A Will to Change
Just then, Bae Yujin, the trainer, happened to be nearby.
The man he’d been speaking with called her over. “Yujin, could you come help consult with this member?”
“Of course.”
The man gave a polite greeting and stepped aside.
Bae Yujin took his place.
She really was pretty. People said female trainers these days were on a completely different level, and looking at her, I could see that rumor wasn’t exaggerating at all.
Her face was tiny, no bigger than a fist. Her body was firm and toned, but not bulky.
Just the right kind of athletic build—lean without being overdone. It was exactly the type I liked best.
As for her age...
She looked to be in her mid-twenties. Probably older than me—an older sister type.
“All right, sir. Have you ever worked out before?”
“No.”
Questions followed back and forth. Had I ever exercised? How intense did I want the training to be? What did I usually eat? Things like that.
Basic questions, the kind you needed before starting a program.
“Then should we do an InBody scan first?”
“Sure.”
After the questions were done, I got the scan.
A little embarrassing, honestly. I knew my body wasn’t exactly on good terms with health, so I couldn’t help feeling awkward.
I sat back down.
“Hmm... you’re really going to have to work hard.”
“I know.”
“First off, you need to eat a lot. And get plenty of protein too.”
“Even though I’m not trying to get huge?”
“Haha... the kind of ‘huge’ you’re imagining doesn’t happen just from eating and lifting. Even the guys who look like they just work out a little on the side are putting in serious effort.”
“Doesn’t sound easy.”
“That’s exercise for you. Still, compared to life, working out is probably the easy part. You get results according to the effort you put in.”
Hmm.
Well. That would’ve sounded right to me once, but now it didn’t really strike home.
Some people had life easy beyond belief.
I was one of them.
“So, you’ll sign up for PT, then?”
“Yeah, I’ll take ten sessions.”
“I’ll teach you as hard as I can so you won’t regret deciding this now!”
“I’ll do my best to learn.”
“By the way, how often should we do it? Honestly, at first you might not even need me teaching you directly—you could probably get by with simple strength training. It’s not that I don’t want to teach you, but I’d rather save you the money. PT can be a burden if you’re just starting out in society...”
“No, let’s do every available time slot. If one session a day is possible, I’d like that.”
“...Are you sure? If you need to change the time, you’d have to let me know a day in advance, and if something urgent comes up, that might be a problem.”
“Then I’ll just count it as one day, I guess.”
“...I guess I made some assumptions about you. All right, I’ll set up a schedule for the next ten days.”
We matched up the times I could do over the next ten days.
I had nothing but time to spare, so I told her any time slot was fine.
Thanks to that, I’d be getting PT every day for ten days straight.
And starting today, too.
There happened to be exactly an hour open right then, so I could start immediately.
“Change into your workout clothes, and I’ll meet you in the stretching zone.”
“Okay.”
I changed clothes and headed to the stretching zone.
We started with simple stretching and bodyweight exercises.
“Haha... wow, you’re really going to have to work hard.”
...
This time I couldn’t even answer. My body was telling me the same thing.
So this was really what it meant to be hopeless at exercise.
Even basic stretching wasn’t easy.
“Ah!”
“One, two. Breathe deeply...”
Hoo, hoo.
This was rough.
I was trying my best, too.
“Huh? You’re teaching a class? I thought this time was free?”
A male trainer came over and spoke to my trainer, who was working with me.
Couldn’t he see we were in the middle of a session?
I glared at him.
His face was bad enough already. Honestly, men who looked like that were all terrible, except for our Suho.
Bae Yujin answered in a troubled voice.
“I’m in the middle of a session right now...”
“Oh, so this is a new member.”
The creep of a trainer looked at me, answered, and then snickered.
What was that? He looked like Suho, but his attitude was just as disgusting, so he was even more revolting.
“Work hard.”
“What?”
“I’m saying you’ll need to work hard from here on out if you want a good body.”
“I’ll do what I want.”
“Ah, you’re offended.”
“Yeah, so could you please leave?”
“...Right. Work hard.”
Why the hell was that jerk acting offended?
What, was he looking down on me because I was young?
I nearly lost my temper and chased after him on the spot.
I held myself back with superhuman patience. His muscles really were huge, after all.
Since I hadn’t hired any bodyguards yet, I had to hold back a little.
I’d better make a lot of money fast.
“Sorry, sir. That must’ve bothered you during your lesson.”
“It kind of did. He looks like pure irritation.”
“Pfft. Irritation?”
“Yeah. I hate people like that.”
“He was definitely rude to you.”
“Exactly. Does he think I’m some kid just because I’m young?”
“You don’t really act young, though.”
I’d worked part-time jobs, so I’d learned how society worked a little earlier than most people. And once I started making money, I got to see the ugly underside of the world a little sooner, too.
