"There. We're friends now."

Eunbi shoved her phone in the pocket of her blazer as Mingyu stared down at his screen. He paused for a few minutes before looking at her.

"So what does this do? How does this benefit me?" Mingyu asked after he had friended all four on his phone for Timepiece.

"If—by any chance—we are in a team game, us five will most likely be grouped in a team. Any time you're out of the game, we will know because Timepiece allows friends to be informed of whether the user is 'IN GAME,' 'OUT GAME,' or 'GAME OVER.' This helps people know when they should worry about you or not," Eunbi quickly explained.

"What's the difference between 'OUT GAME' and 'GAME OVER?'"

"'OUT GAME' means that you're not part of the game. You weren't even invited to play. 'GAME OVER' is when you've played the game, but lost."

"Gotcha."

Mingyu put away his phone. He had a smug grin on his phone as Eunbi reluctantly looked away. She instantly regretted avoided eye-contact with him because when she glanced back, he had a wider smile spread across his cheeks.

She really wanted him to stop.

"What?" Eunbi snapped, glaring at him. She sipped her strawberry-flavored milk.

"And here I was, thinking that you would never want to team up with me," Mingyu teased.

Eunbi clenched her jaws. "I didn't, but you helped me out during Trivia. You proved to be useful."

"I'm not sure if that should be taken as a compliment, but I'll take it as one," Mingyu said. 

It had only been three days since Junyoung had left their world. Dongmin was trying his best to adjust to the school's new atmosphere, so Eunbi didn't see him much except for in class. As the new student body president, he was determined to continue Junyoung's legacy in hopes that he can strive to be one of the greatest role models in school. It seemed like the idea of losing his Rights of Existence terrified him because he was doing everything he could do let people know that he was a good person. Whether it was helping with the small stuff like picking up dropped paper from the floor or helping with the big stuff like upholding a semester-long project to improve the school's image, he was doing everything he could to contribute to everyone's lives.

On the other hand, it looked like Jisoo and her little gang had taken Yoobin away before Eunbi could've met her. She had absolutely no idea where Yoobin had went, so she had planned to spend the entire day alone. Upon finding Mingyu hiding from Jungkook, the two decided to go to the back of the school and exchanged their contact information in order to keep touch in-game and off-game.

Mingyu rested against the wall and squatted, closing his eyes and waiting for lunch time to pass. Eunbi was on her phone, scrolling through photos as she leaned against the building on her back. The two remained awfully silent, but it was the kind of silence that comforted the two. 

"Hey," Mingyu finally said, opening his eyes, "can I ask you something?"

"What?" Eunbi asked.

"About Timepiece."

"Go ahead. I'm not an expert, but I'll try to answer anything I can."

"You said that you tried to kill a Timepiece user in real life. Can I ask you what that's all about?" Mingyu asked, remembering her confession in Trivia.

Eunbi stopped scrolling. She paused, then looked straight ahead of her. Her eyes softened as she dropped her phone to her side.

"If you believe in the Owl and don't want to team up with me, I don't mind. I know why he asked that question, and I can understand if you don't want to team up with me anymore," was the only thing she told him.

Mingyu paused, then nodded to himself. "Nah. I'm okay. I don't need to know. I trust you."

Eunbi didn't say anymore. She closed her eyes again, trying to erase her painful memories.

"So what's this 'Yuju' guy?" Mingyu asked.

"Yuju is a girl," Eunbi corrected. "She's my friend."

"And she's stuck in Timepiece?"

"Most likely."

"So why are you playing this game a second time? Did you get tricked?"

"I'm trying to find her. I'm trying to find out what happened to her, and if I can, I want to bring her back."

"So why did she join again?"

"That's what I want to know, too," Eunbi muttered.

There was another moment of silence. A gentle breeze caressed their skins. Eunbi was surprised to find their silence quite relaxing. Usually, any time she was faced with silence, it was thick, tense, and uncomfortable.

