I Think I Like Her Too

Junseok suddenly got excited and shouted.

"Why throw away a hundred million in seed money?! Debts can be paid off slowly. Better to invest the money you'd use to pay them back."

Grains of rice flew from his mouth and stuck to my face.

What the hell was he getting so worked up about?

He was usually so quiet, but the moment money came up, he went wild. Even when I offered to pay off his debts, he was throwing a fit.

"Fine. Okay. If that's what you want, then go ahead."

I quickly waved my hands to calm him down.

If he didn't want it, I couldn't force him.

Guess I just saved some money.

"The bigger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the amount, the better the thrill of the squeeze."

Junseok muttered as he finished eating and cleared the table.

No matter how I looked at it, he wasn't normal. This guy got his dopamine from coins.

"Take it easy. Easy. Think about your body too."

"Can't you see I've put on weight?"

Junseok snorted and skillfully finished the dishes as well. Beomjin had offered to do them, but Junseok insisted on handling the dishwashing himself.

In the meantime, I used my smartphone to select today's investment and coin picks.

Just as always, I sketched out in my mind the shapes of rising candle charts, the links between trading volume and news flow, and the movement patterns of specific wallets.

Countless coin charts and streams of information flashed across the palm of my hand at high speed.

To anyone else it would have looked like I was just flipping through them, but inside my head the calculations were already finished—how many issues across the entire market met the conditions, and which of those showed meaningful trading patterns.

"I'm counting on you again today, buddy."

"You already decided?"

"I trust you, Junseok."

I jotted the picks down on a memo and left it on the table before heading straight to my room.

I planned to look over the science-related books I'd been reading until my nose bled a few days ago, then search online.

Of course, without overdoing it.

Introductory neuroscience texts, case studies of science and tech startups, papers on AI smart machine interfaces, artificial intelligence and the future of humanity, and so on.

Ever since my brain awakening, I hadn't simply been observing my changed abilities—I had constantly been thinking about how to put them to use.

No matter how I think about it, wasting this ability just on investments is too much of a shame. What kind of research could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I start on my own? Something accessible, small and efficient enough to do in the basement.

I flipped rapidly through the science books and entered keyword after keyword into the search bar.

Small-scale science experiments. Solo-research tech startup items. Human interfaces that can link with computers. Smart wearables. And more.

While digging through startup cases and new-tech news across a few sites, sentences from one tech blog and a couple of articles caught my eye.

Every headline was quite skeptical.

But strangely, seeing those negative sentences only filled me with conviction.

Too early? Then that just means I should get in first, right?

I slowly read through the blogs and articles.

According to them, most smart glasses currently in development still hit limits in weight, battery life, heat, resolution, and UI implementation, and many reviews said usability and marketability were lacking.

I drifted into thought and began absorbing every scrap of information related to smart glasses.

Right now my mind was integrating real-time news, numbers, images, and community patterns all at once. I was pinpointing context that even machines couldn't grasp.

It was pure flow—almost a trance.

And in that moment, I felt it instinctively.

If I'm just given enough time, there is definitely a domain I can claim!

I immediately launched into collecting materials on smart glasses.

This wasn't ordinary searching. Thanks to the information-processing speed my brain awakening had given me, everything began organizing itself like a storm. The internet itself felt slow by comparison.

Open-source smart-glasses platforms, AI-glasses startups, visual-interface UX, eye-tracking technology, AR HUD frame kits, wearable EEG devices, and more.

My hand never stopped scrolling, while inside my head category classification, core-tech summaries, and feasibility assessments ran in parallel in real time.

In just a few minutes I had structured more than three A4 pages' worth of information inside my mind.

"Whew. That's enough for now."

Even the brain needed management now.

I had realized that if I wanted to keep using mine, I couldn't push it recklessly.

I stepped out into the yard for a while, drawing in deep breaths of cold air and looking up at the sky. Even then, strangely, Kang Bitna's face flickered before my eyes.

Why is this happening...?

I didn't try to force the sensation away.

Instead, I decided to analyze the phenomenon the same way I always did.

My current state: in an environment without stimulation, a specific person kept surfacing, and the afterimage lingered even after my focus loosened.

I organized the flow rising in my head.

The stronger the emotional collision with a target, the longer the brain remembers them.

With Kang Bitna it had been everything from that intense first meeting, the big and small frictions and collaborations at the company, and finally... her confession.

It wasn't a simple human relationship. It had been a high-dimensional stimulus where tension and intimacy coexisted.

"Damn. Looks like I really can't dodge this one."

Even as I said it, the corner of my mouth lifted slightly.

