Gym!
“Ugh, hmm.”
CEO Oh Sang-min’s hand faltered, lost for direction. It made a clumsy swipe through the air, as if grasping at something—but that tiny gesture was the cut sign ending the whole scene.
“……”
Ryu Seram stared blankly at the arm draped over her shoulder, her face saying she had no clue how to handle it. Her hand hovered near my arm, debating whether to touch it or not, like she’d get burned if she did.
“Ahem, we’ll be heading out now.”
Sticking around longer would just expose how much pride we’d swallowed. We’d slunk in like wary customers, but we were strutting out like kings.
Ryu Seram, who’d just arrived, ended up walking out with me just like that.
The moment we piled into the elevator—me, Ryu Seram, and Kim Yang—the tension shattered.
“Hooaaa! Thought we were busted!”
“Y-you, y-you chickened out.”
“……”
As Kim Yang and I let out sighs of relief, Ryu Seram—arms crossed—kept gazing up at me from my side.
“So?”
“……”
“……”
Just one word, and a chill silence descended. It felt like I’d stepped into a cage with a lion, so I quietly lowered my arm and backed away.
“B-boss.”
Kim Yang ducked behind me. I’d tried to hide behind her first, but we tussled and I lost.
The elevator to the first floor felt painfully slow—oh, right, we hadn’t hit the button. I sneaked a hand out and mashed the 1, and only then did it lurch into motion.
Every move watched by that lion up front, I was holding my breath.
“Ahem, uh-hum.”
No wonder she was one of the Chilgeuk. She looked ready to devour someone. Since I was human, maybe she’d eat the sheep first?
“……Mutton’s the best meat.”
“B-boss!”
Kim Yang started smacking my back from behind. What could I do? Survival first.
*Ding!*
First floor. We waited for Ryu Seram to step out, then followed.
Finally outside the building. The fresh spring air filled my lungs, easing the stuffiness. The sky—neither clear nor overcast, just patchy clouds—looked oddly beautiful.
“So, Kim Juseon.”
Of course, it was just a fleeting freedom. Ryu Seram stood there, arms crossed, glaring at me slantwise.
“Where am I supposed to work out now? Answer me.”
“B-boss. I-I’ll take half-day leave.”
I grabbed Kim Yang’s wrist as she tried to bolt.
“I’ll never let you go.”
“L-let go! Let gooo!”
“Don’t say that! We’re in this together!”
“B-bleat! Bleeeat!”
Even her pitiful sheep impression wouldn’t save her. We’d die together. That was the Meracle way.
In the end, Kim Yang stood beside me before Ryu Seram, head bowed, hand raised, answering her question from earlier.
“Black Line Risk has a gym. Just use that.”
The facilities there couldn’t be bad. Black Line Risk was a top hunter conglomerate in the country. If anything, their gym tied directly to work, so it’d be better than Royal Matching’s—never worse.
But Ryu Seram replied like a sly lion who’d dug a trap ahead of time.
“You know how many people cling to me there asking for help? Workout tips, fighting advice, life advice, mindset coaching… Ugh, I’m not a fortune teller. Why ask me for their horoscopes?”
Being one of the Chilgeuk came with its burdens. I’d just robbed this poor soul of yet another gym option.
“Ahem, uh-hum.”
“Bleat.”
Kim Yang had devolved from human to sheep, blocking herself from the conversation entirely.
“Don’t worry, Seram.”
“……”
“Use the Meracle gym.”
“Meracle… gym?”
Ryu Seram blinked at me. Her unexpected interest made me wonder if I’d overshot, but men dream big. I nodded firmly.
“Yeah, exactly. Meracle Gym. Opening soon.”
“That’s it? Ye-na said your place got remodeled and expanded huge—”
“Oh, you haven’t been yet. We even built up to the third floor. Come check it out!”
“Hmm—”
She was hooked. I snapped my fingers at Kim Yang, signaling her to keep the momentum.
“What are we again? Huh? Kim Yang, tell her.”
“……Fuck?”
This bitch. Maybe mutton skewers after all.
“Hunter-specialized matchmaking agency Meracle. No other agency knows hunters like we do.”
I could vouch for that. As CEO, I was hunter academy alum; had Chilgeuk friends, including Hunter Association VP Yu Ye-na.
“We can’t serve only hunters, but we’re hunter-friendly. Reviews say our ranking system’s the most solid.”
“Why’s the convo drifting? Loose lips, Juseon.”
Sharp as ever.
“Ahem, anyway. That’s why we’re making a gym hunters can actually use.”
