Chapter Text
Game Over
The robotic voice blared from his brand new headset, announcing that he had lost.
Ni-ki punched the air, frustrated, before slumping back down into his chair. Heeseung's laughter filled his ears and the 16 year old boy couldn't help but compare the older boy's voice to a hyena.
"Well that didn't last long," Sunghoon teased, letting out a chortle.
"Shut up," Ni-ki grumbled.
Heeseung clapped, causing the other two to flinch from the loud sound.
"I'm logging off for today. I have a photoshoot this afternoon. Don't miss me too much."
Ni-ki rolled his eyes playfully, "when we actually meet up, give me your autograph so that I can brag to my friends."
"Me too!" Sunghoon yelled. "The Lee Heeseung signing my shirt! Maybe I can finally get a girlfriend."
"Yea, right."
Lee Heeseung was Ni-ki's internet friend as well as a well known model under B-lift Entertainment. They met through one of the raids in EN-deavour when Ni-ki first joined the Korean Server, which was probably one of the best choices he had made in his life ever since his family moved to the said country.
They met Sunghoon not too long after. While Ni-ki tried to think of nicer words to describe the older boy from when he first met him, he kept circling back to the word ‘noob’. Thankfully, Sunghoon improved at an alarming rate and they didn't actually have to keep going back to heal him at some point.
"Oppa!" a female voice called out from Sunghoon's mic.
Ni-ki smirked, "I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend?"
Sunghoon made an offended noise.
"That's my sister, you dolt!"
Sunghoon eventually logged off, saying he had something to do, leaving Ni-ki in silence. He paused for a while and decided to tap back into the game.
He opened up the maps and clicked on a specific location.
Transporting to Downtown…
Downtown was probably one of the most relaxing places by far in EN-deavour where players didn't need to worry about getting ambushed by magical beasts or other players. Instead, multiple shops were open along the crowded streets for players to purchase weapons, skins and complete simple missions.
Ni-ki's avatar popped up on the screen along with a mission bar.
[Check out the new League Hairdresser Shop on Street 42. Reward: 50 gems.]
'50 gems? That's nearly the same amount you get for a short raid,' his eyebrows raised, surprised.
"Oh whatever," he mumbled to himself, changing his direction from the weapons shop to the Hairdressers’ instead.
As expected, one must follow the silliest tasks to earn his keep.
He arrived at the shop shortly, scanning around for anything special.
The salon was packed with other players, most likely trying to get the reward. But other than that, it looked shabby. To fit the concept of the game, the creators painted the walls in dull colors, the only pop of color being the tubes of hair dye that lined the shelves.
[He's gorgeous.]
[Shit. I think I'm gay.]
[Is he for real? No way that's an NPC.]
Dozens of speech bubbles appeared at once, flooding the chat.
'What the heck?'
Being the busybody that he was, Ni-ki urged his character to go forward to the corner that everyone was crowding around.
His breath hitched.
A single word made its way into his mouth.
"Pretty."
The NPC that stood in the middle of all the attention was a boy who looked not much older than Ni-ki himself in real life. His skin was fair and milky, his dark hair looked soft and fluffy. His smile was dazzling and it reminded Ni-ki of the sun.
And his eyes.
Each lash was drawn with care so that they would flutter when he blinked. His eyes were a unique shade of hazel which made him look… Like a god.
He opened his action box.
And clicked on 'blow a kiss'.
Ni-ki's character brought his fingers to his lips animatedly, a red heart floating into the air as he carried out the action.
14 February, 2022.
That was the day Nishimura Riki, age 16, fell in love with a non player character.