The same day evening;
"Euigeon-ah, didn't you just say yesterday that you started to love to work out?" Jun said to Daniel, trying to drag him along in signing up for the gym.
"I only said about working out, not to go to the outside gym and embarrass myself." Daniel soundly rejected Jun's request. The closer they have gotten, the easier it became for Daniel to say it to Jun's face.
Jun was a bit embarrassed to go there alone and show off. Daniel was closest to him, so, he tried to take him along. With his proposal has been denied, Jun pulled out his trump card.
Clearing his throat, he said, "Jaewook-Hyung mentioned that the gym was visited by several celebrities like Kim Jong Kook, G.O.D's Park Joon, Ji Chang Wook, Kim Woo-bin, Min Hyorin, Bora, Jun Jihyun, even including Yoo In-Na."
"Yoo In-Na?" Daniel's eyes flashed as soon as he heard it. Daniel doesn't admit it, but in Jun's eyes, this dongsaeng of his had a crush on the Goblin's actress.
And voila, the fish took the bait. Within no time, Daniel was seen following Jun to the gym named 'One', located within the neighborhood.
There were two reasons Jun wanted to take this GYM's membership. One is to test his limits with those advanced pieces of equipment, and the other is to somehow meet Kim Jong Kook.
As a hardcore fan of running man, Jun loves all the nine members. Unfortunately, he cannot meet Gary because he had already departed from the show, even in this parallel world. He can't do anything about it.
In fact, Jun wouldn't even know about it if not for Lee Jae Wook, the main choreographer, and CEO of X-Academy.
During one of the breaks in shooting, Lee Jaewook informed him about it, although it was originally the CEO's suggestion. The choreographer is just a middleman.
It was then Jun decided to reach 9 points of strength as soon as possible and then, go to the GYM, and probably gets acquainted with Kim Jong Kook if an opportunity arrives.
He doesn't know how Kim Jong Kook is off-camera but at least on-camera, he loves to work out and also loves to promote it to others.
With such an agenda in mind, he rushes to the GYM called the "One."
"One" is 3 stories high.
Both of them glanced up for a second and walked inside.
Nearby the entrance is where the reception is, just like usual. The receptionist didn't recognize either of them but seeing their top-quality visuals and good height, she thought they might be trainees.
Because Jun wore a loose and big t-shirt, she could only see him as a slim trainee like others. Little does she knows, his current physique is no doubt better than any of the clients here.
"Hello, how may I help you?" She spoke with a smile.
Jun answered as he took out his ID Pass, "Hi, we would like to have a GYM membership."
She scanned the ID and confirmed that he's contracted to the company as an artist with the contract expiry, seven years later.
"What kinds of membership are you interested in?" She asked the two of them before explaining in detail, "We have three types of memberships. First is annual membership where you only have to pay 72000 won (~60$) per annum and every time you come to the gym, you pay 6000 won (~5$).
The second type is a monthly membership where you have to pay 90000 won (75$) every month.
Both of them have the same benefits. You can use the GYM on the first floor, which is basically for men. Two trainers work on the first floor. Of course, this membership card can also give access to our branches in other cities too. Unlimited FitQuest fitness and body composition measurements are a bonus.
And the third type is a VIP membership, which costs a one-time fee of 500,000 won (~415$). You will get a lifetime membership card. Then, you would just need to pay 25000 won (~21$) per session, which is about six hours. You will be able to use the third floor, which is restricted to only VIP members.
As for the benefits, you can expect world-class equipment on the top floor. We'll also get you an exclusive trainer. We also offer services like nutrition advice, weight loss challenges, lifestyle seminar, Yoga, etc…
There's also an additional 5-10% discount on all products we sell here or any other branches too.
Our GYM is also open 24 hours 7 weeks for VIP members but the trainers won't be available between 11 p.m., and 4 p.m. As for the normal members, the timings are from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m."
Daniel went into a daze as the receptionist explained in clear detail. It felt like a rip-off to him, especially the VIP membership. But, he could guess those top celebrities would usually want the VIP treatment.
His goal is to meet the actress, not to work out with other trainees and idols or small-time celebrities and staff members.
Meanwhile, Jun went to thoughts. He was calculating pros and cons.
As for the receptionist, she was silently waiting for his decision, although hoping to choose the VIP membership.
She doesn't care how Jun would be able to pay the debt if the GYM fees themselves become a burden. What she cares is about more memberships. The greater the members she managed to sign up for, the higher her bonus will be.
She also needs to eat and live. So, the receptionist isn't in a situation to think about these young trainees either.
"Okay, I'll take the VIP membership." Jun nodded and looked at Daniel, "what about you?"
"Well, it is a little bit expensive but I guess I'll first see the results and then, decide," Daniel told him that he will buy the monthly membership and took out his card.
However, Jun waved his hands, "I will pay it up."
He turned back to the receptionist who was surprised by his words and said, "2 VIP memberships, please. Keep it on my tab. Thank you."
"That's 1 million won!" Daniel exclaimed in surprise, to which, Jun let out a smile, "I was the one that dragged you here. If you feel bad, then, you can just pay me back when you earn."
"Thank you." Daniel felt Jun was indeed a generous fellow and thanked him.
Within five minutes, both of them are registered and were given an exquisite-looking black card. They were just temporary passes until they print their original cards with photos and details like name, unique identification number, etc…
Both of them were escorted by the GYM manager as they were now VIP customers.
As they walked a few steps forward, they reached the store where they found only three people are present, looking around the products in the nutrition section filled with nutrition products.
One of them was a male and the other two were females. They looked neither young nor old, probably in their late twenties or thirties but their looks were good. However, Jun didn't recognize even one of them.
He first inspected the males. "Ko Jiyong? Oh, he was a member of SechSkies."
Jun then looked at the other two, "Kim Seulgi? The name was a bit familiar, probably an actress." "Han yeri? Never heard of her. Maybe, she's also an actress. But then again, she's Han too. I wonder which Han, is she Cheongju Han Clan like me or does she belong to other ones like Danju, Samhwa, or Goksan. Either way, they must be Bobae noona's seniors. And there's also our sunbae. Should I go ahead and greet them?"
Jun stopped in his tracks and went into a dilemma on whether to greet them or just go ahead.
But, Daniel did recognize them either and he just followed the manager before realizing that Jun was standing behind.
"Hyung, let's go…" He said to Jun, to which, the latter hesitated a bit before nodding to him and followed the both of them.
Thankfully, the three of them appeared to be busy enough to not notice the presence of Jun and Daniel earlier. They get onto the elevator and went to the third floor, instead of taking steps.
The elevator was connected to the exercise room. So, as soon as they stepped out, their eyes roamed around.
Here, only one person appeared to be training but Jun was the most surprised to spot the muscular man in his early forties while looking after by an exclusive trainer who himself looks pale when compared to the client's body.
"Seriously? My luck is this great?" He was stunned on the spot to see the person with whom he wanted to get acquainted.