Life's been peaceful lately.
The festival and sports tournament are coming along smoothly.
Not that I'm doing much…
Classes are fine. Not like before when I'd get grilled with questions. Just normal. Kinda boring, though.
The one thing bugging me? Cross-dressing for the festival.
If it was just standing around in drag, fine, but I gotta serve drinks too…
Hope I don't get labeled as some cross-dressing weirdo and go viral. As long as that doesn't happen, I'm good…
My department friends keep things quiet, so it's probably fine. Still uneasy, though.
Why's it always OnlyFans or cross-dressing rumors with me?
"Sigh."
Three-hour break today.
Maybe hit the PC bang.
It's been a while since I had a chill break. Usually, I'm stuck at soccer or dodging delinquents.
Today, I'm gaming!
My go-to PC bang's this old, quiet spot in a corner.
Far from campus, specs aren't great, but it's empty, calm, and the staff guy's nice.
Perfect hideout for a quiet nerd like me.
Plus, their ramen's top-tier.
Eating alone at lunch always feels awkward, throat tightens up. But PC bang ramen with rice? Heaven. Yum. Just thinking about it's got me hyped.
I swung open the PC bang's door, feeling good.
My sanctuary! Bet the staff bro's here today.
"Yo, bro, what's—uh…"
The usual friendly staff guy wasn't there.
Instead, some random college girl sat at the counter, staring at her phone like she didn't care if customers showed up.
…Wait, she looks familiar…
Huh?
My brain froze.
Park… Ye-young?
Why's she here…?
"?"
Ye-young noticed me and looked up.
What's this loser doing, not coming in? Her face shifted to a creepy smirk.
What the hell. Joonhyung?
"Joonhyung? What's up?"
This… is a nightmare…
I froze solid, stuck in place.
Ye-young grinned, pulling out one AirPod.
"Here to game?"
Her "lol, loser" vibe killed my gaming mood.
…Should I bolt?
"What're you doing? Come in."
She grabbed me, pulling me inside with a friendly shove.
This is a dream. My sanctuary…!
"You come here a lot, huh?"
"Y-Yeah…"
Feels like that time I hid in the library from delinquents, only to find them there.
"Yo, nerd, you're here? Lol, we're reading too. Sit down!"
My blood ran cold…
"How long's your break?"
"T-Three hours."
"Nice. Plenty of time."
Plenty of time to mess with me, her face said. Damn it…
She threw an arm around me, her soft forearm wrapping my neck.
"Sit, sit. I'll hook you up. Why so stiff?"
If you had a delinquent boss, wouldn't you be stiff…?
Her arm dragged me to a seat, forcing me down.
My precious break time…
"Log in, log in."
Like going to karaoke with nerd friends, only to find a delinquent working there.
All hyped up, then everyone freezes.
That classic delinquent grin, like they just found something fun…
…Should I run?
If I leave, she'll chew me out for bailing.
Why's she working here? Why's she so annoyingly diligent?!
"You… work here? Didn't know."
"Just started. Short-term, filling gaps."
Y-Yeah… you're hustling. Doesn't suit you…
As I logged in, she smirked and went back to the counter.
Did she watch me log in to make sure I didn't bolt? No way…?
Screw it. Might as well play.
I've been into Cyphers and League lately. Both AOS games.
Came for Cyphers, but…
She'll probably call it some nerd game and get curious. I'll just play League.
As I logged in, a cup slammed onto my desk.
Purple, fizzy drink in a paper cup. What's this?
"Service."
"Huh?"
They don't do this here…
Looks like Fanta grape. Maybe.
"Thanks…"
"Yeah."
She smirked mysteriously and plopped into the seat next to me.
W-Why's she sitting here? Not going back to the counter? Cold sweat dripped.
"You… watching?"
"Yeah."
Why's that so obvious?
Damn it. Fun's ruined…
She kept typing on her phone, asking, "Ranked game? What's your tier?"
"I'm… Plat 1."
"Plat? You?"
Her eyes shot up from her phone.
Crap. She's interested.
"Wow, Joonhyung."
Like, didn't think a loser like you could game.
Lately, my brain's been clicking, and games are going well.
I used to bounce between Gold 1 and Plat 4, but now I'm tearing through Plat 1!
Might hit Emerald soon. Never been close before…!
"Almost Emerald, huh?"
"Y-Yeah?"
I was planning on a normal game.
I slid my cursor to normal mode.
No way I'm playing ranked next to her. I'd get wrecked…!
As I clicked normal, her face went cold.
"What's that?"
"Huh?"
"Not playing ranked?"
