Episode 60

 

Haeun had no idea what the connection was between not celebrating Seongjae’s birthday and going together to pick a gift for his sister. Besides, Seongjae and Haeun weren’t even close enough to celebrate birthdays in the first place. It was ridiculous that Seongjae was making an issue of not celebrating his past birthday just because they’d gotten a bit closer.

 

‘Next he’ll ask why I didn’t attend his first birthday celebration?’

 

Though Haeun was laying out such complaints internally, now wasn’t the time to argue about rationality. If he said what he was thinking, it would only hurt feelings. There was no need to get into a squabble with Seongjae. Even if it was a bit of a headache, it was better to manage affection levels carefully while dealing with this sudden event.

 

Haeun sighed deeply, closed the KaTalk window, and opened the “U-Idol” application. It was to check the affection levels of all characters for once.

 

[Current Affection Levels]

Seongjae: 41/100

Ilhyun: 30/100

Junwoo: 11/100

Yejun: 39/100

Gyowon: 18/100

 

Looking at the numbers added worry rather than resolving his dilemma. First, Seongjae, whose affection rose easily, still had the highest level. His affection dropped easily too, but raising it was just as simple.

 

With Ilhyun, showing a diligent side seemed to maintain a decent relationship. There hadn’t been any special events or occasions to raise his affection, but thanks to working hard recently, his affection level seemed to be maintained at a reasonable level.

 

As for Junwoo, considering how long he’d been playing the game, the number was miserable. Still barely over 10—at this rate, achieving the clear condition was questionable. Junwoo wasn’t even involved in this sudden event. It probably meant he didn’t have enough affection to meet the requirements…

 

Meanwhile, Yejun’s number was quite high despite missing each other several times due to scheduling conflicts. It was even higher than Ilhyun’s. Instead of dropping after being rejected, had it actually increased due to persistence? Still, without some event soon, his affection would likely start declining. The dilemma was deepening.

 

Finally, Gyowon wasn’t involved in this sudden event either—perhaps because they’d been interacting frequently lately, or maybe because he hadn’t reached the affection threshold—but he was showing a notable number. 

 

Given the shock of seeing negative numbers early on, even a score below 20 looked quite high. It felt like just yesterday when their eyes meeting would trigger a minus notification, but now it was a double-digit plus—quite moving.

 

Anyway, checking the numbers hadn’t really helped decide who to choose. After contemplating, Haeun decided to send another probing message to Seongjae. His instinct was that Seongjae would be the most persistent, so the side effects of rejecting him would be the greatest—he wanted to see how significant those might be.

 

(Rabbit emoticon scratching its head)

Hey why is your birthday coming up now lol

But tomorrow specifically is kind of…ㅠ

 

[Seongjae]

Why tomorrow specifically

 

A reply came immediately. Now’s the chance! Instead of answering, Haeun quickly reopened the U-Idol application. While notifications would appear directly if they were together in person, since they were chatting via messages now, he needed to open the app to see affection changes.

 

[Current Affection Level]

Seongjae: 35/100

 

Haeun closed his mouth even though he wasn’t about to say anything out loud. He hadn’t even actually refused—just said “tomorrow is kind of…ㅠ” but the affection level dropped by 6. At this rate, a full rejection might cut the affection level in half.

 

Hmm no lol maybe it’ll work

 

After sending another reply, he watched as 1 disappeared and checked the affection level again. 39. Though not as high as initially, it had almost recovered. Haeun came to a conclusion: he definitely shouldn’t reject Seongjae’s invitation.

 

‘So tomorrow I’ll go gift shopping with Seongjae… Do I need to do something on Sunday too?’

 

Haeun fell into contemplation while looking at the chat windows. As he wracked his brain, a sense of fatigue washed over him. Couldn’t he just create a group chat with all three participants in this sudden event and let them coordinate schedules themselves? Something like a ladder game function would be perfect for deciding.

 

『That’s absurd thinking ( ´_ゝ｀)…』

 

Seeing the system notification, Haeun narrowed his eyes. How is the system reading my thoughts… If this was truly programmed artificial intelligence, it would be a victory for civilization. That subtly disdainful emoticon effectively irritated Haeun.

 

[Yejun]

(Brown puppy smiling emoticon)

I was wondering if we could finally make plans this time

 

(Rabbit emoticon giving thumbs up)

➥ How about Sunday?

 

Although meeting people two days in a row would be tiring, it would be worth it if it helped maintain affection levels. Haeun finished typing the message and pressed send.

