Chapter 8

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 8

Chapter Title: Care and Milestones

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A cotton swab coated with ointment touched every corner of his face.

Park Ha-yeon applied it as carefully as she could.

"Go to the hospital and get treated. I'll cover the medical bills."

"I'm fine. It's not bad enough to waste money on a hospital visit."

"If it hurts, go straight to the hospital."

"Got it."

Park Ha-yeon turned her head to the side.

"...Tha...nks."

"Pardon?"

"Tha...nks......"

Her voice was so quiet it was barely audible.

"I couldn't hear that properly."

"...Are you deaf or something? ...Thanks. Thank you. For helping me. And for stopping my dad too."

Jin-seong chuckled softly.

"Ah, damn, why are you laughing all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing."

He shook his head.

Park Ha-yeon, clumsy with her expressions, looked so cute that he couldn't help but laugh.

He kept it to himself.

It was too embarrassing to say he laughed because she was adorable.

"But is everything okay?"

"You mean Jo Jin-woo?"

"Yeah. Won't he report it to the police for assault? He might hold a grudge and come for revenge."

Jin-seong voiced his concerns.

Jo Jin-woo didn't seem like the type to back down quietly.

"Don't worry. We've already secured CCTV footage as evidence. We've warned him to watch his step at night too."

"Ah......"

"Jo Jin-woo's the typical bully who picks on the weak. Weak against the strong, strong against the weak—a real small-time punk. He knows the situation's against him, so he'll back off."

Though if he thought he had the upper hand, he'd come at her viciously.

Fortunately, the situation heavily favored Park Ha-yeon over Jo Jin-woo.

Above all, he'd have no choice but to tuck tail just out of fear of Park Man-bok.

"I hate guys like Jo Jin-woo more than anyone."

"Me too. If anything happens, call me. I'll help."

"Pfft, that's hilarious."

Park Ha-yeon burst out laughing.

It slipped out unintentionally.

Jin-seong, who got one-sidedly beaten by Jo Jin-woo, offering to help her?

This total loser who seemed like he'd get wrecked in a fight, coming to her aid?

Not even a speck—not even a fleck under his fingernail—seemed helpful.

Besides, she had Park Man-bok. There was no reason to call Jin-seong.

He woke up early in the morning.

He looked in the mirror. His face was a mess. Swollen all over. Panda-like bags under his eyes. Bruised cheeks. Split lips.

His condition was worse than imagined.

People would freak out. Where'd you get hit? Who did it? You okay? They'd ask a million times.

'No helping it.'

He'd just have to endure it.

'I wish I could slap on some all-purpose ointment......'

The shop sold all-purpose ointment. But it cost 100 points.

Regrettably, Jin-seong didn't have 100 points—or even 10.

He had 3.

"Gasp?! Maknae-ya? What happened to your face?"

"Who did it? Who hit you?"

"You okay? Been to the hospital?"

Just as expected. Everyone was shocked by Jin-seong's state.

"I'm fine. Just a minor incident."

Jin-seong brushed it off with a casual smile.

Night came. He headed to the gym as usual.

"Welcome."

"Hello."

Park Man-bok greeted him very cheerfully.

"......"

"......"

On his way to the locker room.

He bumped into Park Ha-yeon holding a wet rag.

"Hello."

She greeted him first.

'Never thought I'd live this long.'

Jin-seong felt a fresh wave of emotion. It was the first time Park Ha-yeon had greeted him. They'd always been distant before.

"Hello."

He returned the greeting with a bright smile.

Park Ha-yeon let out a sigh of relief.

Her favorability rose slowly but steadily, like a tortoise.

'Favorability......'

He thought about favorability.

'It's like a measure of trust, intimacy, reliability.'

The higher the favorability, the easier to gain goodwill or favors.

Conversely, low favorability bred hostility or distrust.

'And when it hits 100......'

It wasn't just favorability at 100.

Favorability was merely the start. New functions unlocked.

'Affection or loyalty emerges. Affection usually from the opposite sex, loyalty from the same.'

Affection.

Affection was romantic interest, dating, love.

As it rose, one saw the other romantically. Dating began. Love blossomed.

And loyalty.