Damn it… she was watching.
"Just… warming up my hands."
She put her phone away, sliding her chair closer. What's this guy doing?
I'm screwed…
"Don't you warm up in ARAM?"
…
You… play League too, huh…
She grinned wickedly, throwing her arm around me again.
"Queue ranked."
"M-Maybe one ARAM first…"
"Queue it."
She grabbed my hand, forcing the mouse to ranked. Click, click, click…
Ugh… this is a nightmare…
*Ding!* The cheerful ranked queue sound started. It's a dream… a dream…
"I won't mess with you."
Sure, her "lol, why so scared" face says otherwise.
I wiped my face and put my glasses back on. Fine. One loss won't kill me. I'll climb back!
"Gonna smoke."
She grabbed her cigarettes and headed to the smoking room.
…Should I run? I could escape now, right?
Never coming back here… damn it…
"…"
Through the yellowed glass, I saw her puffing away in the smoking room.
Those dead delinquent eyes…
She looks even more like a delinquent now.
This place is dead quiet already, but she'll scare off every nerd customer!
"Ugh."
She chain-smoked, stretched, and came back.
Plopped right next to me, like it's her spot.
That Esse Change cigarette smell wafted over. Ugh…
"Not drinking?"
"H-Huh?"
You gave it to me, but how do I know you didn't spit in it?
She chugged her own cup.
Guess she didn't spit… probably.
*Spit.*
She hocked into her empty cup.
Classic smoker habit, but it made me imagine her spitting into food orders with a scowl. No way I'm ordering ramen…
*Growl.*
…
She didn't hear that, right? You oblivious jerk…! Not here!
But no luck—she was smirking at me.
"Hungry?"
"N-No?"
Not hungry at all. For real.
"It's lunchtime. Came to eat ramen, right?"
You a mind reader too?
I shook my head desperately, but it was pointless.
She grinned, spitting into her cup again.
Feels intentional…
"Noona'll cook you ramen."
She flipped her hair, giving a weird look.
"Super tasty."
…Sounds bad. In every way…
---
Back at her place, In-ha flopped onto the floor.
Her brown hair fanned out.
She blinked, staring at the ceiling.
"At least a million won."
Maybe 1.5 or 2 million for some wiggle room.
Running out of cash on a trip would suck. Gotta have extra.
"Sigh…"
Such a hassle.
Classes and department life are rough enough, now a job?
Weekends full-time or weekday evenings. Maybe both.
"Job…"
Her face filled with sighs.
Searched online, but nothing good.
Semester's start snatched up the good spots, leaving scraps.
No short evening or weekend gigs.
"Coupang…"
Sounds brutal.
Working at a warehouse for a trip? Insane.
Cafe jobs…
No short-term ones.
Franchises are mostly out, except maybe late-night convenience stores. Even those are rough.
"Sigh…"
Money's the problem…
Gas and maintenance costs are killer.
In-ha frowned, scrolling.
Can't back out of the trip now.
Her finger stopped.
"High-paying… job?"
[Short-term job! Easy money! High income! Short or long-term OK!]
[Contact: Telegram xx57x357#s]
[Same-day, short-term, or long-term available]
◆ Beginners OK
◆ No experience needed
◆ Long-term preferred
◆ Men or women OK ◆ Women preferred
◆ No age limit ◆ Adults welcome
◆ Daily pay: 300,000 to 700,000 won
What's this? A scam?
She licked her lips, reading.
Heard caddying at golf courses pays well… something like that?
Why's the pay so high?
She rubbed her forehead.
If it's sketchy, I'll just bail.
She opened Telegram, found the number.
*Ring…*
Biting her nails, she waited.
Hope it's legit… Coupang's too intense.
*Click.* The call connected, and she shot up, eyes wide.
"Hi, calling about the job posting."
"Oh, hi. How old are you?"
"Twenty."
"College student? Female?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"I'll send the address. Can you come for a quick interview?"
"Interview?"
They do interviews?
Seems legit.
She hesitated, then answered.
"Yeah, send it. I'll come."
"Cool, I'll send it. See you then!"
"Alright…!"
Sounds okay?
About to hang up, she added, "What's the job exactly?"
Gotta know if it's weird…
"Just errands and stuff.
Maybe errands, maybe assistant work. Depends on the day."
"Like an assistant?"
"Yup."
"Got it."
Errands? Assistant work?
She hung up, blinking. If it's at least 200,000 a day, five days gets it done. Sweet.
"Hmm…"
Feels a bit off…
But if it's weird, she'll dip. No big deal.
In-ha tossed her phone and started stripping. Time for a shower.