JADE 21

“Anyway, I’m telling you, this is seriously bad. You said you go to the gym a couple of times a week, right? What do you do there?”

“There? I just….”

When he felt like it, he would absolutely destroy whichever body part came to mind, but that only happened when he received some kind of revelation, so it was a once-a-month thing, if that. The last time he’d done that was at the end of the year, so it had already been a couple of months.

Usually, Jin Sejun’s routine was to stop once he broke a cold sweat, deciding that was enough, then dust himself off and get up. But no matter how much they’d already seen of each other, he didn’t want to look uncool in front of a guy he’d had a bit of a crush on.

“I do a round of lifting.”

“Lifting? Which body parts? Do you use machines?”

“You’re really grilling me! I was born with the body of a David statue, so honestly, I don’t get saggy or lose my firmness even if I don’t do that stuff. I’ll probably have a sculpted body like this even at seventy, you know?”

“I didn’t say a single word about sagging, so how far are you taking this?”

When Jin Sejun narrowed his eyes and pushed up his own right pectoral, Kwon Joowan scowled.

“Whatever, you don’t do cardio.”

Cardio…. There was a time when he dreamed of spouting the bullshit that if sex was a sport, he took care of his cardio that way. Calling it a dream makes the person sound a bit weird, so let’s just call it a wish.

“When I knock down all the omegas looking for me and work out, that’s cardio, what else would it be?”

And yet, he actually ended up spouting that nonsense. Anyway, whenever he got into a verbal spat with Kwon Joowan, his pride and everything else vanished, leaving only the personality of a spiteful adolescent. In fact, the adolescent Jin Sejun was probably less childish.

“……”

I should have said it in a lighter tone, he thought, but when he looked up, Kwon Joowan’s expression had hardened again.

“What, why? Never regretted not being an omega as much as you do today? Are you lonely? Should I come visit you at night?”

“If I told you to come, would you really come?”

Hey, in this situation, you’re supposed to cut me off in disgust for the flow to feel natural! Jin Sejun, while scolding him internally, put on a seductive smile and interlocked his fingers with Kwon Joowan’s hand. This kind of crap could now be called a confrontation.

“…Ha, forget it.”

“Hahaha, Jin Sejun wins.”

“Yes, congratulations on your many victories. If you have a frail body, you should at least be good at taunting.”

“You know you’re acting all cool, but your tone is totally pissed off.”

“I was going to ask you to work out with me, but I don’t think you could keep up with the workout volume of a former athlete. What if Mr. Sejun drops dead in the street while exercising?”

The guy who said cheerleading didn’t even have a professional league was now calling himself a former athlete. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been an athlete, but it was just annoying anyway.

The most irritating part was Jin Sejun himself, feeling a sense of yearning at Kwon Joowan’s words about asking him to work out together.

Aren’t adults supposed to work out on their own? He forces me to stretch like this, so if I learned to work out from him, I’d probably die.

He had already forgotten the strange tension that had formed while he was panting.

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen a beta look down on an alpha like this. Famous athletes are almost all alphas. Are there any betas? I don’t think so.”

Seeing Kwon Joowan’s eyes darken again, he felt a strange chill run down his spine. It’s just that watching that guy smile has sort of become a hobby, so I’m disappointed. This great alpha is definitely not getting intimidated by some beta!

Kwon Joowan opened his mouth calmly.

“It’s a fact people don’t often know, but many new records were set by beta athletes. Alphas have a tendency to become complacent, but betas don’t.”

“Aha~ Beta pride~. Getting vicarious satisfaction from the single commonality of being non-phenotypical~.”

“……”

…Is he really mad? As Kwon Joowan’s silence lengthened, he somehow lost the will to add any more words.

Why was he, born the self-willed youngest son, so sensitive to others’ moods? Jin Sejun sighed internally and grabbed the hem of Kwon Joowan’s clothes.

“I can’t do five in the morning.”

“Pardon?”

“Jun-teacher, you said before you work out starting at five.”

“…Ah.”

As if he’d never had a hardened expression, Kwon Joowan’s face was once again awash with a warm smile.

“If you do it before work, you’ll be too tired to do your job, Mr. Sejun, so shall we do it after work?”

“My stamina isn’t that garbage. An alpha’s innate physique is different from a beta like Mr. John, who gets rusty if he doesn’t train every day. Right now, you’re looking down on people just because you’re on the decent side for a beta—.”

“Then again, you said you’re not going to the hospital these days. Would seven in the morning be okay? Do you normally eat breakfast?”

He thought he’d told him that back when they were dating, but he doesn’t remember. For some reason, his puffed-up chest deflated in an instant. Jin Sejun handed him the tumbler and answered listlessly.

“Nope, I’m a brunch person.”

“You don’t eat? Then I can just send you off after a fasted workout. Your neighborhood is close, it’s perfect.”

“Suuure.”

“Shall we start right away tomorrow?”

“Suuure?”

“They say to strike while the iron is hot, so let’s do it tomorrow.”

Kwon Joowan even nodded as if he had convinced himself. No, what sin did the ox whose horns were pulled out while they were hot commit? Regardless of Jin Sejun staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, Kwon Joowan presented his own blueprint.

“Let’s start with stretching and jogging rather than strength training. Looking at your condition, Mr. Sejun, you have no foundation.”

“Ha, honestly. Yes. Thank you so, so much. How much should I pay you?”

“It’s fine, I’m just helping you build stamina while I work out. I want to feel a sense of satisfaction seeing you become healthier, Mr. Sejun.”

“Ah…”

“And it’s also the vice director’s role to take care of the instructors.”

“Ah, yes.”

He had said it to be the type to throw kindness back in someone’s face, but Kwon Joowan’s response was so educator-like and benevolent that his stomach felt all knotted up.

