Genius Martial Arts Trainer

First, I drew up a diet plan for Member Kim Jicheol.

“Do I just need to eat exactly what’s written here?”

“Yes, Member. Refined sugar and carbohydrates are the most harmful to the body, so you should avoid them whenever possible. But eating nothing but protein can also be harmful, so it would be good to eat things like cherry tomatoes or broccoli along with it.”

I continued explaining the diet for a while.

Member Kim Jicheol smiled and said.

“It’s all right, Gym Owner. I trust you completely. I’ll eat exactly what you tell me to, no matter what.”

As expected.

Member Kim Jicheol was a true member.

Memories of other members I had given PT sessions to back when the gym was thriving flashed through my mind.

Me: Did you follow your diet, Member?Member: (Photo)Member: We have a company dinner today, so I’m having beef intestine hot pot and soju!Member: It’s a company dinner, so it can’t be helped, right?Me: Didn’t you say you had a company dinner two days ago too?Member: The atmosphere at our company is so good that we have company dinners often.Member: (Crying bear emoticon)They were truly beautiful memories.

The members who at least confessed their sins were practically gentlemen.

There had even been a member I spotted on my way home after leaving the gym, demolishing mala soup and soju at a nearby restaurant.

Me: Member? Didn’t you clearly upload a photo of your diet earlier?Member: Yes! I’m following my diet!Me: (Photo)Me: Member, do you perhaps have a twin?I could still vividly remember the sight of that member frantically whipping their head around with a flustered expression, searching their surroundings.

While I was reminiscing, Oblivious Member approached.

Member Yang Hyeonsu looked at the diet sheet in Member Kim Jicheol’s hand and tilted his head.

“Huh? Gym Owner. This diet looks a little strange.”

“Hyeonsu. Just go lift iron.”

“That’s not it. It looks like there’s too little protein in this diet. Ah! Does this mean he should take protein separately from the diet?”

I readily shook my head at the protein addict’s question.

“You only need to eat exactly what I wrote here.”

“Come on, Gym Owner. Even so, isn’t this far too little? You don’t eat like this either.”

“I don’t eat like this. Member Yang Hyeonsu doesn’t need to eat like this either.”

“Then why is only our Brother Jicheol different?”

“Because his circumstances and physical condition are different.”

Beginner trainers recommended the exact same diet to everyone, regardless of the member’s condition.

But how many years of experience did I have? I could not possibly do that.

“In Member Kim Jicheol’s case, gaining muscle is important, but recovery and rehabilitation are the highest priorities.”

Excessive protein intake was not particularly good for the body either.

“Especially mixing protein powder with water and drinking it would be poison for Mr. Kim Jicheol right now. Likewise, you must never blend everything I wrote down together just because preparing the meals is inconvenient.”

In addition, my experience as a fitness trainer had been combined with the knowledge of a martial artist.

“You should also refrain from eating fire-cooked food as much as possible. Boiled eggs or boiled chicken. Plant-based protein is good. Steamed white fish is also good.”

Naturally, he had to eat everything without seasoning.

“Only then will turbid energy stop accumulating in your body. It might be different after you have completely recovered, but if turbid energy builds up again, you could return to the state you were in before receiving energy treatment.”

It was advice born from experience.

Mujin’s young and vigorous body had contained almost no turbid energy.

But Choi Kanghyuk’s body was different.

Turbid energy accumulated if he neglected his health even slightly.

And when turbid energy accumulated, there was a risk of becoming bald.

That was right.

This knowledge could be called the fruit of his efforts to avoid becoming bald.

After my explanation ended, Member Kim Jicheol nodded with a determined expression.

“Yes. I’ll make sure to do exactly that.”

He was truly a trustworthy member.

***

After Kim Jicheol and Yang Hyeonsu left, Choi Kanghyuk began managing the diets in earnest.

The members’ weight and body type. The unusual details he had identified while conducting their exercises and energy treatment that day.

Based on those things, he prepared a diet suited to each person.

Then he contacted every member who had visited the gym that day and explained their diets.

