Looks Like Haylin?
I was heading down in the elevator, arms full of bundled blankets and sheets.
Ding—
It stopped abruptly on the fourth floor.
Ziiing—
"Uh…?"
"…Hello."
"Ah. Hello."
Jin Hayun hesitated for a moment, clearly debating, then stepped into the elevator.
Holding the doors open and not getting on would have looked even weirder, so it was the right call.
"…"
The silence was awkward. For some reason, I felt like I shouldn't act like I knew her in front of Ajeong.
Apparently Hayun felt the same way.
Ding—
"Bye~"
She hurried out the moment the doors opened and scurried outside at a near-jog.
The ride down to the first floor felt endless.
"That was weirdly embarrassing. Let's go."
"…"
We headed for the self-service laundromat nearby. Ajeong had gone quiet the whole way, and it was starting to bother me.
"Ajeong, you tired?"
"…That person just now."
"Hm?"
Don't tell me she figured something out.
People who lived in the same building saying hello was perfectly normal. Nothing wrong with that.
She stopped walking mid-stride.
"Isn't she the one who works with you at the café, Woohyun?"
"Uh… yeah."
It wasn't just a vague hunch.
Shit… right.
She'd recognized her completely. Which meant greeting her like a total stranger probably looked even weirder in hindsight.
"Hmm… so you're not that close?"
"Ah, yeah, pretty much."
"I thought I had the wrong person. You two said hi like you'd never met."
"We're really not that close. We just run into each other a lot since we live in the same building, so I don't really think about it."
"Ahh…"
Thankfully, Ajeong didn't seem inclined to dig any further. That sudden stop had been oddly terrifying, but apparently she'd just been second-guessing herself.
"Come on, let's go."
"Mm…"
The walk to the laundromat took about five minutes. Along the way, I finally brought up Plant Valley—something I'd completely forgotten to mention earlier.
"You disappointed in Evergain?"
Evergain, with that bombshell pregnancy plotline. If Ajeong hadn't found it, I never would have known for the rest of my life.
Between the two marriage candidates in Plant Valley, Haylin had struck me as a little too undomestic, so I'd been leaning toward marrying Evergain—and nearly ended up a cuckold for my trouble.
I never would have set foot in a hospital anyway, so I really would have gone my whole life without knowing. If it hadn't been for Ajeong… wait.
Why had Ajeong gone into the hospital in the first place?
"Ajeong, why did you go into the hospital, though?"
As far as I remembered, the doctor was a marriageable male NPC.
Don't tell me Ajeong had been secretly flirting with some other guy NPC behind my back.
Sure, I'd done the same thing, and it was just a game so it didn't really matter—but I wasn't about to be the only one getting played.
Convinced I'd caught her red-handed, I waited for her answer with full confidence.
"Because Evergain went in."
"Huh?"
"You were so obsessed with Evergain, and she went to the hospital, so I followed her."
"I—I wasn't that into her."
So she hadn't been hitting on a male NPC. Somehow this was worse.
"Woohyun."
"Y-yeah?"
"Come to think of it… that girl earlier. She looked like Haylin."
"Did she? I don't really see it… Ah. We're here! Let's go in!"
Startled, I bolted into the laundromat ahead of her.
"Oh… nice and cool in here, right?"
"Yeah…"
Whether she was letting it go or not, Ajeong didn't say another word about it after following me inside.
Jin Hayun and Haylin. The resemblance in looks and personality was definitely there—but I never expected her to make that connection out loud.
It stung a little more since I'd been openly flirting with Haylin, saying I liked her.
Haylin and Evergain. Unfortunately, both of them were out as marriage candidates.
We started the wash first—about fifty minutes on the clock. We'd wait here through the wash cycle, then head home and come back later for the dryer, which took longer.
Meaning we had fifty minutes to kill.
Pat— pat—
"Woohyun, sit here!"
Thankfully, there were decent seats set up for waiting. The second she sat down, Ajeong pulled out her phone, and I settled in beside her.
"Watch this with me!"
"What is it?"
She flipped her phone sideways and held it out so we could both see.
Probably a LoL clip or something from Plant Valley.
"Huh? Soccer?"
"Yep. Son Special!"
Refugee song~ Thick lemon bread~ Lemon song~
"Whoa! Son Heung-doo's insane…"
Apparently she still hadn't given up on recruiting me as a Tottenham fan. She'd even put together a whole playlist of highlight reels.
At this point, I was going to have to give Ajeong a new title to go with "LoL Demon."
Son-ppong.
And then I hit her with the question guaranteed to get under any of their skins.
"Ajeong, are you a Son Heung-doo fan, or a Tottenham fan?"
"What?? Son Heung-doo is a Tottenham legend—you can't even separate those two!"
"So if Son Heung-doo transfers or retires, you'll still root for Tottenham?"
"Ugh! Y-yeah…"
"That answer was pretty weak. How am I supposed to be a Tottenham fan trusting someone like you?"
"No! I am a Tottenham fan!"
"What if Son Heung-doo joins Arsenal?"
"…"
"Left Heung-doo, right Saka—how about that?"
"Ah… nooo! Ugh…"
After a moment of visible internal struggle, Ajeong started whaling on my shoulder.
"I'm kidding. Kidding."
"Ugh…"
She stopped punching, glared at me, and spat out one line.
