Chapter 2

Massaging for the Demon Lord - Chapter 2 (2/309)

<Massaging for the Demon Lord Chapter 2>

"Sir, it seems you don't have enough balance..."

"Oh, right."

Kang Tae-han awkwardly took the card and rummaged through his wallet.

Fortunately, he had some cash, so he pulled out a five-thousand-won bill and extended it toward the cash register.

"Thank you, please come again."

Kang Tae-han stepped outside, responding to the employee's greeting.

What he had bought was a 500ml bottle of cola, cold enough to make his palm feel chilly.

"Ah! This is good, so good!"

As soon as he took a sip, a tingling sensation flowed down his throat.

It felt like it was awakening him to the life of the modern world, which he had long forgotten.

"Luckily, it's not as unfamiliar as I thought."

He had spent sixty years in the world of martial arts.

During that time, he had practically forgotten about the original world, but once he stepped outside, most of his memories came flooding back.

'I worried for nothing.'

He had been concerned that he might not adapt or find his way around, but those worries were unfounded.

He felt a sense of nostalgia, but no awkwardness or unfamiliarity.

After all, even though sixty years had passed, it felt like no time had gone by here.

It was as if he had just woken up from a long dream.

'Taking the subway would be faster, but...'

Kang Tae-han checked the time.

He had plenty of time before his meeting with Choi Sung-hyun, but he had come out early to take a look around the streets after a long time.

Kang Tae-han walked slowly.

'It's not that far, anyway.'

He decided to walk to get used to the environment.

He followed the location Choi Sung-hyun had sent him via KakaoTalk.

The jjimjilbang Choi Sung-hyun had marked was a large establishment that appeared on the first page of search results.

It had a fairly large massage shop inside, and they were looking for extra hands.

Of course, he and Choi Sung-hyun were still students who hadn't even graduated from college, but it seemed that having a certificate was enough to qualify.

'They say any certificate you get will be useful someday.'

And this was one of those times.

He was benefiting from a certificate he had obtained sixty years ago.

'By the way, my body is really weak.'

Kang Tae-han exhaled deeply.

He had only walked about seven thousand steps, but he could feel a slight ache in his calves.

His body was poorly conditioned, and he had no internal energy.

He couldn't even perform basic lightness techniques, let alone advanced ones.

'Even if I had mastered dozens of secret manuals, they are useless without internal energy.'

He had once been called the Demon Lord and had mastered most of the cultivation techniques in the martial world.

However, cultivation techniques were methods for absorbing and storing energy.

He couldn't create internal energy out of thin air, and even if he could, he needed a solid foundation of both body and energy to use them.

And this was the modern world.

As he walked down the street, he noticed that the concentration of energy in the air was much thinner and murkier compared to the martial world.

The efficiency of cultivation techniques would be drastically reduced here.

'Of course, this is probably the average level here...'

This wasn't the martial world, so he didn't need to rely on physical strength.

He shouldn't judge by the standards of the martial world.

However, as a man, he should at least have the strength to protect himself.

At the very least, he should be able to stop a truck to feel at ease.

"Maybe I should find a good mountain to train on."

In this situation, it might take at least twenty years, or even longer, to develop proper internal energy.

"Hey, Tae-han! You made it!"

Then, someone waved at him from ahead.

It was Choi Sung-hyun.

Seeing the face of his old friend, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, Kang Tae-han couldn't help but smile.

"It's been a long time."

He smiled and raised his hands in a martial salute... but then quickly lowered them and waved.

He had almost slipped into a martial arts habit without realizing it.

"Really, 'it's been a long time'? I told you to cut back on those wuxia novels. When are you going to get rid of that concept?"

"Right."

Kang Tae-han's eyes twitched.

His current mannerisms and speech were those of the martial world.

He should try to adjust back to modern ways, but it felt awkward.

'What an ironic situation.'

At first, he was treated as strange in the martial world for his modern manners, and now it was the opposite.

Well, he could adjust slowly.

Kang Tae-han grinned and raised his hands in a martial salute again.

