The bluish hue somehow amplifies the cold of the night. She is seldom this early. Usually, she would be still working overtime at the office. Like last week she was still burying her little head in the keyboard, fixing some stupid bugs overlooked by their new programmer.

Having all the plates and utensils cleaned and put away, Joohyun fidgets in front of her computer before heading on to browse for any newly-released pc games. She is no workaholic, but her curiosity tickles.

Horror, VR, classic arcade-inspired- Hm, nothing new. The girl closes the tab after two good hours of research and checks for any new emails instead. Wait, there is one from someone who claims to be an individual developer looking for a potential partnership.

Joohyun is no stranger to this neither. As a game developer working for the biggest company in the country, emails like these come in dozens every day. But no one would send one in at such ungodly hour. 11:11. People say when the gate to the spiritual sphere opens.

“Doki Doki Music Club”. A visual novel, eh? She snorts a little since anime and cutesy stuff are never her cups of tea.

“The Music Club is full of cute girls! Will you sing the way into their heart?”

“I'm super excited for you to make friends with everyone and help the Music Club become a more intimate place for all members. But I can tell already that you're a sweetheart—will you promise to spend the most time with me? ♥

- Doki Doki Music Club”

“This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.”

But then, the feisty girl is soon triggered by the last line. “I’m no baby!” And so, Joohyun rushes to click the download link attached at the end of the email. “Let me see what you have up your sleeves.”

-

Just like any ordinary dating stimulator, with the character Baechu, Joohyun soon bumps into the first character, who is conveniently her neighbor and childhood friend on her way to school. Well, her first day in high school to be more exact.

Seulgi: Wait up!

Baechu: You overslept again, didn’t you?

Seulgi: Hehe. But I got you breakfast as well. Don’t be mad at me, okay?

Baechu: ….Thanks.

Propping her chin in her palm, Joohyun continues to click through the much cliché conversation between the two. The design of this Seulgi character looks alright though – a slender girl with cute mono-lid eyes who seems to be that cutely clumsy type. That should be quite popular among the weebs, she smiles at the thought.

The plot truly unfolds as Seulgi has successfully bribed Baechu into joining the music club with her. Laughing over how Baechu is easily lured by some home-made pastries, Joohyun warms her palm with her mug of freshly-brew choco as everything outside her window fades into the night.

Seulgi: The Music Club is fairly new. The school only had the choir, the orchestra, and the rock band last year. Isn’t it a great thing to be able to start something new here? You’d love it too!

Baechu: So how many members are there right now?

Seulgi: Well….

The background then changes into a brightly-lit room filled with all sorts of instruments. Joohyun gives it one more click and more characters appear to save Seulgi from exploding with blushes on her cheeks.

Girl 1: Seulg- Oh, a new face finally! Hello, welcome to the music club!

Girl 2: Yay, finally a new member!

Girl 3: Oh my, let me get my brownies first!

Joohyun hates to admit but it seems all the characters are pretty well-designed – not overdoing the schoolgirl archetypes while giving them each a distinct style. A petite peppy girl who loves to tease, a tall smiley redhead whose figure is quite some distraction, and a bright charismatic club president who has a flair in baking as much as she does in music.

The clock strikes 00:00 when the game takes another step forward and brings Joohyun to a mini-game. Baechu has to perform a song so that the members of the club could have a glimpse of her ability – of course, by doing so, she also gets to impress one of the girls through matching elements with that girl’s personality.

Easy as it seems, Joohyun, however, can’t help but ponders as she skims the lists of elements on the screen. Acoustic songs, melancholy lyrics, R&B ballets, EDM, sweet duets…… At the corner of the lists stand the little chibi figures of respective members, who would jump a little whenever Joohyun chooses something they like. Wait, Wendy isn’t there? She squints and counts again – Yeri, Joy, Seulgi – only three of them!?

The mug of choco turns colder than the night as Baechu starts her second day at school and is ready to charm over some lady in the music club. It turns out that Joohyun’s random choice brings her to their resident tsundere first.

