Part 1: What the Hell? Public Bondage Play?
Part 1 What the hell? What were we supposed to do here? Engage in some public bondage play? My arms wouldn't budge. Or more precisely, I couldn't move them. Jina had dressed me up on her own without even asking, so it wasn't like I was wearing clothes—I was trapped inside them. Thanks to that, the vinyl-like windbreaker clung to me so tightly it looked like it'd been pumped full of Botox, stretched taut.
What if I tried to wriggle free right here? Obvious, right? The jacket would rip, or the zipper pulled all the way up to my neck would burst open.
"What the hell is this? Let me out."
I grumbled curtly, squirming my arms that were pinned tight to my sides. I could feel the windbreaker that had perfectly sheathed my upper body slowly rolling up.
The problem? It wasn't rolling up on its own. As the jacket bunched upward, a sliver of my bare stomach peeked out from underneath, brushed by air that felt strangely cool—or was it hot? I couldn't tell. The moment someone gulped at the sight, Jina—who'd noticed the same thing—freaked out and yanked it back down flat.
"Ugh, it's stuffy."
"Stay still. I'll dress you properly."
"Do I have to wear this? It's hot..."
"Just bear with it."
She scowled a little and muttered complaints, but I obediently let her dress me anyway. I had a pretty good idea why she was doing this. God forbid anyone see me. In the blink of an eye, Jina straightened my clothes perfectly and, true to form, zipped the jacket all the way up.
"Seriously, it's hot."
"Tch."
"So stuffy..."
Honestly, up to that point, it was bearable enough. I was whining like I was on the verge of heatstroke, but aside from the slight stuffiness, it wasn't that uncomfortable. The real issue was that it didn't end there.
Even with the exposure minimized to the extreme, eyes still poured in, so what did she decide to do about the cause—my face? Jina flipped the hood that had been hanging back over my head and yanked the drawstrings tight.
"What the actual fuck are you doing?"
That sealed it for me. This bitch has a brother complex.
And a pretty severe one, at that. She was going this far to overprotect me—had to be.
"People keep staring—"
So I nodded along for now, since she told me to wear it. It wasn't time to ditch the image of the obedient good little brother yet. Maybe later, but not now.
Confirming my head bobbing up and down, Jina let out a relieved sigh and whipped her head around, shooting a warning glare loaded with menace at the onlookers still gawking. She looked just like a cat—like the boss cat hissing and glaring daggers at stray thieves eyeing her fish. Well, more like a black panther than a housecat, really.
"Follow me."
With that, Jina started walking, having cowed the surrounding women in seconds. And so the facility tour began.
But it wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped.
Fuck, is there an oil field underground or something?
What kind of heating system blasts like this? It was already sweltering, and with the hood pulled low—even if the jacket was thin—the stuffiness was no joke. So, the moment Jina looked away, I flipped the hood back.
That's when the stares went insane.
"Put it back on."
"No way, I'm dying of heat. What's the point of a hood anyway?"
"People are staring."
"Let 'em stare. It's not like it'll wear out from being looked at."
I fanned my face, which had steamed up nice and red in that short time, emphasizing that the heat was the real problem. Jina sighed like she had no choice. Guess I really did look overheated. After that, she didn't push the hood anymore.
"Damn, this place is huge..."
"What do you think? Nice facilities, right?"
"Nice? This is way beyond nice."
Did any gym in Korea have facilities this good? Jina's workplace was spacious and luxurious, reeking of money poured in with gritted teeth from every corner. Even the setup was packed—everything you could want was there, plus some mystery features that made you wonder what the hell they were for.
The weirdest by far was this room lined with massive, exorbitantly expensive-looking cylindrical machines whose purpose was a total enigma. The lighting was a bluish hue, giving off major cyberpunk vibes.
So, what the hell went on in here?
"What's this room for?"
I patted one of the machines like a drum and asked. Cue the immediate warning.
"That's expensive. Be careful."
"How much?"
"I didn't buy it, so I don't know exactly, but it's 100,000 won for three minutes."
"...What?"
My brain flatlined at the absurd price.
"Oh, wait, no."
Figured Jina must've misspoke. Yeah, that made sense—no machine cost that much, even if it was pricey. Three minutes for 10,000 won would already have me muttering "that's fucking expensive," let alone 100,000. You could probably build a PC bang with supercomputers and still charge less.
"Members get two free trials a month, so it's basically free?"
