Chapter 327: Master, are you blind, or is your hair covering your eyes?
I narrowed my eyes, not knowing they were lingering on his lower half as I dwelt in my thoughts, and he noticed my eyeline.
Jin-Yeok’s grin spread across his chin and he asked,
"Do you like what you see?"
"Wha—? No! I mean—! Yes! But—" I flailed for words, then turned my face away, realizing where I had been looking, my ears hot from the sudden flush. "Don’t flatter yourself. You just look..." I pursed my lips and quickly changed the question. "Where are you going in that?"
"Oh, this?" Jin-Yeok spread his arms slightly, letting the fabric stretch across his shoulders like he was posing for a magazine cover. "Just an outfit I picked up. Does it look good on me?"
Just an outfit?
That was not just an outfit. That was a training uniform.
Where in the world was he going in that?!
But the smug curve of his lips told me he wouldn’t answer that. No, he was going to make me guess while enjoying my torment.
I sighed internally. I decided to think that maybe he just wore it to look the part. Maybe he just wanted to play around, to tease me. But deep down, I already knew the answer.
This was just me being in denial.
And sure enough, he planned to do more than look the part. Gosh, I hope he doesn’t end up making a scene.
I quickly got dressed and then headed out of my room with him.
We walked towards the gym. It was at a far corner in the courtyard. Did we use to have a courtyard? Who’s asking who here?
I’d like the author to explain.
But before that, my eyes landed on a tall lady standing by the entrance.
It was the trainer.
She was tall, graceful, perfectly toned, with just enough muscle to look strong and just enough softness to look... infuriatingly perfect.
Her sleek ponytail swayed as she turned her head, and when her gaze landed on Jin-Yeok, her lips curved, and something about the glow around her face changed.
Am I misunderstanding something?
Professional? Yes, that was how she looked at first. But now... she looked like someone who was ready to ignite a past flame.
I felt my stomach drop with uneasiness.
This wasn’t going to be fine.
"Good morning," she said warmly, bowing politely before turning her full attention on Jin-Yeok like I wasn’t even standing there. "You must be Jo-Pil’s master."
"No," Jin-Yeok replied smoothly, eyes glittering with amusement as he rolled them towards me. "I’m just... his escort today."
Escort my ass. He was staking his claim in broad daylight. Could he be any more shameless?
This trainer... she definitely knew Jin-Yeok’s identity, and yet she was acting like this was the first time seeing him. So suspicious from the get-go.
And look at how she keeps making a pose. She’s definitely into him.
Wait, did she take this job because of Jin-Yeok? Probably. A nobody like me shouldn’t have made such an expert come all this way.
"Ahem!" I cleared my dry throat. "Excuse us for a moment," I said and pulled Jin-Yeok aside before things got worse, whispering harshly, "Master, are you blind, or is your hair covering your eyes? That trainer is clearly interested in you."
Jin-Yeok tilted his head down at me, lips curving with wicked satisfaction. "If she has eyes for me, then that’s good. At least we know she won’t have eyes for you."
I almost screamed but kept it inside my chest.
The height of his jealousy was just... unbearable.
Do I have to remind him about the incident with his ex-girlfriend? A jealous woman can be toxic. Lethal, even. Who knows if she’ll drop a dumbbell on my head and call it a little accident?
But... since the trainer hadn’t shown me any hostility yet, I sighed and decided to let it go. Maybe it would be fine.
Maybe.
I sighed. I can’t kick her out for no reason anyway. If I suddenly said I didn’t like her being here, Jin-Yeok would immediately think it’s because I’m jealous that she likes him.
I’ll have to expose her. But how?
If Jin-Yeok is there the whole time, she won’t show her true colors, so...
"Do we have security cameras in the gym?" I asked and he nodded.
"Surely."
"That’s good then."
"Hm?" Jin-Yeok looked at me, wondering why I said that.
I breathed out in relief, muttering under my breath,
"At least if she tries something funny, I’ll have proof."
