episode_0010

[Official Member]

[Register Kang Miju as an official member.]

[Reward – Gym Level Up]

A new quest and Miju’s voice ringing in my ears.

It was too stimulating for someone like me who had no immunity to women.

In the end, I couldn’t focus on work today.

“Sigh, I’m tired.”

It was a draining day.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The boss comforted me.

Thanks to finishing work earlier than usual today, I had much more free time.

“Your work efficiency has increased a lot, hasn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you exercising these days?”

“Did I mention it?”

“Well, Miju said so. That you’re exercising.”

“Oh.”

I saw Miju cleaning up the hall.

Miju was the most active employee in the store. Not to mention, she was always the first choice among the female part-timers when it came to beauty.

She was the mood maker of the store.

At the same time, she was very interested in people, so rumors among the store staff mostly spread through her.

I guess that’s why news of me exercising spread.

“You made a good decision. You needed to exercise. But where are you starting?”

“Oh, I have a separate place in mind.”

“Really? When it comes to exercise, you need a professional. Like a trainer or someone who knows about exercise. Can you see this? Muscles!”

The boss flexed his muscles.

He was always interested in fitness and exercise.

He was the type of person who fit the stereotype of a gym enthusiast.

Perhaps he was happy to have a common interest now that I had started exercising.

“Impressive.”

“If you don’t have a trainer, should I help?”

“No, it’s okay. I have someone else.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s a shame. There are a lot of fakes these days, so if anything seems off, let me know.”

“Got it. I’ll go now.”

“Going straight there again today?”

“Yes, I have a lot to prepare now.”

“You said you’re going back to school?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

I nodded and left through the back door after work.

“Shall we run?”

I completed the unfinished running quest and earned 100 points.

“Pant, pant.”

Even before reaching home.

[Quest completed.]

The quest was over.

My breath was at its limit.

“Pant, pant.”

Even though I thought about quitting in the middle, I ran until the end.

The points were for my body’s benefit as well.

“Phew.”

I wiped the sweat running down my face and saw the message window that popped up after completing the quest.

“Congratulations. Thanks to your perseverance, you’ve collected 100 points.”

“A new recommended list that can be purchased with 100 points has been added to the store.”

“Store Level Up – 100 points”

“Dumbbell 1kg – 100 points”

Store level up?

“This wasn’t there before, right?”

“This item was created as the gym level increased to 2.”

Different from the gym level?

What’s good about leveling up the store?

“You can buy additional items, and the prices of items will be discounted.”

“Is that so?”

“We recommend leveling up the store at the current level.”

Level up.

It wouldn’t hurt.

Instead of spending points on an existing dumbbell, it would be much better to raise the store’s level.

The choice was simple.

There were no other items to buy.

“Purchasing store level up.”

“The store’s level increases from 0 to 1.”

“Additional items are created – Gym clothes.”

“Prices in the store, excluding promotions, are discounted by 5%.”

“1 free text promotion service.”

Not bad.

A 5% discount is good, right?

But what’s disappointing is…

“The additional item is gym clothes?”

Leveling up is good.

But…

There was nothing in the store that would immediately help in registering Miju as an official member.

“Gym clothes – 50 points”

[Sports Uniform – Team Tee: Enhances a sense of belonging to the gym.]

[Additional Effect: Random]

The price was unbelievably cheap compared to the dumbbells that could be purchased at Level 0.

“It’s cheap, but…”

It was a bit disappointing.

I should think of it as an investment for the future.

Even if I didn’t level up, there was nothing else worth buying.

The immediate task at hand was to register Miju as a full member.

I had to gather points by any means necessary for that.

I didn’t know what would happen when she visited again.

How could I earn points?

Simply exercising would earn me 10 points. But when I trained Miju, I earned a whopping 50 points.

There was no need to mention what would give more points.

“But I can’t just bring Miju with me.”

My eyes landed on the top of the store where a promotional message was displayed.

One free session.

“You know about this too, right?”

This is the most effective method.

I said while looking at the system window.

Of course, there was no response.

“Am I getting used to this now? Talking to the air.”

I chuckled and pressed the promotional message.

[Sending promotional message randomly.]

[Probability is 20%.]

[♚♚New Health☆Gym OPEN♚♚]

[Join now$$Get a free sports uniform☜☜※]

[♜Trainers♜Close contact mark￥Invest in your body]

[♜Fatigue recovery♜Metabolism promotion￥Body correction@@@ 100% possible]

A strange message that would make anyone think twice was sent to a random number.

“Please… let it be successful.”

I anxiously waited for the next message to appear.

***

9 p.m.

The closing time had long passed, but the lights at Gudan Mulsan were still on.

“Manager Heo.”

“Yes, Director.”

Heo Da-yeong, the assistant manager of Gudan Mulsan, hurriedly got up at the director’s call.

What nonsense would the director spout today?

She approached the director, hiding her crumpled expression as best as she could.

“I think the report I submitted earlier needs some slight modifications.”

“But, it was fine when I submitted it earlier…”

“That was then, but looking at it now, it’s full of holes. Finish it properly and resubmit it before you leave. I’ll check the submitted report when I come in tomorrow. Got it?”