"So when's the next game?" Mingyu asked.

"Not sure. These things are random. It could be that it'll invite you to a game and not me. It really depends on where we are in the real world and how the territories are mapped out. I'm sure we'll be sticking together for a while, though. If anything, they probably find it interesting to have me be in a new team," said the girl. "I can't say that we won't have a counter-clockwise game soon. That also depends on who's in the game."

"What triggers it?" Mingyu asked.

"Chance. Luck. Everything. Anything."

"That's not very helpful."

"The key is to be mentally prepared for everything and anything."

"Are you sure you know more about this game than me?" Mingyu asked. "It feels like everything you're saying is common sense."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." Eunbi pushed herself against the wall and walked to the nearest trash can. "It's up to you to decide how you want to play these games. Some people like to play these games because it's fun. Others play it because they're trying to get out of the game. I play it to rescue my friends."

"How about rescuing strangers?" Mingyu asked, getting up from the ground.

"That's not in my interest, but it could be in yours," she said. She raised an eyebrow. "Although it'd be surprising to hear that you're interested in saving people when you're a delinquent…"

He only gave her a cocky grin. "You know nothing about me if you think I'm just a simple-minded delinquent."

"You make it sound like I should know more about you."

"I won't push it," he said, "just like how you don't push me to know more about you."

"I'm trying to answer all of your questions as clearly as I can."

"Yeah, but we're both getting nowhere," he pointed out.

She turned to face him and crossed her arms. "Now you're just being a kid."

"We're only in high school. I figure that it's still a good thing to be a kid." He walked over to the trash can and picked up Eunbi's strawberry drink. He observed it for a few minutes, then threw it in the recycling bin. "It's recyclable."

Eunbi didn't say anything. She just looked at him and watched him walk past her. Jungkook suddenly appeared, and he seemed quite relieved to find Mingyu. He grinned, but stopped smiling when he noticed the tense atmosphere.

"What happened? Did you two fight?" Jungkook asked.

"No, we didn't," Mingyu said. "We just talked."

Eunbi nodded. "Yeah. We talked."

Jungkook could sense that there was something more to this, but he didn't say anything. He turned his attention to Mingyu, asking him about his day and if he had lunch yet. Mingyu sighed loudly and walked away, letting the popular boy hang around with him.

Eunbi pressed her lips, the glanced at her drink, which was now placed properly in the recycling bin. She stared at it for a few minutes, chuckled to herself, then began to walk in the opposite direction.

As she walked, she began to hear a faint sound of a grandfather clock ringing from afar. She stopped her tracks and immediately pulled out her phone. The sound blared in her head, letting her know that she was going in game. She let out a frustrated sigh, then closed her eyes, letting the song scream in her head as she was transferred to the gaming world.

At the Creation Hall, Eunbi spawned next to Mingyu and Jungkook. She looked around, and Dongmin entered shortly after. Yoobin followed after him, but she was covered in mud and dirt. All four stared at Yoobin, who refused to make eye contact.

"What happened?" Mingyu blurted. 

"I-I fell," she stammered.

You clearly did not fall, Eunbi wanted to say. 

"Don't worry about me," Yoobin said after she locked eyes with Eunbi. "I'm fine."

Eunbi didn't question her anymore. Instead, her attention shifted from the poor girl to her phone, which kept ordering her to roll her dice. Eunbi pointed to the wall and swiped her index finger upwards, rolling her dice.

When she looked to the side, she saw Mingyu with his back against the stage. He pointed to the darkness and rolled his dice. The blue light left the screen shortly, but curved over him and rolled towards the stage as if the dice was magnetic to the barrier. He raised his eyebrows, impressed to know that wherever he was pointing, the dice would always find its way to the stage. He turned and noticed Eunbi's scowl.

"What?" Mingyu asked.

"Really?" Eunbi retorted.

"I just wanted to see if it worked," Mingyu said innocently.

Eunbi rolled her eyes and looked at the barrier.