Right on the money. 100,000 won for three minutes. Impressive, K-fitness. Who knew they'd been exploiting a money-duplication glitch here? No wonder they built something this massive smack in the middle of Seoul.
"Wanna try it?"
Truth be told, I was tempted. What the hell happened inside to justify fleecing people for 100,000 won every three minutes?
But I couldn't nod right away. The thing looked off—straight out of an SF flick, like the escape pods protagonists cram into when the spaceship explodes. I half-expected to step out and find the world turned into 2077.
Logically, nah, but still.
"How's it work?"
"You just go inside. Oh, and take off your clothes."
"Take them off..?"
"...J-just underwear! You go in wearing only underwear! It's, uh... the principle is... you activate the machine inside, and it drops the internal temp with liquid nitrogen to boost your metabolism..."
She was flustered bad. Spilling all that without me even asking.
Of course, none of it landed. I gave up understanding the second "liquid nitrogen" dropped, and anyway, who cared about that crap when Jina—blushing beet red, stumbling over her words—was adorable?
What is this cute creature?
The usually charismatic Jina suddenly going full cute mode? Devastating firepower. And she had no clue—that was the killer part.
Wanna kiss her.
What would those still-mumbling pink lips feel like? As she licked them—maybe her mouth went dry from all the excuses—the glossy sheen had me staring, entranced.
Slap—
"Huh? What? Jina, is that you?"
A light set of footsteps echoed through the room with an unfamiliar voice.
Who? Who could call a predator like Jina so casually?
"Oh, Director."
"Wasn't your shift this afternoon? Why are you here so early..."
Getting to work? The woman—likely the gym's owner based on the title—didn't finish. Because as I turned to check her out, our eyes locked.
Honestly, I was shocked. I'd pictured some buff older auntie for "director," but she looked at least ten years younger than expected. Probably just a year or two older than Jina.
The director was a laid-back beauty, the type who'd seem to live by "take it easy~." But a tiny mole under her eye added a sultry edge to the chill vibe. Her name tag, dangling and swaying from her chest, read Na Ye-ri.
Hmm...
Sounds like a name for someone good at running. Well, Na Ae-ri over there, Na Ye-ri here.
Anyway, no harm in impressing the boss, so I gave her a slight bow. Snapping to, maybe?
"New member...? Nah, doesn't seem like it."
She scanned me head to toe, then spotted Jina's name tag on my chest and narrowed her eyes.
And then...
"Boyfriend?"
Boom—bombshell from Ye-ri's lips.
"...B-boyfriend? No, he's my little brother. Little brother."
"Little brother? Oh, right! You mentioned having one."
"Y-yeah..."
I didn't miss it. Ye-ri's eyes narrowed again, raking me from head to toe like a snake eyeing prey. Goosebumps raced up my spine, but I played it cool, tensing up to hold steady.
"Bringing him here?"
"Yeah, didn't wanna just send him anywhere..."
"Fair enough."
She nodded sympathetically, but her eyes stayed glued to my face.
Uncomfortable? Jina tried to shake her off.
"We still have places to show, so we'll get going..."
"Hmm, how about I take over the tour from here?"
"...Pardon?"
"You were coming up from the lower floors, right?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Then I'll handle floors 7 and 8."
"...No, it's fine. Can't trouble you, Director."
Jina was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. Not even close.
"Trouble? Between us? Are we strangers?"
"Still..."
"Besides, I don't have anything else today?"
Clamming Jina up like that, Ye-ri pretended to check her watch and brought up lesson prep or whatever.
"Or... don't you trust me?"
"..."
"You know me. I never touch a guy who's got an owner."
Playing the trust card here? Jina had no choice but to smile and nod.
Sure enough, she bit her lip, then switched expressions like a pro.
"Got it. I just didn't wanna bother you since you seemed busy..."
Flashing a grin for her final resistance, Jina flicked her eyes to the machine I'd drummed on earlier.
Didn't you come here to use that? Go do that and leave us alone.
Her glare was ridiculously insolent for a subordinate. Ye-ri brushed it off like nothing.
"It's only three minutes anyway. Do it quick, then I'll take over. Right? Three minutes okay with you?"
"Pardon? Oh, sure..."
"Perfect."
Ye-ri shrugged casually, turned, and headed to the locker by the machine. She stripped off everything but her underwear and shoved it in.
Ooh... damn...
She fiddled with the buttons and slipped right inside. A low hum started, and cool air flooded the warm room...
"Fuck... that horny bitch..."
Jina spat the curse in sync.