2:06 pm

“Micky’s order is ready!” A cahier at the counter called out over the café. Yoochun stood up and left you alone to take in the shock. You steadied your breathing and picked up your book from the ground before scrolling through the sight. You went straight for the info section. The page loaded quickly and the truth stared at you.

‘The game is NIGHTMARE. At midnight, five males and five females find themselves in a new world. This world is called NIGHTMARE. There each person is pitted against challenges that they must face to survive. On the first trip to NIGHTMARE, only the first, most of the people, called a group, die. The remaining people have a chance to save them by getting a weird potion that can bring the dead back to life. By the time MIDNIGHT comes everyone lives perfectly healthy, with the exception of the people that got the elixir, they always get hurt in the process and usually die because they weren’t able to get medical attention fast enough.

‘After surviving NIGHTMARE once there is a time period that nothing happens. At random times after the first trip to NIGHTMARE the remaining people alive are pulled back into the game and sent to their deaths. Often times it is a situation where the group has to fight against another group.

‘When fighting, one person of a whole group could disappear because they had survived NIGHTMARE until MIDNIGHT. There is no universal midnight. Time is determined on where the person was when they went to NIGHTMARE on that trip. People in the same group could have different midnights if they are at different locations.’ Yoochun walked back with the drink you had wanted. “Here is the mango delight you wanted.” He sat down next to you as you tried to read the information without crying. You clicked on ‘Our Stories’ and took a sip from your juice. Sweet, frozen, delicious, lost to your pain. You tried to read the first entry, but it hurt you too much. You moved the mouse to close the window. It was all too much. Yoochun took the mouse before you could exit.

You turned to Yoochun with the stabbing feelings inside. “Is there anyway to fight it?” You knew the answer, doomed. He nodded his head and you raised an eyebrow. He clicked on another page. ‘Password required.’ “But Yoochun, we don’t have a password.” He shook his head while the page loaded. It was slower this time, as if it was the most visited page. You were expecting some log in to be there, but it was just a bunch of words. You leaned closer and read them

‘In NIGHTMARE, there actually several things that can be said to make things “more interesting” for whoever is watching the game. By saying “Chance of Survival” the survival rate and the task for that game will be sent to a watch on your wrist. There are also special powers in NIGHTMARE. They can only be activated at certain times in the game. To get more strength say the words, “ringo spinach,” during the thirty percentile. During that ten percent the player can get more strength only once, and only one person in a group can get it. That is the came for all the extra powers. For the skill of flying the player must say, “sora sky fly,” in the forty to forty-three percentile. For the ability of clairvoyance the person must say, “mind seer,” in the seventy-five to seventy-six percentile. For the helping abilities the player can say, “healing heart,” for healing wounds, at any time, but only once per person. They can say, “inner strength,” for their hunger to go away. For the gift of sleep or rest the person needs to say, “night dreams,” but that isn’t a wise gift to use. These powers help greatly in NIGHTMARE, but if they are not used wisely they can cost someone their life.’

“There is a way to fight it. We can survive.” He leaned close to your face to make sure you understood. His face leaned in closer, staring deeply into your dark eyes. You shivered and looked away. You bit into the straw in the mango delight and tried to ignore his advances. You moved the mouse back over the red X that would close the window. You waited for him to take the mouse from you again, but his hand stayed away. You closed the page and stood up. You picked up the drink and held tightly onto your book. With your back to him again, you tried to walk out. He gazed at your strides to the door. You turned back at him to bid him goodbye and you caught his eyes. You averted your attention and pushed the door open, walking into the refreshingly cold air. Mango delights freezing the last warmth you held onto.

