Beads of perspiration formed on her temple as a supportive hand clenched onto her shoulder. She held her breath, grip firm but hands sweaty. Her thumb slid against the plastic, hovering over but not rushing to press down.

“Aaaaaand...”

She tensed and inhaled, eyes aimed forward.

“Now!”

She fumbled and clicked the buttons in perfect succession, defeating Hyunjin’s avatar in a gloriously gory fashion.

Jungeun cheered and Hyejoo slumped back onto the couch with a jaunty look of triumph.

Hyunjin pursed her lips in contempt. “Fine, I’ll admit defeat to the game nerd.”

Hyejoo grinned, wide and cocky.

“I don’t know why we thought we could beat her,” Heejin lamented from somewhere on the ground. She was one of the people Hyejoo bodied without constraint, and it was a major blow to her ego. “Mortal Kombat is, like, her thing.”

“Every game is ‘her thing’,” Jinsoul commented, sitting up slightly from her resting position on Kahei’s lap. She was also beat pretty pathetically. She didn’t like to talk about it.

Haseul and Sooyoung materialized from the yyxy room, arms folded and expressions placid.

“I can’t go on...”

“It’s just one tiny tear, Sooyoung.”

“BUT IT’S NOTICEABLE.”

“Then don’t wear that outfit?”

“But I bought white shoes to match this specific shirt!” The brunette groaned and flopped down onto the already crowded couch, letting Haseul pet her head comfortingly.

“GET BACK HERE, YOU SLIMY RATS!” Chaewon yelled, stampeding after Yeojin and Yerim.

“Don’t run!” The leaders exclaimed, but it fell on deaf ears.

“Don’t run,” Kahei commanded, and they stopped abruptly in their tracks. The short blonde took the opportunity to grapple onto their arms. They struggled against her, but the girl got a terrifying influx of strength when angry.

Jiwoo stumbled into the living room after them, tears fresh in her eyes and lips quivering.

“Woah, what happened?” Jungeun probed, reaching over and rubbing the girl’s back. She sniffled.

“These gremlins,” Chaewon hissed, nodding her head at a smug Yeojin and a giggling Yerim, “showed us a jump scare video!”

“Aw, man, the one I showed you?” Hyunjin said, “why didn’t you call me over it could’ve been funnyyy...”

“Could’ve been?” Yeojin parroted, “the looks on their faces were priceless!”

“Didn’t you bawl your eyes out when Hyunjin showed it to you?” Heejin chimed in, craning her head up on the wall.

The youngest flinched. “W-well...”

“Chaewon-unnie came after us, though, so...”

“Because you made Jiwoo cry!” Chaewon snarled, pointing at the pouty girl behind her.

Yerim averted her eyes, “you got pretty scared too...”

Jinsoul snorted. “You guys are losers, lemme take a look at it.”

Hyunjin curled a brow at her, “where’s this confidence coming from? You couldn’t even watch that contortionist video.”

She shot up, indignant. “BODIES ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE BENT THAT WAY!”

Sooyoung laughed before twisting around to pat Jiwoo on the arm. “It’s okay, you know it’s fake right? No need to cry, seriously, it’s just a little jump scare.”

Chaewon puffed out a salty grunt. “That’s it, we’re all watching it. Yeojin, grab your phone.”

Haseul extended her hand to Heejin. “Get up, you’re watching too.”

“But I don’t wannaaaaa...”

Hyejoo reclaimed her arm from beneath Sooyoung’s and palmed her face. “I just wanted to play video games...”