Chapter 14. Special Price! Rejuvenation Course
Chapter 14. Special Price! Rejuvenation Course
“Bella! This is bullshit! Lies. Liar.”
I desperately tried to get the message across, afraid Bella might get scared and check out.
“Liar? Bullshit?”
She blinked at me, then snickered and ate the rest of her hamburger. Seeing how calm she was, she didn’t seem like she’d fallen for fake news.
Thank god.
But thinking about it, if a long-term guest pays a huge lump sum like that, the counter staff ends up taking way too much risk.
Should I make guests pay daily instead?
While I was thinking that, the motel door opened and a couple in their thirties came in, asking for a short-stay room.
“It’s 30,000 won.”
The male guest took the room key and disposable toiletries, then sat at the counter and kept sneaking glances at Bella in her tracksuit, chewing a hamburger.
The woman with him grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the elevator.
“Chan. Chan, what drama do you watch?”
Bella fiddled with her phone as she asked me.
“I’m more into YouTube than dramas. But I’ve watched all the famous ones.”
Maybe my answer was too long, because she looked like she didn’t really understand.
“Squid Game—watched? Fun?”
I’d seen it, but I didn’t find it fun. Still, it was famous worldwide, so the correct response was to say it was fun.
“It was fun. Number one.”
“Okay!”
With that, Bella stuffed the last hamburger into her mouth and headed back to her room.
Her pink tracksuit top was a little short, so you could see a bit of her belly button, but you couldn’t tell at all from the stomach of someone who’d eaten three hamburgers.
That woman’s body structure was a mystery.
After Bella went to her room, I turned on the TV in the office.
Since North Korea was all over internet news and social media nonstop, I wanted to see what was going on.
The President was on TV, giving a special address.
“For that reason, I ask you, the citizens, not to be swayed by such unfounded rumors and to focus on your daily lives. I will not stand by while certain unscrupulous political forces exploit the enormous lie of North Korean nuclear threats through false fabrication and incitement for their own political purposes. The Republic of Korea and North Korea have recently been walking the path of peace and reconciliation. The world is watching the peace of our Korean Peninsula. Citizens, do not fall for unfounded rumors.”
So he says it’s not true…
But if the President came out to give a special address, then something was going on.
And people say you should usually interpret politicians’ words the other way around…
Could it actually be dangerous?
But what am I supposed to do about it?
Like the President said, all I can do is focus on daily life.
Not long after Bella went in, Cheolmin hyung came out of Room 105.
Instead of a suit, he was dressed in comfortable workout clothes.
I’d told him to come to the counter in the evening when there weren’t many people. He was coming out to receive instruction in martial arts from me.
“Let me say this first—I can only do a little internal energy training. I can’t do forms or anything like that. Are you okay with that?”
When I laid the groundwork, Cheolmin hyung nodded with a solemn face.
“Yes! Master. Any teaching is fine. I’ll learn with everything I have!”
“Hearing ‘Master’ or ‘Benefactor’ feels a bit weird. Just call me Chan. Or Kang Chan.”
Cheolmin hyung hesitated, then answered.
“Still, calling my master by name… If people are watching, how about I call you ‘junior brother’?”
“Well… that’s fine. For now, sit here and close your eyes. Then breathe slowly and deeply, and imagine that you’re drawing the energy in the air down through your breath into your dantian.”
There really was some kind of energy in the air.
I didn’t know if it was the “qi” martial arts novels talked about, but I separated the energy contained in Cheolmin’s breathing and held it in his dantian.
When I wash my dress shirts after work, I often leave a bit of telekinesis in the wet fabric to pull it taut so it dries smooth without wrinkles.
Even after my intent cuts off, the telekinesis I leave behind remains almost semi-permanently. Using that technique, I used my telekinesis to compress the energy separated from his breathing.
Oh!!!
It works.
Cheolmin also sensed a small presence building inside his dantian and brightened, and I brightened too, thinking about the 1 billion won.
I’d already received it, but I’d been worried I might have to return it if this internal energy training failed.
I hid my excitement and spoke sternly.
“In internal energy training, stability of mind and body is essential. Don’t get agitated—calm your heart. Emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure can later become inner demons and pose a serious threat. When training internal energy, always strive to maintain a state of no-thought, no-self.”
I recited martial arts trivia I’d just read online.
While doing that, I gathered the energy in the air and forced it into Cheolmin’s breathing. The tiny grain-of-rice-sized presence in his dantian quickly became the size of a ping-pong ball.
If it became… the size of a basketball, would that be dangerous?
If I wanted, I could make it bigger, but I only compressed it to ping-pong-ball size, then gradually withdrew my telekinesis. After that, the energy being drawn in through Cheolmin’s breathing became noticeably smaller.
Compared to when I helped, it was about one-thousandth—an extremely tiny amount.
In the meantime, two short-stay guests checked in and one overnight guest checked in.
Between taking guests, I observed Cheolmin hyung’s internal body with my telekinesis.
It’s the first day, so this should be enough…
Stuff like Small Heavenly Cycle, Great Heavenly Cycle, rebirth, and bone cleansing can wait.
But if rebirth and bone cleansing, and then rejuvenation, makes you healthier and younger… maybe I could run that as a business for rich people.
Bone Cleansing Course: 2 billion won. Special price! Rejuvenation Course: 3 billion won…
It’d be impossible with normal people, but for chaebol, they’d probably go crazy for it…
While I was thinking all kinds of nonsense, I said to Cheolmin.