< DICE HAVE BEEN ROLLED. CALCULATING… >

< 4 EVIL EYES HAVE BEEN ADDED. CALCULATING… >

< THE HOST HAS BEEN CHOSEN. CALCULATING… >

The spotlight shifted to the women with a serpent mask. However, one thing Eunbi noticed was that the snake was green, and it had horns above its eyes. It had thin pupils that threatened to disappear from their sight. She was shaking, constantly flicking out its tongue in an odd manner. The rest of the hosts seemed a bit unsure that she was chosen. Usually, their claps and cheers would echo in the room, but this time, there were soft claps and little to no vocal support.

Eunbi remained tense, especially when the serpent-masked women didn't say anything for a congratulatory speech. Instead, the lady giggled. The way she laughed and the way her mask looked hinted that she was somewhat…unstable.

< THE CLOCK TURNS CLOCKWISE. TICKING… >

The group of five relaxed a little.

< THE CLOCK HAS STOPPED TICKING. REVEALING GAME INFORMATION… >

< GAME: RPG >

< TEAM: OPTIONAL >

< ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: NONE >

< GAME WILL AUTO BEGIN IN 30 SECONDS > 

Eunbi held onto Yoobin's and Mingyu's hand. Jungkook held onto Mingyu's hand, and Dongmin held onto Jungkook's. The five shut their eyes, getting ready for the game.

Seconds later, Eunbi opened her eyes. She found herself on a dirt path, resting against a tree. As she got up, she couldn't help but recognize the lush green forest that surrounded the dusty road. She looked down at her outfit, noticing that her clothes felt tighter than usual.

That's right, she thought, getting up. I've played this game before…

She took out her phone and checked the rules.

Eunbi paused. She quickly refreshed the page and stared at the text again.

Strange, Eunbi thought. She refreshed, but nothing happened. She sighed and looked around, hearing rustling from the bushes. She quickly pulled out her weapon and posed to attack, but stopped when she found four familiar faces come out of the bushes.

"Like I said, she's got to be somewhere around—" Mingyu stopped and turned when he saw Eunbi pointing the edge of her blade at them. He froze, stunned, until she slowly brought the knife to her side. "Were you about to kill me?"

"I wasn't going to," Eunbi argued. "I was just being cautious." She pulled out her phone and swiped. "Everyone, take out your phone and showcase your stats."

"What if someone around us sees us?" Dongmin asked.

"Only your friends will see. Don't worry. Showcase it."

They all did. Eunbi quietly observed everyone's class and roles.

Mingyu was in the Knight class, meaning that he would be good for melee combat and that he would be able to use heavier, yet more powerful weapons. Although he would be strong, the heavier armory would slow him down. For now, she didn't expect too much much out of him, considering that he was wearing the basic knight outfit, which consisting of a long-sleeve white tunic and a pair of pants made out of potato sacks. He held a cheap and basic sword in his hands, gripping it firmly to his side.

Jungkook, too, was wearing the same outfit as Mingyu, except he held a bow made of maple wood. In his other hand, he held a bunch of arrows in his hands, maybe roughly 10 thin arrows. When Eunbi saw his stats, she saw that he was in the Hunters class, which involved dealing with ranged weapons like a bow and arrow or a spear. Despite being the fastest runner on the team, he would have to stay the furthest away from the enemy.

Dongmin was in the Mage class. Close or far, he would be able to cast elemental spells that would prove to be useful during their journey. However, Eunbi would have to keep an eye on him since mages were known to cast powerful spells, but lacked control in their mana power. Just like the rest of the boys, he was clothed in a white tunic and itchy pants. He held a thin book in his hand and a stick for a staff.

Yoobin, on the other hand, was in the Cleric class. She would be heavily depended for healing and for making sure that the group members were doing well and were alive. The only problem was how good of a healer Yoobin would be. Being the healer meant staying on top of things, either going into the battle field or waiting for people to come to her to get healed. Eunbi wasn't sure how well she'd do under pressure, and that was her biggest concern. Compared to the rest, she was slightly well dressed. She was wearing a white vintage medieval gown with a black cape draped over her shoulders. She had small bag tied to her waist and a light beige wand.

