A Three-Million-Won Fragrance

A clear liquid sloshed inside a transparent bottle no bigger than my fist. The perfume glittered as if it had been carved from crystal, looking every bit as luxurious as something that expensive ought to look — and yet.

"This cost over three million won?"

A long, heavy sigh drained out of me. I wore cologne myself, of course. Whenever I had a date or somewhere to be, I always spritzed some on before heading out. The difference was, mine cost a mere fifty thousand won. And at least Correct Posture was something I could keep using indefinitely. This was a consumable.

"Hah... damn..."

What kind of scent could possibly justify a price like that? I twisted off the cap and gave it a sniff, but whoever had sealed the thing had done such a thorough job that my nose caught nothing at all. Still, I couldn't bring myself to spray it into empty air. That would have been no different from throwing cash into the void.

In the end I set the bottle carefully on my computer desk and decided I'd put some on before work. It'll smell better than the Ferrari Black I used to wear, at least. A positive mindset was supposed to be one of my strengths, right? No point despairing over a scent I hadn't even smelled yet—

"The hell there isn't! Unless this thing hypnotizes people, what kind of lunatic pays over three million won for perfume?!"

If it actually hypnotized anyone, it would have been labeled Hypnosis Perfume, not Men's Perfume. Telling myself the Sex Coins had been free anyway didn't stop my guts from churning.

"Hoo... just breathe. Let it go."

I'd been happier when I'd forgotten the whole thing existed. I opened the Sex Coin app to take my mind off it.

Right. I still had twenty thousand left. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠When I was in a foul mood, looking at this screen was the perfect pick-me-up. Feeling considerably better, I decided to follow the plan I'd already made and pick up one ability and one stamina upgrade. The ability came first, obviously. I'd been burned by the randomness once already, but gacha was still the way to go.

Please give me something good.

I offered a short prayer to a god I didn't even believe in and hit the button.

Aura? I'd heard the word somewhere before, but what did it actually mean? I turned the definition over in my head for a moment, then opened my info screen.

The ability slot that had been sitting empty was finally filled. And once again, it had bumped my value up by fifty. Did abilities and traits always add fifty, no matter what? I filed the theory away and tapped the new entry to read the description.

The cost was stamina, I already knew that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much. I had no idea how much 0.5 actually meant in practice, but I set that aside for now.

"So what the hell is an aura?"

Was it going to shoot laser beams or something? Entertaining that completely useless thought, I pulled up Naver Dictionary and searched the word.

It couldn't have been more abstract. This time, though, I didn't let myself get disappointed. Hadn't I already learned from Drinking, Singing, and Dancing and Correct Posture just how effective these vague-sounding things could be? The phrase "work of art" rubbed me the wrong way a little, but a distinctive atmosphere — prestige, even. I was still holding out hope.

"Let's try it first."

Except... how was I supposed to use it? I poked around every corner of the app and got nowhere. After a while of fiddling with the thing, I remembered how the screen for a target's Difficulty would pop up if I simply thought about it.

Aura?

The moment I decided to use it, a wave of exhaustion slammed into me. Fighting off the drowsiness, I dragged myself to the bathroom mirror.

A tall young man stared back. The face was decent enough to match an Appearance Value of fifty-one, but fatigue was plastered all over it. As for anything resembling an aura — nothing. The skill had definitely gone off, and yet...

Did it not work on me? It was supposed to last an hour. Should I go outside and find someone to test it on? The mere thought of meeting another person made me tired all over again. I'd figure out what it actually did later. Right now, I needed sleep.

Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

The vibration shredded a perfectly good nap. I answered without even checking who it was, my voice still locked up with sleep.

"Hngh... hello?"

Cha Heejung. I cracked my eyes open and checked the time.

5:12.

"What? How is it already this late?"

That did it. I was wide awake. If I got moving right now I wouldn't actually be late — but the fact that I'd been dead to the world still shocked me.

"Ah, thank you, thank you! I didn't even set an alarm. I was out cold."

"Yeah, seriously — you're the only one I've got, Heejung. I've gotta get ready right now. I'll call you later."

I hung up, and the memory surfaced: I'd used that Aura ability right before bed and promptly collapsed. Stamina. It had been a stamina problem after all.

Come to think of it, I never did buy the stamina upgrade.

I'd gotten so caught up trying out the new ability that I'd fallen asleep before purchasing it. Instead of heading for the shower, I opened the Sex Coin app first.

The instant I hit confirm, my head cleared. It was the exact opposite of what I'd felt when I used Aura — like every last trace of fatigue had been wiped away.

I dismissed the note and hurriedly opened my info screen.

"Tch. Only ten?"

The efficiency was terrible. Traits and abilities had each bumped the Sex Coin Value up by fifty...

The word Aura sitting in the ability slot caught my eye again, but I couldn't afford to waste any more time. I stripped off my clothes and headed for the bathroom.

By the time I was ready to leave, it was 5:37. The shop was about a twenty-five-minute walk — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already too late to go on foot. I called a taxi to my door, the kind of splurge I never would have allowed myself on a work commute before, and found I had a few minutes before it arrived. I didn't feel like standing outside shivering, so I killed time glancing around the room — and my eyes landed on a luxurious glass bottle that had never been there before.

The perfume!

I always did this when I was frazzled. I'd told myself I'd spray some on before heading out, and then I'd forgotten all over again.

I opened the bottle and gave my wrist a light spritz.

Pssht.

The cool liquid touched my skin, and a scent I had never encountered in my life curled around the tip of my nose.

"Oh!"

The sound of genuine admiration slipped out before I could stop it. I couldn't have named the notes if I tried, but it suited me perfectly. No — it went beyond a matter of taste. The scent was simply that good. It lifted my mood all by itself. Before it could fade I rubbed both wrists together, then pressed them behind my ears. I'd heard once that the pulse points on the wrists and behind the ears were the best places to apply cologne, and that had been my method ever since. A smile crept onto my face as the fragrance bloomed softly through the air — and then the price tag came back to mind, and the smile soured.

Still not worth three million won, though...

Of course it smelled incredible. This wasn't perfume. It was a lump of gold. Three million won — no, this was a ten-thousand-Sex-Coin item, which at the current rate made it worth 3.86 million. I had no idea how many sprays I could actually get out of the bottle, but even assuming four hundred, that was ten thousand won a pump. The value of a Sex Coin was only going to keep climbing, and this thing's sticker price would shoot through the roof right along with it. No matter how good it smelled—

From now on, I am never touching the Item Gacha again.

There was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no way I could ever bring myself to pay that kind of money for this.