Episode 7 - Physical Enhancement (1)
#Chapter 7 - Physical Enhancement (1)
An unfamiliar ceiling.
'...'
The clock read 7:00.
I usually woke up at 8 in my studio apartment, but maybe because of the unfamiliar bed and the presence I felt beside me, I opened my eyes a little early.
-Rustle.
I quietly got up and headed to the bathroom.
Yu-ra must not usually wake at this hour, because she was still deep asleep.
After finishing up in the bathroom, I came out and sat on the sofa, and naturally the events of last night came back to me.
'We took turns with each other... I think we didn't get to sleep until after four.'
A lot had happened on that sofa.
'Whoa there. It's still time to sleep, Se-ryu-nandesu Jr.'
As I went over the memories, Jr. showed signs of waking, so I hurriedly put him back to sleep.
"Mm..."
I heard rustling from the bed.
Yu-ra, still not fully awake, rubbed her eyes and walked over to the sofa.
"...Se-ryu?"
"Good morning, Yu-ra."
-Beaming.
"No greeting me the same way you do at work!"
She laughed and sat down beside me, then smoothly lay down on my lap.
Her side hair was a little matted, and when I smoothed it with my hand, she smiled softly with her eyes closed, as if it felt nice.
"Mnya—should we laze around until 8 and then get ready for work? I'm the type to choose sleep over breakfast, so if I get up now I'll feel like I'm losing out."
"Sure. I had a feeling you usually skip breakfast. The time you come in is always so..."
"Se-ryu."
Without even properly opening her eyes, she pinched my thigh once.
"...Never mind."
"Starting in on me first thing in the morning?"
"I'll be quiet, sir."
I slowly stroked her hair again.
-Swish.
-Swish.
Yu-ra really seemed to intend to go back to sleep, because she stayed completely still with her cheek pressed against my lap.
'If I leave her like this, she'll wake up at 9, not 8.'
Suddenly I remembered the fruit cup I'd bought at the convenience store last night and the scones I'd seen in the fridge.
"Yu-ra. Is it okay if I take out the fruit and scones? And use the kitchen."
"Yeah..."
"And your account password?"
"Yeah..."
"..."
'She's really asleep.'
I carefully moved her head onto a cushion. Yu-ra frowned for a moment, but soon curled up again.
I pulled over the cardigan she'd taken off yesterday, covered her with it, and headed to the kitchen.
When I opened the fridge, all I found were a fruit cup, a box of scones, bottled water, and a few drinks.
'It's so tidy there's nothing to eat.'
"She said she chooses sleep, and she meant it."
I warmed the scones a little and emptied a fruit cup into a bowl.
I set out a little strawberry jam, poured two glasses of milk, and that was it.
'This much can count as breakfast, right?'
Just then I heard footsteps behind me.
-Trudge.
-Trudge.
Yu-ra walked over looking a bit more awake than before.
The side hair I'd smoothed down was already flattened again.
'Flattened again.'
She looked cute for no reason, and I smiled without realizing it.
"...What are you doing?"
"Getting breakfast ready."
Yu-ra's gaze turned to the table.
Warmed scones, fruit, milk.
Beside them, strawberry jam and even a jam knife were laid out fairly neatly.
Even though it was a simple breakfast, Yu-ra looked at it silently for a moment, then turned to me.
"...This is my place, so why are you setting the table?"
"So you can rest."
"..."
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"...You keep seducing me first thing in the morning."
"What?"
"Nothing."
I felt like she'd just said something terrifying.
"Nice—breakfast someone else sets out for me."
She leaned against my back and lightly rubbed her cheek against it.
"It's nothing special."
"It doesn't have to be special. What matters is that I don't have to do it."
'I can feel the sincerity of a working adult.'
"Have a seat."
"Okaaay."
Yu-ra sat at the table like a perfectly obedient child.
I split a scone in half, spread jam on one piece, and held it out.