"I watched a wuxia movie last night."

"Your concept is really solid. Fine, you've been like this for a while, and at least you're trying to adjust your speech."

Choi Sung-hyun snorted.

He had been known for his love of wuxia since high school and would occasionally act like this.

"But you can't do that at the place we're going, right?"

"Just kidding. So, what do we do today?"

Kang Tae-han asked in a more natural tone.

"Everything I told you in KakaoTalk. We just wait, and when the professional masseurs leave, we take over."

They would step in when customers arrived and the regular staff were gone.

In other words, they were reserve staff.

They would get the minimum wage just for waiting, and if they worked, they would receive a performance bonus.

It was quite a good deal.

"Of course, we'll do some odd jobs while waiting, but even considering that, it's a sweet deal. I was going to do it alone, but the manager said they needed more hands."

Choi Sung-hyun chuckled and led the way.

After walking for a while, their destination appeared.

An eight-story building with a parking lot.

The large building, visible from a distance, was entirely a jjimjilbang.

"Manager! I'm here!"

"Ah, Sung-hyun? You're early."

They entered through the back entrance for employees, and a spacious area appeared.

They seemed to be on good terms, as Choi Sung-hyun waved and walked inside.

"So... this is your friend?"

"Yes. He's a great friend. He's diligent, skilled, and even gave a shoulder massage to a professor."

"Is that so...? He looks a bit unreliable."

The man called the manager glanced at Kang Tae-han.

It seemed his first impression wasn't great.

"Come on. He's really good. He passed the certification exam on his first try, and there's no one better among his peers."

"Since you're vouching for him, I'll give him a try, but..."

Their conversation continued for a while.

Kang Tae-han couldn't hear everything, but he could tell what was going on.

'So that's how it is.'

He had said he brought him because they needed more hands, but it seemed Choi Sung-hyun had arranged this position for him.

Kang Tae-han smiled wryly.

'He's always been like that.'

He might not show it, but he's a caring and considerate person.

He had been like that since high school.

This was probably because he had mentioned running out of living expenses.

"Hey! We're done talking. Change and let's get to work."

Choi Sung-hyun finished the conversation and came back with a smile.

"Alright."

"Want to go to the bath? We have time since we came early."

"Sure, I can use the bath."

Kang Tae-han didn't say thank you.

He just resolved to repay him someday.

* * *

"Ugh..."

Thud.

The man sat on the floor, opened the lid of the sikhye container, and took a big sip.

The ice crunched in his mouth.

While the sound of breaking ice rang out, he stared blankly at the air.

"I'm dying, I'm dying..."

Nam Woo-hyun, a team leader.

Despite the title, he was just a regular employee with a title to avoid being ignored in sales meetings.

'And the workload keeps increasing...'

One task leads to two more, and checking his schedule makes him sigh.

Worse, he was in the sales department.

Although the drinking culture is improving, it hasn't reached the sales department yet.

As a result, the longer he worked, the more worn out he felt.

'I wish I could replace my head.'

Nam Woo-hyun, exhausted, held his aching head.

In the past, he could stay up for two nights straight, but now he felt heavy even after a full day of rest.

Not to mention whether he could take a full day off.

'If only I could replace my head like Hobbangman.'

The sauna, which he visited occasionally after business trips, used to be his solace, but even that no longer excited him.

It felt good while he was in the bath, but he quickly returned to his usual state once he came out.

'I should quit my job, really... Hmm?'

As he reached for the sikhye again, a sign caught his eye.

'Massage...?'

He had often visited saunas and jjimjilbangs but had never tried a massage.

It felt unfamiliar and a bit expensive.

But he desperately needed a new stimulus in his exhausted state.

He was so desperate that he even noticed a sign he usually ignored.

'There seem to be quite a few customers?'

It looked like there were many customers coming and going.

That meant the place wasn't completely incompetent.

'Let's see... If I get a thirty-minute massage, I can still make it to the office on time.'

Nam Woo-hyun finished the remaining sikhye and stood up.