* * * * *

The village seemed to be neither a day-only nor a night-only area of the game, but a place that was eternally at dusk. The red, pixelised blur that was, supposedly, the sun, seemed to be stuck in the exact same place, halfway dipped into the horizon, no matter how long Hyuk stared at it.

With nothing else to do, Hyuk decided to brave the inn. Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, he pushed past the creaking door and into the large room inside.

The floor, the ceiling and all the walls were a light, creamy brown. Hyuk could only guess the colour was supposed to represent wood. Only a few customers were there, seated around brown-yellow squares that were probably meant to be tables. A few clutched little blocks of yellow that were white about one quarter from the top. Every so often they would raise them to their mouths. How exactly anyone could drink a pixelised beer, baffled Hyuk to no end. How would that taste like? Does it even have a taste?

“Yo, kid.” said a deep, growly voice, just as deep as Ravi’s. Its owner lazily draped a hand over Hyuk’s shoulders. “You got money on ya, kid? ‘Cause we don’t hand out beer for free, we don’t.”

“I-I-I want to, uh, rent a room-” That’s when it finally dawned on Hyuk. He had no money.

Searching his pockets, all he found was about five hundred won that he had been saving for the game room. But would real money work inside a game?

The unknown man narrowed his eyes at him. The countless chains around his neck glistened in the dusk.

“W-will this be okay?” asked Hyuk, emptying his pockets. There was a tough aura about the man, and it made Hyuk nervous.

The man stared at the coins with wonder. “What… are these?” he asked, picking up a coin and tracing the engraving on it with his finger. “Where did you get these, punk?”

The tone of his voice, the muscles on his arms, the half-lidded eyes, and even the earring dangling from his ear, all powerfully reminded Hyuk of one person.

“Ravi sent me here,” Hyuk said. “You’re… his father. Right?” he asked tentatively.

To Hyuk’s surprise, the man grinned, showing his gums. “I sure am!” he proclaimed proudly. “Yongguk’s the name. Bang Yongguk. Don’t ya worry, kid. I’ll have a room for ya. Ya can stay as long as ya like.” He returned the coins back into Hyuk’s hand, closing it with his own.

“Uh, thank you?” said Hyuk, startled at this sudden burst of generosity.

The surprise must’ve shown, for Ravi’s dad leaned closer.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a godda*n charity,” claimed the man. “But I like havin someone else ‘round Ravi. You seem like a nice kid. Not like those two punks he keeps hanging out with.” he said, frowning. He inclined his head to a table in the corner. Sure enough, two boys sat there, laughing loudly. One of them must’ve felt Hyuk’s eyes.

“Yah, Bang Yongguk!” the boy shouted, not even using a polite tone. “You’re badmouthing us again, aren’t you?!”

“And what the hell happened to the beer here? We haven’t drunk anything decent in, like, a week!” threw the other.

“STUPID PUNKS!” yelled Bang back at them, throwing a beer-like pixel at them. At the last moment, the tall kid with blond-turquoise hair ducked beneath the table, pulling his friend along. The beer, which was really just a yellow-white blur, let out a loud shattering sound, exploding into a million transparent pixels.

Suddenly, the kid with blonde-blue hair stood up. “YAH, BANG YONGGUK!”  He banged both of his fists on the table. “Jongup could’ve got hurt just now!!!”

Only now did his friend emerge from under the table. “Hey, I can take care of myself, you know.” said the kid named Jongup, ruffling the back of his hair awkwardly.

But the other boy looked beyond furious. “What problem do you have with us, anyways?! We’re Ravi’s only friends!”

That came as a true shock to Hyuk. With his cool gun-arm and his tough mannerisms, Ravi seemed like a popular kid. Not for a second did Hyuk consider that, maybe, Ravi wasn’t like that at all.

“Well, not anymore!” grinned Yongguk, flashing his gums at the duo. Suddenly he threw a hand over Hyuk. In an instant Hyuk felt his shoulders stiffen. “Ravi has a new friend, so he doesn’t need to mess around with scum like you anymore.”

If anything, Jongup looked truly hurt. “D-did… did Ravi really say that?“ But Hyuk was more concerned about the other dude. He hoped what he saw in the blonde-blue boy’s eyes wasn’t what it seemed – a pure hatred, directed right at him.

