Chapter 67
Since it's a gym open until midnight, quite a few people were still inside even after nine.
"Welcome. Is this your first time here?"
"Yes."
"Have you worked out before?"
"No... It's my first time."
Is he trying to sell me personal training?
But he didn't say anything else.
That's why I like this place.
Looking at the future of the man who seemed to be the gym manager, he wasn't the kind of person who would close the gym and run off with everyone's membership fees.
Then there was no reason not to sign up.
"For three months, including workout clothes and a locker... Yes, your payment has gone through. If you have any questions or need an orientation, let me know anytime."
The good-natured-looking gym manager went off to work out.
Then should I go give it a try too?
Hmm...
How do I use this?
A man approached me as I fiddled with the gym equipment.
"Is this your first time here?"
"Huh. Yes."
"I see... You didn't sign up for an orientation separately?"
"Huh? Yes."
"Have you worked out before?"
"Uh... I played a little soccer with my friends back in school...?"
"Excellent."
"Huh? What is?"
"No, no. Why don't you stand here first?"
"Yes."
"Very good."
I mean, what's so excellent?
"There's a simple exercise even beginners can do."
A huge man in shorts and a tank top spoke to me seriously.
So he's one of those people who can't leave newbies alone.
I hadn't left newbies alone when I was dungeon hunting either, and those newbies had grown quickly...
Let's accept his help gratefully.
.
.
.
"Please stop..."
"Just a little more!! A little more!!"
Before I knew it, three huge men had gathered around me.
"Excellent! Very good!"
"A little more! A little more!!"
"Thirteen!! That's it! Now! Just one more for the finish!!"
With their encouragement and shouts, I somehow finished today's workout.
They smiled and spoke to me as I panted.
"Hey, little brother. If you keep this up, you'll have a body like ours."
"Mm-hmm. Just do it for two years. Two years."
"No, two years is too long. Let's say one year. One year."
I saw no malice in them.
So I should tell him too.
The man who had first spoken to me when I came out after showering—
I approached the older brother named Jo Un-seong, who had kept looking at me and calling me excellent.
"Um... Un-seong hyung."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Would you like to turn this over?"
"Oh, a card? A tarot card? Haha. I guess you know how to do this too?"
"Yes."
"All right. Hmm. What does this mean?"
The card was the Chariot.
Not that the Chariot itself was important.
"You should cut back on the protein, hyung."
"What? Telling a fitness guy to cut down on protein..."
"Go to the hospital. You're on the verge of gout."
"....."
Gout.
A disease in which uric acid isn't excreted and builds up in the body, causing extreme pain in the joints.
The disease that awaited Un-seong hyung, who stood before me—
this hyung who couldn't resist helping newbies at the gym.
"Uh... Wh-what are you talking about? I don't even drink beer..."
"A high-protein diet can cause gout too. Especially since they say the purine residue in protein shakes turns into uric acid, right?"
"....."
His wife had always said so too.
On health channels on TV and YouTube, they said that high-protein diets caused gout.
Naturally, Go Un-seong also knew what I was getting at.
He had merely turned a blind eye and ignored it until now.
"Come on. Gout? That's taking it too far."
It was pitiful watching him desperately turn away from the truth.
"Didn't your joints hurt a few days ago? And your leg swelled up too."
"...Wh-what, wasn't that just a pump?"
"Do you really think so?"
He must have honestly suspected it too.
He had simply ignored it.
"Go to the hospital first thing tomorrow."
"Ugh... Fine. I get it. But Noah, are you a doctor?"
"No. I only finished high school."
"Then how did you know at a glance?"
"Search for Kang Noah when you get home."
I put strength into my trembling legs, barely managed to stay upright, and turned away.
"See you tomorrow."
***
Having finished his workout and returned home, Jo Un-seong was about to drink his usual protein shake when he stopped.
It was because he remembered what Kang Noah, the fresh-faced newbie who had come to the gym for the first time that day, had said.
'Kang Noah, huh...'
He carefully picked up his phone and searched for his name.
Then he was shocked.
"Whoa..."
"What's wrong?"
His lovely wife approached him.
Married three years ago after dating since college, she frowned when she saw the protein shake container on the table.
"I told you to stop drinking that. They say that's why so many young people get gout these days!"
"Stop watching so much YouTube..."
"It's not just YouTube; the news says it too. And you said your leg hurt a few days ago. They say that's an early symptom of gout!"
"All right, all right. I won't drink it today."
Faced with his wife's nagging, he finally raised both hands in surrender.
His response surprised her.
Her husband, Go Un-seong, was a good man, but he was practically addicted to working out.
Of course, it was far better than other addictions, but she still couldn't help worrying.
"What's gotten into you? You're listening so quickly."
"Hmm. No, it's just..."
He told her about the newbie he'd met at the gym that day.
His wife was startled when she heard.
"My goodness!! You mean Brother Noah?!"
"Huh?"
"He's that infallible fortune-teller!"
"You know him too?"
"Hah. You ignorant man. Stop living so entirely in the real world. Try looking at the Internet once in a while."
"Is he really famous enough for that...?"
Flustered, he hesitantly checked the Internet again.
It was just as his wife had said.
The infallible fortune-teller.
He had even foreseen an American mass shooting and prevented it.
"Amazing... Good grief. So Brother Noah is a real person."
"Of course he's real. That's why he appears on YouTube and on broadcasts, isn't it?"
"Someone even said Brother Noah was an AI. A future-predicting computer created from big data..."
"Just ignore the things that make no sense..."
Go Un-seong couldn't hide his bafflement.
Treating a perfectly normal human being as an AI...
"Then is that part true too...?"
"What? What?"
"No, Noah said I'd get gout and told me to go to the hospital."
"Hey!! You should have said that sooner!! Let's go right now!!"
