Ch.100100. Simulation

“Huff…!”

A tingling pain shot through both arms.

It wasn’t like the barbell was loaded with so many weight plates that it would look heavy to anyone.

Weight is always something that feels different to each person.

“Nine!”

Choi Gang looked down at Suhyeok with a fearsome expression.

When they first worked out together, even that face scared him, but now he no longer felt afraid of the guy.

To put it simply, Gang was a good kid.

He might be excessively indifferent to things outside his interests, but when someone needed something, he would actively cooperate. And if it was something he was interested in, he would work incredibly hard without even being asked.

“One more for the last one!”

His arms trembled violently.

He could see his veins bulging as if they might burst from gripping so tightly.

“Ten!”

When Suhyeok reached his target, Choi Gang helped him lift the bar.

“Whew…”

Four months since starting to work out.

Visible results were showing on Suhyeok’s body.

His once hunched posture was now straightened, and it seemed he could lift more than the average man now.

“How is it? That feeling of your chest muscles tearing.”

Choi Gang grinned.

“Well… it still hurts, but…”

When he first started, he had actually whimpered thinking his muscles were really tearing.

Now Suhyeok understood why gym rats used the expression “delicious” to describe the feeling.

“Oppa Suhyeok! If you’re done, come out!”

Sohye pushed Suhyeok’s back with both hands.

20 years old. Ji Sohye.

She still hadn’t given up her feelings for Choi Gang.

“Ah. Okay.”

Suhyeok smiled and moved aside.

Sohye made her characteristic nasal sound and quickly began pestering Choi Gang to help her with the bar.

During his brief rest period, Suhyeok took out his phone.

Everyone must be busy, as there were no notifications even in the group chat.

…Should I contact Hana?

Suhyeok, who often exchanged messages with her even without any special reason, was about to send a text but stopped his fingers.

It was because the preliminary results weren’t out yet.

It would be easier to confess after achieving something in the competition…

‘Love me despite who I am.’

‘Love me because of who I am.’

There’s a profoundly significant difference in the nuance between these two statements.

If pressed, Suhyeok wanted to be the latter.

Winning one award wouldn’t make him a man worthy of Hana, but it would at least make him feel more confident and proud in front of her.

Because Hana was someone who valued such talents highly.

Because Hana had said she liked people who were good at music.

That’s why Suhyeok was desperate and urgent.

“Hey. Lee Suhyeok.”

Choi Gang placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Tired?”

“What? No? Not yet?”

“Then why does your face look like that?”

“Ah… just worried about the preliminaries.”

Choi Gang exhaled through his nose as if finding him pathetic.

“Will worrying about that make them pair us up?”

“…I guess not.”

Choi Gang stood behind Suhyeok and put his hands on both shoulders as if about to give him a massage.

“Then instead of worrying about that, change what you can change!”

“Aaaaargh!”

It felt like his knotted muscles were being destroyed.

This was clearly assault disguised as a massage.

A desperate scream burst out.

“Why do you and Park Juyeon keep stubbornly worrying about things that can’t be changed?!”

“B-because I’m worried! What can I do about being worried?!”

“The answer is right in front of you, Lee Suhyeok.”

Striking a pose like a training camp instructor despite not having done his military service yet, Choi Gang recited something that sounded like a quote he’d heard somewhere.

“Worrying about things that have already happened won’t change your life one bit.”

“…I know that.”

“So go lift more iron. A healthy body leads to a healthy mind.”

From Suhyeok’s perspective, Choi Gang was definitely addicted to self-improvement YouTube videos.

Sighing, Suhyeok postponed contacting Hana and resumed his workout.

There was nothing wrong with what Choi Gang said.

What matters is what choices you make going forward.

After a full hour and a half, Suhyeok showered and left the university gym.

“Ugh… it’s so hot…”

Despite having showered, he was sweating again.

Even though the sun wasn’t out, the heat still warmed the asphalt.

On his way home after leaving the main gate, Suhyeok stopped at the fork in the road that separated Juyeon’s house from his.

Having walked her home on the day the preliminaries ended, Suhyeok still couldn’t shake off the worry about her from a corner of his mind.

If only she would tell him about the concerns she had mentioned.

