A Date Full of Butterflies
Kang Sujeong waited with a pounding heart for Cheon Jinhyun’s reply after sending the message.
If he turned her down now, it would be incredibly awkward.
Today she absolutely had to consummate their relationship with Jinhyun and prove that being with him felt better. And she needed to escape the grasp of the Master… no. That man.
“Phew.”
Kang Sujeong let a faint smile touch her lips. Thank goodness. She still hadn’t settled on a concrete date plan, though.
Even after sending it she worried it was too ordinary.
But honestly, a movie was the only thing that came to mind. What else could she suggest?
They had to stay together until evening anyway, and nothing filled time quite like a movie date.
Even as she typed that, the corners of Kang Sujeong’s mouth curved upward.
He really meant anything? She had looked it up online—atmosphere was supposedly the most important part of a date. In that case, wasn’t a romance movie the obvious choice?
Kang Sujeong sent the poster for the romance movie she had found yesterday.
The film was called That Day’s Autumn. It was in its third week of release but was still screening strongly, and the reviews were decent.
…Why isn’t he replying?
Jinhyun usually answered right away, yet more than ten seconds had passed without a response.
Maybe romance movies weren’t his thing after all?
Should she have suggested an action film instead?
Just as a flicker of worry crept in, a new message arrived.
Oh. Good thing she had searched it up for him.
Kang Sujeong glanced at the time on her phone.
Jinhyun had replied. Kang Sujeong’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, then paused.
Is… is this too soon…?
She agonized for several seconds—thousands of times in her head—over whether to add the words “I love you.” In the end she shook her head, took a deep breath, and pressed send.
“Kyaa! I actually sent it.”
It was embarrassing, but the message was already gone.
The number 1 had disappeared from the chat as well.
They were dating now. This much was okay to say, right?
Kang Sujeong waited for his reply with a fluttering heart.
“Whoa, no way.”
She hadn’t expected him to return the “I love you,” so receiving it made her feel incredible.
Even though she hadn’t heard his voice, it seemed to echo warmly in her ears.
Kang Sujeong set her phone down with a huge smile on her face. The date was officially set, and the entire chat had left her extremely satisfied.
Now all she had to do was meet him, create a natural atmosphere… seduce him a little… and then… and then…
“Kyaa! I don’t even know anymore…!”
Just imagining it made her face burn. She had been summoned by the Master—no, no, no—that man and done far more intense things, yet thinking of doing them with Jinhyun still made her shy.
That’s right. If just imagining it feels like this, doing it with Jinhyun is obviously going to feel way better!
Kang Sujeong got up from the bed and washed herself more thoroughly than ever before.
After drying her hair carefully, she took out the dress and slip she had prepared in the closet.
Battle underwear? Battle slip, maybe.
It was a special slip she had bought while shopping with Yehwa.
At first glance it looked like a perfectly modest piece that covered everything down to the stomach, but it had a double layer. Undo a few snaps and the outer fabric peeled away, revealing the provocative mesh underneath.
Back then she had wondered why she would ever wear something like this, but it looked like the day had finally come.
With both cheeks flushed bright red, Kang Sujeong slipped it on.
It clung perfectly to her body.
When she activated the mesh layer and looked in the full-length mirror, she saw a girl with the shy expression of someone about to meet her first love.
Yet the sight of her in the slip was intensely stimulating, completely at odds with that innocent face.
Jinhyun will like this… right?
Swallowing hard, Kang Sujeong sat down at her small vanity. Her outfit was ready; now it was time for makeup.
She studied her own face closely.
My skin really has improved.
She could see that her face had become prettier than before.
It wasn’t just her skin—her entire appearance had subtly changed for the better.
When had that started?
Right. It was the day before she first exchanged numbers with Jinhyun.
After finishing her stream that night, she had looked in the mirror and noticed her figure and face had visibly improved.
Even so, I’m still not quite at Yehwa’s level yet.
Kang Sujeong gave a bitter smile. Still, her confidence was solid.
She began with a base using the cosmetics set her mother had given her.
Light and thin so it wouldn’t feel heavy. No caking. There was no need to go bold.
Even applied lightly, her face glowed beautifully.
She added definition to her eyes with eyeliner, mascara, and eyeshadow, then applied a soft apricot-pink lipstick. A final layer of lip gloss gave it a radiant shine, completing the look.
It’s been so long since I did full makeup…
It had taken less than fifteen minutes, but this was the first time she had done this since her mother taught her on high-school graduation day.
Normally she went out wearing only sunscreen, and during streams she only did basic foundation and eyeliner.
She had taken her mother’s and friends’ words—“you’re pretty even without makeup”—as absolute truth.
Lately she had been putting on eyeliner before going out to see Jinhyun every day, but because she had stopped turning on her camera for streams, she had been broadcasting completely bare-faced.
“Let’s do this…!”
After one last check of her hair, Kang Sujeong clenched both fists cutely. The time for their date was almost here.
After exchanging messages with Sujeong, I hurried to the salon and got a haircut.
Not the usual corner shop that charged eight thousand won for a cut, but a stylish place that charged twenty thousand.
After all, this was technically our first date as an official couple. I had to look sharp.
Satisfied with the finished style, I paid and returned home to wash up thoroughly. Then I dressed as neatly as possible.
I struck various poses in front of the bathroom mirror, mimicking a male actor.
Ooh. Not bad, right?
This should be decent, shouldn’t it?
Lost in self-admiration, I nodded firmly. You look good, Cheon Jinhyun…!
—Ding-dong~
Right on cue, the doorbell rang. I immediately opened the front door.
“Hi~ Jinhyun!”