7:43 pm

He was hungry again. He paused the game he was playing and headed into the kitchen. Cook something or eat something frozen? He was in the mood for something warm. He looked into his pantry for some canned soup to eat. He grabbed a can a pulled it out. His hand brushed against some alcohol that was sitting on the shelf, next to the soup. The alcohol crashed to the floor and shattered. He jumped back and dropped the can into the puddle that had formed. His father walked into the room while onto the phone. He eyed the mess and glanced at Changmin. While continuing his conversation he sent the message to him. ‘Clean this up and buy more.’ Changmin pouted while sweeping up the wet glass. The destroyed pieces that would never fit together again. He picked up the strays that he missed. He saw a bottle that hadn’t broken and picked it up. While drying it he praised the bottle. It had been lucky enough to not break, to still hold onto its purpose. He chucked the broken glass into a bag and closed it. He then tossed that bag into the garbage and walked out. It was just trash.

8:30 pm

You bowed out and picked up your wallet from the desk. It felt so invigorating to be using your body again. Stretching helped you relax and kicking helped relieve your pent up energy. You pulled on the jacket you had hanging on a rack and walked out. Your stomach growled and you felt the gnawing. You blew your breath into the air and looked inside of your wallet. You had enough for some instant ramen from the nearby convenience store. You walked carefully across the street into the Family Mart. Your combat boots clunked across the cement. Opening the door, the chimes sang to you while you headed for the instant food section. It was right next to the frozen food. You held onto the sleeves of your black jacket and picked out the flavor. What had Haruka recommended for you? Cotton Candy ramen? You pulled a face and picked up the obvious chicken flavor. You turned around and bumped into a tall figure.

“Aish!” He nearly dropped the basket he was holding. He growled and looked at you, but his eyes softened when he realized who you were. “Kong -----, it’s strange to see you again.” You nodded and stared at the drinks he was buying.

“I work at the Tae Kwon Do place across the street. I don’t live around here, I was just going home.” He swayed his head to the music playing in the store not listening you. “I can see you are up to no good.” He turned his head to you and pursed his lips.

He sighed and shook his head. “They’re not for me. I was getting some food when a stupid bottle fell and my dad forced me to go buy more. I am clearly buying this from the frozen drinks but he is stupid and puts them into the pantry to get freaking warm! Of course I am going to knock them down, they shouldn’t even be there! How does he expect them to let me buy this?” He was fuming, but his growling stomach harmonizing with your made him laugh. You joined in and picked up another instant ramen. He followed you to the cashier and watched as you paid. You asked her to pour boiling water in for you. She kindly agreed with her employee smile. It was just one of the services that you loved. You stood to the side as Changmin slid the drinks onto the counter. She started ringing him up, and then asked for his ID. He looked nervously at you, but he knew you weren’t able to buy them either. You sighed and walked over. Manipulation is a skill.

“You must be new here; I don’t recognize you. I work at that Tae Kwon Do training center over there. I come here often after my masters’ meetings. I am so happy to be back, I just got out of rehabilitation from getting shot. Can you believe that? I got shot! I have the scar on my arm, do you want to see?” You started to take of your jacket. Her eyes widened and rang up the purchase and handed you the ready ramen. She thanked you for the purchases and pleaded with her eyes for you not to hurt her and leave. You and Changmin left, holding back the tears of laughter. He followed you to a park table. He set the bottles down and reached for a ramen. You pulled apart the chopsticks that had so kindly been included with the cup. You lifted the lid to hear the slurping sounds of Changmin. He ate quickly. You smelled chicken scent and held the chopsticks over the cup. You your lips as you dipped them in and pulled out a nice looking quantity of noodles. You closed your eyes and opened your mouth, waiting for the taste to quench your hunger.

“You look like an idiot.” Her voice. Erika's voice. She wasn’t supposed to be there. You opened your eyes to your empty hand. You were sitting in a white chair in a circle with everyone else. The group. You were back in NIGHTMARE.

“.” You were still hungry. Your stomach growled in protest. You didn’t want to wait for your meal. You were tired of waiting. Always waiting for something to happen and end what you had. You said it again. “.”

********************

Holding back the tears. Ha ha ha! So this was my way of saying Mianhe to Yoochun. After watching Junsu's Intoxication I really want to write about him, and Yunho. After the next day... I actually did what Changmin did, and while I was cleaning up the glass I thought of MidNightmare and wondered what he would feel.

Comments are motivation~♥