Just as he was about to head straight home, he felt a vibration in his pocket.

It was Juyeon.

[Hello?]

[Su-Suhyeok.]

Her tone seemed anxious.

[Yeah. Tell me. What’s wrong? Did something happen?]

[…Come over.]

[Huh?]

[Can you come to my house? Suhyeok?]

Thinking he should go right away, Suhyeok ended the call after saying he would just change clothes and come immediately.

Rushing home, Suhyeok quickly changed into shorts and a t-shirt and dashed out.

Panting, Suhyeok arrived in front of Juyeon’s house.

He knocked on the front door.

-Knock knock knock

“Juyeon. It’s me.”

Only after he spoke did Juyeon open the door.

Her face was visibly pale.

Her reaction was very similar to when they had walked home together that time.

“…Suhyeok.”

After locking the door, Juyeon tightly grabbed his wrist.

“Juyeon.”

Suhyeok looked directly into her eyes.

“…Yeah.”

“Tell me now. What on earth is going on?”

Juyeon’s decision to call Suhyeok came after a very long deliberation.

Should I call the police?

Should I call Suhyeok?

The conversation Juyeon had with her manager after the broadcast was truly shocking.

[…How did you know I’m in a band?]

[You mentioned it during the broadcast, Yeoni-nim!]

[There’s no way I would have said that.]

Juyeon was extremely averse to exposing her personal information.

She definitely wouldn’t have uttered even the letter ‘S’ of Spirit.

[Please tell me straight. And how did you know my address? I never gave it to you.]

[That’s not really important. What matters is the growth of your channel, right?]

[I’m going to report this to the police if you don’t tell me right now.]

Even with this ultimatum, communication failed.

[Why would I get reported? What have I done wrong to you?]

[You… secretly found out my personal information…]

[Secretly? I just pieced together information I inferred from your broadcast.]

[That’s invasion of privacy.]

[No, Yeoni-nim. Let’s not do this and meet to talk. There seems to be some misunderstanding and things to discuss about the broadcast.]

[No. I have nothing to talk about. Please stop.]

[Just wait a moment^^]

That ended the conversation.

No matter how many times Juyeon warned him not to come and threatened to report him, there was no reply.

“So… I was scared…”

As her story was coming to an end, Juyeon began sniffling and making sobbing sounds.

No matter how strong she pretended to be, she was nothing more than a timid student.

Just the fact that an unknown man was following her was enough to make her suffer from extreme anxiety.

While hugging and comforting Juyeon, Suhyeok tried to think coldly.

What would be most helpful in this situation?

Notifying the police was a must, for starters.

If Juyeon took no action, it would be no different from ruining her life.

“Juyeon.”

“…Yeah.”

“Do you have a box cutter at home?”

“I do, but…”

The most ideal plan would be for Suhyeok to catch the stalker who came to Juyeon’s house and hand him over to the authorities.

But whether he could pull this off was uncertain.

If Suhyeok himself had Gang’s physique, he would immediately throw a punch.

Conversely, if the person stalking Juyeon had Choi Gang’s physique, Suhyeok wouldn’t stand a chance.

He briefly considered calling Gang instead of taking the difficult path, but Suhyeok wanted to respect the reason why Juyeon had specifically called him.

She probably didn’t want to reveal anything about the broadcast to the other members until the end.

If the end of that secret challenge was to be stalked like this, she would want to hide it even more.

Juyeon handed the box cutter to Suhyeok.

“Suhyeok. Just in case, I have to ask. You’re not going to…”

“…It’s for self-defense. I won’t use it first.”

She was grateful that Suhyeok was standing up for her, but whether this was the right choice was questionable.

“Juyeon.”

A fantasy too embarrassing to voice aloud in public.

The daydream many loners have while looking out the window.

“…Yeah.”

“If that person comes here while I’m here.”

“Yeah.”

“You call the police right away.”

“And then…?”

Juyeon’s eyebrows twitched up and down with worry.

“I’ll hold that person down.”

“How will you do that? How?”

Suhyeok took the kickboxing stance he had briefly learned from Choi Gang and made a punching pose.

-Knock knock knock knock

The sound of someone knocking on the door came from outside.