To Score with Sohyun

I turned yesterday's events over carefully in my mind.

After I'd paid the bill at the bunsik place, Sohyun had pulled her top open on her own and shown me her chest. Like she was telling me to touch her.

The more she receives from me, the higher the stakes go.

I was almost certain of it. The answer I'd given earlier had been nearly the same. So I needed to stack it up and put it to use.

If I play this right…

It wouldn't stop at touching her chest or her pussy.

We could even… have sex…

My face burned like it was about to explode. Just the thought of sleeping with Sohyun sent my heart hammering like it might burst.

"Hoo."

I managed a deep breath and headed back to my seat. On the way, Sohyun's voice drifted over.

"I'm sorry."

She was cutting off a customer offering her a drink without a second's hesitation. There had always been guys like that. Some of them even wrote their Instagram handles or phone numbers on the cups.

"That guy was pretty handsome, though?"

I prodded a little.

"That guy?"

"Not your type, huh."

"No. He's not. And I feel awkward taking things from guys."

"Yeah?"

"The second I accept even one thing, they decide I'm interested and keep coming on to me."

My chest gave a little twinge.

Awkward?

What I'd been doing could land the same way. I felt like we'd gotten a lot closer—but that didn't mean we were a couple. It wasn't even a situationship. Just because the altered common sense had let us do some dirty things didn't mean the actual relationship had leveled up.

Keeping on giving her stuff might make her uncomfortable too.

After ten at night, once things had quieted down a bit, I handed Sohyun another drink.

"…Why do you keep looking after me?"

"Figured you might be thirsty."

"Water's fine."

"Felt weird drinking alone, that's all."

"I'm okay. You don't have to keep doing this."

Yeah. She was uncomfortable. She might be reading it as flirting. And if she did, the distance we'd closed could open right back up.

I need to be careful.

So how was I supposed to keep stacking points? I worked it over. My head wasn't half bad when I put it to use.

Buy her something big… all at once.

One thing was certain: Sohyun didn't dislike me. If she did, she wouldn't even talk to me. Maybe it was time to get a little confidence.

After we clocked out, while I was walking her home, I asked.

"Sohyun. You free Saturday for lunch?"

"That day… mm. I don't think I have anything."

"Then want to grab a meal with me?"

It took real courage to get the words out. Asking a girl out first was something I'd never done in my life.

Sohyun looked at me with that same blank expression.

"Out of nowhere?"

"There's a restaurant I've been wanting to try. Felt kind of lame going alone."

"Where is it?"

"A place run by a chef who was on White Deer Chef recently."

The moment I said the name, her eyes widened a fraction.

"You got a reservation?"

"Barely pulled it off."

It really had been a nightmare to land.

"I've actually wanted to go there…"

"Really? Then let's go."

She seemed to wrestle with it for a second.

"I'm sorry."

Shot down.

"It's not because I don't like you, Oppa."

"Huh?"

"That place is expensive. I don't have money either, and freeloading off you would feel too awkward."

"It's fine. I've got money."

"How is that fine? I know you make less hourly than I do."

Sohyun really was that decent. I almost wished she'd set the high-minded principles down for a second.

"Guess I'll have to go alone, then. All lonely."

"…"

"People are gonna look at me weird sitting there by myself, huh."

Once it was out of my mouth, I wasn't even sure the line would land. Sohyun's brow twitched.

"Then… I'll think about it a little."

"Really?"

"I didn't say I was going."

"Yeah. No pressure. Just let me know."

"Okay."

The part about it not being because she disliked me kept looping in my head. The corner of my mouth lifted on its own.

"Hey. Part-timer oppa."

I was at work again, grinding through a normal shift, when a female customer drifted up to the counter. She was a regular who came to the PC bang a lot, and she leaned her whole body over the counter, thick perfume rolling off her. Exactly the type I couldn't stand—the kind that reeked a little of high-school mean girl.

"The keyboard at my seat isn't pressing right. Could you come take a quick look for me?"

She looked up at me with a nasal little whine in her voice.

Was it actually broken? I reached for the mouse, figuring I should check the seat through the system first.

"Sure. What's your seat number? I'll swap it out for you."

"Fifty-four. Oh, and when do you take breaks? I've been watching you since last time and you're kind of cute? You on Instagram? Give me your handle."

The sudden pivot wiped my brain clean white.

Instagram? Me?

"Uh… that's…"

Caught completely off guard, I made some half-witted noise. I'd never been in a situation like this before in my life.

"Here's the keyboard for seat fifty-four."

Sohyun rattled a keyboard down onto the counter as she spoke.

"…"

The woman's face twisted.

"Just unplug the old one and plug this in yourself. If you're not paying for something, please clear the front of the counter."

A flat, purely professional tone. Eyes as cool and still as a sheet of ice. The woman took the keyboard like Sohyun's presence had crushed her and retreated. The sideways glance she shot Sohyun on the way back said it all—she'd clocked an opponent she couldn't touch.

Having cleaned up the situation, Sohyun went right back to her work like nothing had happened. Her mouth, though, opened again.

"Oppa, you don't even have Instagram."

"Yeah. I don't."

"Then why couldn't you just say you don't?"

"I was a little startled."

"Why?"

"First time a girl's ever asked me first."

"…"

Only then did Sohyun look at me properly.

"So… numbers too?"

"Yeah. Never been there either."

Her mouse clicks cut off abruptly.

"That restaurant from yesterday. Are you really going even if it's alone?"

"Thinking about it. Reservation was hell to get."

"If that girl just now had asked you to go, you would've gone, huh."

