"Hey there, Chan!"

Chan lifted his head slightly from the Algebra textbook his head was laying on. The bottom of his eyes were blackened from not getting enough sleep due to a gaming competition he was part of last night. A dried up trail of drool led from the corner of his mouth along the side of his face and he furiously rubbed his shirt sleeve across it. When his vision focused, he realized who was talking to him, "Oh hi there uh...Ki?"

Honestly, Chan had no idea how to refer to the younger girl. Her name was like his, consisting of two characters, but 'Chan' wasn't bizarre standing alone as 'Ki' was. After kicking her dark red backpack underneath her chair, Jinki rolled her eyes and sat back in her assigned seat behind him, "It's Jinki, you idiot. We've been in the same class since first year of primary school and you still can't get my name right,"

"Sorry about that. I just don't talk to you as often as I should," Chan managed to say through an incoming yawn. He was completely out of it this morning and definitely needed a better wake-up call. Sighing, Chan lifted his tablet screen up and navigated to the gamer dashboard – nothing new. Jinki turned hers on as well but noticed he was checking out the gamer statistics. Her eyes slightly widened when a certain name just three players below jetlee_chan attracted her attention, "Who's Robotoid?"

"I don't know, that's what I've been trying to figure out," he rubbed his eyes wearily, "It must be one of the teachers screwing around with the system or something,"

"Did you ever think about it being a student?" she asked him, curious. Innocently tilting her head to the side, she placed a finger to her chin cutely, "But you know me, I'm no good at video games. For all I know, you guys are dunking touchdowns,"

For the first time that morning, Chan let out a hearty laugh complete with his signature wide grin. Jinki's lack of video game knowledge amused him especially since she had just mixed up sports terms as video game lingo. He never would have thought that Jinki was pretty funny. She was kind of annoying during class. Plus, he was a er for aegyo. +1 if they could make him giddy doing gwiyomi. Acting offended, Jinki stuck out her bottom lip into a pout, "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Oh it' nothing. You wouldn't get it anyway," Chan turned around in his seat to face her for conversation convenience. She was busy typing away on her computer but since the screen was turned away from him, he couldn't see what she was doing. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, engrossed in whatever she was doing. Jinki looked up but continued typing, "You're a pretty big hotshot in the video game club, aren't you?"

Chan rubbed the back of his head, pink slightly tinting his cheeks, "I wouldn't call myself a hotshot but I guess I'm pretty good,"

"So have you heard of the Kyung Rim Gaming Competition?" Jinki's tone of voice suddenly changed from sweet to stern. Her furious typing continued to grow louder and louder the harder she tapped at the keys. Chan took mental note of this but knew he was going to forget it sooner or later. He had no idea why she was getting so worked up all of a sudden. Shrugging his shoulders, he casually nodded, "Yeah, I'm competing in it actually,"

"Oh that's cool!" Jinki's high-pitched voice came back out. Suddenly, she retreated and put a hand to shyly much to Chan's heart's amusement. If there was one thing he was attracted to, it was a cute girl doing cute actions. Not that he liked Jinki or anything, it was just rare to see someone like her to react all girlishly around him. She was the type to poke his back with the eraser part of her pencil to annoy him during class, not the giggly 'mouth behind my hand' kind of girl. Chan raised an eyebrow wondering what was wrong before she started talking again, "I mean, um...I'd love to watch you play sometime,"

Brushing his bangs to the side, Chan looked down at the pencils on her desk as if they were the most exciting things he had ever seen in his entire life, "Um, well if you;re not busy after school, you can come over and..."

"You'll teach me how to play games?" Jinki asked, a bit too eagerly to his liking. Sure, he could teach her a few things but what worried him was that he wasn't going to have the patience to put up in teaching her. In past experiences, Chan had tried to teach a few of his female classmates, not friends because he didn't have many female friends, how to hold the controller. Just hold the controller. And even then, the sacred maneuvering device was a foreign artifact to the opposite gender. Their fingers refused to stay on the buttons and were terrible in keeping up with shooting. They weren't able to aim down their sights while shooting or they would press the aim button instead of the fire button. There were all sorts of weird combinations that he had seen before.

