Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Exactly Three Days
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Exactly three days.
That's how long I'd gone without sleep.
My eyes felt gritty, like sand had gotten in them, but my mind was clearer than ever.
I turned on my phone screen one more time.
The green checkmark floating on the GitHub app.
[Push Success: 1 min ago]
The final commit I'd poured my soul into over 72 hours was right there.
Server load balancing algorithm.
"Hey, Yoon Dojin. Look at this graph. This isn't undergrad level."
It was quality that even the notoriously picky guys in my department had stuck their tongues out over.
If this worked, getting selected as a scholarship student was a done deal.
Hanul Soft.
The number one company in Korea—no, in Asia, having swallowed it whole—an IT giant.
Becoming their scholarship student meant freedom from the endless worry of tuition fees.
And maybe, just maybe.
It would be proof that I could stand tall on my own two feet, without anyone's help.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the lab door.
"Oh, you're here? Come in, come in."
Professor Choi greeted me while closing the lid on his cup ramen.
His title as a Silicon Valley genius felt wasted on him—he always had messy hair and wore a hoodie zip-up.
"You eat yet? Got some leftover triangle kimbap here."
"No, I'm good. I ate already."
"Alright? Then make yourself a coffee. You know it's self-serve, right?"
The professor smiled good-naturedly and set down his chopsticks.
"Professor, about this assignment..."
"Oh, this?"
The professor nodded toward his monitor.
The left screen showed the source code I'd uploaded to GitHub, and the right one had performance test graphs.
The professor tapped the right monitor with his finger.
The graph line stayed perfectly flat, crawling along the bottom.
"TPS over 100k, and latency isn't spiking? Does that even make sense?"
"I pulled the caching layer up front to reduce DB load a bit."
"Exactly. That's the sexy idea right there."
The professor spun his chair around to face me.
"Honestly, it gave me chills. An undergrad structuring Redis like this? You could throw this into production right now—team lead performance."
Done.
I clenched my fist under the table.
He'd acknowledged it.
My skills, my effort.
The smooth graph on the monitor proved my three sleepless nights.
"No code review notes needed. Variable names clean, comments solid. Nothing to nitpick."
The professor set down his chopsticks with a satisfied smile.
"Hey, honestly, what am I even teaching you? Just go ahead and graduate."
My chest swelled.
This wasn't just praise.
The top expert in the industry had recognized my code.
"Thank you. I focused most on traffic distribution handling, so I'm glad it paid off."
"Yeah, it did. Worked like a charm."
The professor grinned and slurped down the ramen broth.
The mood shifted subtly.
His sharp gaze on the monitor turned in an instant to the playful glint of a neighborhood big bro.
"But Dojin."
"Yes?"
"You know the school's community forums are blowing up about you lately?"
"...Yes?"
"Heard you're dating these days?"
"...Yes?"
"Word's spread everywhere. Dating Han Sea, right?"
The professor winked mischievously.
"Hooking up with the Han Chairman's daughter? Wow, I thought you were just a coding whiz, but you're a real player."
My face heated up.
I hemmed and hawed, unable to deny or confirm, when the professor grabbed my hand.
"Good job. Really good job."
"Yes?"
"Honestly, this?"
The professor tapped the graph he'd just praised.
"It's good. I acknowledge it. But you know, Dojin, go to India or China. Kids writing code like this come by the truckload."
"..."
"Plus, look at AI progress these days. In three years, machines'll optimize this in a second."
My stomach churned.
It was too true to argue.
The professor stirred his instant coffee and continued.
"You know I'm college buddies with Hanul's chairman, right? Even I had to pile up project proposals like mountains for one meal with him. For 30 years."
He slurped from the paper cup and looked at me.
"But you? You don't even need a number ticket."
"..."
"Hey, while others climb Everest barefoot, why walk when you've got a chopper ticket? That's just stubborn."
He wasn't belittling or using me.
I'd known the professor long enough. He'd given great guidance and encouragement all along.
I respected him all the more and wanted his acknowledgment.
This was a longtime mentor wishing his student an easier life.
I knew his pure goodwill.
But still.
"Professor. I want to be recognized for my own skills."
"Aigoo, you stubborn kid. You have the skills. More than enough."
The professor patted my back.
"But this result you pulled all-nighter for? If Sea shows her dad saying, 'Oppa made this, looks good,' it turns into a billions-won business. Wouldn't that be even better?"