"Here."
"Oh."
-Nom.
She took a bite, then her eyes went round.
"It's good."
"I just warmed it and spread jam on it."
"Maybe it's good because you spread it. But how did you know I like jam?"
"Because only a third of the jar was left."
"...Should I take a day off? You keep flirting with me since morning."
"What?"
I hadn't known this, but Yu-ra seemed to talk to herself fairly often.
"Heh heh."
Yu-ra speared a piece of fruit with her fork and held it out toward me.
"Say ah."
"My hands work fine, you know."
"Then don't."
Her lips pouted slightly.
"...Ah."
In the end, I opened my mouth.
When the strawberry went in, Yu-ra smiled with satisfaction.
"You eat well. Cutely."
"...Are you going to keep this up all morning?"
"Why? We did more than that yesterday."
"Cough."
I nearly choked on my water.
"Yu-ra. At least until we get to work, please refrain from that topic. It's not good for me mentally or physically."
"Heh heh. Then what are you going to do at work?"
I set down my fork too.
That was something we needed to settle.
"At work, it's best to act like usual. There are a lot of eyes on us, so I'll go back to my normal way of speaking, and we shouldn't stick too close together for no reason."
"Yeah. I think that's best too. Especially since the Product Team notices even the smallest things right away."
I remembered the conversation I'd overheard yesterday.
Even meaningless actions could look completely different depending on who was watching.
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Yu-ra narrowed her eyes.
"Why does your face look like that all of a sudden? You were thinking about that fox again, weren't you."
"...No."
"You were."
Her toes tapped my shin.
"Anyway, at work we act like usual."
"Yes, agreed."
Had I answered too quickly?
Yu-ra pouted her lips slightly.
"I was the one who suggested it first, but if you agree that fast, it stings a little."
"...I'll miss it too."
Her fork stopped.
Yu-ra glanced at me.
"Really?"
"Yes. But I don't need to quantify it and report it to you, do I?"
"I thought you'd be good at that since you're a developer."
"It's an unmeasurable domain."
Yu-ra snorted a laugh.
She seemed to have gotten over it quickly.
"Then when it's just the two of us outside work, we'll act like now."
"...'Like now' is a bit vague as to how much."
"It does lack specificity, but for now, approved."
"What are you even reviewing?"
"It's an important matter."
She held out the last strawberry toward me again.
"Ah."
"Again?"
"Hurry."
"...Ah."
-Nom.
Yu-ra smiled with satisfaction.
"Good. Recharge complete before work."
'Yu-ra is way more forward than I thought.'
After a simple breakfast, I did the dishes, and we each got ready for work.
===
And just one hour later.
As if none of it had happened, we ran into each other again at the office.
[Rituel Commerce]
Name: Jung Se-ryu
Department: Product Team
Role: Backend Engineer
Clock-in time: 9:26
Reserved seat: 5F-C-15
-Beep.
I scanned my employee ID and walked into the office.
"Good morning, Se-ryu."
"...Good morning, Yu-ra."
Both the greeting and the way we spoke were exactly the same as usual.
But it didn't feel usual at all.
'Of course it doesn't.'
Just a little while ago, the person who had been lying on my lap was now standing right next to me as if nothing had happened.
Our eyes met for a second.
"..."
We looked away almost at the same time.
'This is bad.'
In the morning, it had been easy to say we'd act like usual at work, but now that I was actually here, it wasn't as simple as I'd thought.
===
Meeting time.
As usual, we were sharing our schedules and priorities and sorting out requests that had come in from other teams when Yu-ra explained one of my tasks.
"This one, if Se-ryu handles it, it'll be taken care of right away—"
"Pfft."
She suddenly burst out laughing.
Everyone's eyes turned to her at once.
Yu-ra covered her mouth and hurriedly composed herself.
"...Sorry. If Se-ryu handles it, it'll be taken care of right away, right? It's simple."
'Ah.'
