'....' Jiho looked down on his table as he sat next to Amelie, looking down on the dish she's brought with her.
'A full Croquette with Frenchal delikatest, brimming with brulle' de avauntes—or something complicated like that... Fuck, what even IS that thing!? The name was so complicated and it looks so weird... Are all French dishes like that!?' He swallowed.
'... And... What am I doing, hanging out like this? I... I need to work on myself. To get stronger, rather than hang out... Right?' He gulped again.
'And...' He looked at Amelie, who was eating casually. 'What am I supposed to do now? This... This IS a date, after all, right?'
Eunhee's image brought up in his mind.
'... I... Uh... I need to be respectful, right? Impress her, maybe? This IS a date... I need to do something. Girls get hurt when you don't try to make a conversation, right? I should say something... Right?' He wondered.
"A—" He was about to say, but then his palm was lightly slapped at by his mother. She did it so subtly, Amelie wouldn't notice.
Jiho looked at her, eyes widen in alarm.
She looked at him gently, her eyes half lidded.
She merely shook her head lightly.
'Mom...?' He narrowed his gaze as he looked at her, trying to decipher her action.
It didn't take too long. He felt it was almost as if she knew what he was going to do and say.
Looking into her eyes, he remembered what she told him earlier.
============
"I know it doesn't feel like it now, baby..."
"But one day, you'll meet someone who just can't get enough of you.... Like me."
"So stay the way you are. Okay?"
=============
'The way I... am?' He looked down, swallowing again.
Ji-yeon rose from her seat and spoke into her phone's translator.
"Thank you for the food. I'll go rest for a bit. You two have fun." The message translated smoothly into French.
Amelie smiled and nodded, and Ji-yeon excused herself—offering Jiho one final, reassuring glance before stepping away.
'Despite everything, Mom is still here. With me. I guess... I'm not so bad then, right, Mom?'
He watched her walk away, his gaze softening.
'So... if I've got nothing to say, I shouldn't try to force it, right?'
His shoulders loosened slightly.
'After all, the me right now is too nervous to say anything, haha.' He chuckled.
"Hmm?" Amelie looked over to Jiho, who let out a soft laugh.
Jiho shook his head with a small smile, waving his hand as if to say, "Oh, nothing," before starting to eat.
Amelie watched him for a few seconds—just watched—then a small smile tugged at her lips, and she quietly resumed her meal.
Roughly an hour later...
'In the end, I said nothing—except pleasantries and compliments to the chef. We didn't really talk. We just ate, and now she's leaving...' Jiho thought as he watched Amelie step into Marcel's car and drive off.
'Some date,'
He stood at his house's doorstep, the cool night breeze rustling his hair as he watched the car fade into the distance.
'But for some reason... I'm pretty cool with it.' He looked down at his hands. 'Like... it was almost relaxing. Not trying to do anything.'
He curled his fingers, as if the answers to his questions might emerge from their tips if he gave them a squeeze.
'Well.' He sighed, loosening his palms—Turning back toward his house after waving her off.
'It's probably a bust, though. There's no such thing as a couple that doesn't talk. You'd know, you backstabber.' He laughed bitterly at the sky, Daniel's face flashing in his mind.
'Maybe the real me just isn't fit to be with anyone.' He shook his head, his mother's words echoing again.
'You're right, Mom. It really... really doesn't feel like it right now.' He exhaled.
'Whatever.' He turned and stepped inside. 'We got to eat some nice food.'
Meanwhile, during Amelie's ride back...
"So, Lady Amelie? How was your date?" Marcel asked.
Amelie smiled softly, leaning back against her seat.
"How was it, you say?" She let out, looking at the street, "We've only eaten. Done nothing other than just eating what I've brought with me. He wasn't trying moves on me, or tried to talk to me... Even after his mother read the room and left us alone..."
She exhaled with a chuckle.
"... It was cozy," she said, resting her elbow against the window and watching the streets pass by with a faint, lingering smile.
Marcel looked at her smile.