“All right,” said the blonde-blue boy. His thick lips turned into an angry line, but he said nothing more.

“Damn kids, ” cursed Yongguk, before turning to Hyuk. “Sorry ‘bout that.” He sighed. “Jongup and Zelo. The biggest troublemakers you’ll ever see, kid. Ravi seems to like them, so I can’t really throw them out,” he apologised, before biting his lip. “But I don’t like them one bit. Call me if they give ya any more trouble, ‘kay? I’ll go see which rooms are free. Ma Channie’ll be here in a sec, if ya want a beer or anything.”

With that, Yongguk retreated up a winding staircase, which whined loudly under his weight.

Across the room, Zelo turned back to Jongup. Covering their mouths as if it was sharing some super-important secrets, they whispered in each other’s ears, occasionally exploding into laughter. Zelo’s laugh sounded beyond odd. Chopped up and erratic, it reminded Hyuk of listening to someone through a terrible phone connection. Even though Jongup and Zelo seemed to be in their own world, every now and then the two would glance at Hyuk: Zelo enraged, Jongup betrayed and confused.

Finally, a person Hyuk supposed was “Channie” emerged from the kitchens. He was a smiling dark-haired man in a pink apron and a ridiculous pink cape with huge purple dots on it. And to tell the truth, he was the first person in this game that didn’t scare the life out of Hyuk.

“Hi, I’m Himchan, how may I help you? Something to eat, or to drink?”

It wasn’t like Hyuk was hungry or thirsty – he simply couldn’t be. But he did miss the taste of food, and, even more, the feeling of normality that came with it. Moreover, he was kind of curious about game food. Can it even be eaten? Or does it just replenish your health bar or something?

 “Ya, you’re so cuuute!” Himchan unexpectedly let out, pinching Hyuk’s cheek. “What the-oww!” yelled Hyuk, shocked rather than actually hurt. Ignoring Hyuk’s yelps, Himchan ruffled his hair affectionately.

It was more than weird to get such fond treatment from a total stranger. Yet, Hyuk couldn’t bring himself to even be freaked out. Somehow it was nearly impossible to be suspicious of Himchan, or even to take him seriously, in that silly pink cape.

When Himchan withdrew into the kitchen again, Hyuk could hear him whistling a simple tune.

“Hey.” said a deep voice next to him, as Yongguk crashed into a chair. “Room five’s free right now. Third floor. Has a nice view, that one. Ya can see the whole damn village from there.” Unexpectedly, Yongguk winked. “The bed’s real big in that one, just so ya know.”

The family resemblance was striking. Hyuk just couldn’t hold it in.

“Umm, you probably get this a lot... but Ravi’s exactly like you.”

Yongguk grinned sheepishly at that. ”Glad to hear that, kid.”

Honestly, it was really none of Hyuk’s business – and yet, the curiosity was gnarling at him, urging him to ask. “Umm, Yongguk… what’s your relationship with Himchan?” he said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Yongguk sat frozen, blinking a few times before speaking. “H-how… how did ya know, kid?!”

Hyuk couldn’t help but grin. “Well, you do call him “my Channie”, for starters.”

Throwing his head back, Yongguk roared with laughter. “Aish, I’m really a brickhead, I am.” he grinned, showing his gums. “Well, uh, I may or may not have stumbled into his bed once or twice, if that answers your question, punk.” He stood up from his chair. “Gotta go change some of them damn sheets. Boring as , but, well, me and my Channie run this place alone. And the laundry ain’t gonna wash itself.”

“I could help you out,” offered Hyuk. “I mean, you’re letting me stay here for free, right? It’s the least I could do-”

But Yongguk only shook his head. “It’s all right, kid. Just get some rest, will ya?”

Seconds after Bang had ascended the stairs and a door closed shut after him, Zelo stood up.

“You,” he spat at Hyuk, unnecessarily, as him and Jongup were the only other people left in the room. “Ravi’s new friend?” Zelo smirked, his blonde-blue hair falling into his dark eyes.

Eyes that shone with an inhuman gleam.

“Let’s see what you’re made of.”

* * * * *