Llana's whole body felt heavy and painful.
No, painful was not enough to describe it.
It felt as if her body had been dragged through hell and thrown back among the living without care. Every muscle ached. Every joint felt stiff. Even her bones seemed to protest with every tiny movement.
At this point, all she wanted was to spend whatever time she had left before her next training session lying down and sleeping.
But of course, life was never that kind.
She still had to go to the company.
And her system was not helping either. It kept nagging her to exercise.
Exercise? Like, seriously?
Was three hours of torture not enough?
"Hiss…"
A soft hiss slipped past Llana's lips as she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to endure the pain.
She was wearing a black oversized sweatshirt and matching pants to hide the bruises scattered across her body. The fabric was loose enough to cover the marks, but not enough to stop the pain from reminding her that they were there.
Every time the cloth brushed against her skin, a dull ache followed.
Thankfully, Lee Chang Woo didn't hit on her face. She had no extra energy to put on makeup just to hide any marks. Her face was completely bare, hidden only slightly behind the glasses she had received from the system.
The glasses were far too useful to ignore, and it would be a waste not to use them. Who knew if someone would suddenly try to hurt her? She had to be careful.
Llana walked slowly through the lobby, trying her best to move normally so the people passing by would not notice anything strange.
Her only hope was that no one would ride the elevator with her.
Just for a few minutes.
Just long enough for her to relax without pretending she was not one step away from collapsing.
Actually, Llana wanted to ask for mercy once. But knowing Lee Chang Woo, he would probably just say, 'Your enemy will not show mercy, Miss.'
So she would rather not waste her saliva.
Her body was practically begging her to stop and never continue training again, but her ego and her pride would not let her give up.
Especially when she had a goal she wanted to achieve this week.
To defeat him.
No.
That was impossible.
Defeating Lee Chang-Woo in just one week was far too unrealistic. He was a former special forces operative under the ROKA Special Warfare Command and had served in the 707th Special Mission Group, one of South Korea's elite special mission units.
Beating someone like him after only a week of training was simply too good to be true, even with her cheat ability.
At the very least, she wanted to land one or two punches on him.
That much should be fine, right?
Llana stood in front of the elevator, waiting for it to reach her floor. She shifted her weight slightly, then immediately regretted it when pain shot through her legs.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
'That guy really did not know how to hold back.'
When the elevator doors opened, she came face to face with a cute guy who looked around seventeen years old.
He had hooded eyes and wore a beanie, a black hoodie, and skinny jeans. Both of his hands were full, carrying plastic bags filled with takeout.
'He must be a trainee,' Llana thought, studying him briefly.
The guy froze completely. His eyes widened, and for a moment, he simply stared at her as if his soul had left his body.
Llana blinked.
"Annyeonghaseyo."
Llana greeted him first, internally wincing as she bowed.
"Annyeonghaseyo, Llana-sunbaenim!"
The boy snapped out of his daze and bowed so deeply that the plastic bags in his hands nearly swung forward. His cheeks turned red as he hurried to the corner of the elevator, giving her more than enough space to enter.
Llana's eyes widened slightly when she heard him say her name, but only for a moment. It was not exactly surprising that he knew her.
She stepped into the elevator, thanked him politely, and pressed the button for her floor.
As the doors slowly closed, Llana stood straight, calm and composed, pretending nothing hurt. She might not be alone, but it was still better than being trapped in a cramped elevator full of people.
Llana could feel the guy secretly glancing her way, but she did not mind. She simply kept her cool and pretended not to notice.
She had her glasses on, and they had not detected any malicious intent from him, so it was fine.
Still, she felt a little shy inside. Who could blame her? It was just how it was.
Riiing. Riiing.
A phone suddenly rang.
It was not Llana's ringtone, so it was definitely coming from the guy behind her.
Llana glanced at his reflection on the elevator doors.
The guy quickly placed the plastic bags he was holding on the floor, pressed the answer button, then tucked the phone between his cheek and shoulder before picking the bags back up.
"Channie~ Where are you? I'm hungry~"
A soft, familiar, cutesy voice came from the phone.
Llana could not help but turn her head slightly.
For a brief second, their eyes met.
Then she immediately turned back around, pretending nothing had happened.
Did she just hear Sana's voice?
That was definitely Sana.
Or maybe not.
Was she mistaken?
Maybe the voice only sounded similar.
No.
That was definitely her.
Llana knew the sound of Sana's voice too well. Her perfect pitch could testify to that.
The call was not even on speaker mode, but the elevator was too quiet with only the two of them inside. It was impossible not to hear.
Ding!
The elevator finally reached his floor.
Before stepping out, the guy bowed politely to her.
"I'm near," he replied into the phone.
Llana bowed back, but confusion flashed through her eyes.
Curiosity followed right after.
Was that really Sana?
Llana gasped in surprise, instinctively covering her mouth. The pain in her body did not even register this time. Her brain was too busy processing one terrifying possibility.
'Is Sana-unnie secretly dating another trainee?'
Llana stood there for a moment, still staring at the closed elevator doors as if the answer might appear there.
Then she shook the thought away.
This was not the time to overthink it. She
could ask Sana later.
For now, she had something else to deal with.
She still had to meet the A&R Director for the final briefing on her solo album. The songs were already finished, but there were still details to discuss—the album direction, title track positioning, stage image, and how the company wanted the public to see her once promotions began.
The tea could wait.