Chapter 5

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: 5kg Lighter in a Week

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The vitamin took the form of a simple gray pill.

And yet, it only cost a single point every three days. It was incredibly cheap.

Its primary effects were a surge of vitality throughout the body and a remarkably strong resistance to illness.

It was an incredibly wholesome item.

'This is one of the best honey-tier items of all time.'

Back when it was just a game, Jin-seong had always made sure his characters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took these vitamins long-term.

The difference between taking them and not taking them was surprisingly huge.

For example, the more a character used their brain, the more hair they lost in the game.

But with these supplements, not a single strand fell out.

Another example: working in the cold often led to catching the flu.

But the vitamins made getting sick a rare occurrence.

And there was more.

When plagues swept through the village and everyone else was groaning in agony...

His character alone stayed perfectly fine. He was even able to arrange the funerals for his in-game acquaintances.

'The only downside is that you have to take it for life...'

Sure, it was 1 point every three days for the rest of his life.

But the merits far outweighed that tiny flaw.

Jin-seong swallowed his vitamin and flopped back onto the bed.

'Tomorrow is payday... I just need to hold out until then. Besides, tomorrow is Saturday... and the Saturday shift is short...'

Saturday shifts were a quick run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

'And Sunday I have completely off.'

Just a little bit longer.

'I’ll sleep the whole day off.'

Jin-seong usually lounged through his Sundays, sleeping in and treating himself to something tasty.

Well, "tasty" usually just meant something that cost 10 or 20 thousand won.

'Pure bliss.'

The mere thought of a restful Sunday brought a smile to his face.

It was time to sleep.

He woke up thirty minutes earlier than his usual time. He headed straight to the communal kitchen, put some eggs in a pot, and started boiling them.

'Hurry up and cook.'

He had picked up some eggs and bananas at the mart on his way home last night.

He was fully embracing Park Man-bok’s advice that eating eggs and bananas for breakfast was the ideal diet.

'They help with dieting... They aren't pricey... And I love eggs and bananas anyway...'

Tomatoes? That was a hard pass.

'They have absolutely no flavor.'

Jin-seong hated tomatoes with a passion. Cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, even the ones pickled in sugar—they were all a total no-go.

'Tomato juice is awful, too.'

That distinctive tomato smell just made him nauseous.

'All done.'

The eggs were boiled. He cooled them down in cold water.

He peeled one, dipped it in seasoned salt, and took a perfect bite-sized chunk.

It was golden, soft-boiled perfection.

'Delicious. I completely nailed the boil.'

Freshly boiled eggs were simply unbeatable. He had no clue why they tasted so incredibly good.

Two boiled eggs and two bananas fully replaced his usual breakfast.

'Time for the vitamin.'

He swallowed the pill.

Was it a hallucination? Or was the effect actually kicking in?

His head felt clear. Despite the deep, lingering aches from the gym, his body felt light.

'My vitality is surging.'

He punched in at work. The busy morning completely flew by, and lunchtime arrived right as his hunger began to strike.

"Maknae-ya, did you lose your appetite?" Lee Ji-seong asked.

"Why did you get so little food?" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kim Kwang-woo followed up.

"Is that really going to give you enough energy?"

"That's less than half your usual portion."

"Are you saving room for ramen later?"

Everyone looked completely baffled, throwing questions at him from all sides.

It was because Jin-seong’s tray looked comically empty.

He hadn't even taken ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠half of his usual amount—it was barely a third.

And it wasn't just the rice; his side dishes and soup portions were drastically reduced as well. Even his usual staple, a bowl of ramen, was completely missing.

"I'm trying to go on a diet," he answered flatly.

"I'm going to cut back on the rice and completely ditch the ramen from now on."

"Nice! That's a strong resolve. Smart move," Lee Ji-seong nodded in approval.

"Aren't you pushing yourself a bit too hard right from the start? You're just going to end up binge eating," Kim Kwang-woo said, his voice laced with doubt.

Seeing Kim Kwang-woo’s actual inner thoughts immediately soured Jin-seong’s mood.

'I’ve never thought badly of Kwang-woo hyung... and I haven't done anything to offend him either...'

It honestly stung to read that.

'I have to keep my distance from him.'

Once his life turned around, he planned to quietly block the man's number.

Hanging around people harboring malice brought far more loss than gain.

He tightly shut his heart toward his coworker.

Dinner was the exact same story. It was barely different from lunch; he kept his portions drastically cut.

'Damn it!'

Talk about awful luck.

Of all days, his absolute ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠favorite spicy pork stir-fry was on the menu tonight.

His vision briefly blurred with tears.

"Mom, I just wired the ten million won."

- Thanks, son. You really saved me.

"Are the house issues all sorted out now?"

- Yeah, it's all clear thanks to you. I'm so grateful. Really, truly. I'm so sorry I keep burdening you like this.

"It's no big deal."

He gave a flat response, but honestly, it felt completely bittersweet.

Handing over all that hard-saved cash hurt like absolute hell.

Still, being able to help his family was the one silver lining in the situation.

Money could always be earned again.

With the Era of Success system, there were big bucks ahead of him. He comforted himself with that thought.

- The debt clears in June 2025. I’ll repay everything I owe you, with interest.

"Forget it. There's no need. Don’t worry about me. Just focus on living well, both of you."

- Thank you. I’ll make sure to add interest and make up for every hardship you’ve had to endure.

