Are You Satisfied with What You're Doing Now?

Two days later, around the time office workers were clocking out.

"No way, what kind of judgment call is this?"

While everyone else was diligently earning money, Yuha was leisurely gaming. She hammered her keyboard and mouse, battling enemies, but ended up defeated.

"I even matched all the weapons for her."

The recently launched subculture game, Myungpa. Yuha had dipped in casually, but it hooked her hard enough to make some in-app purchases. Now she was stuck at the endgame content, frustration building.

But no way am I dropping 120,000 won on premium currency.

In Myungpa, you bought in-game currency to pull characters. Unemployed as she was, she couldn't blow cash recklessly—her final shred of conscience capped her at 37,000 won.

Time to eat and crash.

She logged off, vowing to try again later. Flopping onto her mattress, she grabbed her smartphone to mull over dinner options, pulling up a delivery app when her phone rang.

Yeonghyeon?

Wondering what was up, she answered.

Shifting from lying down to sitting up during the call, Yuha pressed on.

"Serious talk?"

Yeonghyeon hung up. Yuha's eyes went wide.

His place?

There had to be a reason, but the sudden invite to his home flustered her. A guy's place, alone. Her mind raced with thoughts until a memory surfaced—frequent visits to his house as kids.

Right. No need to overthink it.

Ding-dong.

Yuha rang the doorbell, and the door swung open. Spotting Yeonghyeon, she thrust forward the beverage box she'd picked up on the way.

"What's this?"

"Figured I shouldn't show up empty-handed."

"You didn't have to."

"Get in quick—it's cold," Yeonghyeon said, ushering her inside.

Yuha glanced around the spacious apartment—impressively roomy for a single guy.

"Whoa... you live here all alone?"

"Moved in two years ago."

He'd upgraded from a studio, thinking more space would be nice.

For a guy's place, it's ridiculously tidy.

Just the essentials in furniture, which kept everything sleek and clean. Then the savory aroma of fried chicken hit her.

"Chicken just arrived. Let's eat while it's hot."

They sat across from each other at the table. Yeonghyeon politely handed her a drumstick.

"Thanks."

Yuha chomped away happily. Despite the worries that brought her here, the silence felt awkward amid the meal, so she spoke up.

"Hey, mind if I grab a second leg?"

"Chicken comes with no table manners."

"Payment for listening to your troubles."

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"Fair enough. That's a bargain."

"That serious, huh?"

"Nah, not really."

They bantered lightly through dinner, then settled on the sofa with drinks for dessert. Yuha finally broached it.

"So, what's this thing you wanted to talk about? You mentioned worries."

"Ran into the Hunter Association vice president recently."

"What?"

Yuha's expression shifted instantly.

"So, what happened when you met?"

"Normally I'd just keep walking, but he asked if I'd consider being their hunter training coordinator."

"Like, teaching hunters?"

"Seems like it."

Yuha felt a twinge of satisfaction. Her cafe chat with the VP must've played a role.

"Having second thoughts? Do it or not?"

"Kinda."

On a scale, maybe 60% yes, 40% hesitation.

"I've come this far already—wondering if it's okay to pivot now."

It had been eight years since shelving her teacher dreams for combat life. Going from fighting for survival to this unexpected offer? Caution was natural.

"Your mom mentioned you used to be a hunter."

"Yeah. Awakened senior year of high school."

"Ever regret becoming one back then?"

"Not full regret, but some what-ifs. Who knows if I'd have made teacher without it."

Yuha recalled a recent moment—Yeonghyeon's eyes, powerful yet empty. Sobering, she grew serious.

"Yeonghyeon."

"Yeah?"

"Are you satisfied with what you're doing now?"

"......"

The unexpected question froze him, expression unchanged but words failing—like a dagger to the heart.

"It's not like I do it for fun."

Separate from satisfaction or enjoyment, this was the optimal path. Power others craved but couldn't have. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠To live without envy, he had to wield it fully.

"That's normal. Or do you have some big goal?"

"Had one. Not sure now..."

