Chapter 104: Amplification-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 104: Amplification-1
I’m back to running my YouTube channel, and the center is open for business again.
The heavy promotion I did for the reopening seems to have worked; the number of members has increased.
I’m also supplementing the center’s finances—which used to rely solely on basic memberships and PT fees—using another method Dad taught me.
It’s not a massive windfall, but the sales from things like 1-day passes are quite decent.
The center got a fair amount of exposure through my broadcasts and YouTube, and some viewers managed to track down our location and visit.
While some truly came because they wanted to work out with me, many more came out of simple curiosity, which made the center a bit chaotic for a while.
When I consulted Dad about this problem, he told me to move the front desk further inside and suggested a way to collect money from the viewers who came just to see me by selling them 1-day passes.
At first, I worried it might make me look too money-hungry, but when I uploaded a video to YouTube explaining the situation, public opinion was surprisingly supportive.
I took over the management of the YouTube channel a while ago. The comment section is well-moderated, and an atmosphere where people avoid saying hurtful things has been established, so I haven’t had any trouble managing it.
It’s all thanks to Dad.
There have been these changes. But lately, the changes I’m concerned about aren’t these.
Something has been strange lately.
Dad smiles warmly at me and helps me run the center smoothly.
The center is clearly doing well, and my bank account, which used to be full of nothing but negatives, has finally turned positive—yet I can’t bring myself to just smile.
I feel like Dad has been avoiding me lately.
I can’t be certain, but I have that feeling.
He even does our usual morning workouts separately now, claiming he’s gotten busier with work.
The evening workouts that used to last over two hours are now exactly one hour. Excluding cardio, the time he spends actually working out with me is less than thirty minutes.
Even then, he doesn’t do it every day. Maybe three days a week.
He says he’s busy with work.
But I know that’s not it.
I have a pretty good handle on Dad’s work schedule.
In a given month, there are fewer than four days when he’s actually busy.
Uncle Ho-cheol handles the rest of the minor tasks. I know this for a fact.
Dad is lying to me.
Why? Why start lying all of a sudden?
When did he start avoiding me?
I close my eyes, rest my chin on my hand, and think deeply, but I can’t pinpoint exactly when it began.
Perhaps it’s because Dad distanced himself from me so slowly that I didn’t even notice...
Now that I’ve opened my eyes to this psychological distance that has opened up between us, I feel the blood draining from my face.
He certainly cheers for me, says kind things, and comforts me when I’m having a hard time.
But I can’t feel any warmth in those words.
It’s like a list of mechanical, pre-programmed lines.
Is he tired of me?
I might have inadvertently offended him.
If I knew what I had done wrong, I would drop to my knees and beg for forgiveness immediately.
But since he’s distancing himself without a word, it’s driving me crazy.
My chest feels tight, and tears well up for no reason.
Surely, he’s not planning to leave, is he? I even told him I’d die if he did.
No. It can’t be. It mustn’t be.
*
"Good work today."
The PT session for a newly joined member ended.
This was the last lesson of the day.
I looked toward the center’s entrance.
The front of the center, illuminated by bright lights, was empty.
"He’s not coming today either."
He came the day before yesterday, so I thought he’d come today.
Should I call him...? No, what if he hates me for being a nuisance?
Should I ask Uncle Ho-cheol?
Or... there’s only that one way left...
—Whirrr.
While I was looking for a mop to clean the center, I heard the sound of the automatic doors opening.
Thinking it might be Dad, I turned around, only to find a woman standing there—someone unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar.
"The center is closing now... What brings you here?"
Since she wasn't one of the members, I figured she might be someone looking to register.
"......"
The woman, who had come in with her hood pulled low, strode toward me.
"Lonely Trainer?"
A pretty sound came from her pretty lips.
And it was my broadcast handle, which I hadn't heard in a while.
I wondered if she was a viewer who had come to see me, but looking at her eyes, that didn't seem to be the case.
I didn't know why, but her eyes were filled with a sense of grievance and hostility.
"Yes, what can I do for you? The center is closing, so it'll be difficult to work out. If you're here to register as a member, I can help you with—"
"You don't recognize me?"
She grabbed her hood and pushed it back, revealing her entire face which had been hidden by her clothes.
A sophisticated, cat-like face.
Her skin was well-maintained, though it looked a bit haggard.
It finally clicked—to the point where I wondered why I hadn't recognized her instantly.
"You're Hana, right?"
She nodded at my question.
Seeing her bold, undaunted attitude made my stomach turn slightly.
"With what face do you show up here?"
"Don't be sarcastic."
"......"
"......"
"So, what's your business? I doubt you just came to see my face."
"Ha... I didn't want to do this either."
She scratched her head and looked away.
"Kang In-ho... he still comes to this center, right?"
The words that came out of her mouth after a long hesitation made me doubt my ears.
"...Excuse me?"
"I came here knowing most of it, so don't bother trying to hide it. Kang In-ho, that man comes to this center. Right?"
"......"
"Your silence tells me I'm right."
"So what?"
"I'm blocked right now, so I have no way to contact him. It's not easy to run into him even if I wait near his house. I saw that he's been working out hard, so I thought I might run into him if I waited here."
"What does him blocking you have to do with this?"
"I think I need to see him."
What is this woman talking about?
"What kind of nonsense is that? You two..."
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even speak.
"Right. It ended badly. But so what?"
"What do you mean, 'so what'? You screwed me over, and you made D—the President look like a bad person and got him cursed at. You did all that, and now you're shamelessly saying you're going to meet him?"
"And? Did anyone die just because I said those things?"
What?
"...What are you going to do when you meet him?"
"Well, I'm going to make him a fairly decent proposal."
She flashed an artificial smile at me.
"A proposal?"
"You know, the kind of thing between a man and a woman... Ah, maybe you wouldn't know?"
What the hell is this fucking bitch talking about?