In the end, I couldn't openly walk around the streets because of my face.
'I need to collect coins quickly.'
Every time something like this happens, I think I need to work hard on the missions.
If I had that item, I could freely walk around the streets with them right now.
Joanna asked me to recommend a place to go.
But I don't know much about this place either.
In the end, Joanna shook her head at my admission that I didn't know any places.
"Jin, you're surprisingly ignorant. How can you know less about your own country than I, a foreigner?"
"Ha ha, I just don't like going out much."
I'm practically a foreigner here too.
Although it has a similar atmosphere to Korea, uses the same language, and has a similar culture, the occasional surprising differences make it impossible to think of it as the same.
Anyway, we decided to go out and ended up in the most eye-catching place we could find.
'Why did it have to be a karaoke bar?'
Anyone could see that they were expecting me to sing.
And I understood why Joanna chose a karaoke bar.
'She told me to show off my charm, so she wants me to do it through singing.'
The problem is that my singing ability is only slightly better than an average person's.
If someone who enjoys listening to music hears me sing, they'll immediately notice my level.
"Wow, this is interesting. I've seen pictures, but I didn't know it looked like this."
"Don't you have karaoke bars in your country?"
"Nope. We don't. I wish we had something like this. It looks fun."
Joanna quickly found a seat and grabbed a microphone.
I, being experienced, took out the karaoke book and handed it to Joanna.
"Find the song you want to sing here, and enter the number into this machine. Press the reserve button to reserve the song. The lyrics will appear on the screen."
"I don't get it. Jin, show me how it's done!"
I had expected this, so I calmly flipped through the book, found a song I knew, and entered the number into the machine.
"Hmm hmm!"
I was a bit nervous, so I thought about using coins to boost my singing skills.
As the background music played, I quickly opened the status window and used coins to roll the gacha.
My singing skill, which had surpassed 30% and reached 37.13%, was now at 38.00% after a rare significant increase of 0.83%.
'Wow!'
It had been a while since I had such a big gain.
My singing skill was now a nice, round number, which made me feel good as I started to sing.
The effect of the 0.83% increase was immediately noticeable in my voice.
The "Singing" ability encompasses pitch, rhythm, vocal quality, and more.
So, improving the singing skill enhances overall performance.
'To fully benefit from the increased ability, practice is needed, but some effects are immediate.'
Even without warming up, my voice came out smoothly.
The good start led to a confident continuation.
I thought I sang well.
I glanced at Joanna and Mei Lin's faces.
'They seem satisfied.'
The song I chose was not too difficult, and the improved vocal quality had a positive effect.
Even Mei Lin, who had been standoffish, didn't look away when our eyes met.
After the song ended, Joanna clapped and cheered.
"Honey, how can you sing so well? You're truly a singer! Right, Mei?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, I enjoyed it."
"Mei really likes men who sing well. It's her ideal type."
"I'm far from being her ideal type."
"No, you're good enough! Right??"
"…It wasn't bad."
"I didn't know my muse had such a charming voice too! Next time, let me hear your moans! I might get inspired!"
Cough, cough!
Mei Lin and I were shocked by the sudden risqué comment.
"Joanna! What's with the sudden dirty talk?"
"What? I'm just being honest!"
Completely shameless, Joanna stood her ground.
In the end, Mei Lin and I were left speechless.
"Sigh, there's no stopping you. I'll sing next."
Mei Lin chose an appropriate song and started singing.
It was a song currently topping the Billboard Hot 100.
Her slightly husky voice suited the song perfectly.
"Wow, you sing really well too, Mei Lin."
"Hehe, thank you."
"I'm next!"
Joanna confidently stepped up, and Mei Lin's face twitched slightly.
"You're going to sing rock again, aren't you?"
"Is rock your preferred genre?"
"It's not about preference; she's tone-deaf and singing rock makes it even worse. It's so loud."
"Rock is all about passion! Being tone-deaf doesn't matter."
Joanna confidently entered the number and started the song.
And my ears exploded.
••••°°°°•••°°°••••
"Ah~ I feel so relieved!"
After that loud singing, if she didn't feel relieved, something would be wrong.
After having fun at the karaoke bar, we decided to have some drinks since our throats were dry.
"Let's not go far. Let's buy some drinks and have them in the hotel room. It's more comfortable that way."
"Hmm, should we?"
"Yes, yes!"
Following Joanna's suggestion, we bought snacks and drinks and headed to the hotel.
The hotel room belonged to Joanna.
"Don't you think we bought too much?"
"It's fine~ It's fine~ We can finish it all."
Our hands were full of our favorite snacks. It was way too much for three people.
We had jokbal and bossam, tteokbokki, fried odeng, and cheese dakgalbi, all packed to go.
And that's not all.
On one side, a bag full of various canned beers and soju was precariously dangling, ready to burst.
Joanna, full of enthusiasm, quickly laid out the snacks and drinks as soon as we entered the room.
"I didn't know Korean food was this delicious. I want to eat it again later."
Surprisingly, Mei Lin showed a great fondness for Korean food.
By the way, tteokbokki is Mei Lin's favorite.
We all gathered around the lavishly set table.