She was repeating exactly what I'd said yesterday.
When our eyes met, the corners of her mouth twitched again, but this time she held it in well.
The others went back to the meeting as if nothing had happened.
Except I was the only one who knew the reason, which was the problem.
===
3 p.m.
Right in the middle of the drowsy hours, a private message came from Yu-ra.
[NanoChat]
Han Yu-ra: Se-ryu
Han Yu-ra: (emoji of a rabbit knocking on a door)
Han Yu-ra: I'm so tired T_T I feel like it would be nice if someone massaged my shoulders...
Me: At the office...?
Han Yu-ra: Heh heh
Han Yu-ra: (cheering rabbit emoji)
Me: Hold on
I looked past the diagonal partition and saw Yu-ra smiling and pretending to massage her own shoulders.
After glancing around once, I made eye contact with Yu-ra.
Yu-ra's two shoulders.
My two arms.
Connect.
A faint white line linked them.
I stopped what I was working on and slowly massaged my own shoulders and arms.
Across the diagonal, Yu-ra's expression quickly relaxed.
She leaned back against her chair and even let her eyes drift shut.
'She's really going to fall asleep.'
For no good reason, I felt mischievous.
I shifted the connection point slightly toward the center of her chest.
-Poke.
"Eek—!"
The sound came out louder than I expected.
A few people nearby looked up, and Yu-ra hurriedly straightened her posture.
"...It's nothing."
A moment later.
I felt a sharp glare from across the diagonal.
-Zing.
I looked back at her with an innocent face.
-Wink.
I gave a light wink.
Yu-ra's eyes narrowed even more.
'I'd better be careful when we leave work.'
While I was handling work, quitting time arrived before I knew it.
Yu-ra said she'd barely slept last night and was going to go home and sleep early today.
As I closed my laptop, I thought to myself.
'I should go to the gym today.'
I hadn't been able to work out properly for the past few days because I'd been testing my ability, but today it wasn't just because of the missed workouts.
The sensation I'd felt when I moved Yu-ra's body on the shuttle bus kept lingering in my head.
Since I could move another person's body.
'My own body should be even easier, right?'
===
Winter had passed, and it was already April.
As the evenings grew lighter, I followed my route home to a gym five minutes’ walk from the office.
Not long after I'd changed jobs, I'd been lured in by a 50% discount flyer I'd gotten in front of the office and impulsively signed up for a whole year.
It was close to work, and I'd already paid, so there was no reason not to go.
'I'd paid for it, so I'd better keep going.'
And so, before I knew it, I'd been going for three years.
-Beep.
I scanned the member barcode on my app and went inside.
"Hello."
"Yes, hello."
As I passed the counter, I saw a familiar face.
Short silver-white hair and slightly pale eyes.
A height noticeably tall for a woman and a trained build.
And an expression that always seemed a beat slow somewhere.
It was Trainer Seo Ri-na.
"..."
Our eyes met.
-Nod.
Trainer Ri-na bowed her head first, and I gave a light nod back.
-Nod.
That was it.
That was about the extent of our usual relationship.
That said, she wasn't a complete stranger.
Three years ago, she was the one who'd pressed the discount flyer into my hand, and she was also the one who'd corrected my posture when I'd first signed up and was fumbling in front of the machines.
After that, whenever my form was off, she'd occasionally say a word as she passed by.
"Please straighten your back."
"Oh, yes."
"Not like that."
Strangely, it always felt less like learning to work out and more like being trained.
These days I'd gotten used to it, so we mostly just exchanged silent nods when we ran into each other.
'I probably won't run into her today.'
I changed into my workout clothes in the locker room and started warming up.
I moved my neck and shoulders, then my lower back and knees, rolled out with a foam roller, and looked around.
'Safety first.'
With squats, if my balance broke while I didn't know how much output I had, it would be dangerous.
With bench press, as long as I set the safety bars to the right height, it was fine to test alone.