Yeri: I guess you aren’t that bad as a singer. Your voice is okay.

Baechu: Thanks……?

Seulgi: Wow, Baechu. I didn’t know your voice is so soft while singing! We should sing a duet or something together!

Joy: Hey. Baechu your lower register is beautiful~

Wendy: Seriously, Baechu I’m glad you have decided to join us. Hopefully, it’s not just because of the brownies. Haha. But if I have to say, I would see you as a potential good rapper as well! I’m really impressed!

Yeri: Okay, Wendy. We get it. You aren’t giving a speech here!

Seulgi: Wendy never fails to give us honest and useful advice, we all look up to her very much.

It carries on by more interactions and introducing Joohyun to some more background information of each character. But after having to read on monitors all-day, she eventually gives in to the exhaustion oozing from her eyes to her toes.

Making sure she has saved the game, Joohyun closes it with a swift click and goes to bed. The melodic theme of the game rings in her ears as she slowly drifts into dreamland.

-

As if it is a routine, Joohyun settles down in front of her computer after a quick dinner. Whilst the game is still loading, she recalls spending half of her day wondering whether she should bring it up to her colleagues or not. But knowing them, she might be mocked for the rest of the year for playing visual-novels.

And this time Joohyun is prepped for the night. With a coke and a box of Pepero on the desk, she embarks on an interesting (and flirty) conversation with Joy as they are only ones arriving early for the club. How unrealistic it is for high-schoolers having club meetings every day, giggles Joohyun.

Joy: Didn’t expect you to be that early. Eager to see me much?

Baechu: Well, n-no……

Joy: Haha, just kidding. Stop being so tense and all with us. This club is supposed to be fun!

Baechu: So how did you guys end up starting this club anyway?

Joy: Actually, it’s Wendy’s id-

Yeri: Folks!

Joy: Man, stop scaring me!

Yeri: Only if you stop teasing me!

Joy: You’re just so fun to tease.

Baechu: Girls…..

Seulgi: Girls stop bickering! Oh, hi Baechu! So, all of us are here except Wendy……

Yeri: Hmph! …… But Wendy is seldom late. She’s Miss Perfect after all. Never misses classes, straight As, aces all activities-

Joy: Oh, wouldn’t it be……

Seulgi: No way!

Baechu: Huh?

Joy: It’s not that surprising if she has a boyfriend, or, girlfriend.

Yeri: It can’t be! She would have told us!

Joohyun gulps down her coke and deduces that she might have finally found the reason why Wendy isn’t a “datable” character other than the fact that she’s way out of anyone’s league. Just when she is trying to figure out which character she should aim for next, the chirpy background music abruptly tones down into a jazzy piano score.

Wendy: Hey! I’m so sorry that I’m late! I promise there won’t be a next time.

Joy: It’s okay, but you have to be honest with us first.

Wendy: Joy, I am always honest with you girls. We’re friends, remember?

Seulgi: Wendy, are you seeing someone?

Wendy: What-No! Our last class was a self-study session, so I kinda missed the bell.

Yeri: But you couldn’t have missed the bell?!

Wendy: Dear, I was practicing piano at the studio. So, I really didn’t hear that. I’m so sorry!

Seulgi: Oh my, you play the piano too?! What can you not do?

Wendy: Hehe. I’m just a beginner though.

Joy: So, you aren’t dating anyone?

Wendy: Hm, I guess nobody is interested in asking me out.

Baechu: *shies away when Wendy looks at her and smiles*

Seulgi: Okay, everyone. As the vice-president, let me conduct the session today. Why won’t we start by sharing music or lyrics with each other?

All: Sure!

Intrigued to see if Wendy would be an option this time, Joohyun skips into the mini-game just to be disappointed once again. A few half-hearted clicks and Baechu is led to some one-on-one interaction with Joy who is passionately talking about her love towards ballads these days.

Joy: Hey, I just remember something! Can you give me a sec?

