A noise.

The gym we arrived at wasn’t too crowded.

Weekday afternoon.

Most likely, the time of day worked in our favor, since the kind of working adults who diligently hit the gym for self-improvement probably couldn’t make it at this hour.

“It’s like we’ve got the place to ourselves, huh?”

Hayashi said.

“Yeah, we can use any equipment we want.”

“Yup, we can do whatever we please!”

“That phrasing feels a bit… inappropriate.”

“Hehe!”

Hayashi flashed a smug grin.

Honestly, I didn’t quite get why she was smiling like that.

“Alright, let’s meet back here after we change.”

“Got it!”

We parted ways for a bit in the changing rooms.

I slipped into the shoes I’d brought for the gym, changed into light, workout-friendly clothes, and headed back to the hallway.

“Sorry to keep you waiting~”

Hayashi emerged from the changing room in a short-sleeved T-shirt, shorts, and leggings.

“So? How do I look?”

“You ask that every time?”

We’d already been to this gym a few times together.

And every time, she wore the exact same outfit.

Every single time, she asked me the same question.

I’m tired of answering it, was my honest thought.

“…Well, you do look like you’ve slimmed down a bit.”

“Really!?”

I braced myself for her to call me the worst, but surprisingly, she seemed thrilled.

…If she’s that happy about it, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.

“C’mon, let’s get to training before the gym starts filling up.”

“Okay!”

With that, we kicked off our workout.

“Alright, Yamamoto, I wanna use the treadmill, so set it up for me!”

Every time we come to the gym, Hayashi’s first stop is always the treadmill.

Problem is, she’s hopelessly bad with machines.

Naturally, no matter how many times I explain it, she can’t set up the treadmill herself.

So, as always, I set up her treadmill before starting my own workout.

“Here we go!”

“Yup!”

The treadmill hummed to life.

At the same time, Hayashi pulled out her phone and started watching videos.

“Eee, Samoyeds are so cute!”

Lately, her taste in videos has been shifting from those “satisfying” revenge-type clips to animal videos.

Honestly, I sometimes get sick of hearing the audio from those revenge videos, so her newfound obsession with animal videos is a huge relief.

“Hey, Yamamoto! Why don’t we get a Samoyed for our place?”

“No way.”

Still, her begging for a pet is getting a bit annoying.

Let’s think about this logically.

We’re already cramped living together in a tiny six-tatami-mat apartment, and adding a big dog like that? It’d be total chaos.

“They’re so cute, so cute!”

…I can’t deal with this.

I decided to focus on my own workout.

As I got back into training at the gym, I realized something—apparently, after moving to the city and slacking on exercise for a while, my body had gotten seriously out of shape.

I couldn’t lift the weights I used to handle, and a deep sense of despair hit me.

That’s why, right now, I’m fired up to transform my body.

It’s also perfect timing to help Hayashi succeed with her diet.

“Hngh… Hngh…”

Sweating buckets and breathing heavily, I pushed through the high-intensity workout.

“Yamamoto, I’m done!”

A little while later, Hayashi came over to me.

“…Huff… Huff… Got it.”

“Whoa, you’re drenched in sweat. And you’re totally out of breath!”

“…Huff… Huff…”

“…You okay?”

“…My muscles.”

“?”

“My muscles are getting excited.”

“Are you an idiot?”

Hayashi’s eyes were ice-cold.

“You look like you’re struggling so much, yet you keep going with the strength training.”

“Yeah, well.”

“What’s so fun about it?”

“You’re the idiot here.”

I wiped the sweat off my forehead with a towel.

“It’s not about fun.”

“Your brain’s been completely taken over by muscles, hasn’t it?”

“…It’s an investment in the future.”

“Meaning?”

“I’m putting in all this effort now. My muscles will reward me for it, right?”

“Your brain’s really been taken over by muscles…!”

Hayashi looked genuinely creeped out.

“…Hey, so, I kinda wanna try that too.”

“Huh?”

“I want to try that strength training.”

“…Alright.”

I played it cool, but inside, I was grinning.

I’d converted yet another soul to the way of the muscle.

That’s right.

Who wouldn’t want an impressive set of pecs? (Ecstatic)

“Hey, how do I do this?”

“My bad, my bad. Let me walk you through it.”

“Why’re you suddenly being so formal?”

I explained how to use the equipment in meticulous detail.

Hayashi, with a question mark practically floating above her head, seemed determined to give it a try.

“…Hngh!”

…Whoa.

“…Ngh!”

Whoa…

She’s got some skills!

Hayashi’s doing pretty well… Whoa!

She’s killing it!

But there’s one thing she needs to fix.

“Hayashi, you’ll hurt your back lifting like that.”

To show her the proper form, I reached for her waist.

“Eep!”

The moment my hand touched her waist, Hayashi let out a weird yelp.

CRASH!

The weights slammed down with a loud noise.

A brief silence followed.

“S-Sorry…”

“No, my bad.”

An awkward atmosphere settled between us.

Honestly, I was just grateful the gym was practically empty today.