Please Don't Tie Me Up (Short-Short)

This is takewoody.
Last week, the theme for the 6th Amano Writing Club was
“Careless Love”and I submitted two pieces.

The theme for the 7th Amano Writing Club is “Please don't tie me up”.

I wonder if I can write something this time too?
I'll put my brain into full gear and write whatever comes to mind.
Well then, here is a short-short story I made on the spot.

I wrote this by letting my imagination run wild from Amano-san's char siu image.

◆Please don't tie me up (Short-Short) (1048 characters)

Lately, I've been gaining weight and my belly is sticking out.
At this rate, I'm just an uncool middle-aged guy with a potbelly.

I feel like there are two types of middle-aged men.
The middle-aged guy who eats and drinks whatever he wants,
and the slightly cool middle-aged guy who never skips his exercise.

I feel like all the popular middle-aged guys are like athletes.
I guess I have no choice but to join a sports club and go on a diet.

But just joining a sports club won't make me lose weight.
A casual sports club member like me
will probably quit right away if I'm not managed.
Can't I keep going without being tied down? Hmm, but I don't want to be tied down.
First, let's join a sports club!

Hello, I'd like to join the sports club.

Yes, thank you very much.
What is your motivation or goal for joining this time?

Lately, I've been gaining weight, and I'd like to lose it.

In that case, our club will support your body transformation.
A regular membership is 10,000 yen per month, but with a personal trainer, it's 30,000 yen per month.
By having a trainer, you can reach your ideal body shape faster.

30,000 yen a month is a bit steep all of a sudden, so I'll start with a regular membership, please.

Understood.
After the enrollment procedure, you can use the facilities freely starting today.

Thank you. I'll go change and give it a try right away.
I wonder if paying three times the price for a personal trainer
really yields more than three times the results.

Besides, it's not just a matter of money,I don't want to be tied down.
If I were instructed by a high-tension, muscle-bound male trainer
or a gorgeous beauty-type female trainer,
“Please don't tie me up,”I would probably think in my heart,
“Please let me do it more freely.”

But if I do it freely without being tied down, I'll just go easy on myself.
I wonder if I can't lose weight unless I'm tied down?

Right now, I look like a raw piece of char siu.
Why is char siu tied with string anyway?
It's to keep it from falling apart, to shape it, to cook it evenly,
and to keep the meat juices from escaping.

Hey, wait a minute, am I char siu?
Will I fall apart if I'm not tied down?
Should I be tied down so my meat juices don't escape?

Meat juices equal sweat—I should be letting that out!
It would be a disaster if I kept it all in and started aging.

If having a personal trainer and being managed helps me lose weight faster,
I'd want a beautiful, stylish female trainer.
Then, I might just get a body that makes my personal trainer fall in love with me.

Paying 30,000 yen a month to be tied down might not be so bad.
And if I could develop a romance with my personal trainer as a bonus,
would it turn into a restrictive, binding kind of love?

Hey, wait a minute! Do I want to be tied down in both body and love?

The End

◆ Afterword

This time, I played on the idea of not wanting to be tied down by a sports club trainer. Recently, sports clubs have become very popular with middle-aged and older people.
Both on weekdays and weekends, it's just old folks everywhere.
Since I'm in my 50s, I'm one of those old guys too...

I've been going to sports clubs for 37 years now,
but back in the day, sports clubs were gatherings for young people who wanted to exercise.
Recent sports clubs have become places for health-conscious
middle-aged and older people.

As I wrote in this short-short story,
personal trainers didn't really exist back then,
but now anyone can have one if they pay the money.
And it's super expensive!

Current sports clubs are divided into high-priced, standard, and low-priced.
High-priced options like RIZAP or those with personal trainers,
low-priced options like ChocoZAP where you can only use the machines freely on your own,
and the standard pricing in between (the traditional pattern).

For short-term intensive goals, high-priced options are fine, but
in the long run, standard-priced memberships where you aren't tied down are more comfortable.
Another good point about sports clubs is being able to use the baths and saunas.

I was able to use my imagination to the fullest and write this enjoyably again.
I hope you enjoy this world of fantasy and fiction.

I've got another image popping into my head,
so I'll post the second part the day after tomorrow.

Thank you for reading until the end.
See you later.

#AmanoWritingClub
#MitsuruAmanoProject
#ShortShort
#PleaseDontTieMeDown

◆ Next work: Please Don't Tie Me Down (Short-Short Story) Part 2