Chapter 12: Breaking Ties and Leaving Marks
" Uhh... why's everyone looking at me?." Lin Mu asked as he stepped off the treadmill, his chest heaving as sweat dripped from his brow.
The sprint he'd just finished made his body fell invigorated, but his euphoria faded when he noticed the intense stares surrounding him. The onlookers, who had been whispering moments ago, now openly gawked at him, their faces a mix of shock, confusion, and something else hidden which Lin Mu didn't expect to be aimed at him.
Resentment.
The gym was silent except for the faint hum of the treadmill slowing to a stop. Lin Mu stood Infront of them in silence, his chest rising and falling as he wiped the sweat from his brow. A dozen pairs of eyes were glued to him, mouths slightly ajar, stunned by what they had just witnessed.
"Little Lin!, That was incredible!" a voice piped up from the crowd. It was the same middle-aged woman who had moments ago been whispering to her neighbor about his lack of abilities. She now wore an exaggerated smile, clapping her hands as if she couldn't be any happier.
' Little Lin?.' Lin Mu's eyes twitched unconsciously.
"Yes, amazing!, Who would've thought you could run like that?" chimed in a younger man who had once made fun of Lin Mu's quiet nature. He stepped forward, giving a loud, fake laugh.
"To think we all underestimated you," added another voice, this time a man Lin Mu clearly remembered. It was the very same one who'd 'accidentally' spilled protein powder on him several months ago and laughed about it with his friends.
Lin Mu stood still, his expression calm but his eyes darkening as he looked at the faces in the crowd. The fake smiles, the exaggerated cheers, they irritated him more than the open mockery he'd endured before.
"You're all happy for me, huh?!" Lin Mu raised a brow, his questioning voice cutting through the false enthusiasm.
The clapping faltered, and the smiles began to waver.
" Little Lin, Why so surprised?." A man asked with an awkward smile.
" Isn't it normal for neighbors to congratulate each other." An old woman who was actually one of Lin Mu's neighbors suddenly spoke up, a warm smile etched on her wrinkly face.
"I expected you all to be stunned but this?. Doesn't anyone of you have any sense of shame?." Lin Mu's eyes glanced at them with a repulsive gave, while he took a step forward.
His eyes swept over them, his voice nonchalant and steady. "Where was all this support when I was struggling?, cause I can't seem to remember anyone of you being this nice when I was at rock bottom, You all remember right?, the Time I actually needed a single shred of kindness?".
Like he expected, No one answered. The crowd shifted uneasily, Some of their gazes dropping to the floor or staring at something else to avert his gaze.
"You," Lin Mu said, pointing to the middle-aged woman. She flinched when everyone's gaze suddenly moved to her.
" M-me?...."
"Yes you, miss Stacey...., Weren't you the one who used to call me a 'talentless waste,' Always saying that I should stop pretending, That i was nothing more than a burden."
The woman's face turned red, and she stammered, "I-I didn't mean it like that—"
"Of course you didn't...." Lin Mu rolled his eyes at her, his voice calm.
He then turned to a younger man who had laughed earlier. "And you Arjun. Do you still remember what you said to me when I came to your families clinic, asking for a simple discount when trying to purchase drugs for my feeble grandfather?."
" What was it you said again?. You told me to 'Get lost' because 'powerless freaks like me don't belong there...." Lin Mu said calmly, yet his eyes had darkened even more after recalling that unforgettable memory.
Arjun opened his mouth, but no words came out, he could only stare at the ground to avoid everyone's constant stares.
"And you," Lin Mu said, now glaring at the man who had spilled protein powder on him last year when he first tried giving the Gym a try. "Do you want to explain why you thought it was funny to humiliate me several months ago, Let me guess , your gonna tell me that, that was your way of 'motivating' me?" Lin Mu took calm steps towards the man, his eyes turning colder and colder. A sinister aura slowly emitting from him.
The man's face went pale, and he took a step back unconsciously. Even a few of the onlookers began taking steps back due to caution.
Lin Mu's gaze swept over the rest of the crowd. "Do any of you have something to say?. Anything at all to refute my claims?"
Silence.
"You were all so quick to judge me, to tear me down, to make yourselves feel superior. And now, suddenly, you want to act like you've always been there with me from the very beginning."
" I'll ask this again, Do non of you really have any ounce of shame?" Lin Mu's voice grew louder, each word laced with bitterness.
' to be honest, I don't know whether to feel sick or nauseated...'
The tension in the room was now awkward. No one dared to speak or meet his gaze.
"I don't need your fake applause," Lin Mu said, his voice low but firm.
"And I definitely don't need your approval. You all showed me exactly who you where when I was at my weakest. I really should thank you all for reminding me, so believe me when I say this, I definitely won't ever forget it." A visible grin creeped onto Lin Mu's lips.
" Watch your tongue kid!." a middle-aged man with a wiry frame and sharp eyes finally stepped forward, his voice edged with some tyranny. " Just because you ran a few miles doesn't mean you can talk back at your elders that way!."
" Yes, don't you have any ounce of respect in you!." An old man with a bit of grey hair and a wrinkled face added. " The only thing we really wanna know is how you suddenly got an ability of your own after so many years."
" Yeah!!!, Just what on earth did you take, How can someone like you hit that kind of speed?."
" Brat, you think it's funny to mislead us all this time." Another spectator said with obvious resentment and frustration.
Another voice from the crowd, a random female, piped up. "Yeah, weren't you supposed to be powerless?, How come you pulled that off?."