Genius Martial Arts Trainer

“A-A diet?”

Why was she so shocked?

Ah, was it because I suddenly stopped her when she was trying to leave?

“Yes. We’ve decided to combine diet management with your treatment to speed up your recovery. The other members will be doing it too.”

After giving her the briefest possible explanation, I took out my phone.

“I’ll send the diet plan to the number you used to text me earlier.”

It was obvious that she felt uncomfortable, so it seemed best to send it quickly.

She hesitated for a moment, alternating her gaze between me and my phone.

Then Member Choi Yujin gave a slight bow and left the gym with listless steps.

“Hmm.”

I watched her retreating figure for a moment, then nodded.

“She must have worked out properly today.”

That unsteady gait, with her legs completely drained of strength.

Of course. If she had gone through a workout, her leg muscles should be at least that exhausted.

I felt proud that I had conducted such a productive session from early in the morning.

“As long as you trust me and follow my instructions, I’ll make sure you recover.”

And help her lose weight while I was at it.

For Member Choi Yujin, who possessed greater determination than her appearance suggested, I began putting together a diet plan.

Then I sent the completed plan to her.

Me: (Photo)Me: If you follow the diet written here while continuing your workouts and energy treatment, you should recover quickly!Me: °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° (Thumbs-up emoticon)A short while after I sent the message, the number 1 disappeared.

That meant Member Choi Yujin had read it.

But she did not reply immediately.

“She’s shy around strangers, so there’s no guarantee she’ll be comfortable just because it’s over text.”

As long as she had read it, was that not enough?

Just as I put down my phone and was about to move, it vibrated belatedly.

Choi Yujin: Do I absolutely have to follow the diet?A rather bold question.

A diet is necessary for a quick recov—As I hurriedly typed my reply, the message disappeared before my eyes.

Choi Yujin: (This message has been deleted.)Choi Yujin: It’s nothing. I’m sorry.What was that?

It was a strange reaction in several ways.

But before I could ask her anything, a voice rang out from the entrance.

“Gym Owner, are you here!”

Our hearty member who constantly threw out middle-aged jokes had arrived.

“Yes! Member Park Gyuchul!”

Naturally, the strange matter concerning Member Choi Yujin vanished from my mind.

***

Around fifteen days had passed since I introduced diet plans for all the PT members.

Member Kim Jicheol, who was already receiving his tenth PT session, had undergone a remarkable change.

“Inhale. Exhale.”

He continued lifting iron while breathing in and out.

Beads of sweat ran down his forehead, but it was different from before.

When he had first arrived, his sweat had been cold and clammy. The sweat he shed now somehow looked refreshing.

“I think it should be fine to stop doing full-body routines and begin a three-way split now.”

Member Kim Jicheol smiled faintly.

“Phew. Hearing that makes me feel good. It sounds like my body is improving.”

“Yes. Compared to when you first came here, you’ve changed so much that you’re almost unrecognizable.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Gym Owner.”

The corners of my mouth rose faintly as well.

As a trainer, hearing words like that always made me feel good.

“Not at all. It’s because you followed my instructions so well. The exercise is one thing, but wasn’t the diet difficult?”

Member Kim Jicheol smiled bitterly.

“To be honest, it tasted absolutely terrible. Still, I could feel my body improving day by day, so it was tolerable.”

Member Kim Jicheol added with a proud expression.

“Actually, since yesterday was my rest day, I tried entering a B-rank gate. Once I fought in a real battle, I could clearly feel my body coming back. It’s all thanks to you, Gym Owner.”

Khh.

As expected, he was truly an exemplary member.

Should I say it was fitting for someone who had fought through injuries while working as a hunter to save people?

Ah.

Perhaps not?

The events from earlier that afternoon naturally came to mind.

The incident involving our hearty Member Park Gyuchul.

'I drank a little too much yesterday, so lifting iron isn’t going very well today, Gym Owner. Wahahahaha.'

'Member? You need to follow your diet.'

'Wahahahaha. Of course I was absolutely~~ going to follow it. But wouldn’t you know it, a close junior of mine contacted me last night?'

Someone he had known from his days working as a hunter.

