A Not-So-Quiet Day!
Our office has been buzzing lately. Not because we're swamped with work—quite the opposite. With no clients in sight, everyone's just killing time and getting rowdy among themselves.
"Pfft!"
"Puh."
"Boss! Check this out!"
"……."
Take right now, for instance. Three of them cackling at a dancing video on the computer.
Kim Yang, Baek Yeonhwa, and Renea.
Baek Yeonhwa started hanging around here at some point, and when I asked why, she just shot me a look like what's your problem? as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. So I pretended not to notice. Digging deeper might force me to hear something I can't handle.
"L-Look at those joints."
"Oh? That last pose was adorable!"
"Uhahahaha!"
Anyway, I'm watching the screen too. Because it's my dancing video. Last time, while the three of them were grooving, they dragged me in and made me dance—and Kim Yang went out of her way to save it as a file.
"Cut it out."
Lately, I've felt my authority as boss hitting rock bottom. But I'm the kind of open-minded manager who hates heavy-handed top-down pressure. Trust me, being on the receiving end is a nightmare beyond imagination.
"Customer's here. Kim Yang, get in there quick."
"Tch."
"Renea, have you cleaned the bathroom yet? You said you needed bleach yesterday, so I bought some—do it before we clock out today."
"You got the unscented kind, right?! This lady can't handle the strong bleach smell!"
"……."
"Aargh! These days, they advertise so much stuff that's colorless, odorless, and germ-free for all kinds of races—!"
At 1,902 years old, calling it "these days" makes me wanna flick her forehead. Anyway, she grabs rubber gloves matching her pink hair and heads off to prep for bathroom duty.
Left are Baek Yeonhwa and me.
"Hehe, Great Hero. We've got time—shall we?"
"……Let's."
Baek Yeonhwa approaches with a sultry sway, a soft smile playing on her lips. She even licks them while eyeing my body up and down. I thought I'd gotten used to it, but when she closes in, my muscles still freeze up.
"Tense again, Great Hero? You can't let it get to you like this."
Her hand glides gently over my chest. Her fingers tap my muscles like testing steps, then nod in satisfaction.
"You never skip workouts, do you?"
"You keep showing up after hours."
"Hehe! What can I do?"
Damn, I can't take this anymore.
"……Baek Yeonhwa."
"Yes?"
"Why do you always start training with that vibe?"
Training. Right, it's training. Lately, I've been learning Taeguk Eumyangmun from her. A martial art from the ancient martial world that especially emphasizes internal energy. But since I'm not from there, I can't use internal energy, so we're focusing on external techniques. Deep-rooted schools have plenty to teach even without it.
"I read it in a book."
"What book?"
"101 Ways to Turn a Man into a Beast! It said subtle seductiveness is key—!"
She follows books to the letter. The problem is, she does it too well. She should've gone to school. Bet she'd ace the textbooks.
"Alright, let's get into stance."
Thankfully, the teasing ends quick, and being from a martial clan, she takes training seriously. She wears suits here, so rough stuff happens at my place. Here, we do stationary drills.
Her palm presses my chest, and opposing energies seep in.
Yin and yang. Hot yet cold. Cold yet hot.
Two clashing forces. I figured they'd neutralize each other into lukewarm mush somewhere. But hers slice in precise as a blade.
"Close your eyes, hold your breath, Great Hero."
"……."
"You lack a vessel inside to hold internal energy. The yin-yang I'll infuse will naturally expel itself."
Uninvited but polite guests enter my body. They poke at organs and guts, searching for an exit.
"So no need to force harmony, Great Hero. Just comprehend the principle."
Her voice grows distant, trance-like. Yin and yang don't repel or blend, but their paths align. Yet each stubbornly sticks to its way.
"Yin and yang coexist despite differences. Unchanged, they achieve harmony."
"……."
"Taeguk isn't yin and yang fused into power. Not interlocking for strength. Harmony is mere compromise."
"……."
"What matters is the boundary, not the forces."
In simple terms— not yin or yang.
The line between.
"Hoo!"
I can't hold my breath longer and exhale long. Cold mist and hot vapor pour from mouth and nose, body settling back.
Opening my eyes, Baek Yeonhwa smiles warmly, dabbing my sweat with a handkerchief. Beads had formed on my forehead unnoticed. That's how focused I was.
