Cheat day

The reason why rice is good

It makes sense why Cha Ji-chan is obsessed with the barbell weight.
It’s hard to even stand up, let alone sit down and get up.

“Isn’t there anything lighter?”

“I guess I’ll have to lift weights.” “Bring something suitable from over there.”

When I turned my head, the dumbbells were lined up by weight. Among the pink ones, I chose the dumbbell that said 0.5 kg.

“Hey, that’s not right.”

It’s cute, isn’t it?

“Too light.” “Bring it back.”
“Bro, you really don’t know anything.” Pink is a color for adults. “Don’t you know?”

“Change it.”

“I’m totally an adult now.”

He lifted the pink dumbbell, but Cha Ji-chan didn’t bat an eye.

“I really didn’t want to say something like this.”

“Don’t do it, just change it.”

“Mr. Park had a rough day that day.”

“Who is Deputy Park?”

I don’t know.

“The new employee complains about how hard it is, and the exaggerated manager subtly nags again today, saying the client placed the order wrong and is passing the blame.” It was absolute chaos.

“So, who is Deputy Park?”

On my way home from work, I got hungry and stopped by the supermarket. I grabbed a beer and stood in front of the shelf, looking for something to snack on. Pyeonyuk, chicken legs, hot bars—I’m debating what to eat when suddenly a pink sausage catches my eye.

“How do you know that?”

“I usually didn’t care.” It’s not meat; it’s a fake sausage made from fish meat and flour. But is it because it’s hard? Suddenly, I remember the old days.

Cha Ji-chan is looking at me with narrowed eyebrows.

“When he was young, Mr. Park was bullied.” He eats kimchi every day. It smells like kimchi. After holding it in for so long, young Assistant Manager Park cautiously brought it up with his mom. “Can’t you make a different side dish?”

“How old are you to be bringing a packed lunch?” I had school lunch too.

“That kind of thing doesn’t matter.” It’s not important that Manager Park’s mom didn’t have money.

“Oh dear.”

Cha Ji-chan’s face relaxed significantly.

“I really wanted to buy it for you.” If it were up to me, I would have made bulgogi every day. But that couldn’t happen. So Mom said that I shouldn’t complain about the side dishes while hiding my upset feelings. The kind Deputy Park quietly pulled the blanket over and cried silently.

Cha Ji-chan’s mouth formed an arch.

The next day, I went to school. My friends teased me again. What kind of kimchi did you bring today? Hurry up and open your lunchbox. Mr. Park rushed out of the classroom as if he were escaping. In the meantime, I managed to grab my lunchbox. I was scared to open the lunchbox my friends left behind. Assistant Manager Park, who came outside, spent his lunch break sitting in the corner of the playground, tears streaming down his face.

Cha Ji-chan tightly shut his eyes.

“The class bell rang, but I couldn’t go back to the classroom.” I was also hungry. Because I cried for a long time. But I really hated the lunch box that only had kimchi in it. I also hated Mom. In a moment of overwhelming emotion, I threw the lunchbox I was holding.

“Then it won’t work.”

“But the lunchboxes scattered on the dirt ground of the playground were different from usual.” There was kimchi, white rice, and pink sausages.

“Ah.”

Cha Ji-chan covered his mouth.

“We live in a one-room apartment, so there’s no way I wouldn’t hear my son crying.” I wanted to buy you a sausage made of real meat, but since I couldn’t, I carefully fried a cheap pink sausage coated in egg wash for you.

“Sigh.”

Mr. Park lay on the playground and cried. I ate the pink sausage covered in dirt and tears without even knowing what it tasted like. I hated myself for throwing away the sausage side dish my mother made.

“No.” No.

Cha Ji-chan shook his head.

“After a long time had passed, when Deputy Manager Park saw the pink sausages in front of the supermarket, he reached out his hand without realizing it.” While reminiscing about the pink sausages we ate back then. Feeling my mother’s love, I held a pink sausage in one hand and trudged home.

Cha Ji-chan is holding his forehead, holding back tears.

“Do you know why pink is the color of adults?”

“……Why?”

No matter how hard it is to work at the company, just seeing this pink color makes me get back up again. I can gather my strength again by thinking of Mom.

Cha Ji-chan showed tears.

“I feel like I can accomplish anything if I hold this pink dumbbell that looks like a pink sausage.”

Chajichan approached and patted my shoulder.

“Yeah.” Got it.

To be fooled by a story made up on the spot, what a simple-minded person.

“Hey Sang-kyu, which pink dumbbell is the heaviest?”

“5 kilograms.”

“Bring that here.” Chan-young said he wants to go with that.

“Yes.”

“Was there something heavier?”

“Then.”

“Why didn’t you say it first?”

“The story is so touching.”

“How far are you planning to go with this?”

No. I’m a humanities person, so I’m good at empathizing.

I was so flabbergasted that I was at a loss for words, but PD Ahn Sang-kyu brought two 5kg pink dumbbells.

Please provide the text you would like to have translated.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I did 100 squats while holding a 5kg dumbbell in each hand.

