A week passed since Mina bought Paracosmos.

I got home from work at the usual time, sweaty and ready for a cool shower. The past couple days had been the hottest of the year so far, and the heat always put me in an awful mood.

After Mina’s escape to buy the game, I made it a habit to check on her as soon as I got home, and although every single time I had checked she was playing Paracosmos, I still peeked in, just in case.

I dropped all of my things and stripped myself of my sweaty clothes. I put on pajamas that were on my bed, planning on throwing them into the laundry once I was done showering. I headed straight for Mina’s room. Would she even take a second to stop playing? Maybe she would this time.

I knocked and when she didn't answer, I opened the door loudly, making sure I made enough noise for her to notice my presence.

It was for nothing though, as I my earlier assumption was correct; she was hooked up to the PlayStation, almost completely still as she explored the virtual world within.

Seeing that she was so enraptured by the game made me stop in my tracks and feel a burning sensation in my heart. It was not the usual kind of lovely fire she usually made me feel; instead, this was a nasty burn, the kind that feels like I had just downed three shots of Scotch without bracing myself first. It hurt.

I forced myself to put my pain aside for a second and focus on what was in front of me. The only sounds that could be heard were the slight click-clack of the controller in Mina’s hands and the soft whirring of her PlayStation’s fans working hard to keep the console cool. You could hardly even hear her breathing. Was she really even alive? I was afraid to check. She already looked pretty malnourished as it was. Her clothes hung off her frame in an odd way, and the part of her face that that I could see had a sheen of sweat that was hard to ignore.

Don't get me wrong, I was incredibly glad she was distracted from her illness and her constant loneliness. I just...really missed her. She hadn't stopped playing the game at all since she bought it, and she seemed like she wasn't taking care of herself because of it.

In fact, that statement may not have been an exaggeration. I realized at that moment that I hadn't seen her come out to shower, eat or use the bathroom yet.

Maybe she just uses the bathroom while I'm at work?

I tried to remember if I really hadn't seen her outside of her room. I couldn't recall a single time within the week where I'd spotted her in the living room or the kitchen.

I warily made my way to her desk and caught the incredibly strong scent of sweat.

“Jesus, Mina!” I grabbed my nose and held it closed. I started breathing through my mouth, hoping that that would help, but the stench was so prominent that I started tasting it.

I coughed and tapped her shoulder, hoping that she'd remove the headset and explain to me why she reeked.

“Mina, hey! How long have you been playing?”

She gave me no response. I gently tugged on the headset, expecting Mina to at least react to me disturbing her game. Again, nothing, and I regretted not checking if she was actually alive.

I checked her pulse and felt under her nose for breathing, and everything seemed alright. So why wasn't she responding?

I gave her an exasperated sigh. “Mina, get out of the game and shower already. You smell like a boy’s locker room. Or, you could say that you have that distinct loser smell!” I expected the teasing to wake her from her zombie state. It did not.

I looked around her desk, searching for an ON/OFF button on the console, when my eye caught sight of a piece of paper, carefully folded with my name on it, on top of the PlayStation. In small, neat handwriting, it read:

Chaeyoung,

I'm sorry in advance. I know you will get mad when you're done reading this, and yes, you’ll have a reason to be... But please understand and meditate upon what I'm about to say.

I'm going to stay inside Paracosmos and let you buy all the things you need to live comfortably. I'll be out after two weeks or so, since I hope that by then, not having two mouths to feed will positively impact the spending. (My dad once told me that humans can survive three weeks without food. But I'm not about to starve for that long, so I'll go ⅔ and hope it was good enough, haha.)

Maybe there were better ways to not spend too much money on groceries, but this was the fastest solution. And the easiest. Take care of yourself while I'm gone. See you in two weeks. I love you, Chaengie ^^

I stared at the note for ten seconds before turning to Mina. I couldn't see her eyes, since the headset was in the way, but I knew she had a blank stare as she was playing. She had no idea how much pain she was causing me at that moment. Is that why she had been gone for so long? Had she really not eaten at all since stepping into Paracosmos?

“You idiot… How is that gonna solve anything? You really think that I wanted you gone?” I slammed my fist down on her desk. “And you can't survive more than 10 ing days without water! You’re gonna die in there!” I knew she wouldn't react to me, but it still felt good to shout something at her after seeing her make another mistake.

