"Woow... it's huge."
Jison unconsciously muttered those words the moment he stepped inside the enormous shopping mall.
Towering glass walls reflected the bright daylight pouring in from outside while luxurious chandeliers hung several stories above the massive central atrium.
The entire place radiated wealth.
Elegant clothing stores lined the corridors, giant digital advertisements flickered endlessly across massive screens, and countless people moved throughout the building carrying shopping bags from expensive brands.
The atmosphere was completely different from the ordinary districts Jison usually visited.
It felt excessive.
Overwhelming.
And strangely unfamiliar.
His eyes wandered around the interior silently while people passed beside him endlessly.
Truthfully—
He had almost never visited places like this before.
Not because he couldn't.
Simply because he never felt the need to.
Whenever his mother and younger sister came shopping at malls, Jison usually remained outside with his father inside the car.
His father would sit lazily in the driver's seat while scrolling through news articles on his mobile.
Meanwhile, Jison would either sleep or watch random videos beside him while waiting for the women of the family to finish shopping hours later.
Remembering those peaceful moments made a faint smile appear on his face unconsciously.
At the same time—
A small trace of regret surfaced as well.
Maybe I should've gone with them at least once.
Beside him, Soo-bin noticed his astonished expression immediately.
A light laugh escaped her lips.
"It's your first time here, isn't it?"
Jison nodded naturally.
"Yeah."
Then he glanced around at the crowded mall again before adding honestly,
"I don't really like crowded places."
Hearing that, Soo-bin smiled faintly.
Without stopping, she walked toward the nearby escalator.
"Come on."
She pointed upward casually.
"I heard the third floor has a good place to hang out."
Jison quietly followed behind her.
However—
As he watched Soo-bin naturally walking ahead of him—
A strange feeling gradually emerged inside his chest.
Why do I feel weird...
Then suddenly—
A memory resurfaced inside his mind.
His younger sister, Min-ji, speaking excitedly one evening while eating snacks on the couch.
"Bro, my friends said that when a guy and girl hang out alone together, it's basically called a date."
The moment that memory replayed—
Jison's entire body stiffened slightly.
...Date?
His eyes slowly widened.
Wait.
Is this technically a date right now?
Instantly, his heartbeat became slightly chaotic.
But only for a second.
Because immediately afterward—
Another horrifying thought surfaced.
Nam Seo-jun.
That obsessed senior.
The psychopath who apparently confessed over eighty times and beat students for getting close to Soo-bin.
Jison's expression darkened instantly.
Fuck.
If that lunatic finds out I'm here with her—
I'm dead.
Absolutely fucking dead.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of his internal funeral preparations, Soo-bin casually stepped onto the escalator.
Jison followed shortly behind her.
The escalator slowly carried them upward through the center of the mall.
From above, the countless lights, stores, and moving crowds looked almost unreal.
Eventually—
The two arrived at the third floor.
The moment they stepped off the escalator, Soo-bin immediately turned left and began walking confidently through the corridor.
Jison followed behind her while glancing around curiously.
Min-ji comes here a lot with her friends...
He recalled his sister rambling endlessly about malls before.
She once mentioned the third floor had gaming places and internet cafés.
As expected—
After walking a short distance—
A brightly lit gaming center appeared ahead of them.
The sound of keyboards, mouse clicks, and excited shouting echoed throughout the entrance.
Large neon signs flashed above the doorway.
Internet Café.
Jison blinked in surprise.
He honestly hadn't expected Soo-bin to bring him here.
Meanwhile, Soo-bin secretly glanced back at him.
Internally, she thought quietly,
Most boys like gaming cafés...
So this should be fun for him.
Without hesitation, she entered the internet café.
Jison followed shortly afterward.
The interior was dimly lit with colorful LED lights glowing beneath rows of powerful gaming computers.
Dozens of students sat around immersed in games while the atmosphere buzzed with competitive energy.
After renting seats beside each other, both of them quickly sat down.
Headphones covered their ears while the game loaded across their monitors.
Several minutes later—
"Left side!"
Jison spoke rapidly while controlling his character skillfully.
"There are two enemies behind the containers. Hold on—I'm coming."
Beside him, Soo-bin focused intensely on her screen.
"I hit one already!"
Her fingers moved quickly across the mouse.
"The one with the red hat is low HP!"
Gunfire echoed loudly through both of their headphones.
The two were currently playing PUBG: Battlegrounds.
Jison immediately repositioned his character before firing precisely through a broken wall.
"I knocked one down!"
His voice sharpened slightly.
"Rush them now. I'll cover you."
"Okay!"
Soo-bin instantly pushed forward aggressively.
Her character stormed into the enemy position while bullets erupted across the battlefield.
A few seconds later—
Victory.
The final enemy collapsed.
"Yes!"
Soo-bin smiled brightly beneath her headset.
"We won!"
Jison smirked faintly.
"You're actually pretty good."
"Hmph. Obviously."
And just like that—
The two continued playing match after match together.
Hours passed surprisingly quickly.
At some point, they stopped feeling awkward entirely.
They argued over loot.
Blamed each other jokingly for deaths.
Celebrated victories together.
Even Jison himself hadn't realized how relaxed he had become around her.
Eventually—
Time reached 1:30 PM.
The afternoon sunlight now poured brightly through the enormous windows outside the internet café.
Soo-bin stood outside the entrance quietly while waiting.
Several nearby boys secretly glanced toward her repeatedly but none approached.
Then—
The glass door opened behind her.