 

‘Why isn’t it working?’

 

This time he even included an emoticon.

 

『Professional idols need proper rest! Be satisfied with dating just one person! d(*´▽`*)b　♪』

 

‘But I can handle it!’

 

Though Haeun protested internally, the system that had been responding to his thoughts with uncanny accuracy remained silent this time. It seemed that despite the appearance of freedom, important content like sudden events had rules that needed to be followed. While he would have accepted this naturally when it was just a mobile game, in the current situation it was frustrating.

 

ㅠㅠ I have something this weekend so…

 

Having no choice, he rewrote the message content. He had thought he could manage all three people by filling in his schedule like Tetris, but it wasn’t to be.

Haeun was about to add his usual crying emoticon but hesitated. Yejun had gone out of his way to include an emoticon he didn’t normally use, so rejecting him with a recycled emoticon might seem insincere. Since he was planning to buy new emoticons anyway, he decided to look for a new one for this occasion.

 

(Sad-looking cat emoticon) 

ㅠㅠ I have something this weekend… I’m sorry you made time for me

 

The newly purchased cat emoticon was titled “Pitiful Kitty 2.” He chose it because he liked how it made various pitiful expressions befitting its name. It would be perfect for future situations requiring apologies. Perhaps seeing this cat’s pitiful expression would soften Yejun’s heart…

 

Seongjae hyung is taking me to buy his sister’s birthday gift tomorrow

 

Next, he messaged Ilhyun. Fortunately, Ilhyun wasn’t proposing to eat together or go shopping, but offering to help practice for the broadcast, which made it easier to decline. Unlike with Yejun, he could also mention his plans with Seongjae.

 

[Ilhyun]

Ah, right… I think Seonghee noona’s birthday is coming up soon

 

Ilhyun replied promptly. He even seemed to know that Seongjae’s sister was named Seonghee. If they were that close, why didn’t Seongjae take Ilhyun instead? No matter how he thought about it, it felt like he’d been dragged into this mistakenly.

 

But he wants to go with you?

 

Though he didn’t add anything else, Ilhyun seemed puzzled by this too. Haeun couldn’t honestly say that he was a BL dating sim player and Seongjae was a character to pursue, which was why this situation had developed. 

Well, events with actual “romantic feelings” typically start after reaching 70-80 affection, so Seongjae probably didn’t have such intentions when choosing Haeun. He was likely just following the game system.

Haeun glossed over these long, complicated thoughts in one sentence:

 

Yeah I think he wants to use me as a pack mule;

 

Ilhyun didn’t press the issue. If only Seongjae could adopt even a little of Ilhyun’s demeanor. The conversation with Ilhyun concluded with a kind offer to call him if needed.

Meanwhile, in Yejun’s KaTalk room, the notification “1” disappeared, but no reply came immediately. Is he busy? Or perhaps quite upset?

 

[Current Affection Levels]

Seongjae: 46/100

Ilhyun: 30/100

Junwoo: 9/100

Yejun: 36/100

Gyowon: 18/100

 

Checking immediately, he found that Seongjae’s affection had risen considerably, Ilhyun’s remained the same, and Yejun’s had decreased slightly. Thankfully, despite the rejection, Yejun’s affection hadn’t fallen much. Though it seemed he’d made the right choice, he still felt uneasy.

‘Meanwhile, this jerk Junwoo…’

 

He wasn’t even involved in the event and they hadn’t exchanged a single word, so why had his affection level dropped? Did he suddenly develop resentment toward Haeun while holed up in his room? He was definitely the most frustrating character to pursue.

 

Seongjae had left a notification-style KaTalk message saying they should head out early tomorrow morning. Haeun almost cursed out loud but kept his irritation inside, thinking someone might hear him.

 

While taking a breather, he checked his chat with Gyowon again. About 10 minutes after he had sent “Wait a sec plz,” a two-character reply had arrived from Gyowon.

 

[Kim Gyowon]

Ok

 

Always so terse.

 

Though all he’d done was make and reject plans, it had already been about 30 minutes since Gyowon’s reply arrived. Haeun browsed through his newly purchased pitiful cat emoticons and selected one with a sad expression waving its hand.

 

(Pitiful cat waving hand emoticon)

I’m back lol

I bought new emoticons

 

With tension released, Haeun flopped down on his bed. What should he wear tomorrow… And what kind of gift should he help pick for Seongjae’s sister? As he pondered these questions, the faces of his own family members came to mind.