Jin-Yeok heard this and then chuckled, brushing my shoulder with the back of his hand as if there was dust, but I knew he just couldn’t resist touching me for even a second.
"You’re adorable when you’re paranoid."
"I’m not paranoid, I’m just being cautious," I hissed, swatting his hand away. "This is my first training session, and the last thing I need is some... some femme fatale trainer looking like she wants to swallow you alive while I’m struggling not to collapse after ten push-ups."
"Twenty," he corrected smoothly. "At least twenty. You’ll be fine. If you faint, I’ll carry you."
And then I’ll keep my record of the best fainter? Nah, I’m good. I was already getting rid of that label.
"You make it sound romantic, but I’ll remind you that’s not reassuring at all," I muttered, pushing his hand away from my shoulder.
"Well then, how should I assure you?" he asked, but I simply stared at him.
At this point, unless he was letting that lady go, I don’t think I was going to get any form of assurance.
I sighed.
"Let’s just go, master."
We walked back to her, and I forced myself to keep my shoulders straight. If she noticed the little huddle we had just now, her eyes didn’t betray it. Instead, she smiled professionally, maybe too professionally, and gestured toward the mats.
"Hello, you must be Jo-Pil," she said, as if I had just formed from thin air. She stretched her hand towards me for a handshake, but I simply stared at it. "You can refer to me as Trainer Min. I’ll be in your care."
But I wasn’t buying it. Still, I had to show a little bit of courtesy and shake her back.
"I hope we get along," I said, with great hopes that we would indeed get along and that this wouldn’t turn into a catfight.
"Okay, so let’s start with warmups," she said and my grip on her hand tightened.
Warmups, my ass. Only with that smile, I already knew it was a warm-up to hell.
Within five minutes I was convinced she wanted to kill me slowly and in a very convenient way, smiling all the while as she ordered,
"Lower, Jo-Pil. Hold that squat. Good. Now another ten."
I gritted my teeth, sweat popping out from every pore on my forehead. My thighs burned, my arms trembled.
This was torture.
And then she leaned in close, giving me a suffocating sniff of her perfume as it tickled my nose, and then she whispered just loud enough for me to hear,
"Don’t look away. Endure. If you quit now, you’ll never meet his expectations."
Meet whose expectations? My eyes rolled towards Jin-Yeok instinctively, and there he was, smugly doing his push-ups like it was child’s play.
My eyes rolled back to the trainer as I was barely keeping my sanity from my crying muscles. Did she think I was doing this because I wanted to impress Jin-Yeok?
Nope, that was far from it. I just wanted to stay healthy and not collapse due to lack of stamina, but nope, her mind would definitely not go there because in this world, the weak can only look up to the strong.
How insufferable she was.
The trainer’s gaze lingered on Jin-Yeok, her lips curving but not giving away her true intentions. Not yet, she might’ve thought. Not while I still had my will intact.
She wanted to break me first.
Ah, all these thoughts were getting to my head and I nearly dropped my squat right then, but quickly picked myself together.
Oh no. No, no, no. She was doing this on purpose. Motivating me by dangling Jin-Yeok like a damn carrot in front of my nose.
(You know Jo-Pil is pretty much a rabbit, haha.)
I wasn’t going to be beat. This bunny had far more fight than a running squirrel.
But the final straw came far too quickly when she walked away mid-rep, and my poor thighs shook like jelly.
She used her fine long legs to stride over to Jin-Yeok and without hesitation, she touched his back, adjusted his posture, and murmured,
"Perfect form... but keep your core tighter."
My jaw dropped.
Excuse me?!
Yes, she was a trainer, but did she forget who her priority was right now?
Wasn’t I the one paying for this training with my poor body, my sweat, my tears? I bit my bottom lip as if holding back a huge fart.
Just why was she touching him so intimately?
(Really, Jo-Pil? Is that the question you should be asking?)
"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."