Chapter 434
Moon Chang-sik, who had disappeared into the Changing Room, quickly returned.
“Already back? Oh, it’s different, isn’t it?”
Seeing him in workout clothes, it was clear—this was no mere lean muscle.
Had I simply not noticed because he usually wore loose-fitting clothes?
Dressed in workout gear, he felt entirely different.
“…Right?”
As I said he looked different, Moon Chang-sik’s expression subtly changed.
Was that a hint of relief?
It looked like he was wondering if his efforts were finally being recognized.
“So, how much muscle does it take to get to this level?”
“Oh, if we start from a no-base level….”
“About three months?”
“…?”
“Ahahaha, just kidding!”
His expression cracked again at the mention of three months.
This was too easy to tease.
I could tell he was serious about working out.
“If you put in about three years, would that do it?”
“…No way.”
“Really…?”
Is three years not enough?
I thought I was being conservative….
“Kim Soo-hyun.”
“Yes?”
While I was momentarily flustered, Park Kang-seok, who had been smiling a moment ago, spoke seriously.
“It’s harder to build your body than Chang-sik’s.”
“Is that true?”
Uh….
I glanced between Park Kang-seok and Moon Chang-sik.
Park Kang-seok still looked like a bear.
Moon Chang-sik, well… if I had to compare, he was more like a long, lean tiger?
Moon Chang-sik was taller and had longer limbs.
“Well, I can see the signs of effort.”
Tap.
I walked over to Moon Chang-sik and patted his arm.
Wow, it’s solid.
“…If you try working out, you’ll understand how tough it is to build this.”
Whether I patted his arm or not, Moon Chang-sik was making a case for his hard work.
Yeah, I definitely feel the struggle these days.
“I’ve felt that over the past week. But if I work hard too, can I get like this?”
I loosened my fist and pressed down with my fingers on his arm.
I can’t even imagine getting to that point.
“It might be tough for you. Hormone issues and all.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that men build muscle more easily.”
But still, I didn’t suddenly want to get that solid.
I’m aiming for pretty lines, after all.
I want to be a healthy beauty, not a health warrior.
“By the way, what got you started working out?”
While we were chatting, Moon Chang-sik asked me about his reasons for working out.
Did I mention why I was working out?
“There’s a lot of action scenes in the second part of the drama.”
“Oh, that’s why?”
“Yes, and there’s a summer festival coming up.”
“I figured it seemed like you were doing new exercises.”
“I’ll show you a completely transformed version of myself.”
From the moment I decided to work out, the clumsy Miro had died.
I would be reborn as the powerhouse Buhwang Miro.
“Then you should start working out again.”
“Oh.”
To do that, I’d have to exercise, just like Moon Chang-sik said.
…Honestly, I was trying to stretch out our conversation, but it’s already over.
“I’ll go work out separately, so please learn well from Kang-seok.”
Unaware of my thoughts, Moon Chang-sik headed to the treadmill without hesitation.
Now….
“Alright, let’s start with upper body exercises.”
…Only Park Kang-seok, the warden of exercise hell, remained by my side.
“Haha… should we take it easy today? There’s the great actor Moon Chang-sik here, after all.”
“That just means we have to work harder to impress him.”
“Ahahaha…”
And so began the week-long ordeal of repeating challenges.
“Huuh… Huf!”
“Chest out! Focus on your breathing!”
Cardio is boring and lightly difficult, while strength training is hell.
Time flies comparatively faster, but the body being overworked feels like it can’t tell if it’s getting healthier or dying.
“Ah… Aah… God.”
“You’re agnostic. Ask your ancestors to lift the weights in your place.”
I was using so much effort that my head was turning completely white.
How do fitness enthusiasts do this for a whole year?
Just look at that.
Having barely finished my day’s worth of exercise, in my peripheral vision, I see Moon Chang-sik working out hard.
He was pulling heavy weights like it was nothing, while I barely added any to my equipment.
And yet, his expression was full of vigor.
“…Ugh.”