“Also, take pictures of what you eat and send them to me.”

“My diet? You’re really going to act like a personal trainer? Won’t that be hard on you too, Jun-teacher?”

“No, I’m doing it because it’s fun. I’ll completely transform you, inside and out.”

“N-no, I don’t want to go on some horrible diet eating only chicken breast.”

“It’s not like we’re doing a strict cut, just send them for now.”

“Okay….”

Words like, “Isn’t it too lewd to become a body that suits your tastes?” did not come out. About 23 seconds ago, he had thought that offering to teach someone how to work out was a rather aggressive, albeit disguised as normal, way of flirting, but since Kwon Joowan so refreshingly called it a hobby, there was nothing more to say.

And it was certainly true that, although he was an alpha, Jin Sejun was lazy in all matters outside of his duties. He tended to become diligent whenever there was someone he wanted to look good for, but that wasn’t the case now.

Even though Kwon Joowan was a beta, he had a good physique and had been working out continuously, so it was only natural that he wouldn’t be satisfied even if Jin Sejun had been working out every day in his own way.

Also…. He knew he was stiff, but it was quite embarrassing that he had even screamed when Kwon Joowan was helping him stretch. No matter how much he bragged about his alpha physique, he’d been completely exposed as a block of wood who didn’t take care of himself.

On top of having already said things about taking a leave of absence due to emotional trauma, he didn’t want to seem like a pathetic person who did nothing.

—

The next day, Jin Sejun fought against 15 alarms and barely made it to the meeting spot. It was because he had spent the previous night agonizing over whether to be a no-show or actually work out together, so he had fallen asleep late.

To be a little more specific, he couldn’t seem to stop contemplating where this whole “working out” thing would end.

Jin Sejun had no intention of dawdling at the academy after May, when Jin Yiseo’s cheerleading competition challenge would be over. So he was skeptical whether it was possible for him to become a workout maniac to Kwon Joowan’s satisfaction in the remaining time of about two months.

‘Is he suggesting we work out together even if I’m not at the academy…? I don’t want to.’

It wasn’t that he truly disliked it, but he didn’t want to see him face-to-face every day when they were nothing to each other. He wanted a beta friend, but thinking of that friend being Kwon Joowan, it was… not great.

—

Jun-teacher: Are you up? You’re not still sleeping, right?

—

In the midst of it all, Kwon Joowan was meticulous enough to even send a confirmation message. This was the first time he had used a private message for personal reasons since sending that long, pleading text to shut Jin Sejun up when they reunited at the academy (he had deleted the messages they’d exchanged when they were in their ‘something’ phase out of irritation).

Working out at this hour on a Saturday, pigs would fly.

‘The sun isn’t even up yet.’

Even after leaving his house, Jin Sejun constantly checked his reflection in unlit shop windows or the windows of parked cars. He had completed his full skincare routine and dried his hair, and had chosen the most form-fitting outfit from his few workout clothes, so he looked like he was on his way to a photoshoot.

Naturally, it was because he might lock eyes with a cute omega or an innocent beta while jogging.

The place they agreed to meet was a park located between Jin Sejun’s house and the cheerleading academy, but closer to the former. The neighborhood had sidewalks convenient for running in any direction, so there were plenty of places to run.

Under the gaunt branches that hid their vitality, Kwon Joowan, in his training clothes, was looking at his sports watch. The morning air was chilly, but the freezing weather seemed to be completely gone.

Suddenly, Kwon Joowan raised both arms and began to gather his awkwardly long hair into a ponytail.

In that moment, the noise from the road completely vanished, and only Kwon Joowan’s figure became strangely clear. It might have been because he was standing there like a model.

His armpits were clearly visible through his loose short-sleeved shirt. He had teased him before, asking if he’d shaved his pits, but seeing that there really was no hair made him feel strange.

He had been thinking so many different things that he didn’t even know how to greet him. Just as a slightly nervous Jin Sejun’s steps were about to slow, Kwon Joowan looked this way.

His gaze landed on Jin Sejun’s face, then slowly swept over his entire body. Even in that brief moment, his heart pounded fiercely as if he were a mouse before a snake, making it difficult to move.

Was it because he was embarrassed to have shown up obediently after throwing a fit about not wanting to work out?

No, is this even something to be embarrassed about?

As soon as a smile appeared on Kwon Joowan’s cheeks, the strange paralysis in his limbs immediately disappeared.

“Are you going straight to work? I’m going to make you sweat.”

“……”

“A lot.”

His cheeks flushed because he was being called out for dressing up when he just came to work out. As if he was concerned, when they even work at the same place. Instead of retorting, Jin Sejun silently began his warm-up.

‘But… wasn’t the nuance a little weird?’

Since they had been acting so dramatic for two people who hadn’t even gotten to the ‘s’ of sex, his ears, or perhaps his mind, seemed to have gotten a little weird. But before Jin Sejun’s self-reflection could end, Kwon Joowan poked him sharply around his cervical spine.

Just as he was about to turn around and ask what he was doing, the finger slid straight down his spine and lingered between his shoulder blades.

“It’s going to get all wet, down to here.”

When he slowly turned around, there was a playful look on Kwon Joowan’s lips. It was something Jin Sejun always did himself, but at this moment, an indescribable annoyance surged within him.

“I don’t care if it does. I’m going to— Jun-teacher.”

When he tried to poke his armpit in retaliation, Kwon Joowan twisted his body in a fluid motion to dodge. And then he immediately started running.

“Agh!”

“Alright, let’s go around the park once and head straight to the riverside.”

“…Suuure.”

Look at him changing the subject because my reaction wasn’t great. Jin Sejun pouted and started running after Kwon Joowan.