Unfair Points System

The living room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the air conditioner and the steady, rhythmic tapping of Carmen’s laptop keys.

She was focused, her glasses sliding slightly down the bridge of her nose, completely defenseless against the storm of mild, calculated inconvenience that was about to hit her.

YN walked out of the kitchen, entirely empty-handed, and sat down on the opposite end of the couch. He didn't say a word. He just reached over, picked up her favorite pastel blue mug from the coffee table, took a slow, deliberate sip of her iced coffee, and set it back down exactly two inches away from where she had originally placed it.

Carmen didn't even look up from her screen, but her fingers paused over the keyboard. "Ooooh, that's minus fifty points. No, actually, minus a hundred because you didn't even offer to make me a fresh one when you went to the kitchen."

"I was testing the temperature for you," YN lied smoothly, leaning back against the cushions with a lazy smirk. "Safety first."

"Hays, okay, that's another minus twenty points for a terrible excuse," she murmured, finally tilting her head to glare at him over the rim of her glasses. Her eyes narrowed in that exact, dramatic way he loved. "You're in the negatives for the afternoon, YN. Be careful."

YN took it as an invitation. He waited until she went back to her typing before launching his next tactical strike.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a brand-new, completely unopened bag of potato chips she’d been saving, and deliberately gripped the bottom edges. With a sharp, loud pop, he forced the bag open upside down, letting the savory scent of sour cream and onion fill the air.

Carmen’s head snapped toward him so fast her glasses nearly flew off. She stared at the inverted logo on the bag, her expression a mix of horror and utter betrayal.

"Did you just open those upside down? While looking right at me? Hays, that is a violation of basic human decency. Minus five hundred points! You are actively sabotaging your standing as a good boyfriend."

"The flavor dust settles at the bottom," YN countered, tilting his head with an innocent blink as he popped a chip into his mouth. "I am maximizing our culinary experience. You should be thanking me."

"Minus two hundred more for trying to pass off chaos as science," she countered, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You’re deep in the red."

A little later, Carmen finally closed her laptop and reached for her phone on the coffee table, intending to check her notifications. The second her thumb hit the glass, she froze.

Right in the center of the pristine screen was a giant, glaringly obvious, oily smudge shaped exactly like YN's thumb.

"YN!" she gasped, holding the phone up to the light like a piece of forensic evidence. "Did you touch my screen while I was in the restroom? Ooooh, that's minus a thousand points! My phone was perfectly clean!"

"I was trying to bypass your lock screen to set a cute selfie as your wallpaper," YN defended himself, not looking even remotely sorry.

Carmen tried to hold her stern expression, but her lips twitched at the thought of him fumbling with her phone just to leave a silly picture. "Minus another five hundred for failing the execution and leaving evidence behind. Your debt is getting out of hand."

By the time evening rolled around, the rain began to patter gently against the windowpane, bringing a sudden chill into the room. Carmen pulled her knees up to her chest, shivering slightly as she reached for the knitted throw blanket draped over the back of the sofa.

Before her fingers could even brush the fabric, YN snatched it. He completely wrapped himself up like a giant, comfortable human burrito, leaving only his eyes and his messy hair visible.

Carmen stared at him, incredulous, her hands hovering in the empty air. "Wow. Ooooh, that is minus ten thousand points. Leaving your girlfriend to freeze to death while you cocoon yourself? I’m writing a formal complaint to the universe."

The burrito shifted. YN rolled over, loosening the top layer of the blanket, and grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her directly into the warm space with him.

He trapped her against his chest, tucking the edges of the knit blanket securely around her shoulders until they were sharing the exact same warmth, his chin resting comfortably on top of her head.

Carmen blinked into the darkness of his shirt, her heart doing a stupid little flip. She let out a soft, defeated sigh, her hands finding their way around his torso.

"Hays... okay. Plus eleven thousand points for excellent heat distribution. You're barely breaking even now."

They ended up ordering takeout for dinner, sitting cross-legged on the floor around the low coffee table.

Carmen was happily picking at her favorite box of crispy pan-fried dumplings, savoring the very last one she had intentionally saved for the grand finale of her meal. She picked it up with her chopsticks, blowing on it gently.

YN leaned over, closed his eyes, and cleanly bit the entire top half of the dumpling right off her utensils, chewing with an intensely satisfied expression.

"YN!" Carmen shrieked playfully, staring at the empty, truncated wrapper left on her chopsticks. "That was the best one! Minus fifty thousand points! You are banned from the kitchen! You are banned from my sight!"

YN didn't say a word. He simply reached down to the floor, picked up a completely separate, hidden brown paper bag he had hidden behind his leg, and placed it on her lap.

When Carmen opened it, the steam rushed out to reveal a whole extra side order of nothing but the extra-crispy dumplings, specifically requested with double the dipping sauce she always ran out of.

Carmen’s eyes went wide, her dramatic anger instantly evaporating into pure, unadulterated adoration. She looked from the box up to his smug, handsome face.

"Okay... ooooh, that's plus a million points. You completely rigged the system."

"I play to win," YN laughed softly, shifting his weight until he was back on the couch, pulling her up with him.

While Carmen finished her food, YN quietly slipped away to the bathroom. He emerged a few minutes later wearing his thickest, softest oversized gray hoodie—the one she constantly stole because it smelled exactly like his cedarwood cologne.

He didn't say a word as he approached her, but he held his arms open wide.

Carmen didn't even hesitate. She practically launched herself into his space, letting him zip the giant hoodie right up around both of them, trapping her small frame completely against his chest under the single piece of fabric. She buried her face in his neck, inhaling deeply.

"Oooh, wait," she mumbled, her voice muffled against his skin. "Plus five million points for the hoodie tax. And another ten thousand because it’s freshly washed."

"See? I told you my ledger would bounce back," YN teased, his arms locking around her waist to keep her anchored against him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single, wireless earbud, gently tucking it into her ear before putting the other one in his own. He pressed play on his phone, and a soft, slow acoustic lo-fi melody filled their ears—a track he had spent the previous night mixing just for her.

Carmen stopped humming along to the rhythm just long enough to look up at him, her eyes completely shining in the dim, warm light of the living room lamp.

"Okay, fine... plus ten billion points for the playlist update. You're officially spoiling me."

As the song gently drifted to an end, YN reached over to the side table where he had hidden a small, velvet scrunchie. Without interrupting the music, his fingers moved deftly, gathering her long hair into a loose, comfortable bun to keep it out of her face, his knuckles brushing softly against the nape of her neck.

Carmen froze for a second, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks at the sudden, tender gesture. She hid her face right back in his chest.

"Ooooh... okay. Plus a trillion points for the hair handling. I literally can't keep track anymore."

He slid down until his back was resting comfortably against the plush armrest, his legs stretching out across the cushions. Without waiting for an invitation, he pulled her down by her waist, guiding her until she was curled up against his side, his head settling comfortably right in her lap.

He closed his eyes, letting out a long, contented sigh as the harmless, beautifully chaotic games of the day finally wound down into absolute stillness.