Computer Games

He sits in the living room, fingers gliding actively over the keys.

Clack-clack-clack

Only the light, airy music and button presses break the silence.

Jongin glares at the screen as it presents yet another option.

???: Haven’t we met before?

A. Yes

B. No

If he picks the wrong one, it’s all over, and the prize will never be his.

-

“Jongin, come down here and give me a hand with the groceries.”

Kyungsoo, his boyfriend of two years, four months, fifteen days, and counting, beckons him off from the virtual world.

Unfortunately, with heavy headphones on, he can’t hear. All that he can hear is the sound of magic whoosh-ing in the air, the clash of swords, the groans of pain.

“Jongin!”

Something clips his left- that bastard! –Jongin slams a key with nimble fingers, driving a bolt of lightning into the offender.

His mana bar flashes in warning, and his screen glows red- so many things, beckoning for his attention, all at the same ti-

“JONGIN!,” Kyungsoo yells, and suddenly he has Jongin’s headphones grasped in his hand, standing and fuming next to him.

“W-wait! Kyungsoo- please,” Jongin sputters, immediately pausing the game to avoid death. He breathes a sigh of relief, and pulls a pair of large-rimmed glasses off his face, rubbing his palms over his tired eyes.

“Didn’t you hear me?,” the elder scowls, clutching the headphones tightly in annoyance.

“Woah- babe –those are expensive, careful,” Jongin plucks the headphones out of his boyfriend’s hand, caressing it like it was a child.

Kyungsoo stares at him in disbelief.

“I was calling for you, Jongin.”

“Sorry, Kyunggie, I was trying to save the kingdom. That mage was com-“

Interrupting Jongin, the elder turns and leaves briskly, tossing a last retort over his shoulder, “Forget it, I’ll just help myself then. Since you’re  more obsessed with running a sword through people.”

Jongin jumps up from his chair.

“Hey, don’t say that!,” he yelps, jogging after Kyungsoo.

-

He’s standing alone in a room. Something creaks to his right and he turns quickly, flashing a light.

But there’s nothing there.

Jongin shivers, nervously hovering his finger over the keys. His movements are slow, deliberate, calculated.

There could be something waiting in the dark.

The sweat runs down his temple; it’s cold and he wipes it away with a trembling hand. Suddenly its deathly quiet, and it makes the hair on the back of his neck stand. He feels a phantom crawl down his calf and he jerks his leg in response, rubbing the palm of his other hand over to soothe it.

The flashlight dies.

He can see something, illuminated by moonlight. It sways a little in the wind, and he has no choice but to approach. Slowly. Slowly.

His character’s vision is starting to blur, the invisible fear meter building. Soon, he will be paralyzed and it will get him.

He approaches slowly, the creaking making him tense up,and it’s- it’s just a corpse, strung up by thick ropes.

Jongin laughs to himself, it’s not something that can harm him. Luckily.

He turns away ready to leave, when suddenly- a snapping sound- its hollowed eye sockets shoot open- its jaw drops open-

“KIM JONGIN!”

you are dead

Jongin jerks, shaking his bangs out of his eyes and immediately turning off the display, just as Kyungsoo bursts in, a delighted smile on his face.

“Hey, babe, what’s up,” Jongin attempts weakly to act cool, even while knowing that he looks like he’s seen a ghost- which he has actually –but his boyfriend doesn’t need to know that.

“I won it! Won the ticket! We’re going on a cruise to Fiji!,” Kyungsoo waves the tickets around excitedly.

“That’s wonderful!,” Jongin gasps out, still catching his breath and calming his heartbeat.

“I know right- hey, darling, are you alright?,” the elder approaches slowly, concern in his features.

A flash of fear on Jongin’s face before he manages to control it, slowly covering his face with his cool, sweaty fingers and controlling his breathing. “I’m fine, I was just playing a game.”

“That horror game? You know I told you to stop playing that, “ Kyungsoo perches tentatively on the younger’s lap, placing a hand over his chest to feel Jongin’s rapidly beating pulse. “I’m worried about you, you know. Too much of it isn’t good. It’s disturbing your mental health.”

Kyungsoo places a kiss on Jongin’s fingers, right over where his lips are. “I don’t mind that you play computer games, I just want you to cut down on this one alright. I don’t want to come home one day and find you curled up in a ball, in a corner.”

It’s a joke and Jongin knows it, but he might really end up in a corner if he doesn’t stop.

“I will, Kyungsoo,” he grasps the elders warm hand and holds him tight.

-

She jumps, and they jiggle.

Jongin wrinkles his nose as the busty, skimpily dressed girl yells something in Japanese, the volleyball nearly as large as her bosom.

Jongin just wants to play volleyball.

It was a game recommended by Sehun, the younger nudging him with a glint in his eyes.

“Just try it, Jongin, you won’t regret.”

He should’ve known.

Being Sehun, the younger loved to annoy him whenever possible.

