Ervin trained for the rest of the day. Hours passed as Han Joon-seong moved through calisthenics routines, pushing his body to its limits. The burn was constant, the sweat pouring off him in rivers. But the progress was undeniable.
By the time eight o'clock rolled around, Han Joon-seong was exhausted. His muscles ached, his breathing was heavy, and his clothes were soaked through. But he had gained significant experience.
Ervin decided it was enough for the day. He commanded Han Joon-seong to stop, shower, and go to bed.
Han Joon-seong lay down, and sleep took him.
---
The system interface flickered to life.
[[System]
Player: Ervin Mandor
Character 1; Han Joon‑seong
[Characteristics:
Adaptation(Perfect)
Talent(Perfect)
Auto Pilot(Perfect)
Money(Perfect|Middle‑class)
Intuition (Lvl. 1)
Looks(Lvl. 5)
Speed(Lvl. 4)(21/80)
Strength (Lvl. 6)(7/320)
Endurance (Lvl. 5)(69/160)
Vigor (Lvl. 5)(31/160)
Intelligence (Lvl. 3)(31/40)
[Fighting|Muay Thai (Lvl. 1)]
[Tasks: None]]
The store materialized beside it.
[[Showing Store]
[Strengthening pills:
Looks — [SOLD OUT]
Speed
Strength
Endurance
Vigor
Intelligence
Cost: 30 points each
Description: Strengthening Pills Level up a Characteristic by 1 when consumed]
[Weakening Pills:
Speed
Strength
Endurance
Vigor
Intelligence
Cost: 20 Points each
Description: Weakening Pills Decrease a Characteristic by 1 for 24h when consumed]
[Fight Styles:
Street Dog Fighting Style - 150 Points
Kickboxing Fight Style - 150 Points
Boxing Fight Style - 150 Points
Karate Fight Style - 150 points
Muay Thai Fight Style - 150 Points
Taekwondo Fight Style - 150 Points
[...]]
[Misc:
Character File - 250 points.
Recovery Pill - 100
Characteristic Card - 200]
[[Tasks Available:
[Containment — Find and Defeat the Criminals in Lee Hye-jin's school. Reward: 50 Points]]]
---
Ervin stared at the new task, raising his imaginary eyebrows. But before assessing it, he first looked at today's gains — 6 points in Strength, 4 in Vigor, 5 in Endurance, 6 in Speed, and 3 in Intelligence. A solid day's work.
'Just from doing calisthenics? That's incredible. This is way more efficient than weightlifting.'
He smiled, pleased with his discovery. Then his eyes drifted back to the new mission.
[Containment — Find and Defeat the Criminals in Lee Hye-jin's school. Reward: 50 Points.]
His expression grew serious.
'Criminals in Lee Hye-jin's school? A university? That's supposed to be a place for scholars and students. Even there, there are criminals? This city really is completely rotten.'
He thought about it for a moment. 'It shouldn't be too difficult. These aren't gangsters in a fortified base. They're probably just petty criminals hiding out in a university. Nothing too serious.'
Based on his Intuition, the actual dangerous criminals would be stationed in their own headquarters working on their operations, so for the university to have some criminals, they would actually only be fodder.
He nodded to himself. 'Alright. I can handle this tomorrow. But first... where exactly is the university again? I've never actually looked for it.'
He paused, realizing he had no idea where Lee Hye-jin's school was located. He had never needed to know before.
He let out a small sigh. 'I'll ask Lee Hye-jin tomorrow. I'll figure it out then.'
He settled in for the night, crossing his imaginary arms.
---
The next morning, Ervin directed Han Joon-seong to open his phone.
He scrolled through his messages. The last exchange with Lee Hye-jin had been two days ago. He stared at the screen, a flicker of guilt passing through him.
He had been the one who usually started their conversations. But since yesterday, he had gotten distracted with the counterfeit operation, then with the investigation, and his training. A full day had passed without him sending her a single message.
'Damn. I usually start the conversations, but I spent a whole day distracted and didn't message her. She probably thinks I'm ignoring her. Gotta correct that.'
He felt a light pang of guilt.
'Right. Let's do this.'
He typed out a simple message:
"Hi. How are you?"
---
Meanwhile, in a small apartment in another part of the city, Lee Hye-jin was going through her morning routine.
She had woken up early, made herself a cup of coffee, and toasted a slice of bread. She spread butter on it and placed it on a plate beside a frying pan where an egg was sizzling.
While the egg cooked, she vacuumed the floor. But she did so with dead, mechanical movements, her eyes vacant. She stared at the ground without really seeing it, her mind somewhere else entirely.
