Chapter 20:

Seven-year-and-eleven-months-old Kim Jung hee gawked at the gym as he stood there right next to his father.

Jung had never seen a gym before, and it piqued his interest. The gym appeared to be dilapidated and in disrepair at first glance. The walls had yellowed and peeling paint, and large cracks ran through them. The floor was strewn with broken tiles, and the air was musty and stale. The weight machines' upholstery was torn and frayed, and the equipment was old and rusted. Instead, the majority of the equipment is of the jury-rigged variety. Mirrors were cracked and fogged, and lighting was dim and flickering. The windows are covered up with grills instead of glass, which is an obvious fire hazard. The floor is mostly polished cement and is relatively clean, but a portion of the floor is covered with the foamy rubbery thing they called exercise mats, in pink, of all things.

Jung examined the machinery more closely, and it awakened his curiosity. He didn't realize it at the time, but the Gungho gym he visited was unusual for any normal gym rat. For one thing, aside from the exercise mat in the center of the gym, nothing in there will be remotely recognizable to a modern gym. There are no treadmills, stationary bikes, or other standard exercise machines.

Instead, it has sets of "barbells" made of square cemented cubes hanging on a metal bar. The three punching bags in one corner of the room are nothing more than sand in a heavy sack covered in tape. A few customized hanging metal bars also exist for full-body pullups. And also a few rows of old mirrors to see yourself with faded corners.

However, the “clients” who use the "facilities" are clearly showing results in their quest to toughen up, as many of them exhibit the toned muscles that any gym would want to promote. The smell of body odor and rubbing alcohol adds a homey feel to the place, which Jung appreciated.

"Son, I would like you to meet an old comrade of mine, Im Dongyun. We were soldiers once until I became a farmer and he became a gym instructor."

Jung was so startled that he bowed his head low in greetings. The man came over to them, but Jung was so mesmerized by the gym that he didn’t even notice. Luckily, the man didn’t seem to notice.

"Gym owner." The old man beside his father corrected him. "I don't only instruct, but I own this place," he said proudly. The man didn’t seem to practice what he was preaching since he has a huge beer belly and a flabby chin. But a closer look made Jung realize the muscle underneath that flab. His eyes are staring at him with a sardonic look, and Jung immediately likes him.

"Well, at the risk of making his head swell even more, this old man is the best practical fighter I know, and hopefully he can help you defend yourself."

The old man looked down on Jung under his nose. "He looks like a twig. A small twig."

Jung's father gave him a look. "Do you think I'll bring him here if he already resembles your muscle heads over there? He's here because he is a twig. I want you to try and toughen him up if you can."

I'm standing right here, Jung thought morosely as the two old friends bickered. They eventually discussed payment, and Jung's father promised him an entire sack of rice in exchange for three months of training. His father originally wanted four months, but his friend countered with two, and they eventually agreed to three months. Jung blinked, taken aback. To any Korean, the sack of rice was a small fortune. He wanted to protest to explain that what had happened to him was insignificant. But he can see his father's set jaw and knows he won't budge once his decision is made, so he had no choice but to accept this new development in his life.

A new prompt grabbed his attention.

Ding!

New Quest: Find a way to extend your gym membership for another 6 months.

Reward: Unknown

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Failure to complete the quest will result in a level decrease in 3 random skills.

Jung sighed as he closed the mental window. He'd had the feeling for a while that the system was forcing him to try new things. The newer it is, the more likely the system will nudge him in that direction. He was perplexed as to why.

With the additional activities caused by his new gym responsibilities every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Jung's schedule became very hectic. Especially for an almost eight-year-old who just got back to school.

******

Jung’s first week in the gym was nothing special. He was given a tour of the facility, which is not much. But then Uncle Dongyun used him mostly to clean the place down. Jung started calling the old man “Uncle” since his father referred to him as a brother. Supposedly, it is to promote discipline. So he is ordered to wash the walls, sweep the floor, and return the pieces of equipment to their original places.

On top of that, Jung became a sort of mascot for the gym that first week. By the second week, the sharp-eyed owner, Dongyun noticed how adorable and intelligent the kid was, and he now used the kid to greet incoming guests to secure new members. The kid wasn't always able to close the deal, but there is a remarkable 30% increase in new members since last month alone.

Unfortunately, not everyone likes mascots, and Jung is constantly being pushed around and intimidated by the regulars.

"Watch where you are going, shrimp."