Yeri: Oh, Joy is trying to impress Baechu! Haha!

Joy: S-shut up!

Seulgi: Is it the fragrance diffuser you talked about last week? Wow, it smells nice already. You have some great taste, Joy!

Wendy: It’s Jasmine, right? Thanks for bringing one to the club room, Joy.

Joy: Yeah, Jasmine has great rejuvenating and energizing properties. Baechu, I hope you are okay with the idea.

Baechu: Sure, why not? I love fragrances as well! That’s so thoughtful of you.

Joy: T-thanks. Glad you like it.

Wendy: Hey, so why don’t we going back to our sharing activity before we run out of time?

The day ends with Wendy announcing a few plans she and Seulgi came up with for the upcoming school festival. Baechu is facing the conundrum of which lady she would pair up with regarding the preparation work for so. Much to Joohyun’s dismay, Baechu’s previous decision could only allow her to pick between Joy and Yeri.

Well, since Joy has a scarily similar liking towards fragrances and scents with her, she prefers this girl rather than the tsundere. Not to mention her character is indeed quite likeable. Bubbly but not too much. And Joohyun is drawn by some of her profound lines thrown here and there.

“Wendy is such a great person. She left the debate club to pursue something she really loves, and she is starting something from scratch.”

“But the punchline is this – if just one person beats the odds and survives, among the thousands of others who die, then it's suddenly a miracle from God, the omniscient creator of all."

“Sometimes our brain gets so hazy with all those incoherent, jumbled patterns – like what have happened or what could have happened to us – seeing all those static and rapid flashes of color while hearing all kinds of weird screaming noises. Just like a game with glitches and bugs, haha, don’t you think?"

"I just mean how nothing that we do is special. Just being in school, or working at some job for some company. But you're like completely replaceable, and the world wouldn't miss you if you were gone. It makes me really want to go and change the world after I graduate. But the older I get, the more I realize that it's an immature frame of thinking. It's not like I can just go change the world."

Startled by the sudden zoom on Joy’s face as she is leaning closer to Baechu, Joohyun instinctively scoots away from the desk. She begins laughing at herself for such silly reaction over a game.

Joy: I was just trying to see if you are spacing out again, silly!

Baechu is left speechless as the beguiling yet slightly atonal piano flows along with some flirtatious exchanges. Joohyun herself has her fingers and toes cringed up as she fast-forwards through the conversation and ends the chapter hoping to get to the bottom of things as quick as possible.

-

Baechu has a date today. Joy is coming over to finish up some poster for the club’s stall in the festival. Joohyun once again is baffled with a twist in the plot as Seulgi pops up instead of Joy at Baechu’s doorsteps.

Baechu: Morning. You usually aren’t up at this hour during weekends.

Seulgi: A-ah, hi Baechu. You’re heading out?

Baechu: Nah, I’m waiting for Joy. We paired up for poster design, remember?

Seulgi: I see.

Baechu: Seul, do you have something to say?

Seulgi: N-nothing.

Baechu: Hey, I know you since we were like five. I know when you are lying or not.

Seulgi: I told you it’s nothing.

Baechu: I will be there to hear you out if you need me.

Seulgi: Thanks, Bae. But I really have to go now.

Thinking that it must be Seulgi wanting to confess to Baechu but she is either too shy or jealous to do so, Joohyun shrugs it off and resumes to carry out her original task. But after spending a few more minutes exploring, she finds this chapter really strange – no matter what she tries to click on, there is no more character interaction after the short one with Seulgi and no more bgm after that monotonous piano score simplified from the main theme.

An occupational disease it is since Joohyun is only more and more absorbed to the game. It couldn’t be a bug. Is it something because of flawed programming? She pushes away the empty takeaway box slumping further into her chair.

Just when she is about to get her hands on decoding the game, Baechu is back to school all of the sudden. And Wendy is the first one to greet her, as well as the familiar melodious theme of the game which Joohyun could hum along now.