“Mina, get out of there, you can't starve yourself for two weeks! It’s only been one week and you already look like a skeleton!” I grabbed the headset and tried to pull it off her face. It was hard though, like as if the VR headset was a parasite, unwilling to let go of its host.

I loosened the retractable band on the back of it a little, and was about to remove it completely when I remembered something. I jumped away from Mina like as if I'd been shocked.

What if JYP didn't get rid of the really damaging bugs in the game?

Did he fix the bugs he'd told me about before? I wasn't sure. Mina told me the game was still buggy, but I didn't know if they were the bad ones that could seriously hurt someone. I didn't want Mina to experience any lag and get nauseous while playing the game. Or worse, I'd also hate to give my best friend brain damage because I made a careless mistake. As much as I trusted JYP and his employees in making sure all was well with the game, something in the back of my head told me that it was better to be safe than sorry.

I tried to stay calm. If I panicked now, I could make a huge mistake as well. I carefully tightened the band on the VR headset again and made sure it was on correctly. Once I was sure of that, I thought about what I should do next to make sure I hadn't just ed up big time.

I checked the small box that the game had come in, hoping to find a ‘How to Play’ guide that would tell me what to do. While searching, I noticed that all of the plastic that had been covering it was still strewn all over Mina’s bed. That was more than a little weird, because despite Mina always looking and dressing like an emo edgelord, she was actually a soft mama’s girl that always made sure her room was impeccable.

Was she really so desperate to escape reality that she abandoned her own values? Or was it that she really cared about me and wanted to keep me from starving as soon as possible? Either way, it was out of character, and once again, it worried me greatly.

The guide on how to play Paracosmos was nowhere to be found inside the box. I dropped down to the floor and started searching for it. Surely it had come with one, right? They had to give players warnings about epilepsy and all that in physical form, no? Or was that a thing of the past? Did they ever do that? I really had no clue, as I had never played a video game in my life. I wouldn't even play with Mina whenever she asked me to join her and her buddies in a game. I was starting to regret it now, as at least being in a room with her while she opened a new game would tell me if they carried guides and warnings.

There was nothing on the floor that resembled a game guide, so I got exasperated and pulled out my phone instead. I wasn't sure what to look up exactly, so I just googled Paracosmos danger brain damage release and hoped I'd get something that correlated with what I wanted to find. The stuff I got made my blood run cold. Most articles had long titles that were cut off on the results page, but they were enough on there for me to want to scream.

JYPE’s Newest Game Paracosmos Might Just Be A Danger…

Paracosmos Has a Bug That Makes Servers Freeze and…

The Glaring Problem with Paracosmos and The Bug That…

This : 5 Reasons Paracosmos’ Release Should Have...

My eyes started watering up, and I dropped my phone, letting it bounce around.

Had I moved the headset too much? Was the bug really not fixed? So many questions ran through my head, but one of them was more prominent: was the bug the articles spoke of the brain damage one? Or was it just the server issues one? No way that was the case. Server issues wouldn’t be considered ‘dangerous’, would they? Maybe a hindrance, but...

There was only one way to find out if my actions had negative consequences. I'd have to go out and buy an extra headset.

“Yeah, I'm really sorry. It really that you can't connect more than one headset. Console limitations keep that from happening, you know what I mean?” The cashier gave me a small smile.

She was taller than me, maybe three inches taller, which would make her look intimidating to someone tiny like me, but her facial features were soft and kind. Her smile made me feel better. You could tell she probably actually felt bad that she couldn't help me at all.

She was so pretty, I had to fight to remember what she had just told me.

“Uh, what did you say? About console complications?”

“Oh,” she laughed a bit. “Console limitations?”

I could only guess what console limitations were. Probably just meant that the technology inside wasn't good enough to sense two VR headsets at once.

I smiled back at her, hoping it didn't look too fake. “Uh, yeah. Console limitations, I get you,” I said, my empty voice betraying me.

I didn't know what to do anymore. If I couldn't connect to the game, I’d be left in the dark. I wouldn't know if Mina was okay or if moving her headset around as she was playing had done some irreparable damage to her brain. I felt panic rise up my throat like bile, and I would have actually thrown up if the cashier hadn't spoken up.

Her brown eyes shined brightly, trying to keep a happy face. “Hey, hey! Cheer up! You're just trying to play Paracosmos, right? If you have another PS4, we can sell you just the headset, which includes the camera for free, and you can just update and connect it to your PS4. Bam! It's a PS4 VR!” She laughed a little, still a bit awkward. “I'll even throw in some official motion controllers as a bonus, just don't tell my boss. I'll give you all of that for $399.99. How’s that sound?”

