Predetermined Relationships (10): Let's Break Up
The relationship was already set in stone. "Let's break up."
Even though he'd half-expected it, Seo Joo-hwan wondered for a split second if he'd misheard. But Jeong Ha-yeon's clear, unwavering gaze told him otherwise. He barely suppressed the surge of anger rising within him and slowly opened his mouth. Even a single syllable came out trembling.
"Why... why?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize—tell me the reason. If something's not working, we can fix it starting now."
"...I've thought about this a lot. It's just that we..."
He'd asked for a reason, but her words barely registered. The only thing that sank in was that Jeong Ha-yeon's heart had left him. And that it couldn't be undone. Seo Joo-hwan sat there in a daze, listening, then stood up.
"Got it, Ha-yeon. Take care of yourself. I'm heading out."
He forced a smile as he spoke.
*
Seo Joo-hwan trudged along. 'She left again.'
Memories from the past suddenly flooded back. Before his regression, he'd spent his whole life building walls around himself. Drawing lines and keeping others out. It hadn't always been that way. As a very young kid, he'd been at the center of everything—lively and outgoing, showered with affection from adults. He vaguely remembered leading the neighborhood kids as the alley boss.
But things changed once he hit puberty. Around upper elementary school, maybe? His childhood friends started pushing him away, calling him a jinx, saying nothing went right when he was around. The memory was still vivid. It happened multiple times through his teens, so eventually, he pushed away even those who approached him first. He figured they'd leave anyway after a short time together. The best way to avoid getting hurt was to never let them in from the start.
'That's why I didn't want to date.'
He'd sidestepped it out of fear that a breakup might come someday. What scared him most was the possibility of betraying her first for some talent from another woman. But as always, she was the one who left first.
'Maybe I should grab a drink.'
In dramas, people always drowned their sorrows after a breakup. And with the rain pouring, it'd be perfect for wallowing.
*
Why do people drink when they're feeling down? It wasn't some set rule, yet it had become a global custom.
"Ugh. Been a while since I drank alone."
The reason becomes clear when you're the one going through it. You don't want to think deeply. It's too hard to face tangled emotions, so you borrow the haze of alcohol. Glug glug—gulp! "Ugh!"
Alcohol clouds judgment. The harsh booze softens the emotions you've suppressed with reason. You pour it all out in a drunken rant, clinging to the vain hope that it'll feel a little better.
"I used to drink alone a lot back in the day."
When the loneliness hit hard, he'd drink by himself. Get blackout drunk and sleep through the day—then it'd be over, like nothing happened. Sure, the pounding headache and hangover wrecked him, but at least the unbearable day was gone. He could start fresh.
"Lord—no, Rust. Please let me become a righteous... no, a lust-filled sex monk."
He muttered it half-jokingly, self-mocking. Come to think of it, wasn't that what the system was for? Trying to date like some romantic fool had led to this. If he'd just fucked around happily, none of this would've happened. From now on, he'd fuck his way through life as a sex evangelist!
As he rambled nonsense, an unexpected message popped up.
You've satisfied the hidden additional completion condition "Breakup - 28 Days" of the Lust Quest "Sweet Love - Dating".
28,000 LP has been awarded.
"What the...?"
Seo Joo-hwan stared at the message in disbelief. Wasn't this quest already done? Why pop up now? The "28 days" felt like it was mocking him for breaking up exactly on the mark.
"Generous, huh. A thousand points a day?"
He grumbled awkwardly and dismissed it. He was in a rare funk—let him wallow a bit. He grabbed his glass again.
As a reward for achieving "First Breakup",
10,000 LP has been awarded.
Fuck, shut up. Later. He irritably downed his glass. Gulp—ugh! That's the stuff. The bitter alcohol lingered in his mouth and slid down his throat. His stomach warmed quickly. Straight shots without snacks hit fast.
"Facial Plausibility (B)" has been awarded.
"Ah, come on! Later, okay?!"
Why interrupt when he was trying to drown his pain? Just in case, he called out to Lucy.
"Lucy, you doing this on purpose?"
Lucy, as the control personality, could manage system messages. This meant she was showing them deliberately.
Did that console you?
"...Like hell it did. Did you have to send it now?"
Oh dear, I should have sent it when you were in the cab.
"No, that's not... sigh."
Seo Joo-hwan sighed. Not sending it then was Lucy's way of being considerate. She just didn't get human emotions perfectly, so it came off clumsy. This was her trying to comfort him now, too. So why did it feel like teasing?
Then Lucy giggled—tee-hee.
His temper flared. "Why are you laugh—!"
'Wait. Lucy giggling?'
Whether tee-hee or chuckle, had Lucy ever laughed before? He set down his glass and called her.
"Lucy, you...?"
There are more messages. Shall I show them?
"...Yeah. Show me."
Messages appeared before his eyes.
Absorbed lust energy has met the threshold.
Lust System has leveled up to Lv. 3.
Gacha item types have become more diverse.
Blessing "Helchang's Blessing" has been unlocked.
Talent and skill rank limits raised to B+.
"Whoa..."
Seo Joo-hwan let out a bewildered breath. 'Should I be happy?'
Of course it was good news. The rank limit lifting was huge. But the gloom hadn't lifted, leaving him conflicted.
"Whew. I'll check later, Lucy."
Understood. But Master, I don't want you to be too sad. It pains me that I can't drink with you.