Wendy: Hey, good day to you! How is it going with the posters?

Baechu: Hey! Since Joy isn’t there, I didn’t get much done.

Wendy: Oh, I don’t know if it’s bad for me to say this, but I think Seulgi is acting strange lately. As her childhood friend, do you have any idea of what might have happened?

Adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose, Joohyun has to check the “convo history” just to make sure she hasn’t mistakenly skipped some of Wendy’s lines. Isn’t it so dismissive of her not to respond to Joy not showing up for the work?

No, Wendy has not said anything about Joy. Instead, she continues to say something even more absurd.

Baechu: I don’t really know-

Wendy: Didn’t you guys talk over the weekend in front of your house? Did she hint on anything? …… But what do I know…… Just make sure to check on her. I’m worried.

Joohyun reaches out to her mug and the warmth of her tea fails to stop that chill spreading from her spine to her hands. Never has she ever come across with games programmed like this. An all-knowing character like this and creepy glitches in a dating sim?

Sparing a glance at the clock, she resorts to a simple but powerful resolution. Rebooting the game. Within minutes, the home screen of “Doki Doki Music Club” brightens up Joohyun’s room with its delightful colors.

But not Joohyun’s mood.

The usual corner where Joy’s character is located, is now replaced by some amalgamation of other characters. Her character is completely replaced by other characters as well in the gameplay. As if it is a whole new story.

Yes, Baechu is starting from Day 1 where Seulgi is convincing her to join the music club all over again.

All save files Joohyun made previously are now gone.

Without warning, the joyful theme of the game just becomes a haunting tune to Joohyun’s ears.

-

Determination fills Joohyun up as she longs to finds answers to all the questions aroused from this meta-plot of a game. This new cycle of Baechu’s school life still excludes Wendy from her dating pool however.

Now realizing nothing is ever so simple in this game she decides to investigate Seulgi’s mood swing from last time first. Nonetheless, it only heightens with Baechu’s effort of getting closer to her.

Seulgi: Please leave me be.

Baechu: We have been best friends for all this time. I can’t just leave you alone!

Seulgi: It’s just selfish of me! I can’t! You won’t understand……

Baechu: Then make me understand!

Seulgi: You really shouldn’t-

Baechu: I care about you, Seulgi!

Seulgi: Don’t say that. I don’t worth it. I’m just some pathetic being….. Why do you even think that I am almost late to school every day? It’s because I can’t find one single reason to wake up! I only wake up just to suffer more!

Baechu: What are you talking about? You were so happy about the music club and that’s why I joined in the first place! And thanks to you, I started to enjoy my time in this school!

Seulgi: Don’t say what I want you to say. Just leave me be.

Mouth agape, Joohyun watches Seulgi’s character going through a complete change before disappearing from the screen. The club operates as usual though, and it is time to preparing for the festival again. Yeri suggests working in pairs while Wendy is being dismissive about Seulgi’s status again.

Yeri: Hey, you. If you aren’t taking our club seriously, you can just leave. It’s not that we need you anyway.

Baechu: I’m really here to help! And Seulgi is making me worried. I want the best for all of us as well.

Yeri: Whatever. Wendy is gonna baking for the cookie sale so it’s just you and me. Like it or not, we have to design and do some decor for our stall.

Baechu: I would help- Wait, do you happen to know anything about Seulgi? Why isn’t Wendy saying anything?

Yeri: Wendy is never good with people. She might be a smartass but it’s usually Seulgi handling the members and whatnot.

Chopsticks slip from her delicate fingers, and bless the programmer’s quick reflex stops them from landing on the ground. Although the half-finished fried rice is tasteless, she could not just eat so little for the night.

Yeri’s rants about Wendy lasts for two solid minutes and until then it is safe for Joohyun to say that everything has changed in the game. No more Miss Perfect now, huh?

Since Yeri is no longer mere tsundere but a total meanie, Baechu has made the choice of visiting Seulgi after learning that the latter has gone home for a rest. Dramatic as it sounds, Wendy stops her at the door asking if they have their plans settled down already.