Jison walked out while stretching his arms slightly.
"Let's go."
Soo-bin turned toward him.
The two once again began walking side by side through the mall corridors.
After several moments of silence, Soo-bin suddenly asked quietly,
"Hey..."
She looked at him carefully.
"Do you really have enough money to waste on me like this?"
Jison smiled casually.
"Yeah."
His tone remained relaxed.
"Don't worry about it. I've been saving money for years."
Outwardly, he appeared calm.
However—
Internally—
His thoughts were completely different.
Well...
You are supposedly going to become my queen according to that insane system.
And more importantly—
I still need to complete the login mission somehow.
Otherwise—
The system said it'd take back everything it gave me until now.
His expression stiffened faintly for a second.
Yeah...
No matter what—
He absolutely had to find the perfect timing somehow.
Like that, the two of them continued wandering throughout the mall together for quite some time.
They tried random snacks from different stalls.
Shared drinks while arguing over which flavor tasted better.
Soo-bin even dragged Jison into several clothing stores despite him repeatedly insisting he had no interest in fashion.
At one point, she nearly laughed herself breathless after seeing his utterly lifeless expression while standing outside a cosmetics shop filled entirely with women.
For the first time in a very long while—
Soo-bin genuinely looked like someone her age.
Not a girl burdened by family problems.
Not someone silently enduring pain behind forced smiles.
Just an ordinary high school student spending time with someone she felt comfortable around.
Eventually—
After leaving the mall, the two walked side by side beneath the bright afternoon sky.
The city remained lively around them while cars passed endlessly through the busy streets.
At this point, the time had already reached 2:12 PM.
Now, they were heading toward the café where Soo-bin worked together with Seo-yeon.
Fortunately, it wasn't too far from their current location.
Roughly fifteen minutes away by foot.
As they continued walking casually, Jison suddenly pulled out his phone to check the time again.
2:13 PM.
However—
Just as he was about to return the phone to his pocket—
His eyes froze.
"...Huh?"
The notification screen was filled with missed calls.
A bad feeling immediately rose inside him.
Quickly unlocking the device, he checked the call history.
Little Demon (Min-ji) — 3 Missed Calls
Seo-yeon — 1 Missed Call
Woo-jin — 1 Missed Call
Jison's eyes widened instantly.
Fuck.
I turned my phone on silent while gaming and completely forgot about it.
Beside him, Soo-bin noticed his sudden expression change.
"What happened?"
Jison sighed lightly while pressing the callback button on Min-ji's contact.
The nickname "Little Demon" displayed prominently across the screen.
"Nothing serious," he answered casually.
"Just calls from my sister and classmates."
Soo-bin nodded quietly while listening.
A few seconds later—
The call connected.
Immediately—
An angry voice exploded from the speaker loud enough for even nearby pedestrians to hear faintly.
"So you still remember you have a sister?!"
Jison flinched instinctively.
"How dare you ignore my calls?!"
Soo-bin blinked once.
Then—
A smile slowly appeared on her face.
Seeing Jison getting scolded so aggressively by his younger sister was unexpectedly entertaining.
Meanwhile, Jison noticed her amused expression and immediately became embarrassed.
"No, no," he hurriedly explained into the phone.
"I was playing games at the internet café, so I didn't notice your calls."
On the other side, Min-ji's anger seemed to cool slightly.
Then suspiciousness entered her tone.
"...Who's with you?"
Jison stiffened. "A friend."
A brief pause followed.
Then—
"Is your friend a women."
Beside him, Soo-bin immediately covered her mouth slightly while suppressing another laugh.
Meanwhile, Jison internally screamed.
This little demon seriously has monster hearing.
Trying to stay calm, he answered naturally,
"It's just my senior."
Then quickly, before she could investigate further, he added,
"Anyway, why were you calling me?"
Min-ji responded immediately.
"Nothing important."
Her voice returned to normal.
"Just buy eggs and bread when you come home."
Jison sighed in relief.
"Okay."
Then without wasting another second, he immediately ended the call before his sister could ask additional questions.
The moment the call disconnected—
Soo-bin looked toward him with visible amusement.
"Your sister is kind of dominating."
Jison released a helpless sigh.
"Yeah."
Then he spoke with exaggerated seriousness.
"If I don't bow my head before her, she'll scare me to death."
That answer made Soo-bin laugh softly again.
And while casually talking like that—
The two eventually arrived in front of the café.
The familiar signboard came into view while the scent of coffee drifted outward from the entrance.
Several customers could already be seen inside through the glass windows.
Stopping near the entrance, Jison turned toward Soo-bin.
"Tell me when your shift ends."
His tone remained relaxed.
"I'll come pick you up afterward."
Soo-bin looked at him quietly for a second.
Then a gentle smile appeared across her lips.
"Come back in about two and a half hours."
She adjusted a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'll take a half-day shift today."
Then suddenly—
Her expression turned teasing again.
"And your classmate also works here, remember?"
The meaning behind those words was obvious.
Seo-yeon.
Jison smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah..."
Then he scratched his cheek lightly before speaking honestly,
"But I think you've misunderstood something between us."
Soo-bin simply smiled mysteriously without replying.
Meanwhile, Jison turned around casually and began walking away down the street.
Without looking back, he waved one hand lightly.
"I'll come after two and a half hours then."
Soo-bin quietly watched his departing figure for several moments.
And strangely—
The moment he disappeared further down the street—
The warmth lingering from today suddenly felt difficult to let go of.