'She really seems relaxed. Well done, Monsieur Jiho.' Marcel complimented in his mind as he looked ahead, 'God only knows... She could use some calm in these days.'
--------------------
'...I expected Amelie to ask,' Jiho thought as he lay in bed. 'About what happened with that guy... Joon Seok. How I handled it... Maybe just small talk at the very least.'
Jang's face rose in his mind.
He grabbed his phone and dialed, pressing it against his ear.
"Hyung."
"…What is it?" came the impatient voice.
Jiho hesitated.
"Come to school tomorrow, okay?"
"Fuck o—"
"…"
A beat passed between them.
"…Maybe. Don't get your hopes up." Jang let out before he hung up.
Jiho sighed and glanced at the time.
19:37.
'It really was just about an hour…' He tossed the phone aside.
'Mom... Right. I need to let her know she's out of here.' He rose and stepped out of his room.
'She doesn't usually sleep this early. Stayed in her room because of Amelie?'
He padded quietly down the hallway.
"Mom...?" he knocked on her door.
No answer.
'Probably asleep. No shower sounds...'
He eased the door open.
The room was dark. Still. The breeze from the window stirred the curtains; shadows danced faintly across the walls.
He stepped in.
She was sprawled on the bed—silent, unmoving.
Jiho paused.
His sharpened senses caught it easily:
The soft, steady rhythm of her breath. The quiet thump of her heart.
"M... Mom?" he called softly, stirring her slightly.
"J... Jiho...?" she mumbled, her voice rasped from sleep. "H-How'd it go with Amelie?"
"It... it went fine." He cleared his throat. "Sorry for interrupting you. It's just..." He swallowed.
"Jiho...?" she asked, lifting herself slightly from the bed.
"Look after yourself, alright?" Jiho finally said. "I... I need you. Okay? I promise... you won't see that ever again. I swear."
She didn't respond.
Jiho sat on his bed in the dark.
'To make sure I never need that again...'
He opened his status window.
'I need to get STRONGER.'
[Long time no see, boyo.]
"Hey," Jiho muttered. "You've been quiet."
[Aww. You can just say you missed me. Anyway... check this out. Your little bloodbath pushed something through.]
"A new reward?"
[Not really.]
Jiho frowned, flipping to his inbox. One message blinked at the top:
[NOTICE!]
He clicked it.
[CONGRATULATIONS!~ You've been selected for the ALPHA TEST of a brand-new system!]
[You are now eligible for the KI SYSTEM.]
'Ki system?'
[WARNING: Accepting this will RESET your stat-based growth and convert it into a Ki-based system.]
'I don't like this already…'
[Unlike levels and skills, Ki has no ceiling. No hard limits. It's harder, but infinitely more rewarding... probably.]
Jiho stared at the glowing prompt.
'No ceiling... huh?' He gulped.
Then the message updated:
[DO YOU ACCEPT? (TIME LEFT: 02:12) FAILURE TO CHOOSE WILL DEFAULT TO 'NO']
[YES] [NO]
'Limited time to choose, too? Just what is this?'
He stared at the ticking countdown, arms resting in his lap, mind racing.
'Honestly... I wanna say no. Why toss away my stats? My secret class? That thing looked detailed as hell—like someone spent real time designing it.'
'Why would someone trash all that and toss in a new system this suddenly? Is... is whoever writes this indecisive or something?'
He squinted at the screen.
'But...' He looked down. 'Even with all my stats, all my skills... I still almost lost everything.'
He recalled his last fight with Joon-Seok—how he was paralyzed in an instant.
How he broke through Joon-Seok's defenses only through sheer luck and convenience.
How he had time to save his mother... only because Joon-Seok hadn't chosen to kill her before Jiho woke up to see it.
That the only reason he, his mother, and Jang are alive was because their assailant was merciful.
'Who's to say there's no one stronger than Joon-Seok?' His gaze darkened. 'Someone more dangerous... with even crazier skills? What if I'm not as lucky next time?'
He clenched his fist.
'Infinite potential? Alright.' He looked at the prompt, his gaze sharpened.
'I'll risk it. Fuck it.'
[ACCEPT]