It’s been over a month since I started doing squats, so I’ve gotten quite used to them, but when I picked up the dumbbells, it was as challenging as when I first started.

On top of that, doing 50 split squats made my legs so shaky that I couldn’t stand.

By the time I was following Cha Ji-chan for the cool-down exercises, my mind was so hazy that I barely remembered what movements I had done.

Even after finishing the broadcast, I lay there for a long time before finally getting up.

The mat is soaked with sweat.

“Stop whining.”

Cha Ji-chan approached with a sly smile.

“Let’s wash up and go eat some meat.”

“Meat?”

If you exercised, you should replenish. There’s a place that does pork neck really well.

Pork neck was also recommended by the doctor.

Since it has a high proportion of lean meat, it’s good for protein intake and has no fat, so it can’t be anything but good for your body.

It’s not as dry as chicken breast, so it’s a food I often enjoy these days.

Above all, in terms of being grilled, it is incomparably better than chicken breast or boiled pork.

I started wiping the mat with the towel around my neck.

After wiping off all the sweat and getting up, Cha Ji-chan nudged my shoulder and I ended up collapsing right there.

“Ugh.”

“Hey, hey.” “Are you okay?”

“Why are you pushing me?”

“Impressive.”

“What!” What’s so special about it?

“Clean up.”

“Taking something for granted.” Ah, sigh.

Cha Ji-chan reached out his hand.

I really want to hold on, but I don’t want to entrust my body to someone else.

I know how heavy it is.

“Side dish, are you sulking?”

“I’m not sulking.”

“Are you sulking?”

“I’m not sulking.”

“You were sulking.”

I snatched the tumbler that Cha Ji-chan was holding and drank every last drop of the beverage inside.

“My protein.”

“What.”

“My protein!” How can you take away protein from someone who exercises? It’s so important to them!

“Don’t you know that you shouldn’t push people even though you know protein is important?”

We bickered and went into the shower room.

It’s a relief that there are partitions here.

The place I briefly attended before didn’t have separate spaces, so I had to expose my body to others as it was.

So, I had no choice but to go home and take a shower.

“Hey, but you learned how to clean up well.”

The car that entered the adjacent lane said.

“What kind of cleanup?”

Wiping sweat. It’s basic, but many people don’t follow it well.

“Really?”

“I told you so.” I’m trying to use the equipment, but if someone else’s sweat is on it, ugh. Just.

“Right.”

I remember the old days.

“I actually attended briefly in the past.” Gym.”

“Really?”

I want to lose weight.

“But why did you quit?”

“There was no partition in the shower room there.”

“Most places that were built in the past are like that.” “Why is that?”

Before I could even respond, Cha Ji-chan jumped in first.

I see. That would be a bit awkward.

I didn’t want to show my naked body to others.

Even Chajichan, who was once fat, knows that feeling.

“These days, there are many places with private showers, but they tend to be a bit expensive or the atmosphere can be hard to approach.”

I just don’t feel like going.

After a brief pause, I decided to speak.

“The shower room, so I came home and took a shower.” I used to take the bus.

“Ugh.”

“I guess the sweat smell was particularly strong that day.”

In the adjacent line, only the sound of water could be heard.

“Ah, I see.” I was wrong. So I was getting off the bus, and someone said that. Damn it, you pig. “Go wash up a bit.”

“He’s crazy.”

I got off and stood there for a long time. It felt like I kept hearing that voice.

“Those bastards need to have their mouths ripped open.”

“I came home, washed up, and lay down, but I feel so pathetic for not being able to say anything in that situation.”

“No.” You did well. Try fighting there. That’s even more pathetic.

“Right.” I know, but it was so frustrating. Even though it’s something that happens every day, I keep getting annoyed with myself for worrying about it more and more.

Since I gained weight, I’ve been encountering rude people more often.

Even if he didn’t speak or act directly like the man I met on the bus, his unfriendly attitude, disdainful gaze, and annoyed expression all hurt me.

Since that experience kept happening, I stopped going out much from then on.

I handled work as much as possible via email, and even when friends contacted me after a long time, I made various excuses to avoid them.

To avoid making the same mistakes and creating similar situations again, I refrained from actions that would cause harm to others as much as possible.

“I know too.” That feeling.

After a long silence, Cha Ji-chan spoke up.

You can trust what this person says. Because I’ve actually experienced it.

“So that’s why you’re amazing right now.” In that situation, how difficult it is to protect oneself.

In the endlessly blooming anxiety, resentment and guilt never revealed their depths, wave after wave.

Depression is like that, so it’s hard to overcome it alone.

“Even I think it’s a bit too much.”

“Yeah, dude.” You earn in a month what others make in a year, you work out every day to take care of your body, and you’re recognized in your industry. Just think about that. You look cool right now.

“Why only think about that?” I should also think about the pork neck I’ll eat later.

“Good.” “Let’s eat properly today.”

There is only one way to escape from the bottomless abyss.

Having a delicious meal with a precious person.

The reason for earning money and the reason for doing squats with gritted teeth are all for that purpose.

If that’s the case, I would gladly put in the effort.