A Date on Christmas Eve

Almost two weeks had passed since I first got my hands on Sex Coin — thirteen days, to be exact — and my life had settled into a comfortable rhythm.

I'd wake up in the morning, go find Seong Gaeul, book a two-hour session, and have sex with her. Then I'd rest at home until it was time for my shift at the chicken shop. That was the loop, day after day.

Once I figured out that the mining yield wasn't based on average satisfaction but on the peak pleasure my partner felt, I started taking the first round easy — just enjoying myself. Then on the second round, I'd give Seong Gaeul everything I had.

All that daily training must have done something for my technique, because yesterday Gaeul came three times and her satisfaction soared past eighty.

Watching Gaeul's Difficulty keep ticking downward was a shame, but there was nothing I could do about that.

All told, I'd mined about 97,000 Sex Coins. Of those, I'd cashed out around 24,000 for spending money once my funds for the room salon ran dry, and I'd sunk 63,000 into buying the Appearance Change Ticket six times over.

And every last one of those tickets went into one thing: making myself taller.

Two hours of vigorous exercise with Gaeul every single day made the gym I'd been planning to join a physical impossibility. But whether it was all that intense sex or the fact that I'd shot up from 173 to 185 centimeters, the soft layer of fat I'd been carrying had all but vanished. And once I used the Appearance Change Tickets to stretch those stubby legs of mine into a proper long-limbed frame, my Body Value went through the roof.

There was a problem, though.

"Huh? When did you get this tall?"

"Oppa, are you wearing insoles?"

Growing twelve centimeters in barely two weeks tended to draw some strange looks. The only people I saw every day were Gaeul, Lee Jieun, and Dongmin — but Jieun and Dongmin, who'd known me for a long time, kept tilting their heads at me.

I met every one of those questions with a straight face.

"What are you talking about? I've always been tall."

"No way... I'm pretty sure I used to be taller than you..."

"Come on, hyung, that's ridiculous. Want to measure?"

Jieun was only 156 centimeters, so she'd always been looking up at me anyway. Dongmin was a different story. At 180 centimeters, he used to have a few on me, and he was a lot more suspicious.

"I just look taller because I lost the weight. I've been working out lately."

"That so?"

To my surprise, the attitude actually worked. And really — what were they going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to do, accuse me? Who in their right mind would imagine a twenty-four-year-old growing twelve centimeters in two weeks?

Even Gaeul, who washed my body every single day, dropped the subject after I told her, "Height? What are you talking about? Are you mixing me up with another client?"

Beyond that, the only real hiccup was that none of my old pants fit anymore. I took it as an excuse to go buy a whole new wardrobe.

By the time I'd spent everything I needed to spend, the only coins I had left were the 10,206 I'd mined today.

I'd already hit the height I'd been aiming for, so the thought of buying something new had me grinning like an idiot.

Stamina was fine for now. Doing Gaeul twice a day, every day, wasn't even close to wearing me out. That left two options.

A Trait? Or an Ability?

I had no idea which was better. Hell, I didn't even know how different they actually were.

If I went by what I knew about Gaeul...

That was how it worked — a person's defining qualities showed up as Traits, and their special skills showed up as Abilities.

"That's what it says when you look at the Sex Coin help section..."

The part about Abilities eating into my Stamina rubbed me the wrong way.

I turned it over for a long time before I made up my mind.

A Trait it was.

I hit confirm, and text bloomed across the screen.

Drinking, Singing, and Dancing?

The Sex Coins I'd just dumped into this thing were worth 10,000 — 2.26 million won in cash. A flicker of unease ran through me, and I immediately pulled up my Basic Stats to check.

It had jacked my Technique Value up by a full fifty points. Wondering what the hell that even meant, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I tapped the trait, and a description appeared.

Is that... good?

Considering that growing twelve centimeters had only raised my overall Sex Coin Value by about thirty, a jump of fifty was enormous. Whether it was actually a good trait, though — that I wasn't so sure about.

