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Translator: penny
Chapter: 002
Chapter Title: My First Gacha Pull and the Married Noona Next Door
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My heart started pounding like mad.
How was I supposed to take in this unbelievable phenomenon? Whether the info on Lee Eun-chae was accurate or not didn't matter right now.
'I just thought about her in my head and tapped, and she actually popped up?'
Even as ragged breaths escaped from my excitement, my eyes and hands naturally gravitated toward what came next.
Now I was at least... no, over 90% convinced this ridiculous app was the real deal. I had no choice but to believe it.
This was nothing like those 'guess the number you're thinking of' magic tricks that went viral on the internet back in the day. How could I not believe it?
Once I had that conviction, one question popped up about the content itself.
'Why's her favorability at 55?'
Clicking on the favorability brought up 'Favorability toward user' and '55/100'. This was her favorability toward me, capped at 100.
But the number was higher than I'd expected. Eun-chae and I had teamed up for group projects a couple of times, but otherwise, we were just casual acquaintances with no real connection.
I let that slide for now. I had no idea what a typical favorability was for a regular acquaintance, so dwelling on it was pointless.
"Please keep this part in mind. Next..."
The professor kept droning on with the lecture, but not a single word made it to my ears. I had zero interest in the class anymore.
I wasn't the type to obsess over grades anyway, and nothing could be more important than this app right now.
I blew through the lecture with one ear and launched the random gacha with bated breath and sky-high expectations.
This time, it split into a [1x] slot and a [10x] slot on either side. Just like any mobile game—single pull or 10-pull.
"Ha."
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it, and I clamped my mouth shut, flinching in my seat.
The app was based on the sex and pleasure I'd input at the start as its reward system. I might not know about the sex part yet, but the pleasure? I was already feeling it big time.
If this turned out to be some prank app screwing with me, I'd be down for at least a month straight. But somehow, the conviction that it was real filled my heart.
Brimming with puffed-up anticipation, I tapped the 1x gacha. An alert message popped up right away.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Cheering on the user's first gacha pull. Basic reward is an N-rank card. Low chance for R-rank to SSR-rank cards. For each app level, the first gacha guarantees 100% SR-rank or higher. Would you like to use your free 1x gacha?
I hit 'Yes' without a second's hesitation.
A light flashed instantly, and a slow, bright effect rose from the center of the screen. They even had a skip button in the corner—another chuckle escaped me.
And then.
"Oh?"
A brilliant purple light flooded the screen. At least SR-rank or higher vibes. It had said the first one was guaranteed SR or above, after all.
Fireworks popped along the sides, the glow faded gradually, and a rectangular card shape emerged.
I barely calmed my chest about to burst and waited. Moments later, the purple card came into view, along with its rank and name smack in the center.
🎁 SSR RANK! 🎁SSR: Unwavering Affection
"Holy shit!"
The curse slipped out before I knew it, and I ducked my head, scanning around. Luckily, no one was paying attention. No close friends in this lecture.
I stared back at the glowing card on screen. First off, I was thrilled. No clue how many cards there were or what they did, but SSR—top rank.
A free single pull dropping SSR right away almost made me doubt the app again, but even mobile games pulled that off sometimes.
I tapped the card, which was pulsing bigger and smaller like it was begging to be clicked.
Target's favorability rises to 90 and locks at minimum 90. Takes priority over other card effects. Not reduced by N: Favorability cards.
Straightforward, intuitive explanation below the card.
Seemed too simple for top rank, but locking someone at high favorability made sense in its own way.
Bonus: learned the basic normal card was a 'Favorability' one.
Anyway, I was dying to know what it'd do. I nearly dove straight into [Target Info], but stopped my hand.
'Testing on a classmate... kinda risky.'
Ethics?
Not even on my radar. With power like this, it'd be weird not to want to use it on people around you.
Just practical human relations holding me back.
Eun-chae had her circle at uni, I had mine. And we weren't freshmen—we were sophomores.
If this card actually made her fall for me, dealing with the fallout from her sudden attitude shift would be a hassle. Especially without knowing exactly how it'd play out.
So, better to test on a stranger. Needed more good deed points for that, though—time to check how those accumulated.
I fidgeted, counting down the minutes till the hour was up.
"That's all for today's lecture."
-Whoosh!
I shot out of my seat the second class ended and bolted from the room. More lectures later? Not today.
I prowled the campus with fire in my eyes, pondering what counted as a 'good deed'. Dictionary-wise, virtuous and kind actions—like the volunteer work I'd always done.
Volunteering was easy with my connections, but not on short notice.
'Does it have to be something that grand?'
Felt like no. It didn't make sense that only big, time-sink deeds counted.
"Hey? Sun-ha, where you headed? Makeup physics or whatever."
"Skip it. My mental health would shatter."
"Physics doesn't do makeup, dude. You'll get caught."
"Tomorrow's me can handle the small stuff."
"You're insane. Oh, right. Volunteering this week?"
"Not going... wait, no. Maybe. Dunno."
"Huh. Well, good luck."
"Yo, hold up."
I called back Kim Ji-hoon, a classmate from Urban Sociology who'd just passed by after chatting.
With trembling hands, I showed him the Good Deed Gacha App's main UI.
"What do you see on the screen?"
