The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 182

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 182
182
Jin-woo was spending a leisurely morning unlike any other.
It wasn’t even past lunch yet.
Rather than waking early and heading straight to the capsule, he was savoring a relaxed moment outside.
Initially, he’d intended to check the footage, but now he was simply taking a break.
He sipped coffee at the Cafe at a leisurely pace, idly fiddling with his phone.
An email from the Pantheon Developer?
He sent a reply immediately.
So that other users could participate as well.
Why did he do it, you ask?
There were several reasons, certainly.
But the simplest and greatest reason was one.
‘It’s fun.’
Other users should be able to enjoy it too.
There was no reason to monopolize it anymore.
Even if I distributed everything I was doing right now, no one could covet my position.
I knew that very well.
Above all, my assets had now exceeded 100 billion.
And they continued to grow.
You could say my mind had found peace.
It was truly a reason befitting Jin-woo.
Well, there was no one to object.
I’d even asked Yuna and Barmon via messenger just to be sure, and they said it was fine.
In fact, they questioned why I was even asking them for permission.
I’d already received the answer that since it was my authority, I could do it if I made up my mind.
Because I was enjoying this leisurely ease, I gave generously.
Now my goal was nearing its end.
‘Kaiser is finished, and I’ve entered my orbit.’
I’d reached a supreme position that no one could shake.
At first, I wondered if it might feel hollow, or perhaps lonely.
When one monopolizes and succeeds, one naturally thinks of such things.
But what was this?
Right now, it felt too comfortable and wonderful.
Achieving financial freedom was good, and achieving professional freedom was very satisfying.
In the Pantheon world, everyone praised Jin-woo, and I’d freed the Empire users from Kaiser, then began rebuilding a new Empire from the Empire itself.
Who would dare curse Jin-woo?
Standing at this absolute position of power felt so good.
An untouchable realm where nothing could lay a finger on me.
Since returning, I’d fulfilled most of my vows.
There was just one exception to that.
And that exception was romance.
Economic freedom? Career freedom?
I’d achieved both, yet romance still eluded me.
“Hmm.”
To be honest, since I’d never experienced romance, it was difficult to even feel lonely about it.
Before regression, I’d lived well enough without it.
Frankly, I was in a position where I could pursue romance if I wanted to.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t—more that I simply hadn’t. But the desire to try hadn’t disappeared.
That sweet, fluttering feeling.
I’d thought about it because I wanted to experience that kind of emotion you only see in romance comics or movies.
But now, I didn’t desperately crave it.
However.
‘There is something that bothers me.’
And that someone was none other than Yu Ji-a.
When I first saw her through a blind date app, I didn’t think much of it.
Just that she was pretty, I suppose?
Nothing more, nothing less.
But as our interactions deepened over time, and when I saw Young-jin while eating alone with Gia last time, I felt something strange.
I’d dismissed it as just their teasing affecting me.
Then my younger sister Min-ah’s words came back to me.
That I kept contacting Yu Ji-a because I was interested in her.
At those words, how should I put it?
My heart raced.
‘What should I do?’
Should I just go ahead and make a move?
Or should I just wait?
I had no idea what to do.
Of course, in situations like this, there’s only one solution.
Ask someone I know well.
Among the people Jin-woo knows well, who could I ask about this?
Naturally, there weren’t many.
This pathetic network of connections—I’d never had many friends to begin with.
But still, a few candidates came to mind.
The first person I thought of was naturally my younger sister Min-ah.
But I immediately shook my head.
‘She already said something about this before. She might tease me again if I ask.’
Min-ah was out of the question.
That left only one person.
Brrrring. Brrrring.
—Ugh, why, why?
A voice heavy with exhaustion.
It seemed he’d just woken up.
Nothing surprising about that.
After pulling an all-nighter like that yesterday, anyone would be tired.
Jin-woo was exhausted too.
“Hey, did I wake you?”
—…What kind of question is that? I’m sleeping.
Just as Young-jin tried to hang up, Jin-woo spoke urgently.
“Bonus!”
—…Man, you’re really throwing your weight around. So what’s this about?
He complained but didn’t end the call.
This guy was something else.
Anyway, Jin-woo cleared his throat and asked Young-jin.
“Hey, what do you usually say when you’re going on a date?”
—…What, what? Wait, what did you just say? Did you just say d-date?
—What?! Jin-woo’s going on a date?!
“What, is Hye-jin there with you too? Do you two live together?”
—Ah, no, damn it, that’s not the point right now! A date? Are you serious?!
—I told you! Back then! Kyaaaa!
Not just Young-jin, but his girlfriend Hye-jin standing beside him was screaming.
Was the mention of a date really such shocking news?
That’s what I thought, but then I recalled my own behavior and figured it made sense.
A perpetual bachelor suddenly bringing up dating—yeah, that would do it.
Especially since Young-jin was an old friend.
Anyway, I told Young-jin to calm down.
“…Hang up?”
—Ah, sorry, sorry. So you don’t know how to ask Gia out on a date?
“…I didn’t even mention Gia yet?”
—So it’s not her?
—…
Caught red-handed, I had nothing to say and fell silent.
I started to say something else but held back.
“So will you help me?”
—Hey! Of course! This is fun, I mean, what are friends for?!
There was a suspicious undertone to his words.
But I had no one else to turn to right now besides Young-jin.
I found myself sighing without realizing it.
“Sigh. Fine, help me out a bit.”
—Yeah, should I head out? Let’s meet up and talk about it.
“Why would you?”
-Do you know how important this is? You want to get scolded?
“By you?”
-No, by Gia.
“…I’m at the Coffee Bean near our place right now.”