I take the cloth, wipe, steady my breath. Feeling the yin-yang afterglow, I murmur in awe.
"What you wanted me to see... is the center. Yin and yang, mortal foes refusing compromise... yet neither parting nor mixing. The center."
Her smile deepens, pleased.
"You've got martial talent, Great Hero. Or without internal energy, shall we call it enlightenment aptitude?"
"Enlightenment aptitude?"
"Talent for quick realization. Faster comprehension than others."
Faster than others. Yeah. Not wrong.
"Even without internal energy, your clear gaze doesn't cling to yin-yang. Most fixate on lacks. My clan disciples too—if only more yin, how to fill yang? Misses the point."
She takes my hand gently, eyes sparkling up at me expectantly.
"The key is the center. The standard that makes it. Grasp that, and even without internal energy, you can master Taeguk Eumyangmun basics—."
"Boss! Get out hereee!"
……?
Baek Yeonhwa and I turn toward the office door in unison.
'Boss, come out!' Sounds like a cliché drama line.
"Boss, where you at? Come out!"
Not a mishearing. I head out.
A handsome guy causing a scene in the third-floor hall.
"……."
Kim Yang, draped over the counseling room door, glaring coldly at him.
Namgoong Yeon or the kid from the first-floor gukbap joint once said Kim Yang's vibe gets scary. Now I get it indirectly. Her blank, icy stare chills.
Strangers might call her nasty.
"Boss! Come out!"
"Yes, sir. I'm Kim Juseon, CEO of Meracle."
The guy's handsome, at least. Casual third-floor getup, but ponytail, neat goatee, faint ancient herb scent. Easy guess: ancient martial world native.
By the way, that place is full of crazies. Think street brawls breaking out over nothing.
"CEO? I said get the boss!"
"CEO is the boss, sir."
"Oh, right?"
Look at this guy. Some folks mix up basic words. New to third-floor lingo, limited vocab. Weird usage too. Textbook ancient martial world.
"I! Pay! Money! Why? No?"
"……Kim Yang, what's going on?"
"B-Boss. It's—."
"Shut it! You shut it!"
He jabs a finger, silencing her. Psycho.
"Leave? I pay money. But leave?"
"……."
Kim Yang's eyes frost over more. Chilly now.
"That hard? Half-grown intro?"
"Half-grown?"
What's that? Ancient dialect? Baek Yeonhwa behind me grimaces in disgust too.
I lean back, whisper.
"What's half-grown?"
"Ahem, Great Hero. In ancient martial northwest dialect—."
"Boss! The toilet won't uncloggg!"
Renea climbs the third-floor stairs, sniffling, throws herself at me.
"It just won't budge! This lady told you trolls and ogres shouldn't use the bathroom over and overrr!"
Shit. Need a plumber. No, wait.
"Renea, we're with a customer right now—."
"Half-grown!"
The martial guy's eyes gleam. Locked on Renea.
"Half-grown! Got half-grown!"
"Huh? What's this creep babbling?"
Renea tilts her head; he charges, snorting excitedly. But Kim Yang blocks from the side, Baek Yeonhwa from behind.
"D-Don't come closer."
"Stop right there."
Perplexed, Baek Yeonhwa murmurs the rest.
"Great Hero, 'half-grown' in northwest dialect means a child under fifteen."
"……Pardon?"
Oh. So he wants minors introduced?
"Fucking psycho."
"How dare such a—."
"Meracle does half-grown intros! You take all clients!"
True. We don't discriminate.
"But you're no client."
Kim Yang, call the cops.
* * *
After the pedo creep got hauled off by cops for business interference.
"Marriage agencies get all kinds."
Tastes deserve respect, but lines exist. Like calling guys like Cheol-su "wild-man lovers" instead of creeps.
"Even so, not kids."
"Y-Yeah! Right!"
"No such clients anyway!"
Kim Yang and Renea nod behind me. Why would kids hit up a marriage agency?
One mess a day, and that's it. Things go eerily quiet after—like the jerk-preservation law.
So I figured today was done.
Monitor messenger. Raichen's steady tone, format as always.
But today, it grated extra.
I rest fingers on keyboard, stare at screen.
Looks like today.
Won't end quietly.