Title: Of Video Games and Love
Genre: Friendship
Summary: Alone in the dorm, Sunny takes a break from it all and starts to do some deep reflecting.
 

The glaring, blue light coming from the huge plasma television illuminated the interior of the dark living room. The gaming console which rested on the small shelve below it was also ; its power switch blinking rapidly, alerting the user to not waste electricity. The lone user, however, did not give a damn. She just spread out on the cold, wooden floor like she was about to make a snow angel. Game controller in one hand and the other placed on her abdomen, she let her thoughts drift away after a few hours of intense gaming alone in the dorm.
 

It had been a long time since she played. Her hectic schedules would always find a way to cut in between her precious free time. Playing video games is fun. She loves it. But after a while, it starts to get more and more repetitive as time goes by. That was the case for Lee Soonkyu A.K.A Sunny. After mindlessly bashing the buttons repeatedly to defeat her opponent in a no-holds barred match, all her efforts weren’t enough to win over the frustratingly difficult boss of the last level. Several button-mashing attempts later, she finally gave up and opted to clear her mind instead, not bothering to take out the disc, switch everything off, or clean the place up. The other girls, especially the resident neat freak of the dorm, were going to have a fit once they return and see the gigantic mess made by the short-haired blonde.
 

Her thoughts then wandered off to them.

 

These eight girls that somehow managed to crawl into her complicated life.
 

Well, it wasn’t complicated per se. Maybe a little bit different than the average person. She didn’t think she would have such a close relationship with any of them at all. She was a member of an idol group.  Group members, as far as she observed, thought of each other as co-workers, colleagues that shared the same dream: to reach for the top. After disbanding, they would treat each other like a distant flame. That’s what most groups are like, she thought. However, not for this one that she is in. She is not in your normal, average idol group.

She is a member of So Nyuh Shi Dae.
 

Sunny inwardly laughed at their given name.
 

Era of Maidens?
 

Era of Maidens?
 

Everyone else had cool English names. It was the trend. Why a Korean name for them? She pondered over that. What the heck was going through her uncle’s mind when he was deciding a name for them? She didn’t know. She could always ask but now is not the right time. There was quite a mixed reaction when he announced it to the newly-named members, actually. Most of them were dumbstruck; others were amused, while only one was either pleased or not bothered at all. Sunny was in the amused department.
 

The shorty brought her hands behind her head.
 

She recalled back to where she started.
 

Born in the United States (with an old-fashioned name and not knowing any English), moved to Kuwait shortly after that (she shuddered at the memories of the gunshots over there), and then finally here in Korea. Those were the things that her parents told her. It clarified her loathe for anything loud, but other than that and what she was told, her own childhood was an enigma even to herself. It was better to just leave her history unknown like that. What are more important are the present and her future. Being an entertainer wasn’t her dream at first, but being brought up in a family running in the entertainment industry influenced her so. And before she knew it, all she wanted to do was to sing and dance in front of an audience. Maybe even act if the opportunity arises.
 

She finally got the break she needed when she was transferred to her uncle’s company via a recommendation after the other company she was in went bankrupt. She never really had gotten to know much about this relative of hers. Just that he is very good in what he does: being a CEO of his own entertainment company. The recommendation was a bit late, though. The revealing of the trainees that were going to debut was in a few months time, and all of a sudden, she showed up out of nowhere upon their doorstep. Sunny was welcomed into the SM family with open arms, but at the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but think that…behind those smiles, there was an unspoken dislike towards her by the other young trainees. More competition, they thought. And it was Lee Soo Man’s niece, of all people, to join in.
 

Nepotism.
 

But they were proven wrong.
 

Well, at least until she charmed everyone with her caring and lovable personality.
 

Acceptance.
 

She became a part of them. Especially with those eight girls whom also worked excessively hard as her to reach their dreams.
 

They treated her like she was their life-long pal and not a total stranger. Each one of them had something that filled up the empty holes in Sunny’s life. And to them, Sunny was the radiant light which shined and embraced them in a comforting warmth when the darkness of their journey to stardom engulfs them in a cold, black hole. This industry can get pretty damn demanding and insensitive to the entertainer’s wellbeing when the needs arise.
 

Idols are human beings. They have feelings too.
 

They’re not robots that obey to every single command and do them in a blink of an eye to satisfy other people’s needs.
 

Something Sunny wished that it could be grained and stuck permanently into people’s head.

 

‘Are we just pawns in their money-making game that they’re playing?’
 

Another abstract thought flashed through her mind as she fiddled around with the white game controller in her hands. A player controlling the character, moving him/her around to do something in order to reach the goal and win the game. If the player loses, then he will replay it again if there are still some lives remaining. If not, then the player will have a choice on whether to continue again from the beginning or cease defeat.
 

Game over.
 

But in reality, we only live once.
 

In Sunny’s and the others’ case, game over means being kicked out of the company or when their career as SNSD has finally reached the end.
 

What will happen when the spotlight fades away from them? What will happen after that?
 

At that moment when Sunny’s ponderings began to sink deeper in, the front door of the dorm creaked open and a mass of footsteps stampeded inside, accompanied by loud chattering. The blonde immediately sat up and then was reminded of the mess she made in the living room. Oh well, it was way too late to clean up now. Better face the music then.
 

One by one, each of her members had faces which ranged from shocked to downright and utter disbelief once they saw the state of the room that they entered. A certain dancing queen almost fainted at the sight of it.
 

“LEE SOONKYU! What in the world happened to the living room!?” Hyoyeon yelled out, making Seohyun to get a grip on her before she pounces on the culprit behind it all.
 

“C-calm down, Hyoyeon unnie…”
 

“Eww, there’s so many candy wrappers and crumbs lying around,” Tiffany grimaced as she started to pick them up with a piece of tissue. “I know you’ve just finished your musical, but that doesn’t mean you can just turn this place into your own personal gaming room. We live here too you know.”
 

“Did you take those from my stash without my permission!?” Sooyoung glared at the puppy-eyed blonde with a menacing look.
 

“There’s no point doing that, Sunny,” Yuri placed the sofa pillows properly in their correct positions before sitting on it.
 

"We know all of your tricks,” Yoona also joined in.
 

“It looks like a tornado swept this whole place up. You’re in big trouble now, you babo,” Jessica proceeded to hit Sunny’s head lightly with a mocking grin.
 

“Too bad, Sunny. Now we can’t have your birthday party like this,” Taeyeon nonchalantly said as she held up the plastic bag which had a rectangular box inside and started to walk into the kitchen.
 

Sunny’s eyes widened the moment Taeyeon turned her back on her. “Yah, don’t even think about throwing that away! It’ll be a waste of a good cake!” She stood up and quickly cleared up everything all by her lonesome with the speed of light, much to the other girls’ delight.
 

As she celebrated her special day with her dearest friends, Sunny knew the answer to her previous ponderings.
 

All nine of them will still be together as one no matter what.
 

Their legacy will still live on, remembered and cherished by everyone who secured a special place for the group deep inside their hearts.
 

There was no such thing as ‘Game Over’ when it came to them.
 

END
 

Author's Note: It's gonna be our energizer's birthday soon, so I decided to write up a Sunny-centered oneshot. Even though she is my favourite member of all time, I feel that she is one of the most mysterious and difficult members to write about in my opinion. The reason why is because there's just so many layers when it comes to her. Her history too is much of an enigma if you think about it, compared to the other members. What do you guys think?