Chapter 191 | High Risk, High Reward [PS BONUS]
Chapter 191: 191 | High Risk, High Reward [PS BONUS]
The aquarium was a modest building near the pier, nothing like the massive facilities in Long Beach or San Diego. But it was quiet on a Tuesday morning, mostly empty except for a few families with young children and what appeared to be a class field trip from an elementary school.
Jordan paid for both tickets despite Kumiko’s protests.
"I can pay for myself! I have money! I work! My streaming income is actually pretty good now and—"
"I asked you out. I’m paying."
Kumiko’s protest died in her throat. She stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly, her expression softening into something warm and vulnerable.
"Okay," she said quietly. "Thank you, Jordan-kun."
Inside, the aquarium was cool and dim, lit primarily by the glow of the tanks. Blue light filtered through the water, casting rippling shadows across the floor. The sound of bubbling filters created a constant ambient hum that made conversation feel intimate, private, separate from the world outside.
Kumiko immediately gravitated toward the jellyfish exhibit.
Jordan followed, watching her more than the tanks. She pressed her face close to the glass, her breath fogging the surface, her eyes reflecting the soft purple glow of the moon jellies drifting behind the barrier. Her twin tails swayed gently as she moved from one viewing panel to the next.
"Look at them," she breathed. "They’re so peaceful. Just floating. Not worrying about anything. Not thinking about whether their boyfriend actually likes them or if they’re too clingy or if they’re annoying everyone around them with their constant talking—"
"I like your constant talking."
Kumiko turned to look at him. The blue light caught the moisture in her eyes.
"You do?"
"It’s interesting. You notice things other people miss."
"Most people think I’m annoying."
"Most people are idiots."
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "That’s not very nice."
"I’m not very nice."
"Yes you are. You’re very nice. You’re taking me to see jellyfish because I mentioned I liked them one time on a stream and you actually remembered even though you probably have a million other things to think about with your business and your girlfriends and your gym and—"
Jordan pulled out his phone.
The System interface materialized on his screen, glowing with its familiar golden hue. He navigated to the connections tab with the ease of someone who’d done this hundreds of times in the past month.
ACTIVE CONNECTIONS
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Chloe Kim 📍
Chemistry: 77% ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱
Return Rate: 1.54x
Last interaction: Today
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Kumiko Yamanaka 📍
Chemistry: 22% ▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱
Return Rate: 0.44x
Last interaction: Today
Jordan stared at the numbers.
Twenty-two percent.
Kumiko had been love bombing him for days. Sending texts. Drawing pictures. Calling him the best boyfriend ever. Melting into his touch every time he patted her head. She’d literally tackled him with a hug twenty minutes ago because he offered to take her to see jellyfish.
And her chemistry was at twenty-two percent?
Chloe had been significantly higher when they started spending time together. Jordan remembered the numbers climbing steadily with every interaction, every date, every moment of genuine connection. The relationship had progressed in a way that felt natural, organic, like two people actually falling for each other.
But Kumiko...
Maybe the number reflected investment? He’d spent thousands on Chloe in the early days. Dinners. Gifts. The coffee date that started everything. With Kumiko, he’d spent almost nothing. She’d joined his life through Chloe’s invitation rather than through his own financial commitment.
Or maybe...
Maybe Kumiko wasn’t actually into him.
Maybe she was playing a part. The enthusiastic girlfriend. The supportive side character. Going through the motions because Chloe had suggested it, not because she genuinely wanted to be there.
Jordan looked at her, really looked, searching for signs of performance.
She was staring at the jellyfish with an expression of pure wonder. Her hands were pressed flat against the glass like a child. Her lips moved slightly, probably narrating her own thoughts to herself. Every few seconds she’d glance back at Jordan, check that he was still there, then return her attention to the tank with a small, satisfied smile.
That didn’t look fake.
But the numbers didn’t lie.
Did they?
"Jordan-kun? Are you okay?"
Kumiko had noticed his silence. She was looking at him with concern, her head tilted slightly, her twin tails swaying.
"Fine. Just thinking."
"About what?"
About whether you’re actually attracted to me or just going along with this because Chloe asked you to. About whether those texts mean anything or if they’re just the romantic equivalent of customer service. About whether I’m an idiot for believing that two women could actually want to share me when I could barely get one woman to notice me a month ago.
"Jellyfish," Jordan said.
"Really?"
"They don’t have brains. Must be nice."
Kumiko laughed, genuine and bright. "Right? Imagine just existing without all the..." She gestured vaguely at her head. "Without all this. The constant thinking. The analyzing. The wondering if you’re good enough or if you’re too much or if everyone secretly hates you but they’re just too polite to say it."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It is." She turned back to the tank. "That’s why I like streaming. When I’m on camera, I know exactly who I’m supposed to be. KumiKumoCos. The cute cosplay girl. The one who builds things and talks too much and gets excited about fabric swatches. There’s no ambiguity. No wondering."
"And when you’re not streaming?"
Kumiko was quiet for a moment. The jellyfish continued their endless drift behind the glass.
"When I’m not streaming I’m just... Kumiko. And Kumiko doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be. Kumiko has anxiety and obsessive tendencies and she falls in love too fast and too hard and she scares people away because she’s too much."
"You don’t scare me."
She turned to look at him again. Her eyes were wet.
"Give it time."
Jordan stepped closer. He raised his hand and placed it on top of her head, letting his palm settle between her twin tails. The warmth of her scalp pressed into his skin.
The effect was immediate.
"Nnnhh..."
Kumiko’s eyes fluttered closed. Her shoulders dropped. Her entire body seemed to relax, tension draining away like water finding the path of least resistance. She swayed toward him, her forehead coming to rest against his chest.
"That’s... nnnh... not fair..."
"You said that already."
"Because it keeps being true... haah..."
Her breathing deepened. Her hands found his waist, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. She made soft sounds against his chest, little vocalizations that sounded almost involuntary.
Jordan glanced at his phone.
Kumiko Yamanaka 📍
Chemistry: 22% → 24% (+2%)
Two percent.
A headpat in an aquarium gave him two percent.
That was... volatile. Chloe’s chemistry moved in smaller increments. Steadier. More predictable. A nice dinner might shift things by one percent. A conversation by half a percent. The progression was gradual, stable, reliable.
Kumiko jumped two percent from physical contact alone.
Which meant she was either more responsive to his touch... or more responsive in general. Her emotions ran hotter. Her chemistry could spike faster.
Which also meant it could probably crash faster.
High risk. High reward.
Jordan filed that information away for later analysis.
"Jordan-kun..."
"Mm?"
"I really like you."