The two sat beside each other quietly on the wooden bench beneath the enormous tree standing at the center of the public garden.
Its countless green leaves swayed gently under the soft breeze of the morning, occasionally allowing rays of sunlight to seep through the branches and fall across the ground in fragmented golden patterns.
The atmosphere had finally calmed.
Far away from the suffocating alleyway.
Far away from the drunken shouting.
Only the faint chirping of birds and distant sounds of traffic remained now.
For several long moments, neither of them spoke.
The silence between them wasn't awkward.
It was exhaustion.
Both physical and emotional.
Jison leaned back slightly against the bench while exhaling deeply, still catching his breath after running such a long distance without stopping.
Beside him, Soo-bin sat with her head lowered quietly.
Loose strands of her dark hair covered parts of her face, yet even then, Jison could still notice her trembling shoulders faintly.
The red slap mark on her cheek remained painfully visible beneath the warm morning sunlight.
Seeing it irritated him for some reason he couldn't explain.
Clicking his tongue softly, Jison looked away.
Then suddenly—
As if remembering something important—
He hurriedly pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket.
The screen lit up instantly.
8:02 AM
The moment he saw the time—
Jison's eyes widened dramatically.
"What?! Already 8:02?!"
He immediately straightened his posture in panic.
Even his calm expression collapsed entirely.
"Fuck..."
His face darkened instantly.
Internally, despair consumed him.
Even if I sprint the entire way now, I still won't reach on time.
And from here?
There was absolutely no chance.
Beside him, Soo-bin heard his outburst.
For a second, she blinked.
Then unexpectedly—
A small laugh escaped her lips.
"Pfft—"
The sound was soft.
Natural.
Completely different from the trembling, broken girl from earlier.
"Worried about school?" she asked while trying to suppress another laugh.
Jison immediately turned toward her suspiciously.
"Well, yeah," he answered seriously. "But you also go to the same school, right? I've never seen you before though."
His eyes narrowed slightly while observing her carefully.
"Are you one of the first-year freshmen this year?"
Internally, he analyzed the situation confidently.
I know almost every face in the second year.
Especially the pretty girls.
There's no way she's in second year.
Soo-bin looked at him for several seconds silently.
Then she controlled her laughter with visible difficulty before asking,
"Do you seriously not know me?"
Jison blinked once.
Then casually shook his head.
"Nah."
After a pause, he added honestly,
"Are you popular or something?"
For a moment, Soo-bin stared at him as if questioning reality itself.
Then she slowly leaned back against the bench.
Closing her eyes briefly, she inhaled deeply before letting out a helpless sigh.
"Well... you could say I'm popular."
The corners of her lips curled upward faintly.
"But I honestly never thought there'd be someone in our school who hasn't heard about me."
That answer only made Jison even more suspicious.
His body shifted slightly away from her instinctively.
His expression became cautious.
"Wait..."
He stared at her seriously.
"Don't tell me you're popular because you skip classes every single day."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Soo-bin completely lost control.
"Hahaha—!"
Her laughter burst out loudly through the quiet park.
For the first time since meeting her, she laughed genuinely.
Not politely.
Not forcefully.
Actually laughed.
She even held her stomach slightly while trying to calm herself down.
"I've seriously never met anyone this funny before," she said between breaths.
Meanwhile, Jison remained utterly confused.
What did I even say?
From his perspective, the logic made perfect sense.
He had never seen her inside school.
He didn't know her name.
Yet apparently she was "popular."
Then what other explanation existed?
After calming herself down slightly, Soo-bin brushed aside some loose strands of hair before turning toward him again.
This time, her expression had softened considerably.
"What about you?" she asked gently.
"What's your name?"
"Park Jison," he answered calmly. "Second year."
Then naturally, he asked back,
"What's yours?"
Soo-bin looked directly into his eyes.
And with a strangely warm smile, she replied softly,
"Choi Soo-bin."
The moment those words entered his ears—
Jison froze.
Completely.
His brain instantly stopped functioning.
The world around him seemed to go silent.
Wind.
Voices.
Sounds.
Everything disappeared.
Only one name echoed repeatedly inside his head.
Choi Soo-bin.
Choi Soo-bin.
Choi... Soo-bin.
His pupils trembled violently.
Then—
Like lightning striking his skull—
A certain system notification resurfaced within his memories.
---
[Login Completed]
[Quest: King's Have Multiple Queen's Part-1]
[Objective: Kiss Choi Soo-bin Within 24 Hours]
Note: Indirect Kiss Not Allowed.
[Reward: Random Stat Reaches A-Rank]
---
"..."
Jison's soul nearly ascended from his body.
The Choi Soo-bin from the mission...
The legendary beauty everyone constantly talked about...
The third-year student surrounded by endless rumors...
The same girl Woo-jin told him about...
Was her.
THIS HER?!
At that exact moment, memories of Woo-jin's dramatic warnings replayed vividly inside his mind.
Jison sat there silently.
Utterly devastated.
His expression became hollow.
His soul had already left his body and probably ascended toward heaven.
Meanwhile, beside him—
Soo-bin tilted her head slightly in confusion while staring at his petrified expression.
"...Why do you suddenly look like your entire life is over?"
Jison remained completely motionless on the bench.
His mind had already descended into absolute catastrophe.
