Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Sweet Toast and Reading Breakthrough
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Jin-seong sat down in the chair and took a big bite of the special toast that A-young had so carefully prepared.
Crunch.
Crispy, nutty bread. Sweet kiwi sauce. Thick grilled egg and veggies, two slices of ham, two slices of bacon, two slices of cheese. The crunch of the shredded cabbage.
It was fantastic.
Stimulating flavor. Sinfully fattening. Devilishly good. The true taste of a late-night snack.
He washed it down with a sweet iced latte.
'I'm in heaven.'
Special toast + refreshing iced latte = pure bliss formula.
A wave of happiness welled up from deep inside.
This was true small but certain happiness.
'A-young...'
He chewed thoughtfully while glancing at Choi A-young. She was busy making a milkshake.
"Here's your hot chicken toast and milkshake order."
"Thanks."
"Enjoy~"
The customer took the food and left.
As he munched on his toast, savoring Choi A-young's stunning beauty, their eyes met.
The moment he thought her clear eyes were so captivating, she flashed him a pure, puppy-like smile.
'She's an angel.'
It was lethal.
Jin-seong's chest, his heart, his very soul pounded fiercely.
[Choi A-young]
❤️ Favorability:max
💕 Affection:3
Choi A-young's profile had changed.
Her favorability had hit max from 99, and affection had been added.
She'd seen him only as a kind big bro, a nice guy, a warm presence.
Now, she was starting to see him as a man—a real man, someone of the opposite sex.
[Inner Thoughts: Every time I see Jin-seong oppa, he seems more grown-up.]
[Inner Thoughts: He's lost even more weight. His face looks even more handsome.]
[Inner Thoughts: Am I imagining it? Oppa’s hair looks way thicker now.]
[Inner Thoughts: Hehe, I'm over the moon that oppa's enjoying the toast I made.]
Choi A-young came closer.
"Oppa, want me to make you another toast?"
"Nah, this is plenty. Let's grab some late-night snacks together later."
"Sounds good~ My shift's ending soon anyway. Just wait a bit~"
"Sure."
She'd hooked him up with toast, so he'd repay the favor with something tasty.
"Any late-night cravings?"
"Jjimdak~"
"Alright, jjimdak it is. My treat."
They found a nearby Andong jjimdak spot.
"One small boneless Andong jjimdak, and one cola, please."
"Sure. Want any booze?"
"No thanks, just the cola and one glass."
He ordered with Choi A-young's tastes in mind.
She loved boneless. Sweet drinks were her jam. Alcohol? Not a chance.
"Ahh, I'm wiped."
Exhaustion was written all over Choi A-young's face. She yawned and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
"That beat?"
"Yeah, stayed up all night reading and barely slept~"
"All night? How many hours?"
"Hmm, like 6? Maybe 7? Something like that~"
"Whoa! Over 6 hours? Impressive!"
"Nah, it's not that big a deal~"
Choi A-young shook her head.
"I read for a while, but the book's so tough I didn't get through much. Looking up every unknown word on my phone slowed me way down~"
Jin-seong thought Choi A-young was amazing.
He felt the gap in their capabilities.
'I thought my head was gonna explode after just 1 hour 30 minutes...'
He'd barely managed 30 pages.
'Looking up words on her phone while reading?'
Choi A-young read smart, using tools.
Jin-seong, on the other hand, read like a caveman—brute force all the way.
If he didn't get it, he'd reread until it clicked. Over and over.
'I really was a dumb pig.'
No more.
From today, he'd use tools for reading.
Benchmark Choi A-young's strategy completely.
"Oppa, how about we hit a quiet cafe tomorrow and read together~?"
"Ooh, nice idea. Let's do it."
"Hehe, perfect~ We'll read, grab something yummy, and play a round of Tekken at the arcade too~"
"Tekken might be..."
Mid-convo, the boneless jjimdak arrived.
They scarfed down their late-night grub, and he walked A-young to her place.
"Bye, oppa. See you tomorrow morning~"
"Yeah, get home safe."
"Oh, wait~"
Wait?
Choi A-young hurried over with quick steps.
She gave a shy smile.
Lifted onto her tiptoes. Pressed her lips to his cheek.
Mwah.
A kiss.
Choi A-young bolted inside like she was fleeing.
💕 Affection:4
[Inner Thoughts: Eek, sooo embarrassing.]
[Inner Thoughts: Next time, I hope oppa kisses me...]
