The Good Pork Belly Place back on Earth. Phi Sora... or just Sora these days.
Anyway, at her restaurant.
After doing her job as the Guide in the Tutorial, she'd immediately returned to Earth to check on Sohyun and the others who had died in Paradise.
As usual, the anxiety she had worrying about them made her panic until she returned to Earth to ensure they were okay...
But, as always, they were fine. In fact, they were thriving.
As Sora put another pork belly on the grill and set up a platter for another customer, she couldn't help but think about all that had happened.
Specifically, the person she owed her everything to right now.
'That damned Jihu...'
The flirty tease. The crazy bastard who gave her too much without asking anything in return. The one who drew clear lines between friends and enemies, just like her.
And the one who was apparently such a man he had at least ten women after him. Eleven, including her. Twelve if you included that weirdo friend of Jinhee's.
Though...
Sora flipped the pork belly and frowned, thinking as she watched it cook.
'What do I want from him?'
That was the problem.
Sora owed him too much.
She definitely owed him her life. After all, despite her pissing him off AND basically pissing all over his kindness back when she first met him, Jihu had still shown up to save her.
She also owed him the lives of Sohyun and the others under her care too. Because Jihu had given her those platinum beads so quickly and urged her to head back to Earth, she managed to get to everyone in time to prevent the backlash of dying.
Although it had been close, and she had reached a few mid-attempt at ending their lives... everyone was fine.
And like she had thought earlier, everyone was thriving.
Sohyun was relaxed and enjoying a pleasant time being a server at the Good Pork Belly Place, not having to worry about the next paycheck or if she needed to risk her life in Paradise to make ends meet...
And the same was true for everyone else too.
It was a debt that Sora could never properly repay.
'Fuck, even if I threw myself at him...'
What could Sora even do, right?
Money? Jihu had that in spades on Earth because he was apparently a secret tech mogul.
Power? Jihu was ridiculous enough to be superhuman on Earth too, so that was a non-issue. Not to mention that she had definitely seen him talking with Hao Win about being the shadow emperor of Korea...
Giving him her body? Please, that handsome bastard could talk to any woman and have her in bed within the hour. Not to mention he already had peerless beauties on hand like Flone, Hannah, and Claire. Let alone everyone else.
So that was her issue.
...Sora owed Jihu a lot. She was grateful. But also... that gratitude had slowly shifted. She was starting to want him to look at her more. And when he made that joke one time... no, after drinking with him here and waking up having been taken care of him all night...
Sora sighed and cut up the cooked pork belly, assembling the meal and sliding it over to Sohyun to serve.
'Speaking of Sohyun... That girl's been getting nosier.'
Ever since the day that Jihu took over cooking, Sohyun had been bothering Sora about when 'her man' would come back.
But...
"Jihu isn't my man, stupid," Sora murmured.
"You know, I would disagree with that."
Sora jumped and swung her knife at the voice on instinct.
"Whoa!" Jihu smiled, catching her wrist mid-swing and pinning the knife flat against his body. "You'll hurt someone like that, Sora."
"Son of a-" Sora huffed and said, "Do you have to always pop in like some ghost?"
"Honestly, it's pretty fun, so yes."
Sora rolled her eyes hard and dinged the bell to get Sohyun to grab the meal.
"Coming, Unni- Oh my god it's the handsome Ahjussi!"
Jihu gasped. "Ahjussi!"
Sohyun blinked. "E-Eh? S-Sorry, it's just-"
"NO! PLEASE." Jihu looked at Sohyun with frantic eyes. "ABSOLUTELY NOT OPPA. AHJUSSI YES!"
"O-Okay? Um..." Sohyun gave Jihu a weird look and took the meal. "I'll just... go serve this." After that, she made a quick retreat.
Sora raised an eyebrow. "What's with that reaction?"
"You don't understand, Sora." Jihu looked at her and said, "EVERY girl who's called me Oppa at some point, minus Jinhee, has fallen DEEP down the rabbithole from me. The fact that Sohyun called me Ahjussi instead..." He let out a content sigh. "...Finally, the worst is over."
"...Sure." Sora prepped another pork belly and said, "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be with your wife, Flone, or at the Neutral Zone?"
"I'm here for you, obviously."
Sora paused. "...You know you don't have to." She pressed the pork belly down on the grill with a pair of tongs and said, "I'm not like the other women in your life. I'm fine keeping it casual."
"As I've now become VERY aware from MULTIPLE sources, any time a woman says she's 'fine' then she isn't. Besides that..." Jihu naturally joined Sora's workflow, scraping the grill clean and prepping more pork belly by marinading it. "...How can I ignore the only woman who kept up with my merciless flirting, hm?"
Sora rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous. Though..." She looked at him. "...Am I really the only one you flirt with? I would've thought you did that with the other girls too."
"Mm." Jihu placed another pork belly on the grill and said, "The vibe is wrong with them. Besides, every woman feels that they're loved in a different way. At least, that's what I know now. And you enjoy the banter, don't you? Like how you always took my sword~"
Sora laughed. "Careful now. Sohyun already thinks we're fucking."
"Well, she can think all she wants. She'll only get to see it in her head~"
"Pft. That's terrible, you bastard. And please. As hot as you are, it's not that easy to get me into bed."
"Ah, right, right. You need a few drinks first."