“Hmm. Since they retired because they were injured while working as hunters, they should follow the diets properly, right?”

Would they not all possess a certain degree of patience and determination like Kim Jicheol?

And that evening.

One more retired hunter visited the gym.

That brought the total number of new PT members acquired that day to six.

Including Kim Jicheol, who had already been coming for more than ten days, he suddenly had seven PT members.

'I don’t need to worry about running at a loss anymore. And with seven, as long as I manage my time properly, it shouldn’t interfere too much with lifting iron or cultivating my heart method. Ah, is it six?'

Six, excluding Choi Yujin.

His financial situation was comfortable, and he could still train to some extent.

'This isn’t too bad....... But there are still two people who haven’t come.'

Kim Jicheol had said that he had introduced the gym to eight people.

He had made the introductions yesterday, so perhaps they had been too busy to come today.

'Eight would be a little tight, but....... I should try it first.'

However, Choi Kanghyuk’s worries were close to being groundless.

The remaining two did not visit the gym the following day either.

Perhaps they did not believe Kim Jicheol, or perhaps they had given up on returning to work as hunters.

Choi Kanghyuk had no way of knowing the reason.

Another day passed.

“Huahhhhm.”

After waking inside the gate, Choi Kanghyuk warmed up as usual, combining stretching with the Buddhist Heart Art.

Then he left the gate to replenish his morning protein.

“Amitabha.”

After pressing his palms together toward the Buddhist altar, he sat at the table and was about to eat his meal when his phone vibrated.

Vrrrrrrr.

Choi Kanghyuk looked at his phone with a puzzled expression.

A message had arrived at 7:05 in the morning.

“Is it spam?”

But it was not spam.

It was a message from an unexpected person.

Choi Yujin: I’m sorry, but is the gym perhaps closed today?Choi Yujin: The gym door is locked. ㅠㅠChoi Yujin: (Crying bear emoticon)Choi Kanghyuk hurriedly rose and headed toward the gym entrance.

Beyond the dark entrance.

As expected, a woman stood there with her entire body wrapped in black.

“I’m sorry, Member! I’ll open it right away!”

When Choi Kanghyuk opened the door and turned on the lights, she hesitantly stepped inside.

After watching her for a moment, Choi Kanghyuk cautiously asked.

“Did you perhaps come to request a refund?”

Judging solely by Choi Kanghyuk’s massive build, it looked as though he were threatening her.

As though saying, 'Customer. Do you want to get hit?'

But that was merely prejudice. He was asking sincerely.

If she wanted a refund, he was fully willing to give her one.

But contrary to his expectations, Choi Yujin shook her head and repeatedly tapped her phone screen.

Then she held out the memo app toward Choi Kanghyuk.

- I came to exercise and receive energy treatment......?

Choi Kanghyuk merely blinked.

'I thought she would quit because she was embarrassed?'

But his bewilderment lasted only a moment.

The corners of Choi Kanghyuk’s lips rose slightly.

'Then again, was that prejudice too?'

Assuming that someone with difficulty around strangers must lack determination was a preconception.

Even someone with an introverted personality could possess strong willpower.

The phrase soft outside, strong inside did not exist for nothing.

“Yes, Member. Then let’s begin the workout right away!”

An hour of strength training followed. Then came cardio to reduce body fat.

After the exercise ended, it was time for energy treatment and stretching.

“I loosened your neck and shoulders two days ago, so this time I’ll loosen your back and lower back.”

Choi Yujin nodded with a resolute expression.

He could feel her unwavering determination never to make any kind of sound.

Then the energy treatment began.

“Mmmph.”

Even as she struggled while grinding her teeth, she never uttered a single word.

A thought naturally occurred to Choi Kanghyuk.

'Wow....... At this level, she could probably endure being dragged away and tortured by the Eastern Depot.'

Not to protect her comrades, but because she was shy around strangers.

After the entire PT session ended, Choi Yujin once again merely bowed her head and ran out of the gym as though fleeing.