"You're in the Rogue class?" Mingyu said out loud. He looked at her. "Also, why are you wearing different clothing than us?"

Unlike the rest, Eunbi's outfit was slightly more grand. She was wearing a black avant long coat with short cuffed leather pants and a black sweater. Around her waist, there was grappling hook and a small sack. Three sets of knives were hanging by her waist, protected by a sleeve.

"I played this game once or twice," Eunbi said. "Obviously I'll have better clothes than you all."

"What's the highest level here?" Jungkook asked.

"Not sure, but it's pretty easy to level," she answered. She pressed a few buttons on her screen. "Okay, I sent you all a Party Request. Accept it."

Something popped up in all of the four's screen. They all accepted.

Eunbi turned around and looked at the road. She noticed a sign pointing at a direction, labeled "TOWN." She pointed at it, and the rest nodded. They began walking, heading to the town to receive their quest.

It didn't take them a long time to arrive. Upon arriving, there were several other players roaming around the town. Some were trading at the market place while others were gathered in the inn to rest. There were a few people playing music and dancing, celebrating for no big reason.

While there were a lot of people all around the town, majority of the players were gathered near a wooden board. The large board had several sheets of papers nailed to the board, with prices written in big bold letters.

"Anyone wants to Party with me?"

"We need one more person in our Party!"

"I'm going solo, so someone can take my spot in this Party!"

"Looking for someone to Party for this quest!"

The players' voices echoed, trying to assemble teams or take on a quest to go solo. Eunbi told her group to wait in the back as she squeezed through, trying to get to the front of the bulletin.

As the four waited, Mingyu looked at his clothes, then at Yoobin's.

"Why are your clothes fancier than ours?" Mingyu complained.

"I-I played before," Yoobin stuttered.

"How many times?" Dongmin asked.

"Once…"

"With who?"

"J-Jihyo and R-Roa," Yoobin said, feeling heavy-hearted.

"What about Seoyul?" Dongmin asked.

"She wasn't part of the game at that time."

Dongmin nodded. Seconds later, they saw Eunbi coming out of the crowd, holding a piece of paper in her hands. She seemed annoyed with going through the crowd, often shouting at the people to move out of her way or to give her some space as she left the crowd. Once she arrived at her group, she huffed.

"Oh my god! People just don't listen!" Eunbi complained. She straightened the paper in her hand and read over it. "Anyway, we need to find one more person in our team."

"Why?" Mingyu asked.

"One person got the last five-person quest. The rest were less than five people, but there were a few with more than five people. I got a six-person quest because I didn't want too many new people in our team," Eunbi explained. 

"So who's joining our team?" Mingyu asked.

Eunbi looked at Jungkook, who jumped a little in his spot. "You. Bring someone in our team."

Jungkook widened his eyes. "Me?"

"I'm not going to have Mingyu do it because he's foul-mouthed like me. Yoobin isn't going to recruit anyone, and I can't trust Cha Eunwoo's judgement," Eunbi explained.

"I think Cha Eunwoo has a lot of good judgement," Jungkook argued.

"If you've seen him in the past games, he's terrible with knowing who he should trust. Trust me, it's better if you go," Eunbi told him.

Jungkook sighed. "Okay, fine. Anyone we're looking for in particular?"

"Anyone is fine. This quest shouldn't be too hard," Eunbi said. "According to this, we're going to have to save a damsel in distress."

"How do I find someone to join us?" Jungkook asked.

"You have high level of charisma like Cha Eunwoo. I'm sure you'll find someone," Eunbi said.

He nodded and walked away, searching in the crowd for someone to join their Party.

