Chapter 23
23. Gained Weight
Kangwoo increased his speed and ran faster. He tried to erase Han Naeun from his mind, but it wasn't easy. Sweat
started beading up. One set, one set. Another set to wipe her from his head. Then suddenly,
"Ha."
Kangwoo gritted his teeth and tried to focus on his workout. Next came lunges and leg presses to build his thigh and glute muscles.
It was mostly because of what he'd overheard yesterday. Middle-aged men at one side of the fitness center were chatting while doing thigh exercises.
[For men, it's all about the thighs. Women go for broad shoulders when they're young, but after marriage and some years,
Of course, it wasn't entirely because of that, but with his body reacting strangely lately, lower body workouts seemed
necessary. He did exercises to develop them. Every time he held a static pose, Naeun popped into his head, and whenever that happened,
Today, with the determination to drain all the tension from this tempting Naeun in his mind, he pedaled hard on the bike.
This couldn't be happening. He rarely gained weight.
Kangwoo was meticulous not just about workouts but also his diet. So why had he gained weight? Thinking back, it was all
because of the snacks he'd been nibbling on. Her presence had seeped into his life, shaking everything up. With her bright smile saying, 'Want some pumpkin bread?'
Choi Kangwoo sitting with the kids eating their snacks— even he couldn't have imagined this.
From today, I won't eat the kids' evening snacks. Absolutely not.
After back-to-back meetings, Kangwoo got home and opened the front door. A sweet, nutty aroma wafted from somewhere.
It was an irresistibly tempting smell. Crispy baked cookies mixed with sweet cinnamon, plus
the living room full of it. Another scent he couldn't place, but it felt like sitting by a cozy fireplace in midwinter.
"No. I'm not eating today."
He couldn't keep gaining weight. Not at his age, ruining his figure.
Reaffirming his resolve, he took a couple of steps inside, and there on the table were freshly baked, mouthwatering
voices coming from the kids' room.
"Wow! Cookies."
"Yeah. Let's have cookies for your evening snack. They should be perfectly cooled now."
He heard Naeun's voice too. Soon, the kids and Naeun came tumbling out of their room and greeted Kangwoo.
got off the treadmill and dove into serious lower body training. As he squatted with the barbell, sweat beaded on his face more and more.
he realized he wasn't trying to erase her but was increasingly aware of her popping up.
He solidified his glutes and strengthened the front of his thighs with leg extensions. His obsession with thigh workouts stemmed largely from what he'd heard
they realize thighs and glutes are everything. Strength, it's strength.]
He thought maybe pushing harder would clear his mind. After the grueling workout, he wiped his sweat and moved to upper body and core exercises,
but every time, his thigh muscles bulged, making his body tense up.
pedaled. After finishing everything, he sighed and stepped on the scale—his weight had gone up.
because of that tempting Naeun. Coming home from work to the savory pork cutlet smell, sweet pumpkin bread, tea, and when she said, 'Want to eat?' he couldn't refuse.
It was a scene straight out of a drama. He resolved to manage his diet strictly again from today.
strongly stimulating Kangwoo's nose.
the nutty aroma of nuts mixed in, making his mouth water just from the smell. Warm vanilla and sweet honey scents
gave a satisfying feeling. Kangwoo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
walnuts shining golden, cinnamon cookies piled high. Next to them were steaming honey hotteok. The kids were
"Hello."
"Hello, Uncle."
Even Minho now greeted him properly with "Uncle"—it was impressive.
"Have you had dinner? The kids ate early, so it's snack time. Want one?"
He'd told himself no, absolutely not. He'd eaten chicken breast and salad outside, but somehow he couldn't pass it up.
Damn.
Kangwoo, about to head upstairs, changed his mind and said to Naeun,
"Let me taste one."
The cookie in his mouth was crispy, nutty, and sweet—indescribably delicious.
"You kids eat just two each. Don't eat too many before bed. Kids, two each."
Yet Kangwoo ended up eating four. He complained to Naeun for letting him eat two more than the kids.
"Why don't you tell me to stop no matter how many I eat?"
Naeun raised an eyebrow at Kangwoo's grumbling gaze.
"Pardon? Well, I have to guide the kids, but you're a grown adult, CEO, so you can manage your own body. Eat as much as you want of what's left."
"So you're saying even if I eat all these leftovers after four already, it's fine?"
"Yes. It's okay. I can bake more. If you like them, eat them all."
"In other words, you don't care if I eat all this and get adult-onset diseases and die?"
"Pardon?"
Naeun's eyes widened in confusion at Kangwoo's words.
"Do you have adult diseases?"
"No. Does this body look like it has any adult diseases?"
"Exactly. You seem to take good care of yourself, and eating a few extra cookies won't hurt. If you like them, should I pack some for you to take to the office?"
He meant to say no, but something else came out.
"Sure."
His words betrayed his thoughts, so Kangwoo just headed upstairs. Naeun packed the few remaining cookies into a container.
"Were the cookies that good?"
Kangwoo sighed as he went up to the second floor.
"Choi Kangwoo, since when did you lose all self-control? Going crazy over kids' snack cookies like this.
What is that woman? A kindergarten teacher who makes burdock tea, and now cookies this delicious? Does Jiho eat these every day?
Then it hit him—how had he grown up? His parents must have bought him the best cookies from the finest bakeries. Snacks were strictly rationed daily, and he'd never craved more.
-3-
"Why is everything that woman makes so delicious?"
With his appetite surging like this, was something wrong?
"Next time I go for Minho's consultation, maybe I should get one too?"
Kangwoo muttered and ended up laughing. Truth was, he already knew the answer.
He was into that woman. She kept lingering in his mind, her cookies were delicious, the pumpkin bread too. Everything she made was great.
What kind of consultation did a man his age need for that? In his emptiness, Kangwoo laughed alone. And ridiculously, thinking of Naeun got him aroused again.
"Cookies aren't an aphrodisiac."
Kangwoo went into the shower and turned on cold water. After cooling his head and calming his body under it, he finally entered the study.
Kangwoo entered the study and quietly closed the door. The room was neatly organized, with bookshelves lining one wall filled with media and management books. On the desk sat a laptop and stacks of documents,
and tonight he planned to organize business plans and operations for the sports channel and the newly acquired travel cable channel.
First, he meticulously reviewed the operational status and viewer analysis data for the new travel channel. He slowly examined the graphs of viewership by age group and region on the screen, noting which programs were popular and what was lacking.
Especially tracking where the main audience was concentrated and the viewership trends for each program in detail, he pondered the channel's expansion potential. Deep in focus when thudding noises came from below.
"Hurry and get dressed."
He heard Naeun's voice too.
"Running around naked after bath again, I see."
Kangwoo muttered and chuckled.
"Ah, so cute. Listening so well today?"
"The kids must be dressing nicely."
Every time Naeun's voice carried up, Kangwoo smiled and muttered. These sounds reaching him meant she was wrangling the kids right by the stairs. Then the noise quieted a bit—probably closed the door slightly.
"Always asking for wolf stories. You already know all the wolf ones."
"Picking out books, huh."
He didn't know when the bustling noises from downstairs had started giving him such a pleasant sense of stability.
