The elevator doors slid open, and Eun-soo was the first to step out, her hand still tucked firmly in Hajun's.
Jin-woo followed close behind, watching as she quickly set the boy down and turned to him with a hurried look.
"I'll... I'll go ahead first," she said, practically dashing toward the gym entrance as if she were trying to outrun the awkwardness from the lift.
Jin-woo stood there for a moment, finding her sudden escape quite amusing, a small smirk playing on his lips.
Hajun looked up at his uncle and whispered, "Uncle, I think you made the teacher shy."
"I'm sorry, Hajun... I just didn't know what else to say to her," Jin-woo admitted with a quiet chuckle.
He then looked at the boy curiously and asked, "By the way, why haven't you told her that I'm actually your uncle?"
Hajun tilted his head innocently and replied, "She never asked."
Jin-woo sighed, shaking his head at the simple logic. "Fair enough. Let's just leave it at that for now."
They presented their resident cards at the front desk and entered the "Blue Box Gym," which was buzzing with the energy of Saturday morning workouts.
Seeing everyone pushing themselves motivated Jin-woo, so he led Hajun to the secure, high-tech kids' zone.
"You play here for a while, and I'll come get you when I'm finished," he said, watching as Hajun happily climbed onto the trampoline.
Once he saw the professional caretakers were watching the children, Jin-woo headed to the treadmills for a brisk warm-up.
After breaking a light sweat, he moved over to the weight area to begin his strength training routine.
He was in the middle of a set of lifts when a sharp, frustrated voice cut through the sound of the clanking iron.
"Why are you staring at my back like that?" a woman snapped from just a few feet away.
Jin-woo immediately recognized the voice and looked up to see a middle-aged man with a rough, unpleasant face bothering Eun-soo.
The man didn't back down, arguing loudly, "What are you talking about? I'm just exercising! Why would I be looking at you?"
Eun-soo looked stiff and uncomfortable, her face pale as she struggled to find the words to deal with the man's shameless attitude.
Jin-woo didn't hesitate; he dropped his weights and stepped over, standing firmly beside her. "Is everything okay here?"
Seeing a familiar face, Eun-soo's shoulders relaxed instantly, and she quickly explained the man's inappropriate behavior.
Jin-woo turned to the stranger and spoke with a terrifyingly calm, cold authority.
"There's no need to waste time arguing," Jin-woo said. "Let's just go to the security office and check the cameras together."
At the mention of the cameras, the man's face turned red and he began to stutter.
"Why would we need cameras? It was just a misunderstanding! If she felt that way, then I'm sorry," he mumbled before scurrying away.
A few minutes later, the building manager and the gym staff arrived to handle the situation properly.
Eun-soo explained what had happened, and after a quick review of the footage, they discovered the man wasn't even a resident.
He was an outside guest with a temporary pass, which the manager revoked on the spot, banning him from the tower forever.