**Arc 2: Chapter 9 – The Bug Fix and a Late-Night Call**
The next morning, Jae-min woke to the sound of Elyra tapping on his forehead. Well, tapping wasn't the right word—it was more of an annoying poke that no normal person would tolerate.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," she chirped, hovering inches from his face.
Jae-min groaned, pulling a pillow over his head. "Go away."
"You've got a notification," Elyra said, her tone shifting to something almost smug. "A system alert."
That got his attention. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as a glowing blue panel appeared before him.
**[System Alert: So-ra's project progress has reached 85%. A supporting action is required to improve efficiency.]**
Jae-min frowned. "Supporting action?"
Elyra floated beside him, crossing her arms. "Her mod still has bugs. She's close to finishing it, but she needs a little nudge to get there."
"And I'm supposed to be the nudge?"
"Bingo."
Jae-min sighed, dragging himself out of bed. "Alright, let's figure this out."
---
By noon, Jae-min was back at the café. So-ra was in her usual spot, hunched over her laptop with the same intense expression she always wore when she was in the zone.
"Morning," he said, setting his coffee on the counter near her.
She glanced up, barely acknowledging him. "You're late."
"Late for what?"
"For showing up and bothering me," she said with a smirk.
Jae-min grinned. "Good to know you missed me."
So-ra shook her head but didn't argue. Instead, she gestured to her screen. "If you're going to sit here, make yourself useful. I'm stuck."
Jae-min leaned over, squinting at the lines of code on her screen. "I have no idea what I'm looking at."
So-ra sighed. "Figures. Here—" she pointed to a specific section of the code, "—this is the issue. The AI scripts aren't syncing with the environment triggers."
Jae-min nodded slowly, pretending to understand. "And that means…?"
"It means the NPCs aren't behaving the way they're supposed to," So-ra explained. "They're either freezing or walking into walls."
Jae-min scratched his head. "Okay, so what happens if you just delete the whole thing and start over?"
So-ra gave him a look. "That's not how coding works."
"Right, right," Jae-min said quickly. "But what if you broke it into smaller parts? Test each piece separately to see where it's failing?"
So-ra blinked, her brow furrowing in thought. "That's… actually not a bad idea."
"See? I'm not completely useless," Jae-min said with a grin.
So-ra didn't respond, too focused on her screen as she began implementing his suggestion. Jae-min watched her work, a faint smile on his lips.
---
The hours ticked by, and by evening, So-ra was leaning back in her chair with a triumphant smile. "It works," she said, almost in disbelief.
"Of course it does," Jae-min said, leaning against the counter. "I'm a genius."
So-ra snorted. "You got lucky."
"Luck, genius—it's a fine line," Jae-min said with a wink.
So-ra rolled her eyes but didn't argue. Instead, she closed her laptop and stretched, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Thanks for the help, by the way."
"Anytime," Jae-min said.
As So-ra began packing up, Jae-min hesitated, debating whether to bring up the system's suggestion. Finally, he decided to go for it.
"So… dinner again?" he asked.
So-ra paused, glancing at him. "Two nights in a row? You're really pushing your luck."
"Hey, I'm just trying to keep the streak alive," Jae-min said with a grin.
So-ra rolled her eyes but nodded. "Fine. But you're paying."
"Always," Jae-min said, following her out of the café.
---
Later that night, after walking So-ra home, Jae-min collapsed onto his couch with a satisfied sigh. Elyra appeared beside him, her expression smug.
"Not bad," she said.
"What's the score?" Jae-min asked.
"75% likability," Elyra said. "And climbing."
Jae-min smiled, closing his eyes. "Good. She deserves it."
Elyra tilted her head, watching him for a moment. "You're getting pretty invested in her, huh?"
"Yeah," Jae-min said softly. "I think she's worth it."
Elyra didn't respond, but the faint smile on her face suggested she agreed.