"...? Screen broken? No cracks."
"Not the screen."
"Black screen. What'm I looking at? Light bleed? Nah."
"Good if you can't see it. Hit me up if there's volunteer stuff we can do together?"
"Appreciate it. Oh, there's one more spot besides me. Two cool?"
"It's volunteering, not a gig. More hands, better."
No idea why he was suddenly into volunteering, but we made the promise and parted.
My heart was thumping so hard I thought I'd hurl. He wasn't the type to prank about not seeing something that was right there.
App conviction boosted, I scanned for people who looked like they needed help. Building areas over walkways, targeting profs and TAs.
Whenever I spotted trash on the path, I'd pick it up and bin it. No change in good deed points after a few, but it was the only thing to do.
This had to count as a good deed.
About 10 minutes of that, and I figured campus wasn't the spot for needing help.
Better to hit the subway station and assist elders with heavy loads.
No plans for more classes anyway. As I left campus, I picked up trash at the gate one last time and tossed it.
-Bzzz
Phone vibrated. Heart leaped—checked immediately.
Good Deed Points +1 acquired
"Knew it. Even little things count as good deeds."
A grin tugged at my lips. At this rate, points wouldn't be hard to farm.
Finding real 'help needed' situations was trickier than expected, so gathering test points this way was best for now.
And streets had way more trash than campus grounds.
"Gonna scour every scrap."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I didn't hunt trash on the way home from ditching campus.
Just binned what I saw en route, helped a grandma struggling up subway stairs with her load midway.
That little got me 9p by home.
Even clean-looking streets were littered once I really scanned.
Roughly 20 pieces for 1p—how'd I hit 8p? Citizens had some awareness, at least.
Hauling grandma's stuff up the stairs solo netted a full 1p. Generous compared to trash.
Probably bonus for helping people directly.
Planning to drop my bag and head out again, I shrugged off the missing 1p and hustled back to my studio building.
At the entrance.
A figure crouched, gathering scattered fruits and items.
"Ugh... what a mess..."
The tight knit top and jeans combo looked familiar. The neighbor lady from this morning. Torn plastic by the non-woven shopping bag explained it.
Perfect—I crouched beside her and started picking up.
"Oh?"
"Let me help."
"Thanks."
She beamed warmly from her seat, and ridiculously, my lower half twitched. I smiled back, but her grin outdid mine.
That innocent face paired with cozy charm was killer.
Plus, sitting crushed her knees against those breasts—insanely violent. The softness looked like it'd swallow my fingers, even over clothes.
"Third floor, right?"
I averted my eyes and tossed light chatter. We'd never spoken till now, but starting convos was easy.
The app's existence just amped my boldness.
"Yeah. You're the student next door?"
"Yep. Seen your face around but first time saying hi."
"Really~?"
I'd logged over a thousand volunteer hours. Tons of people interactions honed my vibe-reading and convo-steering skills.
Put simply, great social sense.
She didn't seem uptight, so I slipped in a casual question.
"Sorry if it's rude, but are you married? Seen that handsome guy with you a lot—always looked super happy together."
"Hehe, Yoon-ho would love hearing that. Yeah, my husband."
Even mid-pickup, my hubby praise lit her up like a kid. Her wholesome reaction stirred something naughty inside me.
But she lived too close for testing. And married—extra caution.
No more strays around, so I stood.
"I'll carry to your door. Let's head up."
"What'll I do with all this thanks~?"
"No biggie."
Thanks for the points, though. Hope this nets 1p.
We rode the elevator to the third floor.
"Wait here a sec. Drop what you're holding first."
"Sure~ Be right out."
First real talk today—inviting me in might feel off.
While waiting at the door, she went in, came back, and took the fruits from my arms.
"Apple? It's all I got."
"Nah, I'm good. Uh... since we're chatting, I'll say hi next time I see you."
"Hehe, sounds good. Neighbors actually talking—been a while~. I'm Joo Ga-young."
"Ah, Lee Sun-ha. Twenty-one this year."
"Jealous~ so young."
"Nah, noona... mind if I call you that?"
"Fine by me~ Noona, huh... hehehe."
She seemed bored, keen to chat, so banter flowed easy.
Didn't expect full intros, but her leading made it perfect. Good to build rapport early.
We stood in the hall trading small talk. Age gap and her friendly vibe let her drop formalities quick.
"Married young? You don't look a day over late twenties."
"Aw~ It's been four years already?"
"Four years? Wow... You moved in mid-last year, right? Why a studio?"
"Won the housing lottery—move-in next year~. Old lease extension was iffy, so temp spot."
"Gotcha... Sorry for prying. Just curious."
"Hehe, no worries~ Room's spacious here anyway."
The more we chatted, the more I wanted to mess with Ga-young noona flaunting those massive tits. They jiggled subtly with every breath—mesmerizing.
Barely held back the urge to slap a card on her. No rush.
All my wild fantasies could wait post-test.
"Gotta run—got plans."
"Sorry for holding you~ Thanks for the help. See ya."
"Yeah, noona. Next time, introduce me to... hyung? Hubby?"
"Will do, hehe."
Ga-young noona headed in. I dumped my bag and stepped out again.
Good Deed Points +1 acquired
The phone message made me smile.