact that he couldn’t feel any life force in the injured area meant… that the body itself didn’t have the capacity for it.
The reason was simple. The life force that should have been focused on recovering from the injury had already been used for something else. For training to make a comeback.
“My doctor said it was okay to participate in training.”
“I’m sure he did.”
When Kang Juwan added to his previous answer, Kang Taehan slowly nodded. It was something he had already guessed.
At least on the surface, there were no problems, and it could be considered completely healed. Only the twisted meridians inside hadn’t properly settled yet.
Therefore, there wouldn’t have been any problem using his ankle… but there would have been a subtle difference in sensation compared to what he had felt before when moving his foot.
“To be more specific, you would have felt a strange sensation in the tips of your toes and the top of your foot… and the way your ankle rotates must have felt awkward.”
While opening the acupoints from his waist and massaging his thighs, Kang Taehan muttered what he had grasped in a low voice, as if to himself.
“…Yes? How did you…”
At those words, Kang Juwan flinched in surprise even while enduring the pain and asked back in a bewildered voice.
The sensation in his foot had become strange. This was something he had only told the members of his team, and especially the detailed parts were only shared with his doctor and coach.
It was something that had never been mentioned in any articles, both domestic and in the UK.
“Isn’t it all written here?”
Kang Taehan gave a playful smile and began to massage Kang Juwan’s left ankle, starting from his calf.
“Hngggghhh!”
The leg he had been playing soccer with since he could run on two feet. The calf that had been trained for nearly twenty years, its firmness second to none.
But now, that firm calf was being pressed like a sponge. Was it because of that? An intense sensation he had never felt before started from his calf, pierced through his body, and reached the top of his head.
“Haa, Haaa…”
An experience he had never felt before. The sensation made him reflexively tense his leg, but Kang Taehan ignored it and continued to massage his leg.
The sensation that surged up without a moment to catch his breath!
Like a pump drawing water, every time Kang Taehan’s thumb pressed down, an intense sensation that made his back tingle erupted from his calf.
“Hoooo…”
After a while.
When Kang Taehan finished pressing from his left calf to his ankle and moved his hand to his right leg, Kang Juwan could finally take a long breath and catch his breath.
The sensation on the right side was just as intense, but compared to his left leg just now, it was a drop in the bucket.
‘…Huh.’
Was it because he had managed to catch his breath?
Kang Juwan could finally feel the sensation in his left leg properly.
‘Something’s different?’
The feeling in his toes seemed to be more sensitive, and his blood circulation felt better.
A sensation as if something blocked had been opened and something twisted had been straightened. He didn’t know if this was the right expression, but it felt like a broken wire had been repaired.
Of course, it could just be a placebo effect, a trick of his mind… but at least the sensation he felt in his leg right now was telling him otherwise.
Maybe… really.
If the sensation in his leg had really returned.
He couldn’t be sure yet, but just imagining that possibility made Kang Juwan feel a lump forming in his chest.
He had practically given up on returning to active play, but it felt like a thin thread of hope had suddenly descended from the sky.
“Sir, by any chance…”
“Do you have any appointments or anything in the next hour?”
After the massage was over.
Just as Kang Juwan was about to say something in a slightly sentimental voice, Kang Taehan spoke first.
“Yes? Ah, no. I don’t.”
Since he had come for a staycation, Kang Juwan had no plans to leave this building. He nodded slowly as he answered Kang Taehan’s question.
“Then get some rest.”
“I will…”
Kang Juwan’s reply was cut short, and his memory ended there.
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A while later.
“He has a right to brag…”
After waking up and taking a sip of arrowroot tea, Kang Juwan briefly expressed his feelings. The image of Choi Taejun saying he was giving up this place with a heavy heart lingered in his mind.
He also remembered himself saying, “Why would I go all the way to Seoul for a massage?” Of course, his opinion had changed now.
With a massage this good, it was worth going even if it was in a remote village in China. That’s how satisfied he was.
‘I’m not sure yet…’
Had the sensation in his foot returned? It was hard to be sure.
But one thing was certain: his condition now was completely different from before he entered this place.
Moreover, he could feel vitality overflowing in his body, and his shoulders, which had been slumped lately, were straightened as if he had received posture correction.
Satisfied. No, extremely satisfied.
Kang Juwan felt deep gratitude towards the massage therapist and slowly got up from his seat and walked outside.
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yes, it was wonderful.”
Manager Hwang greeted him with a light nod and a greeting.
Kang Juwan smiled brightly and handed him his card. It was a genuine smile that came from the bottom of his heart, a smile he hadn’t shown once in the past few days.
“Is it possible to say hello to the therapist directly?”
“Ah… if you’re talking about Kang Taehan, who was in charge of your massage, he’s already left work.”
“…I see.”
Kang Juwan nodded with a slightly disappointed expression. He had fallen asleep before he could even express his gratitude, so he wanted to leave a message, or at least give him a tip. That was Kang Juwan’s honest feeling.
“Ahem, hmm. By the way…”
As Kang Juwan was expressing his regret, Manager Hwang, who had been watching him, cautiously spoke up.
“May I ask you a favor?”
“Yes? Go ahead.”
Seeing Kang Juwan’s still smiling face, Manager Hwang must have sensed an opportunity and rummaged through something under the counter.
“If you don’t mind, could you give me an autograph…?”
In his hand was an autograph paper and a pen that he had prepared an hour ago. Manager Hwang then gestured with his eyes towards a small frame hanging on one side of the wall.
What was hanging there was none other than Jo Chanhyeok’s autograph.
It was Manager Hwang’s small ambition to collect autographs from celebrities like this and fill one wall with them.