She had been feeling guilty since the meeting with Choi Yuna. She felt like she had lied to Han Joon-seong — or at least, she hadn't told him the truth. And while he had shown no signs of anger, he was always so polite, so composed, that she couldn't tell if he was genuinely okay or just being polite to her.
'What if he's mad at me?' she thought. 'What if he thinks I betrayed him? What if he doesn't want to talk to me anymore? He hasn't messaged me in a whole day. He's totally mad at me isn't he? Aaah Hye-jin, why must you be like that!'
Her mind spiraled. She replayed their last conversation, searching for any sign that she had said something wrong.
She was so lost in her spiraling thoughts that when her phone buzzed, she nearly dropped the vacuum.
She fumbled for the device, her heart already racing. She glanced at the screen.
Han Joon-seong.
Her heart beating thrice the speed. Her hands trembled as she unlocked the phone and read the message.
"Hi. How are you?"
She stared at the screen, her mind going blank. 'Oh god. Oh god. What do I say?! Okay, calm down. Just calm down. Think. What should I respond?'
She started typing: "Hi! I'm good, how are you?"
She stared at it. 'That's too casual. That's way too casual. Delete delete delete.'
She tried again: "Heyy, I'm sorry about the thing with that executive girl, I shouldn't have done that. I'm a terrible person—"
She stopped. 'No. That's too guilty. That's way too guilty. I don't want him to think I'm so pathetic...'
She tried a third message: "Hi! I was actually just thinking about you. I'm good! How are you? Sorry I didn't message—"
She deleted that one too. 'Ugh! Why is this so hard?!'
She started a fourth message. Then a fifth. Each one was typed, stared at, and deleted. Her frustration grew with each attempt. Finally, she set the phone down on the table like it was a cursed artifact, stepped back a few paces, and put her hands over her face.
"Just respond, you idiot!" she muttered to herself. "Just say something! Anything!"
She took a deep breath, walked back to the phone, and typed a simple response:
"Good morning."
She sent it before she could second-guess herself again.
---
Back at Han Joon-seong's apartment, Ervin stared at the reply.
'Aaah man, she's totally mad I haven't replied in a day, that's pretty cut and dry. Such a hassle~,' Ervin thought. 'Uh, but I really do hope she's not mad at me after a day of not messaging.'
He typed back, trying to sound casual:
"Sorry I didn't message you yesterday. I got distracted with some things. How have you been?"
---
Lee Hye-jin saw the reply and felt her heart flutter.
'He apologized! He said he was distracted! He's not mad at me!'
She quickly typed back, her fingers moving faster now:
"I've been good! Just busy with classes and things. Don't worry about it, I understand. What were you doing that was so distracting?"
---
Ervin saw the response and smiled. 'She seems okay. Good. I don't want her to be upset with me.'
He typed back:
"Just some work stuff. Nothing too interesting. Hey, I was actually wondering — I've never been to your university before. Would it be okay if I visited sometime?"
---
Lee Hye-jin read the message and her heart nearly stopped.
'He wants to visit me! He wants to come to my university!'
She couldn't believe it. After all her worrying, after all her guilt and stress, that message felt like a full body cleanse. She almost ascended to heaven on the spot. Better yet! He wanted to see her. He wanted to spend time with her.
And in all honesty, she too wanted an excuse to be with him more than anything.
So with her fingers trembling, she typed:
"Of course! That would be great! When were you thinking?"
---
Ervin responded:
"How about today? I'm free. I could come by in the afternoon, if that works for you?"
---
Lee Hye-jin stared at the screen, a wide grin spreading across her face.
'Today! He wants to come today!'
She quickly typed:
"Yes! Yes, that works! I'll send you the address. See you later!"
She pressed send, then let out a long, relieved breath. Her face was still red, but now it was a happy red. She hugged her phone to her chest, feeling like a teenager with a crush.
She was so happy she didn't even notice the egg had burned while she was distracted.
But then her eyes snapped open. "Aah! I'm a grown woman, damnit! Get a hold on Hye-jin!" She grabbed the vacuum and resumed her routine, but while she did, she couldn't help but think:
'This is going to be wonderful,' she thought, already planning what to wear.
---
Back at Han Joon-seong's apartment, Ervin looked at the address Lee Hye-jin had sent. He committed it to memory.
'Well. That's sorted. I'll visit her university today, check out the situation, and see if I can find those criminals. Should be easy enough.'
He pocketed the phone and prepared to leave.