Chapter 9
I tried to force myself to focus on my workout.
It was none of my business.
Coworkers could show each other how to work out, and maybe it wasn't something I needed to get involved in.
'No need to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong.'
I gradually increased the treadmill's speed.
Thud, thud.
I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead as my feet moved in a steady rhythm.
But.
"...No."
A few seconds later, my head turned back again.
For a different reason than before.
Without realizing it, I furrowed my brow.
'That's how he's teaching her?'
Oh Gi-tae was standing behind Choi Yu-ri, guiding her posture.
"You need to bend forward a little more here."
"L-Like this?"
"That's right, just a little more."
Choi Yu-ri bent forward as he instructed.
"...What?"
No, wait.
'That's not right.'
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I'd been working out for quite a while now.
I wasn't a professional trainer, but at least I could recognize basic form by now.
And anyone could see that was wrong.
'Bend forward more?'
She'd wreck her back if she did that.
You need to keep your back neutral.
Rounding your back like that would only put a ton of strain on it.
And besides.
"Good, good. Let's go a little lower."
"Hngh... Manager, this is hard-"
"Oh, that's good."
No matter how I looked at it, he seemed more interested in ogling Choi Yu-ri's body than teaching her how to work out.
'This won't do.'
Until just now, I'd been trying to hold back.
But if she kept copying that bad form, she could actually get hurt.
'Working out isn't a game.'
One wrong move and your back or knees could get messed up in no time.
In the end, I stepped off the treadmill.
Then I slowly walked over to the two of them and spoke.
"That's not how you do it."
"...Excuse me?"
Oh Gi-tae turned to look at me with a blank expression.
"You shouldn't work out like that."
*
Choi Yu-ri had never been much of an exerciser.
She'd signed up for a gym three times. Each time, she paid the fee, thought, I should work out—and then never went, wasting her money.
She liked relaxing at home after work and avoided sweating whenever possible.
There was only one reason she'd gone back to the gym.
It was because of the strange trend spreading through KJ Group lately.
A workout craze was currently sweeping KJ Group.
At first, it had started with the CEO, Kang Tae-seong.
They said he came down to the gym every morning and evening.
They said he ate nothing but salad and chicken breast, too.
Perhaps it was because Kang Tae-seong, the one who'd changed the company's atmosphere, was so devoted to working out.
After those rumors spread, strangely enough, more people around the company started getting serious about exercise.
"Who's going to work out today?"
“Ugh, how am I supposed to watch my diet while working, too?”
"I benched sixty kilos yesterday."
They talked about exercise during lunch.
They talked about exercise after work, too.
One by one, people at the company started going to the gym.
Working hard and working out hard.
Influenced by Kang Tae-seong, more and more people were living the so-called "godsaeng" life—making the most of every day.
With everyone around her making such a fuss, Choi Yu-ri eventually looked at herself in the mirror.
"...Have I gained weight?"
Her waistline seemed a little less defined, and her stomach looked slightly bigger than before.
It might have been her imagination, but things like that mattered to a woman.
"I should start taking care of myself, too."
So she made up her mind and signed up for the company gym.
After work, Choi Yu-ri changed into her workout clothes and went into the gym.
There were more people than she'd expected.
Employees running on treadmills. Employees lifting dumbbells. Employees stretching on yoga mats.
'What should I do first...?'
She'd never been before, so she had no idea what to do.
Should she start on the treadmill, or try the machines?
She didn't even know how to use the machines. What if she hurt herself trying them alone?
As Choi Yu-ri looked around, wondering what to do...
"Huh?"
Someone spotted her and called out.
"Aren't you Choi Yu-ri?"
When she turned around, she saw a familiar face.
Manager Oh Gi-tae. He was from another department, but his name was well known. Usually for bad reasons.
He was forty-two, not exactly young, yet overly forward with the younger female employees.
Because of that, he was considered someone to avoid among the female employees.
'Oh....'
Choi Yu-ri's expression stiffened for just a moment.
"Did you come to work out?"
"Ah... yes."
"Is this your first time?"
"Yes."
Oh Gi-tae smiled broadly.
"Then that's perfect. I'll show you how."
"...I'm okay!"
Choi Yu-ri hurriedly waved her hands.
"I was going to start slowly on the treadmill."
"Come on."
Oh Gi-tae smiled and waved a hand.
"When you're just starting out, you shouldn't work out alone. I'll show you everything one by one, so just follow me."
"...."
Choi Yu-ri hesitated for a moment.
Honestly, she wanted to work out by herself.
She wanted to put on her earphones and exercise quietly somewhere no one would bother her.
But the other person was a manager.
She was still a new employee.
He was a senior she would keep running into at work, even if they were in different departments.
'I don't want to make things awkward for no reason...'
"Okay...."
In the end, she couldn't refuse.
...
And less than three minutes later.
'Damn it....'
Choi Yu-ri regretted it inwardly.
'I picked the wrong person.'
Oh Gi-tae kept talking to her nonstop, even as he supposedly taught her how to exercise.
"Ms. Yu-ri, you're popular, aren't you?"
"...No."
"Come on. With looks like yours, the guys must be all over you."
Choi Yu-ri could only force a smile.
"Haha...."
They hardly talked about exercise at all.
Most of it was personal stuff.
Her looks, her boyfriend, his own life.
Things Choi Yu-ri had absolutely no interest in.
And that wasn't all.
"Bend forward a little more."
"Okay."
"No, more."
Rough breathing came from right behind her.
"Just a little more."
