Chapter 107
A look of confusion appeared on Seo-jung’s face as an unexpected phrase popped up: Likability System. He hadn’t been briefed about this beforehand.
“Likability System? What’s this?”
“Did you get it too, unni?”
“Did everyone else get this too?”
It seemed Seo-jung wasn’t the only one who hadn’t heard about this, as curious voices of other contestants could be heard from all around. Soon after, as if to resolve their curiosity, a pink notification window filled their phone screens.
Likability System Guide
※ Residents can earn likability points while living in the X House.
※ Likability points can only be earned during the 3 weeks before departing for Jeju Island.
※ The likability points earned during these 3 weeks can be used later on Jeju Island.
– The most basic way to earn likability points is by receiving messages from other contestants. Each message received from another contestant earns 2 likability points. (However, if messages are exchanged both ways on the same day, likability points are doubled.)
– Likability points are earned even if messages are not checked.
– For residents who join midway, they can receive a copy of X’s accumulated likability points up to the day they entered.
– Likability points may be deducted or added according to hidden rules.
– Earned likability points cannot be transferred to others.
After quickly reading through the rules, Seo-jung noticed a new icon had appeared at the bottom of the application.
Ki Seo-jung
[Heart icon]
Total Accumulated Likability: +76
Where only his name used to be, there was now a heart shape along with the text “Total Accumulated Likability”. Seo-jung stared at the number on the screen. Shortly after, other contestants who had finished reading the likability rules, like Seo-jung, began to speak up.
“So likability points were accumulating without us knowing?”
“Seems like it. Wow, I never thought there’d be a rule like this. It’s really interesting.”
“Looking at these rules, it seems likability points can be deducted as well as earned. I’m really curious about what these hidden rules are.”
“I know… I need to protect my precious points.”
Soo-ho made a whining sound, pretending to rub his eyes with both hands. Seo-jung smiled softly at Soo-ho’s antics.
As his gaze shifted, he saw Cha Yoon looking disinterested. Regardless of the chatter around him, Cha Yoon was focused on selecting which financier to taste next from the table, as if this had nothing to do with him. He had long since tossed his phone on the floor, unlike everyone else who was still holding theirs.
Feeling Seo-jung’s gaze on him, Cha Yoon quickly turned his head.
“What? Want more financiers?”
“No, I still have some left.”
“Tell me when you finish. I’ll give you more.”
We have a lot here. Cha Yoon picked up the last injeolmi-flavored financier from the table and shook the bag as he spoke. Seo-jung waved his hand once more, saying it was okay, and turned his gaze forward.
It wasn’t long after that when Cha Yoon, who had seemed so indifferent, showed a reaction.
“It says we can use the accumulated likability points during the last week in Jeju. I wonder how we’ll be able to use them?”
Min-wook, who had been staring at the screen while rubbing his chin, asked with a tilt of his head. Ji-yoon, picking up a red cherry, responded to his question.
“Well, maybe something like this? Spend 5 likability points for an hour of conversation with the person you want.”
“Oh, unni, that makes sense. Maybe it’s like that? Going on dates with likability points.”
“Then if I want to go on a date with someone I like, I’d better earn a ton of likability points.”
As Ji-yoon spoke, Min-ha sitting next to her clapped her hands once and agreed, followed by Woo-jun chiming in. Woo-jun subtly glanced at Da-bin.
While Da-bin was the one who received Woo-jun’s look, it was actually Cha Yoon who flinched. He seemed to think seriously for a moment, then picked up the phone he had put on the floor.
Seo-jung’s gaze, which had been facing forward, turned once again towards Cha Yoon due to his urgent movement. Cha Yoon, who would normally have immediately noticed Seo-jung’s glance and met his eyes, showed no movement. He just stared at his phone screen with a serious expression, as if looking at the screen was the only thing he could do.
Why is he acting like that? Did something happen? While Seo-jung couldn’t take his eyes off Cha Yoon, Soo-ho waved his hand and asked a question.
“Hyung, nunnas. Does anyone else have a plus sign in front of their total accumulated likability number?”
“No, I have a plus sign too.”
At Sae-young’s words, the contestants all rushed to answer. Except for one person, Cha Yoon.