In the end, Go Un-seong couldn't withstand his wife's nagging.
Thus, the next day.
He took a day off and arrived at the hospital with his wife.
Once the tests were over, the doctor said firmly,
"Your uric acid level is far too high. At this rate, you would have developed full-blown gout before long."
"Gasp..."
"It must have been quite painful. Did you endure it without saying anything?"
"Yes..."
"It's dangerous. You only understand gout if you've had it."
"Sigh..."
"Diet is most important. Lowering your uric acid level is important too. Make sure you take your medication regularly..."
At the doctor's serious prescription, Go Un-seong let out a heavy sigh.
And he felt just as grateful to Kang Noah.
'Thanks to him, I survived. I'll repay him properly with personal training and diet management.'
As he entertained a thought that would make Kang Noah panic if he knew, Go Un-seong nodded solemnly.
And so, the following day.
Go Un-seong went to the gym in high spirits, but tilted his head when Kang Noah didn't show up.
'Why isn't this guy here?'
The time he was supposed to arrive had passed, but the gym door remained firmly shut.
In the end, unable to stand it any longer, he picked up his phone.
[Hey, Noah. Why aren't you here?]
-Bzzz...!!
A reply arrived a little while later.
[Hyung. Save me. I can't move a muscle.]
He laughed.
It seemed almost absurd that someone who could easily see the future was suffering this much after only one day at the gym.
Seeing Noah's human side made him feel even more fond of him.
[What's good for muscle soreness?]
Go Un-seong replied immediately.
[There isn't any medicine for muscle soreness. If it's too bad, rest today. Keep stretching regularly.]
[Got it. See you tomorrow. Oh, and you went to the hospital, right?]
[Yeah. Thanks. You saved my life. I'll buy you a meal when you come in. Oh, and my wife says she's a fan of yours. Is it okay if she comes along next time?]
[Sure.]
The answer came surprisingly easily.
Especially compared to how worried his wife had been that Noah might refuse.
He's a good kid after all.
He seriously resolved to teach Kang Noah more properly when he came the next day.
***
I wrecked my body by wrecking myself at the gym on day one.
I couldn't move at all the next day because of muscle soreness, but after resting well for a day and stretching consistently, perhaps thanks to that, the soreness had eased somewhat.
And so I arrived at the gym.
"Save me!!"
"No one dies from this much!! Get lower! Lower! A little more! That's it!!"
"Aaargh!!"
After doing barbell squats, my legs completely gave out.
Go Un-seong, the demon of fitness, picked me up from where I had collapsed and took me to the bench press, then ordered the next set without a shred of mercy.
The fitness fanatics here didn't seem to have any intention of helping me.
They merely looked pleased to see a fresh newbie growing.
"Huff, huff..."
"Let's do just thirty minutes on the treadmill and go."
"Yesss..."
After doing the finishing exercises and showering, I came out to find Un-seong hyung waiting.
Today I was supposed to meet Un-seong hyung's wife—in other words, my sister-in-law.
"Want to have dinner together too?"
"I already said I'd eat ramen for dinner tonight."
"Don't talk as if you have plans with someone. And make sure you get enough protein too."
"I ordered the meal box you recommended, hyung. But is it really that good?"
"It's good. It covers all the essential nutrients."
He was even managing my diet meticulously.
This man wasn't even a trainer, but he was truly amazing.
"By the way, hyung Un-seong. Is working in the district office's permitting department manageable?"
"It's manageable."
This muscular man's job was, unbelievably, that of a civil servant.
Not just any civil servant—he was an elite who had passed the higher civil service exam.
He had passed the exam right after graduating from university and immediately entered practical work as a Grade 5 administrative officer.
He was the director of the permitting department that issued construction permits in Jongno District.
"Why? Is something bad going to happen to me?"
"No, it's not that."
"Hm. Then that's fine. Oh, honey!"
"Wow, Brother Noah!!"
A woman approached us with a bright smile from downstairs at the gym.
Un-seong hyung did look a little dejected that she was happier to see me than him, but that lasted only a moment.
"Hyung! Hyung!"
"Hey, he's twelve years younger than you. Why are you calling him hyung?"
"Hyung is hyung!!"
Like how a soccer player once called "our hyung" had become "your hyung."
His wife, Kwon Ji-eun, grinned and declared that a hyung was simply a hyung.
"I never thought I'd get to meet you like this!!"
"Yes. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, come on, hyung. Drop the formalities."
"But you're my sister-in-law."
"Yay!"
She really liked it.
And so she joined us as we headed to the café I often visited.
"Hyung, sign this for me!"
"Here you go."
After getting his autograph in her notebook, she beamed.
Then she began fidgeting hesitantly.
"Here."
She wanted me to tell her fortune, obviously.
She smiled brightly and turned over the card I held out.
The card was the reversed Lovers.
It wasn't a good card for a married couple or lovers to draw.
She seemed to know that too and looked somewhat flustered.
But my readings weren't based on the meanings of tarot cards...
"You're worried because you haven't been able to have a child, aren't you?"
".....!!"
"Huh..."
The couple sitting across from me froze.
That's right.
They had become a married couple after a long relationship.
Even so, they had yet to hear any news of a child.
Worried that there might be a problem, they'd been going to the hospital, but still there was no word of a child.
"...Yes. I'm worried, actually."
She muttered softly.
"A gifted shaman I met with my mother-in-law before said I wasn't blessed with children."
"Huh? Honey. What are you talking about?"
"...I guess she was right."
Instead of answering her husband's question, she let out a small sigh.
Kwon Ji-eun's expression was deeply bitter.
"She said I had committed many sins in a past life and would never have children..."
"That's not true."
"...Huh?"
"You're going to have a son. Within a month, too."
Her expression went rigid.