Changkyun did not prepare for this. 

Pfft. He did not. Swear. 

Clad with semi-formal attire, he wore a blue coat above his white shirt (with a design of a pretty cute necktie, by the way). His shorts were of a brighter color that complemented his top look and he looked very excited for his "date". How could he not? Wonho just asked him out on his first festival. Sure, the new update guide had said that there were countless of festivals yearly, but this was just special for Changkyun since it was his first time going to a festival. He had heard that most of the festivals were actually based on real life festivals, while some like the Blue Moon festival were unique to the storyline of the game. 

Changkyun was waiting at their usual spot and battlefield, with what they called the Diamond Domain. It was a cave rich with life--plants, trees, and even some harmless monsters. A waterfall was at the end of the cave, with the river at the center flowing through the cracks of the earth. All life in the domain relied onto the light shone by the stalactites and stalagmites found throughout the cave. It was as bright as if sunlight was perfectly seeping through the cave. At any time, it was very luminous, even at that time of night. 

Just then, a transporter appeared beside him, materializing an image at his side. Changkyun's grin went from ear to ear as excitemed rushed through his arteries. He saw his Hoseok hyung clad with something that looked like his housewear: a tank top with sweats. From that grin, it turned into a small frown. He knew that Hoseok had forgotten their date, since he was only wearing housewear clothes. He watched as Hoseok's eyes widened when he saw Changkyun's clothes. 

", what are you wearing?" Hoseok began, clearly taken aback with his attire. 

"Hyung, you have forgotten, haven't you?" Changkyun replied with a short pout. 

Hoseok bit his bottom lip as he began to swipe the air in front of him, showing up his drop menu. 

"One minute," Hoseok replied. 

Changkyun watched as the other male go through his options and picked the 'Wardrobe' option. Rummaging through a list of clothes, Hoseok picked one. In one second, Hoseok's clothes disappeared except for his boxers and revealed his toned body. In the next second, Hoseok was clad with formal attire. But that was not really the point why Changkyun's face began to redden. He had totally forgotten that when a character changes his clothes in the game, that would happen, the reason there were still dressing rooms in the game. The younger male instantly looked away, but his memory fogged with only the sight of Hoseok in his underwear. 

"Okay, I'm ready," Hoseok said with a grin. 

Changkyun returned his gaze at the elder and revealed Hoseok's attire. He wore a gray hoodie with a white shirt underneath the top. His bottom was a plain pair of jeans. At least it was better than his housewear. The younger male grinned in satisfaction. 

"Good!" 

But his mind was still thinking about Hoseok and his abs. 

"You have a ride?" Hoseok asked. 

"A ride?" Changkyun questioned. 

"Guess you don't. Come on, I know a faster way to get there. Hold my hand," Hoseok spoke casually. 

Changkyun was a little taken aback with the sudden request. Hoseok was being serious with it, so why would Changkyun let go of this chance? For all that he knew, this might be the last time he would be this close with Wonho, or maybe he was starting to make an impact on him; he didn't know exactly. He reached out and held Hoseok's hand. With a grin given by the elder, Hoseok stomped his feet as a big sinkhole appeared below them and swallowed both of them whole. 

And before Changkyun knew it, they were already in probably one of the most beautiful places his eyes had laid upon. 

If the place were a real part of the world, it might have been part of one of the Seven Wonders. But he remembered, every capital of the kingdom was just as beautiful as the next one. The Palace of Garnetia, where Hoseok was residing. The Optaz Building, where Minhyuk was residing. And the numerous other capitals of the Nine Kingdoms, which corresponded to the nine elements known to the game. Changkyun sometimes thought how the hell did he end up with a dragon not part of the Nine Kingdoms, but somehow it was better than being a normal civilian of another kingdom. 

"We're here," Hoseok announced and let go of Changkyun's hand, much to the latter's dismay. 

