Can I Talk to You for a Moment?
Kim Suhyun stood at the door of room 9, maintaining a bold posture while feeling a faint sense of unease as he gazed toward it.
Ryu Yena visited about two or three times a month, a customer who seemed like a true one but wasn't entirely so.
On days when she was in a good mood, she would tip the masseur generously.
But on days when she was in a bad mood, she would latch onto every strange excuse and file complaints, turning into a true customer.
'The guy who booked six appointments on the first day must be good at it...'
After sixty minutes, the male manager experienced a surprise.
Ryu Yena, who had entered with a completely expressionless face, emerged from room 9 with a bright smile.
And she even booked an appointment.
"I'd like to book an appointment with Mr. Kim Suhyun."
"Just a moment. I'll show you the schedule."
"Oh my, you said you weren't registered as a masseur yesterday, right?"
On the screen displayed to Ryu Yena, Kim Suhyun's reservation schedule appeared.
The monthly calendar clearly showed six reservations.
"It's because of how good the massage skills are."
"Ah, as expected... With that touch..."
The male manager had not directly witnessed Suhyun's abilities.
But from the satisfied expressions and behaviors of every customer who left, he could guess.
Then Ryu Yena, who had been the strange customer, nodded in agreement with the manager's words.
And the true value of Suhyun was being revealed day by day.
A week passed, and on Monday the Hwa real manager took over the weekly shift.
The Hwa real manager began her week like any other weekday.
"Excuse me, could you tell me the name of the masseur I received the massage from last time?"
"Which one? Do you remember the face?"
The customer who seemed like a repeat visitor scanned the masseur's name list.
And picked out Kim Suhyun at the very end.
"Kim Suhyun! This one! Can I get a massage now?"
"Ah, that..."
Inhwa hesitated, covering her mouth as if in difficulty.
And the reservation management program executed, showing the customer the schedule.
"From here to here is all Suhyun's reservations."
After Suhyun started working, the number of customers seeking him increased daily.
Now, without a reservation, they could not receive Suhyun's touch.
"Reservations... up to eight thirty?"
"Yes. And at nine, Suhyun's quitting time."
"Haa, really. A popular masseur. Well..."
She sighed as if regretting that a woman was involved.
And nodded as if understanding.
Anyone who had once felt Suhyun's touch had no choice but to seek him again.
So special was Suhyun's massage.
The people who came to Suhyun again now were those who had received a massage from another masseur after having good memories of Suhyun's massage and were greatly disappointed.
The other masseur's massage was refreshing, but
They did not feel the powerful pleasure and ecstasy like when Suhyun massaged.
"Can I wait for the reservation to be released?"
"It could happen, but I can't guarantee it. If you wait and the reservation doesn't get released, you'll have wasted your time."
"Yes. Then I'll book a reservation anyway. When?"
Hwa real manager smiled and helped book the reservation for the customer.
"Wow..."
And on the way out after finishing the massage, Choi Gwanghyun witnessed the scene.
He entered the waiting room and let out an exclamation.
"Suhyun, you're really amazing..."
"Why?"
"The customer just booked with you again? How many reservations do you have now?"
"Well... probably not many?"
"Yeah, there were a lot. This week's reservations are full, and next week seems to be filling up too? But you're not tired?"
Gwanghyun looked at Suhyun like he was a monster.
Skill to satisfy customers is one thing, but what was even more monstrous was his stamina.
Suhyun and Gwanghyun start work at 8:30 in the morning.
Quitting at 9 PM, so massaging for 12 hours straight.
If there were no reservations like Gwanghyun, it could be.
But Suhyun massages for 12 hours straight.
Except for eating and resting a bit after each session, no break time.
Anyone who has experienced massage knows it's not easy.
Even massaging parents' shoulders a little makes hands and arms hurt.
Masseurs have to knead the whole body evenly for over 30 minutes or an hour.
It wasn't just about earning hourly wage and incentives.
'This guy doesn't even show signs of fatigue.'
Even today, Suhyun had been massaging from early morning until now.
Yet, no sign of tiredness.
The only human touch was that his clothes were soaked in sweat.
It had been about three weeks since starting the massage work.
He worked every day except one day off.
A grueling 12-hour labor day.
But Suhyun showed no signs of being tired or fatigued.
Instead, the opposite: Suhyun looked very energetic.
Thanks to absorbing yin energy and vitality through massage.
'Smooth sailing.'
The amount of internal energy felt from the lower abdomen had increased several hundred times compared to before.
Because his internal energy upon returning to modern times was too meager, even if several hundred times, it was still less than one level.
By Murim standards, he was just starting to surpass third-class level.
But considering the time he had accumulated internal energy, it was incredibly fast.
It hadn't even been a month.
