Chapter 9
“Whew…”
Kang Taehan, who had returned home, laid down on his bed.
It was 8 p.m.
Since he started working at 7 a.m., he had worked for about twelve hours and just returned home.
It’s been about three weeks since he started living like this.
Except for one day on Sunday, he went to work every week, so he could say that he worked hard.
However, there was no sign of fatigue in his body.
On the contrary, he had more energy than when he first returned to this world.
It was thanks to absorbing internal energy little by little while giving massages.
“Oof.”
He didn’t need to lie down for long because he wasn’t tired.
Kang Taehan sat up and crossed his legs, focusing his mind on his dantian for a moment.
‘Not bad results.’
It was faint, but he could feel it.
Until recently, it was an empty space, but now he could clearly feel the internal energy gathered at the bottom like spring water.
What’s there to hide?
All the internal energy there was absorbed and stored through the Star-Absorbing Great Method.
Of course, he had never put his personal greed first and had only extracted as much as necessary as part of the treatment, but the fact that it was a great harvest did not change.
‘This is a great harvest even at this level.’
One Jiazi, which is considered the standard of a master in the world.
As its name suggests, one Jiazi refers to the average amount of internal energy accumulated when an ordinary martial artist trains for 60 years.
Of course, the speed varies greatly depending on talent and effort, and there is a difference of several times depending on the efficiency of training and mental methods…
Still, the internal energy of one Jiazi is not easily accumulated and becomes the standard for being recognized as a master.
And based on that standard, the amount of internal energy gathered in Kang Taehan now is roughly one year to one and a half years.
It was still insufficient, but considering the period of less than a month, this was also a tremendous harvest.
Moreover, considering that the density of Qi is much lower than in the world of Murim, it could be said to be an unbelievable growth rate.
‘By the way… it’s new to me, but there are so many obese people here.’
Full Vital Energy Poisoning.
As the name suggests, it is a symptom in which the vital energy that fills the body acts as a poison.
In Murim, it was a phenomenon occasionally seen in successful government officials or powerful families, but here, although there were differences in degree, many customers had this symptom.
And nine out of ten of them were obese.
Actually, it was natural.
Eating a high-calorie diet collects more vital energy than necessary, and lack of exercise prevents the collected vital energy from circulating, causing it to accumulate and build up.
Of course, there are many differences in detail, but anyway, the two symptoms have a lot in common.
‘Well… it’s helpful to me right now.’
Anyway, Kang Taehan was the beneficiary.
The overflowing and accumulated internal energy became his internal energy.
It was all thanks to that that he was able to gain a lot of internal energy compared to the period.
“Huh?”
Katok!
At the clear notification sound, Kang Taehan checked ChaosTalk. He saw that Manager Hwang had sent him a message.
『 Taehan, are you busy? 』
『 No. I’m resting at home. 』
『 Can we talk for a minute? Tell me where it’s convenient for you to come out, and I’ll go there. 』
‘What’s going on?’
They had become close and had meals together a few times, but he wasn’t the kind of person to bother him with personal matters.
Then it must be business.
『 Where are you now? 』
『 I’m on my way home from work. 』
『 Wait a minute. I’ll see if there’s a suitable place. 』
Kang Taehan moved the screen to the map app.
⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢
“Here it is.”
A teahouse located in Sillim-dong.
Kang Taehan, who had arrived first, raised his hand, and Manager Hwang, who had just arrived, approached with an awkward smile.
“Sorry to call you after work. You must be tired.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t that tired today.”
Kang Taehan said casually.
Manager Hwang stared at Kang Taehan, wondering, ‘How is that possible?’
The number of customers Kang Taehan had received today exceeded two digits.
It wouldn’t be strange if he was exhausted.
To be honest, he was only letting Kang Taehan handle it because he insisted he could do it. Originally, he would have turned down half of the customers, regardless of whether they were designated or not.
‘…He’s really okay?’
Manager Hwang was originally a scrubber.
He also learned some massage over his shoulder, and thanks to that, even if he didn’t know in detail, he could roughly tell if this person’s condition was good, average, or bad.
And Kang Taehan’s current condition was good.
He was in a condition as if he had received a massage, not as if he had given a massage for over ten hours.
“Anyway, what do you want to have?”
“I’m fine with a sweet coffee… but there’s no coffee?”
As expected of a teahouse, there was no coffee on the menu, only tea.
And why were there so many tea leaves for each tea?
“For you… This will probably suit you.”
