A Common-Sense Repayment… at a Motel?
Thanks to the reservation, we got seated right away.
The table they showed us to was by a wide-open window. Soft chandelier light, a marble tabletop—everything about the place screamed expensive restaurant.
"Take a look at the menu. Order whatever you want."
Sohyun flipped through the pages, her brow faintly creasing.
"It really is expensive."
"Don't look at the prices today. Just pick."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"I've never eaten alone with a girl before, you know? I want to properly celebrate it with something expensive and delicious."
"What kind of thing is that to celebrate?"
I had to get her to eat something pricey no matter what. She pouted, looking burdened by the whole idea.
She's too nice, I swear.
It was consideration for me, no doubt. Just drop the consideration for today. Please. My less-than-pure motives absolutely could not get out.
After some deliberation, Sohyun settled on pizza.
"Pizza's enough?"
"Yes. That's plenty."
"This place is hard to get a reservation at. Let's order a few things and share."
If I left it to her, nothing good would come of it. I flagged down a server and started ordering freely.
"We'll have this pizza, and also…"
Pasta, steak, and chicken wings went onto the list as well.
"Oppa, you can't just order like that."
"It's fine. I genuinely want to spend today."
"You don't normally throw money around like this, right?"
"Nope. I love cheap convenience-store meals."
"That's a relief."
"What is?"
"I don't really like guys who just blow money."
So she was solid with money management. Still, the way she'd said that just now had sounded pretty nice.
Before long, the dishes arrived one after another and filled the table. Thick, rich cream pasta; pizza with an incredible wood-fired aroma; a steak dripping with juices; and the wings. Sohyun kept a straight face on the surface, but the way her fingertips held the fork gave away a quiet little thrill of anticipation.
I sliced the pizza and set a piece on her plate.
"Try it. Hope it's the taste you were hoping for."
"Thank you."
She carefully took a bite, and for the briefest moment her eyes went round as a rabbit's. Then, as if nothing had happened, that cool expression slid back into place and she chewed and swallowed at a leisurely pace.
"It's good. Maybe because the crust is thin."
"Is it the taste you were expecting?"
"Yes. I can see why it's famous."
"Then try the pasta too."
"You eat some as well, oppa. It looks like you're giving me everything."
Sohyun transferred a slice of pizza onto my plate. It was nothing special, and yet my heart gave a strange little flutter.
This really does feel like a date.
The mood stayed good all through the meal. Even while she cut her food with that cool composure, the way she chewed without noticing a little sauce on the corner of her mouth was ridiculously cute. My hand nearly moved the way it had at the snack bar. I quietly handed her a napkin instead, and only then did she flinch and hurriedly wipe it off.
"Do you always get food on yourself when you eat?"
"You're supposed to pretend you don't notice that kind of thing."
"Looking after people is a habit."
"…Just eat already."
I played the gentleman on the outside while, on the inside, I was quietly running the numbers.
All this together… easily over a hundred and fifty thousand won.
This was the same Sohyun who had let me touch her chest over a single tteokbokki-and-fries set at a snack bar. So if she was treated to a meal like this at a proper restaurant…
How far is she going to go to repay me?
Just thinking about it sent hot blood rushing low in my gut.
"All done?"
"Yes. I'm full."
"Then let's get dessert too."
"I said I'm full."
"I know girls have a separate stomach for dessert."
"No, I'm actually full."
I was going to feed her whether she liked it or not. I called the server over and ordered ice cream and coffee.
"We'll eat this and then head out."
"Did you win the lottery or something?"
"Not that. I did come into a nice little windfall, though."
"You can't just spend wildly the second you get money. It's hard enough finding a job these days. And don't go messing with crypto or anything."
"Got it. You're pretty good at nagging, huh?"
"It's not nagging. It's all for your sake, oppa."
She pouted—and right then the dessert arrived. The sweetness seemed to lift her mood; a smile rose to Sohyun's face.
"So you like sweet things too."
"Not obsessively, but I do like them."
"You said you were full, and you cleaned the whole plate."
"……"
I carefully avoided her sideways glance.
When the meal was over, we stood up. Of course I covered the entire bill.
"Are you sure you're okay? You don't want me to help?"
"It's fine. Totally fine."
"Haa. I really don't like this kind of thing."
She stood there alone, looking seriously troubled. Was she thinking about how to repay me?
Outside the restaurant, a pleasant spring breeze drifted by.
"Thanks for the meal, oppa. I totally stuffed myself thanks to you."
"Thanks for eating with me."
Sohyun checked her watch.
"You don't have any other plans, right?"
"Of course not."
"There's still a lot of time before my shift. Want to hang out a bit more?"
"I'd love to!"
"Do you like karaoke?"
I was terrible at singing. Ah! The cheat pack! There was that voice candy, wasn't there?
"Yeah. I like karaoke."
Time to show Sohyun what I could do.
"Then let's go. We can belt a few out and help the food settle."
"Sounds good."
On the way, I asked, "Can you sing?"
"I take after my mom, so I'm not bad, I think."
"Sounds like you've been a fair amount."
"With my mom."
That only made me more curious. What would Sohyun's cool, detached voice sound like poured into a song?
◈ Greatly improves voice tone and singing ability for 3 hours.
I was never much of a singer to begin with. That didn't mean I didn't know any songs, though. I had ones I knew.
Today, I'm the star of the show!
Brimming with confidence, I headed into the karaoke place with Sohyun.
"Can you sing a little, oppa?"
"Just listen first."
"You look confident."
I didn't bother with the songbook. I checked the popular chart on the wall, picked my favorite ballad from the list, and used the candy item.