His mother's deep gratitude and heavy guilt pierced his heart.

But slowly, the tight knot in his chest loosened just a bit.

His life had completely changed.

His old routine had been a vicious cycle: going to work, mindlessly eating whatever was available, coming home, playing mobile games until he passed out, and occasionally waking up for midnight snacks.

His new routine was entirely different: waking up for a proper breakfast, taking his vitamin, going to work, strictly controlling his portions, coming home for a quick nap, hitting the gym, and then finally going to sleep.

He had completely cut out the mobile games and the late-night snacking.

He had taken control of his diet and added a rigorous gym routine to his daily life.

It might have seemed like a minor adjustment to an outsider, but to him, it was a massive shift. It was a change significant enough to entirely reshape his future.

"Wow..."

Jin-seong let out an involuntary gasp.

He was currently standing on the scale at the gym, checking his weight.

Just one week ago, the scale had read exactly 95kg.

It was a massive transformation for just seven days of effort.

He was finally under 90kg. A whopping 5.2kg was completely gone.

Losing 5.2kg in a single week meant he had been dropping about 0.742kg every single day.

Some people might question if losing 5.2kg in a single week was even physically possible.

The short answer was: yes, it was.

When a person starts a severe diet, the body loses weight in a specific order: first water weight, then intestinal waste, and finally, body fat.

In Jin-seong's case, he had likely lost about 3kg of water weight, 2kg of waste, and around 0.2kg of actual fat.

"Congratulations."

Park Man-bok checked the numbers on the scale and began to clap.

The gym owner's eyes shone with genuine pride and satisfaction.

He had personally witnessed exactly how much effort Jin-seong had put in over the past week.

That level of grinding dedication truly deserved applause.

"This is way more than I expected," Jin-seong admitted.

"Thank you. It's all thanks to your excellent guidance, Sajangnim."

"No, this is purely the result of your own hard work," Park Man-bok replied.

"Thank you. That's really all I can say right now."

"Haha, that's good to hear. How is your physical condition today?"

Jin-seong took a moment to assess his own body.

Was it the effects of the daily vitamin? The Stamina Booster Pill? Or simply the result of a solid week of working out?

"Both my body and mind feel incredibly light. I barely have any muscle soreness left."

"You're adapting incredibly fast," Park Man-bok noted.

"Even just yesterday, coming to the gym felt like a massive chore, but today? Not at all. I actually wanted to come."

"Seeing actual weight loss is the best way to boost your willpower."

Park Man-bok explained the psychological link to dieting: when your weight goes down, your motivation goes up; but the moment your weight stalls or goes up, your willpower plummets.

"Starting from this week, the fat is going to burn a lot slower. You'll probably lose maybe 2kg tops."

"Ah, I understand."

"We're going to bump up your cardio time. I also want you to cut your rice portions by another 10%."

"Understood."

"It's been smooth sailing so far. Very impressive. Keep this momentum up, and you won't just succeed at your diet—you'll build a killer physique, too."

Park Man-bok tightly clenched his fist in a gesture of support.

"Fighting!"

"I'll do my best," Jin-seong promised.

It felt like he had thanked the gym owner a hundred times over already.

Jin-seong began his stretching routine, subtly glancing to the side as he did.

Park Ha-yeon was nearby, working out with the free weights.

Her favorability towards him had drastically changed. The negative numbers had been completely wiped out overnight, soaring straight to a positive 5.

'Surprising? Impressive? Is she actually acknowledging my effort?'

Jin-seong’s lips twitched upward into a faint smile. Honestly, it felt damn good to be recognized.

'I'm so glad I started coming to the gym. I'm so glad I committed to this diet.'

All he had done was shed a little bit of weight.

And yet, a beautiful woman's internal praise had immediately followed.

'I have to push even harder today. I need to do more than I did yesterday.'

He ran on the treadmill. He wasn't moving fast at all—in fact, he was jogging as slowly as a frail grandma.

It was the slowest possible pace he could manage while still technically running, desperately trying to maintain the breathing rhythm Park Man-bok had taught him.

'I'm going to die.'

Just five minutes in, it was already incredibly tough.

'It's fine. I can do this.'

Once he pushed past the ten-minute mark, it actually became somewhat manageable.

"Huff, huff."

At fifteen minutes, his breathing turned completely ragged.

"Hah, hah."

By the twenty-minute mark, his entire body was aching.

His abs and calves were practically screaming in protest. His breath was so rough and erratic he feared his lungs might just fail on him.

'Almost there.'

Hitting twenty-five minutes was pure, unadulterated hell.

'Five minutes. Just five more minutes.'

From the twenty-five-minute mark onward, time seemed to crawl at an agonizing pace.

One single second felt like an entire minute. Ten seconds felt like three minutes. One minute felt like ten. He felt like he was staring into an impending eternity.

He squeezed his eyes shut and just kept moving his legs.

"Urk."

Finally, the thirty-minute mark hit. Sweat was pouring down his face like a heavy rain.

"Wow, you managed thirty minutes straight?" Park Man-bok asked, clearly impressed.

"Haa, y-yeah," Jin-seong gasped out.

"Your stamina is building up already."

He had successfully shed 5kg.

He had earned the quiet, internal praise of a beautiful woman.

And he had just completed his first-ever thirty-minute run.

The system had immediately handed him a sweet reward.

His entire status in life was rapidly trending upward.

'This sense of accomplishment is completely unreal.'