Making a Leap

Seong-min's hunch had been right.

Once they wrapped up the work cleanly from Monday through Saturday, word of mouth spread all over again, and the phone started ringing with people looking to hand them jobs. They couldn't start the very next week, though — they took one week off and picked up the work the week after that. During that free week, Seong-min rested properly.

With Hye-suk, of course.

He spent the whole week with Hye-suk, resting thoroughly while stacking experience and leveling up. Seong-min's level sat at 367, with Physicality at 157 and Appearance at 39.

One more point into Appearance and his height would hit 177.6 cm. Every ten points of Appearance grew him by about 0.2 cm.

As he started pouring points into Appearance again, the soft fat on his body thinned out and the lines of his face came into sharper focus. His nose bridge straightened further, and his features overall grew cleaner and more defined. In other words, raising the Appearance stat was refining the face he already had — the way an artist slowly chisels a block into something better. It wasn't plastic surgery. It was more accurate to say his own bone structure was being guided toward the most handsome version it could naturally become. A gradual, organic transformation.

To change the body itself, though, you didn't raise Appearance — you raised Martial Power. Martial Power toughened the skeleton and broadened the shoulders. Muscle settled into place with clean definition and grew in proportion to the rest of the frame. Not the overbuilt bulk that made a body look strained, but muscle that fit the body's ratios and brought out a striking physique. Balance ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and proportion first, then the muscle that made it look good.

At Martial Power 100, Seong-min already looked like someone who trained regularly. Push it higher and the muscle would lock in even more cleanly, turning him into something sharper still.

One thing worried him: if he kept dumping points into Martial Power, would he end up looking like a juiced-up bodybuilder — all raw, bulging mass? What he wanted was the kind of lean, well-proportioned muscle celebrities had, not monster bulk. The same concern applied to Vigor and what it did to his cock. A solid, well-sized piece was something women liked; cross a certain line and it became a burden. So he had no interest in letting either his muscle or his dick grow without limit. From 100 onward, he planned to raise the stats carefully and watch how the size actually changed before committing further.

Even so, the way his jawline was sharpening and his whole face was shifting toward something genuinely handsome wasn't a bad process at all.

"You start again tomorrow, right?"

Hye-suk, after a good week spent with him, asked over coffee after dinner.

"That's right. Back to gombang work starting tomorrow."

"You're booked the whole week?"

"Monday through Friday. The schedule's full."

"Last week's job really made a splash, huh?"

"I figured that was the hurdle. If we'd stopped there, that would've been the ceiling on how far we could grow."

Nine million won was impressive on its own, but clearing that hurdle had put the gombang team back on the industry grapevine. Calls to Team Leader Jeong had picked up more than before, and this week every single day was booked with gombang work — a real show of force.

"What's tomorrow's job pay?"

"Four hundred thousand."

"That's not nothing either."

"Right. And compared to how brutal last week was, it's manageable."

Last week's intensity had been crushing. The other team members had taken a hundred percent of their daily wage just for getting through it. Ordinary gombang work would feel doable to them now. Once you climbed a big mountain, the smaller ones after it didn't look so steep.

"It's strange…"

"What is?"

"I don't know if it's just because I like you, but looking at you today… you somehow look even more handsome than before."

"Me?"

Seong-min ran a hand along his jawline.

"Yeah. There's something warmer about you. More put-together."

"What, so before I was cold and plain?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant. Just that you look even handsomer and warmer than you already did."

Hye-suk's flustered scramble was entertaining.

"I've been taking care of myself a bit."

"Taking care?"

"I've been hitting the gym hard, building my body. The fat on my face dropped off, so my features look better."

He couldn't exactly tell her he was upgrading his looks by dumping points into Appearance. So the gym story would have to do — burning fat, shaping the body the ordinary way.

"That makes sense… you do work out so hard. Yeah, that tracks."

She already knew he was consistent at the gym, so she bought it without a second ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought.

"Or maybe it's just that you like me so much the rose-colored glasses kicked in."

"Hahaha~! You know, that might actually be it~"

Hye-suk covered her mouth and laughed. They finished their coffee talking, and spent the rest of their holiday night just the two of them.

The next day, Seong-min left for gombang work again, and Hye-suk packed his lunch and saw him off the way she always did.

When he got to the site, Min-hyeok and the rest of the gombang team all asked how his week off had gone. Stories came out — body aches, heat patches stuck on sore spots, physical therapy appointments. But the faces were bright. These were men who'd made six million won in a single week.

"All right — from today, we get back to it properly!"

At Team Leader Jeong's call, the whole team locked in and got to work.

The gombang jobs that started Monday ran straight through Friday. What Seong-min earned that week came to 1.8 million won. No massive catch like the week before, but five steady jobs in a row had put 1.8 million in his pocket. Thinking of it as a weekly wage, that was serious money. The other team members had made 1.3 million — less than him — but given Seong-min's output, the five-hundred-thousand gap felt fair even to them.

Another full month slipped by after that.