Haaah.
It felt like my throat had been blasted clean open, as if I'd swallowed a whole mint whole.
"Ah. Ah. Ah."
"……"
The accompaniment started up. I brought the mic to my lips and lightly warmed up my voice. It was my voice, and yet even to my own ears the resonance was completely different.
I closed my eyes and sang the first phrase.
It wasn't my voice. Breath, technique, pitch—everything was different.
Holy crap.
The low notes were solid, but the high notes soared straight up without a hitch. The emotional delivery was main-vocal-after-three-breakups tier.
I cracked one eye open and glanced at Sohyun. She'd been fiddling with her phone, but her gaze had locked onto me hard. That usual cool expression had a faint dazed look layered over it—unusual for her.
She's surprised.
So was I.
The song ended.
"Well? Was it okay to listen to?"
I shrugged and smiled. When I casually passed her the mic, Sohyun's lips curved up just a fraction.
"You've been to karaoke a fair bit, huh."
"Not quite as good as usual. Shame."
Moments like this made it feel like we'd gotten a little closer.
"Your turn."
Sohyun pressed the remote a few times and reserved a calm-tempo ballad with a traditional Korean flavor. A gentle intro flowed out. She gripped the mic in both hands.
"…Whoa."
The instant her first phrase rode out through the speakers, it was my pupils that went wide.
She was incredible. She sang every bit as well as someone using an item. Her tone was an absolute weapon.
Is there anything she can't do?
It was nothing like her everyday voice—clear and transparent, and yet with a languid quality that brushed against your ears. It was so captivating I could only hold my breath and watch. I listened as if spellbound, and before I knew it the song was over.
"You're seriously good. You could debut as a singer."
Sohyun primly swept her hair back.
"I don't know if I'm actually good or not."
That little bit of bravado was ridiculously cute. A faint, pleased smile spread at the corners of her mouth, like she didn't mind the praise.
We kept trading the mic back and forth, singing our hearts out. At one point I stepped out to use the restroom.
"Room three over there hasn't been paid yet, right?"
"No, not yet."
"I'll take care of it. And add two drinks as well, please."
I spent a little more. We sipped those while we settled in even deeper. The candy item's effect was excellent. Every time I sang, Sohyun watched me steadily.
Thank you, candy!
I felt like I'd earned myself a pretty solid image upgrade.
When our karaoke time ran out, we got up.
"Going to karaoke with you every once in a while could be fun, oppa."
"Yeah. Let's go sometimes."
I was going to need to stock up on those candies. They were gacha drops, so they weren't easy to get—but I'd figure something out.
Sohyun, who'd been about to pay, bit down hard on her lip.
"Huh? Ah—oppa!"
"Hm?"
"Why did you pay again?"
"I just did?"
"I was going to cover this one."
"It's fine. Today's on me—full course."
"Ugh, seriously. Why are you like this? You're embarrassing me."
"I said it's fine."
I laughed and headed outside first. Sohyun followed, cheeks puffed out.
"You're the worst. Really."
I changed the subject.
"We've still got two hours before your shift. What do you want to do?"
"I think the food's settled a bit. Let's go to a café."
"Sounds good."
"I'm actually paying there."
"I told you I'm covering everything today."
"Then I'm not talking to you anymore."
"Ah… that's a scary line."
"Come on."
This time I had no choice but to let Sohyun handle the bill. A girl this sensible, and pretty on top of it…
I'm looking forward to the repayment.
We set out coffee, cake, and cookies and talked. Surprisingly, though, nothing about the altered common sense came up. Nothing particularly special was said at the café at all. Then it was time for our shift, and we stood up together.
"Huh? What's this. Why are you two arriving together?"
The unnie from the earlier shift looked at us with a knowing little smile.
"We ran into each other on the way."
That was Sohyun for you—shut it down in a single line, then started work like nothing had happened. I worked as usual too.
Maybe because Sohyun was dressed especially cute today, the male customers' eyes kept drifting her way. Whenever someone ordered ramen or a drink and I was the one who brought it over instead of her, those little sighs of disappointment kept slipping out.
You guys don't stand a chance even if you die and come back.
Did they have any idea what kind of girl Sohyun was? I got weirdly smug about it all by myself. Some of the guys shot me irritated looks for no reason, too.
Just like that, closing time drew near. The next shift arrived, and Sohyun and I got up together and left the PC bang.
"I'll walk you home. Come on."
"…You don't have to today."
"Huh? Really?"
"Haa. I just can't do this anymore."
"……"
I had a feeling. The feeling that Sohyun was about to prove she was a girl of common sense.
"I've received way too much from you, oppa. I can't keep going like this."
"What are you talking about?"
"Grateful is grateful. But I don't want to live in a completely unreasonable way either."
I waited to see what she would do.
"Follow me. I'm going to pay back everything that's piled up."
"…Huh? Where are we going?"
"Don't ask. Just follow me."
The first place Sohyun stopped was a convenience store.
"Beer, all of a sudden?"
"I think I'm going to need a drink for this."
That only made me more tense. There was only one reason to drink beer in a situation like this—to borrow a little liquid courage.
Sohyun took the lead again, and the place she was heading for, at the far end of the busy street, was—
"……!!"
A motel.
"Why here?"
"…Just. Let's go in. Don't make this more embarrassing than it already is."
Sohyun walked in first like it was nothing, paid at the counter herself, took the key, and headed up the stairs.
Thump. Thump.
My heart was hammering out of control.
This… this is happening?
My head felt like it was about to explode from the heat.