Travis and So-Yeon slipped out of the school premises and made their way to her car, the te afternoon sun casting long shadows on the pavement. The inside of her car smelled faintly of vanil aher, and as she started the engine, a soft hum of music filled the space. The drive was smooth, the city passing by in a blur of neon signs and fading daylight.

  Before long, they arrived at a local bar—clearly a familiar haunt for So-Yeon. It wasn’t overly crowded, just the right mix of rowdy and rexed. The warm lighting and lingering st of alcohol and smoke gave it a slightly worn-ihe kind of pce people came to drown stress or celebrate the little things.

  As soon as they walked in, the bartender and a couple of patrons greeted her with casual familiarity. A menu was hao her without her even asking, and she gave a small nod of thanks before leading Travis toward the back. She took a seat with her back against the wall, while Travis leaned fortably beside her. The angle gave her a clear view of the entire bar, but it also let her keep a subtle, unreadable expression.

  She sighed, flipping open the menu before sliding another ooward him.

  “Man, I’m getting drunk tonight,” she decred, her tone carrying the kind of exhaustion that only long, frustrating days could bring. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, “But not too drunk that I ’t wake up tomorrow. Still gotta get my paycheck before I leave.”

  Travis gnced up from the menu, brow slightly raised. “So you’re still w, even with everything going on?”

  “Pretty much,” she said, eyes sing the drink list. “But don’t worry, I’ll probably skip a few csses here and there.” A pyful smirk tugged at her lips as she looked at him. “If you’re not busy, you and I hang out… privately. If you get what I’m saying.”

  She punctuated it with a wink, teasing, testing.

  Travis froze for a sed, processing her words before his face twisted in mild fusion.

  So-Yeon burst into ughter. “Oh my god, you should’ve seen your face.” She shook her head, still chug. “Rex, I’m not fug my student. I won’t be like that dumb whore who somehow still has her job.”

  Travis bli the sudden shift in versation, watg as she leaned back with a knowing smirk.

  “It’s probably because she fucked the chairman,” she tiwirling a strand of her hair between her fingers. “Haven’t firmed it, but wouldn’t be surprised. Plus, she’s loaded. Must have a lot of es or whatever.”

  Travis let her words sink in, studying the way she spoke so freely, uninhibited, despite not having had a single dri.

  ‘She hasn’t even started drinking, but she’s already rambling,’ he mused, watg the slight glint in her eye. ‘I like that though. I’m not the one trolling everything. It kinda tells me how ied she is in me.’

  A quick mental check brought up the numbers:

  Love: 5

  I: 30

  Lust: 2

  ‘Oh, that’s new. I haven’t even done much. But the protagonist got the same rea. If I remember right, he fucked her in the very first chapter.’

  His fiapped lightly against the menu, a small smirk f as he thought, ‘I should have the same odds… if I py my cards right.’

  The two ordered food, their table quickly filling with ptes of sizzlis, fragrant rice, and an assortment of side dishes. The rich aroma of grilled beef mixed with the faint tang of alcohol in the air as they ate. Travis took a sip of his drink, the cold liquid sliding down his throat, but no warmth bloomed in his chest, no light-headedness clouded his mind. He could drink endlessly and still feel nothing.

  That wasn’t normal.

  He knew deep down he wasn’t like other people. He wasn’t even sure if he was human at all. The thought didn’t disturb him as much as it should—it was more of a lingering curiosity, an itch he had yet to scratch.

  Whenever he was in the sun, his body seemed te with vitality. He could be on the verge of exhaustion, but the sed sunlight touched his skin, it was like a battery being smmed into a charger. His strength returned instantly, his mind cleared, his body reset. It wasn’t just refreshing—it was unnatural.

  'Kryptonian?' he had once sidered. But he didn’t have heat vision, couldn’t fly, and there was no sudden urge to lift a car over his head. That theory was dead on arrival.

  Still, there had to be a way to test his limits.

  'I should test it out. What better way than to pluo my death from the tallest building iy?'

  It was a reckless idea, ohat made the ers of his lips twit amusement, but a part of him wasn’t joking.

  Meanwhile, So-Yeon was clearly enjoying his pany. She ughed at even his dumbest jokes, her giggles light and genuine, and that was before she’d gotten tipsy. As the alcohol settled in, she became even middy, swaying slightly as she reached for another drink, her smile lingering on her lips a little longer. Her eyes sparkled uhe dim lights of the bar, and the way she leaoward him, her fingers brushing his arm whenever she spoke, made it clear she was fortable—maybe too fortable.

