“Uwah, I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it would be better to stretch out the ‘da’ to ‘daa’ there. Again.”
“Uwah, I’m sorryy…”
“Much better!”
Semi clapped her hands together, satisfied. Wonyoung could only smile awkwardly.
Right now, Wonyoung was in the middle of receiving special training from Semi on ‘how to speak like an abangsu.’ When he had given the ridiculous excuse that he wanted to appear cute, Semi had immediately agreed.
It was true that stretching out word endings was something he had experienced during forced correction as well. As expected, a professional was different.
“Should we stop here for today?”
“Yes, thank you, Semi-ssi.”
After bowing in greeting, Wonyoung brought up what he had been planning to say.
“And if you’re available today, I’d like to treat you to a meal.”
At those words, Semi’s eyes widened.
“Rae-ssi? A meal?”
“Yes. I’ve received a lot of help from you, and it’s to show my appreciation for the future as well.”
“I’d be grateful!”
It was going according to plan. Soon, Wonyoung quickly brought Semi to a restaurant he had reserved in advance. It was none other than an expensive restaurant inside a hotel.
“Wow, isn’t this place expensive? Rae-ssi, will you be okay?”
“Yes, of course. Treating you, Semi-ssi, to this much is no problem at all.”
Semi smiled, finding the sight of him speaking confidently with a slightly flushed face quite cute. Mistaking it for a smile of appreciation, Wonyoung entered the restaurant with dignity.
“I made a reservation under Narae.”
“Ah, yes. Mr. Narae. I’ll guide you.”
Following the staff’s guidance, they were seated at a spot with a good view of the nearby lake. When Semi let out a “Wow” of admiration, Wonyoung felt proud.
However, as Semi excitedly looked through the menu on the table, her complexion gradually worsened. Eventually, she lowered her voice and asked Wonyoung.
“Rae-ssi, the prices are too expensive…”
“Don’t worry. I came knowing that.”
“Still, I haven’t done anything significant enough to receive this.”
“What do you mean you haven’t done anything significant? Besides, I wanted to come here anyway, so don’t worry about it.”
At Wonyoung’s confident appearance, Semi couldn’t shake her worry but eventually nodded. Then Wonyoung asked Semi.
“Then should we go with Course C?”
“What? Course C is the most expensive course… Are you really sure that’s okay?”
“Even so. I work for a large corporation.”
“But still…”
As Semi hesitated out of guilt, Wonyoung called over a staff member and ordered Course C for two. Semi looked at Wonyoung with considerable concern, wondering why he was doing this. The amount was far too enormous for a lunch for two people.
However, Wonyoung was overflowing with confidence. Naturally, he had to be. Inside his wallet was none other than ‘Black Card-nim.’
Since Taerim had told him to spend freely, Wonyoung truly intended to spend ‘freely.’ Afterward, he planned to go to a department store and get fitted for an expensive luxury suit, and also spend a few days leisurely in a hotel suite.
‘It would be stupid not to spend it. Don’t be surprised when you get the card statement, Kyung Taerim.’
Since he had said it himself, Taerim wouldn’t be able to carelessly comment on Wonyoung’s spending. That’s what a rich person’s pride was like.
Having already calculated up to that point, Wonyoung even hummed a tune while leisurely waiting for the meal. Soon, Course C, priced at 250,000 won per person, appeared one dish after another.
From the luxurious plating that pleased the eye to the excellent balance of flavors, it was a continuous stream of dishes worth every won. Semi also, unlike her worried appearance at the beginning, showed an expression of happiness with every bite.
“It’s really delicious. Right, Rae-ssi?”
“Yes. It certainly has a taste befitting its name and prestige.”
Wonyoung nodded as he put the tender tenderloin, which could be cut with just a light touch of the knife, into his mouth. The meat quality was excellent and the cooking was perfect.
After enjoying everything up to dessert, Wonyoung handed both the order slip and the card Taerim had given him to the staff.
“Please process the payment.”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
The staff member bowed politely, took the card, and disappeared. Wonyoung waited for the staff with the confidence of a black card holder.
After a while, he could see the staff member returning from a distance. Wonyoung smiled while having happy thoughts about which brand of clothes to get fitted for, which hotel suite to stay in, and so on.
However, the expression on the staff member’s face as they approached was quite suspicious.
“I’m sorry, sir. The payment isn’t going through with the card you provided.”
“What? What do you…”
For a moment, Wonyoung thought Taerim had set a payment limit, but he was bewildered by the staff’s next words.
“Strangely, only 7,000 won is being processed.”
“What?”
What’s with 7,000 won? When Wonyoung made a dazed expression, the staff apologized awkwardly.
