A Hidden Talent?
Am I... by any chance, talented at working out?
Jeong Jin-won was the director of Metapia Fitness.
Once, he had lived a life of burning passion, but those days were long gone.
Ever since he crossed into his forties, he had forgotten what it felt like to be passionate.
When was the last time he had burned with such fire?
In the past, he had wanted to teach as many people as possible.
Now, it all felt like a distant, faded memory.
I've become nothing but burnt ashes, Jin-won had secretly thought.
Then came a day like any other, as he was doing his usual rounds of the gym.
That was, until he met a certain girl.
Wait, what on earth is that girl doing...?!
Jin-won's eyes widened.
His gaze locked onto Yu Nabi, who was currently pushing away at the chest press machine.
Her face was flushed bright red from the exertion.
Even beneath her workout clothes, her massive chest made its presence known, but to Jin-won, such things didn't matter in the slightest.
He had been working out for nearly thirty years.
Counting his time as an athlete, coach, and trainer, he had over twenty years of experience under his belt.
The number of clients who had passed through his hands was countless.
Throughout that time, Jin-won had trained with all kinds of people.
Martial artists, bodybuilders, famous celebrities, and even chairmen of multinational conglomerates.
He had witnessed and nurtured all sorts of human specimens and talents with his own two eyes.
And Yu Nabi's athletic coordination was, without a doubt, the most unique he had ever seen.
He was willing to stake his entire career on it.
Jin-won dared to make a definitive judgment.
This girl... is a physical disaster the likes of which this world will never see again!
The chest press is a chest exercise.
While it was inevitable for the shoulders and arms to assist, it was fundamentally designed to target the pectoralis major.
Yet, Yu Nabi's movements were entirely different.
She was clearly performing an upper-body exercise, but her legs kept lifting off the ground.
Naturally, the chest muscles that were supposed to be working weren't being engaged at all.
The way she managed to isolate and torture only her shoulders and arms was almost a marvel in itself.
The most frustrating part was that she looked incredibly proud of herself while causing this disaster.
To make matters worse, she was actually quite polite, diligently wiping down the sweat from the machine.
She didn't sit on the machine staring at her phone, nor did she focus on taking selfies.
Seeing her face turn beet red every time, she seemed genuinely sincere about working out.
She wasn't trying to be a nuisance; she was just catastrophically bad at exercising.
That hopeless reality struck a chord deep within the veteran trainer's heart.
Jin-won's patience quickly reached its limit.
"Oh, goodness! Stop, stop! You're going to blow out your shoulders like that! Your shoulders!"
"Y-yes?"
"You can't hold your posture like that. It's only fine right now because the weight is light, but you'll get seriously injured later on."
A strange self-reflection began from this bizarre encounter.
His profession was a personal trainer.
And a personal trainer was, at their core, someone who taught others how to exercise.
In a way, he was an educator. So why had he only ever wanted to teach talented people until now?
A skilled craftsman should know how to beautifully polish a fine gemstone.
But a true master, one destined for the history books, could turn even the worst raw stone into a masterpiece.
In other words, he had been looking at it all wrong.
The reason he had felt burned out wasn't because he couldn't find a brighter talent.
A genius who understood ten things when taught only one?
What was the point of training someone like that?
There was no fun in teaching someone who would do well even if left alone.
What truly made his heart race was a slow learner who couldn't grasp a single concept even after being told ten times.
A physical disaster who would make a trainer clutch their head and scream—now that was someone worth teaching!
Jin-won felt as if the time that had stopped long ago was finally ticking forward again.
"Student. What's your name? Did you register for the first time today?"
"Y-yes... But, w-w-who are you?"
"I'm the director here. Did you sign up for personal training? It's fine even if you didn't. I'll teach you how to work out properly. Just follow my lead."
Now, he had a dream once more.
A dream of watching this devilish physical disaster perform the bench press, deadlift, and squat with flawless form.
