Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Exercise
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Chaeyeon and Mijin, their waists wrecked by me, joined Na-young's group like they were fleeing for their lives.
But the two realized too late that it wasn't a safe haven at all. From Na-young's perspective, since it was their first time, she'd gone easy on them—but they got swept up in what felt like hellish exercise, nearly half-dead.
And then came a brief, sweet rest period.
Taking advantage of that break, Na-young and I slipped away to the convenience store, just the two of us.
"Those three shouldn't make losing weight their goal."
"Suddenly?"
"Yeah. They're way too serious about it."
Na-young spoke up seriously, thinking deeply about her first real friends, the ones she'd made so late in life.
"They've got no strength at all. Flexibility either. They focused so much on shedding pounds that they lost everything else."
Men were one thing, but on average, girls weren't like that.
Even when they exercised, they ignored strength training entirely and made fat loss the main goal. Flexibility as a side benefit, maybe.
That was why women could never get stronger than men—except maybe as little kids—structurally speaking.
Or so they said it was physical inevitability, but that wasn't entirely true.
Among every three guys, at least one was weaker than a girl; there were countless frail boys out there. A little exercise would easily put them above the male average—or below it, at least.
But the real point was, what was the use of a girl building up strength anyway?
Especially pretty ones like Chaeyeon, Mijin, and even Eunbi.
"Flexibility aside, can't they just get by without strength?"
Those girls? If they ever needed to lift something heavy, guys would swarm in like ghosts, begging to do it for them and playing the fool.
"Hmm... no...!"
Na-young thought it over, then shook her head vigorously.
"They're too weak!"
Compared to their builds—and from Na-young's view, who was among the strongest girls her age—they looked pathetically weak.
"So I'm gonna train them up on flexibility and strength!"
"Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want, Na-young."
"Okay!"
Serves them right.
It was karma for begging me to buy them everything, devouring it all without leftovers, then panicking when the fat piled on and desperately asking Na-young for help.
They could've just looked up YouTube or done home workouts... Oh, right. Those existed now, but they weren't big yet—probably no real exercise videos around.
"Hehe."
Na-young clung to me, hooking her arm through mine and resting her head on my shoulder.
She didn't stop there—she started rubbing her cheek against mine.
That's how we walked into the convenience store.
"Welcome..."
The clerk, hearing the door chime as we entered, cut himself off mid-greeting.
Anyone could see we were a couple, plastered together with arms linked, flaunting it.
He glared at me with instant hostility, like he'd never seen a guy with a girlfriend—let alone one more beautiful than any girl alive.
From his face, he was clearly a total social outcast, the kind who'd never even been friendly with the female species.
No wonder he couldn't control his expression.
This was fun.
So much fun.
My only real brag was having an absurd amount of money. Everything else? Average at best, subpar at worst.
Yet here I was, holding superior social status over any other guy.
Without even revealing my assets.
"What do you wanna eat?"
"Hmm..."
We could've split up for a second to grab what we wanted, but Na-young refused to unlink our arms, dragging me along.
"This... and this. Oh, and... this."
She grabbed whatever she wanted for herself—and plenty for her friends—without holding back.
"That all?"
"Yeah!"
Her hands were already full to bursting, but when I asked if there was more, she nodded with a bright smile.
"Checkout, please."
"Y-yeah..."
I piled the drinks and snacks on the counter, and she quickly re-linked her arm with mine.
Crunch.
Poor kid—never had a girlfriend from childhood till now. Seeing a young guy like me all lovey-dovey with a stunning beauty stirred up a whirlwind of emotions in him.
First envy, then jealousy and anger. Finally, resignation settled in.
"14,700 won..."
The bag was stuffed to the brim, ready to burst, and it wasn't even 20,000? Felt ridiculously cheap.
"Have a good one..."
His voice was lifeless as we left the store.
His eyes were a bit dead too—like pre-regression me.
Whatever. Not my problem.
"Hehe."
I wrapped my arm around Na-young's slender waist and rubbed my cheek against hers like crazy.