High loyalty meant trust and obedience. Betrayal became extremely unlikely.

'Enough idle thoughts. Focus on the workout.'

He weighed himself. Down 0.2kg. He noted it in his phone memo.

He did stretches. They used to be tough at first. Now they were a breeze.

Stretching before and after workouts was essential. It prevented big and small injuries.

He got on the treadmill.

'One hour run......'

It didn't seem too hard.

'Yesterday's 50 minutes was manageable.'

He'd taken extra Stamina Booster Pills too.

'I can do this.'

He ran as slowly as possible.

Determined to clear Achievement 16 no matter what.

10 minutes passed.

"Huff! Huff!"

Breath grew short.

20 minutes passed.

"Hoo, hoo."

Breathing stabilized.

30 minutes passed.

"Hah, hah."

Starting to get tough.

40 minutes passed.

'Still good. I can do it. Keep running.'

He took a sip of water.

50 minutes passed.

"Heok, heok."

Honestly, he wanted to stop.

'10 minutes. Just 10 more minutes.'

But he couldn't stop.

'Why is time dragging like this?'

He pushed on with sheer willpower.

1 hour passed.

He stopped the treadmill. Exhaled ragged breaths.

Wiped his face with a dry towel. Drank some water.

'Did it. I did it.'

He'd run for a full hour.

'Me, who struggled with 3 minutes, running an hour......'

An achievement in just 16 days.

A small miracle.

'At first, 30 minutes seemed impossible, let alone an hour......'

Satisfaction welled up.

An indescribable sense of accomplishment bloomed from deep within.

'I'm happy.'

He entered week 5 of workouts.

Day 29.

He boiled eggs every morning.

'Mom?'

A call from his mother.

"Yeah, Mom, what's up?"

- What do you mean? Do I need a reason to call my son? I just missed hearing your voice.

"Haha, doing well?"

- Mom's the same as always. Took a break from work to call. Heading to work?

"Yeah, just finished getting ready and boiling eggs. On a diet these days, so eggs every morning."

- Working out hard, huh?

"Yeah, giving it my all."

His mother woke at 3:30 a.m. to head to the restaurant.

She worked two jobs.

With only one day off a week, she was always exhausted.

But today, her tone was unusually upbeat.

"Mom, something good happen? You sound cheerful."

- Yeah, got a raise. 100,000 won.

"Whoa, really? Jealous. Wish I got one too."

- Starting this month, add 100,000 won to your living expenses. For you, son.

"Whoa?! For real? Got it."

100,000 won in extra cash.

Jin-seong's face lit up.

'Perfect. Was short on living expenses.'

Lots of expenses.

Gym fees, eggs, bananas, grooming, daily necessities, etc.

Trying to manage on 150,000 won was tight.

He hadn't even bought new shoes due to budget.

'Great. First thing after payday: shoes.'

To wear at the gym.

'And soy milk too.'

Jin-seong loved soy milk.

Couldn't afford it before due to budget.

Buy soy milk.

Morning routine: soy milk, eggs, banana before work.

He hummed a tune. Light steps to work.

Focusing on work.

"Something good happen? You look bright."

Lee Ji-seong asked. Jin-seong had been grinning all day.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Got extra pocket money. Thinking of buying shoes—feels great."

"Oho?! How much?"

"100,000 won. Should have some breathing room now."

Lee Ji-seong chuckled.

Jin-seong seemed cute, happy over just 100,000 won.

"Here's a contact for you."

"What contact?"

"Promised to hook you up, right?"

"Whoa?! Really? Thank you!"

Jin-seong bowed deeply.

"Hyungnim? What about me? I'm lonely. Hook me up too."

"Sounds tough."

"No, hyungnim, that's too much. You hook up Jin-seong but not me?"

"Sorry, maybe next time if there's a chance."

"Disappointing."

No helping it.

Lee Ji-seong had zero intention of hooking up Kim Kwang-woo, even in his dreams.

'Good things keep coming today.'

The good fortune wasn't over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet.

Before clocking out, a meeting with the boss.

"Thank you. I'll work even harder."

Jin-seong bowed deeply.

The boss pulled an envelope from his pocket.

"Take it."

He handed over the envelope.

'Is today my birthday?'