Brother Namgung, How Do You Know About "It's Running"...?
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"Now then. Before training the outer arts, one must always loosen the body first. Follow along with me."
Brother Namgung dropped into what he called the cat pose, hips thrust high while he stayed on all fours.
"B-Brother Namgung, aren't those pants a little too eye-catching?"
"What's wrong with tights? Besides, there's no one else here. Just hurry up and copy me."
"I'm wearing them too, so it's not a problem...!"
When I had only watched Brother Namgung in those so-called tights, I hadn't grasped the difference from ordinary yoga pants. The moment I put them on myself, though, they proved far thinner and clung so shamelessly to every curve of my rear that my face burned scarlet with mortification.
"Ah..."
The sight of Brother Namgung's hips—curves no man should possess—sent my lower half springing to attention yet again. I hurriedly dropped into the pose he had demonstrated, but he noticed at once, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
"Your form's a bit unsteady. ...Heh."
A soft, knowing chuckle drifted from behind me.
"This is quite the problem, isn't it? Just as you said, after ten years of holding back in that mountain hut, your desire surges like lava from an endless volcano."
"Brother Namgung, if anyone overheard they'd get the wrong idea...! Hyaaah♡?!"
"Hush. Keep your voice down. You're the one creating the misunderstanding right now, aren't you?"
With that shameless remark he trailed a slender finger along the cleft of my rear, then began teasing the sensitive spot beneath.
"Hnn... hah... B-Brother Namgung...! What if someone walks in while we're like this...!"
Inside the gym there was a small side room for light warm-ups; we were using it now, so at least no one could see from outside. Still, anyone who opened the door would catch us red-handed. Brother Namgung seemed utterly unconcerned by the risk.
"Come now, what are you saying? We're simply loosening up before outer-arts practice. Who cares if someone sees?"
Smack—!
Even as he spoke he began lightly spanking my rear with his open palm.
"Hyaah?!"
He must have put inner force into the blows the way he did during massage; even through fabric my skin stung, and that place he had tormented so thoroughly that morning throbbed with a sharp, tingling ache.
"I told you to keep your voice down."
Smack—! Smack—! Smack—!
Each crisp slap sent waves of electric sensation rolling through me until I could no longer hold back the sounds.
"Hnn... ah... hyaah♡♡"
After a dozen or so of those exquisite tortures that left my insides quivering, Brother Namgung gazed down at me sprawled on the yoga mat.
"My, what a magnificent view. A truly model apple-shaped rear."
Whether praise or joke, the words offered no comfort, so a sulky protest slipped out of me.
"Haa... haa... Brother Namgung, does this actually count as outer-arts training...?"
"Of course. It's training to cultivate flexibility. Building muscle alone isn't the whole of the outer arts."
"I've never heard that getting your rear spanked improves flexibility..."
"...Well, that part was also dual-purpose heart-method training."
He cleared his throat and pulled me upright.
"Ahem... Now then, back to the real work. You've rested a moment; your breathing should be steady again."
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After Brother Namgung finished teaching me his so-called "methods for making the body more flexible," he seemed determined to channel Zhuge Liang himself. Next he gave me an exhaustive lecture on "how to grow extremely close to one's benefactor."
Having wasted ten years of youth in the mountains, I had no way to judge whether his advice was sound. Following it quietly seemed the only option left to me.
"Today is the perfect chance—make certain you do it well. Follow the method I advised exactly, and that person will fall right into your hands."
"It's not like I'm plotting some scheme... I just want to repay the kindness and make a friend."
Brother Namgung gave me a peculiar smile at that answer, then claimed he had something to take care of that had occurred to him earlier and vanished somewhere.
Not long after he left, the appointed hour arrived and Hero Geungwang appeared at the gym.
"Ah, Young Lady Namgung!"
"...H-Hero, hello."
...Yes. The most important goal today was to clear up the fatal misunderstanding that had arisen between us.
I have to resolve it somehow before an even worse misunderstanding takes root...
I had originally planned to declare I was a man the moment we met, but when Brother Namgung heard that plan he nearly had a fit and stopped me cold.
You mustn't. If you do that the moment you meet, the awkwardness will simply linger until the gathering ends, after which he'll start avoiding you. Far from growing closer, you'll barely even see his face again.
Thinking it over carefully, I had to admit he had a point. So I decided to endure the "young lady" title a little longer and wait for the perfect moment Brother Namgung had taught me, training our strength together in the meantime.
