episode_0017

On Friday morning, after sending the kids to school as usual, I started my routine according to the plan I made a few days ago.

First, I cleaned, did laundry, aired out the place, and when I felt like it was enough, I sat on the couch to watch a drama. It was a 12-episode mini-series recommended by writer Lee Young-woo. It was a drama titled “Another Oh Hae-young,” the previous work of the writer of the hit drama “My Mister.” At first, I thought it was for younger people, but before I knew it, I found myself immersed in watching it.

I don’t know, the acting of actress Seo Yeon-jin was excellent, and her character was so lovely that it was a very engaging drama.

After watching two episodes attentively, I boldly turned off the TV. It was actually so enjoyable that I wanted to binge-watch it, but since I had decided to watch only two episodes of a drama per day, I stopped according to the plan.

I got up from my seat and stretched.

“Uh-huh! Phew~ That was fun.”

After sitting and watching TV for two hours, my body felt stiff, so I did some stretching. Then I quickly prepared lunch, ate, and opened my laptop to start researching necessary information.

That was about researching fitness centers nearby.

When I searched for keywords like ‘fitness center’ or ‘gym’ along with the neighborhood name, all the centers nearby were displayed with maps. As I looked through information about several centers one by one, I realized I had never really tried exercising separately, so I didn’t know which center would be good.

“Hmm… It’s quite vague to find without any criteria.”

I remembered a conversation I had with Manager Song from the adjacent Development Team.

“You’re two years younger than me, yet why does your belly keep growing bigger? Is that middle-aged abdominal obesity? It’s visceral fat accumulation, you know. Exercise and take care of yourself. You still have plenty of expenses for your kids; shouldn’t you work longer?”

“No, where do you exercise? You should’ve tried working out. Since Manager Song has been exercising for a while, he must have some standards. Tell me. I’ll refer to it later.”

To which Manager Song replied,

“Just go to a big one. Big ones are better.”

It was such a simple answer that I asked for the reason.

“Well, big gyms have more equipment, right? And there are more people, so it’s spacious, especially now with the pandemic, it helps prevent crowding. You know. And…”

Manager Song approached me and whispered subtly.

“There are a lot of people at big gyms.”

I was curious why he was whispering such an obvious thing, but Manager Song continued in a hushed tone.

“There are many pretty women too. Right? Hehe.”

With a mischievous laugh and a sly smile, I couldn’t help but chuckle at his behavior, to which Manager Song took it as something else and whispered even more discreetly into my ear.

“I’ve already made several partners there, hehe. You should check it out too. Right? Digging ditches and catching loaches. Again?”

“Oh, come on! Over forty and still playing around.”

“Hey, if a man is in his forties, he’s still in his prime.”

I chuckled and said,

“Old man, sir?”

“I’m full of energy every morning.”

“Are you planning to pour that energy on your sister-in-law?”

“Oh, stop it. Are you saying women become monsters once they pass forty? You’re lucky. Mrs. Jeesoo is so pretty.”

“That’s enough.”

Something like that. In the end, it was a story about exercising but not really helpful. Come to think of it, this content should belong in the 19+ category, not the ‘exercise’ category.

Anyway, I wasted so much time reminiscing about unhelpful memories. I shook my head quickly, brushed off the memories, and carefully examined reviews and events of the fitness centers around me.

“Hmm… In the end, it seems like it’s all self-promotion from the center or reviews that are paid for by part-time workers….”

At times like this, I thought the neighborhood café would be the most accurate, so I looked it up and found a few. There was the OO Neighborhood Small Business Association, the OO Neighborhood Kasamo… as well as the café owner meeting mentioned by the café owner before, and even that famous Mom Café.

Upon a quick look around, the small business association was good enough to be called a men’s café. The posts were fewer than expected, mostly about local market analysis, bizarre incidents, or just complaints from self-employed individuals.

There were also occasional posts about concerns regarding family or infidelity. But why discuss infidelity here? I remembered Manager Song at work talking to me about such things, and if these people need a place to talk about it, it didn’t seem so strange after all.

