The transformation of Bruno

The gym was almost empty when Bruno finished his last set of pull-ups. His broad back glistened with sweat under the white light of the ceiling. At twenty-eight, he had a physique that many in the gym and his surroundings envied: broad shoulders, dense arms, a hard abdomen like a metal plate, and a spectacular V that highlighted his waist. He had dedicated himself to building this body since his first year of university and put in a lot of effort into his diet and supplementation. Bruno was what is considered a metrosexual; every three days, a barber marked his beard and reviewed his cut, and depilated his abdomen, back, and chest, which did not show any hair, unlike his armpits. This contrast between his hairless body and his beard and eyebrows, always impeccable, made him irresistible to the gaze, which somewhat overwhelmed him, which is why he enjoyed this schedule when the gym was practically empty.

However, that afternoon, he felt something strange.

It wasn't fatigue. It was a diffuse sensation, as if someone was watching him.

"You're overdoing it with the reps," a calm voice said behind him.

Bruno turned around.

The man speaking was Adrián, the gym's new trainer. Tall, elegant, with a profiled face that gave a European appearance, curly but perfectly cut hair, enormous and tattooed arms, and almost two meters tall, which gave an imposing appearance, but the most striking thing was his gaze, a almost hypnotic gaze. Adrián had arrived just a month ago, but in a short time, he had won the admiration of everyone.

"Thirty consecutive pull-ups," Adrián continued, crossing his arms. "You don't need to prove anything to anyone."

Bruno shrugged.

"It's a habit."

Adrián observed him for a few more seconds, as if evaluating each muscle in his body.

"Your genetics are impressive," he said finally. "But you're training like someone who wants to conserve what they have... not like someone who wants to evolve."

Bruno smiled.

"I don't know if I can evolve."

Adrián slowly shook his head.

"That depends on the method."

What started as a light conversation soon turned into a routine, almost personalized, that was repeated the next day and the day after that, until it became a habit. For Bruno, it was no longer an option to train at that hour. Unbeknownst to him, he had transformed his training into a date that he always attended punctually with Adrián. The trainer always had a scent that Bruno had not recognized, however, as the days passed, that unknown scent, at first, began to seem pleasant, and he felt a bit envious of the scent emanating from his trainer. In some gym repetitions, he noticed that the scent came from his trainer's armpits, which did not show any hair, and for the first time in his life, Bruno felt intimidated by the figure of his trainer and felt ashamed of having hairy armpits. The next day, he visited...