If he were to be a bit more ambitious, he wanted to carve out those defined, eleven-line abs that were every woman's dream.
Surely, an immense sense of accomplishment awaited him.
It would be a moment so overwhelming that he would remember it even on his deathbed.
He would be able to proudly declare that his life as a trainer had been magnificent, leaving him with no regrets.
He didn't think he had ever burned with this much passion, not even when teaching his own son and daughter.
Jin-won clenched his fists tightly.
"We're going to do ten reps like this. Alright, one!"
"You worked hard today. I'll see you at our next official PT session."
"T-thank you..."
"Go home and get some rest. Don't worry too much about your diet yet. Being too strict right from the start isn't good for you."
My first day at the gym passed by like a hurricane.
Although it was chaotic in many ways, the workout itself—my initial goal—was a success.
I had sweated so intensely that the workout clothes I wore were completely drenched.
Now, I had no business left at the gym.
Before the trainer could strike up another conversation, I made a swift escape.
I fled straight back to my house.
The very first thing to do in my sole sanctuary was to take a shower.
Actually, there were shower facilities at the gym, but I couldn't bring myself to step inside.
Because there would be other female members in there.
I was still someone who felt embarrassed looking at my own naked body.
Touching my soft, tender skin even brought up a subtle sense of guilt.
For someone like me, showering with other women was absolutely out of the question.
Around the time my solitary shower began,
a smirk began to creep onto my lips.
Am I... by any chance, talented at working out...?
I mean, think about it.
From my very first day of registration, the director himself started coaching my workout.
Judging by what the staff were saying, he seemed to have an incredible career.
If someone like that told me to 'just keep showing up,' there had to be something there.
Maybe this was going to be a bit troublesome.
I didn't really have any interest in sports, after all.
What I wanted to be was a pro gamer, not an athlete.
Although things had gotten a bit complicated, my rank points in Infinity Realm were steadily rising.
By now, I had officially entered the top 1%, the absolute highest tier.
While taking giant strides toward my dream, I couldn't afford to wander down another path.
"Ahem. Let's calm down, calm down."
Pat, pat. I slapped my cheeks to stop my runaway thoughts.
...Now that I was alone, I was letting my imagination run wild.
It wasn't too late to celebrate after actually achieving something.
Feeling the warm water from the showerhead helped clear my head.
The cascading streams of water gradually soaked my body.
The cozy warmth put my mind at ease.
A female body required a lot of care, even during a wash.
For instance, this long hair reaching down to my waist was a chore just to shampoo.
Not only did it take forever to wash, but drying it was also an ordeal.
My large chest was no different in terms of being a hassle.
It drew way too much attention in daily life, yet it was practically useless to me.
If I had to find a use for it, maybe resting a drink on top of it?
Being able to sip from a straw while keeping both hands free was certainly convenient.
Other than that, though, it was mostly disadvantages.
Because of the considerable weight, my shoulders and back would ache.
Whenever there was a suitable table, I would naturally rest my chest on it first.
And after working out like today, there was an unspeakable discomfort.
Sweat keeps pooling there...
Underneath my breasts, or in the cleavage between them.
In the places where skin pressed against skin, the sweat wouldn't dry easily.
Especially since my breasts were pressed tightly together during the workout.
As my body heat rose, the deep valley of my cleavage would become damp and sticky.
The slippery sensation with every movement... made me feel strange in many ways.
Fortunately, my body odor was practically nonexistent.
It didn't particularly smell, but I couldn't help but be bothered by it.
Even today, I had been dying to wash up as quickly as possible.
In other words, I actually quite enjoyed bathing.
Simply being in the water made me happy.
Back when I was bedridden, it had been a massive ordeal in so many ways.
I loved the warm stream of water pouring over my face.
The droplets trickling down my skin. The white steam filling the bathroom.
I absolutely loved the refreshing, sweet scent rising from the shampoo and body wash.
Just how much of a gift this mundane daily routine was to me...
...other people would never truly understand.