Chapter 90: You Shouldn't Go to Such Shady Places in Broad Daylight
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: You Shouldn't Go to Such Shady Places in Broad Daylight
After giving Miju’s hair a long, affectionate stroke, I looked at the system window informing me of the additional income.
[Excess Satisfaction]
It was a reward for exceeding the previous maximum satisfaction level.
So, as the gym level rises, income is generated. My question was quickly answered.
[Official Member ‘Miju’s’ Satisfaction: 115/100]
[Affection Level toward the trainer is high. Additional income bonus applied.]
[Excess Satisfaction: 15, Affection Level: Very High (9).]
[Additional income granted: 15 * 9]
[You have earned a total of 1.35 million won in additional income.]
1.35 million won in extra income.
This actually makes money?
It was income on a completely different level from the standard service fees I received from members. This figure was almost nonsensical. To think I earned 1.35 million won just from one massage and a PT session.
There was no mention of where I could spend this money or how to withdraw it. Was there no use for it yet?
[You may withdraw funds freely from anywhere, and they can also be used to increase the level of members.]
I can raise a member’s level?
I immediately looked at Miju.
[Kang Mi-ju]
[Member Level – 2]
Even though Miju was only Level 2, she didn't fall behind any other members in terms of looks or bust size. What would improve if I raised her level?
There was no answer. I suppose it meant I should experience it for myself.
How much does it cost to level up Miju?
[2.5 million won is required to increase Member Level from 2 -> 3.]
[As a one-time special offer, a 50% discount will be applied.]
Fine, level her up. Let’s see what happens.
A cluster of light, visible only to my eyes, gathered on Miju’s body.
[Member Level increases to 3.]
[Charm is enhanced.]
On the surface, there wasn't a dramatic change. Perhaps her face looked a bit more vibrant? I’d have to wait and see the full effects of the level-up. For now, I’d keep saving money through massages and keep raising her level.
“Is there something on my face?”
As I stared intently at Miju, she touched her face and asked.
“No. Just… you look beautiful.”
At those words, Miju gave a shy, beaming smile. Resting her head on my arm, she stroked my chest and whispered softly.
“Oppa, I don’t know if I should say this now, but… could you maybe cut back on the gym’s operating hours a little?”
“Huh?”
Startled by her sudden request, I looked down at her. Cut back on gym hours?
Meeting my eyes, Miju laughed awkwardly and traced circles on my chest with her finger.
“I’m just a little jealous… I know you’re hardworking, but I want you all to myself…”
My heart felt a tickle of warmth.
“Is it because you want to be with me all the time?”
“Yes…”
Miju nodded while snuggling deeper into my embrace.
“Can’t you just stop taking other members?”
The desire for exclusivity. How could I not understand that? I felt the same way. I didn't want my members going to other gyms, and I didn't want them being with other men.
So, while I understood Miju’s heart, it wasn't a matter I could easily agree to.
“I still want to grow the business more.”
“So it’s a no, then…?”
“Yeah, sorry.”
Miju’s lower lip pouted out.
“Hmph…”
She was clearly feeling sorrowful.
“You said you couldn't increase the time you spend training me. That’s why I asked… I know your work is important, but I can’t help feeling disappointed. And also…”
With her lips still pouted, she grumbled on, listing her grievances one by one. But the premise of all her cute complaints was simply that she wanted to see me more.
It was incredibly adorable.
I smiled and stroked her hair. However, what couldn't be done, couldn't be done. I had to take on more members for the gym to grow.
Just then, a thought flashed through my mind. Didn't the system say I could hire trainers?
[You can hire trainers to work at the chain branches.]
[Note: Only females are eligible.]
I looked at Miju and asked, “Miju, then why don’t you work at our gym too?”
“What?”
She had been in the middle of listing her complaints with a pout, but now she stared at me.
“I’m looking for someone to help people exercise at the branch gym.”
“You already set up a branch?”
“A little while ago.”
“Oh…”
“I can’t quit the gym yet, and it seems like you want to spend more time with me. If we work together, wouldn't we be able to see each other more often?”
“Uh… well…”
Miju was flustered by the sudden proposal.
“But would I be okay? I don’t know much about working out…”
“I can teach you, so don’t worry about that.”
She licked her lips.
“You don’t have to decide right away. Think about it slowly. I can pay you quite a lot.”
“I’ll think about it for a bit. I was supposed to go back to working part-time at that meat house once the semester ends.”
She was likely talking about the meat house where we first met.
“Of course. Let me know when you’ve made up your mind. And…”
Smooch.
I kissed Miju on the forehead and said, “I’ll try my best to adjust my schedule for you too. So don’t be too upset.”
“…Okay. I’m letting you off the hook just this once.”
“Then, shall we go one more round?”
“You can go again?”
“Actually, it’s been standing for a while now.”
I took Miju’s hand and guided it to my rock-hard cock. The hot, rigid shaft throbbed in her palm.
“Wow…”
It didn't take long for that exclamation to turn into a moan.
*
Midterms ended a while ago. Now, I had a presentation next week, and finals were only a month after that.
“It’s starting to get chilly.”
