Gyun returned home, the house was quiet as he unlocked the apartment door, there was no greeting or sound as he entered.

Gyun knew his mom wouldn't be back from work for another hour and his brother was at soccer practice for a few hours and his sister was living in her college dorm so he had the house to himself. Grabbing his prepped food out of the fridge and putting it in the microwave, while it warmed his food he grabbed his protein powder off the shelf and put some scoops in his bottle he shook it up and grabbed his food out of the microwave.

Turning on the TV he sighed as he sat down to watch one of his favorite shows, 'The last show', a documentary about Shikur Khan one of the greatest traditional musicians of India giving his last concert in Delhi before being assassinated by a fan. Gyun sighed as he sunk into the couch, he ate his pre-prepped food, it was part of his meal plan that his nutritionist gave him, it was somewhat decent it wasn't bland or anything in particular but it wasn't good in any sense.

Gyun didn't regret spending the few million won he saved up to get a year-long plan the results were evident as he was packing on muscle and maintaining his leanness at the same time. He sipped his protein shake to wash the food down, he didn't particularly like the taste of it but he was told it was good for post-workout recovery and pre-workout, though he hated to admit it those guys who he considered to be second rate at best made him to work up a sweat.

He hated the idea that he was as vulnerable as those who he would just have to wave a hand at and they would evaporate into thin air. Gyun finished his food, changed into another pair of clothes, he grabbed a water bottle on his way out.

He put on his pair of earbuds and turned on his music as he got out of the elevator, he started running as soon as he was out of the apartment complex.

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1 hour and 8 minutes later

Gyun finished his run gasping for breath on the ground as he gulped down the water, he had been running a half marathon (13 miles) at the fastest pace he could manage he was aiming to break the world record every day which was sitting at 57 minutes. Gyun checked his fit watch,

"Hahaha! A minute and a half faster than last week!"

Gyun celebrated on the ground before he finally got up his legs were shaking as he walked, only a few hundred feet from his apartment. His legs and lungs were on fire as he hobbled to the apartment elevator

Gyun wiped his sweat with his shirt as he got off the elevator, he walked to the apartment door, opened it and a delicious smell of cooking hit Gyun like a truck.

He chuckled as he smiled, -yeah this is why I came back, it was all for this-

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His mother from within the kitchen called out to him, "Gyun is that you?!"

"Yeah Mom it's me, do you need me to help with the food?"

His mom came out of the kitchen, "Not after your run, go take a shower and change, the food will be ready by then"

Gyun smiled as he left to grab some new clothes and take a shower setting his water bottle on the counter as he walked by. "Where's Daegun?"

"He said he was going to a PC cafe with his friends for a while, he said he'll be home by 7:00 "

Gyun sighed, "Is Haeun still coming over from her dorms for dinner tonight?"

His mom turned back to the kitchen, "Yeah she's on her way she's even bringing a friend so be nice okay? They"

Gyun playfully replied as he closed the door to the bathroom, "Fine"

His mom shouted behind "Hey I mean it! Be nice! Your sister's celebrating that internship she got!"

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Gyun got out of the shower and changed into a fresh pair of clothes, a pair of sweatpants, and an athletic long-sleeve t-shirt.

He walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, "You still need help mo- huh?" Gyun perked up as he smelled a strong burning smell coming from the stir-fried pork his mom was making. "what's that smell?"

His mom sighed as she scraped the food into the trash, "Ugh don't talk about it I burned it while I wasn't paying attention," she sighed as she set the pan back on the stove, "I'm already ordered some takeout out, I'm going out for a few minutes to pick it up from that restaurant around the corner that opened up, I know you might not eat it since you're dieting but your brother and your sister and her friend are going to be hungry so I've got to have something for when they get home".

"Okay I'll just relax for a bit then, I already ate anyway so I'm fine"

His mom slid on her coat as she headed to the door, "That's fine, just tell your brother and sister if they come by that I'll be back in 30 okay?"

"Yeah sure"

His mom closed the door at that

Gyun sighed as he went back into his room to retrieve a yoga mat as he started his daily stretches, taking deep breaths as proceeded through his routine.

Controlling his breathing as he continued transitioning through his stretches, Gyun had been diligently training his flexibility to maintain and improve his range of motion. Because unlike in murim qi couldn't be used as a crutch, it simply didn't exist. All he was left after the decade he dedicated in that hell was his supernatural body that gave him increased stamina, strength, speed, and durability.

But he was by no means invincible, he was still human he could bleed and tire like anybody else, that's what set Gyun on his harsh training and path of self-improvement, nobody was born flexible and Gyun was no different he had to train extremely hard already to maintain his current level but to reach a new level required something different

With dedication and patience, no one is born the best, everyone has different starting points and speeds at which they progress. But everybody, no matter who reaches a block, it's those who can push through that block that becomes the best.

Gyun finished his stretches standing up his breathing remaining controlled, Gyun checked his phone, only 10 minutes had passed, and pondered whether to do a short calisthenics workout and take a shower before his mom came back.

"Ah fuck it, why not"

Gyun rolled up the yoga mat and walked to his room he slid the yoga mat under his bed and reached under to grab parallettes. (small gymnastics device that is used to simulate parallel bars)

Setting them on the ground, Gyun pulled out his phone setting a 15-minute timer to workout giving him plenty of time to retake a shower before his mom got home

He breathed out as he grabbed a hold of the parallettes, he leaned forward breathing in as he brought his legs up holding a planche, he counted the time in his head as he strained to hold it breathing in and out as he held it.

His arms started to shake as he approached 1 minute, as he reached the 1-minute mark he let it down. He gave himself a short 15-second break before repeating the routine another 4 times.

His core was on fire as he switched exercises kicking his legs up and holding a handstand he held it for a moment before he started a decline performing a handstand pushup until his arms were at 90 degrees he held the position for a few seconds, sweat dripping from his head as he did, the music in his earbuds was blasting as he pushed through the burning in his arms.

Completely absorbed in his workout Gyun didn't notice the apartment door opening nor the door to his room being opened until someone tapped him on the back.