Changkyun's heart began to crumble, but it could have been worse. 

He was now seeing Hoseok's ex for the first time. An actual person, or maybe an existing person whom Hoseok fell for in the past, was showing off how powerful he was. Well, at least in the game. Changkyun was dumbfounded with those two simple words. He did not even know that it would have an effect on him. But he wanted to know more of this person. He wanted to see if that Anarchist was worth to be rivaled. The freshman found his hand slowly slipping away from Hoseok's as the senior glanced back at him with a smile. 

"Is there a problem?" Hoseok asked, probably oblivious with Changkyun's thoughts at those times. 

"Nothing."

Changkyun was left soft-spoken. Hoseok looked at the male worriedly but he noticed the younger male's eyes widened. He looked back to the direction of the other's gaze to see the Anarchist floating towards there direction. Although no noose was choking the incoming male's neck, it was replaced with numerous arrows pierced on or through him. It was horrifying to see such sight especially when the skin was close to being nothing at all and return to being a normal skin pierced by an arrow. A very gory sight to begin with. 

"Pleasure to see you again, Wonho," he spoke, his voice light and deep. 

"Good to see you too, Hyungwon," Hoseok replied with a smile. 

Changkyun observed the couple. They felt like something more than exes. They weren't the awkward exes (those couples who couldn't even live with saying the name of the other); they weren't the revenge exes either (those types who'd want to kill each other). They felt like a couple who had just begun with their relationship and was scared to show it to public ('NOT GOOD!! NOT GOOD!!' said a mental sign in Changkyun's mind). That, or it was just how Changkyun felt. 

"Hyungwon... Now I remember! You were featured in last month's magazine for Dragon Burst! Though they said that you rejected their offer for an interview, so they only described how you were in battle," Changkyun pitched in, trying to casually join the conversation. 

The Anarchist, Hyungwon, looked at the male with a pleased smile. 

"Yes. And quite the inaccuracy, I suppose. No one has ever seen me in real life. Not even that Alpha in Electric Kingdom which I have heard had a very good reputation in his 'intense researches'. But no data on me." 

"Wait so--" 

"Yes. I'm quite a mystery, ain't I?" Hyungwon cut in with a soft laugh. 

Hoseok managed to chuckle along with Hyungwon, as if it was an inside joke between the two of them. Changkyun's mind was working like crazy to process the information that he was given. They were exes. They knew each other. They haven't met in real life, as what Hyungwon told. So they had only met inside the game? Well it was a social game after all. 

"No one has seen Hyungwon in real life," Hoseok repeated to confirm the claim, "I'm not even sure if 'Hyungwon' is his real name! He's too caught up with his Anarchist thing." 

"Hyungwon is my true name, don't worry. I don't lie with such facts," Hyungwon defended with a grin. 

"Then why hasn't Minhyuk seen anything about you?" Hoseok argued. 

"It's a secret, Wonho." 

And by that time, Changkyun had already blinked himself out of his thoughts. They weren't exes, were they? 

"So, Wonho, who is this? Your boyfriend?" Hyungwon suddenly jumped to that topic. 

"Ah-- No! We're not boyfriends or anything... We're rivals, actually!" Changkyun corrected with a nod. 

"Rivals?" Hyungwon questioned. 

"It's a long story," Hoseok said with a small laugh. 

"I'm gonna defeat him and marry him," Changkyun spoke once again. 

"Well, that's one way to put it," Hoseok concluded with a soft laugh. 

"That's an interesting challenge. Wonnie won't really be defeated by mere attacks. His defense is impenetrable, or is it?" Hyungwon remarked. 

.

.

.

Eh?

WONNIE?!

And instead of delving into the implication that Hyungwon might know a few tricks on how to defeat Hoseok, Changkyun's focus was on the pet name.

"Wonnie?" Changkyun questioned, in which Hyungwon laughed after. 

"Stop with that name. It's embarrassing," Hoseok cut in. 

Hyungwon just smirked and leaned in to whisper to Changkyun's ear. The latter tensed up at the sudden action, especially the fact that there was a corpse for an avatar that was leaning towards him. A very bloody, or very ghastly, corpse. 

"Don't worry. We became a couple for the alliance of Earth and Phantom Kingdom. After the Festival of Faeries, the festival for the alliance of the kingdoms, we became good friends. We're not real life exes to begin with," Hyungwon explained in a soft voice. 

Hoseok was just staring at the taller male who was still whispering things to Changkyun. With the eyes of the youngest widening ever so slightly, and was that his cheeks turning pink? He cleared his throat which caught the attention of the two males. Hyungwon glanced at the impatient Hoseok and heaved a soft chuckle before he pulled away from Changkyun's ear. 

"Don't be such a killjoy, Wonnie," Hyungwon retorted. 

"I was not. You're getting too close," Hoseok replied. 

"You're not my boyfriend, hyung. Not yet, anyway," Changkyun said with a grin. 

Hoseok just shook his head, a bit amused. At one point, they had an awkward atmosphere. And at that point, Hyungwon and Changkyun seemed to have a deeper connection. Those subtle glances made by the two, those faint smiles they had exchanged, it felt... weird, for Hoseok. Hyungwon had told Changkyun something. It had him very curious, but he thought that he would question Changkyun at another time. 

