I stood in front of a booth in the convention center, taking in all of the geeks and gamers running around trying to buy as many expensive souvenirs as they could. You could hear the excited chatter of people staring at all the cool displays the staff had set up the day before and all of the screeches from excited cosplayers as they saw others that were dressed up as a character from the same franchise.

It was nice, but it smelled of sweat and plastic everywhere you went. I'd already been there for an hour and I had no luck getting used to the scent.

“Mina, how long are we going to be here? It smells like someone got their hands on, like, concentrated loser scent and sprayed it everywhere.”

My best friend Mina laughed and grabbed my hand. “I hope you remember that these are my people, Chaeyoung. We all share weird passions that are looked down upon by society. Don’t insult them.” She pretended to be offended, but her mock serious face cracked when she caught a glimpse of my expression. “Don’t make that face! Someone has to stand up for the losers! Speaking of, do you think I smell like a loser?” She pretended to sniff herself. “I swear I showered this morning…”

I was accompanying Mina on her quest to find a certain game that had caught her eye at another dorky showcase last year, and though I told myself I was only here to please her, I had to admit that it was cool to see all these people have a place to gather and freely geek about their passions.

It still reeked though, and for that reason I wanted to get out of that place ASAP.

“Of course not, Mina. You always smell like your cinnamon-scented shampoo. It just stinks here. Let's go and find the booth with your game. We have to go to work tomorrow to pay the rest of the bills, remember? We gotta leave early or else we’ll be home late and be much too exhausted to go work the next day.”

“Of course, Chaeyoung. I promise I'll check the game out and then we can leave immediately!” She gripped my hand tighter and started leading me to where the booth was supposed to be. It wouldn't be too hard to find, since there were many signs pointing to it. It was a big deal, apparently.

“Oh, I never told you about the game, did I? According to the early reviews, it takes advantage of the latest virtual reality technology to make you feel as though you're really in the fantasy world, Chaengie! Of course, that's just if you’re really immersed. You have to control the game with a controller, so I’m sure there will be people that will know they’re not really in the game. I’m sure I’ll feel like I’m actually there, though. I do that already with games that aren’t even VR, so imagine what it’ll be like when I turn my head and see a whole world behind me!’

I rolled my eyes. “What if you're fighting a giant troll or something and it catches you? You’re gonna see its ugly face in 1080p HD, and when it kills you, you'll probably think your actual head is gonna be busted open.” Mina frowned at the thought of her skull being crushed.

I continued my train of thought. “I'd rather videogames stay the way they are because I like my pants nice and dry, thank you very much.” I grimaced and thought about getting arrows shot at you in the middle of a boss fight and consequently soiling yourself. None of that sounded pleasant at all.

Mina rolled her eyes and seemed like she was going to say something witty but we finally got to the area where the game was being showcased, so instead she turned to me and poked my arm.

“Oh, hey. Do you wanna play too, Chaeng? It's free to check it out! It's a online multiplayer game, so you and I can play together and see if it's as cool as the early reviews have been saying!” Mina gave me a charming smile, making my heart grow two sizes. “I want you to see for yourself how cool virtual reality can be, babe!”

Her calling me babe made my knees buckle, so I had to catch myself on her shoulder. “S-sorry, Mina. You know I don't like videogames. P-plus I'll look like a newbie in front of all these gamers. That's too embarrassing for me, so I'll just wait around for you, yeah?” I stammered the entire time, still reeling at the thought that she called me such an intimate nickname.

Mina didn’t notice. She just pouted cutely. “C’monnnn. Maybe this game can change your mind and finally convince you to play with me!” She got really close to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her face got closer and closer to mine until I could feel her breath on my lips. My breath hitched. She was close. So close, in fact, that I could kiss her if I leaned in just a little.

But I was confused. Why was she so close to me? There was no way there was a heteroual explanation for this. She was either gay or she was just ing with me.

“Please Chaeng?” she whispered.

“Hey hey, I already said no,” I whispered back, not moving. I wasn't sure what Mina was doing, since this was completely out of character for her, but I was enjoying it. I was so desperate for some skinship, I didn't even give a if she was messing around with my feelings.

People were beginning to stare, though, so tentatively, I unwrapped her arms from my neck. “I really don't want to... babe.” I hoped to sound calm and cool and not as cringey as I felt as I said that. “Go on ahead. I'll watch the screen and see what you're looking at in the game. I'll silently cheer you on, okay? Mina, fighting!”

She smirked at my reply and nodded before turning away. From behind her back she said “You're a cutie, Chaengie.” It made me smile like such a dork.

“I'll be back in about two hours or so.”

That smile went away the second she told me how long she'd be playing. Two hours? Why would she need that long for a little test run? I walked after her, planning to demand a shorter time. When I got there, she had already sat down on one of the chairs and placed the headset on. I tapped her shoulder, trying to get her attention.

“Mina? Mina please don't take too long. What will I do by myself for two whole hou--”

“Whoa, hey! Don't do that! That’s dangerous, kid!”

I jumped three feet into the air at the unfamiliar voice and quickly turned to see an older man standing over me. I stood up straight and stuttered out an apology, not completely sure what I had been doing wrong, and not completely sure he understood any of the apology as well.

“Whoops! Looks like I almost gave you a heart attack! I really didn't mean to scare you, kid. I just wanted to warn you about disturbing players while they're in Paracosmos.”

“Paracosmos? What's that?” I was still stunned by the man’s booming voice, so I didn’t understand what he was referring to.

“The game that your friend is playing right now! It’s called Paracosmos,” he said proudly, “and I’m overlooking the development for the game.” He shook my hand and introduced himself.

“The name is Park Jin-young. JYP for short. I’m the head of JYP Entertainment, or JYPE, the world’s leading