The apartment door clicked softly behind Sarah. She had managed only a few steps before the composure she’d been desperately holding together completely abandoned her.
"Haa"
A long breath escaped her lips. She stopped halfway down the staircase, one hand gripping the railing while the other pressed firmly against her chest, trying and failing to calm the frantic rhythm of her heartbeat. Her knees suddenly felt light, and she slowly lowered herself onto one of the steps, staring blankly at the wall in front of her.
Then the corners of her lips began to rise.
"I-I actually did it." The words came out almost disbelieving.
"I really walked into his apartment, invited him to go somewhere together and he actually said yes"
She covered her face with both hands, a muffled squeal escaping through her fingers.
"Oh my God. I was so sure I was going to embarrass myself."
She laughed softly, shaking her head. "I even practiced what I wanted to say before coming upstairs. Then the moment I saw him, everything I had initially planned just disappeared. I thought I was going to say something completely stupid." Her shoulders trembled with another quiet laugh
"And then I finally built up enough courage to ask and he didn’t reject me."
She slowly lowered her hands, a smile lingering on her face.
"I know it’s just to repair his phone but it’s still the two of us. No store. No customers. No pretending to be busy every time he comes in because I’m too nervous to keep looking at him." A blush quietly spread across her cheeks.
"It’s kind of like..."
"...a date"
She immediately shook her head.
"No. It isn’t, right?"
She frowned thoughtfully for exactly two seconds before giving up
"I don’t know anymore" Another laugh escaped her
"I just know I’m happy"
She hugged her knees to herself for a brief moment
"I’ve wanted to spend time with him outside the store for so long, and today I finally asked. I seriously can’t believe I did that" She leaned back slightly, staring toward the ceiling.
"I have to make sure today goes well. I’ll leave work a little earlier if I can. I should probably wear something nice" Her eyes widened
"Not too nice though. I don’t want him thinking I spent an hour getting ready." Another pause
"Even though I probably will"
She buried her face in her knees again
"Oh, this is so embarrassing."
After sitting there for another moment, she finally stood. The excitement hadn’t disappeared if anything, it had only grown stronger. There was an unmistakable bounce in her steps as she continued down the stairs, catching herself nearly skipping twice before forcing herself to walk normally. It worked for all of five seconds. Then she was smiling again.
"I hope he has fun. I hope the phone isn’t too expensive. And..." A tiny grin spread across her lips
"I hope six o’clock gets here quickly."
Meanwhile upstairs...
Jason remained frozen in exactly the same position, his eyes glued to the floating blue screen before him. More specifically, to one impossible number.
Attraction Level: 21%
He blinked once. Then again.
"What the fuck?"
Jason stared at the translucent screen for so long that the number almost seemed embarrassed to remain there. He blinked, then blinked again. The number remained exactly where it was.
"Twenty-one?!"
He said it aloud this time, slower, as though hearing it with his own ears might somehow expose the mistake his eyes had missed. Nothing changed. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"What the hell"
His gaze lingered on the percentage while his thoughts began pulling themselves apart
Twenty-one percent, wasn’t that high? He honestly had no idea. The system hadn’t exactly come with a handbook explaining whether twenty-one percent meant she thinks you’re tolerable or she secretly wants to marry you.
For all he knew, twenty-one could’ve been the equivalent of a polite nod. Or it could’ve been absurdly high. He had nothing to compare it to.
Still, it felt wrong. Not because it was low. Because it was far higher than he believed he deserved.
Jason leaned back against the wall and rubbed the back of his neck, his brows knitting together.
"What exactly have I done?"
He had never taken Sarah out. Never flirted with her. Never tried to impress her. Hell, before today, the thought of seeing her as anything beyond the cheerful girl at the convenience store had never even crossed his mind. His entire world had revolved around Amanda. If anyone had stopped him yesterday and asked who Sarah was, his answer would’ve been painfully simple just the convenience store clerk who always greeted him in the morning. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
They exchanged greetings whenever he passed by. Sometimes she’d tease him about buying instant noodles again. Sometimes he’d make a terrible joke that somehow managed to earn a laugh. A few smiles. A few awkward conversations. Nothing that should’ve amounted to twenty-one percent.
Jason frowned harder
"Unless"
His thoughts paused as images began replaying themselves one after another Sarah noticing something was wrong this morning, leaving her store just to check on him, coming all the way to his apartment, offering to help him repair his phone, and inviting him to go with her. His ears suddenly felt warmer.
"No" He shook his head almost immediately.
"Don’t start."
Nice people existed. Kind people helped others. Not every girl who showed basic human decency was secretly interested in him. He’d spent enough years making stupid assumptions. He wasn’t about to start another collection.
Still, his eyes drifted back to the floating number. Twenty-one. It refused to disappear.
"I’ll find out tonight"
Whether the percentage meant something, or whether he was just reading far too deeply into the actions of an unbelievably kind girl, the phone repair would answer at least one of those questions.
Almost as though the system had been waiting for him to reach that conclusion, another translucent panel unfolded before him.
Daily Quest
20 Push-ups
20 Sit-ups
20 Squats
2 km Run
Reward: Progress Toward Physical Enhancement
Special Condition: Maintain completion for 2 consecutive days to unlock a Special Reward
Jason stared at the list. Then at his own arms. Then back at the list.
"You’re joking"
He had forgotten about this brutal part of the system
Two years. That was roughly how long it had been since he’d done anything remotely resembling exercise. His body wasn’t unhealthy. Just comfortably unemployed from physical activity. Twenty push-ups alone sounded like enough to make every muscle in his body file a formal complaint.
A dry laugh escaped him.
"If I survive the push-ups, the run is probably going to finish the job"
For a brief moment, he considered closing the window and pretending none of this had ever happened.
It would’ve been easy. Comfortable. Familiar. Then his gaze drifted toward the cracked phone lying in his hand, toward the balance sitting in his bank account, toward the apartment that suddenly felt much smaller than it had yesterday. His fingers slowly curled into a fist.
The old Jason already knew where that road ended. He’d been walking it for years. This one might lead nowhere. It might even be a ridiculous prank played by whatever force had decided to interrupt his miserable life. But it was still a path. And right now, a path was infinitely better than standing still.
Jason exhaled through his nose before rolling his shoulders. He had gotten the motivation he needed
"Alright. If my muscles want to kill me..." A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth
"...they’ll have to wait until after twenty push-ups."