Jongin had to admit, the game was good. The animation was fluid, controls responsive, and it was actually fun. Unfortunately, it came with a lot of busty women.

And he really means A LOT.

The amount of jiggling was becoming a distraction, the movement taking his eyes off the ball and- woah, could they even jiggle that way ?–making him lose the game.

Who even plays volleyball with a less than supportive bra. This shouldn’t be legal.

Luckily for him, Kyungsoo hadn’t yet caught him playing it. Jongin felt guilty, going behind his boyfriend’s back like this, even when he wasn’t even attracted to s. Even though he was really only playing it for the volleyball- which he WAS –it didn’t take the edge off his guilt.

He didn’t even know how to justify himself lest Kyungsoo catch him.

More random Japanese yelling, and more jiggling

Jongin feels weird.

It’s almost as if- as if-

Something is watching him.

But Kyungsoo is out with Suho, and they’re having a coffee date, which means his boyfriend wouldn’t be home until later. He tries to push the nagging feeling away, convincing himself that the weird sensation was just his guilt, and the teasing remnants of that horror game.

“Why can’t I get a goal?,” Jongin grumbles to himself.

She keeps blocking it with her BOSOM of all things. Giggling and flipping her hair.

“I really wonder why you can’t, Jongin,” a cold voice mutters from the doorway.

Jongin freezes.

The ball falls down, abandoned and rolling to the sea.

“…what’s up, babe?,”  Jongin once again, offers weakly.

Kyungsoo snorts, glaring coldly.

“Is this what you have been spending your time on? I’m really sick of this gaming addiction, Jongin. I tolerated it for so long because…because- I love you –but if this is your true nature, playing sports with busty women, then God help you, because I sure as hell know I can’t.”

Jongin feels cold wash down his spine, “W-wait, Kyungsoo. I’m not a ert, really.”

“Tell that to her, Jongin,” Kyungsoo turns away, “I’m leaving, I need a break from this place. It gets lonely, staring at the four walls by myself you know. While you spend time with your more important boyfriend.”’

“You’re my boyfriend, Kyunggie,” Jongin panics a little.

“Well you certainly spend more time and attention on the desktop, than you do to me.”

“W-wait!”

The slam of a volleyball-no –the car door, tyres screeching away, is his only company at night.

-

???: Haven’t we met before?

A. Yes

B. No

Jongin lifts a finger, pressing ‘No.”

The game shuts down.

“What the-?”

Jongin growls, when he realizes he has to press ‘Yes’ to get the game to go anywhere.

Restarting it again, he hits ‘Yes’, bringing up a prompt to enter a name. Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo: Have we? I’m fairly certain we haven’t. But hello~

Reduced to this. Reduced to dating his virtual boyfriend, Kyungsoo.

Because the real one has been avoiding his calls and texts.

They haven’t broken up, per say, but sort of on hiatus-ish. Kyungsoo was staying with Suho in the meantime. Jongin once again felt the bite of guilt. Even when they were apart, and Kyungsoo was on the brink of leaving him, he was still playing computer games.

Standing at the counter, Jongin grasps his games tightly. All of the memories, all of the great times, all about to be lost. He was going to sell them. All of the games.

For Kyungsoo, he’d do just about anything, and this was just one of the many sacrifices he would have to make.

It would be okay, Kyungsoo had sacrificed so much of his own time, and love, but Jongin hadn’t. He’d been more engrossed with something that should have been #2 in his life.

Having sold them off, he averts his eyes from the new releases but something- something catches his eye.

Dream Boyfriend Deluxe

So here he was, playing a game meant for lonely teenage girls, ready to be swept off their feet by Prince Charming.

Except he was a fully grown adult male.

But that was okay.

Kyungsoo: I heard you like me. Would you like to go out on a date?

A. Yes

Kyungsoo: Didn’t you have a great time? I sure did. I love spending time with you

A. Yes

Kyungsoo: I miss you

A. I missed you too, so much

Kyungsoo: Happy anniversary darling, I love you

A. Happy anniversary to you too

Kyungsoo: Do you love me?

Jongin’s phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Jongin, it’s me. Kyungsoo.”

“…Kyungsoo.”

“Listen, I...I’ve been thinking and-“

“-and what?”

Jongin’s fingers are shaking again, this time from fear. He doesn’t want to lose Kyungsoo.

“Suho told me…he saw you. Saw you go into the game store.”

“Wait- Kyungsoo, you don’t understand, I-“

“No, I understand, Jongin.”

“Ky-“

He hears a faint sob from the phone.

“I missed you, Jongin, and when I heard, I heard- you sold them off, I couldn’t believe it.”

“…”

“I really- sniff-  didn’t think you would do it- even for me.”

“Kyungsoo, it’s time for you to come home.”

Jongin shuts his eyes and ends the call, it’s finally over.

He presses the button one last time, before ejecting and tossing the CD into the trash.

A. I do, I love you.