Step Aside for a Moment, Noona
“Aioo..”
Even getting out of bed felt like enough to kill me.
But I had to work out, so I forced myself to move.
In a sense, PT was a kind of appointment, and I couldn’t just cancel it on a whim.
The moment I got up, I sent the chief secretary a KakaoTalk message asking for a car.
After getting ready as best I could, I stepped outside and found the car already waiting for me.
I got in and headed to the gym.
It was close from Signiel Penthouse, but pretty far from my aunt’s place, so it took a while to get there.
Still, I must’ve zoned out, because before I knew it, we’d arrived.
“It should take about two hours,” I said.
“Yes, Chairman. I’ll wait here.”
I got out of the car.
“Hm..”
Now that I was actually about to go into the gym, I felt a little reluctant.
A place like a gym made it way too hard to show off anything. I couldn’t exactly flaunt the car.
And I couldn’t work out wearing expensive clothes or a watch, either.
In other words, unless I came right out and said I was rich, there was no indirect way to let it show.
But saying it myself would probably be the most embarrassing thing imaginable..
If I was being honest, I wanted to roll in here in that car and walk straight into the gym.
As if that were possible.
I just hoped an situation would come along where it all felt natural.
Usually, people asked questions on their own just from seeing the car, so I didn’t even have to worry about this kind of thing..
Once I was cut off from material things, I was just an ordinary guy again, plain and simple.
“I feel like that bastard might be here again.”
Even thinking about it made me irritated. Just imagining that tasteless jerk again.
Should I just buy this gym?
No. That would be the height of inefficiency. If that bastard moved to another place, it’d all be for nothing.
Then what about buying the entire building?
That was worth considering.
It didn’t feel impossible, and real estate was always a win in the long run.
Besides, I still had 200 billion won in liquid assets.
I decided to think it over for now, then dragged my wobbling body into the gym.
In my workout clothes.
I did some light stretching while waiting for PT time.
Noona was teaching a client on the other side. Popular, huh.
Fortunately, it was a female client.
Before long, my time came around.
Noona walked over to where I was.
Good thing I came.
I found myself thinking that on my own. You really did have to be diligent.
Seeing noona’s outfit, even more daring than yesterday, I felt my energy come back on its own.
So this was the difference between a rich man and an ordinary one.
Having experienced both, I could say that with confidence.
“Oh, I thought you might not come today. You’re working hard.”
“If a man says he’ll do something, he should keep his word.”
“That’s cool. Want to start working out?”
“Yeah.”
Like yesterday, I focused on stretching.
I wasn’t anywhere near ready to start the so-called big three lifts.
There was no need to rush.
Honestly, I liked this better anyway—stretching, with a little bit of touching mixed in.
It gave us room to talk, too.
“By the way, what’s that male trainer from yesterday?”
“Why?”
“I thought about it, and it was just too weird. I kept wondering how a trainer could act like that.”
“Well.. yeah. I can see why you’d be annoyed. Even I felt awkward watching from the side.”
“It’s not even that I was annoyed so much as I was curious how someone like that could keep working here.”
I was genuinely curious about that, too.
Even I, whose only social experience came from the army and part-time jobs, knew enough to understand this much.
Act like yesterday’s asshole, and you’d get fired in no time.
So why was he still working there like nothing was wrong?
“Hm.. actually, he’s the owner’s nephew.”
“Ah. So that’s why.”
Now it made sense. That was why he acted so arrogantly.
Of course, there were still a few things I didn’t fully understand..
Still, it was enough to accept.
“And.. I can feel it too, but people seem to look down on total beginners. Especially.. well.. it feels weird saying this, but when someone’s new to exercise and they’re getting PT from a woman, I think they look down on it even more.”
“Oh.”
“I know it’s a little hard to say, but maybe they already think it’s strange enough that someone who doesn’t even know the gym would start learning from a woman.”
“I get it now.”
See?
She was smarter than I’d expected.
Exactly right.
***
I decided we were done talking about that filthy man.
Just bringing him up felt like a waste of my mouth.
Since I had muscle soreness today, we kept things to light exercise.
Thanks to that, we also had room to talk.
“Don’t you ever take vacation, noona? Like, go somewhere to play?”
“Vacation? Hmm. I haven’t really thought about it yet.”
“Summer’s almost here. It’s going to be too hot to go anywhere.”
“That’s true. I’ll need to take photos and everything, too. That’s all part of the business.”
“Really? Then want to go somewhere with me?”
“.. With you?”