-I’ll be right there. Wait for me.
After ending the call with Young-jin that way, Jin-woo let out a soft chuckle.
He thought it might be a bit much, but…
it wasn’t bad.
Rather… it made him feel a little nervous.
* * *
Just as Jin-woo was taking a break after the battle with Count Whinter’s forces, Yu Ji-a was also refraining from logging in, deciding to rest today.
Lying on her bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling before letting out a deep sigh.
“Sigh…”
Her heart felt suffocated with frustration.
She didn’t quite know why… or rather, she did know.
She knew a little.
But she still couldn’t believe it.
She had fought Jin-woo and shown meaningful results.
So why did she feel so frustrated?
While Gia was lost in such thoughts,
a message notification suddenly chimed.
Gia’s face, which had been shadowed until just moments ago, brightened with a smile as she picked up her phone.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the message she’d been waiting for.
Ji Eun-mi: Hey Gia, what are you doing?
[Dain: That’s right! There is no news these days~ㅋㅋ (giggling cat emoticon)]
Sensing something teasing in their messages, Gia replied.
[Yu Ji-a: Is something the matter?]
[Ji Eun-mi: Nothing, just checking in on our youngest!]
[Da-in: So what happened after that?]
[Da-in: You two ate together and played the game together!!!!]
Ji Eun-mi: Hahahahaha I’m so jealous! I’m jealous!
For some reason, Gia felt anger rising and typed her response combatively, accompanied by the sound of rapid keystrokes.
They kept doing this before!
And now again today!
[Yu Ji-a: It’s really nothing, I’m telling you!]
[Yu Ji-a: (rabbit wielding a carrot emoji)]
Ji Eun-mi: Is there really nothing? Nothing after that?
[Da-in: Huh? Really?]
[Dain: If it’s true, it’s seriousㅠㅠㅠ]
[Ji Eun-mi: Haven’t you contacted him since then?]
At first, her tone seemed rather teasing.
But when Yu Ji-a showed signs of genuine irritation, both of them quickly shifted to concern.
And rightfully so.
Anyone could see that Gia was clearly fond of Jin-woo.
Once Gia had calmed down somewhat,
she typed out a message with obvious weariness.
[Yu Ji-a: Well, I do contact him… but I don’t know…]
Ji Eun-mi: Ugh… Let’s just wait for now. Jin-woo oppa will contact me first.
[Da-in: No way… if the other person isn’t interested, why would they contact you first?]
[Da-in: Has your brother ever contacted you first?]
[Yu Ji-a: …No, I’ve always been the one to reach out first.]
[Ji Eun-mi: Ah…]
[Da-in: Ah…]
He hadn’t initiated contact first.
This was usually quite telling.
Most men reach out first when they’re interested in a woman.
But if he doesn’t reach out first?
That typically means he’s either uninterested or doesn’t see her as a romantic prospect.
He might even dislike her.
Of course, Gia didn’t believe that was the case.
But people are always prone to anxiety, aren’t they?
Gia was no exception.
[Yu Ji-a: He must be busy.]
[Ji Eun-mi: ㅠㅠ Jia, what are you doing today? If we don’t have anything else, let’s play with the sisters.]
[Dain: We will play with you ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
At their messages, Gia let out a soft laugh.
Her mood had been heavy,
but at times like this, she needed to have fun.
Spending time with her close friends would surely lift her spirits.
With that thought, Gia sent her reply.
[Yu Ji-a: Sounds good. Where should we meet?]
[Da-in: We’ll head over to your neighborhood!]
[Ji Eun-mi: We were already hanging out around there anyway!]
[Yu Ji-a: Got it, I’ll get ready and head out.]
Both Eun-mi and Da-in knew that Gia had feelings for Jin-woo.
They wanted to help, but with Jin-woo showing no response, what could they do?
There was nothing more pitiful than loving someone who didn’t care.
They both planned to console her once she arrived.
Still, they intended to encourage her to try a few more times.
I couldn’t give up just like this—not when this was Gia’s first time developing feelings for someone, and more importantly, because I could feel that it was genuine affection.
Gia was beginning to sense it too, however faintly.
Even without experience in romance, she couldn’t possibly be unaware that she harbored genuine feelings for Jin-woo.
But acknowledging it terrified her, because then she’d have to imagine what Jin-woo truly thought of her.
So she tried her best to pretend ignorance.
It was the only way to make the situation slightly less miserable.
The reality was obvious to anyone watching: Gia adored Jin-woo, while he showed little interest in return.
Knowing this, Gia instinctively sought to escape.
It was while she was showering and drying her hair in preparation to head out that her phone began to ring persistently.
The sound was somewhat muffled by the hair dryer’s noise.
It seemed like a message notification, but she figured she could check it later.
It was probably Ji Eun-mi and Da-in letting her know where they were.
Most likely a message about their arrival time.
After drying her hair, she picked up her phone to check.
She opened the messages to see how close they were.
But an unexpected contact had come through.
[Jin-woo: Do you have time today?]
[Jin-woo: If you’re busy, we can meet another time.]
[Jin-woo: Let me know when you see this.]
Exactly three messages.
Upon reading them, Yu Ji-a found herself dialing without thinking.
Ring… ring… ring…
Ring… ring…
Ji Eun-mi answered before the call could ring much longer.
—”Oh, Gia! We’re almost here. What’s wrong?”
“Um, um, um, unni.”
—”What? What’s going on?”
“I… I got a message. He’s asking if I’m free today. What should I do…?”
—”KYAAAAA! Crazy! Tell him yes right now!”
It looked like I’d have to postpone my plans with the girls today.
I guess I’ll have to postpone my plans with the girls today.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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