Helene Youens was not subtle.
That was the problem.
The Setup
She appeared one evening in the hallway outside Professor Youens' office—heels too loud, perfume too deliberate, eyes sharp with a kind of boredom that looked for trouble just to feel alive.
"You're Luke," she said, smiling like she already knew the answer.
"Unfortunately," he replied.
She laughed. Real laughter. Practiced.
"My husband talks about you," she continued. "Says you're brilliant. Dangerous. That you make him feel young again."
Luke clocked the phrasing immediately.
Dangerous.
Young again.
This wasn't curiosity.
It was a door being opened.
The Invitation
It came two days later.
A note, handwritten.
Dinner. Just us. He'll be at the hospital late.
Luke stared at the paper for a long time.
The System stirred.
Not loudly.
Just enough to remind him:
[High-Risk Social Entanglement Detected]
Projected Outcomes:
— Academic expulsion
— Mentor collapse
— Karma contamination
Impulse Control — Activated
Luke didn't moralize.
Didn't panic.
He simply evaluated cost versus outcome.
And the cost was everything.
He opened the Karma Store.
Skill Engaged:Impulse Control (Advanced)
— Emotional decoupling
— Desire suppression
— Consequence weighting
The heat drained from the moment.
Clarity replaced temptation.
The Rejection
Luke met Helene in the hallway instead.
Public. Neutral. Unavoidable.
"I'm flattered," he said calmly. "But this ends here."
Her smile didn't falter. "You didn't even hear what I was offering."
"I did," Luke replied. "And I'm not interested."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You think you're better than this?"
"No," he said honestly. "I think I'd regret it."
Silence.
Then something colder replaced charm.
"You're making a mistake."
Luke shrugged. "Story of my life."
Fallout That Never Comes
There was no scene.
No accusation.
No revenge.
Because Helene had been testing, not committing.
She walked away, interest already recalculating.
Professor Youens never knew.
And that was the point.
System Update
[Temptation Avoided]
Academic Trajectory: PRESERVED
Mentor Arc: STABLE
Karma Status: CLEAN
Final Thought
Some victories look like restraint.
Some heroics look like walking away.
Luke didn't lose anything that night.
He kept everything that mattered.
And for the first time—
the System didn't need to warn him again.