What the hell...
His eyes trembled faintly while staring blankly ahead.
If I kiss her, she'll definitely tell Seo-yeon.
And then—
His imagination immediately spiraled into disaster.
Seo-yeon staring at him with disgust.
Calling him a creepy pervert.
Soo-bin filing a police report.
Him getting dragged away in handcuffs while students recorded videos.
News headlines appearing online.
"Second-Year Student Arrested for Harassing Third-Year Beauty."
Fuck...
His soul nearly shattered.
Meanwhile, Soo-bin simply watched his frozen expression curiously.
Then suddenly—
Without warning—
She grabbed his wrist again.
Her fingers wrapped naturally around his hand before pulling him upward from the bench.
A bright smile appeared across her face.
"Since we've already skipped school," she declared happily, "let's go have fun."
Jison didn't even resist.
At this point, he genuinely resembled a corpse being dragged around against its will.
His brain was still overloaded by the horrifying system mission.
Soo-bin casually continued pulling him along the streets while humming softly to herself.
And then—
While staring at the back of her head—
An absolutely insane idea suddenly emerged inside Jison's mind.
His eyes widened slowly.
Wait...
A chance.
This might actually be a chance to complete the mission.
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
Gradually—
A suspicious smile began appearing on his face.
From ahead, Soo-bin noticed the sudden change in atmosphere and glanced back at him strangely.
"...Why are you smiling like that all of a sudden?"
Jison immediately coughed awkwardly.
"N-Nothing."
Definitely suspicious.
After walking together for some time, the two eventually arrived at a lively street food district.
Numerous food stalls lined both sides of the road while steam rose endlessly into the air carrying the rich aroma of grilled meat, spicy rice cakes, ramen broth, fried tempura, and sweet pancakes.
The atmosphere was bustling with energy.
Students.
Office workers.
Couples.
Everyone moved through the crowded street while chatting loudly.
However—
The moment Soo-bin entered the area—
Attention shifted instantly.
People began staring unconsciously.
Especially men.
Her beauty was simply impossible to ignore.
Even dressed casually in her school uniform with slightly messy hair, she still possessed a breathtaking appearance capable of overwhelming attention naturally.
But then—
People noticed something else.
She was holding a guy's wrist.
Instantly—
The surrounding male population looked at Jison as if he had committed a national crime.
Some stared in disbelief.
Others looked openly murderous.
One high school boy holding fish cake skewers nearly snapped the wooden stick in half from jealousy.
Meanwhile, Jison noticed all those gazes immediately.
Cold sweat appeared behind his neck.
He forced an awkward smile.
Why the fuck do they all look ready to kill me...
At this moment, if looks could murder, his funeral would've already been scheduled.
Completely oblivious—or perhaps intentionally ignoring it—Soo-bin continued walking casually before stopping at a small street food stall.
The owner greeted them warmly before pointing toward an empty table with two chairs.
The two sat down opposite each other.
Soo-bin leaned slightly forward while looking at the menu hanging above the stall.
Then she smiled.
"What do you want to eat?"
She rested one arm casually against the table.
"My treat today."
Her voice softened slightly.
"You helped me earlier."
Hearing that, Jison immediately became awkward.
Especially now that he knew her identity.
His posture straightened subconsciously.
"Ah... senior," he said respectfully, "don't you think we should maybe go somewhere else?"
The moment he called her senior—
Soo-bin blinked in surprise.
Earlier, Jison had spoken to her casually and naturally without hesitation.
But now his entire tone had changed completely.
She looked directly at him for a moment.
Then her gaze shifted around the food stall.
Immediately, she noticed it.
The boys nearby glaring daggers at Jison.
Some looked genuinely hostile.
Others looked utterly heartbroken.
One guy even muttered quietly,
"Why him..."
Seeing their reactions, Soo-bin finally understood the reason behind Jison's sudden formality.
And strangely—
Rather than feeling uncomfortable—
She found it amusing.
Actually...
She kind of liked it.
This was her first time hanging out alone with a boy like this.
And this was also her first experience seeing how other people reacted because of it.
For some reason, the feeling wasn't unpleasant at all.
A mischievous smile slowly appeared across her face.
Then she leaned slightly closer toward him teasingly.
"Hey."
Her voice carried playful warmth.
"You suddenly started calling me senior."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Just talk normally like before."
Then her smile deepened further.
"And honestly, you should probably get used to this kind of attention."
Jison looked confused.
"...Why?"
Soo-bin rested her chin against both palms while staring directly into his eyes.
"Because," she said teasingly, "I don't think your future girlfriend is going to be average-looking."
The moment those words entered his ears—
Jison's face turned completely red.
"W-What the hell?!"
He nearly choked on air itself.
"Why did you suddenly bring up girlfriends?!"
He looked genuinely flustered now.
"And besides..."
His voice became quieter.
"I don't think anyone would actually like me."
The atmosphere softened slightly after hearing that.
Soo-bin quietly observed his embarrassed expression for a few seconds.
Then—
Her eyes curved beautifully.
Resting her chin against her palms again, she gave him an openly flirtatious smile.
"Oh really?"
Her voice became softer.
More dangerous.
"Because if you gave me a chance..."
She leaned slightly forward across the table.
"...I'd definitely hit on you."