“Hey, Sujeong, I’ve been wait—huh?”
The moment I saw her standing there, every smug thought I had about looking handsome vanished instantly.
Kang Sujeong had appeared in a pink dress.
She radiated a pure, innocent charm, yet the generous curves of her figure created an undeniably sexy atmosphere at the same time.
Her scent was so wonderful my nose reacted on its own.
The way she smiled brightly made it impossible to believe we belonged to the same species. She had always been pretty, but I had never seen her look this beautiful… Wait, did that mean she had been going without makeup all this time?
Comparing her face to the one I had seen in the mirror moments ago, I was reminded once again that I was nothing more than a squid.
“What’s wrong? Do I look weird…?”
My dumbstruck staring must have embarrassed her; Sujeong’s cheeks flushed shyly as she asked.
“Ah, no. It’s just… you’re so pretty I can’t look away.”
“Hehe, thank you~. You look really handsome today too, Jinhyun.”
Even a compliment from a squid like me made her twist bashfully.
I smiled at her reaction and took her hand.
Her eyes widened in surprise for a second, then she quickly looped her arm through mine.
“Hearing you say that makes me happy. Shall we head out right away?”
“Yes!”
Seeing her bright smile made my chest tighten. Even though I had transformed and done all those lewd things with her, my heart still raced like this. Men really are simple creatures.
I need to raise my appearance stats soon.
I had planned to prioritize stamina and mental stats first, leaving appearance for later, but it seemed I should raise my looks little by little too.
A beautiful man and beautiful woman couple was better than a plain man and beautiful woman couple, after all.
“By the way, Sujeong, where are we going?”
“Etol Department Store. I made a reservation at TGI Friday’s for noon~. Ah… have you eaten lunch already?”
“No. I haven’t even had breakfast.”
“Heehee. Me neither. The movie’s at 1:50, so we can take our time eating.”
“Perfect.”
We walked along the street beneath the summer sunlight.
Luckily the day was relatively mild; the sun only warmed us gently.
A breeze blew from time to time.
I matched my steps to hers.
The feeling of her arm against mine was pleasant. Especially the occasional brush of her breast against my side—its softness was no joke.
Aaah, this is healing. So this is what true healing feels like.
“Hey, hey. Who’s that girl?”
“Wow. She’s insanely pretty. I’m so jealous.”
“Right? The guy isn’t even that handsome… Wait, honestly, don’t I look better than him?”
As we left the quiet side street and entered the park near the main road, more people came into view.
Every man we passed couldn’t tear his eyes off Sujeong.
Her looks and figure shone that brightly. If I hadn’t obtained the Heroine App, I would have been one of those guys.
“Dude, no way. He’s plain, sure, but he still looks way better than you.”
“What? You son of a—! Hey! Where are you going~ Hey!”
Their voices were loud.
While I was marveling at the scene, Sujeong suddenly hugged my arm tighter and spoke.
“T-to me, Jinhyun is the most handsome…”
“Hm?”
Ah. She must have heard them.
Her attempt to comfort me was incredibly cute.
With her affection over 90, the bean-paste filter was probably in full effect, so she might even mean it.
I simply smiled.
Since I had the Heroine App, there was no need to let other people’s reactions bother me in a negative way.
“Wow. That was touching.”
“Yeah. No wonder the reviews were good.”
After enjoying a delicious meal and watching the movie, we left the theater chatting comfortably.
Sujeong had even shed a few tears toward the end.
My own heart had felt a little full, so I genuinely thought it was a good film.
I had already seen it once with Yujeong, but back then I had been too preoccupied with trying to steal a kiss to pay proper attention. I hadn’t been able to focus on the story at all. Plus we had left halfway through, so that said everything.
“What should we do now?”
“Umm… well…”
When I asked while we sat on a bench, Sujeong’s voice trailed off. We had met early, but it seemed she hadn’t thought about what to do afterward. I gazed at her quietly, then spoke.
“Want to go to Namsan Tower?”
“Eh? Namsan Tower?”
“Yeah. They have something called love locks there. You lock it and throw away the key, and your love is supposed to last forever.”
“Wow. That sounds nice. How long does it take to get there?”
“About fifty minutes? That’s what it says. Shall we go?”
It was 3:30 right now.
Most people went in the evening, but going now wouldn’t hurt.
The tower stayed open until eleven, so we had plenty of time.
“Yes! Let’s go.”
“All right.”
Sujeong clapped her hands happily. We took the subway near the department store and transferred to a bus.
“Is that it?”
“Yep. We’re here.”
After getting off the bus we walked about ten minutes and reached the ticket booth for the Namsan cable car. Weekends would have been packed, but since it was a Tuesday during an awkward time slot, the crowd was manageable.
“The boarding platform is on the third floor. Please go up two more floors and take the cable car.”
Round-trip tickets were 8,500 won per adult. I paid 17,000 won with my card.
“Hmph. I told you I’d pay…”
“You paid for the meal and the movie tickets. If I have any conscience at all, I should at least cover this.”
In truth I had no conscience. I had been shamelessly calling her over and ravishing her every single day until now.
And I had no plans to stop in the future, either.
“Tsk…”
She pouted, lips pushed out.
The sight was so adorable I wanted to kiss her. Wait, why was she pouting when I was the one who paid?
So far she had covered a 50,000-won meal, 20,000-won movie tickets, and even 15,000 won worth of popcorn.
I had tried to go Dutch, but she had used the fact that I was currently unemployed to pull out her card-payment sorcery.
The only thing I had paid for until now was these cable-car tickets.
Well…
At this rate, even if I never got a job and just kept raising women’s affection stats, I probably wouldn’t starve.