"So this is the Blue Moon Festival? Wow," Changkyun said as his gaze wandered everywhere. From the tall tower at the center of the clearing, to the countless of stalls to entertain the visitors, his eyes were already sparkling with delight. 

"I heard from Minhyuk that the opening would start in about... thirty minutes. So what do you wanna do before then?" the elder male asked. 

Changkyun's eyes wandered until his eyes saw a stall with a bag of cookies. He looked back to the senior with a grin. 

"Hyung, let's go there!" 

Hoseok smiled as he watched Changkyun running already from his position. He followed the younger male with thoughts clouding his mind. Aside from the annoying challenges Changkyun gave to him, Hoseok thought that Changkyun wasn't really a bad kid. He was just... smart. A bit too smart. He was still curious on how Changkyun knew about Dragon Link when only Hoseok knew about it, much less Minhyuk. The game mechanic exclusive to the Alphas. He hadn't explored that monochromatic blue/red dimension which was a mirror of the real world. He wanted to know more. And with Changkyun knowing the game mechanic without even being the Alpha, he might be able to squeeze out a few answers. 

"Hyung! Come on, you're too slow!"

Waving his hand in the air, Changkyun called out to Hoseok that seemed to be deep in thought while the latter walked towards the stall. Hoseok chuckled softly and set aside those thoughts in his head and jogged towards the male. 

"What were you thinking, hyung?" Changkyun asked. 

"Do you need to know, Iam?" Hoseok questioned in response. 

"Meanie! And don't call me Iam, it's weird!" 

Hoseok shook his head lightly as if to tell 'you really don't know anything, do you?'. Changkyun gave him a pout and the look which could have been the response to the implication behind Hoseok's action. 'Yes, I don't so tell me!' And before Hoseok could begin speaking, the NPC who was handling the stall. Within a few minutes, Changkyun had one a bag of cookies. The younger male happily bowed to the NPC and merrily left while he opened the cookies.

"You know that won't really satisfy your real body, right?" 

"It won't?" Changkyun blinked, looking back to his food, "but it feels... real."

"It is still virtual food, ," Hoseok retorted. 

Changkyun released a short huff, "I'm still learning things here." 

"But you have read the guide and there's--" 

"Hyung I'm out of cookies! Let's go win another one!" Changkyun suddenly announced with a grin. 

"You finished your cookies already? Alright fine. Let's go to that one," Hoseok spoke as he pointed at another random minigame that offered cookies as prizes. 

Changkyun grinned when he saw the place and began walking briskly to the stall. No way in hell that he would tell anything about the new update. Why would he? Changkyun was happy about the date and all, but he was still thinking of the strategy to defeat Hoseok so they could marry. Irrational, but it was what he intially thought. Hoseok, on the other hand, felt a bit suspicious about the sudden outburst. He wanted to know more about the guide. And though he had already read it, there were still secrets hidden in it. He just knew it. 

After that, Hoseok set aside his suspicion to let Changkyun experience how he dated people. 

And honestly, Changkyun felt like he was in heaven. Hoseok was everything he had imagined. The senior was too sweet, kind, a great gentleman. Not to mention his physical attributes which were probably a bonus. Hoseok kept on telling funny stories and sometimes did some cheesy pickup lines from the words Changkyun said. It was a nice feeling to get that kind of attention from his crush. And Hoseok himself didn't know the reason why he was doing such. Maybe because he didn't want to see Changkyun with the same sad expression on his face. He hated to see his friends sad. As much as Hoseok and Changkyun were similar to rivals in the game, they were still friends in real life. It was just a bit awkward since Hoseok knew Changkyun liked him. 

Changkyun had a crush on his friend, Hoseok, that wasn't reciprocated and Hoseok knew it. How were they even living that kind of life? 

As the narrator, I don't know either (or do I?) 

