My angel stretched her arms above her head several times and loosened her shoulders. Then she jumped lightly in place and wrapped her fingers around the metal bar.
Her body swung back and forth for a brief moment before becoming completely still. Her arms were straight, her legs were together, and her feet hovered a few centimeters above the ground.
Then she pulled herself up.
Once her chin passed the bar, she lowered herself without rushing. The moment her elbows fully extended, she began her second repetition.
Her movements were extremely controlled. She didn’t throw her shoulders, use momentum from her legs, or swing her body back and forth to lift herself. Every time, she raised her chin above the bar before slowly lowering herself until her arms were completely straight.
She was genuinely serious about demonstrating the correct form.
For the first few repetitions, I focused only on her movements.
Then my gaze drifted a little lower.
The bottom of her light-blue top rose slightly every time she pulled herself up, revealing her flat, toned stomach. Her defined abdominal muscles tensed and relaxed with each movement, while her dark athletic leggings perfectly outlined her long legs.
I watched without blinking. Even an instructional video created to demonstrate the ideal human form couldn’t have looked more impressive.
Thank you, universe.
I still hadn’t forgiven you for all the misfortune I’d suffered since arriving in this world, but I was grateful that you had at least allowed me to stand here and witness this view.
The girl pulled herself up again.
"Twelve..." I counted quietly.
Her breathing was still steady.
"Thirteen... Fourteen..."
There wasn’t the slightest tremble in her arms. The speed of her movements hadn’t changed since the first repetition either.
"Fifteen..."
I had been too busy looking at her body to notice at first, but the girl wasn’t getting tired.
"Sixteen... Seventeen..."
The calm expression on her face remained unchanged. There wasn’t even a single drop of sweat on her forehead.
"Eighteen... Nineteen..."
I expected her to slow down on the twentieth repetition, but she didn’t.
"Twenty..."
In my old body, I could do more than twenty pull-ups in one set. However, after the twentieth, even I had to put my entire soul into it, clenching my teeth like a warrior about to take his final breath.
This girl looked as relaxed as if she were out for a morning stroll.
"Twenty-one..."
I thought she might stop there, but when I said, "Twenty-two..." she was still going.
"Twenty-three... Twenty-four..."
My gaze slowly moved from her stomach to her face. The sight I had been admiring moments ago was replaced by steadily growing disbelief.
"Thirty..."
There wasn’t the slightest flaw in any of her movements. She rose on the thirty-first repetition at the same speed as the first. Her breathing remained steady, her legs didn’t swing, and her arms didn’t tremble.
"Thirty-five..."
This wasn’t normal.
It couldn’t possibly be normal.
"Thirty-eight... Thirty-nine..."
The girl pulled herself up once more. After her chin passed the bar, she lowered herself in a controlled motion and released her hands once her arms were fully extended.
"Forty."
Her feet touched the rubber ground without making more than a faint sound.
She shook out her arms and loosened her shoulders, then tucked a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear.
She didn’t look as though she had exerted herself at all. It was as if she hadn’t just done forty pull-ups and had merely stretched to reach something on a shelf.
My blue eyes were wide with disbelief as I stared at her.
Forty?
Forty pull-ups with perfect form?
The girl walked toward me until there was almost no distance left between us. She tilted her head slightly, wearing an innocent and sweet smile.
"Your turn."
There was nothing mocking in her tone, yet somehow, it still felt as though she were deliberately showing off.
I swallowed and stepped forward.
It was fine. She might have done forty, but my goal had only been five. There was no point in comparing myself to her.
Besides, improvement mattered more than numbers.
I moved beneath the bar and looked up.
Please, muscles...
For the first time in my life, I’m asking you for something genuinely important. Don’t abandon me in front of her.
I took a deep breath, bent my knees slightly, and jumped.
My fingers closed around the bar as my body swung downward. I crossed my feet and pulled myself up.
I rose far more easily than I had yesterday. When my chin passed the bar, I let out a small cry of victory inside my head.
"One!"
I lowered myself in a controlled motion and immediately began the second repetition.
The burning in my arms was still bearable. Although it required more effort, I managed to raise my chin above the bar again.
"Two!"
This was it. Yesterday, I had collapsed after a single pull-up. Today, I had already doubled my record.
My elbows began trembling during the third repetition.
I clenched my teeth and pulled myself upward. The movement wasn’t as smooth as the first two, but my chin still cleared the bar.
"Three..."
When I lowered myself, the burning in my arms spread all the way to my shoulders. I tried to take a deep breath, but hanging from the bar prevented my chest from fully expanding.
Still, I couldn’t let go.
She was standing beside me, watching.
I put all my strength into my arms and began pulling myself up for the fourth time.
My shoulders shook as my elbows slowly bent. When my chin drew close to the bar, my movement almost stopped completely.
"Come on..."
I forced myself up one final time until my chin passed over the metal.
"Four!"
Every muscle in my arms was screaming for help.
I could have stopped at four. I probably should have stopped at four.
But the girl had just done forty. If I stopped now, I would never be able to erase the fact that the difference between us was exactly tenfold.
I began the fifth repetition.
The first few centimeters were easier than expected, but then my arms suddenly became heavy. To keep moving, I pulled my knees toward my stomach and swung my body slightly.
