Chapter 5

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: Mischief Cards Get! And a Date with Seol

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The next day... not in the morning, but at lunchtime.

I didn't open my eyes until 2 p.m.

Remembering Seol and Gayoung Noona from last night had gotten me way too worked up, so I'd gone around picking up trash until late into the dawn.

Thanks to that, I'd racked up points nicely, but I didn't shower and crash until around 6 or 7 a.m.

Pulling an all-nighter for the first time in a while left my head foggy as I checked my smartphone. There were dozens of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠KakaoTalk messages piled up.

A few from friends.

A few from group chats.

And a ton from Seol.

[Seol: Wanna hang out! What time?!]

[Seol: I'm thinking around 6, so I'll get ready!]

[Seol: Oppa, where do you wanna go? You there?]

[Seol: Still sleeping? ㅠㅠㅠ]

[Seol: Knock knock!!]

[Seol: Still asleep?]

Stuff like that, stacked up endlessly. I had slept in too late. My tension from yesterday had been through the roof.

Even in my exhausted state, seeing her messages made my lower half twitch again.

Feeling my sleepiness slowly fade, I replied while still lying down.

[Me: Sorry, just woke up]

[Me: Went to bed kinda late last night lol]

[Me: 7 okay?]

[Seol: Sounds good! Where should we meet?]

Her reply came in one second flat. Well, she wouldn't just ditch her phone while studying.

Besides, from her perspective, this was a message from the guy she likes asking to meet, so she'd be extra attentive.

[Me: You know the big intersection closest to your convenience store? The one with Olive Young?]

[Me: Meet there?]

[Seol: Yep! See you at 7!]

[Me: Cool]

"Grrrah...!"

As I stretched out after replying, my phone buzzed again.

[Seol: Oppa]

[Seol: We're going on a date today, right...?]

"Hoo... She's so damn cute."

I fired back a reply to her adorably anxious message.

[Me: Obviously a date]

[Me: Don't wanna?]

[Seol: Nooo]

[Seol: Love it super love it!]

[Seol: ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ]

[Seol: See you later, Oppa!]

I stared blankly at her messages for a moment, then mustered the energy to get up.

Then I opened the Good Deed Gacha App.

There it was, the fruit of my seven-hour nighttime grind fully reflected. Truth be told, from Wednesday evening through yesterday afternoon, I'd been picking up trash leisurely, floating on cloud nine from the app's existence.

But last night was different. Like a time attack, I'd sprinted around energetically. Being the dead of night, people had dumped even more trash, making it super rewarding.

The anticipation of naughty fun, amplified by yesterday's favorability checks, had fueled me.

"...Hah."

Looking at the points chased away my morning grogginess.

I held off on the gacha and headed to the bathroom first. With today's date in mind, I bathed meticulously, even trimming my body hair cleanly.

Finally, I gently blow-dried my hair, sat on the bed, and picked up my phone.

Thump thump

With the app open and a 10-pull gacha right in front of me, my heart pounded like it might burst.

It was unlikely, but if I pulled another Unwavering Affection, I'd use it on Gayoung Noona without hesitation.

With that thought, I hit the gacha button.

-Whirr

Just like the other day, a glow spread slowly from the center. I watched tensely, but disappointingly, no purple light appeared this time.

Waves of light burst repeatedly, with gold flashing exactly once amid them.

A moment later, as the ten cards settled on screen, a small sigh escaped me.

"One... ha."

Five were plain white, four silver, and the last one gold.

I felt a twinge of regret at the results.

"Eh, even all normals would've been a huge win."

I was confident I could have fun with just ten normal cards, so it wasn't bad. The first pull had just been insanely lucky.

Shaking off the disappointment, I checked the new cards with fresh excitement.

First, the five normal cards.

"Holy shit, negatives exist."

Before using one on Seol when her favorability was 10, I'd suspected negatives might exist—and they did. Anything negative seemed like dislike territory.

The basic card was fantastic. Endless fun with just these normals.

Getting people's favor with a click was great, but being able to drop it? Perfect.

After opening all the normals.

The first rare card.

"Pocket money jackpot."

A classic, but not bad to have. The warning prevented cheat abuse.

I recalled 3rd prize being around a million won. For a 21-year-old college kid living off allowance, that was huge.

But honestly, not as thrilling as hoped. Money was nice, but I hadn't been bored from lack of it.

Next card.

"Bland."

Would've preferred libido boost. Kinda similar? Not thrilled, but I used it anyway. Didn't feel different, but it must've helped.

A sigh slipped out.

The first two rares were underwhelming. Were rares always this meh?

Normals seemed more useful at this rate...

Third one.

"Nice?"

Approved!

Fun aside, versatile—mostly for stirring trouble.

Relieved at finally getting something useful, I checked the next.

Last rare.

"Insidiously evil. Totally my style."

The good stuff was backloaded! Love it!

Now I could subtly screw over anyone I disliked.

Premarital Chastity was the same vibe—these were exactly my type.

Sure, romance/sex cards like the one that hooked Seol were welcome, but these essentials made me happy too.

That was key.

Yes.

Please, let the gold card be this style too.

Please... please!

"This is it!!"

No other devil card could top this?!

A streak of torment-specialized rares had me cheering loudly.

The app's gacha blending [sex] and [fun] was genius.

Thrilled with the solid pulls, I grinned and fist-pumped alone for a bit.

Then, perfectly in tune with these cards' essence, a devilish idea pierced my mind.

"Wait... this..."

Did I have to waste them just tormenting disliked people? Wasn't there a more productive, funner way right nearby?

I glanced alternately at my phone and the direction of Gayoung Noona's place across the way.

"Haha."

A laugh slipped out unbidden. My hand naturally activated the fresh cards without hesitation.

First, lightly +3 Favorability to Gayoung Noona.

And then.

To her husband, Choi Yunho.

Two perfect cards.

After putting the gacha cards to good use, I spent 3-4 hours maniacally searching stuff up before heading out.

Date etiquette, things to watch for.

With favorability numbers, I didn't need to stress much, but basic human decency mattered.

I even researched sex precautions diligently. Not sure if it'd go that far today.

But the me now, unlike yesterday's me, trusted the app's power and planned to advance ridiculously fast by normal standards when I called her out.

I was a total solo anyway.

I only knew "proper" relationship progression from friends' stories or random forum posts.

So, lame as it sounds, since I didn't know jack, I figured I'd just wing it wildly.

At least my 1,000 hours of volunteer work made me comfy around people—no awkward stuttering.

Max goal: sex.

Min goal: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kiss.

Failing that, I didn't deserve this app.

And so.

We'd known each other's faces for a while, but our first real talk was three days ago.

Not even dating yet—just three days of flirty texts that were barely a "thing."

First proper meet outside her store: today.

Yet I aimed for min kiss, max sex—a plan anyone else would call insane—as I headed to our spot 15 minutes early, steeling myself.

"Oppa! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Here!"

She was already waiting.

The quiet praise I'd muttered at her store—pretty, cute—felt silly now.

Anyone could see she'd poured her all into dolling up.

Her face, her outfit—so stunningly pretty.

I stared, soul struck, as she rushed right up to me, and blurted without thinking.

"Wanna date?"

An utterly mood-killing timing that'd earn zero sympathy if rejected.

Even to that out-of-nowhere confession.

Her eyes widened for a split second, then bloomed into a radiant smile as she nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Oppa!"