"Manager, could you step back a little-"
"Good, that's a great posture!"
Choi Yu-ri felt uncomfortable.
He was standing far too close.
He came so close that their faces were almost touching, supposedly to explain, and his hands kept moving, too.
"You need to tense this area."
A slight brush.
His fingertips moved toward her waist.
Choi Yu-ri jumped in surprise and stepped back.
"Ah... I'll try it by myself."
"Come on."
Oh Gi-tae gave her a sly smile.
"You'll improve faster if I correct your form."
"..."
'I should've just said I wanted to work out alone.'
It was just as Choi Yu-ri bit her lip.
"That's not how you do it."
A low, heavy voice cut between them.
She turned around, startled.
"...Boss?"
It was Kang Tae-seong.
He was wearing workout clothes, a towel around his neck, and looking their way.
'He was here...'
She knew he was at the gym.
She'd heard the information-desk employee greeting him earlier.
But she hadn't expected him to step in directly.
"If you round your back like that, you'll hurt it."
Kang Tae-seong said calmly.
"Keep your back straight and push your hips back."
Oh Gi-tae's expression stiffened.
To correct him directly while he was teaching her how to work out? Anyone would see it as disrespecting him.
"B-Boss."
Oh Gi-tae looked momentarily flustered, but soon forced a smile.
"Everyone has a slightly different way of exercising. What I'm teaching her isn't wrong, either."
"Is that so?"
Manager Oh Gi-tae didn't back down.
Despite the difference in rank between a manager and the CEO, he acted as if he couldn't lose in this particular area.
Or maybe he didn't want to lose face in front of Choi Yu-ri.
But that was a mistake.
That might have worked on the old Kang Tae-seong, but it wouldn't work on the Kang Tae-seong of today.
Kang Tae-seong took a step closer.
"...."
Maybe it was because his already large frame was now packed with muscle from working out.
"Manager Oh Gi-tae."
"Yes?"
"At work and at the gym."
Just one step closer from him was enough to create a strange sense of pressure.
"It's best not to pretend you know more than you do."
Kang Tae-seong's cold gaze fell on Oh Gi-tae.
[Villain's Charisma Lv.1 activates]
[It intimidates the target]
"...!"
Oh Gi-tae's back stiffened with a start.
It felt like his heart had dropped into his stomach.
Kang Tae-seong didn't say anything else, but that only made the pressure feel greater.
It was as if a giant beast were standing right in front of him.
"...I-I'm sorry."
Cold sweat poured down his back.
"P-Please enjoy your workout! Then I'll be going...."
Oh Gi-tae couldn't hold out any longer.
His legs gave out, and he stumbled away in a comical rush.
"...."
Choi Yu-ri stared blankly at his retreating back.
'Amazing...'
Kang Tae-seong was the CEO, but judging by age alone, Oh Gi-tae was five or six years older than him.
And yet he'd completely cowed a man like that with just a few words.
The scene overlapped with one from an animal documentary she'd watched recently.
The scene just now had looked like a powerful male driving a rival out of his territory.
Even claiming the female left behind, too.
"...."
Even though the gym's air conditioner was running, the air felt strangely hot.
Her heart was beating in a peculiar way.
Kang Tae-seong looked at Choi Yu-ri.
"You seemed to be in a difficult spot."
"...Pardon?"
"So I stepped in. I'm sorry if I misread the situation."
His tone was stiff and matter-of-fact.
There wasn't the slightest hint of him expecting thanks.
"N-No, you read it right. I was really uncomfortable… It's thanks to you, Boss! Thank you!"
"Then I'm glad."
Suddenly, she remembered what Park So-young had said over lunch the other day.
-He isn't that bad a person.
'...Maybe that's really true.'
But it didn't end there.
Kang Tae-seong didn't leave. He seemed to consider something, then looked at Choi Yu-ri and continued.
"Sit down."
"What?"
"I'll check your form."
Choi Yu-ri sat on the machine without thinking.
And she realized it right away.
'...It's different.'
He was completely different from Oh Gi-tae.
He pointed out only what was necessary, precisely and directly.
She felt no hint of an improper gaze.
His manner was entirely businesslike, and he allowed only minimal physical contact.
Instead, he tormented Choi Yu-ri in a different way from Oh Gi-tae.
"Let's do one more."
"...What? You said that was the last one just now...."
"Just three more."
"B-But...."
"You can do it. You absolutely can."
"...!"
'Ughhh....!'
In the end, Choi Yu-ri finished her workout with a face that was practically in tears.
Her arms were trembling, and her thighs felt like they were on fire.
Did people who worked out have to go through this pain every time? And they still came to work out because it was fun?
Choi Yu-ri trembled like a prophet who'd encountered an incomprehensible truth.
"That's enough for today."
"Thank you for your help…!"
"Go home and get some good rest. Don't forget to stretch out your muscles."
Kang Tae-seong simply wiped away his sweat with a towel and walked back to his own workout.
That was it.
He'd really just taught her how to work out and left.
"...."
Choi Yu-ri stared blankly at his retreating back.
'What was that?'
She'd thought he'd come over to get rid of Manager Oh Gi-tae, but instead he'd given her a personal training session.
And one that nearly killed her.
'Was he just bothered by the way I was being taught?'
Had he stepped in because he couldn't keep from giving advice?
It was hard to tell.
Maybe because he'd pushed her body to its limits, she felt even more dazed.
She was exhausted to death, but strangely, she didn't feel bad.
'...Is he a good person?'
As she headed home, Choi Yu-ri pondered it for a long time.