“Alright… the foundation has formed. For now, you need to focus on stabilizing the foundation. I’ll teach you energy circulation later.”
I didn’t know if it was correct, but I used the word “foundation” to sound legit. Cheolmin opened his eyes—they were sparkling.
“Thank you, junior brother! I feel a hot energy in my dantian!”
“Yes. Now go back to your room and review. And if anything feels off, tell me anytime.”
If something goes wrong, I can probably just pull the qi clump out of his dantian.
In martial arts novels, that clump spreads into weird places, causes paralysis, makes people cough blood, and kills them…
If there are side effects, I can just yank it out with telekinesis. So my fake training shouldn’t seriously mess Cheolmin hyung up.
Cheolmin kept bowing and returned to his room.
After that, he trained his internal energy diligently all night, but compared to when I compressed the qi for him, the amount was tiny.
But would it actually work?
Flying through the sky like martial arts novels… I can already fly.
Cutting steel with a sword or fists… I can already do that.
Ah… voice transmission, long-distance voice transmission.
That one is tempting.
But I can just message or call.
And acupoint strikes—just poke-poke and the person gets paralyzed. I think I could do that too.
I’d just block whatever “acupoint” is with my telekinesis.
But to practice that, I’d need to do it on a living person…
It’s a shame I don’t have a suitable practice tool.
For now, I should do the bone-strengthening training I’ve been focusing on for the past few days.
And while teaching Cheolmin hyung just now, I got a good idea: what if I gathered the “qi” energy in the air and fused it into my bones? Wouldn’t my bones become even stronger?
Tokyo Standard Time, 7:00 a.m.
North Hamgyong Province, North Korea—Musudan-ri West Sea Satellite Launch Site.
All preparations were complete. Only the Supreme Leader’s decision remained.
All citizens had steeled themselves to lead this war to victory with total national effort.
But North Korea’s Supreme Leader was troubled.
If he pressed the button in front of him, there was a high probability he would die.
But if he didn’t press it, he would certainly die.
And a few years later, his successor would be sitting in front of the same button.
Even while developing and completing nuclear weapons, he had felt secure.
Because of its geographic position, North Korea was constantly exposed to threats from powerful nations, and nukes were the last line of defense.
He thought that because he had them, those wolf-like bastards wouldn’t treat North Korea lightly.
But that was a foolish illusion.
He wasn’t a player—he was just one of the pieces on the board.
Every decision he thought was a choice had been a march along a predetermined route.
Now came the final decision.
If he pressed the button, it was death or glory.
He waited for contact.
Once the final message arrived, he would have to press the button.
Tokyo Standard Time, 7:42 a.m.
Beijing, China.
“It’s been decided for 9 a.m.”
He nodded at the report from below.
At last, execution.
From this moment on, the great Chinese nation would proudly rule the world. They would repay every humiliation.
Arrogant Europe. Evil America. Insolent South Koreans.
Those three, at minimum, would be made to weep tears of blood.
And today, enormous blood would flow in South Korea.
Those scraps of barbarians who had scraped at Chinese pride for thousands of years would exit the world stage starting today.
“If America moves, commence the Taiwan invasion operation immediately!”
“Yes, understood.”
Hide your capabilities and bide your time.
There was meaning in waiting for the light while hiding in darkness.
Tokyo Standard Time, 7:57 a.m.
The Pentagon, United States.
“Launch probability is ninety-eight percent. You must make a decision now.”
An aide pressed the U.S. President for a decision.
Ninety-eight percent meant it was already a certainty.
“What are the projected damages to Osan and Pyeongtaek?”
“They’re more than fifty kilometers away, so there’s almost no direct damage from thermal blast and shockwaves. However, the threat from fallout and radiation will reach them directly.”
“Deploy the shielding prepared at Osan airfield and advance the aircraft carriers into the West Sea!”
At last, the U.S. President made his decision.
The world began to slide into World War Three.
“What about South Korea?”
“They received our intel this morning and are in an emergency meeting. But based on incoming information, they’re refusing to acknowledge reality and are still interpreting it purely politically while drafting countermeasures. They should be evacuating into air-raid shelters, but no one is evacuating, so it seems they think there’s no chance a nuke is coming.”
“There are people who only cry after they see blood. Ignore that line from now on, and have U.S. Forces Korea move to a direct command chain over the ROK military!”
“But… that’s—”
“Don’t waste time overthinking. In an hour, South Korea’s leadership will be wiped out. We need to use the remaining military assets efficiently!”
“Understood.”
The U.S. President let out a low groan and stared at the footage.
Musudan-ri, North Hamgyong Province, North Korea.
An underground gate opened, and the nuclear missile—fully prepared for launch—began to come into view.
Tokyo Standard Time, 8:12 a.m.
In a building somewhere in Europe, twelve elders gathered and reached an agreement.
Tokyo Standard Time, 8:19 a.m.
A mansion in northern Spain.
The owner of the mansion changed the regulations regarding what would happen after this time.
Tokyo Standard Time, 8:32 a.m.
China.
Five people shared their achievements so far and agreed on a unified goal.
Tokyo Standard Time, 8:49 a.m.
Utah, United States.
A man with a furrowed brow clawed hard at his own face.
Tokyo Standard Time, 9:00 a.m.
Seoul, a motel.
Bella came out of Room 102 holding her phone and walked to the counter. Wearing a pink tracksuit with a cat printed on it, she dragged her Adidas slippers along.