“But you said that only one headset can be connected?” I was confused as to what she was trying to tell me.

“No, yeah, but I'm talking about… Like if you had bought a regular PS4 previously, and want to play VR games now, we can sell you a whole VR set. It's like the same thing as a PS4 VR bundle, just without having to buy another console. It's just a way to not leave the players with just the console in the dark, you dig? You only have to update your PlayStation to meet the standards that are necessary for the virtual reality stuff to work. Then you can play all the VR games you want.”

That was nice but…

“I-I don't have a second console.” My voice cracked really badly, strained from holding back tears. “I think I made a huge mistake and I don't know what to do…”

The cashier looked worried and started playing with her ponytail. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was maybe too afraid. I would have asked her if something was wrong but my voice wouldn't cooperate. It felt like I’d throw up if I tried to speak.

She spoke up instead, obviously fighting some kind of embarrassment. She looked around at the empty GameStop and asked “Wh-what's your name?”

It was my turn to feel embarrassed. Why did she ask me that at this time? Was she flirting, or was the panic inside of me keeping me from seeing the obvious?

“Guh...my name..?” I seemed to have forgotten my name. Oh god what was my name?

“My name is Somi! Jeon Somi! I'm sorry for asking you all of a sudden. I’m not being a creep or anything, I was just wondering.”

“Son…”

She blinked twice. “Uh? Sorry?”

“Son Chaeyoung,” I managed to stutter out, for some reason still unsure if that was my name. Who the forgets their name?

“Chaeyoung?” She seemed excited to hear my name. Her excitement was a really contagious thing, since my voice came back and my throat untightened. I smiled at her, still a bit nauseous.

“Yeah, that's me… Nice to meet you, Somi,” I said as I awkwardly put my hair behind my ear. I didn't know why she asked me my name, and it made me slightly self conscious.

“Oh, I asked because my shift is like 20 minutes from being over, and if you really need that PlayStation, I can take you to my house and let you borrow it, so you don't need to spend your money!”

My eyes opened wide. “What? Why?”

Somi shrugged awkwardly. “You're having a crisis in the middle of a GameStop, so you've gotta be really needing that console.”

The panic came back once again, having forgotten for a second the reason I was at the store in the first place, but it faded away in an instant when I remembered that Somi was willing to help me, whatever the reason was. But was she really gonna let a weepy stranger borrow such an expensive item?

“Are you okay with my roommate seeing you in your pajamas? Or you can just wait for me to bring you the console at your own apartment, if you want.”

I looked down at myself. I'd completely forgotten that that was the outfit I'd run out of my apartment with. I blushed and waved it off. “Ah, that’s right. I'll wait at my apartment, then. Do you need my address?” It was stupid of me to go to a stranger’s house for a videogame, but I was in desperate need to know if Mina was okay, so I decided to do it anyway.

Somi shook her head and checked the clock. Nonchalantly, she said “I already know where you live.” She looked around the store again and when she saw it was still empty, she went to the back room to grab her bag. Pulling out her keys, she smiled at me and put them in my hands. “It’s almost 9 pm. Turn on my car for me so we waste no time going to our apartments?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “How do you know where I live? And are you really about to trust a stranger with your keys?”

Somi gave me a toothy grin. “Mina is a frequent customer here. We hang out sometimes. That's why I asked for your name, just to make sure you are who I thought, and that's why I know where you live. Mina talks about you nonstop, and she trusts you with everything, maybe even her life, so I’m sure I can trust you with my keys.” She pointed at her car and gently pushed me towards it, focusing her attention on a customer that had just walked in.

Mina must've really talked about me that much, since Somi was ok with giving me her keys and console despite never actually meeting me.

My heart ached again. I wanted to run to Mina and hug her, apologize for the billionth time for yelling at her, and thank her for always saying nice things about me. But I couldn't. Once she was out of the game, though, I'd tell her how thankful I was for her.

With a heavy heart, I started Somi’s car. Ten minutes later, she was finally off work. She stepped into her car and I jumped into my own, heading to my apartment.

Somi was in front of me, taking the same turns as I was until she lead me to my own apartment complex. Did Somi and her roommate really live near us? It became more apparent that I was a really bad neighbor when Somi pulled up to the building next to ours and parked.