Apparently, that junior was still actively working as a hunter?

'Wouldn’t you know it, the poor fellow seemed to be having a hard time lately and asked me to have a drink with him?'

He passionately pounded his chest as he spoke.

'F-For men to let out the emotions they’ve been swallowing down inside, isn’t it difficult while sober?'

'You have to respond to sincerity with sincerity! Of course! Khh. So I had no~~ choice but to have a drink.'

Our hearty Member Park Gyuchul was truly a passionate man.

So passionate that I wanted to smash the Tathagata Divine Palm into that burning chest of his.

'Didn’t you say five days ago that you had a drink because another close friend seemed to be struggling with something?'

'Hahahaha! Everyone goes through hard times in life! We should help one another, shouldn’t we? Wahahahaha!'

A sigh escaped me naturally.

Still, perhaps he could be considered a gentleman since he did not lie.

As though he had read my recollection, Member Kim Jicheol asked with a concerned expression.

“Come to think of it, the others all started following diet plans too, didn’t they?”

“Yes. Everyone who registered for PT has started one.”

“Are they following them properly? If any of them are causing trouble, tell me. I’ll give them a stern talking-to.”

As expected of a true member.

I was truly grateful for the offer, but I shook my head.

I had been in my mid-thirties when I entered The Chronicle of the Shaolin Divine Monk.

Six years had passed, and I was now a full forty years old.

No, if I included the years I had lived as Mujin, I was over a hundred.

Hmm. Honestly, I did not really feel as though I were over a hundred.

More precisely, I had gradually changed after waking up as Choi Kanghyuk.

Perhaps the soul was influenced by the vessel of flesh it inhabited.

In any case, tattling at my age did not particularly appeal to me.

More importantly, I had a drastic solution prepared.

***

The following evening.

I was cleaning up the gym since no more customers were expected when my phone began vibrating.

Member Park Gyuchul: (Photo)Member Park Gyuchul: I’m sorry, Gym Owner! A close senior of mine had something bad happen again today!Member Park Gyuchul: I don’t know why so many bad things have been happening lately.Member Park Gyuchul: I can’t just let a day like this pass, so I’ll drink only today and return to my diet tomorrow!As I read the messages, the corner of my mouth twitched on its own.

“Amitabha.”

After calming my anger with a Buddhist invocation, I sent a reply.

Me: It’s all right if you don’t follow the diet.Member Park Gyuchul: Khh. As expected, Gym Owner. You’re truly broad-minded!Me: And you don’t need to come to the gym starting tomorrow. I’ll refund the full remaining cost of your PT sessions.That was right.

The drastic solution I had devised was a refund.

How important diet was. The benefits and effects of following it. The problems that arose when one failed to follow it.

Explaining all of that at length would be far too drawn-out and pedantic.

By contrast, how simple and easy was a refund?

Of course, it was a method I could never have dreamed of using one month earlier.

The gym had been on the verge of bankruptcy.

But that was no longer the case.

It was not merely because I was relying on the remaining PT members and bluffing.

Member Park Gyuchul was particularly severe, but aside from Member Kim Jicheol, all of them had minor problems.

What I truly relied upon, strictly speaking, was the gate.

In fact, the reason I was taking such a firm stance now was also connected to the gate.

Me: The number of energy treatments I can perform each day is limited.That was the truth.

The amount of inner energy I could absorb inside the gate was limited.

Me: Rather than let such a precious opportunity go to waste, I believe it would be better to help someone else who needs it more urgently.I was helping them because they had been injured while doing good work.

If I cared only about myself, it would be more beneficial to shut myself inside the gate all day and do nothing but lift iron, cultivate my heart method, and train the Iron Shirt.

Me: Therefore, I will refund the full remaining cost of your PT sessions.After I sent the message, there was no reply for a while.

Hmm. So this was how one member disappeared.

Just as I was about to move on, a belated message arrived.

Along with an unexpected and peculiar question.

***

In a secluded corner of a pork belly restaurant in Seoul.

Sssssizzle.

Ignoring the sound of meat cooking, Park Gyuchul stared silently at his phone screen.