I went to the free weight zone, warmed up with an empty bar, and loaded the plates.
Two 20kg plates on each side.
100kg including the bar.
That was a weight I often used in my regular working sets.
I lay on the bench and gripped the bar.
'First, without the ability.'
I lowered it slowly to my chest.
"Hup."
-Whoosh.
I pushed it up.
It was heavy, but familiar.
After a few reps, I racked it.
-Clank.
'This time.'
Chest.
Triceps.
Shoulders.
Back.
I focused on the parts that generated force, one by one.
Connect.
I unracked the bar again and lowered it slowly.
Then I pushed.
-Whoosh!
"...!"
The 100kg barbell went up far faster than I expected.
Startled, I hurriedly racked it.
-Clang!
I'd almost thrown the bar onto the rack when I normally would have set it down carefully, and it made a loud noise.
'What the.'
I sat up and checked the plates.
'It is 100kg.'
Through the mirror, I could see a few members staring at me.
Trainer Ri-na was among them.
"..."
Embarrassed, I gave a small nod to the people around me and lay back down on the bench.
'This time, with control.'
I lowered it slowly and pushed.
-Swish.
It was light.
The weight that normally felt clearly heavy now felt like a warm-up.
I released the ability.
"Hup."
It felt heavy again.
Connect.
It felt light.
'It works!'
The corners of my mouth slowly rose.
I added plates.
120kg.
160kg.
And then.
[200kg]
A weight I normally wouldn't even think about touching alone.
'This is a little scary, though.'
After checking the safety bar position again, I unracked the bar.
I lowered it slowly to my chest.
-Swish.
"..."
It went up.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
-Clank.
I racked it and sat up.
'I still have a lot left in the tank?'
By feel, it was only a little over 60kg.
Just then, through the mirror, I saw someone stop walking.
Silver-white short hair.
It was Trainer Ri-na.
"..."
Her gaze wasn't fixed on my face but on the plates loaded on both sides of the barbell.
-Uh-oh.
'200kg.'
'I really loaded a lot, didn't I.'
I pretended nothing was wrong and wiped my face with a towel.
'If she asks, I'll just say I wanted to feel how heavy it was.'
Trainer Ri-na slowly walked over.
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
"Yes."
Trainer Ri-na looked back and forth between the barbell and me, then asked.
"...Did you just lift 200kg three times?"
"Ah."
I played it off casually.
"I just loaded it to feel how heavy it was. I didn't actually lift it."
"...You lifted it three times with no bounce. And you had plenty left on the last rep. I saw all of it from over there."
She held up three fingers and pointed toward the mirror behind her.
"...Ah."
'She saw everything.'
I promptly gave up trying to play dumb.
"I did unusually well today. I guess after training consistently, I suddenly improved."
"..."
Trainer Ri-na's gaze swept over my arms, shoulders, and chest in turn.
"But your body is the same."
"...My body?"
"You do have a good build because you've trained consistently. But your physique isn't one that should handle that weight like that. And your muscle mass is almost the same as the last time I saw you."
"Haha... Thank you."
'Is that a compliment?'
Then something else she'd said caught my attention.
"...But you remember my body from last time?"
"I've been watching you for three years."
"..."
Strangely, that line was a little scary every time I heard it.
Trainer Ri-na thought for a moment, then glanced around.
And lowered her voice.
"Could I ask you something a little rude? Are you taking any performance-enhancing drugs?"
"...What?"
It was so unexpected that I asked back immediately.
"No. I really don't."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
'If I used that stuff wrong, wouldn't Se-ryu-nandesu Jr. be in danger too?'
My expression must have looked too dumbfounded, because Trainer Ri-na looked just slightly apologetic.
"...I'm sorry. But the weight you lifted suddenly nearly doubled without any change in your physique, so I had to ask."
"Well, I probably would have been suspicious too."
Trainer Ri-na looked at the barbell again.