"If you're Korean, just root for Tottenham, please!"
"Then what if the national team plays Tottenham?"
"That match doesn't exist."
"Hypothetically."
"…I'd have to root for the national team."
"Then Tottenham would get roasted, right? People telling them to go join the K League?"
"Ugh…"
Ajeong chose to ignore my questions and bury herself in the highlight video instead.
Cheering for Tottenham with Ajeong. Honestly, I'd been half-convinced ever since I found out she was a Spurs fan—but the more time passed, the more I started thinking it might be more fun this way.
Rooting together would be fun, sure. But teasing Ajeong about it would be even better.
"Ajeong, once that one's done, let's watch Chairman Ødegaard's special too."
She watched the video under protest, checked Tottenham's midfield, and let out a long sigh.
After loading the dryer, we headed home for a bit and played a round of LoL.
We'd already broken the flow on Plant Valley, so we decided to pick it back up next time. It was the kind of game that was awkward to pause and had a long rhythm to it—better saved for when we had a real block of free time.
When the dryer was about due, I headed out alone to grab the laundry.
"Mind if I play a round of ARAM while you're gone?"
"Sure~"
"Hehe… go on!"
Ajeong walked me all the way to the front door and pulled me into a tight hug.
Moments like this really did feel like we were already married.
Should we just skip dating and jump straight to marriage…?
We were both already living on our own anyway. Even without a wedding, just living together like this didn't sound half bad.
Mm… don't get ahead of yourself.
Spending time together was wonderful, but living together was a completely different story.
At the very least, the Balance Game would have to be over first.
I hadn't even told her it existed, and regardless of whether I ever did, I didn't want to drag her into it.
On top of that, the place was way too small for full-time cohabitation. Decent square footage, sure—but it was still a studio.
"Hold on. Should I move?"
I'd already arrived at the laundromat. I stuffed the blankets and sheets into the bag in a hurry and headed back out.
"Move…"
I had money. And odds were good I'd have even more soon.
It had come to me on impulse, but there was no real reason not to. No point living in a studio when you had over three billion won.
"Just once more… let's wait for just one more."
If the Balance Game options let me make money one more time, I'd start looking at places right away.
It could come as future intel on stocks or crypto, so for now I'd keep my powder dry.
I should be a little nicer to Jin Hayun.
There was no telling when a money-related option would show up—or if one ever would.
But in my head, I was already someone who was moving out.
Click—
"You're back!?"
The second I walked in, Ajeong came running to greet me.
"Already done—wait, no you're not."
She grabbed my hand once, then bolted straight back to the computer.
Still, the fact that she hadn't just stayed glued to the game without noticing I was home was touching in its own way.
"What are you playing?"
I went into the room and stood beside her to watch.
"I…"
"Support, huh?"
"What?"
"And it's a noob champ, too."
"N-no… this is ARAM, so…!"
"Kang Hyeji."
"I'm not…! Warmog's Soraka is a legitimate ARAM-only pick!"
It was a pretty fun pick, admittedly. But once I'd spotted an opening to tease her, I was obligated to go all in.
"Then Kang Hyejeong?"
"How is that any different…!"
"Hmm… I've got a feeling I could go four more rounds tonight."
"Four more what…?"
Her expression shifted instantly as she asked back, looking almost scared.
"I'll tell you later tonight."
"N-no! Th-that's—I'll die!!"
Ajeong could be made to go more than four rounds, sure—but she was the kind of scrub who couldn't even last through one.
Monday morning.
Sleeping over with Ajeong always meant sleeping in. Part of it was the nighttime activities keeping us up late for real—but lying next to her also just made it hard to want to get up.
Today was no different. We stayed in bed until ten before I finally managed to drag myself upright.
"Ajeong, you need to get dressed."
"Mmngh…"
She still hadn't fully woken up.
"Arms up."
Eyes closed, she let me dress her. Today was her last day working at the gym.
I was happy about that, though I would have been happier if last Friday had been the end of it. Knowing her shift schedule meant I could never show up to the gym late—and cutting my workout short was even less of an option.
I finally got her clothes on, packed her things, and herded her out to the car.
I'd been hoping to see her surprised reaction, but that clearly wasn't happening in her current state.
We arrived at her place in no time.
Clunk—
"Ajeong, wake up."
I shook her awake in the passenger seat.
Maybe I should let her skip the workout today.
Come to think of it, we'd already logged more than enough exercise last night. She had a shift later, too—better to just let her sleep at home.
With no other choice, I scooped her up and carried her into the building.
"Ajeong, the front door code."
"Mmnh…"
I was about to have to actually wake her when someone luckily came out from inside, letting us through. I already knew her unit number from last time, so I headed for the door lock first.
Ding—
"This is it, right? Ajeong, let's get you in bed."
"Mmngh…?"
"The password. What's the house password?"
"Four…"
"Fou~r?"
"Four-eight-seven-two…"
4872.
The last four digits of Ajeong's phone number.
She really has no sense of danger…
I'd make her change it once she was fully conscious.
I unlocked the door, carried her in, and laid her down on the bed.
Maybe I'll rest a bit before I go.
Even that short trip outside had drained me—it was brutally hot. I sat back against the headboard and let the fan wash over me.
"Haa…"
"…"