At that moment, the man sitting across from him asked.

“Why? Did your ex-girlfriend contact you or something?”

“Hahahaha. How did you know, Senior?”

“You bastard. You’re trying to laugh it off again.”

Park Gyuchul thought.

'Good grief. Maybe it’s because we’ve known each other for so long, but he never lets anything slide.'

After lightly clicking his tongue, Park Gyuchul spoke.

“The Gym Owner from that gym contacted me.”

“Ah. The Gym Owner from the place Jicheol told you about?”

“Yes. That’s right. Senior, didn’t Brother Jicheol contact you too?”

“He did.”

“Aren’t you going?”

The man sitting across from him wore a bitter expression.

“I don’t know. Whether starting work as a hunter again is really the right thing to do.”

Park Gyuchul also smiled bitterly.

Perhaps it was a case of fellow sufferers understanding one another.

Hunters who had retired after suffering severe injuries.

Physical aftereffects were not the only things that remained with them.

Trauma.

The experience of nearly dying while fighting monsters had been deeply engraved into their minds.

Park Gyuchul was no different.

He merely pretended to be hearty and laughed everything off.

His thoughts were still a tangled mess.

The only reason he had visited the gym after receiving Kim Jicheol’s call was because the person who had contacted him was Kim Jicheol.

'Since Brother went so far as to recommend it, I should at least go once.'

He had not particularly believed in this so-called energy treatment.

Then, from his very first visit, he had experienced its effects firsthand.

That was why he felt bewildered.

At this rate, it seemed as though he truly could return to working as a hunter.

On the other hand, the better his body became, the more afraid he felt.

'Do I really have to fight monsters again?'

That was why he had been breaking his diet while making one trivial excuse after another.

Though he had never imagined the Gym Owner would respond like this.

'Should I just quit?'

While Park Gyuchul was contemplating that, the man across from him suddenly said something unexpected.

“By the way, Jicheol really is one stubborn bastard, isn’t he?”

“Brother Jicheol? That goes without saying. I truly respect him. But did you talk to Brother Jicheol about something?”

“He contacted me again yesterday. Said he went into a B-rank gate this time.”

“Ah.......”

“I’m already like this after nearly dying once, but he’s been injured several times and still keeps going.”

Park Gyuchul completely agreed.

Kim Jicheol was truly manly.

In contrast, what was he doing?

He was behaving in such a half-hearted manner.

Park Gyuchul looked at his phone screen again.

Then, before he realized it, he began typing.

Me: Gym Owner. Have you ever had an experience where you nearly died?He would probably think it was an absurdly sudden question.

But contrary to his expectations, an unexpected reply arrived.

Gym Owner: Yes. I believe it happened three or four times.Gym Owner: Once when I went on a mission with the special forces when I was young. And I nearly died several times while I was at Shaolin.“.......”

He wondered whether the man was joking.

Still, just in case, he asked.

Me: Then what did you do after nearly dying?Gym Owner: I suffered from my injuries. That’s why I’m exercising so diligently now.Me: Are you trying to return to the special forces? Or Shaolin?Gym Owner: What? I’m exercising so I won’t be in pain.Gym Owner: You exercise to stay healthy. What other reason would there be?Park Gyuchul’s mind went blank for a moment.

“Ah?”

He had been thinking about things far too deeply for no reason.

He would heal his injured body through energy treatment and exercise.

He had assumed that once his body recovered, he would naturally have to return to work as a hunter.

But after hearing the Gym Owner’s words, he realized that those were two separate issues.

Park Gyuchul suddenly burst into laughter.

“Puhahahahaha.”

It was not his usual fabricated hearty laugh, but genuine laughter.

“Did you eat something strange?”

The man sitting across from him said that and held out a glass of soju.

“Enough of that. Let’s just have a drink.”

Park Gyuchul stared at the glass for a moment, then bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, Senior. I don’t think I can today. No, I think it’ll be difficult for a month or two.”

After saying that, Park Gyuchul abruptly rose from his seat.

“I have to start following my diet today.”

Whether he would return to work as a hunter or not.

It would not be too late to think about that after his body recovered.