The Sixth Balance Game

Across the table, the boss sat waiting for my answer, tense as a drawn wire.

I'd settled on two conditions.

Thinking about it, neither was particularly unreasonable.

"First things first."

"Mm-hmm."

"Hire another part-timer by next week. No exceptions."

"By next week…?"

"Yes. I need them already here when I come in next Saturday."

"That's…"

"I know. You're incredibly picky about who you hire. But it's been a whole month. You weren't planning on never hiring anyone, were you?"

"Ah, no, of course not~ I've been interviewing hard…"

Sure you have.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't make sense otherwise. If anything, she needed the help more than I did. Outside of my shifts, she ran the whole place alone — and customers didn't only show up when I was on the clock. Handling that solo couldn't have been easy.

"It'd be easier on you too if you hired someone. I don't know how perfect a candidate you're holding out for, but it's time to make a decision."

"Alright… I'll try. And the second?"

"Second — we raise every menu price to four thousand won."

"Whaaat~? But we only just dropped them to three thousand…"

So those had been discounted prices. Made sense. Before I started working here, the place had barely had any customers at all.

But the situation was completely different now.

"Back then you had no customers. Now you've got plenty. Overflowing, even. Just today, how many people walked out because they couldn't wait?"

"Well… true."

"And four thousand won isn't expensive. Sure, some items will look relatively pricey if everything's a flat four thousand, but it balances out overall. Besides — you already agreed to hear me out."

"You're right… Okay! We'll do it your way, Woohyun."

"Thank you."

"Whew…"

Apparently convinced my demands were over, she let out a long sigh of relief. That easygoing air of hers was starting to settle back in.

"And third."

"Th-third?"

"Yes."

"You clearly said two…"

"You said you'd grant three, didn't you?"

"That's…"

"Goodbye, then."

"Ahh! No, wait — I'll hear it…"

The moment I stood up like I was leaving, she scrambled over and pushed me back into my seat. Softness pressed against me as she clung to my arm — a completely different sensation from Ajeong. What I felt went well beyond what the eye could measure.

"Ahem… Shall I tell you the third one, then?"

"Go ahead…"

…

"Hah… That's…"

…

"I'll be heading out, then."

"…You don't need a ride today?"

"Are you sure you're alright, Boss? It starts right now, doesn't it?"

"…See you next week, Woohyun."

"Yes, Boss. See you next week."

She'd agreed to all three of my demands.

I genuinely hadn't expected her to accept the third. Still, next week when I came in for my shift, I planned to tell her I hadn't actually been angry — and that the third demand hadn't been a real request either. The part-timer hire and the price hike were things she needed to do anyway, with or without me asking, so I figured there was no point walking those back early.

Hoping next week would finally let me coast on easy mode, I headed home.

"Hey."

"Hello."

I ran into Hayun again — Vita-stick between her lips, same as always.

"Oppa."

I'd been about to leave it at a simple greeting and walk off, but she called me back.

"What?"

"No work today?"

"I just got off."

"…"

"What?"

For reasons I couldn't place, she was giving me that suspicious look again.

"Last time you said the boss drove you home. So why are you alone today?"

"Well, that's…"

"I knew it! That person I saw last time wasn't the boss at all! I thought something was off — who runs a neighborhood cafe while driving a car like that?!"

"Ugh…"

I didn't even feel the need to defend myself. I just turned and headed for the apartment entrance.

"H-hey, where are you going!"

"You liar!!"

She was yelling something behind me, but I didn't particularly care. If she'd started throwing around words like "affair" it might have caused real misunderstandings with the neighbors — but thankfully, she seemed to have enough sense not to go that far.

"It's the comics. The comics are the problem…"

Clicking my tongue at the bleak future of a re-taker who'd abandoned studying for manga, I went inside.

And once again, the long-awaited Balance Game hour arrived.

"Ahh, the game I've been waiting and waiting for."

I was used to it by now — greeting midnight with something close to ease. Ever since the fifth Balance Game and all those updates, the whole system had gotten friendlier, which made it a little easier to relax. More than anything, I was already convinced deep down that whoever was behind this meant me well.

Setting aside the looks and money from the very beginning, I'd earned three permanent abilities so far.

Taste Alteration. Magic Talent. The Eye for Talent.

Of those, I worked Taste Alteration hard every single cooldown. Thanks to it, failing my diet had become a literal impossibility.