Sora turned a bright red and said, "Th-That was ONE time! And that's only because I didn't believe you couldn't get drunk, you crazy bastard. Also, how the hell did you drink so much and still be fine afterwards?"
"Superhuman."
"...Right. Bastard." Sora huffed and put the finished pork belly off to the lower heat before grabbing another onto the main flame. "...But seriously. Why are you here?"
"I'm here because I seriously want to love you. Well, if you want to be loved by me."
Sora blinked. "...That's a weird phrasing. 'Want to be loved' by you? And not 'want me to love you?'"
"Yeah." Jihu nodded. "I can make you feel loved if you tell me how. But I can't love only you, you know? So it's a small compromise."
Sora snorted. "Of course."
"What? No good?"
"Nah, I figured it'd be like that. But it's better that way anyway. With what I heard from Flone and Hannah, you're a monster in bed."
Jihu laughed. "Yes, well... physical stats carry over for me. It's hard for me to get worn out."
"...Is that a challenge or a promise?"
"Both~"
Sora paused and turned off the grill to look at Jihu properly.
He looked like he had just showered. His clothes were fresh too...
"...You bastard. You've been with women all day, haven't you?"
"Since I know you can handle the answer... yep." Jihu nodded. "I wanted to make sure the women who loved me felt loved in turn. And I also wanted to learn how they felt loved. Because I recently became aware that it's definitely not the same for each person."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Like how?"
"Well. Hannah just wants proof that she's mine. So the fact that she's my legal wife and that I involve her in big life decisions makes her feel seen and appreciated. Flone literally doesn't care as long as I spend some time with her. Chocho wants to feel cherished... Things like that."
"Huh." Sora nodded. "That's interesting..." She hummed. "I guess that makes sense. If you just treated them 'the same' then they'd be fighting for your attention. But since you're tailoring to each, they don't feel like they're fighting for the same thing, right? Like, it doesn't overlap."
"Mmhm."
"And you want to do that with me, huh? Wow, aren't you greedy."
Jihu chuckled. "I'll admit it. I'm a vain man. I'm sure that I'm the best candidate around and that I've ruined men for all the women who love me. So I'm taking proper responsibility for it."
"Only responsiblity? Wow, making us seem like just some chore~"
Jihu smirked. "Well, it's a lot of 'homework' I have to catch up on, you know?"
Sora laughed. "Okay, that one was bad. What, are you going to say that you want me to stay in the kitchen next?"
"Mm, I wouldn't mind if you cook meals for me for the rest of your life."
Sora's breath hitched.
Jihu stared at her. He was smirking, but his eyes were warm. Sincere.
Sora's hands trembled and she set down her tongs. "...That's not fair, you know?"
Jihu looked at Sora and calmly said, "Sora. Tell me how to make you feel loved and I'll do it. One way or another, I'll make it work. Or if you don't know, let's find out together. But I can tell, you know? The only man in your heart now is me. So I'll make sure that your heart's taken care of properly."
"Pft." Sora's eyes softened and she said, "...You don't play fair. Saying such cocky things with sincerity is cheating."
"Well, I say these things because I mean them and can back it up."
"...Fine. Then... If you're serious." Sora waved her hand at the kitchen. "...Be a part of my life. Don't make me part of yours. Just show up in mine. I won't ask you to be a constant. But make sure you don't leave me behind. And... if I'm lonely and ask you to visit, don't ignore me."
"Deal." Jihu smiled. "Should I consider it part of your repayment process for the debt you have?"
"You bastard." Sora laughed. "No. It's that long overdue tip from you and Jinhee keeping me past my work hours."
Jihu laughed as well and said, "Deal. Then... on a more serious but also a bit awkward topic..."
"Yeah?" Sora tilted her head. "What are you thinking about now?"
"Do you WANT sex? Or do you just enjoy the lewd banter. Because you always did get the weird look when I teased about handling my sword-"
"OUT."
Jihu laughed and stole a kiss before vanishing.
"Son of a-!"
Sora shook her head and placed a hand over her lips, still feeling the lingering warmth. "...Crazy bastard."
Was it because he'd gone around resolving things with all his other women? Or did he finally realize that they were people too?
Either way...
"Hmph. He's gotten too smooth. It's definitely not fair." Sora chuckled and went back to cooking. "...Well. I guess it's fine."
'How I want to be loved, huh?'
Jihu implied it was something he had asked all the women who loved him. And they had all given him slightly different answers.
Sora thought about it some more and then murmured, "Maybe that's why, huh?"
It should hurt, knowing that he was with other women...
No, it definitely did a little. Knowing that the scale wasn't balanced properly. That she was giving everything and he wasn't giving everything back.
But...
"...He's the sort of guy one woman can't handle alone anyway."
In bed, in person, and in life.
Jihu was the sort who needed multiple anchors to make sure he didn't go off the rails. So...
"...Yeah. It's fine. Besides."
Sora chuckled. "...He's right about one thing. I'm the only one who can handle his sword properly~"
Maybe she should torture him a bit in bed the next time he popped back in. Teach him a lesson by showing him just how well she could 'handle' his sword with her hands...
But that was a later day.
For now...
Sora smiled and went back to cooking.
Like that, another one of her peaceful days, the latest of many since she met Jihu... Another day came and went.