Hold my liquor, sing, and dance?

I barely drank to begin with, and I'd almost never set foot in a karaoke room or a club. For someone like me, it was about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

I could practically see that 2.26 million won vanishing into thin air.

"Ah, well. Good or bad, a fifty-point jump in coin value isn't nothing. When I cash out, the money'll definitely add up."

I closed my eyes and tried to look on the bright side. 2.26 million divided by fifty... 45,200. If I converted around forty-five thousand coins to cash, I'd break even. I'd already cashed out about thirty thousand so far, so...

The numbers kept spooling through my head. I shook them off.

Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and for once I actually had a date. The last thing I needed was to sleep in because I'd stayed up crunching numbers. I pushed every stray thought about the trait out of my mind and tried to sleep.

A massive cone-shaped tree stood in the center of the plaza, the kind you never saw there any other time of year. Strings of colored lights wrapped it from top to bottom, blinking away with everything they had — though at barely eleven in the morning, the sun was a hell of an obstacle, and the whole display looked more tired than festive.

It was only 11 a.m., and the base of that enormous tree was already swarming with people.

"Minseok-oppa! Over here!"

And among that crowd, one woman stood out so sharply she might as well have been standing in a spotlight. She waved, calling my name.

Seong Gaeul.

She had that face that stole every eye in a room, no matter where she went. Her long black hair fell to her chest, a striking contrast against the pale beige coat she wore. Below the coat, there was nothing but a pair of long, slender legs sheathed in sheer black stockings.

Damn. Is she not cold?

With a face like hers, of course it looked good on her — too good, honestly. But a no-pants look in weather this freezing, even in the middle of the day? I'd dressed up a little myself, swapping my usual puffer for a coat, but that was taking it to another level.

"Gaeul, it's freezing out. Why'd you get here so early?"

Up close, I could see past the light makeup on her face to the faint flush of red on her nose. I'd shown up right on time, but looking at her now, I felt a twinge of guilt anyway.

"No reason. Hehe! Come on, let's go!"

Gaeul slipped her arm through mine like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The reason we were on this date today went back to yesterday.

After the usual round of heat and pleasure, the two of us had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been lying in bed. Gaeul had already come three times, and the way she looked at me was a lot hungrier than usual.

"So today's really your last day?"

"Yeah... I was planning to quit at the end of the year anyway. What with Christmas and New Year's coming up, I told the manager a month ago that December 23rd — today — would be my last day."

"That's a shame. Does that mean I won't get to see you anymore?"

I meant it, too. I really was disappointed. Her Difficulty kept dropping and the yields kept shrinking, sure — but we'd been sharing a bed every single day for two weeks. On top of that, she was better-looking than any woman I'd ever slept with, and the sexual chemistry between us was more than satisfying.

That was when Gaeul spoke up, a little carefully.

"So... if you're free tomorrow, want to meet up? Outside, I mean."

She looked almost shy saying it. Something warm and proud unfurled in my chest.

We'd already gone on a date the day we first met — a movie, a walk, the usual. But the Gaeul from back then hadn't looked at me like this. Back then, I was just some guy she called up on a boring afternoon to kill time with.

And now she was asking me out on Christmas Eve?

Playing hard to get didn't even occur to me. As a man, there was only one answer I could give.

"Of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠course I'm free. I still owe you that meal from last time, remember?"

"Nuh-uh~ I don't want you treating me when we're out. Leave your wallet at home tomorrow."

Was it the money — the 400,000 won I'd been dropping every day? Was it the height and the looks I'd bought with the Appearance Change Tickets? Or was it the technique that had made her come three times yesterday?

Whatever the reason, the fact that she was into me was written all over her face. And it was still written there today.

"I reserved a table at this famous restaurant, so let's head over there, oppa."

Unlike our last date, when she'd walked a little apart from me in that awkward, distant way, she was smiling now — right at my side, her arm still hooked through mine.