The Burden of Beauty (2)
I opened the academy door and headed for the changing room. Carefully peeling off my blouse and skirt, I hung them up and opened my personal locker. A flurry of notes came tumbling out—someone must have shoved them through the gap. Picking up the scattered scraps of paper, I caught sight of the tiny handwriting asking for my personal details or contact information, and my face flushed hot.
Right... no, that's not it. It wasn't some romantic crush on me. It had to be the pure admiration of the academy students who just wanted to get closer to the queen bee of this district. I tried to console myself with that thought.
Shaking my head to clear away the unnecessary thoughts, I changed into the workout clothes I'd brought. Unlike the baggy tracksuit I wore at the headquarters gym, these hugged my body tightly, wrapping around me in a pleasantly snug sensation. Glancing at myself sideways in the mirror, I struck a pose. The curves visible on my body were bold yet never cheap—they held exactly the line I wanted.
Yeah... this is the look. An outfit that hinted at my figure without ever crossing into vulgarity. That delicate balance—enjoying the attention while never looking like an easy woman—was the secret to completing Baek Myungmin.
Wearing a satisfied smile, I left the changing room and slipped into a spot among the other students. The women in workout clothes didn't speak, but they gave me a slight nod of greeting. Following the instructor's gentle commands, I stretched my arms and bent at the waist, naturally matching the movements of the others. My muscles, stiff from the grueling work all morning, seemed to cheer in relief rather than scream in protest.
The members beside me were already sweating, breathing hard, and clearly struggling. Unfortunately for them, a little stretching like this was nothing compared to swinging a massive shield weighing hundreds of kilograms with one hand or wrestling house-sized monsters like it was a dance. Not a single drop of sweat appeared on me—I stayed fresh and dry.
Actually, this is perfect... It feels like even an awakened person's mysterious muscles are getting loosened up. Since awakened beings followed the physical laws of another world from their very structure, slow and delicate movements that relaxed the entire body were far better for loosening muscles than heavy weight training.
"Hoo..." I let out a soft breath between my lips as the warm-up and group class came to an end. Rolling my neck lightly, I stood up and made my way to the private room with the Cadillac machine for my one-on-one lesson. The room held a Cadillac apparatus with springs and bars hanging from the ceiling—nothing beat it for relaxing the whole body while suspended in the air.
Beside it stood the instructor, wearing a thin cardigan over her form-fitting workout clothes just like mine, greeting me with a bright smile.
"Hello. Shall we do the same routine today?"
"Yes, Instructor. I was out in the field today, so..."
When I trailed off, the instructor's eyes widened with a worried expression as she approached.
"Oh~ It was on the news... Are you all right?"
"Hehe~ That's just how our job goes, you know..."
I answered shyly, but the accident scenes broadcast on the news were heavily edited to avoid shocking ordinary people. What the instructor imagined about my day was probably closer to a heroic fragment of rescuing citizens rather than the terrifying image of Charon beating people over the head to drag them back to the land of the living amid blood and screams.
No need to show her the dark side of the world.
Smiling, I watched the instructor adjust the Cadillac and swallowed the bitter laugh rising in my throat. Lying on the machine, I extended my legs or moved my arms in the direction she indicated, slowly suspending myself in the air using my entire body's muscles. The sensation of defying gravity tightened my core.
"Well done~" and "You're amazing, member~" came the praises, followed by "Let's try the next pose~" and "Let's make it a little harder~," gradually increasing the intensity. In the full-length mirror, my reflection was now elegantly suspended in the air, lightly damp with sweat.
"Heh... This is more like it. Finally breaking a sweat~"
As I exhaled roughly, the instructor shook her head and clicked her tongue.
"Awakened ones are always so surprising~ You know ordinary people can't go beyond that without risking injury, right?"
"Yes... It must be tough for you too, Instructor, trying to match awakened people."
"Oh, member, really~ What era are we living in~"
Using the instructor's laughing voice as background music, I changed poses three more times while suspended before finally setting my feet on the ground, soaked enough that sweat dripped onto the Cadillac mat. It wasn't the fishy stench of monster fluids or the metallic smell of blood—just the fragrant scent of sweat born purely from my own effort. It felt like perfume reminding me I was alive.
