Chapter 328: I have to hold his legs and—
"Master," I called out, my voice trembling from both exertion and fury, and they both turned to me. "What are you doing?" I asked, my body trembling from the squats I was still at. "You don’t even need the correction."
I’m serious. He doesn’t.
Jin-Yeok didn’t even think much of it and responded,
"I don’t mind. It seems you’re doing fine on your own."
Fine on my own? My legs were about to give out like wet noodles! Was he mocking me?
No, this was going too far and... and... my blood began to boil even more when I saw the trainer smile faintly.
She looked like she had won a medal.
This bitch...
Then, she started returning to me with a soft clap of her hands.
"Alright, Jo-Pil. Let’s move to sit-ups. Get on the mat, please."
Sit-ups? Great. I collapsed onto the mat, grateful to be lying down at least. I felt really tired. My legs were not going to make it if we continued like this.
But then, I realized—oh no. My legs would also be involved this time as well.
She bent down. "I’ll hold your legs for support. You just have to raise your body with your hands behind your head when I count. Easy."
Yeah, easy for you to say.
I swallowed, uneasy, but before she could so much as reach for my ankles, Jin-Yeok suddenly caught her wrist, light but firm, his smile sharp as a blade. Where the hell did he come from?
Wasn’t he over there just now?
I looked there, wondering if I was seeing things, but he wasn’t there. He was right in front of us.
That smile of his... it meant he didn’t like whatever was going to happen.
So, now he doesn’t like it, huh?
After pretending he didn’t understand my signals all this time, he decided to act when it looked like Trainer Min was going to touch me.
Now tell me, don’t I have every right to be mad?
But I stayed silent, thinking it would be better than Trainer Min doing it on her own.
"What is...?" She looked puzzled. "I have to hold his legs and—"
"That won’t be necessary," he said, smoothly interrupting her. "I’ll hold him."
Just as I thought.
I watched him as he knelt down and pinned my legs himself. Then, he looked up at me and smirked, making me feel uneasy.
My face burned.
Maybe this was a worse idea than I thought.
"M-Master, this is unnecessary. She’s the trainer, not you—"
"Consider it motivation," he cut in, his eyes glinting. "Now, up you go."
I groaned, covering my face briefly with both hands before positioning them behind my head and starting my sit-ups.
Every time I came up, barely pushing my body up, there he was, waiting with that infuriating smirk and the faintest gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. And if I got any closer, it looked like our lips would meet.
My eyes rolled towards Trainer Min as I breathed heavily after my back landed on the mat.
What was she doing? I wondered.
But she wasn’t doing anything.
She just stood there with her arms crossed and... maybe... the tiniest curve of jealousy lingering in her expression.
Was this training? Or was this just another battlefield, and I’d somehow been enlisted without consent? A shitshow that starred me.
We ended the sit-ups and I was asked to do some push-ups. Ten, to be precise, with this weak body.
I finally had enough. My stomach cramped from the sit-ups, my arms wobbled from push-ups, and my thighs were one squat away from filing a lawsuit against me.
Exercising was more exhausting than I thought, and it looked like I was the only one suffering, even though Jin-Yeok was also partaking in these exercises.
I guess you can’t compare a protagonist holo to a male lead’s holo when it comes to stuff like this.
Take it from me. The protagonist Holo is weak when it comes to exercising.
I staggered, wiping the sweat from my face with my wet sleeve.
"I... I need water," I muttered, but then realized I hadn’t brought any.
My throat was as dry as the Sahara Desert, and yet there was no water in sight.
Did Jin-Yeok bring any? I wondered as I looked back at him, but he was being coached by the trainer.
My eyes furrowed.
I don’t know what this is but I don’t like it.
The fact that he can let her do whatever she wants just to get under my skin was plain childish, and I... I didn’t want to be a part of that childishness.
And if he... if he was trying to make me jealous, then he has succeeded.
"I’ll just go get my own water," I thought and headed for the door.
Just as I reached for the handle, the door opened, and April walked in, holding a plastic can that somehow glistened in my eyes.
My savior.
"Here, Master," she said softly as she stretched it towards me.
I was so thirsty that I did not stop to wonder what sort of timing she had.
Well, they always had inexplicable timing.
"Ah, April! You’re a lifesaver." I snatched the can, pressing it against my cheek to take in that chilled wetness rolling on its body before opening it. I took a long gulp before smacking my lips and wiping them with the back of my palm. "Hah, now I feel alive. Thank you so much."
She looked at me with that neutral expression of hers, but I could see the little smile on her lips.
She bowed her head.
Now with this, I was sure I wouldn’t be beaten by this exercise. Let’s go.
But just as I turned, ready to head back, my eyes froze on the scene before me.
The trainer—that bitch—slipped.
And when I say she slipped, I mean suddenly her perfectly toned, stable legs betrayed her like she’d never walked on polished gym floors in her life. And where did she fall? Straight into Jin-Yeok’s arms.
"Oh, I... I’m sorry," she stammered, clutching his arm as if she needed it for balance, her face flushed. "This is so embarrassing. I... I wasn’t being careful."
My grip on the plastic can tightened so hard it crumpled, water spraying out of the forced-open cover and wetting my hand. My teeth gnashed. My jaw clenched.
Not being careful, my ass.
She was supposed to be a professional. A trainer with years of experience. People like her don’t slip. And if they did, it surely didn’t happen on polished smooth ground, and they SURELY didn’t fall directly into the arms of someone’s master who happened to be a Mafia.
I mean, give me a break. She wasn’t even the protagonist.
Maybe she was being this fearless because she didn’t know Jin-Yeok’s other occupation and saw him simply as a gentleman since that was the facade he always covered up with.
And there was certainly no better way to catch a gentleman’s eyes than playing a damsel in distress, it seemed.
Just look at her.
I examined her hypocrisy while April cleaned my wet hand with a towel.
Her wide eyes, her trembling hands, and that breathless tone... all were Oscar-worthy.
She was an absolute bitch, if you ask me.
And Jin-Yeok, that moron, didn’t even push her away even if he knew what she was trying to do. This wasn’t his first rodeo, you know.
Instead of pushing her away, he steadied her with one hand, the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips as if he found the whole thing entertaining.
He better not be entertained. This was going too far.
I had had enough.
My heart couldn’t take it anymore and I felt like I was going to burst.
(Burst with what, Jo-Pil?)
My mind screamed at me and I wanted to shout across the room, "Get your perfect little hands off him!"
But instead, I forced a stiff smile and called out,
"Trainer Min, if you’re done testing your balance with Master Jin’s body, maybe you should focus on your actual job." I spoke up, catching their attention. "You know, training me?"
Her cheeks suddenly went pink. Whether it was from embarrassment or guilt, I couldn’t tell. She quickly straightened herself, stepping back from Jin-Yeok as if nothing had happened.
"Yes, of course. Forgive me," she said, her tone too even, as if she had practiced that line for a while now.
I stared down at her. As I thought, I didn’t like this lady one bit. Let’s just fire her.
No, let’s stay rational for now.
"Mm-hm. Just don’t slip again. Wouldn’t want you to break something." I said, crossing my arms and speaking in a condescending tone. "You know, you probably wouldn’t be able to afford a replacement so I’m saying this for your own good."
That seemed to have struck a chord and shw smiled coldly.
"Yes, I... I’ll keep that in mind, Jo-Pil."
Whatever. She can try all she can form now on. She would just be giving me a good reason to openly show my hostility and tell Jin-Yeok I didn’t want her anymore.