No, just before she could run out, Choi Kanghyuk hurriedly stopped her.

“Ah, right! And Member! Starting today, you’ll be following a diet too!!”

For some reason.

Choi Yujin’s fleeing steps came to a halt.

She froze completely.

Only then did Choi Kanghyuk notice.

Her pupils, visible between her long bangs, were trembling wildly.

“A-A diet?”

It was the first time he had heard her actual voice since her scream two days earlier.

***

Two days ago.

After returning home from her PT session, Choi Yujin agonized over what to do.

'Ah. That was so embarrassing. Should I at least ask for a refund?'

Because of the scream she had let out while receiving energy treatment, she was afraid to return to the gym.

Normally, she would have quit without a second thought.

She would not even have requested a refund. She would simply have stopped going.

But this time, she could not bring herself to do that.

Because Kim Jicheol had introduced the place to her.

- Yujin. Just trust me and try going there once.

The Senior Jicheol she remembered was a serious person.

He was not the type to talk about something unless he was certain.

On top of that, sensation still remained in her neck and shoulders.

That refreshing sense of release she had felt immediately after the energy treatment.

She wanted it too.

She wanted to work as a hunter again.

No, she at least wanted to recover the ability she had become unable to use after suffering a severe injury.

The name of the skill she had gained upon awakening was 'Metabolic Acceleration.'

It was an ability that explosively burned the calories accumulated in her body and greatly increased her physical capabilities.

Because of that, she had always kept food close at hand.

Whenever she entered a gate, she even carried a backpack filled entirely with high-calorie snacks.

And whenever she rested between battles against monsters, she would habitually pour chocolate bars or snacks into her mouth.

Kim Jicheol, who had often cleared gates with her, had once asked.

'Yujin. Don’t you ever get tired of eating chocolate bars?'

'Tired of chocolate bars?! They taste different no matter how many I eat! And there are so many kinds!'

She had even shown him ten different brands of chocolate bars stored in her backpack.

Even when she was not entering gates, she devoured enormous quantities of high-calorie food with every meal, every day.

'They say eating is never a waste!'

'We’re all doing this to make a living, so we should at least enjoy ourselves like this!'

Eventually, eating alone became boring, so she even opened a NewTube channel.

While hosting eating broadcasts, she had once told her viewers.

'Come on, I don’t gain weight! And even if I gain a little, so what? It all disappears after one fight inside a gate anyway!'

Then one day.

She suffered a severe injury while clearing a gate.

Thanks to surgery and rehabilitation treatment, she was able to return to daily life.

But her physical condition was terrible.

And for some reason, her ability would not activate either.

More precisely, whenever she tried to use her ability, it felt as though something were completely blocked.

It was disappointing, but she did not have much lingering attachment.

She had nearly died after suffering such a major injury.

'I feel bad for Senior Jicheol, but I should rest now.'

Then she realized something far too late.

Her ability had become blocked, but her eating habits had remained unchanged.

As she spent every day doing nothing but enjoying food without working as a hunter, her body had eventually grown enormously.

The sight of herself reflected in the mirror. The reality that the clothes she had worn in the past no longer fit.

Her self-esteem steadily crumbled.

And the greatest catalyst was the NewTube channel she had once operated.

She was afraid that one of the viewers from her eating broadcasts might recognize her now that she had gained so much weight.

She naturally began avoiding people.

She spent every day at home.

She tried dieting several times.

But exercising alone with a broken body was far too difficult.

A life spent trapped at home. Her shattered self-esteem.

Her stress reached its limit, and every day she ordered food as though possessed.

That was right.

The only pleasure remaining in her life was food.

Delicious, stimulating food that ravaged her tongue and brain.

Today was no different.

'If I keep receiving energy treatment, I’ll definitely be able to use my ability again, right? Then since I exercised today, should I eat fried chicken to replenish my protein?'

Just as she was about to leave the gym while indulging in that happy fantasy.

The Gym Owner’s voice pierced her ears.

“Ah, right! And Member! Starting today, you’ll be following a diet too!!”