After a while, he came back with a stranger following behind him. He had large round eyes and looked quite timid. He had a distinct expression on his face and a small glare. He had a round hair cut with his brown fringes brushing his bushy eyebrows. In his hands, he carried a boomerang. While his weapon didn't seem very appealing, his clothing showed that he probably played the game before: A blue cloth shirt, long leather pants, armored blue and gold boots, and a cape with no hood.

"I found someone!" Jungkook exclaimed. He pointed at the awkward man. "This is D.O. He's a level 23 Hunter. His specialties include using a boomerang and befriending animals."

"Nice to meet you," D.O said, bowing a little. "Thank you for choosing me instead of the level 30 Cleric."

"Level 30 Cleric?" Eunbi repeated. She glared at Jungkook. "Why did you pick him when there was a better person to choose?"

"She was a girl," Jungkook said.

"So?"

"Look, not to be offensive, but some girls are pretty weak."

"Level 30 sounds pretty strong."

"Just in case," Jungkook said. Eunbi was about to fight on him about the topic, but stopped when Mingyu pulled her back. She gritted her teeth before introducing herself to D.O.

"I'm Eunha, level 27 Rogue." She pointed at the rest. "This is Mingyu, level 1 Knight. Right here is Cha Eunwoo, level 1 Mage. Over there is Binnie, level 13 Cleric. I'm sure you've met Jungkook already, level 1 Hunter."

"There's a lot of new players in this group, isn't there?" D.O asked, feeling nervous.

"This isn't your first time playing, right?" Eunha asked as she sent him a Party Request. He accepted.

"I've played this game about twice? The first time I played this, it was counter-clockwise."

"Sounds rough," Eunha said.

D.O chuckled. "Fortunately, I managed. All the quests were solo quests and they were super hard. The system later forced a quest change, so a lot of people lost the game after that because they were so drained."

"Looks like we got our team settled," Eunha said. She looked at the paper. "I'm going to and submit this to start—"

"Wait a minute," D.O said, stopping her. "Shouldn't we train the level 1 to be at least level 10?"

"Why? If you're level 23, I'm sure the two of us can support them," Eunha said.

"There's a reason why a minimum of six people are required for this quest. I imagine that we'll have to use everyone, weak or not," D.O pointed out.

"It's a simple quest to save a damsel in distress."

"Did you read through all the tasks?"

"Yeah."

"Can I see?"

Eunbi scowled, but allowed him to see. He reached for it, but stopped when he noticed that Eunbi was firmly holding onto the paper. He only made eye-contact with her for a few seconds before putting his hands to his side as his eyes skimmed through.

"Aha!" D.O exclaimed. He pointed to the middle of the page. "Here. We'll need everyone we can to battle at this part—"

Eunbi crumbled the paper. D.O stared at her while she glared.

"We don't need anyone. We just need the strongest," Eunbi said. "Anyway, I'm going to go submit this. Here." She pulled out her coin pouch and took a handful of gold and silver coins out. She handed them to the others. "Take these. Buy something for yourself. Potions, clothes, weapon—anything."

"Sweet!" Mingyu exclaimed, grinning as he held onto a handful of gold coins.

Eunbi raised the paper and looked at D.O. "I'm submitting this, okay? If you don't want to be a part of this team, you can leave now."

D.O kept quiet for a few seconds before sighing. "No, it's fine. I'll take what I can get."

"That's what I thought," she muttered. "I'll meet you all at the entrance to the road."

"Shouldn't we go with you?" Dongmin asked.

"No. You'll be listening to an annoying NPC talk and describe exactly what the quest says. It's better if I waste my time there while you all prepare." She scribbled something on a piece of leaf that she grabbed from her bag. She handed it to Yoobin. "Please buy these items for me as I submit this quest."

Yoobin nodded. Eunbi walked off, heading over to accept the quest for the group.

D.O looked at the rest. "She's not much of a team player, is she?"

"Nope, but we're making her into one," Mingyu said. He rested his hand on his shoulder. "Now then, where's the marketplace? I don't want to where this tunic anymore…"