Summer was fading, and the beginning of autumn was here. The wind had grown quite cold.
It was the same school I always went to, but lately, I could feel the students' styles changing. Short sleeves were disappearing, replaced by knits and cardigans. Since it was cold in the evenings after sunset, everyone was wearing outerwear.
‘Autumn is here.’
I was no exception. For the first time in a long while, I wore a jacket that had been sleeping in my closet and headed to campus.
“Hey, you!”
I turned my head at the sound of a familiar voice. It was Shin Soeun.
A classmate from the Class of 2017, just like me. A senior in her fourth year, on the verge of graduation. Usually, seniors are busy job hunting in the second semester, but she was still hanging around campus.
“It’s been a while. What is it? Did the professor tell you to give me something?”
“It’s nothing like that, but why are you being so cold?”
“Are we really on smiling terms?”
Our first impression of each other hadn't been great. We had ignored each other since freshman year, and now she was just one of many classmates I was indifferent toward. In fact, she was the one who constantly picked fights with me. Naturally, I didn't like her. How could I greet someone who always provoked me with a smile?
“W-well, that’s true.”
Shin Soeun admitted it and avoided my gaze.
“Anyway, what’s the matter?”
“I have something to say to you.”
“To me?”
What could Shin Soeun possibly have to say to me? She already said it wasn't about the professor.
“Are you trying to dump an assignment on me? I’m not sure I can handle fourth-year coursework.”
“It’s not that either! What do you take me for?”
“What else…? I was just asking.”
I couldn't bring myself to say I saw her as a Queen Bee.
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t think this is the place to talk. Will you follow me for a second?”
“I have a class… Aren't we in the same one?”
“Didn't I tell you? Today’s class was canceled.”
“What?”
“Oh my, I must have forgotten to mention it. The professor said this week’s class was canceled. I was the one in charge of relaying the message.”
Wow, so she intentionally didn't tell me about the cancellation?
‘What the hell?’
A curse nearly escaped my lips. I barely suppressed it. What was she playing at?
“No wonder…”
Miju, who usually pestered me to commute together since we shared the class, hadn't contacted me today.
“Did you intentionally not tell me?”
“No. It was truly a mistake.”
Her expression clearly showed it was no mistake, but fine—I’d just consider it a bit of extra exercise. I held back my anger.
“Fine. Let’s go talk. I want to hear what’s so important that you’d hide a class cancellation just to find me.”
“It really was a mistake…”
I wanted to pinch that mouth of hers for being so shamelessly dishonest, but I restrained myself.
The place Soeun led me to was the same cafe where I had previously had coffee with Young-eun. Since most students were in class, Jae-ho and Soeun were the only ones there.
“Look at this first.”
“What is this?”
“Just look. You’ll probably be surprised.”
What Shin Soeun handed me was a photo of me and Young-eun entering a building together.
‘This is…?’
It was the building where I had recently opened the branch gym. A very old building containing a gym, a room cafe, and a one-room tel. The photo was even angled intentionally to include the sign for the one-room tel.
“You shouldn't go to such shady places in broad daylight. A one-room tel? What were you doing in there? I mean, you have plenty of money, so why a one-room tel? Shouldn't you at least go to a five-star hotel? Or is it because going to a hotel with you is beneath her dignity?”
“Were you seriously following me?”
“Oh, please. I just happened to see you. By. Chance.”
My brow furrowed automatically. She went through the trouble of hiding the class cancellation just to show me this?
I was furious, but I was curious about what she was going to say next. What was her intention in showing me this photo after going to such lengths?
“Why are you showing me this?”
“What do you think would happen if I showed this to a reporter?”
She looked smug, as if she had already won. Soeun probably didn't know. She didn't know what happened to the reporter who wrote an even worse article than this. There were even rumors that he had quit the industry after being targeted by Young-eun. There was no way she could know. Rumors from that circle rarely reached the ears of the general public.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. What kind of relationship do you two have that you’re going to the same school and doing that together?”
“I’m warning you out of the goodness of my heart: you’re going to get hurt if you keep this up.”
“Who? Me? Or you, Jae-ho? Oh, maybe that precious Young-eun will get hurt?”
She seemed like a petty child who thought she was the center of the universe. At first, I was filled with rage, but now it was different. She just looked pathetic.
“If you report a photo that isn't even true and was intentionally angled to be misleading, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“Well, so what if it’s not true that you went into a one-room tel? It’ll take forever to prove the truth anyway. By then, won’t it be too late for Young-eun to recover?”
You’re the one it’ll be too late for, lady. This was frustrating.
“We went to the gym together. Don’t blow this out of proportion.”
“That’s strange. Why would a photographer go to the gym with you?”
“Because I recommended it.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
She really wasn't listening. Shin Soeun’s face was full of spite. She looked like someone desperate to ruin someone else’s life. How did she become so twisted?
Wait.
“Is it because I’m not giving you attention?”
“What?”
“Unlike back in freshman year when you acted like a Queen Bee, people don’t pay attention to you anymore. Is that why you’re doing this? Out of jealousy?”
Shin Soeun’s eyebrows twitched. Though she tried to hide it, her jaw tightened involuntarily.
