Alex shifted his sight to the man on Irene's left. It was hers and Lilian's trainer and fight coordinator. He had also prepared a nutritionist for them.
Obviously, these preparations weren't done in a day. He had already set his mind on this long before, just that the number of recipients increased by one. He had to press the trainer and nutritionist to create a last minute plan for Irene.
Yesterday evening, he impishly didn't remind her of what was to come. He thought it would be fun to see her reaction once he arrived at her door at sunrise. And boy was he spot on.
Irene's comical reaction inscribed itself into his memory.
Much to her trepidation, he led her untroubled pretense to meet the trainer. Her clashing external and internal moods never failed to bring him to chuckle.
Irene had gotten her fill of complaining and was now mulling over the next task.
Task 2: Get close to Lilian
At first glance, it looked relatively easy, but how close does the system want her to be with Lilian?
Irene called the system. "002, is being a friend close enough?"
[No.]
"Then what's the end goal?"
[Making her treat you as a sister would be best.]
"......" I knew it.
How was this easy? They neither share the same blood nor knew each other long enough. There were still colleagues at best.
"And if that doesn't happen?"
[You can just be friends, though it'll take years before you can go back. Treating you as a sister is a shortcut. You choose, the closeness is all up to you.]
Irene looked at Lilian, who was also on a treadmill and fairing better than her.
Sweat traveled from Lilian's forehead down to her chin. Her lips were slightly open, huffing and puffing through the run. She felt someone staring at her and turned her head to the left.
Lilian was met with Irene's smile.
Her eyes widened and speedily bowed, pretending to focus on her feet. However, her face noticeably turned redder.
The trainer, Perry, detected the sudden darkening of Lilian's hue and moved to her. He made Lilian stop and asked whether she was unwell or in pain.
Lilian was flustered. She couldn't just say to Perry that she was bewitched by Irene's smile, but she also couldn't force herself to lie. As a result, all she could do was shake her head in reassurance. She talked and talked, and even turned the treadmill on at a higher speed, ardent to convince him.
Perry stopped her before she could run and said that he believed her. Still, he wanted her to rest.
Lilian was overpowered and acquiesced.
A little silly, but Irene felt accomplished. She secretly grinned.
Alex saw Irene elusively move her lips. In his mind, he registered that as a grimace. The pair's wavelengths didn't match, ah.
He took a step forward, wanting to let her rest. He surmised it was her first time entering a gym. This should be enough.
Her body would only go into shock if she goes further.
Alex gave the impression like Perry didn't properly do his job and hadn't considered Irene's body at all. Which was false.
Perry conducted a fitness test for Irene yesterday morning after meeting up with Lilian. Heck, it was so quick since Irene and Alex had to go back to the company to introduce Maine to Lilian, and there was also the photoshoot in the afternoon.
And Perry had to make do with this. He considered all factors and made the appropriate plan for Irene, even with just a short notice. Alex was aware of this. Alas, now... This manager was just too soft-hearted, tsk.
Needless to say, Alex didn't get the memo... No, crash that out. More precisely, he threw it in the trash the moment his sight landed on the struggling Irene. All that occupied his thoughts was the woman in front of him.
Alex felt sorry. He felt worried. Most importantly, he was reluctant to see her suffer, ever.
About two meters away from Irene, the timer set off. He stalled.
Irene was over the moon to hear the timer. The piercing tone was euphonious.
She jumped off with her wobbly legs. She could imagine the level of soreness and torment she would undergo tomorrow.
She wanted to cry, but she didn't have time to. Tomorrow's problem would be resolved by the tomorrow's her. Currently, rest took precedence above all.
She went to the nearest wall and leaned on it. Irene waited for the speed of her heart rate to decelerate before sliding down.
She sat on the floor, prostrating her legs.
That run sucked her energy dry. She couldn't... She wouldn't... She didn't want to move even an inch of her muscle.
Her eyes were shut. God I'm parched.
She opened her eyelids to look for her water bottle just to see it parked on the bench, distant from her. She groaned. F*ck.
Irene glowered at the bottle. Tragically, no matter what she would do, she lacked telekinesis.
You gotta move if you want that.
Her eyes were starting to strain, and the bottle didn't budge at all. No sh*t.
Unwilling to give in, Irene remembered the other humans in the room. She pondered on whether to call Alex or Lilian, but in the end, she settled for the latter. They—but mostly for her—still needed to bond, you know.
Preoccupied with her thoughts, a pair of shoes was nearing her location.
Irene cleared her throat. She didn't want her voice to crack in the middle of shouting someone's name.
She raised her head and looked around.
As a consequence of running, her messy hair bun couldn't withstand the intensity and was now unkempt. Strands of hair ran away from the hair tie and dangled on the side of her face, wet from the perspiration.
Wearing a black sports bra and leggings, Irene's crimson cheeks and misty eyes trapped the person's gaze.
Irene was snub a chance to shout when a bottle of water appeared before her.
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