episode_0001

“Jaeho, can you please do the dishes?”

“Oh, sure!”

The dishes kept piling up.

The boss poured the greasy and charred seasoning-covered grill pan into the sink.

“I just finished cleaning it.”

A new pile of work poured in frighteningly before the previous one was even finished.

I looked outside.

“Three portions of pork belly and three portions of ribs for table 3! Add two more soju bottles for table 9!”

“Mi Joo, change the grill for table 7!”

The serving staff were busy running around, changing the grill pans.

I worked at the most popular meat restaurant in the neighborhood, and my job was to do the dishes.

The most difficult task was cleaning the grill pan.

My arms ached.

It was a tough and lonely job, but it was manageable.

I could barely speak in front of women, so this was one of the few jobs I could do.

I had tried serving at another restaurant before.

But.

“Um, th-that, you said three, three portions of pork belly, right?”

“Is that so?”

My inability to speak properly in front of female customers got me fired on my first day.

So, I had to do a job where I didn’t have to interact with people.

“Jaeho, this too!”

Splash!

As soon as one task was finished, a new pile of dishes came in.

I could feel the heat of the water through the rubber gloves.

Sweat beaded on my forehead.

This was really tough. Really.

But what I liked about this job was that no one was there to criticize me while I worked.

All I had to focus on while cleaning the grill pan was how well I could do it.

It was a battle between me and the grill pan.

So, I scrubbed like crazy.

“Phew, all done.”

I wiped the sweat dripping from my forehead.

My clothes were always soaked with sweat by the time I finished.

I smiled as I looked at the clean grill pan, feeling relieved as if I had shed a burden from my heart.

I checked the time.

It was already midnight.

The restaurant was doing so well that we had to close when we ran out of ingredients by midnight.

We had to prepare for lunch service.

After the peak hours were over and the customers had left.

The serving staff were sitting down, chatting among themselves.

“Ha ha ha!”

“Ho ho ho!”

I could hear their laughter from here.

Two men and three women.

There were four serving staff members in total, given the size of the restaurant.

And there was Jongnam hyung in between them.

Jongnam hyung, who was in charge of the kitchen, had finished work long ago and was chatting with the staff.

“I envy them.”

Chatting with women without any hesitation.

I was in a hopeless situation.

I envied the insiders, but Mi Joo and I locked eyes.

“Oh, Jaeho, come and take a break.”

“Oh, no. It’s okay.”

Just saying a few words made me out of breath and my face turned red.

I couldn’t speak properly in front of women.

Twenty-four, Choi Jaeho.

Graduated from a boys’ high school and entered the engineering college, now preparing for military service.

It had only been six months since I entered society.

Now, I was working part-time to prepare for my return to school.

A complete newbie.

A complete nerd.

I was fine talking to men, but I couldn’t speak a word properly in front of women.

So, doing the dishes where I didn’t have to face people was comfortable for me.

“Ha, ha ha.”

I couldn’t speak, so I awkwardly laughed and scratched my head.

I went to the kitchen to tidy up my clothes.

“Ugh, it smells. Go wash up before you leave, Jaeho.”

Yeojin, who was in charge of serving like Mi Joo, pinched her nose and sneered at me.

The smell of the grease I had cleaned while doing the dishes had stuck to my work clothes.

I didn’t respond to her comment.

There was no point in arguing when I had never come out on top.

But then.

“Hey, Jaeho, it’s not just for a day or two that you smell. Bear with it, Yeojin.”

Jongnam hyung laughed from the side.

All the staff, except for Mi Joo, chuckled at his words.

I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t.

It wasn’t easy.

“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard. Before you leave, have some fruit at least.”

The boss, who had hand-cut fruit in the kitchen, shouted.

“Oh, thank you so much, boss.”

“The servers worked hard too, especially our Jaeho. If it weren’t for Jaeho, it would have taken much longer to clean up.”

Every time the boss laughed, his beard on his chin stood out.

How much hair does he have that even the name of this place is “Fur Meat House”?

The boss placed the fruit plate on the table and patted my shoulder with his large hand.

“Anyway, take a break and have some fruit and chat with the others.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t have an appetite.”

“Jaeho, you always say you don’t have an appetite. That’s why you don’t gain weight. You should exercise and eat a lot of food.”

“Ha, haha. Is that so?”

“How about learning to exercise properly this time?”

Before I could answer, Jongnam interrupted.