“I’m sorry. We don’t know what kind of error this is either. We tried several times, but after the initial 7,000 won, no payment is going through at all. I’m truly sorry.”
Wonyoung’s mouth fell open. There’s no way the payment limit would be 7,000 won… Wonyoung’s eyes wandered pitifully, lost.
‘What on earth is going on?’
At that moment, something suddenly flashed through Wonyoung’s mind. The possibility of an absurd situation occurring. The System.
‘…No way.’
Wonyoung immediately opened his status window. Then he saw that one of the tabs that had been locked next to the status window was now open. It was a tab labeled ‘Items.’ When he clicked on it, the following content appeared.
<Inventory List>
—Taerim’s Black Card
“Sir? How would you like to process the payment?”
“Ah, um.”
At the staff’s question, Wonyoung pretended to think while clicking on Taerim’s Black Card. Then a detailed description appeared.
<Taerim’s Black Card>
A card given by Taerim with no limit. However, the limit of the heart is 7,000 won☆
(Narae exclusive daily maximum limit: 7,000 won.)
“This damn…”
“Sir?”
“R-Rae-ssi?”
Wonyoung, who had cursed without realizing it, hurriedly closed his mouth. However, seeing the warning window that shamelessly appeared, his insides boiled and he couldn’t hold back.
‘System! Systeeeem!’
Eventually, at Wonyoung’s furious call, the System appeared as if it knew nothing.
“What’s the matter, Player-nim?”
“Do you want to get hit?”
“Eek, no!”
The System quickly rose to a place beyond Wonyoung’s reach. Wonyoung, who had raised his fist, ground his teeth.
“Are you kidding me? A daily limit of 7,000 won? This is a card Kyung Taerim gave me! So why are you setting the limit!”
“First, please calm down, this is all because of the abangsu conditions, Player-nim…”
“Abangsu conditions?”
When Wonyoung paused and asked back, the System moved up and down vigorously as if to say that’s right.
“Originally, an abangsu must be without greed and pure. That way, the target character will fall for them even more. Actually, this is confidential, but this incident is closely related to an event that will happen later.”
Confidential, confidential to whom? Wonyoung had absolutely no intention of just accepting this and moving on. Why? Because he had to pay for food worth hundreds of thousands of won right now!
“I’m not doing the event! Whether the target character falls for me or not, I need to get the black card limit back.”
“…This is quite troublesome.”
The System arrogantly let out a deep sigh, then spoke as if doing him a favor.
“In that case, there is one method.”
“Method?”
“To remove a restriction imposed by the game system, an appropriate price is required. I don’t decide that—the game will present it automatically according to balance.”
“What are you talking about? The game presents it automatically—are you talking about the game creator?”
The System didn’t answer. Instead, unexpectedly, a mission window appeared before Wonyoung’s eyes.
[※Mission Alert※]
Goal: Raise one character’s affection to 500 within 3 days.
Reward: A black card that can be used freely
“What? Raise affection to 500 within 3 days?”
Wonyoung was so dumbfounded he was at a loss for words. Affection of 500 within 3 days—was that even feasible? He’d been here for days now and still hadn’t even hit 100.
With shaking eyes, Wonyoung stared at the mission window and asked.
“This is what you mean by matching the balance?”
“That’s right. The abangsu Narae is connected to the very identity of this game. To change that requires an appropriate price, Player-nim.”
“…”
Wonyoung held his head. Though he was displeased, he found himself somewhat convinced by the statement that abangsu was the game’s identity. He shouldn’t have studied BL. Understanding leads to persuasion, and persuasion eventually leads to compliance.
That damn abangsu. Abangsu was truly an utterly terrible keyword. For Wonyoung, it seemed even scarier than an obsessive maniac.
Did an abangsu really become an abangsu of their own will? Wonyoung had extremely useless and philosophical thoughts as he canceled the mission and sent the System away. The System took the opportunity to flee completely.
“Excuse me, sir?”
And to Wonyoung, who had returned to reality, the enormous mountain of payment revealed itself plainly. Wonyoung’s eyes welled up a bit with tears. Money in my account: 480,692 won. Payment amount: 500,000 won. Exactly 19,308 won short.
After completing the payment, Wonyoung carefully pulled out several crumpled bills from his wallet one by one. With his lips pouting, he looked like he was about to cry any moment.
“I-I’ll pay, this time!”
Eventually, Semi, who couldn’t bear to watch, bravely called out.
“It’s fine. Since I suggested coming, I’ll…”
“No! Thanks to you, my writing is going well, so I’ll pay! Rae-ssi, you can treat me next time.”
“…Semi-ssi.”
Wonyoung looked at Semi with moved eyes. Semi tightly held Wonyoung’s hands.
Today, their strong friendship deepened even more.