"Let's dig in!"
"Let's have a shot first!"
With the drinks in front of us, both of them had sparkling eyes.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
Gulp, gulp— Ah~!
The bitter yet warming soju brought a satisfied smile to my face.
'This is it.'
I scooped up the red-sauced dakgalbi with a chunk of white cheese on top.
The cheese stretched as I lifted it.
I twirled it around my chopsticks, breaking it off, and popped it into my mouth.
'Delicious!'
The spicy sauce and the subtle smoky flavor were perfect.
The sharp spiciness was beautifully balanced by the creamy cheese, making my chopsticks move eagerly.
"This is how you eat bossam."
Joanna was about to eat just the bossam meat, so I showed her the proper way to eat it.
"Delicious!"
Joanna and Mei Lin happily followed my instructions, wrapping the bossam in lettuce, and were very satisfied.
With the delicious food, the drinks naturally followed.
Was it because of the alcohol?
Mei Lin's attitude towards me became a bit more relaxed.
Of course, we didn't suddenly become best friends.
At least she didn't treat me like a complete stranger anymore.
That small step forward had evolved into her initiating conversations with me.
"You drink well."
"I haven't drunk much since I'm only 20 this year."
"Oh my god, you're only 20? You're so young. You're dating such a young guy?"
"Hehe, age doesn't matter. As long as he's good, that's all that matters."
"You shameless girl."
Mei Lin's blunt remarks didn't faze Joanna, who just laughed.
Their close friendship was evident in their playful banter.
"Oh, by the way, I learned something!"
"What did you learn?"
"Ma-shi-ra~ Ma-shi-ra~ Ma-shi-ra~ Won-je-kka-jweo Oh-gae-choo-meul Chwi-gae-ha-gya?"
"Hahaha!!!
"What? Why are you laughing? What song is that?"
"Haha! It's a traditional song you must sing at drinking parties!"
Joanna's unexpected words made me burst out laughing.
Since we were in a hotel room, I thought it wouldn't matter if we drank a lot.
The alcohol started to flow more freely.
As the night wore on, our conversations deepened.
"When are you going to stop calling Mei 'Director'? This isn't a formal meeting."
"I don't mind. It's appropriate to call an director 'Director'."
"No, no~! You're not going to see her just for today, right? I want the three of us to meet often in the future!"
"Once my work is done, I'll go back to my country. What reason would I have to come back here?"
Mei Lin kept trying to back out, and Joanna scolded her.
"That's nonsense! Does that mean you won't come to see me?"
"...."
Mei Lin clearly treats people differently based on whether they are inside or outside her circle.
She is cold and distant to outsiders but much more relaxed with those inside her circle.
"Well, not exactly…"
"I'm going to be here for a long time! I'm going to stick close to my muse and suck him dry. Jin is really amazing."
"I know your boyfriend is handsome. Stop bragging. It's making me jealous."
"No! Being handsome is just one of Jin's many qualities. His true worth is much more than just his looks."
"Is his face just 'whatever'?"
Joanna looked incredulous at Mei Lin's remark.
Feeling a sense of danger, I opened my mouth to intervene in the conversation.
But unfortunately, Joanna was one step ahead.
"Jin is really good at sex! He's fantastic! First of all, Jin's size is not typical for an Asian. It's impressive! I've only seen other men in porn, so I can't compare, but it's definitely not small. When he moves that thick thing inside me, I feel like I'm going to pass out from the pleasure."
Gasp!
"Cough! Cough!"
Mei Lin, who was drinking at that moment, choked on her drink at Joanna's words.
Of course, I was also shocked by Joanna's explicit remarks and stood there with my mouth open.
"You're being so crude. You're drunk. That's sexual harassment. Even if you're a couple, it's still a personal matter."
"Do you not like me talking about it? But I want to brag. Thanks to Jin, I've experienced true pleasure as a woman."
"Is this kind of talk okay with you?"
Mei Lin looked at me.
I awkwardly smiled and said,
"It's part of Joanna's charm."
"I see. You must really love her. That's impressive."
"You should stop drinking. You're drunk."
"I'm not drunk. I'm sober."
"That's even more of a problem, don't you think?"
Joanna laughed at the embarrassed Mei Lin and me.
Her lack of filter was causing us discomfort.
As the alcohol flowed, all of our faces turned red.
"How long are you planning to stay here? You're too smart to be left alone by the company for long."
"Is that a compliment?"
"More or less."
"Hmph, I told them I want to stay here, so they agreed. I just need to send them my designs regularly."
"Do you think you can handle that? You like to be involved in every detail."
"If they can't properly execute my designs, why am I a freelancer? I can always find a better job. There are plenty of offers. You saw my latest design, right? Everyone was amazed. As long as my muse is by my side, I'm confident I can maintain this quality."
Hearing Joanna's words, Mei Lin poured herself a full shot of soju and gulped it down.
She was already quite drunk, but she kept drinking without hesitation.
Since we were drinking in the room, she probably thought it was okay to get really drunk.
Finally, Mei Lin brought up the topic Joanna had been waiting for.
"You said you had a way to help me out of my slump, right?"
* * *