The Dawn Workout No One Knows About
Two weeks had already passed since I began Sion's rehabilitation.
"Thank you as always, Baker Wife."
"Oh, come on~ If it helps with your work, Director, that's joy enough for me."
Every morning started with receiving fresh bread from Baker's Bakery. The woman standing before me now was the mother of a patient who had successfully completed rehab at our center. She was a kind soul from the popular spot 'Baker Baker,' delivering newly baked loaves straight to my house each dawn.
"That said, Director... I've heard a little rumor lately. Mind if I ask you about it?"
"What rumor?"
I exchanged greetings with this bakery lady every day, but we'd never delved deeper into conversation. What on earth could the rumor be that she'd bring it to me?
"Well... I wonder if it's okay to mention this..."
"?"
Even something hard to say out loud...?
"They say there's this young, pretty patient you see often these days, and you take her home with you every time you clock out..."
"Pardon?"
What did she just say? Did I hear that right?
"C-Could you... say that again?"
"Pardon? You want me to repeat that?"
"I think I must have misheard..."
"Uwaaaaaah!! Director Hope!!!"
"?!"
What the—? A scream calling my name suddenly echoed from Sion's room.
"Oh my goodness... A young woman really is in the house... staying until morning, no less..."
"Nooo! It's not like that!! I don't know what you're imagining, but just—no!!"
"Director Hopeee!!!"
The house descended into chaos from the unexpected shriek. Why was Sion suddenly carrying on like that? Had something happened?
"I'll be right there, so please quiet down, Sion!!"
"Sion?"
"Baker Wife, I'll explain later—could you head back for now? It seems like the patient's condition has worsened; I need to check on her."
"Ah... She must be in rough shape for you to be looking after her like this. And here I was, spouting nonsense without knowing... Oh dear, I'm so sorry."
"I'm fine, really—just please go. Thanks for the bread."
I hurriedly sent Baker Wife on her way and flung open the door to Sion's room.
Sion lay flat on the bed, staring at the ceiling with her face scrunched up in agony, groaning softly. As I entered, she finally turned her head, opened her eyes, and looked my way.
"D-Director..."
"What happened, Sion?"
"My body won't budge at all!"
"That's how it's always been, hasn't it?"
"I'm not joking—it's for real this time!!! And it hurts so much!!!"
Was she truly unable to move a muscle? I'd been managing her around the clock since we started living together. There hadn't been any signs of her condition deteriorating...
"Sion, what do you mean it won't move? No strength coming in?"
"No. Every time I try to use force, my legs hurt too much..."
"Where? The joints?"
"No, it's... like my whole legs..."
An impossible anomaly. I needed a closer examination.
"Sion, I'm going to lift the blanket."
"Ughhh..."
Pulling back the covers revealed Sion's slender frame wrapped in her pajamas. Her legs, which she'd claimed hurt, were indeed rigid with tension, locked up as if in pain—yet they jerked sporadically with a sharp "Ow!" and convulsions.
To inspect precisely, I sat on the edge of the bed and grasped one leg.
"Sion, tell me if it hurts. Here..."
"Aaack!!!"
Pressing the muscled area drew a cry of intense pain from her. I already had a pretty good idea what was wrong.
So that's what happened...
"And here..."
"That hurts too!!"
"What about here..."
"Th-That one might be bearable?"
"So this spot hurts the most?"
"Gyaaaah!! Th-This is an exam, right? You're just tormenting me again, aren't you?!"
"You still think I'm that kind of guy?"
"Hnngaaah... It hurts so baaad..."
I had a rough sense of the issue now, but I needed to finish the checkup. Joints too...
"How about here? Does it hurt if I rotate like this?"
"No, that's fine."
"Like this?"
"Aaack!!!"
Watching her scream at the slightest pressure was amusing, but I kept the exam to the necessary minimum. I didn't enjoy causing her pain.
"It's muscle soreness. No training today—just stay put."
Muscle soreness without any muscles to speak of. Sion made a troubled face at the diagnosis, looking up at me plaintively.
"Whaaat? No training? But I need to!"
"Sigh, Sion..."
Protesting with that pout wouldn't change what had already happened. Her impatience was the main culprit, but I'd noticed her growing antsy and failed to warn her properly—my fault too, to some degree.
"You exercised on the sly, didn't you."
"H-How'd you know?"
"With your body in this state, how could I not?"
Pinpointing the sore muscles told me exactly what exercise she'd done.
"I thought a little extra would help me recover faster..."
"Sion... I told you, rushing leads to falls."
With her confession secured, that wrapped up the cause. The checkup was done too, and with Sion exposed on the bed, she looked chilly—I draped the blanket back over her.
"Yeah, but still..."
She tugged the blanket up bashfully, half-covering her face until only her eyes peeked out.
"Well, it's partly my responsibility."
"Huh? No, Director Hope, you didn't do anything wrong! I just acted on my own...!"
"I never told you not to exercise secretly. I should have emphasized the important parts."
In rehab, steady pacing without overdoing it was key. Exercise doesn't heal the body—it uses it. Usage inevitably causes wear. The human body has a self-repair system for damage, so building or recovering muscle is just leveraging that efficiently. For patients like Sion with scant muscle and poor recovery, strict adherence to a specialist's program was essential—and she'd ignored it.
"I thought with me watching you all day, this wouldn't happen. Plus... your center training was already pushing the limits of what your body could handle. Any extra would overload you fast. Both issues trace back to me."
If I'd forbidden secret workouts or eased her program, this wouldn't have occurred. Minus sleep, I was always with her—yet she'd snuck in exercise during that time. A bitter lapse in vigilance on my part.
"No, Director Hope. It's all my fault. I figured leg raises from a seated position were something I could do alone, no problem. I could have asked you, but I went ahead for three whole hours on my own..."
"Three hours?!"
"......"
Three hours? Of solo leg exercises?
"No wonder you were screaming!! How the hell did you manage that much?!"
"I did them slowly, focusing... lost track of time. When my legs started hurting, I stopped and went to sleep."
"Even so...!"
The unforeseen twist made my head throb. In the dead of night, lights off, perched on the bed doing leg lifts until it hurt?
"Hoooh..."
I took a deep breath to steady myself. What was done was done. Time to plan ahead.
"With that much strain, it won't fade after just today."
"Is it... that bad?"
She'd overdone it far beyond expectations—soreness could linger for days. Recovery was slow for patients. But was it a big deal?
"Not really. As long as you rest properly."
She was reflecting enough, but she needed to feel the gravity more acutely.
"No exercise or training until you're fully recovered. Got it?"
"Yeees..."
"And I'm saying this upfront: no making up for lost time later by pushing harder. I mean it—rushing is off-limits. Understand?"
"Got it..."
My repeated nagging had her shrinking into the bed until even her eyes vanished.
"And lastly—"
Already fully hidden. I still had more to say.
"I know your body better than you do. So unless I say so, ask me before trying anything. Okay?"
"Yeeeeeees..."
That should do it. I sighed deeply again, composing myself. Plenty of work awaited today.
"Rest easy then. I'll head to work soon, so tell me if you need anything beforehand. And stay put!"
"......"
Sion remained buried in the blankets. Resigned, I turned to leave for my morning routine—when,
"Work...?"
Her panicked voice stopped me. I turned back. She'd peeked her head out again, clutching the doorframe from bed, face crumpled as she stared at my back.
"I... I can't move at all right now? You're leaving me like this to go to work?"
Oh, right...
"Don't leave me alone, Director Hope... Please..."
Her crimson eyes, trembling pitifully from beneath the half-pulled blanket... had become something I could no longer ignore.