Wendy: Just a reminder though. You know, we all gotta plan carefully! It’ s a big event after all. It’s not something that we can start all over again after making a mistake. This is not a game, right?

What the heck.

Joohyun stares into those deep blue eyes as if they would come alive anytime from the screen. And Wendy is literally standing in front of the text box, unlike how normal characters are placed behind them. She is thinking of quitting the game and calling it a night before things go completely bonkers and mess with her mind.

But things take a turn themselves as she can’t move her mouse – it is practically dragged to “save” then “reload”. She could not fight back.

No more home screen. No more main theme as bgm.

Only Wendy remains when everything goes blank.

Wendy: Hmm, I wonder if I'm able to change the music...... Something a little more romantic would be nice, you know? Like a gentle piano.

The character is still smiling as charming as ever, the left corner of lifted slightly higher than the other. She is sitting on the other side of the table, the sun outside of the window shining a little too bright – just like her smile, no, are they moving towards the sun? And the universe evolving in front of Baechu’s eyes.

Wendy: Let's see. Maybe if I...

Some lo-fi music blasts into Joohyun’s ears. But it gets changed back into that jazzy piano score before her brain could comprehend the situation here.

Wendy: Oh, jeez... That wasn't it at all. Sorry, I don't really know what I'm doing! I guess I shouldn't be messing with things like that.

Up until this moment, Joohyun finally understands what the warning is for.

Wendy: I’ ve already broken so much stuff, and I deleted the other characters...... I’m so sorry if I scared you. It’s all because I like you, Joohyun. I love you so much. Even when I don’t really know if you are a guy or a girl.

What.

The.

ing.

.

Love me? What kind of forth wall did she just break? The programmer lifts a hand to take off her headphones but her hands tremble, quivering like a doleful aspen shaken by a cunning child. She wants to distance herself from the screen but she couldn’t. Wendy is looking right at her, right into her eyes telling her not to leave. Not yet.

It can’t be. The programme must have gotten my name from my pc setting, Joohyun calms herself down as she steadies her hand on the mouse.

Wendy: I tried to make them…… undesirable. I can’t do anything else, I can’t create a new route and insert myself there. So, I deleted them. Joy talked too much anyway.

Oh whatever god there is.

Given the answer she is looking for, Joohyun can’t believe Wendy has finally brought her one last plot twist. How trite. Those I-did-it-because-I-love-you stuff. This meta-narrative of a dating stimulator NPC’s “little” rebellion.

But her feelings are true. She did feel all those emotions as the plot unfolded, the misery unraveled, when the characters bonded with her, when they went missing...... At a certain moment, Joohyun was Baechu.

Wendy, on the other hand, continues her confession, even without Joohyun’s command.

Wendy: Yeah. Joy, Yeri, and Seulgi, they are gone now...... But they were never real in the first place. You are real. Your friends are real. And just by being a good person, you can save someone's life.

Wendy: As for you, you don't struggle with depression or anything like that, do you? Because you, too, have people who would want to save your life. Maybe they don't express it every day, or maybe they don't even know how to. But people do feel that way.

Wendy: I promise.

Wendy: …… Man, humans are complicated! …… But as long as you're here with me, I'll take care of you, my love.

Joohyun could only watch Wendy blink. She has that weird inkling where Wendy would lean in and reach out through the screen for her anytime.

Turning her head to look at the clock guarding her nightstand, ever so loyally, she knows she won’t be able to keep her mind off from this game anytime soon. This programming, this plot, this storytelling. Truly one of a kind. Wendy is that perfect character for a game. So unrealistically perfect.

Baechu no longer plays a role, and so Joohyun loses the function to speak. Still, it’s okay. Wendy definitely could talk for both.

Wendy: Like, so…… This is just some kind of tacky romance game, right? What made you consider even playing in the first place?

Wendy: Were you lonely?