At that, Yuha took his hand. Their eyes met, and feeling safe, she shared her own story.

"At first, I ran hard to get strong, make bank. Pushed like crazy."

Power to rival anyone, filial piety long dreamed of. Achieved, it felt great—at first. Then came the void. Goals faded; raids and hunts lost meaning. Emptiness crept in.

"Yeonghyeon, whatever you choose is your call. But if I were you, I'd jump at coordinator without a second thought."

"Why's that?"

"You've always loved teaching others. That's why you dreamed of being a teacher."

Yeonghyeon pondered silently at her words.

"Adding something new to the routine might fill that emptiness a bit, right?"

He gently lifted her hand. Talking it out with someone might help decide—and now he could.

"Coordinator means busier days, but I'll try it and see."

"Good call."

Yuha cheered him on, though guilt pricked her. Unintentional, but she'd escalated things.

Better confess.

Risking his anger after personal shares, she came clean anyway.

"Yeonghyeon, I actually met the Hunter Association VP at a cafe before."

"Huh? Why?"

"Total coincidence."

She recounted the encounter—sitting, chatting. Yeonghyeon's face grew serious; Yuha worried she'd messed up.

"Sorry. It was just offhand then, but feels like I caused this."

"Nah, nothing to apologize for."

It all clicked now. Persistent return-to-hunting pleas suddenly turning to this offer.

"Might even be fun. Don't know who I'd teach yet, but shaking up the monotony sounds good."

Yuha relaxed, relieved it worked out better than expected.

"Anyway, hitting the gym okay lately?"

"Eh... going whether I like it or not."

She wished every third day, but "Get your ass to the gym!"—friend Jian nagged daily, leaving no escape. Today was a rare breather since Jian was busy.

Yeonghyeon chuckled at the story.

"Sounds like a great friend."

"Dude, I'm dying here."

"Want me to sub in for her? Help with workouts?"

He demoed home exercises. Yuha recoiled, shaking her head vigorously.

"No way, no way, no way."

"Exercise gets better the more you do it."

"Don't most guys game at home?"

"I game sometimes."

He led her to his room. Yuha followed, glancing at her hand.

We held hands naturally.

Unplanned, but the mood led there. And she didn't mind.

Entering, a sleek PC tower caught her eye.

"Ooh, nice rig."

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"Bought it last year—still solid."

"What do you usually play?"

"LegendCraft."

"Pardon?"

Thought she misheard.

"Isn't that the dad game?"

Korea's so-called folk sport. But he'd never tried, so they moved on.

"Nothing else?"

"Wanted to try others, but heard you need to whale hard."

"Nonsense. You can have fun F2P now. Know Myungpa?"

"Heard of it."

"Let's try it. God-tier game, my seal of approval."

"Sure, just dipping in."

Yeonghyeon installed Myungpa per her wish and logged in. Early game flowed easy.

"Combat's more fun than I thought."

"Right? Needs skill—not just brute DPS."

After some story, the gacha system unlocked—exchange tickets for characters and weapons.

"Game's fresh, so they're showering newbie + launch event currency. Grind hard, you can pull this."

50 tickets from newbie/open events. At the pickup screen, Yeonghyeon asked,

"Not expert, but this looks good?"

"Duh. Rights character."

90% pity at 90 pulls for 50% pickup 5-star. Yuha explained gacha and pity simply; he hit pull.

"Huh?"

"Looks premium at a glance."

Gold sparkles signaled 5-star. Yuha hadn't expected it so soon—now the real deal: 50% pickup or bust?

They glued to the screen.

"This one's good too, right?"

Two 5-star pickups in a row. Yuha trembled, blurting,

"This is cheating! You gotta take everything to make me feel better?"

"Whoa, no."

Stunned by her outburst. From her view, she'd grinded cash for break-even; he flaunted success twice over—classic salt mine.

"Didn't mean to."

"Ah, sorry—jealousy talking. Super jealous."

She calmed late, chiding herself. No time for envy with a newbie to raise.

"Whatever, don't brag online. You'll get hate raids."