“…Understood.”

The director smirked subtly and winked.

“If work gets tough, let me know. I’ll always be there to support you.”

His hand wrapped around Heo Da-yeong’s waist.

“Don’t do this. Director.”

“What did I do? I’m just comforting a subordinate. You’re not thinking weirdly, are you?”

It was always like this.

If she were to call him out for sexual harassment, he would always deny it.

Acting like he didn’t know what he was doing, pretending to be clueless.

Did he really think she didn’t know?

Rumors had spread within the company that the director would soon be promoted to an executive position.

“There was a female employee who reported sexual harassment in the past…”

It ended with an internal warning.

There were no employees in the company who could outperform the director in terms of performance.

So, he acted recklessly like this.

“I’m leaving now. Wrap things up, Manager Heo. Call me if you’re struggling. I’ll always help you out. Got it?”

The director pretended to make a phone call with his hand and left with a sly smile.

Watching the director close the door and leave, Heo Da-yeong muttered under her breath.

“Damn it.”

She closed her eyes tightly and cursed.

Since she was the only one working overtime at this hour, there was no one to hear her.

“Should I quit?”

It was said that every office worker harbored a resignation letter in their heart.

After contemplating pulling out that resignation letter multiple times, Heo Da-yeong ultimately picked up the report that the director had asked her to fix.

“Damn it, damn it. But if not here, where else can I find a job…”

There was no other place that would pay her this much with her experience.

“Even if it’s a pain in the ass, work still needs to be done. Can’t afford to get fired.”

Looks like another late night at work today.

All because of one bad encounter with the boss.

“So tired.”

Hedayeong dragged her heavy body back home.

“It’s already 11 o’clock…”

By the time she gets home, it’ll be midnight.

If she showers and does anything else, it’ll easily be past 1 o’clock.

To make it to work by 8 am tomorrow, she’ll have to wake up at 5, but…

“I’m seriously going crazy.”

Will she be able to avoid overtime tomorrow?

She didn’t know.

Really, she had no idea.

If that damn boss starts nitpicking again, overtime is inevitable.

Gotta endure it.

As she boarded the bus, she caught a glimpse of her face reflected in the window.

Dark circles and tired eyes.

Covered up with makeup, but her skin had become rough from the demanding work and frequent overtime.

Even the high prescription glasses she wore while studying or working like this.

Once praised for her freshness, she was already in her late twenties.

That freshness from before was almost gone.

“Looking like a total corpse.”

Back in college, she could pull all-nighters for days and still look fine, but now she felt like she could collapse any moment.

“So tired. Seriously. I wonder if there’s some kind of fatigue recovery potion they can give me.”

Might as well just kick that boss out for good.

That’s what she was thinking.

Ring, ring.

Her phone buzzed.

“Who’s texting at this hour?”

With this vibration, it must be a text.

She didn’t have any friends who would text her past 11 pm.

She reflexively opened her phone.

[♚♚New Health☆Center OPEN♚♚]

[Join now$$Get a free gym uniform☜☜※]

[♜Trainers♜Personalized training￥Invest in your body]

[♜Fatigue recovery♜Metabolism boost￥Body shaping@@@ 100% guaranteed]

A spam text came through.

Caller ID blocked.

Seemed like a promotional text from a gym.

Her personal information was almost public knowledge by now, but to receive a text from a place like this…

“Do they still send out these kinds of texts?”

Hedayeong was about to close her phone with a snort.

“Fatigue recovery…”

That phrase kept catching her eye.

She had been feeling really tired lately.

If there was a substance for fatigue, wouldn’t she have reached her limit already?

“But what does going to the gym have to do with fatigue recovery?”

Does exercising a lot help with fatigue?

But where would she find the time to exercise when she didn’t even have time to work.

Her curiosity kept growing.

She couldn’t shake off that word.

Hedayeong continued to stare at the text on her phone with vacant eyes.

It captivated her attention like a desirable item in a shopping mall.

It was strange, and the fact that the caller ID was blocked bothered her, but…

“Where is this place?”

She wondered.

That phrase about fatigue recovery.

She didn’t know who sent this text, but if they were targeting her with that word, she wanted to give them credit.

As a form of self-deception, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go check it out?

The desire to go started to grow.

***

“Promotion successful.”

“I did it? Really?”

I couldn’t contain my excitement at the news of a successful promotion.

I hit the 20% chance right on the mark.

“Lucky me.”

I thought I would have to do it a few more times.

But to succeed on the first try.

“But who will come?”

The customer list hadn’t appeared yet.

The system didn’t even tell me who was coming and when.

“Do I just have to wait?”

It was different from the cases in the US, so it was hard to get a sense of things.

“They probably won’t come now, right?”

I looked at the clock.

It was already half past 11 in the afternoon.

In 30 minutes, it would be midnight.

At this hour, no one would come.

“I sent it too late.”

I should have sent it in the morning instead.

Yeah. I’ll wrap things up here for today, shower, and go to bed.

If it was successful, they’ll come tomorrow.

As I was heading to the bathroom.

Knock, knock.

“Excuse me?”

Someone knocked on the door.