The blaring tune of her favorite song threw off any kind of sleepiness she still pertained to. Her hands drifted to the alarm which she didn't even remember setting. They had ended up binge watching a movie—which did not involve Hugh Jackman—and finally disbanded when it was past midnight.

"What time is it?" Maerin mumbled to herself and sloppily picked her phone up to stare at the time. She hadn't even realized she had slept through the afternoon and missed lunch. But something told her that wasn't the only thing she had missed.

As a daily wake-up routine, she began to scroll through her phone and leisurely checked up on her social media. That was when she realized the oddness of a new application icon being at the end of the list. It was purple in color with many flower petals surrounding the golden logo that read Love Fantasy. Again, something she didn't remember downloading. Had she been drinking perhaps?

"Oh! Lee Tae Min!" She then uttered, remembering the rather important appointment she forgot. Considering he was a virtual character, she didn't really stress about it too much. It wasn’t a real appointment anyway. She could even reset and manipulate the game's time if she wanted to.

She got out of bed and absentmindedly turned her laptop on, which she had apparently set on sleep mode. So it didn't take long before she could click on the Love Fantasy game to have it working again. Her sleepy eyes were greeted by that cheesy bright pink purplish visual, and she was sure she would never ever get used to it.

The bossa nova tune filled her entire place as she fetched a glass of water, and frankly, it was the soothing type of music she was secretly fond of. When she took the seat back in front of her laptop, she was quite surprised to see the Lee Tae Min character waiting for her at the same neighborhood background like the night before. He had a rather indifferent look on his face she couldn't decipher.

'Good morning, sleepyhead. Looks like you're late.'

Maerin raised her eyebrow, the mug in her hand frozen midair at how bizarre this was. How could he have possibly known she had just gotten out of bed? Unless it was the 'as lazy as a potato sack' description she wrote down about herself.

'Sorry. I thought you would've gone ahead without me.'

'Now how would that be possible considering I don't know the way to my destination?'

Maerin laughed. True, she was supposed to be his tour guide in this make belief neighborhood after all. She might as well go along with it and see what else the game had in store for her.

'Let me show you the way.'

Finally, a white text box appeared using some preset text from the game itself. She thought it would be the typical multiple choices box, but it turned out to be an instruction manual.

Use / to type an action command.

Maerin frowned, wondering how open ended the action command could be. So she tried it out with a simple and direct command that would progress the story well.   /Go to grocery store   The background changed to a different setting of the neighborhood. She assumed they were on their way to the store now.
'I never got to know your name. I am Lee Tae Min.'

'I am Chris P. Bacon.'

She had to take a minute to laugh at her own sense of humor. It was the username she wittily chose for herself, and she was determined to go by it. That subtle change in his expression was totally worth it.

'For real?'

'Yes!'

There was a realistic delay of response, similar to a normal person not knowing how to respond to her lame sense of humor. Not everyone could accept her jokes which was as equally lame as Hyun Mi and Hoya's, but they had convinced themselves only a certain group of special people could.

'In that case, call me Brock Lee.'

Maerin had to read the name out loud in order to understand. "Oh my gosh, he is broccoli!" She shrieked in amusement, wiping a fake tear away from her eye. This virtual guy was as lame as she was, and she loved him for it. He was special.

'Chris P. Bacon and Brock Lee, it seems we're all set for dinner.'

His drawing changed to show him laughing.   'Since you know me by my stage name and real name, don't I get to know your real name?'

'Hold up, stage name? What kind of performances do you do with a stage name like Brock Lee?'

'I chop fruits and vegetables on stage. I'm the real life Fruit Ninja.'

Maerin found herself rolling around in laughter as she imagined the scene unfolding in her head. Someone with the heavenly visual of Lee Tae Min wearing a black ninja outfit, shouting at the top of his lungs while using a long katana to slice up random fruits being thrown at him. Hilarious.   ‘Just kidding. I am a dancer. But I just decided on my stage name a few seconds ago.’   She was now met with a certain amazement and awe. He was a dancer, the exact passion and hobby she had written for him. She never expected him to be so dedicated for it to become his occupation though.   ‘It suits you well. You will go far, Mr. Brock Lee.’   ‘So what’s your name?’   Maerin wondered why he was so curious about it and whether it will have any benefit to progress their otome game storyline. So she decided to divert the topic by trying out something else—something to see how good hearted this ideal boyfriend truly was.   /Step into dog poop   Again, she burst out into laughter at her dry humor, especially when the frown sunk on Tae Min’s forehead. She realized this virtual guy made her laugh way more in the span of 24 hours than her friends managed to within the two weeks after her rejection.   ‘Are you okay?’   She could somehow visualize his voice in her head with concern. He didn’t look disgusted though, which was understandable since the action did not come with the horrible smell. So she answered him in the richness of her dry humor.   ‘Yes, stepping on poo is a part of my daily DOODY.’   To her surprise, he responded.   ‘I was going to make a joke, but I think it’s too CRAPPY.’   ‘Better not hold it in, or you’ll get constipated~’   ‘I should release and let it all out then.’   She was dying of laughter at their puntastic remarks, and how she wished she could’ve heard him laugh alongside to her. Was this even normal or was she starting to lose her mind? She was actually having so much fun with this unreal virtual character. This wouldn’t do. She had made him too perfect.   The scenery changed to that of a common grocery store now. It was so hard to predict where the story would steer to when there were no specific options given. She was basically playing a can-you-get-your-ideal-type-to-fall-for-you simulation, and so far it seemed to go well. Their sense of humor were on the same level.   ‘Let me buy you an ice cream.’    ‘Why?’   ‘So you won’t cry over whoever rejected you.’   Was it possible for a virtual character to pull on her heartstrings? She never knew it was possible until Tae Min’s caring statement made her heart skip a beat. The small teeny desire for him to be real arose.   Since this was virtual, she might as well be more dramatic and exaggerate her reactions. Or maybe she would go down a flirtatious route, though she truly couldn’t flirt to save her life. What was flirting anyway?   ‘I stopped crying the day I tried to take my own life away.’   She decided to add more drama and angst, just because she could. Suddenly, the background music changed to a bittersweet song that was woven in minor chords to create a sad sonata. The game was really amazing at adjusting and creating moods.   ‘You… You tried to take your life away?’   ‘Yes. I tried to poison myself by eating my dog’s food.’   She didn’t know whether she had to laugh at her poor suicide attempt, or find this utterly pathetic.   ‘You have a dog? Maybe she should meet my two dogs, Adam and Eve.’   ‘My dog is a male and his name is Cuddles. But I just said I tried to overdose on my dog’s food. Shouldn’t you be concerned? :(‘   ‘You’re still here, aren’t you? And we know dog food won’t actually kill you.’   ‘...’   ‘I am more concerned if you are still stressing out about the other guy though.’   Again, there was the tug at her heart. Was Tae Min acting jealous already? Had she unconsciously flirted and won him over? She was going to win the game at her first try! She lived up to her reputation as a dedicated gamer.   ‘Soooo stressed I can’t even eat potatoes. And that says a lot considering I love potatoes.’   ‘Then why are you called Chris P. Bacon?’   ‘Because I can, and I felt like it.’   Tae Min smiled, and he looked absolutely stunning with the corner of his lips lifted. It was so bright and charming, and