"But if you're not taking anything, that's even harder to explain. Your physique aside, you didn't move like someone lifting 200 kg."
"...The way I lifted it?"
"Yes. Your form was fine, but the bar speed, your breathing, and your body's sway were almost the same as when you lifted 100kg. Normally, when the weight goes up, you have to brace your back, shoulders, and core much harder, but there was almost no change like that."
Trainer Ri-na looked at me for a moment.
"...You can see all that?"
"Yes."
She answered as if it were completely obvious.
'She can see that?'
I thought for a second.
'If she's a trainer, she'd see it.'
In fact, when I'd pushed 200kg, it had only felt like a little over 60kg to me.
Trainer Ri-na looked at me for a moment, then asked.
"Have you been deliberately hiding your strength?"
"...No? Why would I bother doing that."
"I don't know either. But someone who's been lifting around 100kg for three years suddenly lifted double that like a warm-up, so I'd like to check."
"...Check what?"
"How you use your body."
I thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay."
Refusing here would probably look even more suspicious.
Trainer Ri-na took off a few plates.
"I'll lower the weight."
"200 is fine too—"
"I'll lower it."
"...Yes."
'Yep, it really feels like being trained.'
I lay back down on the bench.
Trainer Ri-na stood at the head of the bench and studied my form.
"Do it like you normally would."
"Okay."
As I gripped the bar, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
'I've already been caught acting strange.'
It wouldn't be bad to hear directly from an expert what was different while I was using my ability.
Chest.
Triceps.
Shoulders.
Back.
Connect.
-Swish.
I lowered it slowly and pushed it up.
One more.
-Swish.
"Hold on."
-Clank.
I racked the bar.
"What's wrong?"
"The way you’re bearing the weight is strange, just as I thought. But I can’t tell exactly what’s happening just by looking."
Trainer Ri-na pointed at my shoulder.
"Flex for me."
"...Right now?"
"Yes."
'As if she'll learn anything from just this.'
I connected my chest, triceps, shoulders, and back again.
The muscles tightened all at once.
Trainer Ri-na's gaze moved slowly from my shoulder to my arm, then to my chest.
"Can you flex harder?"
"Yes."
I tensed my muscles a little more.
"...Strange."
Trainer Ri-na placed her hand on my right shoulder.
-Press.
"Hold it like that."
She pressed my shoulder with her fingers and checked my triceps.
Next, the upper part of my chest.
-Press.
Her expression grew more serious.
"Your muscles are definitely working, but..."
This time, just as she pressed my shoulder again with her palm.
"...?"
Her hand stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Trainer Ri-na's gaze was fixed beneath her own hand.
Her eyes were a little wider than usual.
To be precise, beneath the skin.
She was staring at the faint white lines that ran from the shoulder muscle under her hand toward my chest and arm.
"...Please stay right there a moment."
Her gaze moved slowly.
From my shoulder to my chest.
From my chest to my arm.
And to my back.
She was tracing exactly the muscles I had connected.
"...What is this?"
"What is what?"
For now, I played dumb.
Trainer Ri-na pointed at my shoulder.
"I can see white lines inside your skin right now. They run from your shoulder toward your chest and arm, and there's the same thing on your back."
'Shit.'
That was too specific.
There was no way she was just seeing things.
I considered denying it to the end, but Trainer Ri-na's gaze was following the connected areas exactly.
'I'm screwed.'
Reflexively, I released the ability.
-Fading.
The white lines connecting the inside of my body disappeared.
Trainer Ri-na's eyes widened a little more.
She looked at her own hand once.
At my shoulder once.
And then at the spot where the lines had just been.
"...They disappeared."
"..."
'Ah.'
'It's over.'
It hadn't even been a day since Yu-ra caught me, and this was already the second time.
'No.'
'I'm using it on my own body, so why can the person touching me see it too?!'
Seriously.
The whole thing was ridiculously unfair.