Jin-seong chuckled.
He touched his cheek.
Choi A-young's kiss...
It made his heart flutter. Filled him with joy. Brought a smile to his face and a fresh, youthful vibe.
'See you tomorrow, A-young.'
The buses had stopped running.
No choice—he grabbed a taxi and slid into the back seat.
Pulled out his phone. Checked KakaoTalk from Lee Myung-ho.
You read?! Awesome!!!!! That's great. Outstanding.
Jin-seong, don't get too down about slow speed reading. It's not about how much you read—it's that you read at all.
Reading can be tough at first. But stick to your pace, keep at it steadily, and it'll get easier.
Ever hear of the rich get richer, poor get poorer? Reading and knowledge work the same way. The more you read and learn, the more you gain, widening the gap with those who don't.
Anyway, Jin-seong, fighting! Read lots of good books, build up that quality knowledge, and become an awesome person :)
A long message.
Full of goodwill and warmth.
'Thanks, man.'
It touched his heart.
Myung-ho hyung, thanks so much for the kind words. I'll read hard.
Tomorrow I'm reading at a cafe. Only got 30p today, but aiming for at least 60p tomorrow.
Reply came right away.
^^ Awesome plan. Fighting!!
Whoa, day off tomorrow? Cafe reading sounds amazing. So jealous.
I'm prepping for bed after work. Work's slammed, gotta go in tomorrow too.
Lee Myung-ho was a good guy.
He'd do right by him too.
Early morning. Met up with Choi A-young. Grabbed a hearty rib stew breakfast at a local spot, then found a quiet cafe.
"Two peach iced teas, please."
"Got it."
Drinks arrived.
They sat side by side. Opened their books. Dove in with full focus.
'No clue.'
Tough word right from the start.
Phone out. Looked it up. Checked the meaning.
Words that stumped him yesterday...
'Easy now.'
They weren't so bad anymore.
Tools dropped the difficulty from max to min.
Rinse and repeat.
Didn't know? Looked it up. Didn't get it? Reread till it sank in. Slow but steady.
Lost track of time.
"Ugh... my head..."
Throbbing headache.
Stopped reading.
'How much did I get?'
Checked the time. Exactly 1 hour 30 minutes in.
'38 pages.'
Yesterday's 1:30 got him just 30 pages.
Today: 38 pages. Up 8.
Speed reading efficiency up 21%.
And it wasn't just speed.
'Honestly, yesterday I barely followed...'
Looking up words made it click perfectly. No more blocks.
'Heh, nice. Real nice.'
Super satisfying.
Goal: min 60 pages. 22 left.
'Break, then back at it.'
Head hurt. Eyes blurry. Needed a rest.
Glanced at Choi A-young.
'She's incredible.'
Deeply immersed in her book.
Unlike him, sprawled out.
No sign of fatigue.
'Pretty. So cute.'
Admired her beauty for a good while.
How deeply was she immersed?
Choi A-young didn't even notice him staring, totally focused on reading.
'Break over.'
20 minutes rest. Mental energy restored.
Book open.
Slow but steady.
Sluggish but diligent.
Gave it his all.
Empty mind filling with knowledge, layer by layer.
Closed the book.
70 pages down.
10 over the 60-page goal.
'Two days total: 100 pages.'
Grinned contentedly.
Pride swelling beyond words.
'Huge leap.'
He'd only ever read comics before. Knocking out 70 pages of a real book? Insanely satisfying.
"So cute."
Looked over.
Choi A-young propped her chin, gazing at him. Honey practically dripping from her eyes and smile.
💕 Affection:5
[Inner Thoughts: Oppa looking all proud after reading is just too too cute.]
[Inner Thoughts: Everything he does with such effort—that's oppa's charm.]
They left the cafe.
Already lunchtime.
"Hungry?"
"Nah~ Breakfast was filling. Still good~"
Strolled through a park to clear their heads.
Held hands.
"Gonna read hard from now on."
"That's cool~. Seriously impressive~"
"Aw, it's not that impressive."
"It is~. And it's not just reading, right~? Job, workouts, now books too~?"
Even just work was no joke.
Work + workouts = exhaustion personified.
Work + workouts + reading = god-tier life.
"You're seriously amazing~. I gotta step up, take a page from oppa~"
"Thanks. Let's both grind."
Walked for a while.
"A-young, wanna hit the PC bang?"
A PC cafe caught his eye. Gaming itch after ages.