A frog staring down a snake.
That was me, right now.
“Well, what do you know. Life is full of surprises.”
Her eyes, practically dancing with amusement, were fixed on me.
“I never even dreamed I’d see you here.”
I had no idea why that little devil was here.
As far as I knew, Shin Yujeong had enrolled in Hankuk University’s Hunter Campus. Why would she leave all those nice facilities to work out alone in a rundown place like this?
Her gaze was that of someone who’d just stumbled upon a fun new toy to cure her boredom, and it constricted around me.
Memories of what she and her friends had done to me coiled around my body like ropes.
“Don’t tell me you’re here to work out?”
“Uh, yeah.”
As I managed a nod, her eyes moved up and down, scanning my body.
Her smile deepened.
“Come to think of it, I heard you became an Awakened One.”
“Yeah…”
She must have heard from the landlady.
“Well, look at you. Life’s really turned around for you, huh?”
Shin Yujeong, who had been looking down on me, crouched to meet my eye level.
“So, what’s your Trait?”
“Uh…”
I don’t have one.
It was obvious she’d throw a fit if I told her the truth, screaming about how there’s no such thing as an Awakened One without a Trait.
I had no choice but to make something up.
“It’s… something related to magic, I think. Like, it helps me handle mana a little better…”
The moment the words left my mouth, her eyes widened slightly.
“…You’re not bullshitting me?”
Her expression was one of pure disbelief.
Then again, only a tiny fraction of Awakened Ones showed any aptitude for magic, so it was only natural she wouldn’t believe me right away.
“It’s true…”
One corner of her mouth curled up.
“And if you can’t prove it…?”
Was she telling me to show her something to prove my words?
It didn’t matter to me whether this little devil believed me or not.
But if I didn’t show her anything, she’d just raise hell again, so I had no choice but to give her a little demonstration.
“Hoo.”
I gathered the surrounding mana and began to shape it.
What I wanted was fire.
Not the lighter flame I’d been practicing with on my fingertip every day, but a sphere made of condensed mana.
Magic Missile, the non-elemental magic that was the foundation of all spellcasting.
By adding an element to it, you get the foundation of elemental magic: the Fire Missile.
I’ll never understand the minds of mages.
Why would they name a basic spell, a spherical one at that, a “missile”?
I created it in my palm and shoved it in front of her face.
“Here… see?”
The words came out more bluntly than I’d intended.
I couldn’t help it.
I’d used up almost all my mana just to make this thing, and what little I had left was running on fumes.
If I’d used just a bit more, I would have collapsed from mana exhaustion again.
Shin Yujeong stared intently at the Fire Missile in my palm.
“It’s real…”
The sphere floating above my palm slowly shrank before vanishing completely.
I had no choice.
Even after a spell is cast, it consumes a small amount of mana to maintain it.
I had to get rid of it quickly, or I really would have passed out.
“Th-this should be enough, right?”
“Huh? Oh…”
She was acting a little strange.
She seemed to be in a daze, her mouth hanging open for a while now.
Maybe this was my chance.
Time was still ticking.
I had a mountain of things to do each day; I didn’t have time to waste here.
“Well, I’m gonna go work out then…”
I muttered to the dazed Shin Yujeong and turned away.
But then.
“Ah, wait, wait.”
A hand landed on my shoulder.
Fuck.
I should’ve just left without saying anything.
I turned back around.
“What…”
I was getting a little annoyed.
You have to keep the momentum going when you work out to burn fat effectively, but thanks to her, the body I’d worked so hard to warm up on the treadmill was cooling down.
Sensing my irritation, Shin Yujeong’s face hardened.
“Did you just get annoyed with me?”
Yes.
“N-no, of course not.”
The words that came out were the exact opposite of what I was thinking.
Just like that, her expression returned to normal.
“Right? Of course not, right?”
“…Of course.”
I’m not the type to get pushed around, but whenever I’m in front of her, my body just naturally shrinks.
Is this that PTSD thing I’ve heard about?
With a deceptively fresh smile, she slung her arm around my shoulder.
“Hey, piggy. You wanna lose weight, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Consider it my treat. Big sis here will teach you how to work out!”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“Haa, haa…!”
My lungs, which had built up a decent capacity, were screaming.
Give me more air!
Sorry, this is the limit…
“H-hey. I think… I’m really gonna… gasp, die…”
“Nah, you’re fine. People don’t die that easily.”