Then there was the Eye for Talent — cooldown so long I still couldn't use it yet.

And finally, Magic Talent. I hadn't been putting that one to work nearly as hard as Taste Alteration. First problem: the tricks I could actually learn and perform right now were limited. Online info ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on magic was sparse — anything beyond the absolute basics barely even existed as far as the public was concerned. So my plan was to eventually meet a famous magician and learn directly.

Keep playing the Balance Game long enough, and I'd probably cross paths with plenty of well-known people sooner or later. And if that never happened, I had more than enough money to just book them for a private event myself.

Even knowing only the fundamentals, what I could already show people was nowhere near inadequate. The moment I understood even a little of how a trick worked, the technique itself was flawless — executed so cleanly I wasn't even consciously aware of what my hands were doing.

That was probably what MAX-level mastery looked like. Technique ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so far beyond what a human body and brain could normally achieve that even the person performing it couldn't keep up.

Just a theory, of course — but the fact that the level displayed as MAX instead of a number clearly meant something fundamentally different was going on.

Then what about my looks…

If I really wanted the full explanation, I'd probably need to ask through KokoaTalk — but that wasn't realistic right now. The hopeful part was that they'd promised ongoing updates. Eventually, the things I didn't understand now would become clear on their own. For the time being, I'd decided to just use what I had and enjoy it as much as I could.

KokoaTalk—!

I'd been mulling over the Balance Game, and before I knew it, it was midnight. Right on the dot, the message arrived.

Why is there so much time?

The KokoaTalk message was back to its usual short format. No new updates this round, so everything landed at a glance. What grabbed me first was the Balance Game topic — and the time limit.

Over six full days.

I understood that the timer changed depending on the theme, but this was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠absurdly generous.

When does it end, then?

I immediately calculated when the timer would hit zero.

"Saturday at 6 p.m.… Wait."

Exactly when my shift at Ice Bean started.

That was no coincidence. The Balance Game itself seemed tied to Ice Bean.

[By-the-Book Boss vs. Gen-Z Subordinate]

The thought had crossed my mind the second I saw it, but I hadn't been sure. Knowing when the timer ended made it certain.

I was being allowed to choose the type of new part-timer coming in next week.

So this is what a customized option looks like.

It wasn't some forced, artificial Balance Game — but the options were clearly connected to my life right now. Even without being told to choose carefully, I had no choice but to.

Knowing it would hit my actual workplace, I studied the theme hard.

But can a superior even show up?

We were hiring a part-timer. I was already working there. How does a boss walk in above me? Maybe a career hire. Or someone close to the owner. Either way, those options always played out literally — so one way or another, someone ranking above me was guaranteed to arrive.

The other option: Gen-Z Subordinate.

Having someone under me sounded nice on paper, but the deliberate "Gen-Z" label made me uneasy. A video I'd watched not long ago floated up unbidden.

Just because it said "subordinate" didn't automatically make it a good pick.

On the other hand, a by-the-book boss would at least get the work done properly. And as for any pushback aimed at me — the owner would probably shut most of it down herself.

At first glance, picking the subordinate had seemed like the obvious call. A little thought, and I wasn't so sure anymore.

This Balance Game was harder to call than I'd expected.

Maybe I should take this one slow.

Thankfully, I had over six days. Unlike every previous round, I didn't have to lock anything in immediately. Better to sit with it — search around, get other people's opinions.

Should I ask Ajeong?

Different line of work, but she was already doing part-time jobs. Getting her take wouldn't hurt.

"Shit. Wait a second…"

It hit me. Both options this round were bad.

Pick the first, and instead of the part-timer I'd been looking forward to, someone ranking above me walks in. Pick the second, and I get a Gen-Z part-timer…

If I'd just left well enough alone and never chosen through the Balance Game, a perfectly ordinary hire probably would have shown up on their own.

I'd thought being able to pick myself was a good thing. It was a trap.

If there were at least a bonus reward…

They'd said additional rewards might or might not appear going forward. The criteria still hadn't been properly revealed. They'd asked me to show them varied, entertaining choices, but…

How am I supposed to do that?

Without knowing the standard, all I could do was hope they were satisfied with whatever I picked. From that angle, maybe deliberately choosing the worse-looking option under a minor penalty like this wasn't such a bad idea either.

Plenty of thoughts surfaced, but for now I decided to hear other people out and take my time deciding.