Then Min-hyeok brought good news. He and A-reum were finally moving into a two-room villa that weekend. It had a living room, sat on the third floor of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠five-story building, and the bathroom had a shower stall instead of a tub. Adding the 15 million won deposit from their current house, the new place ran 30 million deposit and a million a month in rent — not cheap. But after making six million in six days and then grinding gombang work and courier unloading for a full month on top of that, pulling in over a million a week consistently, they'd scraped together enough with their savings and the old multi-family house deposit to make the move.

The whole team congratulated him, and they set a date for a housewarming the following week.

"That happy about it?"

On the way home after gombang work, Seong-min looked at Min-hyeok's grinning face and asked.

"I'm so happy… heh… we're finally moving into the two-room I've wanted for so long. And one with a living room, too… heh…"

There were two-rooms that counted the living space as one of the rooms, and two-rooms that separated the living room out. The place Min-hyeok was moving into was the latter — which meant if you counted the living room, it was basically a three-room.

"We've been stuck in that old house for so long, both me and noona. Once we move into a villa, life is going to be so much better than it is now. Just knowing that makes me feel like I'm actually doing something right…!"

The look in Min-hyeok's eyes was pure drive and the satisfaction of a life finally moving forward. Seong-min felt the same. He'd watched from right beside him how hard Min-hyeok had worked, how well he'd done.

These days they even took two gombang jobs in a single day sometimes. Two jobs meant at least five hundred thousand for the others and at least six hundred thousand for Seong-min. Just yesterday they'd run two — Min-hyeok had made seven hundred thousand, Seong-min nine hundred thousand.

"Let's finish this week strong. And good luck with the move this weekend."

"I'll call you once we're settled."

Seong-min and the team had offered to help with the move, but Min-hyeok had waved them off. Just come to the housewarming next weekend loaded up, he'd said — and that had set everyone laughing.

"See you, hyung~!"

"Take care."

Min-hyeok's bus arrived first. The doors opened, he climbed on, and he was gone.

Seong-min waited for his own bus and let his thoughts drift.

I can go this weekend, then.

If he'd helped with Min-hyeok's move, this weekend and next would have been shot, and he wouldn't have gotten around to it until the weekend after that. But Min-hyeok had said he was fine, so Seong-min planned to go with Hye-suk this weekend.

His bus pulled up. He tapped his card, found a seat, and sat down.

Then the weekend arrived. Min-hyeok was moving, and Seong-min ate breakfast with Hye-suk and left the house with her a little after ten.

"You understand, right? Look everything over carefully before you buy."

"Of course~"

They didn't take Hye-suk's car today. They took a taxi to their destination. An employee who'd already been contacted came out smiling and shook their hands.

"This way, please."

Following the staffer they'd spoken with in advance, they went into the office, drank coffee, and listened to the pitch. Then they headed back out, climbed into the dealer's car, and went to look at vehicles.

"This is the first one."

The first car the dealer showed them was a Mercedes-Benz E300. Gray, registered the previous year, a little over ten thousand kilometers on it, and in solid condition. Seong-min checked the interior, opened the hood and inspected the engine bay, and went over the inspection sheet. He sat in the driver's seat while the dealer talked him through the details.

"I'd like to see the others as well."

"Of course."

After that they went through several more cars in turn. About forty minutes later, Seong-min made his choice.

A brand-new-generation BMW 5 Series. White, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a 520d diesel model with strong fuel economy. Less than a year old — practically new-car condition — with only seven thousand kilometers on the odometer. He put down a ten-million-won down payment and financed the rest. The monthly installment ran a little over six hundred thousand, which wasn't small, and once you added insurance, gas, taxes, and maintenance the real cost climbed higher still. But for Seong-min as he was now, none of that was a problem. He'd already cleared over two million in earnings just this week. Framed as a monthly income, he was already past five million this month alone, and last month he'd broken ten million. Financing a near-new BMW 5 Series wasn't even a question.

They went back to the office, signed the contract, finished every step including the down payment, then stopped by a service center one last time for a full consumables check before taking delivery.

"We'll send the remaining documents to your address by next week."

"Got it."

"Enjoy your fun car life, sir~!"

With the dealer's send-off, Seong-min put Hye-suk in the passenger seat and pulled out of the service center.

"The condition on this thing is incredible."

Hye-suk looked around the interior from the passenger seat.

"Right? Low mileage, registered last winter — basically new-car grade. That's what sold me."

"How does it feel?"

"First time driving my own car. It feels… new."

Seong-min had gotten his license the moment he turned adult and had driven plenty during part-time jobs, but he'd never owned a car of his own. Finally having one made the moment land with real weight.

"Feels wrong to just head straight home. Want to go for a drive?"

"Shall we?"

"Seoul's a mess. Let's head out of the city, grab a meal, and come back."

"Heh… all right. Let's do that."

The plan had been made on the spot, but Seong-min pressed the accelerator and rolled out onto the road with an easy lightness.

I still can't believe this is my car.

The solid, weighty feel of the vehicle moving forward. The fact that the BMW under his hands wasn't someone else's — that it was his — still hadn't fully sunk in.