Episode 3 / 10
Monday morning.
The numbers were still there.
As soon as Minseo arrived at work, she started looking at the people around her.
Manager Kim from Corporate Support in the elevator:
0
Assistant Manager Park from the neighboring department:
17
A new hire she had never seen before:
6
A deputy director from Development she passed outside a meeting room:
31
Most of them were under fifty. She still hadn't seen how high the numbers could go.
Minseo sat down and opened her notes app.
Only visible above men. 0~? Different for everyone.
After thinking for a moment, she added:
No idea what it measures.
Maybe it was a personality score. But Manager Kim, famous around the office for being genuinely nice, had a zero. So probably not.
Ability? Health? Remaining lifespan?
The last possibility was far too ominous when the new hire had a six.
Minseo closed the note.
Even if I figure it out, what am I supposed to do with it?
She tried to work.
But the more she tried not to notice, the more the numbers jumped out at her. When she went out for lunch, they floated above men everywhere.
3 21 8
34
She started noticing numbers before faces.
(Serin): “Assistant Manager.”
Minseo flinched.
(Minseo): “Yeah?”
(Serin): “What are you looking at?”
(Minseo): “Nothing.”
Serin followed Minseo's gaze into the empty air above two male employees standing nearby. She gave Minseo a suspicious look.
(Serin): “That did not look like a 'nothing' look.”
(Minseo): “Seriously. It was nothing.”
Serin nodded as if accepting the answer, though she clearly didn't believe it.
Minseo turned back to her monitor.
Whatever the numbers were, other people couldn't see them.
That much seemed certain.
That evening, Hyunju called while Minseo was on her way home. It had been a while.
“Hey, Hyunju.”
— You off work?
“Yeah. Heading home.”
— Can you talk?
Hyunju's voice sounded more subdued than usual. Minseo slowed her pace.
“Why? Something happen?”
A brief silence.
— The bank called me again today.
Minseo understood immediately.
Hyunju's ex-husband. The man who had been in debt even before they married and had hidden it from her.
The divorce was final, but unfinished problems still reached back and grabbed her from time to time.
— I'm so sick of this.
Minseo simply listened.
— If I'd known about his debt before we got married, I wouldn't have married him. I mean it.
Hyunju sighed.
— Back then I thought talking about money made you look calculating.
— Like, if you love someone, do you really have to interrogate them about every little thing?
— But you do.
Her voice rose slightly.
— Minseo, when you meet someone, ask everything. Seriously.
— How much he makes. Whether he has debt. Whether his parents are financially prepared for retirement.
Minseo gave a small laugh.
“Should I run a credit check on the first date?”
— Don't laugh. I'm serious.
Hyunju wasn't laughing.
— Money can break love.
— Money changes people too.
— At first you say you'll figure it out together.
— Then it turns into, why should I pay off your debt?
— Why should my parents' money have to go into this?
— Eventually, you look at his face and all you can see is the debt.
Minseo said nothing.
Hyunju's words stayed with her longer than she expected.
— Don't do what I did.
— Liking someone matters, sure.
— But if you're thinking about marriage, you have to look at the practical stuff too.
— Love isn't the only thing you live on.
Even after the call ended, Minseo stood there with her phone in her hand for a while.
Love isn't the only thing you live on.
A few years ago, she would have dismissed it as something Hyunju said because she'd been badly burned.
But lately, looking around at the people she knew, it didn't seem entirely wrong.
One friend had married young, saved money with her husband, received help from both families, and bought a home in Seoul.
Hyunju had gotten divorced because of money.
Apparently, marriage required looking at quite a few things besides whether you liked someone.
Money mattered too, she supposed. It was better to have more of it. At the very least, better to be with someone who didn't have a financial disaster waiting in the background.
Maybe that much was reasonable.
She dropped the thought almost immediately.
First I need a man to evaluate.
Two days later, her mother called.
“Yeah?”
— What are you doing Saturday?
Her mother's voice sounded suspiciously excited.
Minseo went on alert.
“Why?”
— I found someone for you.
“Again?”
— This one is really good.
Her mother had said the same thing last time.
“How old?”
— Thirty-seven.
At least he wasn't forty.
“What does he do?”
— He works for S*, one of the big conglomerates.
Minseo went quiet for a second.
Her mother sounded even more excited.
— He grew up in Daechi-dong. His parents still live there.
— And he owns a place in Jamsil.
“He owns a home?”
— Yes. There's a mortgage, but who owns a place in Seoul without one these days?
Minseo sat down on the sofa.
Her mother added proudly,
— I saw a picture too. He looks perfectly decent.
“How did you already see his picture?”
— A close friend from church is introducing you.
“That's terrifying.”
— You're going this time.
“……”
— Song Minseo.
Her mother used her full name.
— You think men like this come along every day?
Minseo didn't answer.
S* conglomerate. Owns a place in Jamsil. Parents in Daechi-dong.
Thirty-seven.
Hyunju's words from a few days earlier came back to her.
You have to look at the practical stuff too.
“Send me his picture.”