She made a hesitant face. Probably because the idea of going on a trip with a client felt burdensome.
Even if that wasn’t it, she was probably wondering why she’d go with me in the first place. She might think there were plenty of people better than me.
We’d only just met, too.
Those facts didn’t sting or anything.
It was only natural.
I had enough self-awareness to know where I stood.
So I put forward a condition she could actually accept.
“I have an Ananti membership, and if your schedule works, we could even go overseas.”
“.. Just the two of us?”
“If that’s too awkward, you can bring someone you know.”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just.. if you call it a vacation, that’s a bit too much. Traveling overseas isn’t exactly cheap.”
“That’s fine. I’d pay for everything.”
“.. What? Didn’t you say yesterday you weren’t a silver spoon?”
“I’m self-made.”
“.. At twenty-three?”
“What do you think? Pretty cool, right?”
I really had changed. I even knew how to answer like that.
Of course, noona didn’t believe me so easily.
“Maldive would be nice, though. We could go there and relax for a week.”
“.. You’re joking, right?”
“I’m serious. Why would I joke about something like this?”
“..”
She seemed to be wondering whether I was telling the truth or not.
While we were talking, an obstruction appeared from the side.
“Sir, the trainer is having a hard time.”
Since when had he been eavesdropping? Man, that was annoying.
“Yes, yes. I get it, so please stop interrupting the session.”
“I sincerely apologize for that. But you came here to work out, not to go on a date. In the case of female trainers, that sort of thing tends to be sensitive, so I overstepped my place.”
“Good that you know you overstepped.”
“.. And all the trainers at our gym are planning to take vacation together, so you don’t need to worry about that part.”
“Of course. Since we’re going anyway, I figured it’d be nice to go somewhere good.”
“Yes, we’ll take you somewhere even better.”
“What, are you going to take us to Hawaii or something? Fine, whatever. You can leave now.”
“Yes, I’ll ask you to please understand.”
He disappeared after ruining my mood.
The moment he butted in, my mind was made up.
No way. I was going to crush that asshole somehow. Same for the so-called owner of this gym.
If I came here to work, they should keep me working. Why were they parading their personal feelings around?
“.. Sorry. It wasn’t my opinion, but things got weird.”
“No, maybe I was the one overstepping.”
“Not at all. You weren’t forcing me or anything. If anything, I liked that you were comfortable with me..”
“Then that’s good. Shall we keep working out for now?”
“.. Sure.”
I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about noona’s feelings right now.
I was genuinely pissed off for the first time in a while.
That didn’t mean I could throw a punch, though.
After finishing my workout, I showered and left the gym.
Aioo.
What, did that bastard smoke all day long or something?
Every time I came out of the building, I somehow ran into him.
He was really revolting.
And there he was again, talking to me.
“Sir, if I upset you earlier, I apologize. There’s a matter concerning the trainer’s personal circumstances.”
“Then why are you grinning like that?”
“.. You seem very upset. If you’d like a refund, I’ll speak to them on your behalf, so please feel free to ask.”
“Yes, yes. Go ahead and do your best. Don’t come crying about it later.”
“.. Sir, that’s going too far. And.. me regret it? There’s no need to worry about me. If you’re serious about training, I can teach you myself. I’ll even give you a special discount. After all, as a student, you should be saving money..”
“I’ll take care of it myself.”
I ignored him and sent a text to the driver.
I told him to come right away.
The car arrived.
I got in.
From a distance, I could see that tasteless bastard looking flustered.
I won’t be seeing you again, asshole. You crossed the line.
He really did know exactly how to make people feel disgusted.
***
I asked the chief secretary about it.
“Contact the owner of the building where my gym is. Find out whether they’d be willing to sell. And check whether there’s a gym nearby that could be acquired, too.”
“Yes, Chairman. I’ll also look into the contract period for everything.”
Good. Let’s do this. We’ll see who comes out on top.
He was definitely the one who picked a fight first.
This was the first time I’d ever decided that no matter what it cost, I was going to make someone eat dirt.
Our Suho at least had the good sense to self-reflect pretty quickly..
But that bastard was beyond saving, no question about it.
Ah, whatever.
Even if he had a chance at recovery, it was already too late.
Grinding on me in front of noona wasn’t just touching my nerves; it was trampling all over my pride.
Anyway, since you’ve crossed the line, let’s see just how far you can go.
-Sorry again. I’ll bring it up to the owner once.
-It’s okay, noona.
Step aside for a moment, noona.