“It’s not.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Do you seriously think I’m doing this to get your attention, Jae-ho?”
“I’m probably just a target for your venting. Your real target is Young-eun.”
“Ha! Hah! Please! No, it’s not!”
“I don’t know why someone who used to reign like a queen has become so petty toward someone like me, who was a loner throughout school, but stop this harassment.”
It would be better for her own safety.
“Hey! Watch your mouth.”
“You’re the one who needs to watch your mouth. Stop trying to blackmail me with threats of spreading rumors.”
“Eeeek!”
“I’m leaving.”
“If you leave, I’m really going to leak this photo to the reporters!”
How frustrating. She had no intention of listening to me. How did she end up like this? What made her so desperate? I couldn't fathom it.
Still, I couldn't just let her leak the photo. She was an obnoxious woman, but I didn't want to see her life ruined by crossing Young-eun. At the very least, I had to explain. I had to convince her not to do anything stupid.
Sigh. I felt like I was getting caught up in something unnecessary.
“Then come find me tomorrow.”
“What?”
“I don’t have classes tomorrow either. I’ll show you exactly what kind of place that building Young-eun entered is.”
“What are you planning to do to me? You want me to go to a place like that with you?”
“Aren't you curious? Why a top star like Young-eun would visit such a dingy gym. Maybe there really is something there, like you said? A weakness that could pull Young-eun down from her throne.”
“You… you’re very confident.”
“Because there’s nothing to find.”
“Fine! I’ll be there tomorrow. Send me the address.”
“Alright. Good.”
*
“So annoying! Who does he think he is?”
Shin Soeun had reigned as a queen since she first entered university. From her freshman year, she had been the center of attention for the Computer Engineering Department and the surrounding science students. She was very used to those looks. She was the most beautiful among her peers. Even if her chest was a bit small.
It had always been that way, since middle school and high school. With looks that were more beautiful than others, an above-average face, and a tall stature, she enjoyed popularity wherever she went. In school, her appearance was enough to reign over others, and even among groups of girls, she was always the queen and the leader.
She had learned since middle school that a woman’s greatest weapon is her appearance. Everyone in school did whatever she wanted. Men and women alike. Occasionally, there were girls who tried to drive a wedge out of jealousy, but they were all crushed by her hand.
Those idiots.
Using people was too easy for her. If she just found a small weakness and shook them a little, they would kneel on their own. It was thanks to a bit of luck she possessed. Shin Soeun was someone who frequently encountered incidents.
By chance, she had taken a photo of a teacher engaged in compensated dating on a street she was passing by. By chance, she had seen a female student trying to put a voodoo doll in a room. And by pure chance, she had witnessed a scene of infidelity. As these coincidences piled up, she was always at the center of incidents and gossip.
Toying with her peers and seniors in freshman year was easy. It was the same in her sophomore and junior years. As the number of juniors increased, the Computer Engineering Department became her territory. Of course, she had only chosen the major based on her grades, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being treated like royalty. Thanks to that, her grades were always in the top tier.
If she continued like this, her future would be bright. The lone woman in a male-dominated workplace. She had gained numerous benefits from that position and planned to continue doing so.
However.
Since two female freshmen appeared this year, her influence had clearly diminished. There were still many men who followed her, but she felt it wasn't like before. Two women who were much more beautiful. The mass exodus of men who no longer gave her attention. Shin Soeun’s kingdom was on the verge of collapse.
Fine, that much was okay. She could endure it. She could somewhat accept that men were drawn to younger women. But what really rubbed her the wrong way was something else.
A loser who used to be her classmate. Someone who was timid and couldn't even speak properly before he went to the military. A man so pathetic and insignificant that she hadn't even included him in her kingdom. That man, who returned from his service as a completely different person, had broken her last bit of patience.
He seemed to be acquainted with Miju and Ye-seul. A man who should have been more than grateful for her attention had dared! Audaciously! Rejected her several times. Even when she had gone out of her way to appeal to him!
She believed that the only reason those two girls had been able to invade her kingdom’s territory was that she, Shin Soeun, hadn't bothered to respond. But that man, as if denying that fact, responded to her words with annoyance and disregard.
She was furious at the fact that she had been ignored several times by such a man. And her pride was wounded by the fact that such a low-class man knew the top star, Yoo Young-eun. The peak of her frustration was when Yoo Young-eun came to the lecture hall looking for him.
Why? I’m the queen of this area. Why is she looking for him of all people?
She had always suppressed her anger. And then, a few days ago.
She had accidentally witnessed him entering a building with Yoo Young-eun. It was unlikely that the Yoo Young-eun had actually entered a one-room tel with that loser, but the truth didn't matter. What mattered was that she had taken a photo she could use to blackmail him.
By chance, she had captured a photo from a very good angle. As always, things went exactly as she wanted. She expected the man to come crawling to her in a panic, but…
‘Why on earth?’
What was he so confident about? He had even kindly given her the address and told her to come find him.
‘I don’t know why, but you’ve made a mistake.’
I’m going to dig up every single one of your secrets. She didn't know what had turned that loser back into a human being, but there was definitely a secret. She would uncover it.
She made a vow.