Chapter 32

I'd hit my limit today—I had no idea how many times I'd moved her. My feelings for Haena sis were exploding inside me like a chain reaction, swelling insanely out of control.

Thinking back on her words, it all made sense. It wasn't just a casual glance. Even before I'd dumped major stat boosts into her, she'd been peeping on me, and she'd tacitly allowed my own peeping. Long before Exposure Mania kicked in, she might've acted cold toward me, but she'd never shied away from my gaze.

"...Sis."

"...Yeah."

"...I like you... a lot."

Saying "I love you" felt too heavy, so I just laid out my honest feelings instead. Come to think of it, we'd never talked so openly about emotions like this. Neither of us were the sentimental type. The most we'd ever done ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was shout "That was amazing!" while mutually masturbating to peeps on each other.

Was it pride? Our personalities? We'd always communicated implicitly rather than spelling out our true feelings. But now, my heart was screaming that it was time to shatter that shell.

"...Me too..."

My heart went berserk at her reply. Not from sexual arousal—this was pure, heartfelt pounding.

"...You too what, sis?"

I just had to hear the word from her lips, so I pressed her again.

Thwack!

"Ow!"

She punched my shoulder and yelled.

"I like you too, idiot! Happy now? I like you, Kangmo Im!"

With her rough confession, a barrage of status windows ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠popped up right in front of my sprawled-out eyes.

The flood of notifications vanished in a flash, and the coin I'd locked away in the custom necklace Amari had delivered yesterday—jingle—disappeared from inside it.

"Hold up. What's that on your neck?"

In the midst of all this chaos, sis spotted my necklace and grilled me.

"What's with this necklace?"

Fuck, where do I even start explaining this? Oh, right—no need to explain. I could just show her!

"You... got a girlfriend or something?"

Haena Im was asking with uncharacteristically teary eyes.

Did her IQ just drop to Lea levels? We'd just confessed our feelings, and now this random bullshit?

Does anyone see a necklace and think, "Oh, couple vibes"? And if you're dating, you wear couple rings, not necklaces. Though I guess you could...

"Wait! Timeout!"

Luckily, this necklace was custom-made to celebrate her Unique Coin, engraved on the back with "Unique, Im Haena." Good thing I hadn't worn Mom's...

I showed it to sis, and her big eyes went wide. Damn, today's full of rarities. Who knew Haena Im had this many facial expressions?

"See? Your name's right there."

"...It is. But why're you wearing it? Without my permission."

She'd gone from "Got a girlfriend?" to "Why without my okay?" in seconds.

"I... was gonna give it to you during my confession..."

I hurriedly unclasped it from my neck and handed it over. The pendant was coin-shaped; press the top, and it popped open like Pac-Man's gaping mouth, revealing a slot for a coin. Her Unique Coin had been in there until moments ago.

"...Fine, I'll take it."

Her words finally made it real. She accepted it? Was I really Haena sis's boyfriend now?

"Thanks, sis! I like you so much! I'll be the best!"

I hugged her tight, and she squeezed me back, her voice shy in a way that didn't suit her.

"...I'll be even better..."

Amari's assaults ended today. His score was already at -999, and community posts suggested even maxing out would barely hit 100. Safe to say, it was over.

Haena sis had hit D-rank, with [Lover] boldly stamped in her trait window. Heh heh heh. First place was in the bag?

Haena sis and I headed to the Shopping Mall for some shopping-cum-date. I'd offered to bodyguard against stalker cars, but she brushed it off coolly.

"That piggy bastard? Not scared at all."

Girl crush vibes?

We hit the first-floor jewelry store. Vintage display cases gleamed with rings, necklaces, and accessories galore.

As we entered, a staffer whispered into her radio: "VIP customer. Please assist."

My old dirt-poor Earth self ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠freaked out in my head—"Me?!"—and the staffer pointed at sis: "Are you Haena Im, daughter of Chairwoman Yebin Choi?"

Bonus: I told her to shut it so sis wouldn't get embarrassed. Never realized Mom was that big a deal. Perv... reevaluated.

Anyway, I'd thought sis didn't wear much jewelry, but rich girl vibes—she haggled like a pro.

"...Yes, diamonds for that part."

"Understood. We'll deliver directly upon completion."

"No... contact me. I'll pick it up myself."

"Got it."

Chat done, she hooked her arm in mine and dragged me off.

"C'mon, honey, let's go."

. . .

"Heh heh..."

I was still out of it.

"Kangmo Im. Fix your face."

She called me honey. Heh heh.

I mimicked her voice: "Honey, wanna check out clothes? Heh heh heh."

"Kangmo Im. You're dead."

Even her blushing threats weren't scary. Heh heh heh.

She said she'd bought couple necklaces. Mine was sweet, but she wanted proper matching ones.

Fair... they charged it to Mom's account without batting an eye at the price. My pocket-change pendant probably paled. Fuck... but wait, rich kid? Wasn't I the rich son? Why did I always feel broke at home?

"Sis, c'mon, let's actually look at clothes."

"...Hate that title."

First "honey," now "sis" too?

"Got it, Haena. Clothes shopping?"

Finally satisfied, she linked arms with me as I led. Her squishy tits against my arm amped the butterflies.

. . .

Up on the second floor, browsing shops, I spotted a fun one: [Cosplayers Store]. Walls of cosplay gear from games, media—waow, otherworld mall had this?

"Haena, let's check this out."

"...Do we have to?"

Have to? This was mandatory. How could we skip? Plus, with her Exposure Mania, she'd love it.

"Yeah. I wanna go in."

"You into this stuff?"

"Hell yeah."

"...Fine, then."

Inside: left side, character cosplays; right, slutty outfits perfect for sis. Cow-print barely-there jobs, slutty school uniforms, sexy maid, Santa, bloomers, nurse—plus bunny girl and reverse bunny peaks.

Couldn't resist. Am I dirt-poor Korean Kangmo Im? Nah, that guy's dead—killed at the jewelry store. So who am I? Ahh... son of this world's mega-rich "Chairwoman Yebin Choi," Kangmo Im.

"Excuse me!"

"Yes? Need help?"

"Everything from here to there. All of it."

"...Pardon?"

"All of it, from here to there."

. . .

"Limit exceeded, though.."

"What?... Wait, Haena... please..."

"Nope."

Why was I the broke one? Yebin Choi, you bitch—why's Haena Im loaded? Lea buys every game console she wants, but me? This shit. Gotta confront her later. But now... fuck, I want this now.

"Buy it, and tonight I'll make you explode..."

I whispered in her ear.

"...Promise?"