"Good work, member."
At the greeting signaling the end of the lesson, I reached for a towel on the Cadillac stand to wipe my sweat, but the instructor smiled and gently lowered my arm.
"You worked hard today, so I'll take care of it."
"Hehe~ Thank you."
"Since you had a lot of intense activity today, a warm bath at home would be good too."
"Thank you, Instructor."
"Take care~"
After bowing slightly to the instructor who was tidying up with the towel, I stepped outside. The group class must have ended as well—members heading to the changing room or chatting in small groups spotted me and rushed over without hesitation, eyes sparkling as they started talking.
"Unnie! Are you free today?"
"Or would you like to go to a café with us? Or dinner maybe?"
While the members with incredibly bright energy poured out their words, the slightly more composed ones standing right beside them snorted and subtly tried to tempt me.
"No, no~ Dessert definitely suits unnie better~"
"Or how about indulging just a little and having some alcohol?"
"Hehe... I need to rest after working the field today..."
At my gentle refusal, they all drooped their heads in disappointment, only to lift them again immediately and start pressuring me for weekend plans with determined looks.
"Aww~ That's too bad~"
"Then you have to hang out with us this weekend, okay?"
"Sure. I will, hehe..."
"Thank you, unnie!"
"We'll get out of your way so you can shower!"
Only after securing a weekend promise did they scatter like the Red Sea parting. I watched them with a pleased smile.
Heh... hehe... Somehow, this feels really good...
Had there ever been a time in my life when such lively, almost refreshing women clung to me just to make weekend plans? Back when I was an ordinary, almost invisible man before awakening, this scene was unimaginable.
If I were still a guy, I wouldn't have even thought about wearing these clothes and doing Pilates in the first place.
Yeah, yeah~ This was one of the small but definite perks of becoming a woman~
Heading to the shower, I let the warm water wash away the sweat, changed back into my original clothes, and stepped out of the building. Thanks to Pilates tightening my muscles and the warm water relaxing them, my body felt light as a feather.
Where should I go next~? I worked hard today, so I obviously deserve a reward, right?
Instead of the sharp gaze I used to find monster weaknesses, I searched for a place fitting a reward for today's hard work. The first things that caught my eye were clothing stores and cosmetics shops.
Clothing store? Isn't that too extravagant? Hmm~ Cosmetics are nice too, but it's still too early.
Shaking my head to look away from the items in the shop windows, the sign of the dessert shop the female member had been singing about earlier stole my gaze as if it had been waiting for the perfect timing.
Going to eat sweets alone?
I hesitated for a moment, but what did it matter? Sitting by the café window, watching people pass by while leisurely spending time, and adding a sweet dessert on top would double the joy. Nothing wrong with that.
"All right~ You're the one~"
Smiling at the distant dessert shop, I slipped into the crowded street with light steps. Pushing through the busy crowd, I stopped at the crosswalk leading to the dessert shop. While waiting for the light to change, I casually looked up at the large electronic billboard on the building across the street. After the usual insurance ads and nutritional supplement commercials passed, a face so familiar it gave me goosebumps filled the screen, smiling brightly.
Haha... That's me?
The person standing there in a black tactical uniform, deploying a massive shield easily twice their body size, could only be me. No one else in our rescue team—or even searching the entire world—carried such ridiculous equipment.
They said they were filming training footage a few months ago, but they ended up shooting me in that half-joking pose?
It was dizzying to think the Mobile Rescue Team, called the conscience of the Association, was shown goofing around like that, but glancing around, I was relieved to see the busy modern people paying no attention to the billboard in the sky.
"Whoa, that's edited, right? How could a person lift that?"
"But look at that expression. Total capitalist smile."
Just as I was feeling relieved, the voices of students in school uniforms standing nearby snickered and pointed, stabbing into me like knives.
[We'll be your shield!]
"Pfft...!"
On the billboard, I was smiling without a care in the world, spouting that cringeworthy line, and the PR team had even added tacky sparkling effects around the shield. The sight of myself on screen was so awkward and pathetic that a hollow laugh escaped me. Overwhelmed by unbearable embarrassment, I ducked my head just as the traffic light turned green. I hurried across the crosswalk as if fleeing.