"Hey brat! Bring those weights back here. I'm not done with that yet."

“Stop moving around, you little shit. You’re distracting me!”

Dongyun was about to bring down the hammer to the worst offenders when he learned that mild bullying has been happening ever since the kid arrived, but realized that every insult or threat the kid received just washed over him. Despite pouting or crunching his face in exasperation, the kid was not affected by the bigger adults around him. So Dongyun tentatively let the hazing continue. After all, he promised Hyusil to toughen up his kid.

When the kid returns to school days later, he will run towards the gym, which is luckily enough in the same town where his school is located. He will do everything and anything the gym orders him to do, and then he will go back home exhausted. Old man Dongyun only found out later that the kid trekked another 7 mountains to reach home. He realized the kid had incredible stamina. When the child returned to the gym, he directed his instructors to place him in basic cardio training and stretching.

At first, his instructor tried to go easy on him, but as Jung gradually kept up with the exercises, they made him work on more and more advanced challenges.

There are two classes that the gym sponsors. The morning class is made up of general practitioners who simply want to exercise and have fun. The afternoon class is reserved for those who wanted to be trained in the art of mixed martial arts. Unfortunately, by the end of his first month in the gym, Jung is placed in the afternoon class, which is made up of pros and those who want to become pros.

This class is far more brutal than the morning class, as Jung learned immediately.

Every class starts with an hour of warm-ups. First, they run around the gym for 10 laps. Then another ten laps around the gym, moving sideways. Once inside, the instructor's favorite warm-up is a modified pushup with a standing jump every 5 reps. Then jumping jacks followed by sit-ups. Five-minute breaks to catch their breath then on to strengthening exercises. They go in pairs then one lay down on their back and grab their partner's ankles. Once in position, they lift their legs ups all the way to the top only to be grabbed by their partner. A heartbeat, then release, rinse, and repeat for 100 reps. The instructors would finish with stretching exercises.

Only then will they start the lesson for the day which is body tackling.

Tackling practices is very repetitive, as Jung found out. The first is 100 reps of double leg tackles with actual takedown throws every tenth tackle. This is followed by 100 reps of single-leg tackle, also lifting every tenth tackle, then repeating on the other leg.

A brief lesson on other offensive body tackles followed by several demonstrations. Normally, at this point, Jung and other junior practitioners are set aside to learn more basic lessons. For one they are placed in pairs again and one goes into what is called a referee's position, where one wrestler starts on his hands and knees down on the mat, and the other starts on top, behind, and in control. The one on top will body clutch the other and then attempt to lift him. They do this in 10 reps of 3 sets of position changes.

A bewildered and exhausted Jung wanted to know why they are preparing for a fight when he had no intention of fighting anyone.

After another 5-minute break, one will go into the mount position, while another in the closed guard position will attempt to subdue or break free from his partner. The instructor is around to give basic instructions and to push and motivate them to put in more effort.

After several hours of physical exertion, the instructors will ask them to meditate on what they learned, then say a few more closing words, and they are done for the day.

You could imagine the perplexed look the grown men had on their faces as they were ordered to manhandle a child. At first, they were awkward and hesitating, but Jung was made of sterner stuff, and the men soon enough realized that the kid is almost unbreakable. But that didn’t mean the little kid was not affected by bruises. One participant started to really experiment with Jung’s small body, that he dislocated the boy’s shoulder in one session. Dongyun roared at him, and despite his large frame, the old man almost shook him like a rag doll. If someone is able to glimpse Jung's mind, he has no real anger to the people who is bullying him. He is simply confused about why they needed to learn how to fight. He never needed to fight.

Normally, at that point, Jung could barely move. The veterans would smirk at him. "All that pain you feel in your body is the way the universe is telling you that all your effort is working," Instructor Dongyun would tell him. Then they will blink in surprise when Jung drags his body and starts moving again.

Unfortunately, Jung's days are not yet over since he still needed to get dressed and help clean the place up for tomorrow's morning class. Then he still has seven mountains to trek back home.

When he arrives back home, he immediately assists his mother with the kitchen chores. They will have a quiet dinner when his father returns, and then Jung will finish the last of the night's chores. This will allow Jung to work on his school assignments while also possibly assisting his mother with her sewing or, if his mother is not in the mood, perhaps a light massage for her aching muscles.

When both his parents are sleeping, only then does Jung contemplate going to bed, after he has secured and boarded the house, of course.

Then tomorrow he will wake up early and start his day all over again.