“Why did they put this when it’s going to be plus for everyone anyway?”
“I think they just put it there because there’s a rule about deductions.”
“I think so too. Even if you receive just one message, you get 2 points, and even if you don’t receive any messages at all, it’s 0 points. How could it possibly be minus?”
Just as the contestants were nodding their heads at Soo-ho’s confident voice, Cha Yoon, who had been unable to take his eyes off his phone screen for a long time, suddenly spoke up.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Cha Yoon hyung, what is it?”
“Isn’t your voice too loud?”
Soo-ho, who had answered with a bright smile, slowly lowered the corners of his mouth at the cold voice that followed.
“…What?”
“I can’t concentrate on the food because it’s so noisy.”
Cha Yoon picked a strange fight, as if he hadn’t been quiet all this time.
“Eat quietly, will you?”
Shush, I said. Got it? As he put his finger to his lips in warning, Soo-ho made an aggrieved expression. The other contestants slowly rolled their eyes to look at each other.
…Hasn’t Cha Yoon been quiet lately? What’s his problem now? I don’t know, maybe he didn’t receive many likability points? That seems right… How can he receive messages when he acts like that? They had a silent conversation with their eyes.
“Hyung, hyung always only to me…!”
“Your voice in particular sounds loud, so what am I supposed to do? You should learn to consider others…”
Before he knew it, Cha Yoon, who had succumbed to the truth from the other contestants, stopped mid-sentence. It was because of the vibration ringing in his hand. He checked his phone with an extremely annoyed expression.
After looking at the screen for a while, Cha Yoon’s expression became even more fierce as he read the notification message.
! Hidden rule applied, 0.5 points deducted from accumulated likability.
Cha Yoon’s total accumulated likability is -11.5 points.
***
Early in the morning, Cha Yoon was sitting alone on the second-floor terrace, staring intently at one spot. Where his gaze stopped, there lay what appeared to be Cha Yoon’s phone.
Cha Yoon picked up the phone on the table. Even after tightly closing and opening his eyes, or rubbing them several times with his hands, what was written at the bottom of the NAEKBU application didn’t change.
Cha Yoon
[Heart icon]
Total Accumulated Likability: -11.5
Could there be some kind of error? Jung Soo-ho’s words from the previous day made some sense in their own way.
“Right, how could there logically be a minus score?”
Although he hadn’t received a single message in the 16 days since he arrived, it shouldn’t have been enough to stay in the negative. Cha Yoon, having reached his own conclusion, opened the administrator chat.
Real-time Administrator Chat
I think there might be a problem with my app.
Administrator: What kind of problem are you referring to?
The likability input seems to be wrong.
No, it’s not just that it seems wrong, it is wrong.
There’s a minus sign instead of a plus, so please check and correct it quickly.
After Cha Yoon’s last message, the administrator didn’t respond. Cha Yoon kept his eyes on the screen and shook his leg. The trembling table clearly revealed his anxious state of mind.
“When will they ever reply…”
As he muttered this, rubbing the screen as if to refresh it, the administrator’s reply came back with a typing bubble.
Real-time Administrator Chat
Administrator: After checking, we confirm that Cha Yoon’s current likability is indeed -11.5 points.
We regret that we cannot provide the answer you want.
Cha Yoon frowned after confirming the returned answer. Shit, how is that possible? He quickly moved his fingers.
Real-time Administrator Chat
Are you serious?
Administrator: Yes.
Are you sure you checked properly?
Administrator: Yes.
Even after asking several more times, the answer remained the same. Cha Yoon, who had been staring at the increasingly long chat with the production team, put down his phone as if throwing it. He rubbed his face dry. Further denial of reality was meaningless. Now he had to accept it.
That his likability was neither plus nor zero, but minus.
In an environment where it should be nearly impossible to get a minus score, he had achieved the extraordinary feat of negative likability through all sorts of unconventional behaviors.
Cha Yoon, who had his eyes closed for a long time, slowly lifted his eyelids. A worried voice flowed between his lips.
“…What should I do?”
Although nothing was certain about how the likability points would be used, the words the contestants had speculated the day before kept ringing in his ears. If it really was true that they could go on dates with likability points…
“Then I won’t be able to go on a date with hyung.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