To put it simply.
“Come on, one more!”
“B-but you’ve been saying… cough! ‘just one more’ for a while now…”
“Right. So, just one more.”
Working out with Shin Yujeong wasn’t bad.
She was a surprisingly good teacher.
Whenever I made the slightest sound of struggle, she’d push me, telling me I could still do it, squeezing out every last drop of my potential.
“Blegh! Cough, cough!”
I started dry heaving.
If I’d eaten anything beforehand, I probably would have thrown it all up right there.
“Oh, piggy.”
As Shin Yujeong looked down at me, sprawled out like a starfish, her eyes held a hint of pride.
“You’ve got some willpower, don’t you?”
It seemed she was quite proud that I’d followed her lead.
To be fair, I was half-forced to.
Every time Shin Yujeong’s expression turned grim and her voice dropped, this cowardly body of mine would sense danger and squeeze out strength it didn’t even have.
“Hey, drink this.”
Shin Yujeong handed a plastic bottle to me as I lay on the floor.
Seeing the milky white liquid, I guessed it was a protein shake.
“Thanks…”
“Sure.”
Hmm, banana flavor.
My starving body drained the bottle in an instant.
“Is it good?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
I handed the empty bottle back to her outstretched hand.
“Hey, get up.”
Shin Yujeong half-forced my sprawled body to its feet.
Grabbing my sweat-soaked shirt, she dragged me to a scale in the corner of the gym.
“Get on.”
As I stepped on cautiously, the needle on the scale swayed wildly, just like my belly fat.
My weight appeared on the digital panel below.
112KG.
I was 113KG when I got here, but after that intense workout, I’d lost a whole kilogram.
“Wow… you really are a pig.”
Shin Yujeong, who had checked my weight from the side, delivered a sharp remark that struck me right in the chest.
Sigh, I had nothing to say.
At my height, this weight was what anyone would call a pig.
“Memorize this weight. If you’re heavier than this when you get on the scale tomorrow, you’re dead. Got it?”
“…Tomorrow?”
What was she talking about?
When I stared at her, uncomprehending, she glared.
“What, were you planning on coming for just one day?”
“That’s not it…”
I was planning on coming every day.
“You’re going to teach me tomorrow, too…?” I asked tentatively.
“Got a problem with that?”
“No, I mean, it’s great for me, but…”
That was the truth.
She was a good trainer.
When I worked out alone, the moment it got tough, my resolve would break and I’d think, Time for a break. But with someone next to me pushing me hard, that didn’t happen.
“Aren’t you busy?”
Hankuk University’s Hunter Campus.
The one and only Hunter training institution in all of South Korea.
Shin Yujeong was a student there.
From what I’d heard, the curriculum was pretty demanding. Wasn’t she busy?
“I’m not busy tomorrow.”
“Ah, I see.”
If that’s what she said, what could I do?
Fine by me. I’ll just sit back and reap the benefits.
SMACK!
“Ack!”
As I stepped off the scale, she flashed a bright smile and slapped me hard on the back.
“I’ll give you 15 minutes. Hurry up and shower. We’re going home.”
Ah, right. We live in the same direction.
She was being pretty generous.
Dragging my exhausted body, I entered the locker room, stripped, and went into the shower.
“Ahhh, that feels good.”
The facility seemed quite old, but its age had its advantages.
Namely, there was no one here.
“I wonder if this place will go out of business.”
A quick internet search told me there were four gyms in this area.
The other three were all recently built with state-of-the-art equipment.
This place had basically lost its competitive edge.
If it goes under before my 12-month membership is up, they’ll give me a refund, right?
“Hoo.”
Washing myself with warm water seemed to melt away some of my fatigue.
As a side effect, my body felt completely drained. I changed back into my clothes, left the locker room, and headed for the exit.
“Took you long enough.”
Shin Yujeong was waiting for me, leaning casually against the counter.
What the hell?
“You’re already done showering…?”
Don’t women usually take longer to shower than men?
That’s why I used the full 15 minutes, but how fast did she finish?
“How long does it take to just rinse off some sweat?”
She spun around.
“Let’s go.”
“Uh…”
As I was about to scurry after her, I noticed the old guy—no, the manager—sitting at the counter, staring at me with a horrified expression.
I wondered what was wrong and was about to ask, but…
“Are you coming or not!”
“…Coming!”
She was glaring at me from the front, so I just let it go.
She’s so damn bossy.