Episode 4 / 10
Monday morning.
The second Minseo stepped into the elevator, she looked above the men's heads.
4 0 12
A week ago, she might not even have registered their faces. Now the numbers came first.
She couldn't be certain from Junho alone. It could have been a coincidence.
All morning, Minseo wondered how to test it.
She couldn't exactly go around asking,
“Do you like me?”
Not at the office.
In the end, she chose the easiest target: Assistant Manager Lee from Development, who was working on the same project as she was.
His usual number was
8.
Just before lunch, Lee walked past her desk.
Minseo smiled a little more brightly than usual.
(Minseo): “Assistant Manager Lee.”
(Lee): “Yes?”
(Minseo): “I saw the revisions you made last time. My instructions were kind of vague, but you figured out exactly what I meant.”
Lee stopped for a moment.
(Lee): “Oh, it was nothing.”
(Minseo): “No, really. Thanks to you, we finished much faster. Thank you.”
Lee smiled.
8
A moment later:
13
Minseo kept her face neutral.
It went up. It really went up.
Experiment number two was clothing.
Normally, she wore black pants with a shirt or knit top. Comfortable. Safe. Nothing to think about.
The next morning, Minseo pulled a pale-colored dress from the back of her closet.
She stood in front of the mirror.
Is this too dressed up?
She almost changed, then stopped.
It's an experiment.
When she arrived at work, Serin's eyes widened.
(Serin): “Assistant Manager.”
(Minseo): “What?”
(Serin): “Do you have something today?”
(Minseo): “What do you mean?”
(Serin): “You look pretty.”
Minseo set down her bag.
(Minseo): “I don't usually?”
(Serin): “That's not what I meant.”
(Minseo): “Forget it.”
Serin laughed.
Minseo turned on her monitor as if she didn't care, checking the nearby numbers at the same time.
Assistant Manager Park from the neighboring department. Usually 17. Today:
22
Manager Jung, whom she often passed near the meeting rooms. Usually 11.
16
A small smile tugged at Minseo's lips as she looked at her screen.
It worked.
Not dramatically. Wearing a pretty dress once did not magically turn anyone into an eighty.
That almost made the phenomenon feel more believable.
Her third experiment was a little more direct.
While making coffee in the pantry, she ran into a male employee whose number was 21.
Normally she would have left first. That day she deliberately started a conversation.
(Minseo): “Isn't that already your third coffee today?”
The man looked down at his cup.
(Male coworker): “How did you know?”
(Minseo): “I saw you in here this morning too.”
(Male coworker): “You've been watching me that closely?”
Minseo froze.
(Minseo): “Your coffee. I meant your coffee.”
The man laughed.
21
29
Minseo picked up her coffee and walked away.
Confirmed.
When she returned to her desk, Serin was staring at her.
(Serin): “Assistant Manager.”
(Minseo): “Yeah?”
(Serin): “You've been kind of weird lately.”
Minseo's hand stopped.
(Minseo): “Me?”
(Serin): “Yes.”
Minseo tensed for half a second.
(Serin): “You've started taking an interest in people.”
(Minseo): “Was I that uninterested before?”
(Serin): “Extremely.”
Fair enough.
Minseo remembered how little she had cared about anything at the office.
On her way home, she walked through the crowd watching numbers.
3 0 14
26
It was strangely fun.
Until a few days ago, she almost never looked at people's faces during her commute. Earphones in, eyes on her phone, moving between work and home on autopilot.
She could have walked the route without looking up. The same road every day.
Now it was different.
Why is that guy a 26? Why is that one a 0? Would it go up if I smiled at him?
If I talked to him? If we got close?
Minseo sat down on the subway.
Right then, a message from Junho arrived.
[Junho: Get off work okay?]
Minseo stared at the screen.
Junho's last number.
90
By now she was almost certain.
And if that was true…
This is actually incredibly convenient, isn't it?
She would never have to wonder who was interested in her and who wasn't. No need to overanalyze meaningless gestures. No need to waste time on someone when there was no chance.
From the men who did like her, she could choose based on everything else.
Job. Personality. Financial situation.
Lifestyle. Compatibility.
Minseo looked down at her phone.
One of the hardest things to know in dating was already visible to her.
How much someone liked her.
Without realizing it, Minseo smiled.
For the first time since the strange numbers had appeared,
commuting to work—living, even—
felt a little fun.