A gasp came to the maiden. For the first time, she had opened a vital feature of her Hearts System. She had been seeing its most subtle uses for about three months. Tonight, however, the system shop showed up, along with a few more firsts from it. Luellen should have been ecstatic, but her shock kept her from making a loud reaction.
[Multiple currencies correspond to different item categories. Each shop has a specialty item group and makes use of different colors.]
[This is the Yellow Hearts shop. It contains the regular items the Hearts System can offer. Most items bought here will be brought out into the material world upon clock reset. They can also be used by others besides the Diarist. Always check for new items!]
The screen moved to another shop tab. It kept happening for every other shop it introduced to Luellen.
[This is the Blue Hearts shop. It contains items that enhance the Diarist's physical, mental, emotional, and psychological well-being. You can buy cures in this shop. Tonics bought from this shop only affect the Diarist.]
[This is the Red Hearts shop. It contains items meant for Love Interests. More items will be unlocked depending on what you know about your Love Interests.]
[This is the Black Hearts shop. It contains items used on other people. Most items in this shop are dangerous and should be handled with care. Cursing others will also affect your Proficiencies and Relationships, depending on the desired outcomes. Please use sparingly.]
Luellen finished the short tutorial and checked the Yellow Hearts shop. She already had 300 Yellow Hearts… so she could buy cosmetics priced at 1 or 2 Yellow Hearts. Elegant clothes were priced higher depending on their look.
"What…?" Her entire body tingled at the matter. It was just that she only checked out a few items. She couldn't find any brand names, so she was unsure what to get.
"What time is 'clock reset'?" Luellen looked up and saw the huge clock in the mall's outdoor plaza. It showed her how late it was. She frowned. "I should probably head home. I still have a long day tomorrow."
…
[Day 2, Early Morning, Weather: Sunny with the chance of Drizzle]
Luellen woke up to the system waking her up again. Unlike yesterday, she sat up directly and yawned. She moved with her closed eyes, but her feet ran into a small box. Luellen opened her eyes and saw a few boxes in her room. Each had yellow heart stamps indicating their origin.
She reached down and opened one, only to find the hand cream she bought. What surprised her was how the box disappeared after she took the product out.
"Wait… is this for real?" Luellen gasped and went through boxes. Everything she bought for 50 Yellow Hearts rested on top of her empty vanity. She looked at the last box that vanished before her eyes.
A laugh soon escaped her lips. Luellen took the primer and opened it. It did smell like this fruit she liked. She then smiled as she put it down. Luellen grabbed the soap and shampoo before heading to the bathroom for a shower. She didn't have the time to peruse all of them. She could only use them.
[You used a makeup stencil, (Office Lady)! You have obtained the first-time-use rewards: 20 Proficiency point/s! Re-using the stencil will grant you mastery points for the stencil, (Office Lady)!]
Luellen didn't understand half of the prompt. However, she liked how she looked after working hard on following the stencil instructions. It was comparable to Summer's makeup. A smile wouldn't leave her red lips as she stared at her reflection. Even the five-Heart blouse hugged her body well.
[Required Attire: Business, Outfit Score: A-]
"I wonder what I should add to make my score higher…" she murmured as she packed up her new makeup. A deep sigh of relief came to her. Luellen then prepared to leave the house for work.
"Lue!" An energetic manly voice came out of nowhere. Luellen had just exited her house when she heard it. She lifted her head and saw a man walking up to her porch.
The man had medium-length hair and a clean-shaven face. He had a slit across his left eyebrow and a pair of black ear studs. A small smile curled his lips, contrasting with his supposed confident visage. He offered her a hand as if he were collecting her bag.
He said, "Summer said you got fired… but you look like you're going to work. Where should I drop you off?"
Luellen stared at him for a moment. His image soon overlapped with another face. It seemed to be the same young man she once knew. Luellen reserved the glee in her small smile. "Uh… August? Sorry, you forgot to tell me you were picking me up today. Didn't you believe your sister?"
"I thought she told you already yesterday. I… didn't catch your number from her…" August laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Sure, sure, my bad. So? Can I drive you to work today?"
"Uhm… okay." Luellen slowly handed her shoulder bag to him. He didn't snatch it from her hand, either. "Is Sue in the car?"
August glanced at his newly bought car. Only those who knew a lot about cars could guess that it was an old model. Still, it was from a luxury brand. He turned to Luellen again. "Yeah, she got up quite later than normal, so she was doing her makeup in the car. We should go now, yeah?"
[Potential Love Interest has been detected! Evaluating the candidate…]
[Evaluation failed! Nominations for (August Bloomfield) have been suspended for (24 hours)…]
Blink. Luellen only nodded and followed him to the car. She got into the backseat, looking into the passenger seat, where Summer was using her space in the dashboard. She caught the exact moment Summer flinched and snapped her neck just to look at her bestie.
Summer's jaw almost dropped. She then chuckled, mid-lipstick. "Oh, my God! Was that from a video tutorial? Link it to me! You look so good, Lue!"
"Thanks, Sue." Luellen blushed, but her head moved down to hide it. She only sat quietly in the backseat while Summer finished her makeup. Instead of looking outside, she watched Summer freehand her lines. Luellen's hand even moved out of sight as if copying the strokes.
"Yeah, Lue. What happened last night?" Summer finished her makeup and packed up. "You told me the CEO fired you, right? But some lady came to our office to look for your desk and effects."
Luellen looked up at her in confusion. Summer's eyes grew wider at her silence. Luellen lightly shook her head.
Her words grew choppy and soft. "I… I don't… Mr Houston from the CEO's office came to me after I hung up. He told me that I was being transferred to their office instead. Sorry… I climbed to the fifteenth floor after working hours. I met him there. He told me… he just had to fire me… so I… so I told you I got fired…"