Her mother went silent for a beat. Then her voice jumped an octave.
— You're going to meet him?
“Picture first.”
— Fine. I'll send it right now.
Less than ten seconds after they hung up, the photo arrived.
A man in a suit.
Not handsome enough to make anyone stare, but neat-looking. Presentable.
Minseo zoomed in.
She didn't especially like him. She didn't dislike him either.
She messaged her mother.
I'll go.
The moment the read receipt appeared, her mother called.
Minseo didn't pick up.
Saturday afternoon.
Minseo arrived at the cafe a little early. She had put more effort into her appearance than usual, though not enough to buy a new outfit for one blind date.
She chose a dress she had only worn a few times and did her makeup a bit more carefully.
She checked the mirror once.
Good enough.
She sat down in the cafe.
Two minutes before the appointed time, the door opened and a man walked in.
The man from the photo.
He spotted Minseo and came toward her.
And that was when she saw the number above his head.
51
The first number she'd ever seen over fifty.
Without meaning to, Minseo checked again.
51
The man smiled.
(Junho): “Song Minseo?”
(Minseo): “Yes. Park Junho?”
(Junho): “That's me. Nice to meet you.”
Junho pulled out a chair and sat down. His voice was calm, his clothes neat. Just as her mother had said, he seemed perfectly normal.
At first they talked about ordinary things. Work. Commuting. Weekends. Hobbies.
Junho was good at conversation. He didn't talk only about himself, and when Minseo spoke, he asked enough questions to show he was listening.
He was better than she'd expected.
When their coffees were about half gone, Junho asked,
(Junho): “You work in web planning, right? Are you planning to stay in your career?”
(Minseo): “Yes. Unless something major changes.”
Junho nodded.
(Junho): “I prefer a dual-income marriage too.”
Minseo smiled without thinking much of it.
(Minseo): “It's hard to live on one salary these days.”
The number changed.
58
Minseo's eyes paused.
Was she imagining it?
Junho continued.
(Junho): “I bought my place, but I do have a mortgage.”
(Minseo): “These days it's rarer to buy a home without one.”
63
It went up again.
Minseo lifted her coffee.
Strange.
(Junho): “Once you're married, you're a team anyway. That's how I see it.”
(Minseo): “A team?”
(Junho): “Yeah. Instead of keeping all your money separate, I think it's better to make a plan together and build assets faster.”
Minseo nodded.
The idea itself sounded reasonable.
Junho went on smoothly.
(Junho): “And if both families can help a little in the beginning, even better. There's no point paying interest forever when that money could ultimately stay with the couple.”
Ah.
So that was where this was going.
Minseo understood what he was asking without asking.
The mortgage on his apartment. And, if they married, whether the bride's family could contribute too.
He wasn't blunt enough to say it directly.
Minseo looked at him once.
Clever.
Still, it wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Hyunju's words returned.
If you're thinking about marriage, look at the practical stuff too.
Minseo's parents weren't wealthy, but they weren't struggling either. They had enough room to help their only daughter to some extent when she married.
So Minseo answered honestly.
(Minseo): “My parents are planning to help me some when I get married too.”
The number moved.
71
This time she was certain.
It had gone up.
Junho's expression seemed to relax too.
(Junho): “Your parents live in Seoul?”
(Minseo): “Yes.”
(Junho): “Close by?”
(Minseo): “About thirty minutes by car.”
(Junho): “That's nice.”
Junho smiled.
(Junho): “If I have kids someday, I think some help from both sides of the family would be useful.”
Minseo gave a small laugh.
(Minseo): “We're already talking about children?”
(Junho): “I'm kind of practical.”
That much was true.
A little later, he naturally brought up education too.
(Junho): “I went to school in Daechi-dong.”
(Minseo): “My mother told me.”
(Junho): “She already got that far?”
They both laughed.
(Junho): “Maybe because of that, if I have kids, I think I'd care quite a bit about the education environment.”
(Minseo): “I think education is important too.”
78
Junho took a sip of coffee.
(Junho): “And I don't think a child has to miss out educationally just because the mother works.”
Minseo considered that for a moment.
The mother works. Raises the child. Manages the child's education too.
Put like that, the woman seemed to end up with quite a lot on her plate.
But Junho immediately added,
(Junho): “Of course the husband should do his share too.”
Perfect answer.
Minseo smiled.
(Minseo): “That would be ideal.”
83
Up again.
By now Minseo was paying more attention to the number than to what Junho was saying.
It had started at 51. Every time he discovered they thought alike, it rose.
And near the end of the date, Junho said first,
(Junho): “I had a much better time than I expected today.”
The number was
87.
Minseo looked at him.
(Junho): “If you're okay with it, I'd like to see you again next week.”
90
At once, all the numbers she'd seen over the past few days flashed through her mind.
Coworkers. Men on the street. The convenience store clerk.
Most hadn't even reached fifty.
And now, this man. A man telling her he liked her.
90
For the first time, Minseo considered one possibility.
Could it be…
Was this number
how much he liked her?