"…"

"Just go with me."

"Huh? For real?"

"I just realized there's no point looking out for Oppa's wallet."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"If I leave you alone, some random girl is going to sucker you and clean out your whole bank account. Might as well be me eating the expensive stuff."

The delivery was dead logical and somehow weirdly fluttery at the same time. Then she held out her phone.

"So give me your number. So we can set the place and time."

"Thank you!"

I punched my number in and handed it right back.

Did I just get Sohyun's number? No—did Sohyun just get mine?

"Get back to work, then."

Done talking, Sohyun turned her head back to the monitor. That unreadable chic of hers—the kind that quietly got under your skin and stayed there.

I had to bite down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hard on the smile trying to break across my face as I looked at her. Date locked in, and I could spend big now. I couldn't wait to see how Sohyun would pay me back for it.

"I think I've got it now."

This week's altered common sense. Today was day three. Saying the answer once a day was the smart play.

"The faster you nail it, the higher the points seem to go."

Hitting it on day five had gotten me 5P. Hitting a 98% match rate had added another 5P on top. Looking at that, speed paid out more than pure accuracy.

"I'm saying today's answer."

A white window bloomed open.

"When I buy Sohyun something, it's common sense that she pays me back with skinship matching what she got—and I can stack that up."

"Nice!"

The change hit my body. It felt like my muscles were being rebuilt from the ground up.

"Holy shit!"

I ran my hands over myself—and there it was, a seriously clean set of muscle. Abs, chest, biceps, triceps, the lot. My thighs and the rest of my lower body had improved too. My whole-body balance had leveled up in a big way.

"Whoa. This reward is insane."

Thank you, System!

Now that I had the answer locked, I was going to spend money on Sohyun for real.

The next day, Sohyun seemed to notice the change in my body. She kept giving me these half-lidded looks.

"Why are you staring like that?"

"You just seem… different somehow."

"Been working out a bit. Looks like some muscle stuck."

"Oppa’s body was always on the good side, though."

Right. Same as last time—when my skin improved, she'd registered it like it'd always been that way.

"Check this out. More muscle."

I flexed an arm on purpose. I wanted to lean into looking manly.

"You were on the slim side. Feels a little more solid now."

"Right? So? This look's better, yeah?"

"Yeah. A little better."

Relief. Looks like this much muscle didn't put Sohyun off.

Time crawled. It dragged so hard that waiting for Saturday felt like months had passed. But the day I'd been waiting for finally arrived.

"Hope the clothes are okay."

My first real date. First time meeting a girl one-on-one. No wonder I was a wreck of nerves. I figured clean and simple was the play, so I put together a neat dress shirt with black chinos. The perfectly average guy staring back from the mirror only made me more anxious. I'd been agonizing over this for days and I was still worried.

"It'll be fine. Just go."

Over texts, and again at work, we'd locked down where and when. Neither of us had a car, so we'd agreed to meet near the restaurant around eleven.

I was rushing out of the house when the auntie cleaning on the first floor spotted me.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Still pretty as ever. Perfect timing, I decided, and asked without thinking.

"These clothes. How do they look?"

"Pretty standard? Oh my—Jaehan, are you going on a date?"

"Well… anyway. Not bad, right?"

"Yeah. They're fine. To my eye, at least. Clean, tall—looks good."

"Thank you."

"Have fun out there."

Auntie's words put some steel in my spine.

"You've grown up."

Hm?

I caught a scrap of her muttering to herself. What was that about?

"Crap—"

Missing the bus was absolutely not an option. Sohyun had never once been late to her PC bang shifts. Odds were she'd already be out there waiting. First date—I couldn't make her wait.

It's not even a date.

Not a situationship either. Just getting a meal.

My mouth still curled up into a stupid grin anyway.

At the station exit we'd picked, I spotted a single point off in the distance where every nearby gaze seemed to be pulled. As I got closer, a familiar silhouette came into focus.

…Whoa.

I nearly let my jaw drop. I'd only ever seen her in that dim PC bang. This was the first time I'd seen Sohyun done up in full street clothes.

Under a light beige cardigan she wore a thin, body-hugging knit, and the heavy volume she usually kept hidden was on full, unapologetic display. Below that, a black skirt showed off the clean line of her legs.

She's way too pretty.

Whether she'd put on more makeup than she did for PC bang shifts or not, it was the kind of face that made guys turn and look ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠twice as they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠passed.

"…Yoo Sohyun."

At my call, Sohyun—who'd been looking at her phone—lifted her head.

"You're here? Good, you're not late."

"Today is absolutely not a day I can be late."

Sohyun gave my outfit a quick once-over from head to toe. For a second, even with Auntie Jiyoung's compliment still warm in my ears, I almost shrank under it.

"Did you buy new clothes?"

"No, just stuff I already had. Weird?"

"Just… well. Not bad. You're tall, so it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suits you pretty well."

The relief that hit me came with a spike of courage.

"You're kind of blinding today."

"Blinding?"

"Yeah. You got so pretty I almost didn't recognize you."

Too much courage. Why did my mouth only run wild at times like this?

Sohyun's eyes wavered hard for a beat. She turned her gaze somewhere else.

"We're going somewhere expensive, so I just matched the vibe. Let's go. I'm hungry."

She turned her back, fingertips brushing the edge of her ear.

Is that a little red?

The tips of her ears had gone faintly pink. Looks like the compliment landed. My nose practically flared with pride. That whole act of playing it cool was so cute I had to swallow the grin leaking out as I fell into step beside her.