"Well, if you want, sure," Chan shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. It wouldn't hurt to teach Jinki. Besides, she was a tech genius so maybe she would catch on faster than the rest of the girls in his class. He was about to ask whether or not she wanted to walk home with him but their teacher walked in and began taking attendance. Turning back around in his seat, he waited for the morning announcements. Jinki pressed the enter button with a smirk on her lips, closing all her open windows as she closed her tablet.

Once attendance was over and everyone was accounted for, the TV overhead flickered onto their school news channel. His best friend Hansol was a part of the TV Crew and today he was working alongside their student council president, Kwon Soonyoung, as the anchors. Their names appeared on the screen below them and everyone in the class snickered. Miyoko, a Japanese transfer student on the effects crew, had gotten his name spelled wrong again. It read as Sunyoung. What made the classes laugh harder was the way Soonyoung's eyes bugged out when he saw his name on the TV in the green room.

"Um, good morning teachers and students," Hansol decided to start the broadcast while Soonyoung was facepalming, "This morning we have a few major announcements. Today's highlights will be Sports, Hot Gossip, and Video Gaming. Congratulations to the Jetstart Wyverns on winning against the Trojans in last weeks game. They will be moving on to compete against the Thunderbirds next week for the start of bracket two."

"We'd like to congratulate Lee Jihoon and on winning the SK Dance Competition yesterday. He came in first place and will be moving on to the regional competition next month. Good luck to you, Jihoon!" Soonyoung read off the boards behind the camera.

"This week's hot gossip is our very own Soonyoung," Hansol pointed to the older boy next to him who was pulling a confused face. On the screen, a picture of Soonyoung and one of Chan's classmates that he recognized as Choyoung, studying in the library faded in, "Ladies, as you can see, President Soonyoung has been helping first year students in their homework and studies. We would like to thank him for being a supportive and kind person who will be leading us for the next two years,"

A few of the kids in Chan's class turned their attention to Choyoung who was hiding her face behind her textbook. Pretty much everyone knew that their classmate and the second year dream boat had been dating for the past few months. The teachers, though they didn't say it, knew it as well. This hot gossip thing was all just Hansol's plan to promote their relationship. Chan rolled his eyes, and placed his head on the desk as he waited for Soonyoung to get over his embarrassed state of mind and get on with the video game news. He wasn't the least bit interested in love and relationships.

"Uh, thank you Hansol. I really wasn't expecting that," Soonyoung nervously laughed as he tugged at his tie to loosen it, "So um...where were we? Oh yes, video games. Today in video games, Kyung Rim High School will be hosting it's tenth gaming competition. The top 32 players will be competing against each other. The final two will go head to head and the winner will be awarded with the grand prize. Details on the prize have yet to be announced. The final two will also be sent to the Regional Gaming Competition against other video game teams across South Korea – oh?”

The tablet between the two anchors beeping with a new message flashing across the screen. Hansol picked it up and began reading the details of the news alert, “Hold on everyone, this has just come in. First year student, Lee Chan, Kyung Rim's number one player, has been wiped from the top of the player list! Congratulations to...Robotoid?”

Soonyoung's eyebrows furrowed together as he snatched the tablet from his junior's hands, “Robotoid? Ah, I see. Anonymous! Chan has been taken over by an anonymous player! Well, whoever you are, congratulations,”

“That's all for today. We are working on a regular schedule. Please check our school website for any announcements that you have missed. Thank you, and have a great day!”

Chan stared at the TV screen with his classmates watching his every move. There wasn't much of a reaction on his part because he really didn't know what to do. For one, he wanted to scream but he would get in trouble with Mrs. Rhee if he did. And second, he just didn't know what to say. Even keyboard smashing and words couldn't describe how he was feeling. Concerned, Seunggwan leaned over the aisle, placing a hand on Chan's shoulder, “Hey bro, are you okay?”

Jinki also leaned forward, fighting back an evil smile, “What happened? I thought you were the school's hotshot?”

