Chapter 13: Do You Want to Officially Register?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: Do You Want to Officially Register?
“Gaaah! Nineteen... twenty!”
I finished the last set of push-ups, my body trembling violently.
Sweat poured off me just from standing there.
“Huff, puff.”
I gasped for air.
My shoulders heaved involuntarily.
It was only twenty.
Twenty push-ups.
Compared to an average person, it was a pathetic workout, but for me, it was a massive improvement.
‘I couldn’t even do half of this before.’
I wiped away the dripping sweat.
I felt like my body had changed quite a bit.
Well, it was true that my previous physique had been horrendous.
[You have gained 10 Health Points.]
“Phew, nice.”
I closed the message window announcing the points.
It felt good to sense my body changing, but...
“I’m gonna die.”
My body couldn’t keep up.
The workout schedule provided by this system was quite difficult for me to endure.
It was especially tough because I had always been far removed from the world of exercise.
On top of that, I had my part-time job, preparing to return to school, taking care of members, and so on.
My entire body throbbed with muscle pain.
“I’m really aching.”
I massaged my throbbing muscles.
I was good at helping other members recover from their fatigue, so why couldn’t I do the same for my own body?
“Is there really no way?”
I asked the empty air.
Others might point and call me crazy, but this was the best way to ask the system.
[The following item is recommended.]
As soon as I finished speaking, the Shop window opened.
[Gym Wear – 50 Points]
[Gym Wear – Group Tee: Increases the sense of belonging to the gym.]
[Additional Effect: Random]
“Gym wear? You said this increases the sense of belonging?”
[Additional effects are attached randomly. Among those effects, fatigue recovery exists.]
Aha.
It was a system I often saw in RPG games—the kind where special effects are randomly attached to dropped items.
“What are the odds?”
[The probability of muscle pain improvement and fatigue recovery effects appearing is 33%.]
That meant one out of three should have it.
‘That might not be bad.’
It was worth a shot.
There weren’t any other items I needed to buy immediately.
Plus, I had gathered a decent amount of points thanks to Heo Da-young’s training.
My current balance was 220 points.
If I spent them all, surely at least one fatigue recovery effect would pop up.
“Okay. Buy one.”
I purchased the gym wear.
[Purchasing Gym Wear.]
The system window flashed, scattering light.
Flash!
Light poured from the system window, illuminating the living room, and in its place sat a set of black gym wear.
The presentation was similar to opening a loot box in a mobile game.
“Whoa, the effects are insane.”
I picked up the gym wear that had been summoned in the living room.
[Gym Wear (B)]
[Group Tee: Increases the sense of belonging to the gym.]
[Strength Boost: Increases strength when worn.]
Rank B?
“This seems pretty good...”
It looked like a decent effect, but it didn’t help me right now.
“One more time.”
I bought another set.
Once again, light filled the living room.
“Huh?”
The light was different this time.
Earlier, it felt like a simple pour of white light, but this time, golden clusters of light fell between the rays.
It was an obvious sign that a better item than before had dropped.
Again, black gym wear appeared.
[Congratulations. You have obtained a high-grade item.]
[Gym Wear (A)]
[Fatigue is the Liver’s Fault: Natural recovery rate increases by 2.5x when worn.]
“Yes!”
Success on the second try.
And it was Rank A.
The summoning effect was definitely better than the B-rank gym wear.
So there were differences like this depending on the rank.
There was a certain thrill to the gacha.
“Will other items have effects like this later too?”
I looked at the Shop list.
The detail pages explained that additional effects were attached randomly.
Dumbbells, treadmills, and even a Han River view apartment in Gangnam.
“This is incredible,” I muttered as I put on the gym wear.
The clothes clung tightly to my body, fitting my size perfectly.
[Equipped effect is applied.]
“I feel like something’s changed.”
Since my natural recovery rate had increased, I’d probably feel it as time passed.
I checked the clock.
It was almost time for work.
“Time to wash up and head out.”
Now that I had the item equipped, I’d be able to devote myself more to working out.
In the end, I had to become stronger.
To give the members confidence, I had to be better than I was now.
‘I think the reason Heo Da-young’s satisfaction was low when she first came was because of my physique.’
I had to train myself.
[New Quest!]
[Let’s enjoy a light workout while showering.]
[Squats while being hit by water]
A new quest appeared.