Gross, gross.
Is there a particular taste for enjoying pain?
It’s not just Moon Chang-sik, either.
Taking advantage of my break, Park Kang-seok is also doing his workout nearby.
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
Just like Moon Chang-sik, he was pushing and pulling with a lot of weight.
Every time he did, it felt like his arm muscles were flexing through his workout clothes.
Watching those two makes me question if I’m the weird one.
…It’s like I’ve become a two-eyed person in a one-eyed village.
I doubt I’ll ever understand those two, so I decided to just relax on the bench.
Besides, I’ve completed the routine for today.
There are no further plans, so I can head home and rest.
Or, since I haven’t seen Moon Chang-sik in a while, we could have a meal together before parting ways.
Isn’t the food after working out even more delicious?
Anyway, while I was lying there…
“What are you doing?”
As I blankly stared at the ceiling, Moon Chang-sik appeared.
“I’m resting.”
“Have you finished your sets?”
“Yes, I’m done.”
“Good work.”
As he said that, Moon Chang-sik wiped his sweat with the towel around his neck.
It was such a mundane action, yet it felt oddly like a towel advertisement or something.
I shouldn’t be saying this, but being good-looking is genuinely the way to go.
“Wow… you’re still lifting a lot of weight.”
Moon Chang-sik said as he watched Park Kang-seok work out.
Despite just having worked out heavily himself, he was amazed by Park Kang-seok.
“Our Manager sure is dependable.”
“I’d believe he was a bodyguard.”
“Basically, he does serve as one.”
Though he’s a manager, I trust that if there’s any danger, Park Kang-seok would step in and take care of it.
That’s the job of a bodyguard.
“I guess I should double his pay, then.”
“Yes, suggest that.”
“…Me?”
“Your influence is definitely stronger than mine.”
This kind of suggestion is usually more effective when it comes from a third party.
Especially if that third party is Moon Chang-sik?
It might not be such a dream to have that double paycheck after all.
“Thinking it over, if his bodyguard salary is added, it might be too much burden for Kang-seok.”
“Ugh, can’t you at least help out for your workout buddy?”
“I’m quite firm on keeping work and personal life separate.”
The separation of work and personal life.
Honestly, considering actor Moon Chang-sik, that might make sense, but…
“Hmm, is that so?”
Reflecting on what I’ve seen, it’s not quite the feeling I have.
After all, here is living proof.
The very disgrace of parachute actors, the GOAT Kim Soo-hyun stands here.
Without any connections or background, just based on Moon Chang-sik’s connections, this broken institution finds itself where it is.
“I may look like this, but I often get told I’m as sharp as a scalpel.”
Thinking about that, I could treat everything he was saying here as just bravado.
He doesn’t look like he could boast, but is this just a man’s instinct in unavoidable circumstances?
Nonetheless, I continued to watch Moon Chang-sik work out with Park Kang-seok.
“By the way….”
Watching Park Kang-seok through the pain, I suddenly had a thought.
“Yes?”
“Earlier, you mentioned that you and the Manager are on the same level.”
“…I didn’t mean it in such a complicated way.”
According to Moon Chang-sik’s logic, if Park Kang-seok equaled himself, then…
“Can you lift that much weight?”
Can Moon Chang-sik really lift the same as Park Kang-seok?
I doubt it.
Right from his bicep size, they’re clearly different.
But while Moon Chang-sik gives a good excuse for looking after his image…
In the world of fitness, isn’t the weight you can lift the standard of your rank?
“Hahaha… why would you ask such a thing…”
“Can’t do it, can you?”
It seems my assumptions were correct, seeing as Moon Chang-sik couldn’t continue his words and just forced a laugh.
Yeah, he definitely just inflated himself there.
Today, it seems the great actor has been thoroughly humbled.
Who would have thought the 50 million national actor Moon Chang-sik had this much bravado…
“I might need to issue a nationwide apology for this….”
“Haha… Soo-hyun.”
“Yes?”
“From the sound of it, you still have plenty of energy left.”
