Chapter 100: 100 | Cute is What You Call a Puppy

Jordan left Kumiko by the display case.

Walked over to the blue shirt employee.

A guy in his early twenties with a name tag that said Michael.

"Excuse me," Jordan said.

Michael looked up. "Yeah?"

"Need help getting something from the locked case. Graphics cards."

"Sure. Give me a few minutes to finish with these folks and I’ll be right over."

"Cool."

Jordan headed back.

Turned the corner into the computer section.

Stopped.

Two guys stood next to Kumiko.

Early twenties.

College age.

One wore a Supreme hoodie.

The other had a man bun.

Both were smiling.

Kumiko’s body language was wrong.

Shoulders tight.

Smile forced.

She took a small step back.

Supreme hoodie moved closer.

Kumiko’s eyes darted around.

Landed on Jordan.

Pleading.

Something hot flared in Jordan’s chest.

Not anger exactly.

Protective.

Which was stupid because Kumiko could handle herself.

She was confronting two guys!

But the look on her face.

Fuck it.

Jordan walked over.

Casual.

Confident.

The Alluring Whisper trait thrummed in his throat.

"Hey baby," Jordan said.

His voice came out smooth.

Low.

The kind of tone that made people stop and listen.

"Looks like the worker is gonna come help us in a minute."

He slid his arm around Kumiko’s waist.

Pulled her against his side.

She went willingly.

Practically melted into him.

"Oh hey!" Jordan looked at the two guys like he just noticed them. "Did you guys have any business with my girl?"

Supreme hoodie’s eyes widened.

"Oh shit my bad man. Didn’t know she was taken."

Man bun raised his hands. "Yeah we were just. You know. Saying hi."

"Cool cool." Jordan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. "Have a nice day then."

"Yeah. You too."

They left.

Quick.

Nearly tripped over each other getting around the corner.

Jordan waited until they disappeared.

Then released Kumiko.

"You good?"

Kumiko nodded.

Her face was red.

"Yeah. They were just. Being weird."

"Of course they were."

"Thank you for. You know."

"No problem."

Jordan’s phone buzzed.

A System notification.

He ignored it.

Kumiko was still standing close.

Really close.

Her perfume filled his nose.

Something sweet. Vanilla maybe. With a hint of strawberry.

She looked up at him.

Brown eyes wide behind her contacts.

"You’re really nice," she said quietly.

"Just didn’t want them bothering you."

"Still. Most guys wouldn’t have done that."

"Most guys are assholes."

Kumiko laughed.

Soft.

A little breathless.

"Yeah. They are."

Michael appeared at the end of the aisle.

"Sorry about the wait. Which card did you need?"

Kumiko stepped back quickly.

Too quickly.

Like she’d been caught doing something wrong.

"The RTX 4070," she said. "That one."

Marcus unlocked the case.

Pulled out the box.

"Anything else?"

"Nope. Just that."

"Cool. You guys building a gaming rig?"

"Streaming setup," Kumiko said. "For my friend."

"Nice nice. This card will handle that no problem."

Marcus handed Jordan the box.

Jordan tucked it under his arm.

"We still need a case and power supply," Kumiko said.

"Cases are two aisles over. Power supplies are on the endcap."

"Thanks!"

Kumiko was already walking.

Jordan followed.

His phone buzzed again.

Definitely the System.

Probably something about Kumiko.

Her attraction percentage maybe.

Or a prompt to register her.

Jordan didn’t check.

Not here.

Not now.

Kumiko stopped in front of a wall of PC cases.

Glass panels. RGB lights. Mesh fronts.

"Which one do you like?" she asked.

"I don’t know. They all look the same."

"Wrong answer. Cases are important. Airflow matters. Cable management matters. Aesthetics matter."

"You sound like a commercial."

"I’m serious! This is Chloe’s PC. It should look good."

Jordan scanned the options.

Picked a black case with a tempered glass side panel and white LED strips.

"That one."

"Ooh. Good choice. Clean. Professional. I like it."

She grabbed the display box.

Checked the price tag.

"Ninety dollars. Not bad."

They collected the power supply next.

A heavy black box rated for 850 watts.

Kumiko explained wattage requirements.

Jordan’s brain turned off halfway through.

Finally they had everything.

CPU. Motherboard. RAM. Storage. Graphics card. Case. Power supply. Thermal paste. Case fans.

