On the other side of the gym, before the glass wall where treadmills were placed in a row, Alex found the culprit that had Gawain frozen and mesmerized. He blinked, then almost laughed out loud. He looked back at his blond friend, then with a deep smile, left him behind to walk to the other side.
Without letting his eyes wander, he went through the big gym, straight to the pony-tailed woman in short tights wrapped around her attention-grabbing fit legs, and a sports bra covered by a sleeveless t-shirt tied in a knot at the side at the bottom. Her bouncing dark hair as she ran while controlling her breathing formed a strong contrast with her skin, making it appear fairer, and giving it a colder tone accentuated by the sweat glistening over it.
With half a smile on his lips, Alex arrived beside the treadmill the beautiful woman was running on, and very naturally leaned against it. He raised his arm to place it on the handrail, and like he did a few minutes earlier at the reception, lowered his gold-framed sunglasses to make eye contact with the greyish-blue eyes across from him:
"Hello, beautiful, how are you doing?"
The beautiful eyes calmly fell on him then looked away, before a flat reply came:
"Not bad."
Alex's smile widened, and turned into a smirk as he continued:
"Really? But you don't seem happy at all."
The woman kept up her rhythm and casually looked at Alex:
"And what makes you say that?"
"Because you are being so cold that I'm hurting. Or…"
Alex took off his sunglasses and brought his hand to his chest, his expression taking on a pain-filled hue, before he raised an eyebrow, and his expression lit up with a bright smile:
"...are you just afraid of making this place too bright? If so, we can go somewhere more private, with just the two of us. What do you say?"
The greyish-blue eyes looked at Alex, then glanced at the other side of the gym before returning to look in front:
"I will think about it. But are you sure your friend will have nothing to say about that?"
Alex ignored one part of the words and exclaimed in surprise:
"So you have also noticed me from all the way across the room! Isn't that just proof that we are destined together?"
The happy smile lingered on Alex's lips for a moment, then he changed the subject:
"This is my first time seeing you here. How are you liking our sports center?"
This time, the black-haired woman didn't look at Alex before retorting impassively:
"You speak as if this place were yours."
Unfazed, Alex smirked:
"Even choosing to come here is something to take pride in, as it speaks of my good taste."
The woman's eyes flickered, and she turned off the treadmill. As she slowed down, going from running to walking, she tilted her head toward Alex, and inquired without much curiosity in her expression, only a slight fluctuation in her tone:
"Oh? Since you've got that much good taste, why didn't you come here to spend your weekend?"
Even though Alex had nothing in his mouth at that moment, he choked, and turned his head away as he let out a mutter:
"Cough, cough… Everything needs to be balanced, right? Overconsumption is never a good thing."
In response to his words, he received a sidelong glance from the greyish-blue eyes, and a question in a flat, almost smiling tone:
"So, that is why you went out to do something stupid and irresponsible again?"
Alex took a light breath and recovered his composure. Letting the sarcasm slide over his impervious skin, he regained his casual posture and showed an easygoing smile:
"Sis, I refuse to be called stupid. You can call me reckless, but I have always been intelligent and responsible."
After all, even though he had blown open the door of his own plane, he had prepared a contingency beforehand. While he nodded inwardly to himself, the calm voice came again from the side:
"I can understand taking pride in the latter two, but not in the former. Care to regale me with the tale of your most recent intelligent and responsible show of recklessness?"
Hearing the exhale in the calm voice, Alex laughed, and waved his hand:
"How would I dare bore a woman like you with my immature stories? That would be such a crime!"
The running belt of the treadmill finally stopped. Leyna dabbed her face with a towel while controlling her breathing, then, at last, faced Alex:
"Though I am gratified that you recognize your own immaturity, and I should be happy about the compliment, if it was indeed one, can you tell me the kind of woman you see me as?"
Alex looked at the light smile that seemed to be hiding a trap, but replied to the question:
"Hm, I would say beautiful, not just in appearance but also in temperament, with a maturity that hasn't lost the sharpness of ambition. On top of that, you have an aura of success and a strong feeling of independence."
Leyna nodded as she wiped her neck, and finally brought out the knife:
"That's good. So, I can still get married. Didn't you say that you would definitely have to be there to witness it? Do you want to kill yourself before that moment arrives? Should I never get married then? Or will I have to walk down the aisle alone?"
Alex opened his mouth, then closed it and smiled bitterly:
"Can you not bring up the big gun from the get-go, sis? My heart cannot take it."
Leyna paused, then exclaimed, her face a mask of genuine surprise:
"Oh? And here I thought you've got a solid heart!"
Alex's bitter smile grew, before it turned into a sigh:
"You have succeeded in guilt tripping me, sis. Sigh, what a miserable life I live…"
He let out another exhale, and pushed himself off the handrail as he slid his classy sunglasses back on again with an affected melancholic look:
"You continue enjoying your lifetime membership of the center while I go wash away my depression elsewhere. See you later, sis."
With that, he decisively turned on his heels, waved a casual goodbye, and left without turning back, even as the gaze falling on him from behind turned amused.