There was no time to rest.
*
I headed to the restaurant for my part-time job.
“Oh? Jae-ho oppa, you’re early?”
Miju had arrived first and was humming as she tidied up the shop.
“Oh, why are you so early today?”
“I’ve been coming in early lately.”
“Really?”
“Ever since I got that personal PT from you, I’ve been coming in earlier than my shift every day.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just feel like my body is getting healthier. If I don’t move around, I start feeling all stiff!”
Miju shouted in a bright voice.
It was the usual Miju, though she seemed a bit more high-energy than usual.
“That’s a relief. I was worried you might be feeling sore somewhere.”
“Why would I feel bad after getting PT from such a good trainer?”
“Speaking of which...”
I was about to bring up the topic of official registration.
“Ah, Jae-ho oppa, I heard from the boss that you go to Usan University too?”
“Huh?”
“Is that right?”
Miju asked first, her round eyes sparkling.
“Ah, yeah, that’s right.”
“Really? Wow, that’s awesome.”
Miju clapped her hands in admiration.
“Why?”
“I’m a student at Usan University too. I just started this year.”
“Wait, really?”
Miju was at Usan University too?
I had no idea.
“You’re surprised, right? I was really surprised too. But what’s your major?”
“Well...”
For a moment, I had a communication breakdown.
I was so shocked that Miju went to the same school that the answer didn’t come to me easily.
“Co-Computer Engineering. Comp-Sci.”
“Whoa! Oppa, you’re in Comp-Sci too?”
‘Too’?
“I’m in Comp-Sci as well! Class of 2021, Computer Engineering Department at Usan University.”
Same school and same department?
What kind of coincidence was this?
This meat restaurant where I worked was a famous spot near Usan University, but what were the odds that the part-timer working with me would be a freshman from my own department?
“How come I haven’t seen you at school?”
“I only recently got discharged from the military.”
“Ah, right. You said you were discharged this year.”
Miju spoke to me, humming happily for some reason.
“Are you returning to school this semester?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’ll be quitting this job soon.”
“I suppose so.”
The start of the semester wasn’t far off.
I couldn’t keep working here forever; I had to go back to my studies.
‘Though I don’t feel like it suits me.’
But since quitting altogether didn’t seem right either, I planned to return.
“That’s a relief. We’ll still see each other often even after you quit the job.”
“Huh?”
“You said you’d give me PT if I visited, remember?”
“Ah, right. I did.”
“Should I start calling you ‘Senior’ now?”
“Ha, haha.”
How was I supposed to respond to that?
While I was agonizing over it, Miju burst out laughing.
“Why are you so tense? I’m still going to call you ‘Oppa’ even if we meet at school. Don’t you dare try to act distant once we’re on campus.”
Miju swayed side to side with her hands behind her back.
“Ah, don’t worry about that. You’re my first member; I have to treat you well.”
It was then.
“Hey, Choi Jae-ho.”
It was Jong-nam.
With his arms crossed and his brow furrowed, he called out to me with a scowl.
“What is it?”
“Can we have a word?”
He looked displeased.
What was it?
Did I do something wrong?
My gaze naturally drifted toward Miju.
Ah, right.
This guy had a thing for Miju, didn’t he?
Even though he was basically just pestering her.
“I’ll... I’ll be right back.”
“Ah, okay...”
Miju’s expression darkened as well.
I followed Jong-nam to the alleyway next to the shop.
It was a path connected to the kitchen, a place where Jong-nam and the boss often came out to smoke.
It was also a place where people occasionally got their shins kicked.
“Phew.”
Jong-nam exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke.
“What’s going on?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Excuse me?”
“I think I warned you last time.”
“Are you talking about Miju?”
“You knew and you still did it?”
“It’s common knowledge. That you’ve been hitting on Miju, I mean.”
“Look at this punk.”
Jong-nam’s eyebrows twitched.
“You’ve really lost your sense of fear, haven’t you? Do you think you’ve changed just because you’ve been working out a bit? I let a shut-in loser like you hang out with us because we work together, and now what? ‘Hitting on her’?”
The way he spat out his words was enough to make anyone feel miserable.
Just like now.
In the past, I would have just endured it.
Thinking that if I just stayed quiet, everything would end smoothly.
“Cut it out. You’re making a fool of yourself.”