"Haha. Thanks just for saying that. You seem more emotional since leveling up?"
Am I?
"Yeah. You sound really human. Gonna get a body next?"
I hope so. But one thing's certain—even if I get a body, I'll never leave you, Master.
"...Now that's comforting."
Seo Joo-hwan gave a bitter smile and downed his drink. Never leave? Lucy might be his true life partner. Meanwhile, his actual girlfriend hadn't even tried to work things out before dumping him.
"Pfft. What an idiot I was, ignoring all those other girls with this system. Sex monk life is the way."
As he self-mocked and emptied his glass, another ding! rang out.
His head tilted. "Still more?"
Strong luck related to sex is in effect.
"Luck?"
He muttered it, and moments later, his smartphone buzzed where he'd tossed it. The screen showed a name he hadn't seen in ages. He picked up.
A cheerful voice came through the phone.
"Joo-hwan, long time no talk?"
"So-ra noona!"
It was Jeong So-ra, his company commander during service and his first sexual partner. Her voice carried a laugh.
"Ahaha. Hearing your voice, I guess I'm pretty happy to hear from you?"
"Of course. I've been so busy I haven't even texted."
"Aigoo, our Joo-hwan. Does noona miss you that much?"
"Come on, still treating me like a kid? Anyway, noona, how've you been?"
"Eh? Same old—training, duties. What about you? Got a girlfriend yet?"
"Ah..."
That question sank the brief mood lift. Seo Joo-hwan smiled bitterly.
"Yeah, I got a girlfriend."
"...Really? Joo-hwan, you're full of surprises. How long since discharge? Congrats..."
Before the congrats finished,
"But we broke up. Just now."
*
There are people like that. They happily answer calls and respond diligently but never initiate contact themselves. Jeong So-ra was one. Not because she disliked acquaintances, but because she didn't see the need.
At least she'd formed a habit of regular check-ins after friends nagged her. Getting home early from work, she lay on her bed and suddenly thought of someone.
'It's been a while since I talked to Joo-hwan.'
Seo Joo-hwan. The most memorable soldier from her service days. Unlucky as hell—everything went wrong for him—but no one was more diligent. Especially near discharge, he'd seemed more mature and capable.
"Mm... pfft. Hehehe."
Hard not to remember when they'd fucked in the barracks. Even now, the absurd memory made her chuckle. She'd been so turned on back then.
"Maybe I should call."
Jeong So-ra felt a bit guilty toward him. Even after years without a man, seducing a five-years-younger soldier for sex? And he'd been a virgin. Rejecting his confession afterward had hurt.
With a wry smile, she dialed. She had leave in a month—maybe meet up briefly.
It connected before many rings.
"Joo-hwan, long time no talk?"
"So-ra noona!"
"Ahaha. Hearing your voice, I guess I'm pretty happy to hear from you?"
A grumpy reply came. The five-year gap made him sound boyish.
'Not really?' Up close, he'd had a mature side.
"Aigoo, our Joo-hwan. Does noona miss you that much?"
Teasing was more fun, so she played it up. Part of her wondered if he still liked her.
'That'd be trouble.'
She didn't dislike him, but the age gap. And she wanted to focus on service. Above all, half-hearted meetings would've been unfair to him—could turn into something worse than friendship.
So she probed.
"What about you? Got a girlfriend yet?"
"Yeah, I got a girlfriend."
"...Really?"
Jeong So-ra blurted it out, then froze. A twinge of regret hit her.
'Whoa, why feel bad? I'm such a sly bitch.'
She'd rejected his confession and drawn the line first—what was this? Emotions weren't supposed to work like that, damn it.
She let out a hollow laugh, relieved it wasn't deep hurt—just mild regret. She brightened quickly.
"Joo-hwan, you're full of surprises. How long since discharge? Congrats..."
"But we broke up. Just now."
"...Broke up? Uh... sorry."
Jeong So-ra apologized immediately. She'd stepped on a landmine. Who breaks up today? His voice even sounded tipsy.
"You drinking? Let's talk later..."
"So-ra noona."
"Y-yeah?"
"Why did we break up?"
"How should I know..."
"Noona's dated a lot, right? Counsel me."
"No, I haven't dated much..."
"Ha-yeon confessed first? But she dumped me first too. Things were going so well..."
Seo Joo-hwan rambled on, ignoring her.
'He's ignoring me? If he were active duty, I'd smack him.'
Jeong So-ra stared at her phone in disbelief, then felt a surge of irritation.
'And I haven't dated much either!'
She'd only dated twice—once a laughable middle school fling. With her Army Chief of Staff dad vowing to pick her husband himself, free dating? Impossible. It killed her interest entirely. Even blind dates her dad set up were just excuses to brag about his daughter—since she never showed. (Mom was serious, though.)
"After we started dating, first date and..."
"Uh-huh. Yeah, okay."
Jeong So-ra nodded awkwardly, responding stiffly. The love consultation had begun whether she liked it or not. Couldn't tell a drunk, down-in-the-dumps kid to shut up. She barely remembered her last relationship, but had to listen.
'Sigh. Paying off a debt, I guess.'
She still felt bad for taking his virginity and rejecting him. Up to the date part, at least.
After listening quietly for a while, suppressing her rising frustration, she spoke once he finished.
"Joo-hwan."
"Yeah?"
"Are you an idiot?"
Who the hell acts like this?