Not emotional turmoil—awareness as a logical conclusion.

(Of course, the logic was almost forced.)

I felt I now needed to face Kang Bitna as a man facing a woman.

"It's freezing out here. What are you doing looking so pathetic?"

At that moment one side of the living-room front window opened and Beomjin stuck his head out.

I had been looking at the sky; now I slowly turned to my younger brother.

And without meaning to, I spoke to him.

"Someone confessed to me, you know. And I think... I like that person too."

Why had I said it?

Maybe I wanted to give myself some certainty.

Didn't matter. My brother had no idea who it was.

"Bitna noona? So do I call her sister-in-law now?"

"Kack! Wh-what? H-how did you know?"

I asked in flustered shock. Beomjin shook his head as if he couldn't believe me.

"Anyone could tell."

Then he narrowed his eyes and continued.

"Lately when I look at you I start thinking you've really become a genius, but if I watch carefully it seems like you don't understand people's emotions very well. Makes me wonder if an alien actually took over your body."

With that he closed the door again and went back inside.

Don't understand emotions...?

I stared blankly at the living-room window, then bolted back into the house and headed straight for my room.

I opened a browser and quickly searched for brain awakening and human emotion.

Various inferences unfolded.

Even if cognitive ability—information processing, analytical power, calculation, concentration—is outstanding, that does not automatically mean emotional empathy (EQ) or the ability to read social context will improve as well.

Among brain regions, the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and posterior cingulate cortex are linked to emotional recognition and empathy. If activation is centered only on cognitive functions, the emotional side can dull.

This... emotional blunting??

Second:

When thought processes become excessively logical and optimized, ambiguous or vague human emotions (for example: the gray zone of attraction, liking, jealousy) can be processed as meaningless variables.

So expressions of interest that anyone else would recognize can look, to the person involved, like mere social courtesy or opportunity-seeking.

Huk! Then... has Kang Bitna been processed as a variable this whole time?

Finally came the sentence that drove the nail in.

"Hmm... transcendent indifference..."

Apparently I had really made a big mistake.

That night I couldn't fall asleep easily.

The next morning.

Having barely slept, I dragged my heavy head out onto the commute.

Overnight Junseok had turned three hundred million in seed money into about five million. With the coin market reeling lately, he had reduced his bets. A wise call.

After days of making one or two thousand each day, five million might feel small, but five million was equal to my old monthly salary.

I couldn't afford to lose my sense of money.

No—that wasn't the important thing right now.

With so many thoughts swirling and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so little sleep, my steps felt heavy.

Near the company building I loitered around the main gate.

I had a feeling that once I entered the office I wouldn't find a chance to talk to Kang Bitna.

Just then I spotted her coming to work from the opposite side of the main road.

I started walking straight toward her.

When the distance closed enough that she must have seen me too, she stopped with a resolute expression and met my eyes.

"Kang Bitna."

I walked forward confidently and called her name.

"I..."

The moment I was about to continue—

Screeech—

A black van slammed to a halt at the main gate and the door flew open.

Out leapt a fox-faced woman with bright yellow-dyed hair, wearing clothes that were shockingly revealing for the dead of winter.

It was Han Yojung.

People screamed.

The instant she appeared she looked at me and waved both hands.

"Noh Hoojin!"

She was using casual speech.

My brow furrowed on its own.

Kang Bitna glanced back and forth between her and me, then strode toward the main gate with a freezing expression.

I tried to follow, but Han Yojung was already approaching me and drawing massive attention from everyone around, so I had no choice but to give up.

"Have you been well?"

Once we were close she offered her hand first.

"Yes, more or less. I heard you were only shooting and then heading back to the States."

"Yeah, that's how it turned out. Everyone's fighting to give me awards."

She brushed her hair back as if annoyed.

"Then we'd better hurry. Please come inside. We should be able to start as soon as the morning meeting ends."

"Aww, why so rushed? I just got back to Korea and I'm starving. Want to go grab something delicious together?"

An enormous crowd already surrounded us, yet she spoke to me without the slightest concern.

Well, a world-famous pop star eating with a company employee probably wouldn't spark a scandal.

Just then the second piece of logic floated up again.

When thought processes become excessively logical and optimized, ambiguous or vague human emotions (for example: the gray zone of attraction, liking, jealousy) can be processed as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meaningless variables.

For me, the variable to be processed was not Kang Bitna—it was Han Yojung.

"I'm sorry, but it's work hours. I have to prepare for the meeting. Please go ahead and eat. There's about an hour until the morning meeting. I'll head up first."

I offered a bright smile and walked straight into the building.

Today of all days, I would definitely confess to her.