Ruin Entertainment. It was an agency that had been rapidly rising recently. It was becoming famous for its aggressive recruitment of stars, and uniquely, the CEO was a woman. Breaking the stereotype of a female-led company, Ruin Entertainment was rising day by day.
They had already recruited many top-tier actors, and it goes without saying that they had a large number of talented singers.
"Ruin? I've never heard of this company."
"The only companies you know are the Big 3 agencies. You're not interested in this stuff anyway."
"That's true. But are you sure I can handle such a demanding client? I heard entertainers are really picky."
"The other trainers' schedules don't match up. It's not easy to be assigned exclusively. Besides, aren't you better at weight loss than the trainers?"
"But I'm not exactly the friendly type."
"They're coming prepared too, so it'll be fine. They're not even a star yet."
"Who is it?"
"A singer. A singer preparing for debut who wants to lose some overall body fat."
"Is it a girl group?"
"No, it's a solo act. Are you interested?"
"As long as it doesn't interfere with my training, it's not bad. How long do I need to stick with them?"
"You'll need to create a program and manage them, so you'll have to set aside some time. You don't need to be with them all day, though."
"It'll be done here, right?"
"Yeah, they'll come here. Will you do it?"
"Sure. If it's arranged by an entertainment company, the pay should be good, right?"
"This guy's already talking about money."
"I spent a lot recently, so I'm bleeding money."
"Bah. You Scrooge."
"Call me frugal. There are so many places where money needs to go."
"What? Are you planning to open a gym or something?"
"It's not impossible."
"Alright, if it's something like that, your uncle will back you up."
"But I don't have the business acumen."
"What are you talking about? You're only twenty, but you're talking like a man in his forties. Anyway, I'll send you the photo and profile by text now, so take a look."
Cho Yong-il sent a text to Yu Jung-ak. A photo of a beautiful woman around Yu Jung-ak's age appeared on Yu Jung-ak's smartphone.
After seeing the photo, Yu Jung-ak asked.
"When was this photo taken?"
"They said it was taken yesterday."
"They want to lose more weight from this? It doesn't look like there's anywhere to lose from."
"Kid, all celebrities are like that."
"This looks troublesome."
The profile of Yu Jung-ak's client was briefly stated as 169cm and 55kg. To be honest, it wasn't a body type that could be called overweight.
"Do you think you can handle it?"
"How much do they want to lose?"
"Female singers are all like that, under 50."
"Under 50 at 169cm? Are they asking to create a skeleton? It'll be physically taxing. It won't be easy to maintain either."
"Kid, all celebrities are like that. They tend to look a bit bigger on screen than in real life. And we just need to help them lose weight by the set date, right? The management after that is their responsibility. Anyway, celebrities can't come to the center often once they start working. Their schedules are too busy."
"Alright, I understand. How long do they give us?"
"Seven to eight weeks."
"That's tight."
"It's not easy. You have to lose 5 kilos in two months. And she's not even overweight."
"I'll give it a try anyway."
"Alright. She'll probably come tomorrow."
"Starting tomorrow?"
"They want to start at the center as soon as possible."
"Must be a promising newcomer."
"As you can see from the photo, she's pretty. They say she sings well too. When she comes tomorrow, start with the InBody test."
"Did you tell her to come on an empty stomach?"
"I gave you her number. Contact her directly. It's the client manager's number. You should try doing this kind of thing too."
"You're telling me to make sure, right?"
"That's right, kid."
"Understood."
Yu Jung-ak bowed and went out with his smartphone. Angela was exercising hard.
"Let's stop here for today."
"Did something come up?"
"I have some work. Let's stop here for today."
"Okay."
Angela looked disappointed, but Yu Jung-ak returned to his quarters with his smartphone. Weight loss wasn't easy.
Even for Yu Jung-ak, who was at the level of a weight loss expert, it was his first time systematically managing the weight of a non-athlete. So there was a lot to prepare.
Yu Jung-ak made the call first.
[Hello?]
[Yes, hello. This is Yu Jung-ak from the Silence Center.]
The person who answered the phone was a woman.
[Ah, you're from the center. Are you the one who will be managing our Ji-yun this time? I'm Ji-yun's manager, Koo Jin-seo.]
[Yes, hello.]
[What time should we visit tomorrow?]
[It's better to come as early as possible. We don't have much time. The sooner we start, the better. And you need to come on an empty stomach for the InBody test when you arrive.]
[So does that mean she can't eat anything from tomorrow?]
[That's not the case. There will be plenty to eat when you come here, so don't worry about that. Just skip breakfast and come. Don't eat anything too late at night.]
[Yes, I understand.]
Yu Jung-ak hung up the phone and started to roughly draft a program based on the profile. It was important to have this ready because he needed to give a brief briefing before starting the program. Although it was his first time taking on a full-time training assignment, it was possible because of his previous small jobs at the center.
The next day, at nine o'clock.
A black van entered the parking lot exactly at nine o'clock. Yu Jung-ak was waiting on the first floor after finishing his morning exercise.
A female manager got out of the van first, followed by Yoon Ji-yun, who would be training. She looked much better in person than in the photo. She was said to be a year older than Yu Jung-ak, but she had a friendly expression.
"Hello!"
Yoon Ji-yun greeted Yu Jung-ak loudly as soon as she saw him.
"Ah, yes. Hello."
"Wow, trainer, you're much more handsome than I expected. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Hoho."