Kang Taehan pointed to one of the tea leaves.
It was a tea leaf he had never heard of before, like a Chinese proverb.
“Lu’an Melon Seed? What is this?”
“It’s a green tea from China. It’ll probably suit your taste and your constitution.”
“…Really?”
Whatever.
He came here to talk, not to drink tea, so Manager Hwang ordered the tea leaf Kang Taehan recommended without any thought.
“So, what’s the matter?”
“Well, it’s not bad news.”
Manager Hwang scratched the side of his head at Kang Taehan’s blunt question.
“I was thinking that your pay is a bit low compared to your skills.”
“Hmm…”
Kang Taehan pondered for a moment at Manager Hwang’s words.
Kang Taehan’s current hourly wage was 8,800 won.
If he received a one-hour customer, an additional 18,000 won would be added as an incentive.
In other words, he would earn at least 8,800 won and up to 26,800 won per hour.
In Kang Taehan’s case, he was practically earning about 30,000 won per hour and taking internal energy as an additional benefit.
Could he find a better job than this right now?
It wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be difficult.
“It is a bit lacking.”
But money is always good to have more!
He didn’t need to correct the fact that the other side said his pay was low.
“I knew it.”
Manager Hwang nodded as if he had expected it.
Kang Taehan just smiled faintly.
“To be honest, a lot of customers came looking for you today. And I had to turn down some of them.”
“I thought so.”
“It’s been three weeks since you came here, and if it’s like this… more people will come in the future. Rumors tend to accelerate.”
Manager Hwang’s words were not an exaggeration.
Among the customers who came today, some even offered to pay extra to move their turn forward.
At this rate, there might be dozens of people coming to see Kang Taehan every day.
But Kang Taehan has only one body.
Then.
“So, I’m thinking of creating a separate course and raising your pay. What do you think?”
“A course. What kind of course?”
“Simply put, it’s premium. Anyway, the president also gave a positive response.”
It’s called the Premium Intensive Care Course.
That’s what they called it for now, but it’s a course where you can get a massage by designating Kang Taehan.
The price is 90,000 won, which is 30,000 won higher than the original price, based on one hour.
“Then… the incentive will increase to 27,000 won.”
“No. If that was the case, I wouldn’t be making such a fuss.”
Manager Hwang shook his head from side to side and held up five fingers.
“Cleanly, exactly 50%.”
“…You mean you’re raising the rate itself?”
Then the actual amount would be 45,000 won.
Simply looking at the incentive, it was almost twice as much as what he was currently receiving.
“Yes. I thought about raising your hourly wage, but it’s easier to convince the president this way. It’s better for you too, right?”
Manager Hwang is also a middle manager.
Even if he wanted to raise the pay, he couldn’t do it as he pleased, so he had to talk to the president separately.
Hourly wage is a fixed expense that goes out even if there is no sales.
On the other hand, incentives are money that doesn’t go out if there are no sales.
When persuading the president, it’s easier to get better conditions by raising the incentive rather than raising the hourly wage.
Of course, if there are no sales, it would be a waste of time, but Manager Hwang was confident that Kang Taehan would definitely increase sales.
‘Let’s do it more efficiently while we’re at it, and I’ll take care of you as much as possible… That’s what you’re saying.’
It wasn’t bad for Kang Taehan.
As he said, he would be able to take more money than now.
It’s practically a raise.
“Will there be any changes to my work?”
“No. Just make one big space for premium… and maybe your clothes will change? Oh, and we’ll have to rewrite the contract.”
Kang Taehan quietly looked into Manager Hwang’s eyes.
His gaze met his without any hesitation.
He didn’t show any particular reaction even when he was talking.
At least it meant he wasn’t hiding anything or feeling guilty.
“It doesn’t seem bad.”
“Right? There won’t be anything bad for you. To be honest, I’m pushing for this because I want to keep you for a long time.”
Manager Hwang spoke honestly at Kang Taehan’s words.
An increase in regular customers means an increase in the massage shop’s recognition.
In fact, daily sales have been steadily increasing since Kang Taehan arrived.
“So… what do you think? Any thoughts?”
“I’ll have to see the contract for details, and we’ll need to adjust the time. When the semester starts, I’ll have to finish my studies even though I’m a senior.”
“Of course. We’ll try to adjust the time to your schedule, so don’t worry. It’s a reservation system anyway.”
“Then.”
I’m grateful, Kang Taehan thought.