Moreover, Seoul had almost no natural qi in the air.
Even in such adverse conditions, Suhyun had been able to accumulate over a year of internal energy thanks to Bicheon-gong.
Not only natural qi, but also by absorbing yin energy generated when women feel pleasure to increase internal energy.
Then the phone message app rang.
Confirming, it was Lee Inhwa.
Suhyun read the message and fell into thought.
What could it be?
A short time, but almost daily, he had gauged her character.
Straightforward and neat person.
Plus she has a family, so probably not approaching privately.
At the cafe near L Massage Parlor.
Suhyun sat facing Inhwa.
"I'm sorry for calling you out after work to rest. It's not that... I wanted to talk about pay."
"Pay?"
Suhyun accepted Inhwa's words calmly.
Honestly, Suhyun was satisfied with the masseur's salary.
The minimum wage given just for showing up.
Plus 30% commission from massages.
Suhyun, massaging full-time for 12 hours, earns around 3-4 million won a day.
Plus internal energy from yin and vitality, it's hard to find a more satisfying job than this.
"In my opinion, Suhyun's pay seems a bit low."
Inhwa opened with that.
Suhyun nodded calmly.
He knew it wasn't about lowering pay.
Recently, customers looking for Suhyun had exploded.
The only full-booked masseur at L Massage Parlor was Suhyun.
"With Suhyun's ability, shouldn't you get paid more?"
"Is that saying I should become a regular employee?"
There are ranks in the world of masseurs too.
Intern stage for preparing masseurs.
Suhyun and Gwanghyun as hourly non-regular contract.
And regular employees for skilled masseurs.
When becoming regular, treatment changes.
No hourly, but commission doubles to 60%.
If 30% was 30%, now 60%.
If customer pays 100,000 won for a massage, masseur takes 60,000.
Of course, much more than taking hourly plus 30%.
"Is that a good suggestion, but do you have any thoughts about changing jobs? I received an offer. It's a new store opening, and they want me to be the president. It's a bit of a stretch, but there are more things I can do than being a real manager. But since it's new, it might be tough, so I was going to refuse. But if Suhyun joins, it might work out well."
Suhyun stared at Inhwa.
No signs of lying.
Her eyes were straight, looking at Suhyun.
Eyes of someone telling everything without hiding.
"Changing jobs... I think I need to think about that."
Suhyun conveyed a nuance of refusal.
From Suhyun's perspective, he didn't need to change jobs.
Becoming regular, if he wanted, he could anytime.
He had already been asked by the male manager if he wanted to try regular.
But Suhyun had no intention of being tied down somewhere.
If he was going to do massage work long-term, being a president would be better than employee.
"Ah, as expected..."
"Then are you the one changing jobs, Hwa real manager?"
"No. If Suhyun comes with me, maybe, but I can't do it alone. If there's a signboard masseur, operation is easy, but without that, it's hard."
"Is that so. Then how about this?"
Suhyun told his plan.
In the next 6 months, his plan for the new Bicheon massage parlor he was opening.
Suhyun was currently a popular masseur earning over 1 million won a month.
With little spending, in 6 months he could save 60 million won.
"But with 60 million, even if taking a loan, it would be hard to open a proper massage parlor?"
"Yes. So, we need to raise the price. Just handle the current reservations and create premium courses."
Suhyun's reservation schedule was increasing day by day.
About 11-12 people looking for Suhyun every day.
But since reservations are full, they can't get massage that day.
So they book and leave, and the schedule fills up.
With so many people, even if creating premium courses and raising prices, customers are likely to stay.
Then the store can earn more, and Suhyun can increase sales.
"Hmm... It seems possible. If I show the current reservation situation, the president will probably approve. Then I'll take care of convincing the president."
"Is that accepting my proposal?"
"Yes. Suhyun. I'll follow you trusting only you."
Lee Inhwa, who came to make the job offer to Suhyun.
She, in turn, accepted Suhyun's proposal and agreed to be the manager of the store Suhyun would open in 6 months.
"But can I ask one private question?"
"What? To me?"
Inhwa's face showed slight surprise at Suhyun's sudden words.
The wording "private question" sounded a bit special.
Suhyun was in his 20s, she was in her 30s nearing 40.
Plus she had a family.
So unlikely, but her heart was a bit pounding.
Suhyun was incredibly handsome.
"Why do you call yourself Hwa real manager? Your name is Lee Inhwa, right? Isn't this real manager correct?"
"I like the character 'Hwa' in my name the most. Just 'Lee' as a surname is boring, but 'Hwa' meaning flower is prettier, right?"
"Ah, I see..."
Suhyun nodded, thinking she was stranger than he thought.
But in Murim, there were even stranger people than him.
Suhyun passed it off without thinking much.