“This little...!”
“If you’re kicking my shins because I messed up at work, I’ll take it. But not for something like this.”
I recalled what Miju had said the last time I got tangled up with Jong-nam.
—To be honest, I don’t really like that senior. He’s way too obsessed with women. It’s really burdensome.
If Miju actually liked him, I wouldn’t have a reason to stop him.
But since she didn’t, there was no need for me to act submissive toward someone picking a fight like this.
“Stop pestering her and find another woman. It looks like Yeojin likes you anyway.”
“This bastard has lost his mind. You need a beating.”
I had no intention of running away.
This was why I had invested in myself.
I wasn’t confident in my fighting skills, but for a man to back down at a time like this...
‘That would be pathetic.’
Jong-nam rolled up his sleeves.
The tattoos on his forearms were vivid.
They were clearly meant for intimidation.
“I’m not letting you go easy. Tell the boss you’re missing work today.”
“You talk too much. Just come at me, Jong-nam.”
Jong-nam swung a fist.
At that moment, a small system window appeared before my eyes.
[Activating Trainer Protection Protocol.]
What?
Instantly, Jong-nam’s fist seemed to slow down.
I watched the fist and tilted my head in the opposite direction.
His punch grazed past my face.
Before I could even think to do anything, my body moved on its own.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
My fist slammed into Jong-nam’s ribs.
The impact doubled him over.
Perhaps he wasn’t used to the shock; Jong-nam screamed as he clutched his side.
My body twisted at an eerie angle, and my left knee drove into his abdomen.
Thud!
“You little...!”
Jong-nam gritted his teeth and shouted.
[The trainer has been threatened.]
[Counterattacking.]
As if responding to the voice, my body moved automatically.
My leg swept behind his knee.
“Ugh!”
Jong-nam couldn’t do a thing as he was forced onto his knees.
“Huh?”
I slapped the cheek of the stunned Jong-nam as he looked up at me.
Slap!
“Ack!”
Jong-nam rolled across the ground.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
“You... you... what the hell are you?”
Jong-nam clutched the spot where he’d been hit and stared at me.
His face was filled with terror.
“I told you. I’ve been training.”
I said with a relaxed smile.
“Don’t pick pointless fights with me from now on. And don’t pester Miju either.”
She was my client.
I wasn’t about to let some lowlife take her away.
However, contrary to my relaxed expression...
‘Holy shit, it hurts like hell.’
My whole body was throbbing.
It was a level of pain incomparable to when I was working out.
Muscle aches were nothing compared to this.
In particular, my left leg, which had twisted at that bizarre angle to strike Jong-nam’s stomach, felt like something had snapped.
It really, truly hurt like crazy.
‘This is the Protection Protocol?’
It felt like I was being controlled by someone else.
Like a child playing with a doll, forcing my body to move here and there.
To be honest, it was unpleasant.
I’d rather fight and get hit myself.
I wanted no part of this method.
‘Don’t control me like that again unless I’m actually about to die.’
[Understood.]
The system replied, appearing before me.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
I turned back to Jong-nam, who was still groaning and clutching his injuries.
When our eyes met, he flinched and recoiled.
“Fix your face. You know how to do that, right? Since you’ve made others do it so often.”
I headed back into the shop first.
“O-Oppa, are you okay?”
Miju asked with a worried face.
“Ah, I’m fine.”
It was Jong-nam who needed the worrying.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s my fault... I’ll go talk to Senior Jong-nam.”
“No, it’s fine. I had a nice talk with him, so it’s settled.”
As soon as I said that, Jong-nam walked inside.
He avoided my gaze.
Tsk.
I heard him click his tongue, but I didn’t bother calling him out on it.
I didn’t want to fight over something like this.
“Ah, and Miju. There was something I wanted to say earlier.”
“Something you wanted to say?”
“Yeah.”
Ssssip.
I took a deep breath.
The words I’d wanted to say to her for a while now.
The words I’d kept hesitating to say.
My face flushed for no reason.
“Ahem.”
“Are you going to keep stalling?”
“Phew, sorry.”
The words kept swirling around in my mouth.
‘I can’t keep avoiding it.’
I summoned my courage and opened my mouth.
“The thing is, Miju.”
“Yes, Oppa.”
“Do you want to officially register as a member of our gym?”
“Huh?”