She didn't mind—in fact, she rubbed back even more eagerly.
I was happy.
Having a girlfriend this pretty, who accepted anything I did and even seemed thrilled about it... it felt like I owned the whole world.
But one world wasn't enough to satisfy me.
My heart raced thinking about the day—not far off—when Na-young would be on one side and Hira noona, her beauty fully bloomed, on the other.
"Na-young."
"Yeah?"
"Wanna head back a little late?"
"Late...? They'll be waiting."
"It's fine. They'll understand. Or maybe they've already started without us since we're late."
"Well... Chaeyeon and Mijin said they wanted banana milk... Eh, whatever! It'll be okay! Hehe."
Her friends mattered, but she couldn't put them on the same level as me.
After a brief moment of thought, Na-young chose me.
"Yeah. A little late is fine. Just a little."
Standing in front of her as she smiled so cutely and prettily, I brushed the hair back from her beautiful face.
"God. Why are you so pretty, Na-young?"
My true feelings slipped out.
We'd been dating for almost a year now, but facing her still made my heart pound like crazy.
Behind skin like white jade: big, round eyes, long lashes, perky nose, slim jaw, cherry-red lips. Not a single flaw on that perfect face.
"Ji-hoon toooo."
Na-young spread her arms wide to hug me, but I pushed her back with my hands.
"Ji-Ji-hoon...?"
A shocking reaction.
I'd always let her climb into my lap before, but this was the first time I'd pushed her away. Na-young froze stiff.
Soon, her eyes welled up, and she started to whimper.
By now, her mind was probably spinning with every worst-case future imaginable.
I'd caused this myself, but seeing her overreact to something so minor was cute... and a little heartbreaking.
"It's not like that, Na-young."
I wiped her eyes.
"Then why'd you push me...?"
She demanded, but trailed off as my hands rested on her shoulders, making her flinch.
Then my face drew closer, and her cheeks flushed red.
Pure little Na-young knew exactly what was coming. She gently closed her eyes.
Right then, the streetlights flickered on against the dark night sky.
Our lips met in sync.
Her unique scent filled my nose.
The soft feel of Na-young's lips transmitted straight from mine.
Up to here, it was just a peck. Nothing more.
But we'd been together long enough that a simple peck wouldn't cut it.
Na-young probably wanted more too—her lips parted and closed against mine, over and over.
".....!"
My tongue slowly slipped through the gap in her lips.
Wasn't expecting that?
As my tongue entered, Na-young's body jolted like a startled fish.
But she didn't pull her head back. She held her ground stubbornly.
Too late to stop now. Might as well keep going.
"Uu... eut... u......"
I slid a hand behind her head, exploring her lips and mouth.
Her breaths grew ragged, and soft, lewd moans escaped bit by bit.
Without thinking, my one reliable point of pride stiffened up, and my hand started drifting toward her curves.
I snapped back to my senses, yanking my hips back and dropping my hand away.
Soon after.
"Puhaa... haa... haa......"
The moment our lips parted, Na-young panted heavily.
That kiss—which had felt endless—finally ended.
Her face burned even redder than before, like she had a fever, as she peeked at me.
Our eyes met, and she flinched cutely before looking away.
"Didn't feel bad?"
"Uh, y-yeah...?! B-bad? No... it wasn't bad... it was... good......"
She shyly shared her thoughts on our kiss.
Good thing. She hadn't hated it, even if the suddenness threw her off.
"Felt good for me too, Na-young. Wanna go again?"
"A-again...?!"
Her pupils shook wildly, unable to focus.
Her gaze stuck to my lips, refusing to budge.
"Yeah......"
Na-young nodded shyly.
So I leaned in for round two.
"Hey! You two! How long are you gonna keep making out over there?!"
Chaeyeon must've come looking herself since the couple who'd gone for snacks and drinks wasn't back yet. She yelled at the sight of us.
She made it look like playful scolding, but her face carried a strange mix of jealousy and envy.