"..."
"No matter how high you fly, what matters is getting on the decision-maker's desk. You've got the shortcut."
Sensing my expression harden, the professor scratched his neck awkwardly.
"Ah, sorry. Did I sound like an old fogey? Still a student, and here I am spouting jaded society crap."
"No, it's fine."
"Alright. And even if you break up, end it on good terms. You know what I mean, right?"
"...Yes."
"Who'd have thought I'd be giving a student love advice."
The professor scratched his head, stood up, and tossed out one last line.
"Oh, and."
"Yes?"
"The scholarship's yours. Not because of connections—purely your skills. Don't worry."
I left the lab.
I'd gotten the scholarship I'd dreamed of, but my legs felt weak somehow.
I already knew Sea was Hanul's only daughter.
But this had nothing to do with Sea.
Three full nights.
Thousands of lines of code.
An achievement I'd earned with my own strength.
Yet it felt a bit hollow.
I trudged out the engineering building's front gate toward the parking lot.
"Oppa!"
A girl waving brightly from afar, smiling ear to ear.
Han Sea.
I deliberately hardened my expression.
Better not show it.
"Oppa today?"
"Darling got boring. Anyway, you're free this afternoon, right?"
Sea flung open the car door before I could answer.
"Yeah. Just submitted the lab assignment. Tuesdays are free until next week."
"Awesome. Game time from now on, got it? You ghosted me proper for three days on that assignment."
She hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"So I came to pick you up since you're free."
"Hey, game addict? You need good grades too, it's not easy. What're you even doing."
I grumbled as I climbed into the passenger seat.
The Porsche's engine hummed low.
Sea gripped the wheel, her expression subtly tense.
At a stoplight, she rubbed her thigh out of habit.
Three days since the bathroom incident, no proper contact with Dojin.
The first day had been a relief out of embarrassment.
But starting the next, anxiety crept in.
She'd forgotten lately, being stuck together so much.
The unease that built if she didn't talk games or whatever with Yoon Dojin.
This guy was assignment-crazed, replying to messages once every few hours.
Beep-.
A vibration on her thigh.
Sea reflexively checked her phone.
Black screen.
No notifications.
Dojin's last reply, four hours ago: "Yeah, talk later."
'It definitely buzzed? Damn, really stressing me out.'
She refreshed the chat with the stubborn "1" unread about a hundred times.
Is this guy doing his assignment or dead?
Did the bathroom thing turn him off?
Ignoring me on purpose?
Days of negative fantasies chaining together.
Then Dojin's voice from beside her.
"Light changed."
"Ah, got it."
Sea floored the accelerator.
In front of Dojin's studio apartment.
The moment she parked, Sea frantically unbuckled.
"Shit, gotta go bad!"
"...Why say it out loud."
Sea ignored me, punched the door code, and bolted to the bathroom.
I set down my bag and flipped the exhaust fan switch.
Whirr-.
The fan's whir cleared my mood in an instant.
The self-loathing and emptiness from the professor's office just moments ago vanished.
For that much-praised "golden lifeline," her human, one-dimensional backside was too much.
A chuckle escaped me.
I powered on the Bluetooth speaker on the desk.
Connected my phone, hit a random playlist.
Thump, thump, thump.
Heavy-beat hip-hop filled the tiny room.
This officetel had the worst soundproofing—next door's sneezes came through.
No matter how chill she acted, no girl wants to broadcast crude bathroom noises in a guy's place.
"Gonna grab something to drink."
I casually cranked the volume one notch and opened the fridge.
That's when it happened.
"Ack!"
A scream burst from the bathroom.
I dashed to the door on reflex.
"What, what's wrong?"
"Dojin, what's with this!"
Water roared loudly.
No time to think with her panicked voice.
"What's going on? I'm opening the door?"
"Yeah! No, wait."
I opened the door, and humid steam hit me.
And the sight that met my eyes froze me solid.
Sea was soaked through.
The cramped studio bathroom was the issue.
Space-saving design: showerhead hose-connected to the sink faucet.
I'd washed my hair that morning and forgotten to switch the valve back.
I shut off the water in a hurry, but too late.
Her thin white blouse had turned transparent, clinging to her skin.
Beneath, ornate lace underwear and voluptuous curves exposed raw.
She frantically covered her chest with her arms, but it wasn't enough to hide the overflowing volume.
Her apricot-toned skin filled my vision.