Jordan’s arms were full.

Kumiko carried the lighter stuff.

They headed to checkout.

The total came to just under two thousand dollars.

Jordan’s card went through without issue.

The cashier looked between them.

"Building a PC together huh? That’s cute."

"It’s for his girlfriend," Kumiko said quickly.

"Oh. Nice. Lucky girl."

"Yeah. She is."

Kumiko’s voice was quiet.

Jordan glanced at her.

She was staring at the receipt.

Not smiling.

They loaded everything into Jordan’s trunk.

The boxes barely fit.

Kumiko had to rearrange things twice to make it work.

When she finally closed the trunk she turned to Jordan.

"Thank you for today."

"You did all the work."

"Still. It was fun."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She smiled. Small. "I don’t get to build PCs with people very often." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Well. We’re building it this Sunday right?"

"Right."

Jordan opened the passenger door again.

Kumiko climbed in.

He shut the door.

Walked around to the driver’s side.

Got in.

Started the engine.

Kumiko was quiet on the drive back.

Not her usual chatty self.

Just staring out the window.

Jordan almost asked if she was okay.

But didn’t.

Wasn’t his business.

They reached her apartment complex.

Jordan pulled into the same spot from earlier.

Kumiko unbuckled her seatbelt.

Didn’t move to leave.

"Jordan?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I. Ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

She turned to face him.

Her expression was serious.

Vulnerable.

"Do you think I’m. You know. Attractive?"

Jordan’s brain short-circuited.

"What?"

"Like objectively. Do you think I’m pretty?"

"Kumiko."

"It’s just. Everyone always says I’m cute. But cute isn’t the same as pretty. Cute is what you call a puppy. Or a kid. I want to be. More than cute."

She looked down at her lap.

Fingers twisting together.

"Every guy I date looks at me and sees. I don’t know. A fantasy. The anime girl. The cosplayer. They don’t see me."

Jordan didn’t know what to say.

"Sorry." Kumiko laughed. Hollow. "That was weird. Forget I said anything."

She reached for the door handle.

Jordan’s hand shot out.

Grabbed her wrist.

Gentle.

She froze.

"You’re not just cute," Jordan said.

His voice was low.

The Alluring Whisper trait activated without permission.

"You’re beautiful. Any guy who can’t see that is an idiot."

Kumiko’s breath hitched.

She turned to look at him.

Eyes wide.

Lips parted.

"You mean that?"

"Yeah."

"But you’re with Chloe."

"I am."

"So you’re just. Being nice."

"I’m being honest."

Kumiko stared at him for a long moment.

Then smiled.

Real this time.

"Thank you."

"Welcome."

She squeezed his hand once.

Then pulled away.

Opened the door.

"See you this weekend?"

"Yeah. We’ll build the PC."

"Okay. Text me."

"I will."

Kumiko climbed out.

Shut the door.

Waved through the window.

Jordan waved back.

She disappeared into her apartment building.

Jordan sat in his car.

Alone.

Finally pulled out his phone.

The System notifications were waiting.

Multiple messages.

He opened them.

Jordan’s screen flooded with gold.

✨ TRANSACTION COMPLETE ✨

Purchase: Gaming PC Components

Amount: $1,847.63

Girl: Chloe Kim

Attraction Change: 58% → 64% (+6%)

Rebate: $2,364.72 (1.28x rate)

Net: +$517.09

Chloe’s Updated Status:

Chemistry: 64% ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jordan stared at the numbers.

He’d just made five hundred dollars.

By spending money on his girlfriend’s streaming setup.

The System had paid him to be a good boyfriend.

His phone buzzed again.

🔔 PROXIMITY ALERT

Beauty Detected: Yamanaka Kumiko

Status: Available for Registration

Slot 2: Empty

Register now?

Jordan stared at the prompt.

His thumb hovered over the button.

He thought about Kumiko’s face when she asked if he thought she was pretty.

The vulnerability there.

The loneliness.

He thought about Chloe.

His girlfriend.

Who slept in his arms last night.

Who called him boyfriend this morning.

Who trusted him.

Despite everything.

Jordan pressed NO.

The notification disappeared.

Replaced by a new message.

Registration declined.

Slot 2 remains empty.

Continue current path?

Jordan locked his phone.

Tossed it in the cupholder.

Started the engine.

Drove home.

The conversation with Chloe couldn’t wait much longer.