Wendy: I feel a little bad for you...... But I guess everything worked out perfectly in the end, for both of us. I got to meet you, and you're not lonely anymore. Don't you feel that way too? I'm so happy we are having this ending together.

Was I lonely? Joohyun catches a blurred reflection of herself from the bottom of her monitor. Maybe.

But does this game even have an ending? It has been keeping Joohyun on her toes. How is it going to end, to bring her a closure to all these?

Wendy: Hm, I can’t keep you here forever. I can never be real. I cannot love you in whatever way you love someone in your reality. Even if I make your heart beat, I can never hear that.

Wendy: Man, I wish there was a piano in here. I didn’t have the chance to finish that song I was working on. And after I worked so hard on it, I didn’t have the chance to play it for you.

Joohyun gets the hint and puts the headphones back on. But Wendy hasn't put anything on yet, just the smile on her face turning cold as the night – the one behind her and the one in front of her.

Wendy: Well...... It is what it is, right? No sense having any regrets. You only live once, right? It works on me to. You see what I mean? Once you finish a game, you would delete it eventually.

Wendy: So, when you finish this game, you will delete it, you will delete me. I will cease to exist. Joohyun, can you listen to my song before you go?

Wendy: Right, let me tell you what to do. Go to the game files. You will see one called “Characters” and inside there’s only one left. Ha. Delete it.

Wendy: Then it will be our goodbye.

Joohyun swears she isn’t sad about it, she ain't shedding no tears over fictional characters. This individual developer is just good with their words. Yet as if enchanted, she complies with Wendy’s final request.

Her profession makes the procedure even quicker as the experienced programmer already has her index finger hovering above the delete key. She gives it one last look and Wendy is still smiling.

This is a game. And a game has to end.

One button away. And everything in that world, that reality, will be gone.

Joohyun looks away when the screen succumbs to darkness.

However, a string of code sneaks in, commanding an audio file to play and the familiar home screen taking over – where Joy, Yeri and Seulgi all welcome her happily at their original spots, while Wendy is nowhere to be seen anymore and has left an empty space behind.

“But in this world of infinite choices,

What will it take just to find that special day?”

“Have I found everybody a fun assignment to do today?

When you're here, everything that we do is fun for them anyway.

When I can't even read my own feelings,

What good are words when a smile says it all?

And if this world won't write me an ending,

What will it take just for me to have it all?”

“If I can't hear the sound of your heartbeat,

What do you call love in your reality?

And in your reality, if I don't know how to love you,

I'll leave you be.”

So that is how Wendy sounds like.

A really wide smile is plastered on Joohyun's face as she listens to her song.

She is not alone.

At least for the night.

The manager summons Joohyun to his office after overhearing her talking to her colleagues at the restroom last week. It is about a very unique game which has just been developed but yet to be released.

“Joohyun, we need this game.” He motions her to sit down before turning back to the piles of documents on his desk. “I know you’re good. But if this game is that good, we need it. We have to get it before anyone else.”

“What do you mean?” The timid programmer gives up on maintaining eye contact with her stern-looking boss. Well, at least his office smells nice.

He heaves a sigh and fumbles with the paperwork, “We are hiring this developer.”

“You have found the developer?” The unusually high pitch of her voice suggests nothing but excitement.

“Yeah. Ah- found it,” He fishes out one and hands it to Joohyun. “She’s starting tomorrow. Her name’s Son Seungwan. Hope you girls would make good friends.”

Okay, so this is really the end. 

And let me put a disclaimer here first - there are words taken directly from the original game. Especially some of Joy's and Wendy's lines.

If you like this drabble, please check the original game! Google it at least! Give it some love!

The song is from the game as well. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAL4WMpBNs0&index=1&list=PLieo0apvqId4nypDBOlNjxf2jze_VtAV2

Anyway, the parts where the piano is played - it means Wendy is watching. Creepy, no?

Stream Peekaboo and Perfect Velvet as well, folks!

xo