"Your form—"
I ignored the girl’s warning.
"It counts..."
I kicked my feet forward and used the momentum. My chin barely touched the metal bar.
"Five!"
I had done it. Yesterday, I could only manage one, but today I had done five.
Reaching five made me far too confident.
Maybe I could do one more.
I straightened my arms and lowered my body. After taking a deep breath, I tried to pull myself up for the sixth time.
My arms didn’t move.
"Six..."
My elbows bent a few centimeters and stopped there.
"Come on..."
I used all my strength. My shoulders began shaking violently, but my body refused to rise. I swung my feet, tightened my stomach, and stretched my chin upward.
I could see that none of it was working, but I still refused to let go.
At that moment, I sensed a slight movement behind me.
Smack!
A sudden heat exploded across my butt.
"Ah!"
My entire body jerked in surprise. My fingers slipped from the bar, and before I understood what had happened, I fell flat on my back.
Thud!
The rubber ground absorbed most of the impact, but all the air left my lungs at once.
For several seconds, I stared breathlessly at the sky. My face burned both from exhaustion and from the embarrassment of what had just happened.
When I raised my head, I saw the girl trying to hide her face with both hands. Her shoulders shook with laughter she couldn’t control.
"Ahahaha!"
"Oii!" I held my butt with one hand while trying to breathe. "What was that for?!"
The girl pressed her lips together to suppress her laughter. After taking several deep breaths, she lowered her hands, but amusement still shone in the corners of her blue eyes.
"Your form was wrong," she said. "You could hurt yourself by pushing that hard."
"That doesn’t mean you needed to slap my butt!"
The girl turned her face aside to keep herself from laughing again.
"Sorry. I just thought it would be funny."
"You still seem to think it’s funny while I’m lying on the ground."
"A little."
I frowned.
The girl immediately tried to hide her smile and extended her hand toward me.
"Come on. Let me help you up."
I stared at her outstretched hand for several seconds. I was still trying to look angry, but continuing to lie on the ground would only make me seem more pathetic.
I took her hand, and she pulled me to my feet with almost no effort. Once I was standing, I adjusted my clothes and gave her a sharp look.
She merely blinked innocently as though nothing had happened.
I turned around and walked toward a nearby bench. My arms were still trembling, so I sat down while trying to appear as calm as possible.
The girl followed and sat beside me, remaining silent for a while.
I crossed my arms and stared straight ahead, trying to maintain the angry expression on my face. However, the pain forced me to lower them again after only a few seconds.
The girl leaned slightly toward me.
"By the way, you were genuinely impressive compared to yesterday."
I looked at her from the corner of my eye.
"Really?"
"Yes. Yesterday you could only do one, but today you did five. You improved fivefold in a single day."
We had both seen me flailing my legs like a fish during the fifth repetition, but it was kind of her not to mention it.
The girl nodded and continued:
"Your form during the first four was also quite good. If you keep training for a few more days, you’ll be able to do the fifth properly too."
I let out a deep sigh.
"It doesn’t feel very impressive coming from you."
"Why?"
"Because you just did forty."
I turned toward her.
"And your form didn’t break even once. Your breathing didn’t speed up, your arms didn’t shake, and you don’t even look sweaty right now."
The girl blinked.
"I’ve been exercising for a long time."
My frown deepened.
"Exercising for a long time doesn’t make forty pull-ups normal."
I leaned a little closer and carefully studied her face.
"What’s your limit? How many can you do without getting tired?"
The girl’s lips parted, but no answer came out. After silently looking at me for several seconds, she raised her head toward the sky.
"The weather is lovely today..." she said. "Isn’t it?"
I narrowed my eyes.
Only an hour ago, I had decided that this was the worst conversation starter in the world. Now it was being used right in front of me as an obvious excuse to escape the subject.
She had definitely changed the topic.
"Yes," I said. "It suddenly became unbelievably beautiful."
The girl continued looking at the sky as though she hadn’t heard the meaning in my voice.
She was hiding something, but I didn’t want to corner and interrogate her during our second meeting. Besides, I would have other opportunities to learn why she was so strong.
I sighed again as I rose from the bench.
"Ah, whatever. I’m going to keep running."
The girl immediately stood as well. We returned to the running path and began moving together again.
My arms ached slightly with every step, and I could still feel a faint burning in my butt. The culprit running beside me looked as relaxed as though she hadn’t just done forty pull-ups.
We didn’t speak for about a minute.
Then the girl moved a little closer, and I felt her index finger touch my cheek.
Poke.
I turned my head toward her.
"What?"
She pulled back her finger and studied my face.
"Are you angry?"
"No."
I remained silent for several seconds.
"Maybe a little."
The girl looked ahead thoughtfully. She frowned slightly and considered something for a few seconds before her face brightened again.
"Hmm... Then how about I buy you something after our run?"
I turned toward her so suddenly that I nearly stepped off the running path. My eyes widened in surprise.
After our run, she and I were going to eat or drink something together.
Even better, she had been the one to suggest it.
The fact that she still thought I was a girl waved at me from a corner of my mind. I would deal with that detail later.
Right now, only one thing mattered:
She had just asked me on a date.