Manager Koo Jin-seo appeared to be in her early 30s, a pretty woman. She was neatly dressed in office wear with full makeup. In contrast, Yoon Ji-yun was dressed in workout clothes.
"Yes, let's go inside."
Yu Jung-ak was slightly nervous, expecting her to be very picky, but she wasn't. Yoon Ji-yun had a cheerful personality and got along well with her manager. She didn't look down on or disrespect Yu Jung-ak either.
Black pupils in round eyes. A moderately high nose and fair skin. She was a natural beauty rarely seen these days. Seeing her in person, there was nothing unnatural about her.
"The target weight is around 49kg, right?"
"Yes."
"You look just right as you are now."
"That's true, but I look a bit puffy in camera tests."
"Anyway, I understand. You didn't eat breakfast, right?"
"Yes."
"We'll do the InBody test and then you can have a meal."
Yu Jung-ak carefully assisted Yoon Ji-yun with the InBody test. Then he guided Yoon Ji-yun to the third floor.
"This will be your quarters, Ms. Yoon Ji-yun. Do you like it?"
"It's better than most hotels."
"It should be fine for two people to use."
It was said that Manager Koo Jin-seo would also stay here while Yoon Ji-yun was staying. Seeing that a manager was exclusively assigned to manage her, it seemed like she was a promising newcomer that the company had high expectations for.
"Let's talk based on the InBody test results."
"Yes. There's nothing seriously wrong, right?"
Koo Jin-seo asked with a smile.
"The InBody test isn't a comprehensive medical examination."
"I know. I was just joking."
"Let's sit down first."
As Yu Jung-ak sat down, a center employee brought a tray with coffee and two pieces of sandwich.
"This is for you to eat now that the InBody test is over."
"Oh my. How thoughtful."
"Thank you."
Yoon Ji-yun was still a bit shy.
"First of all, the InBody test results aren't bad. It seems like you exercise regularly?"
"I do basic exercises."
"So to get below 50 kilos, we'll need to do more intense training."
"Do I have to starve a lot?"
"Not necessarily. I've drafted a simple program, take a look."
Yu Jung-ak showed the program to Koo Jin-seo. The program was detailed up to the 8th week.
Not only the program but also the expected diet plan and target weight were written. Koo Jin-seo, who was looking at the program closely with Yoon Ji-yun, tilted her head.
"But..."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Why is there no weight change for the first 4 weeks?"
Koo Jin-seo was right. In the program Yu Jung-ak had drafted, there was no weight change for the first 4 weeks. If there's no weight change for 4 weeks, why give 8 weeks of time?
"Yes, that's because it makes it easier to lose weight."
"I've been to many centers, but this is the first time I've seen something like this."
"You know dieting isn't easy, right?"
Yu Jung-ak was skilled. He continued his answer naturally, as if he had expected Koo Jin-seo to ask this question.
"I know."
"People think losing weight is easy, but it's not. To use an analogy, it's like suddenly telling someone who's been walking on two feet to live while doing a handstand. If you suddenly tell someone to live doing a handstand, what would happen to that person? They'd fall over eventually, right?"
"That's right."
"Dieting is the same. If you start too intensely from the beginning, you'll collapse at some point. Starting too intensely leads to loss of motivation and overeating during the program. Dieting isn't easy. Especially for people like Ms. Yoon Ji-yun who are at a normal weight, losing body fat is even more difficult. So we need to make the program even more rigorous, but if we add stress from eating restrictions on top of that, it becomes even harder."
"So that's why there's no weight change for 4 weeks?"
"Yes."
"But isn't losing more than 5 kilos in the remaining 4 weeks too much?"
"Not at all. There may be no weight change, but during the first 4 weeks, we'll be preparing the body sufficiently for weight change. Koreans eat rice, soup, and kimchi their whole lives, right?"
"That's right."
"Imagine suddenly telling them not to eat that from today. No tteokbokki, pizza, hamburgers, or ramen. Wouldn't you crave it? But there's no such food at the center. What would you do then? You'd look for similar tastes. And you'd eat more. Wouldn't that be counterproductive?"
Koo Jin-seo and Yoon Ji-yun looked at each other once at Yu Jung-ak's fluent speech. They were honestly a bit worried because the dedicated trainer was young, but seeing him speak, he was no ordinary person. The center director, Cho Yong-il, said he'd assign the most skilled trainer, and it seemed to be true.
"Okay. Are there any points to be careful about?"
"There won't be much difficulty for the first 4 weeks. Don't think you have to lose weight obligatorily, think of it as having fun. It's important not to get stressed. First of all, the most important thing is to eat slowly. Chewing thoroughly. You've heard that a lot when you were young, right?"
"Think of eating about 15 minutes slower than usual. It's okay to eat more than usual. Just eat slowly. The center's dining hall is buffet-style, so just take the food you want and eat slowly. And eat less salty than usual. The center's food isn't very salty, so you don't need to worry too much about this."
"Are there any foods I should avoid?"
"I said earlier, if you suddenly cut off food..."
"Ah, right. You did say that."
"However, late-night snacks are prohibited. I'll prepare a proper program schedule and give it to you tomorrow or the day after. For now, let's go eat."
As Yu Jung-ak stood up, Koo Jin-seo and Yoon Ji-yun stood up. Honestly, Yoon Ji-yun had come prepared for a tough time, but after hearing Yu Jung-ak's words, she felt it might not be as difficult as she thought. Just a feeling.
Yoon Ji-yun would realize in just a few hours that the program Yu Jung-ak had designed was not as easy as it seemed when actually put into practice.