“So are you still letting me come over?” Jinki perkily skipped over to a depressed Chan who was walking out of the school gates with his head hanging low. Seunggwan had an arm around his shoulder and was taken aback at the sudden female interaction. What made him more surprised was that it was Jinki, someone who never even bothered talking to them before. Chan pulled his earbuds out and stuffed them in his pocket. Jinki heard an Omarion song coming from the speakers. Chan sighed, and lifted his head to look at her, “Yeah, why not? But um, I apologize if I'm a bit out of it. The whole Robotoid thing you know?”

Jinki slightly nodded, understanding his situation. It must have been really hard being the long time holder of a certain title and then having it stripped by someone who you didn't even know. Seunggwan lifted his arms from Chan's shoulders and stuffed them in his pocket, “But I mean, maybe someone is just playing a prank on you to get you out of your game, you know?”

“Yeah but even if they did, how did they do it?”

Jinki adjusted her backpack straps, suggesting nonchalantly, “Hacking, maybe?”

The two stared at her as they walked, making her avert her attention to the sky above her, staring at it with wide open. Seunggwan and Chan exchanged confused glances, when she suddenly started walking in front of them with her arms flailing as she talked, “I mean, it's not unheard of. But don't think that just because I'm good with computers that I did it, you know? I would never do that to you. I have nothing against you so...”

“No, I don't think it was you. You would never something like that,” Chan flashed her a reassuring smile, making her sigh in relief. She fell back in step with them. Seunggwan's eyes never left her. There was something weird about the way she was acting. Or maybe he just had a different impression of her in his mind. He always thought that Jinki was a sarcastic, 'I hate people' kind of girl. Not another one of their airheaded, dimwitted classmates. Then again, he thought that of every female classmate he had come in contact with. They would always act cute around him. Unlike Chan though, he wasn't the kind of person to eat up their act.

It wasn't long before they reached Chan's house. Jinki almost fainted when her eyes cast down on the tiny building she stood before. In middle middle-class standards, his house was pretty large. Two floored with a basement that had been remodeled into his game room. They also had a wide two-car garage with enough space for storage. They had converted their attic into a bedroom so technically, it was a three floored house. When Jinki entered his house, she couldn't believe how tiny it was; compared to her house anyway.

In contrast to her barely furnished modern home, there were a lot of bulky padded furniture set around the room and they had a lot of little trinkets and collectibles along the living room wall. Dark wood bookcases lined along the walls and there were also many framed certificates and medals being showcased. And what made her feel more uncomfortable was that his house was carpeted. She hadn't walked on carpeted floor in years and the squishing sensation on the bottom of her feet was weird. Her eyes widened when Chan and Seunggwan casually threw their books and backpacks on the couch. Jinki stood there like a deer in the headlights when Chan held out his hand, “You can throw your backpack on the floor or something,”

“Don't you have a coat rack or backpack storage or something?”Jinki looked around the room for a closet or anything similar for that matter. There was no way she was just going to throw her precious belongings on the floor. She had to have her books neatly put away and not just scattered along the floor. Seunggwan crossed his arms over his chest while they watched her explore the area for a closet, “Oh yeah, I forgot. Jinki's a rich girl,”

“Really?” Chan whispered back, “How did you know?”

“Just look at the brands of her stuff and how she's actually looking for a closet to put her school things in. Tell me that's not rich girl behavior,” Seunggwan snickered when Jinki blew her bangs up, frustrated that she couldn't find a closet. Chan peered down at her shoes – Louis Vuitton. His eyebrows furrowed together. Louis Vuitton? Just for a pair of loafers that were going to be damaged anyway? Well, damn. Calling out to her, he headed to the kitchen to grab a kitchen bag, “Hey Jinki, if we put a plastic bag on the floor, would you put your books down?”

