Promoted from Tool to Butler
Thursday was the day Ajeong was supposed to come over.
The day before, on Wednesday, her gift arrived at the house.
A gaming PC, built exclusively for Ajeong.
If I was going to buy one, I figured I might as well get something good — so I put about four million won into it. The largest sum I'd ever spent on anything in my life.
And yet it barely felt like a burden. Checking my bank balance every time I woke up had gotten me used to the fact that I now had over a billion won sitting there. It was more that I'd simply never had anywhere worth spending it.
Once Ajeong quit her job, she'd probably be coming over even more often than she already did. Two computers would be nice. And since money wasn't an issue, I went ahead and bought one just for her.
My own rig had cost about eight hundred thousand won back before I enlisted. The difference was night and day.
Maybe I should get one for myself too.
I'd never felt any real longing for better specs — outside of word processing, all I ever did on a computer was play LoL. Still, watching Ajeong's expensive new machine take shape made me want a fresh one of my own. Not that I was about to be the kind of guy who bought her a gift and then used it himself. That would be pathetic.
"Hmm..."
It wasn't a painful price, and a good machine would last years. My fingers moved before I could overthink it.
📦 In Transit
I ordered an identical build to the one that had just arrived, then got to work setting everything up.
"Hoo..."
My desk had always been enormous — big enough that even with my own computer on it, there was still a ton of empty space. I'd been using that leftover room to store boxes of room-temperature chicken breast, which I shoved into the gap between the bathroom and the fridge.
"Oh."
Thankfully, Ajeong's computer fit without any trouble. Apparently two people had lived in this place before, and they'd left the extra desk behind. Lucky break.
She was going to lose it when she saw this tomorrow. There was no way she'd ask to play nothing but LoL after I'd bought her a machine this nice.
Probably...
"Let's go!"
I'd finished working out and cleaned up. As usual, I was waiting near the counter when Ajeong came over.
"What? Where are we going?"
I drifted naturally toward the inside of the counter, but she headed straight for the entrance instead.
"Hehe... I asked the boss today, and she said I could take the rest of the day off!"
"Ah."
"What's with that reaction?"
"Wow! Let's go, then!"
It was barely two in the afternoon. If we got home this early, how many games of LoL was I going to have to play? I was starting to wonder if I'd dug my own grave.
"Heheh... Woo-hyuna!"
"Hm?"
"Nothing!"
"..."
"Woohyun!"
"Yeah?"
"...Did you get the present ready?"
"Ah~ Yeah. It's at the house."
She hadn't asked about it yesterday or the day before, so I'd figured she wasn't that interested. Turns out she'd just been holding herself back on purpose. The way she was grinning ear to ear was almost too cute to handle.
"It's a really, really big present, you know."
"Mm!"
"But you have to promise me one thing."
"Promise?"
"Yeah. Promise you won't play too much LoL from now on."
"Heheh... Is Woohyun jealous of LoL?"
"Whatever. Are you promising or not?"
"Mm... Okay! I like hanging out with you more anyway."
With that bare-minimum safety net in place, we arrived home. And — thankfully, I suppose — we didn't run into Jin Hayun. Come to think of it, I barely ever saw her anymore after that day. Maybe she was actually studying hard. The thought that I might have saved a borderline re-taker from total failure left me feeling oddly proud.
Even so, a Grade 2 is probably out of reach.
Math wasn't a subject you could raise overnight. And no subject demanded raw talent quite like Korean language.
"Woohyun, what are you thinking about?"
"Huh? Nothing~ Let's go in."
"Hehe... I'm so excited."
I'd zoned out even with Ajeong right next to me. I couldn't deny it — just walking down this alley brought back some intense memories.
We entered the building and rode the elevator up. The closer we got to the apartment, the more obvious her anticipation became.
Beep-beep-beep-beep — click—
"Can I go in?"
"Of course."
She was so worked up that I was getting nervous too. Sure, she liked gaming, and sure, it was an expensive gift — but it might not be the kind of present the atmosphere was building toward.
I watched her, tense.
"..."
"Is this it...??"
As if drawn by a magnet, Ajeong walked straight to the newly set-up computer. I pulled the chair out for her, and she sat down without thinking.
"Can I... can I turn it on?"
"Go ahead."
"Whoa—!!"
The moment the machine fully booted, she grabbed the mouse with trembling hands and started poking around at everything.
"H-how much was this? I've never seen numbers this big..."
Her cursor was hovering over the graphics card specs. I considered lying so she wouldn't feel pressured by the price, but she'd figure it out eventually anyway.
"All in, a little over four million."
"Eek...!!"
"Th-then, Woohyun..."
"Yeah?"
"Does this mean I can duo queue LoL at your place every single day now?!!"
"Hey..."
"Heheheh, I'm kidding! Ah, I seriously love this so much..."
"Yeah?"
Thankfully, she looked thoroughly delighted.
"So when I go home tomorrow, I just take this with me?"
"..."
"Heheh... Kidding! Your face was priceless. You bought it so we could game together at your place — why would I take it home~ Thank you so, so much. Really!"
"I bought it because I wanted to. Last time I was watching you from behind, I just thought it'd be nice to play together."
The ultimate gamer-girlfriend fantasy: two computers in one house, playing side by side. I'd always assumed that was something you only got after marriage. Turns out money solved everything.
"Let's try a bunch of other games later too."
"Mm!"