Of course, it’s not like I had no interest in women, and if a woman who looks like me now approached me when I was a man, I might have fallen for her instantly. But back then, I seemed more obsessed with work than valuing my family. Even if I neglected my family, there’s nothing to say.

After the divorce judgment was finalized and we left the court following the divorce, my wife said something to me.

“Living with you feels… lonely. You, who only knows work… I asked for your help while raising the kids, but you always put work before me. My affair was all because of you.”

She said something like that.

“Damn it!”

It still makes me angry. What? Making me feel lonely? Saying my affair was because of me? It’s classic self-justification.

Sure, I haven’t been perfect, but even during the short time I spent with the kids, I showed more interest and communication than some kind souls. I may not know much, but abandoning these children and then trying to justify it somewhere is beyond me. I don’t know how she’s doing now since we’ve lost contact, but if we meet again, I’ll have to give her a piece of my mind, including about the kids.

Moreover, now that I’m a woman, even if I hit her, I probably won’t face severe punishment. Yes, it’s all part of the plan!

Suddenly, I felt a surge of enthusiasm for exercise.

“Next, Kasamo.”

This café, named after a café owner meeting, was just a younger version of the small business association. What do you mean?

Just on the surface, there were listings of coffee and café information, but upon closer inspection, it was also an animal kingdom. How can people become so vile with just one hint of anonymity?

Still, there were some young people, so I could find some information on exercise reviews or fitness centers.

Lastly, the Mom Café. I never thought I would step into this notorious place myself. Anyway, I quickly joined and found out it was a women-only café. Ignoring everything else, I searched for posts related to fitness centers, and although there were a few, it was equally disappointing here. There were informational posts, but even if they weren’t helpful. Some complained about which gym had a good trainer, but then complained that the attitude of the trainer teaching the exercise was bad, or that someone reserved a machine for themselves but another person took it and complained to the staff that the machine wasn’t reserved, but first come, first served.

In summary, there were many posts from “mom bugs” being mom bugs.

So, thinking quickly, I decided to call the largest fitness center in our neighborhood that operates five chain stores.

-Ring ring ring ring.

“Yes, this is OB Gym. How can I assist you?”

Through the phone, a deep male voice could be heard.

“I’m planning to do some PT. Is it possible to visit today?”

“Yes, you can come anytime.”

“Okay, then I’ll come see you in a bit.”

After hanging up the phone, I changed my clothes. In my heart, I wanted to just go out casually in a messy look with just a cardigan like usual, but because Dayoung would nag me about it, I felt guilty just going out like that. So, I changed into a shirt with white stripes on a black background and trumpet jeans. I put on a cap as well. Finally, I put on a mask and looked in the mirror, appearing like an ordinary look that could pass for a college student to a stranger. Of course, because of my figure, I didn’t look ordinary.

Anyway, I grabbed my handbag and left the house.

As soon as I left the apartment complex, which was only a 10-minute walk away, I decided to walk slowly.

Even though I walked slowly due to the hot weather, I felt sweat dripping down my back.

When I arrived at the building with the center and took the elevator up, loud music started playing as soon as the entrance opened.

Since it was a little past lunchtime, there weren’t many people around, and I could see a few people sporadically exercising.

“Welcome. How did you come here?”

A sturdy man emerged from behind the desk partition right in front of the entrance and asked after making eye contact with me.

Just by hearing his voice, I could tell he was the person who answered the phone earlier.

“I called earlier about a visit for PT.”

“Oh, welcome. Nice to meet you. First, let me guide you to the consultation room over there.”

Following the man, we entered a space beyond the partition where he had come out from, which was decorated like a personal office. There was a sign saying “Consultation Room” at the entrance.

As soon as I sat down, the man started explaining something.

“Shall we start with introductions first? I’m Kwun Young-soo, a trainer here at OB Gym. May I know your name?”

As he asked, Kwun Young-soo, the trainer, skillfully handed me the membership registration form. But I wasn’t going to be easily swayed.

“Just a moment, I’d like to know more about you as a trainer first.”

“Yes, sure?”

“I need to know what kind of person the trainer is.”