“Boss, how much do you think Jaeho will do even if he learns? He’ll give up soon.”

The surroundings buzzed once again.

The boss, who was surveying the situation, seemed to catch on and clicked his tongue.

“Well, don’t force yourself to eat if you don’t have an appetite. Go home first.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I nodded my head.

Hastily changing into my clothes in the dressing room, I fled the store.

“Ugh, damn it. How great does he think he is.”

I spat out a curse as I sighed.

Jongnam.

The most popular guy in the store.

I heard that customers even asked for his number.

He was the talk of the part-timers, that’s for sure.

Tall, good-looking, good at cooking, and good at talking.

“He’s really something.”

I envied him.

“Sigh.”

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

An unfair world.

Some are good-looking and charming, attracting women.

Some can’t even say a word and are called pathetic.

The world is truly like a jujube seed.

I took on this part-time job to gain some confidence.

Maybe it’s because of my mood that I’m becoming more of a loser.

“Sigh.”

Should I really try exercising as the boss suggested?

I looked at my skinny body.

I had a naturally slim build.

No matter how much I ate, I stayed thin, to the point of being called a dried anchovy.

Maybe things will improve if I exercise.

If my body gets better, maybe I’ll have at least one thing to appeal to, I thought.

“Jaeho oppa!”

I heard a voice from behind.

Miju came out of the store and ran towards me.

She hadn’t even changed out of her work clothes.

“Ha, ha.”

Miju gasped for breath, her chest heaving.

“That… remember what Yeojin unnie said earlier. Don’t worry too much.”

“Oh? Ah… that?”

“I don’t smell anything strange from you. I actually think it’s amazing. Being able to focus on one thing alone… I think it’s cool.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so don’t get too discouraged and thank you for your hard work today.”

Miju smiled brightly.

She was a child with a beautiful smile.

Just being around her was comforting, a bright and energetic child.

She was the complete opposite of me.

“Thank you. Thanks for the encouragement.”

“Hehe, oh, I’ll go first. The unnie and oppas are waiting inside.”

“Okay. Be careful going in.”

I managed to say a word.

“Yes! You be careful going in too! Rest well today, see you tomorrow!”

Miju waved as she ran back to the store.

I shyly raised my hand towards Miju’s retreating figure.

See you tomorrow.

Why is that one word so difficult?

After saying goodbye to Miju, I went back home.

Should I really start exercising?

***

“I did it.”

I looked at the impulse-bought fitness equipment.

Dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, and even an AB slide.

Especially the dumbbells, ranging from 1kg to 10kg in 5 different types.

I felt the delivery driver cursing at me with his eyes as he brought this, but I ignored it.

Anyway, I did scream a bit.

Since I thought I might as well buy good things if I’m going to live, I bought the most expensive items I could find.

“I flexed, didn’t I?”

But can I really call this flexing?

Buying exercise equipment and calling it flexing.

Flexing, right.

Flexing for my body.

“But where should I put this?”

I looked around the house.

A 27-square-meter house.

Two rooms with a kitchen attached to the living room, and even a bathroom.

It was a spacious house for living alone.

There wasn’t even a common TV in the living room.

Without any furniture, the overall atmosphere was cold.

It didn’t feel right to put it in the bedroom.

And it was ambiguous to put it in the study room.

The only place left was the living room.

“Well, if I’m going to do it anyway, it’s better to do it in a spacious place.”

If I keep it in plain sight, I’ll be forced to do it.

That’s how I’ll make it.

If I’ve started, I have to finish it.

“But….”

How should I exercise?

I was someone who had built up a wall against exercise my whole life.

Now that I’m trying to start, I don’t know where to start or how to do it.

“When I saw it on TV, it seemed like they did it like this….”

I picked up a 5kg dumbbell in each hand.

It was heavier than I thought.

“Oh, it’s heavier than I thought?”

I felt the weight.

I followed the movements of the men working out on YouTube.

I increased the numbers one by one, even though it was sloppy.

“Phew, phew.”

I felt my muscles tightening in both hands.

“Wow, this really works out?”

My arms hurt even before I could do 10.

If I keep doing this, will I become a muscle man too?

Thinking of the muscle man I saw in the media.

Ding!

An alarm sounded.

I wondered who was ringing the doorbell.

[You have met the conditions.]

[The gym level 0 has been opened.]

“Huh?”

A message appeared in front of me.

What is this?