Compared to some people in their late twenties, I probably had more experience than they did.
So it wasn’t strange at all for me to feel more mature than my age suggested.
“I hear that a lot. Just talk casually with me.”
“Can I really?”
“Were you waiting for that?”
“It’s more comfortable when I teach you if I speak casually.”
“Then I’ll be casual too.”
“...All right. You’re bolder than I expected.”
“How’d you figure that out?”
“Oh my. That caught me off guard. Should we focus on the workout first?”
“Sure.”
“Oh...”
What now?
Wasn’t she the one who said to speak casually?
And she’d even agreed to it.
She looked genuinely flustered.
The workout kept going. If anything, it seemed to get harder and harder.
“You didn’t make it harder on purpose because I talked casually to you, did you...? Haaah...”
“You’re just out of shape because you don’t usually work out. Tomorrow you probably won’t even be able to walk. Want me to cancel tomorrow’s session?”
“No. If it’s hard, I should at least come and stretch.”
“What...? You’re spending a hundred thousand won just to stretch?”
“If it’s worth it, sure.”
“What is it...? Are you secretly a silver spoon?”
“No, not really.”
...
I wasn’t a silver spoon. I was more like self-made, if anything.
I hadn’t lied.
“Don’t tell me you’re pushing yourself just to impress me, are you?”
“Nah.”
“Ahem. Was I being too self-conscious? Honestly, that happens a lot. People do that, then later come back for refunds while red-faced... I just hope you don’t push yourself too hard.”
“I am trying to impress you, but I’m not overdoing it at all.”
“What is it, then? If you’re not a silver spoon...”
“Maybe I made myself from scratch.”
“You’re only twenty-three, though...?”
“So what?”
“I’m not believing that. It’s the only way I can protect my sanity. I’m twenty-seven, and I still haven’t managed to save up any real money...”
She was twenty-six.
My sense of money had been getting a little warped lately, but in general I still knew enough to understand that twenty-six was still an age when most people didn’t have much money.
Especially considering my older sister.
Honestly, it was kind of admirable how hard she worked.
By the time the workout and stretching were finally over,
she called out to me, and we’d grown a little closer.
“Doyun.”
“Yeah?”
“Give me your number.”
“...Seriously?”
“Don’t think anything weird. I just need to check your diet.”
“Ah.”
“What? Were you disappointed?”
“A little?”
“Cute. This is the first time I’ve met a younger guy this bold.”
Right. I guess so.
I’d thought she was trying to get my number.
Then again, why would she?
To be honest, aside from the money, I was just an ordinary guy on the outside.
Actually, maybe a little better than ordinary.
I gave her my number, and then—
“You’re done with your lesson?”
“Yes, we were just exchanging numbers.”
“Exchanging numbers?”
“She needs to plan my diet.”
“Ah...”
That bastard...
He asked on purpose, didn’t he?
Weren’t they in the same line of work?
I finished exchanging numbers in a sour mood, then showered and came back out.
As I got off the elevator, I spotted the trainer who’d been smoking out front.
“Will you be able to come in tomorrow, sir?”
“...Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Are you trying to start something?”
He waved his hands around too much.
“Goodness, why would I start something?”
Even while saying that, his eyes ran up and down me, as if I weren’t even worth starting something over.
I was itching to punch him.
“I’m just worried you might find it hard.”
“I’ll handle it myself, so don’t test me.”
“...You were offended.”
Dammit. I’d been trying to go about my day like a normal person, and this guy kept getting on my nerves.
I was letting it slide because I was tired right now...
but I’d have to teach him a lesson soon enough.
***
I got to my aunt’s place.
I couldn’t do anything else. I was too tired.
I showered roughly and collapsed onto the bed.
“Ah...”
It was comfortable, as expected.
Part of it was because I’d just worked out, sure.
But honestly, lying down at my aunt’s place felt a lot more comfortable than sinking into that expensive bed back at Signiel Penthouse.
Probably because it felt emotionally safe.
A little while later,
I fell asleep immediately.
I was just that exhausted.
When I opened my eyes,
...
What the hell? When had I fallen asleep?
It was clearly morning outside the window.
I sat up.
“Grrrk...”
Shit...
In that split second, a dozen worries hit me. Was this really the kind of pain I was supposed to be feeling?
Was it even right to go exercise in this state today?
So this was what happened when you actually didn’t work out. One session and I was already suffering this much.
The muscle soreness was no joke.
I checked my phone.
There was a message from the older sister from yesterday.
You worked hard today, and tomorrow’s going to be rough too. But don’t you dare skip your meals...
And so on.
Was that her worrying about me?
She’s an angel.
An angel.
Suddenly, I found myself with the will to go back to that gym I’d been dreading.
It definitely wasn’t because I’d seen a bikini photo on her KakaoTalk profile picture.