Her nose wrinkled at the thought of her books still being out on the floor but it was better than nothing. Hesitantly arranging her belongings in a neat pile, she continued to stand while the two boys made themselves at home. Seunggwan positioned himself on the floor just below Chan who was on the sofa, just like they always did. Chan noticed that Jinki was still standing off to the side, “Why don't you sit down? Here, take a controller,”

“Oh no, I'm -” Jinki started to say, bending over to pull out her own controller from her backpack but stopped shortly. She bit the bottom of her lip, mentally cursing at herself for almost blowing it for herself. Stuffing her pink controller back into the depths of her bag, she stood up and took Chan's controller, “Never mind, thank you,”

The loading screen faded into view and Chan quickly navigated through the private match, multiplayer options for the party. Seunggwan and him logged into theirs: jetlee_chan and buswan. Jinki almost logged into hers but thankfully she logged into guest instead. Ugh. jetlee_chan(1). What an ugly name. Chan asked for her controller, “Let me set up a class for you,”

“Assault rifles are pretty good for beginners, I think,” Selecting Custom Class 2, he started scrolling through the various assault rifles, “What do you think we should equip her with, hyung?”

“I say the SMR,” Seunggwan chuckled to himself, knowing that the SMR was the worst assault rifle he had ever played with. Jinki glared at him knowing that he was suggesting the gun with the worst fire rate in the game. Looking back at the screen, she was so grateful that he had everything unlocked. All the perks, attachments, guns – even the skins! The only difference was that he had some DLCs. She wasn't a big fan of downloading content; she liked to stick to the classics. Next to her, Chan grinned but he chose the M27 and added attachments. Jinki cleared , “Is it alright if I can play with a sniper?”

Chan looked at her, concerned, “Are you sure? They take a while to get used to,”

“No, it's okay. I'm sure I can handle it,” Jinki assured him so he wouldn't get suspicious, “I like snipers anyway. They look cool in movies so maybe they look cool in video games too,”

After setting up an ideal class for Jinki, with a lot of her input on the setup, they finally started the match. Chan decided that it was better to start off on a smaller map so that there wouldn't be much space to cover. Besides, this was Jinki's first dry run. Seunggwan was rooting for Overflow, but instead, Chan chose Turbine. It wasn't a tiny map, but it wasn't small either.

“Here, sit next to me. I'll show you how to set it up,” Chan scooted over to her side, accidentally hitting Seunggwan's head with his foot while he was at it. Turning around, Seunggwan was about to yell at the younger boy but instead, almost gagged when he saw that Chan and her were getting cozy right in front of his eyes. Seunggwan's nose wrinkled in disgust; Chan was just such a player. And for the record, he was pretty easy to be manipulated by girls too. Chan had woven his arm through Jinki's so that he was holding her hand, guiding it onto the button controls, “LT is to aim down the sight, LB is to throw a special grenade,”

Once he was done showing her the controls, he went back to his own side and they started the match. They spawned on three different sides of the map, much to Jinki's convenience. If either of the two boys had spawned near her and tried to jump her, she would have accidentally show too much of her skills. Jinki decided to play it safe and look a little bit awkward in playing. Not completely stupid, but more like it was the way anew player would move when they were just getting used to the controls. At times, she would pretend to accidentally shoot a trash can or something else instead of aiming down her sights. It killed her inside to pretend that she couldn't play. She was itching to quickscope or even noscope Seunggwan who was running around in the middle of the map looking for either one of them. She spotted Chan just a few feet behind Seunggwan doing the same. She was a safe distance from them and was hiding in plain sight: she was crouched down on top of a rock. Seunggwan took notice of the time, “Damn it, Chan! I can't find you! Show yourself!”

Jinki was waiting for the right moment to strike. In less than a few seconds, Seunggwan and Chan were going to meet up in the airplane and attempt to shoot each other while she would be safely perched on top of her rock with a great angle. When Seunggwan and Chan both came into rage, she brought up her scope for a split second and the both of them through the head. Jinki jumped for joy, squealing when the two went down while the boys just stared at their screen, speechless. She grinned like a complete idiot, acting as if this was her first time ever sniping someone. She was shriveling up in the inside knowing that she had to act up in front of them. Sitting back down, she continued fangirling as Chan looked at her with his mouth wide open, “Wow, that was a seriously clean play!”

“Oh, maybe it's just beginner's luck,” Jinki winked.

author's note : so for those of you that follow all three of my stories, you may or may not have noticed that i brought in a few characters from the other two. don't worry, these stories will not work alongside each other, i just needed characters to add in. anyways, summer vacation started two days ago and i was able to complete at least 3 chapters offline for all of my stories. please look forward to them! in the meantime, i hope you enjoyed this chapter!