…Uh-oh, have I pushed it too far?
Glancing at Moon Chang-sik, his eyes were laughing, but his mouth wasn’t joining in.
In the end, after I scraped enough to break his expression, Moon Chang-sik pointed to the last exercise equipment I had used.
“It looks like you have plenty of energy, so you can do some more.”
“Uh, no, it’s just that….”
“Let’s do exactly two more sets.”
“U, uhh…”
Two more sets here?
…Though I’d be willing to concede if I could rest a bit as Moon Chang-sik suggested, I didn’t actually want to do more.
“If I do any more, I’m going to die.”
“You won’t perish that easily.”
But what can I do?
I’ve brought this on myself for teasing him since earlier.
Dragged along like a child being chased out of a toy corner, I ended up doing more workouts.
“Alright, let’s just do one more set.”
“…You said two sets… were you lying to me?”
“You can do it.”
I learned the lesson that a smiling Moon Chang-sik is scarier than the poker-faced Park Kang-seok.
***
After the hellish workout ended.
Freshly showered and changed back into casual clothes, I found myself in a café near the Agency Building.
“Whooah….”
Drinking a refreshing aid makes me feel alive.
Indeed, drinks are better than plain water.
Sure, someone might question the meaning of drinking a beverage right after exercising.
But this is a homemade aid made from zero soda.
I can say I’m worry-free.
Well…
“This coffee is always good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, they do a great job.”
Compared to those two who casually ordered iced americanos, they couldn’t be compared to me.
But at least Park Kang-seok is better than Moon Chang-sik.
At least his diet isn’t too strict.
Maybe that’s why I feel like I’ve gained a bit of weight after going out to eat.
Well, the muscles have bulked up too, so I suppose I look bulkier overall.
“Oh, right, Soo-hyun.”
“Yes?”
“Are you not taking on any other projects lately?”
Moon Chang-sik, who had been casually sipping his aid, suddenly asked me that.
Other projects? Hmm, I haven’t really thought about it.
“I don’t have anything scheduled yet. I haven’t even filmed for season 2.”
I’ve heard negotiations are happening frequently, but still, I’ve got the second season shoot left and I’m currently on a diet, after all.
Now that I understand how demanding it is to shoot a project, I’m hesitant to add more.
Nothing has really caught my interest, anyway.
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“Why, are you suggesting I take on a role or something?”
“No, I was just curious.”
“Not getting offers? That’s unusual.”
Just asking out of curiosity.
It’s unlike Moon Chang-sik to be so inquisitive.
I expected him to bring up a film or director he knows and try to recruit me.
“I’m just on a bit of a break this week.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, I’m only shooting one project.”
“Oh… So you’re not completely taking a break.”
…Isn’t that usually what people mean when they say they’re taking a break?
Surely, his way of thinking is different.
“Guess it’s job illness; I feel like I need to keep working regardless.”
“Isn’t that workaholism?”
“Well, I guess so.”
When will he actually take a break?
But whatever, for Moon Chang-sik, acting is entertainment and alcohol and… well, he must be happy with it.
“What’s this one project you’re shooting about?”
I was curious about what he was currently working on.
Since dramas and movies featuring Moon Chang-sik tend to be big news, I asked without hesitation.
It was a chance to boast later by saying I knew in advance.
“It’s a zombie-themed piece set in an apocalypse.”
Then.
Moon Chang-sik dropped a shocking comment.
“…A zombie-themed piece?”
Z, zombie-themed, huh?
Running away from zombies in a world that has collapsed, you say?
“That might not be the best genre for a casual project. But it’s more like a supporting role, anyway.”
“No, but….”
“Do you have something to say?”
“W, why are you doing this alone?”
“…What?”
If there’s something that fun, he should’ve told me about it…!
“…Didn’t you like stuff like that?”
“Considering you like Survival Games, isn’t that obvious?”
“Oh.”
Considering when he made me do an extra set earlier, I feel a subtle betrayal from Moon Chang-sik today.