When we met up again, she laughed at my expression.

“Didn't think we lived close to you, huh? We’ve lived here about as long as you and Mina have. Sometimes when my car doesn't wanna start, Mina even takes me to work.”

I was surprised by that. Aren't gamers supposed to be the ones with no lives and no friends outside of the online ones they played with? When she wasn't home, was this where she was at? Hanging out with Somi and her roommate? Damn, maybe I was the loser in the household, not Mina.

The taller girl told me to go on to my house and get everything ready to set up the PlayStation. Obediently, I ran to my apartment and into Mina’s room, moving Mina’s TV closer to her desk and getting the Wi-Fi password for Somi, just in case.

When Somi arrived, her eyes immediately landed on Mina. “Oh, hey! I didn't know you were here!”

When Mina remained silent, she frowned. “Hey, can you hear me?”

I gripped her shoulder lightly and shook my head. “Somi… I’m going into Paracosmos to convince Mina to get out. She trapped herself in there… I’ll explain everything better later. Right now, I have to make sure that I didn't just give Mina brain damage.”

She nodded. “I think I have an idea of what happened anyway. When are you jumping in? Right now? Or do we set it up later?”

I sat down on Mina’s bed. “Right now. The faster the better. Mina has gone without water or food for about a week.” I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, getting a little angry at Mina again while explaining to Somi. I forced myself to chill out. It wasn't the time to get pissed.

“I’d force feed her if I could but I'm afraid she'll choke and die. And water is out of the question too. She won't respond to anything I do to her, whether it be shaking or smacking. That makes me think that she won't swallow water either, cuz maybe she can't feel anything while she's in the game.”

Somi took a deep breath. “Okay, so I already know how to set everything up. I'm gonna configure the settings and make sure everything goes smoothly. I'll use the PlayStation camera to scan your face and get a good avatar face. Then we put the headset on you, I'll give you the motion controllers, and you're good to go.”

After 10 minutes of setting things up and scanning my face as a pre-game requisite, Somi sighed. “Okay, done. Let's get the headset on you.”

Somi slipped the giant goggle-looking headset over my eyes, casting me into a deep deep darkness that made my skin crawl. I suddenly worried about every aspect of this plan. I didn't know about video games. Maybe it was better if Somi jumped in instead of me. I was already contemplating giving up. The darkness inside of the headset was getting to me.

Somi handed me something. They were two long, thin cylinder-like things. They felt like…

“Somi what the hell, did you just hand me two s?!” I dropped them to the ground and ripped off the headset.

“No! God, Chaeyoung, those are the Move controllers!” She put them back in my hands. “Don't take the headset off anymore. Thankfully, you're not in the game yet, so you're unaffected by a bad bug this game has.”

I put the headset back on. “Th-that was childish. I just freaked out. I'm sorry.” I fanned myself, my heart still racing.

“It's alright. You're probably just nervous about this. These Move controllers aren't big, yet they still feel slightly uncomfortable. While they feel bulky in your hands, they make up for it by giving you slightly more control within the game. Not a lot of people buy these because they they usually speed through the game. But it was optimized for the Move controllers that Sony made, so they give you the full experience, so to speak, if you plan on taking your time inside. Anyway, the game hasn't received any patches yet, so there will be a lot of issues. You never really know what you'll see. Mina has told me you've never played video games, so here are some little guidelines. Don't freak out, don't throw the controllers, don't remove your headset. Only do so when you get to a checkpoint and the game says ‘You may now turn off the system and/or remove the headset’ or something along those lines.”

I nodded, still seeing nothing through the headset.

“I'll check up on you often. Remember that there are other players on the server, so be careful with who you trust and form alliances with.”

“I'm not gonna form alliances. I'm just going in to get Mina to a checkpoint and come out with her. That's all.”

Somi was silent for a second. “I think it's for the best that you find a guild in-game and make friends. Everything will go smoother if you do that. Maybe if you don't find Mina after, say, an hour, ask for help and join players with skills. Do it just to save time. There’ll be players that know how to play better than you will, so they'll be useful.”

“Please just start the game now, Somi. I have a friend to check up on, I need to hurry.”.

“Okay, but there's a lot of stuff I still haven't told you about. But if you're in a hurry..." Somi put headphones on my ears.

It was pretty muffled, but I could hear her say “I forgot to put these on you, my bad. Good luck, Chaeyoung.”

An intense bright light flashed before my eyes, and the game started.