"I would like to stay and chitchat but I gotta run. Kihyun took the night off in his duties to go on with his date, so I have to work twice as much tonight," Hyungwon informed with a smile, then glanced at Changkyun, "Good luck, Changkyun. Wonho is a difficult opponent." 

"I will, hyung!" Changkyun replied enthusiastically. 

With a final nod to Hoseok and one knowing look to Changkyun, Hyungwon abruptly dissipated. He vanished right on the spot. Changkyun flinched at the sudden disappearance while Hoseok looked unfazed, as if he had seen the action multiple times. Hoseok's gaze then returned to the younger male, his head tilted with curiosity. 

"Mind telling me what Hyungwon said?" 

"That would mean my defeat so no!" Changkyun spoke with a grin. 

At the other end of the clearing, there was Kihyun and Minhyuk eating their caramelized apples while The Anarchist made his speech. 

"Have you met Hyungwon before?" Minhyuk asked while he munched on the sweetened fruit.

"Not yet. Personally, that is. The closest I got was when I battled him and he changed into his old battle form. He said it was almost akin to his real world look. It was to gain my trust for the alliance. After the battle he changed his battle form to... I don't know it's indescribable, actually," Kihyun explained.

"Really? He does that to gain trust?" Minhyuk asked to affirm. 

"Yes, Minnie. I think he also did that to Wonho. The Earth Kingdom Alpha?" 

Minhyuk stared at the corpse avatar giving his speech. He wanted to know who that Hyungwon guy was. A player that powerful must not be rivaled with. He needed to make a connection with Hyungwon. He needed to get on Hyungwon's good side. He was the talk of the town with Hoseok when they had the Festival of Faeries. At that time, Kihyun and Hyungwon were the ones holding the beautiful Blue Moon Festival. As far as his research went, the Phantom Kingdom only had two alliances, assuming that the Blue Moon Festival would end without interruptions. That meant only the Earth and Plant Kingdoms had made the connection with Hyungwon, and even had the chance to battle him. 

Strategically speaking, it was a real risk if a kingdom only had a few alliances. Few alliances meant weaker defenses. Not that the Phantom Kingdom had a weak defense, just a disorganized bunch of dragons who liked to party and battle. Much like grecian centaurs, fun and violent. Not that the other kingdoms had many alliances within the game either. However, Hoseok amd Minhyuk knew all the candidates for Alpha, even for the Fire Kingdom.  And Minhyuk knew that an Alpha would soon arise in the Fire Kingdom. When that would happen... Well Minhyuk had to cross the bridge when he got there. The point was, networking within the game had a big advantage and lots of benefits. 

"Kihyun, you should make an alliance with Wonho. It will benefit both Kingdoms!" Minhyuk encouraged. 

"I told you, after the quest of defeating the Plant Alpha. I'm still recruiting for the grand quest," Kihyun spoke softly and cautiously, so his voice would not be overheard by other people near them. 

"Then why not recruit Wonho? Gain his trust, he'd gain yours. It would be perfect, so that in the Festival of Terraflora in about a month, the two kingdoms would already seal the deal," Minhyuk suggested. 

Kihyun pondered about Minhyuk's suggestion. The quest would be take a long time and would be rigorously difficult. Recruiting Wonho in his party would raise their defense drastically. It would be a strategic move. Adding Minhyuk, it would be almost unstoppable. Almost. However, there was the deal that Hyungwon must be included in the party. The reason behind their alliance was the joint effort in defeating the Plant and Phantom Alpha, and Kihyun hadn't said this reason to anyone, not even to his boyfriend. Phantom and Earth in one party would have a 50% chance of catastrophe, much more if two of the most powerful playes from each kingdom were in one party. 

"I will still think about it, Minnie. Don't worry much," Kihyun said with a soft smile. 

"Alright I believe you."

As the clearing illuminated when Hyungwon's speech ended, they glanced at each other and silently nodded. A sign that they would drop the subject completely. They were on a date. No economics, no politics, no Alphas, no Dragon Burst.

Just the two of them. 

", this is great news! Great, great news!" a male chimed mischievously as he clapped his hands, "I have to report this back to him. Tell him Minhyuk is doing a great job at convincing! And I'll probably get more attention now!"

With a grin and a flick of his hand, his feet was suddenly engulfed with a blaze. The air surrounding the avatar singed and smelled of burning rubber as the scarlet plasma slowly consumed his avatar whole until he disappeared into thin air, only leaving a small pile of ash on the spot to where he was standing. 

Author's Note

Hi people! Here's Part 3 of 5 chapters of the Blue Moon arc! How are you liking the chapters? Is it good? Comment below what you think! Now this chapter introduced Hyungwon, Phantom Kingdom's representative and overall leader. He's already considered Alpha by the Kingdom but he isn't official since he hasn't defeated the Phantom Alpha somewhere. Hyungwon here would play a big role behind the scenes winkwonk. Okay that's enough spoilage for now. If you have any questions please comment them as well! Read, love, comment♥

On another note: HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!