Ding.
Sit-ups: 20 / 20
Jason lay sprawled across his bed, his limbs spread in every direction as though his body had simply given up negotiating with gravity. His chest rose and fell in slow, uneven breaths, his abdominal muscles burning with a relentless ache that seemed to pulse every time he took in oxygen.
"This..." He winced
"This is bullshit."
One hand drifted toward his stomach, and the moment his fingers pressed against it he immediately felt a sharp pain.
"Ow!" He jerked his hand away
"What the hell? I thought sit-ups were supposed to be the easy part, one of the easier exercises." He stared at the ceiling as though it personally owed him an explanation
"Nobody talks about it much. People online keep arguing about push-ups. But sit-ups though..." He let out a pained groan
"Sit-ups are assassins. They sneak up on you. I don’t even think I can laugh right now."
He experimentally coughed. The sharp pull across his abdomen immediately made him regret existing.
"Yep. I definitely can’t laugh
" A bitter smile found its way onto his face anyway
"I don’t think I can even take a shit tomorrow. My stomach feels like someone replaced my muscles with concrete."
His gaze drifted toward the digital clock resting beside his bed
12:03 PM
Jason blinked
"Seriously?"
He had started the workout shortly after ten. Two whole hours, two hours to complete something fitness enthusiasts probably called a "warm-up." He rubbed a hand over his face.
"I’ve officially become the weakest twenty year old on the planet. Actually..." He thought about it
"No. There are probably weaker people." A pause "Not many though."
Despite everything, a tiny smile crept onto his lips. He had almost quit several times. He had bargained with the system, argued with it, insulted it, considered pretending the notifications didn’t exist. It would’ve been so easy to simply lie there and let the quest window blink uselessly at an empty room, to let the excuses pile up the way they always had. Yet somehow, he had still finished. Yesterday’s Jason would’ve given up halfway through, heck, he wouldn’t even have started in the first place. Today’s Jason somehow started, and against every complaint his body had lodged along the way, he was managing to pull through, one stubborn repetition at a time.
His smile softened. Then Amanda’s memory slipped into his thoughts without permission her face, her laughter, the rejection, the humiliation. The smile vanished.
Jason shut his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"No." He shook his head once
"We’re not doing this again. Not today. I’ve already wasted enough of my life revolving around someone who never revolved around me, someone who just found me convenient."
He opened his eyes again, and another face quietly surfaced in his thoughts, it was Sarah. Her smile. The way she’d nervously fidgeted with her fingers. The faint blush on her cheeks when she’d asked if he wanted to go with her.
Jason blinked. "Huh." A tiny grin returned
"I really am looking forward to tonight."
Then his imagination betrayed him, replaying the moment she’d bent down to pick up his phone the gentle sway of her skirt, the glimpse of her smooth thighs, the warmth of her fingers brushing against his.
"..." His ears turned red
"No." He sat upright immediately
"Nope."
He pointed an accusing finger at absolutely nobody
"We are not becoming that guy. She’s a genuinely nice girl, Jason. Act like you’ve interacted with a woman before." A brief silence followed.
"Which..." He scratched his cheek. "...is admittedly asking a lot."
The room grew quiet again, though his body had other plans. The mattress felt softer than usual, his aching muscles slowly relaxing, his eyelids growing heavier.
"I’ll just..." He yawned. "...rest for..." Another yawn. "...five minu—!"
Jason’s eyes snapped open. He shot upright so quickly his back immediately protested.
"Huh?"
For a brief moment, his brain refused to cooperate. Where. What. Why did his neck hurt? He rubbed his face before instinctively looking toward the digital clock.
4:58 PM.
Jason froze, and then he looked toward the direction of the clock again, this time leaning in much closer, as though proximity alone might convince the numbers to rearrange themselves into something less alarming.
"No." His eyes widened
"No, no, no. What the hell?! I slept for almost five hours?!"
He threw the blanket aside
"Is this what exercising does to people? No wonder gym bros are always talking about recovery."
He hurried toward the bathroom mirror, splashing cold water onto his face before looking back at his reflection. Then everything hit him at once, his eyes widening.
"Sarah!"
Six o’clock. They were supposed to meet at six.
His gaze instinctively shot toward the floating quest window.
Push-ups: 18 / 20
Sit-ups: 20 / 20
Squats: 20 / 20
Run: 0 / 2 km
"Right!" He practically dove onto the floor. "Let’s finish this!"
One push-up. His arms shook.
"Nineteen!"
Another. His teeth clenched.
"Twenty!"
Ding.
Push-ups: 20 / 20
Jason rolled onto his back, breathing heavily.
"Ha! I beat you."
The system remained unimpressed.
Remaining Objective
Run: 2 km
His triumphant smile immediately collapsed.
"You just love ruining moments, don’t you?"
He climbed to his feet, opened his wardrobe, and grabbed his running clothes. As he hurriedly pulled on the tracksuit, one ridiculous thought refused to leave his head. This isn’t a date. He tied his shoelaces. We’re repairing a phone. He stood before the mirror one last time. But if she dresses nicely again...
Jason immediately slapped both cheeks.
"Focus, Jason. First, focus on finishing the run and try not to be late. And also, for the love of God..." He grabbed the doorknob.
"...stop calling a phone repair kindness offered by a girl a date."
With that, he stepped out of the apartment, the final objective and six o’clock waiting just beyond the building.
[A/N]
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