True to form, the first thing she did was search for LoL and start installing it. From the moment I'd ordered the computer, I'd been watching video after video — games to play with your girlfriend, best multiplayer recommendations, the works. That was the whole point of a four-million-won high-end machine: running more than just League.
I really wanted to see something other than LoL running on this thing.
"There's actually a game I've been wanting to try!"
"Really?"
I was stunned. I'd always thought of Ajeong as a pure LoL demon — a girl whose only hobby, whose only game, was League of Legends. The idea that she might have been interested in something else had never even crossed my mind. It might sound like an exaggeration, but every time I messaged her when we weren't together, she was mid-game.
"What is it?"
"Plant Valley!"
"Ah~ That farming game?"
It was famous enough that everyone knew it. Especially in those "best games to play with your girlfriend" videos — it showed up in almost every single one.
"Mm, let's buy it when it goes on sale!"
"Alright. For today, let's just install Steam and Discord, get logged in, and then play LoL."
"Sounds good~"
Ajeong started hunting down the necessary programs and downloading them with practiced ease. While I waited, I set out some drinks. Surprisingly, she was a fan of soda, so I'd stocked up in advance.
"Oh, thanks... This is seriously the best..."
"What is?"
"Just... having a computer this nice, drinks ready to go — I don't even need to go to a PC bang anymore!"
Seeing how excited she was made me glad I'd bought it.
"Chomp... But... is this zero-calorie?"
"Yeah."
"Mr. Woohyun, from now on, drinks must be — without exception! — the original, please-ah-ah-ah..."
Feeling mischievous, I grabbed both her cheeks and stretched them this way and that.
"Zero doesn't make you gain weight, and it tastes basically the same."
"It's diffeeeereeeent—"
"Heh. Fine, I'll get the original next time. Just finish the zero I already bought."
"Hehe... I love you."
"Out of nowhere?"
"I'm not gonna call you a tool anymore."
"Then what?"
"You provide the bed and the computer, and you take care of the drinks and the food... so, butler?"
"..."
"Hehe..."
That day, I locked in damage support five games in a row and thoroughly neglected Ajeong the entire time.
"Two Americanos, please..."
"Would you like those hot or iced?"
"Yes..."
"Sorry?"
"Please..."
"Hot, then?"
"Yes. Yes."
"Alright~ Just have a seat and I'll bring them right out~"
Ice Bean. One day a week — the only time I did anything remotely productive.
"Oppa, did you reel in another customer?"
"What?"
"There were hearts shooting out of her eyes."
"Just do the dishes, dish-soap girl."
"Hwaah... Where did you even learn a line like that?"
I steered Hayun — rubber gloves caked in dish soap — back toward the sink.
"You've been so cold to me lately..."
"Woohyun, want to try making an Americano?"
"Yes~"
"Oppa...? Boss...?"
A little pitiful, but that was Hayun's standing at the café these days. She horsed around so much that getting ignored had basically become her brand. The silver lining was that Jin Hayun herself seemed to enjoy the role.
"Boss, Oppa's already good at this on his own — why do you keep teaching him?"
"..."
"Hey. It's because the boss is way better, that's why."
"I just get stuck on dishes every day..."
Jin Hayun launched into another round of playing the victim.
"You said you wanted to do dishes..."
"I'm the outcast dish-soap girl..."
"Want to come over here and learn with us, Hayun?"
Working café shifts always felt like this. As things settled into a rhythm, three people had become far too many for the workload. Firing someone at this point was out of the question — and more importantly, the boss was perfectly happy with the extra free time.
Closing time. Hayun and I finished cleaning the floor first and were taking a break when the boss wrapped up the cash count and came over.
"Walking home again today? Woohyun, something on your mind?"
"Huh?"
"You seemed to be looking something up on your phone a lot~"
"Ah, sorry."
I'd only meant to check it during the truly slow moments, but I had definitely been on my phone more than usual.
"I'm not scolding you~ I was just wondering if something was bothering you."
"Ah, I've been looking into cars."
"A car?! An automobile??"
Hayun, who'd been quietly listening, reacted even louder.
"Yeah. Figured it might be nice to have one soon."
"Oh... going car-poor, are we? And this dish-soap girl has to pay off all your debt??"
"What are you even talking about... Anyway, I've been researching, but I never really cared about cars before, so it's a bit tough. I'll focus harder next week."
"No, no~ I didn't mean it like that at all. Come on, let's go. I'll drive you both home again today."
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
At first I'd found it a little awkward and tried to turn her down, but by now the boss driving Hayun and me home had become routine.
A five-minute drive. Jin Hayun took the back seat; I sat up front.
"Woohyun. Looking at used cars?"
"I mean, yeah? I'm not really the type to get greedy about cars. As long as it's solid and it runs, I'm fine."
"Hmm... Then how about we go look together right now?"
"Sorry?"
"Hwah, yes please!!"
Jin Hayun thrust her head forward from the back seat in enthusiastic agreement.
"Well..."
"As you can probably tell, I'm pretty into cars, so I think I could help. What do you say?"
Given that the boss rotated through multiple expensive vehicles, she clearly loved cars — and almost certainly knew her stuff.
"You know used cars well too?"
"Hmm~ Not exactly... but I know a place."
"I'd love the help, honestly. Thank you."
"Then I'll head there? It's close, so don't worry."
But is a place like that even open at this hour?
A small — no, a fairly large — question crossed my mind. Still, I decided to trust the boss for now.