People think gyms are just machines, staff, done. But hunter gyms? Rare and pricey. Standard 20kg plates for regular guys? Hunters needed 100kg basics, plus bizarre hunter- or demi-human-only gear. Hard to find, expensive. That’s why they flock to big corps—with top training setups.
“We’ve even got experts. Descendant from an old murim clan for structured training; elves perfect for cardio.”
For some reason, I pictured Renea working out there even after it opened. Meaning she’d still be single.
Now genuinely intrigued, Ryu Seram nodded with a “Hoo” and asked:
“When’s it opening?”
“……About three years?”
“Bite down on your molars. I’ll wake you exactly three years from now.”
Kim Yang was already bolting.
Honestly, I knew I’d gone overboard today.
But chances to one-up Royal Matching didn’t come often. Never, really. We’d felt the size gap firsthand. After getting dissed, I had to land one punch to show Meracle had potential.
*Sizzle!*
The price? Prime beef. Pricey spot. Six kinds of salt? First time for that.
“What’s this? Elrand Forest? Salt from the elves’ woods?”
How do you even get salt from a forest? As I tilted my head, Ryu Seram propped her chin, still frowning.
“Hey, Seram. I get it. I’m sorry, okay? You know I never open my wallet—forgive me this once.”
“Hm? Oh—.”
She snapped to, looking at me with a calm smile creeping across her lips.
“Nah, I wasn’t mad. Just fun watching you squirm like that.”
“……Since I’m paying, you grill.”
Despite her words, I wielded the tongs and asked Ryu Seram:
“Then why the face? Something wrong?”
“Nah. It’s what you said earlier.”
“What I said? The gym?”
I took the beer from the server. She offered to grill seeing me at it, but I refused. They usually did it, but Ryu Seram got uneasy around strangers—too famous.
“……You serious about the gym?”
“Why? Wanna invest?”
I chuckled, but—
“Yeah.”
“……?!”
I gawked at her. Dead serious. She munched kimchi side dish and elaborated.
“At my level, a personal training room’s standard. Skipped it ’cause the company has one.”
“Makes sense.”
Fully equipped already—no need.
“But what you described? Kinda tempting. You said three years, but I’ve got the cash to pull it off sooner.”
Chilgeuk perks. Money poured in. Seram wasn’t flashy, so her savings were stacked.
But as Meracle founder, I knew startups weren’t easy.
“Hey, it’s just blueprints. Ground zero, really.”
“I know. That’s why—if you’re serious, think it over. I’ll invest for real.”
Look at her. Dead set.
“Any strings?”
“Hm, fill it with gear from my fave brands?”
“Easy.”
“Oh, and go to baseball with me?”
“……Way too personal.”
She’d nagged me and Ye-na about Daeheung Bear Force games since academy days. Using investment to drag me into fandom?
“My personal cash.”
Friend-beef dinner turned business meeting. We tossed around absurdly detailed, ridiculous ideas like lottery daydreamers—with actual capital to back it.
“Investor-nim, more?”
“Title change already.”
The meat was melt-in-mouth tender. Pricey for taste and harvest.
“Oh yeah, Seram. Know Maramdesh?”
“Haji the PT? Orc?”
She paused, then recalled and kept eating.
“Yeah, she joined us actually. Thought you might know something.”
“What? Her? Ha, unbelievable.”
Unbelievable? Odd vibe.
“Why?”
Ryu Seram set down her chopsticks. Whatever built up, she unloaded.
“You know how she obsessed over her boyfriend? ‘He’s perfect’—”
“Soulmates. Together from dawn to dusk—”
“Bragging nonstop. Especially ‘nights are magical’—blech! Why brag to me?”
She’d suffered more than I thought. Sounded like Maramdesh’s bedroom priorities matched perfectly.
“Heard orcs have strong libidos? But didn’t peg them for a match. Unbelievable.”
“Hm? Them? Why? He’s not orc?”
Assumed he matched her drive—orc. But Ryu Seram frowned and shook her head.
“Orc? Her guy’s—”
A few days later. Texts on my phone.
Easy money for me.
“Kim Yang, check this.”
I showed my phone to her beside me. She stared, wide-eyed.
“H-how’d you know? G-gonna reconcile?”
Yeah. I knew they’d get back together. That’s why I hadn’t bothered matching Maramdesh.
“Knew she wasn’t chasing pleasure.”
“……?”
Kim Yang tilted her head at my vague answer, but I turned back to my monitor without elaborating.
Maramdesh’s ex. Er, current boyfriend.
A dwarf, of all things.
Female orc, male dwarf. Odd pair. But key was the dwarf’s… physical trait.
They were famous for being… small.
“Ahem.”
That’s enough. In short—
“Maramdesh values heart over all.”
Emotional connection matters.