"Khh!"
That aside—watching Hero Geungwang press a barbell loaded with an absurd number of plates, I couldn't help the gasp of admiration that escaped me.
"Wow! Three hundred and fifty jin on the bench press—that's incredible!"
I truly envied the hero's forest of muscle. What man wouldn't yearn for a body that powerful?
Even as I marveled at his solid frame, Brother Namgung's advice floated back to mind.
From what I hear, that fellow has trained his body considerably. Start with praise. He already seems somewhat fond of you, so the two of you should grow close easily enough.
Outright flattery would probably backfire, so I decided to begin with honest impressions.
"If your chest and arms can coordinate well enough to lift three hundred and fifty jin, then with arm strength alone you could hoist me dozens—no, hundreds—of times without breaking a sweat."
While I offered the compliment, Hero Geungwang finished his set and sat on the edge of the bench to catch his breath. Before I knew it my hand had drifted toward those pectorals.
"Just how strong are these muscles to lift three hundred and fifty jin?"
Squeeze, squeeze...
"Hah?!"
I perched on his thigh and lightly rubbed the firm chest; startled, Hero Geungwang jerked his upper body backward.
"Ah...?!"
When he pulled away so suddenly, the balance of the body perched on his thigh tipped forward—and I tumbled straight into his arms.
Thump-thump—
The moment our bodies pressed together, a wave of masculine scent washed over me and my face flared crimson with flustered heat.
"Young lady..."
Hero Geungwang, who had ended up holding me by accident, looked equally panicked; color rose in his cheeks as well.
We simply stared at each other, neither knowing what to do, when—
"Ahem! Ahem!"
A sudden cough from the side made us both jump. A muscular giant of a man was pointing at the sign on the wall.
Excessive displays of affection prohibited inside the gym!
Displays of affection?! Are you blind?! How dare you suspect two upright men of such a thing?!
...The retort rose all the way to my throat, but according to Brother Namgung's strategy it still wasn't time to reveal I was a man. I had no choice but to swallow my tears and let it pass.
"I-I'm so sorry..."
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To thaw the atmosphere that had frozen solid at the words "displays of affection," I spoke first.
"H-Hero, I... I'd like to try squats. Could you teach me...?"
"Ah... of course, young lady. First stand in front of the mirror..."
Feet shoulder-width apart, hips down, arms forward...
I practiced the squats slowly under Hero Geungwang's guidance, yet no matter how I looked at it, something about his reflection in the mirror seemed off.
No matter how I see it, he's staring at my rear and thighs...
He had told me to focus on keeping proper form by watching the mirror, but whenever I snuck a glance at his face through the glass, his eyes were fixed firmly on my lower half.
I wondered why for a moment, then the answer came at once.
Squats are a lower-body exercise, so he's staring at my lower body to make sure my form is correct...! Hero Geungwang really is a good man after all!
I'd heard that beginners paid no small fee—four or five silver coins per session—to learn the basics of the outer arts at the gym. Yet he was teaching me for free, and with such earnest care. How could I not feel grateful?
If it's this person, even after the misunderstanding is cleared he won't treat me coldly.
The thought buoyed me so much that I stepped closer and whispered,
"Um... once today's training is finished, I have something important to say..."
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Lately the gym always came with a small washroom. Fortune smiled: Hero Geungwang was alone inside. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Creak—
The door hinges squeaked as I opened it, yet Hero Geungwang paid no mind, still facing away and absorbed in washing his face.
"Um, er, Hero Geungwang."
I caught his arm from behind. When he turned and recognized me, his face drained of color.
"...Wha—?! Young lady! This is the men's washroom!"
Some inexplicable shame made me want to tuck my tail and flee, but Brother Namgung's words held me fast.
It's called shock therapy... This is the surest way to clear the misunderstanding while drawing you closer. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—if you miss it, it will never come again.
Then this is the decisive battle...!
Steeling myself, I hiked up the towel wrapped around my waist the way one lifts a skirt and revealed what lay beneath.
"Hero... I... I have one running too..."
This is the strategy that surpasses even 'driving the tiger to devour the wolf'—the so-called 'It's Running' gambit!
As I exposed the most critical part myself, Brother Namgung's confident voice—assuring me the plan would absolutely succeed—echoed hotly in my burning ears.