  Time passed, the golden hues of su fading into the deep blues of the evening sky. The city outside the bar’s window was now bathed in neon lights, the streets buzzing with people moving like streams of color. Travis g his pho was getting te.

  “Hey, it’s getting te. Let’s go,” he said, pushing back his chair and standing up.

  “Yeah, it really is, huh? ’t wait to go bae and masturbate,” she said with a zy grin before bursting into ughter.

  Travis blinked, his lips twitg in amusement.

  “I’m kidding,” she giggled, then leaned in slightly. “You’ll be helpih that.”

  He chuckled, shaking his head as he pulled out his wallet and paid the bill. “e o’s go.”

  So-Yeon grinned and took his hand as they walked out of the bar together. The night air was cool against his skin, a refreshing trast to the warmth ihe restaurant. The streets were still lively, the hum of versations and distant car horns filling the atmosphere as they made their way to her car.

  Travis slid into the driver’s seat, turning the engine on as So-Yeon handed him her GPS. She let out a rexed sigh, reing in her seat and closing her eyes, enjoying the silence of the ride.

  Minutes passed, the city lights casting shifting patterns over the car’s interior as they wove through traffic. When they finally arrived at her apartment plex, Travis pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine.

  “Wow, nice pce,” he said as he stepped out, gng up at the sleek, modern building. “Rooms must be big as hell for one person.”

  “They really are,” So-Yeon replied as she stretched, the movement making her jacket slip off one shoulder. “But what I do? I get lonely sometimes, but I’m used to it, I guess.”

  They walked toward the entraheir footsteps eg in the quiet hallway.

  “Have you tried getting a roommate?” Travis asked.

  “Nah, I’m too old for that,” she ughed softly. “And too old to get married, apparently. I’ve tried, but people these days don’t want itment. It’s always just dating, never anything more. So… I kind of gave up.”

  They reached her apartment door. Travis stopped just before it, hands in his pockets.

  “Well, I’ve done my job. You should res—”

  Before he could finish, So-Yeon grabbed his wrist and pulled him ihe door shut with a quiet click behind them.

  His eyes instinctively flicked to his Emotioer, and his brows raised slightly at the rapid increase in numbers.

  Love: 9

  I: 90

  Lust: 100

  ‘What the fuck. Do I have protagonist air?’ he thought, staring at the s in disbelief.

  So-Yeon took a step closer, her fingers still ed around his wrist. Her eyes, slightly hazy from the alcohol, locked onto his with a smirk that was both pyful and daring.

  “Now,” she murmured, her voice dropping a pitch, “where were we?”

  "I'm kidding," So-Yeon said with a teasing grin. She leaned slightly toward him, tilting her head. "e on, the night’s still young, don’t you think? Let’s have another drink or two before you leave."

  She reached up and slowly removed her gsses, revealing striking, almond-shaped eyes that seemed to shimmer uhe soft lighting of the apartment. Without the frames, her beauty was even more pronounced—her delicate features unmasked, her gaze sharp yet inviting. There was something undeniably mesmerizing about her, a quiet fiden the way she moved.

  Travis barely had time to respond before she turned away, walking past him with an effortless sway iep, maintaining eye tatil the st sed. The st of her perfume lingered in the air—a soft, floral fragrance mixed with the fairace of alcohol. She disappeared into the bathroom, the door clig shut behind her.

  Travis let out a quiet sigh, running a hand through his hair as he stepped further into her apartment. It was a nice pce—modern, spacious, aly arrahe walls were a soft, ral shade, plementing the warm lighting that gave the entire space a cozy yet sophisticated feel. A few decorative pieces adorhe shelves—small sculptures, framed pictures, and books stacked ly.

  He made his way to the plush-looking coud sank into it, pulling out his phohe leather cushio smooth beh his fiips, and the low hum of the city beyond the window filled the quiet room.

  ‘Damn, I fot to order furniture for my new pce.’ He frowned slightly, scrolling through an oore. ‘Might as well do that now.’

  His fingers moved swiftly across the s as he selected a few essentials—sofa, bed frame, dining table. He added them to his cart without much thought, his mind partially distracted by So-Yeon’s lingering presence.

  The distant sound of running water reached his ears, the soft echo of the shower turning on. He goward the bathroom door, his eyes narrowing slightly in thought.

  Something about tonight felt different.

  TO BE TINUED