It was a few more minutes before the opening and Changkyun was nibbling on the latest bag of cookies he had one. And damn, Hoseok thought, how many bags of cookies does Changkyun eat? He was completely asking himself that question that it almost felt rhetorical. Until Changkyun saw a blond guy that looked familiar... And then he realized it was Minhyuk, with someone that he didn't quite know. He felt that he had seen the guy before but he couldn't quite put a finger on the memory. 

"Hyung, who's that?" Changkyun asked as he nibbled on the cookies he won at one minigame. 

"Who?" Hoseok asked as he glanced at the younger. 

"The one with Minhyuk hyung," the younger answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"Kihyun, his boyfriend," Hoseok nonchalantly answered. 

"So you're really single, hyung? Minhyuk doesn't like you at all?" Changkyun asked, as if the world began to have color. 

"Were you really jealous?" Hoseok simply asked, which made Changkyun flustered. 

And Changkyun's heart began to beat quickly as he realized that they were both holding hands already. Hoseok glanced back at Changkyun; seeing his flushed state made him chuckle softly. 

"So how was S.S. Wonho? Did you have fun?" 

"The best date ever," Changkyun answered with a light laugh. 

"Better enjoy it since this would be your first and last date with me."

"Hyung!" he whined in protest. 

Just then, the lights seemed to flicker and became a bit dim. It was as if the only light in the clearing was the moonlight. Hoseok helt Changkyun's hand a bit more tightly, sensing something was not right. A light of royal violet flashed from the center of the clearing. Hoseok glanced up and saw a man on the space that was supposedly for the giant bell for the end of the festival. He believed that it was a Normal Avatar of an account since the avatar only wore a student's uniform. There were two odd things in his avatar. One, his skin, or his whole body, looked transparent but in another glance his skin looked normal. Two, the avatar was not standing on anything. He was hanging. A rope was tied to the top at one end and around the avatar's neck at the other, as if he committed suicie. 

Changkyun stared in horror, his eyes widened in shock. However, Hoseok heaved a sigh of relief as if it was not a problem to see someone who hanged himself in front of everyone. 

"We have to help him--"

"It would help if we stay here," Hoseok said sternly. 

The younger male was clearly confused why Hoseok acted so calmly, until he heard a voice that came from the "dead" body of the avatar himself. 

"Greetings, fellow players. I am not the person to talk in front of such a big crowd, but I urge everyone to enjoy the rest of the week with this grand celebration planned by the Plant Kingdom," as if on cue, flowers began to bloom and gave out a bit of light that helped Changkyun see the figure more clearly, "and my home territory, the Phantom Kingdom. Once the bell rings when the Blue Moon rises, let us rejoice for it signifies the start of the strong alliance between the two kingdoms! So once again, enjoy!" 

With his final word, light suddenly filled the area once again and a parade composed of different avatars began dancing and shouting, almost partying in an orderly fashion. Changkyun could finally see the complete features of the avatar. His skin was pale white except for a lining on his lips and his eyes. Both were blood red. His hair color changed from black to hazel and back. Changkyun thought it was way too creepy and he might get nightmares for the next few nights.

"Hyung, who is that?" Changkyun asked, clearly pertaining to the avatar hanging. Literally. 

"His username is chaanarche. He is more prominently known as the Anarchist," Hoseok introduced.

"Any more details?" 

"My ex."

Author's Note

Hi people! I would have to apologize for such a late update. There's this thing called "college" that hit me right in the face. I will try to make more effort for this fic since I'd like to continue this until the end! I think I'll end this in 20ish chapters. But for now, how is this chapter? Is it good? Comment what you think! Subscribers and comments are definitely appreciated, upvote if you can! If you have any questions you can directly ask in the comments. Finally, there might be a bit of changes from their personalities since it has been more than a year (since No Mercy) that I've been observing them and somehow their personalities here doesn't quite fit the original people. I'm going to try and adapt their personalities here. So that's it! Thank you all for understanding and waiting for this fanfic! I love you guys!! 

Keep on supporting Monsta X!! #ProudMonbebe

And have a gif of this person.

I hate him.