15.The Idol and the Gamer
(Ken/Hongbin. G. 1,240w. 20200403. AR.) Ken is a ballad idol in a group with Sandeul while Hongbin is a pro-gamer (Overwatch). This is a story of how they met.
Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert in gaming (or PC-bang/PC cafes). Please pardon my ignorance in the field; all that I know about Overwatch is picked up from watching VIXX vs Monsta X on Jung.Dae.Man hahaha. Also, this is not aligned with their current age, let's assume that Hongbin is 15 when overwatch just got released.
FIFTEEN
The countdown above ran below 10 seconds as Hongbin killed off an opponent. 5, 4, 3, 2, and he saw another opponent, aimed and shot the arrow. 1, and the opponent died, right before the word Victory appeared on the screen.
That was a good game, Hongbin thought, grinning at the screen as he stretched his fingers and rotated his shoulders to loosen the muscles.
"That was so cool", came an exclamation from behind him. Hongbin jerked a little in surprise, because no one ever talked loudly in this PC-bang. He turned around, confused, and found another boy staring back at him. "Can you teach me", the boy asked as he approached Hongbin, a little too close for comfort, so Hongbin leaned back a little.
Hongbin replied hesitantly, "uh, thanks". It was only seconds later that he processed that his reply sat awkwardly after the boy's second comment, as if Hongbin was ignoring the boy's request. Hongbin had never been good at interacting with strangers; this was, unfortunately and obviously, no exception.
Hongbin expected the boy to leave then, but he didn't. Instead, he insisted on it, and Hongbin agreed in relief.
This was how Hongbin got to know Jaehwan, sixteen years old, and possibly too excited to be hyung. It turned out that Jaehwan had been assigned to the booth beside Hongbin's, and that made it easy for them to communicate in low whispers. Hongbin tried to guide Jaehwan as he played, giving tips on how to choose a character and where to aim. Somewhere along the way, they dropped the formalities between them (most likely when Jaehwan was whining at the screen and Hongbin was holding in his laughter as he continued to guide Jaehwan).
It was nearly an hour, or maybe two, later that Hongbin couldn't hold back his laughter any longer, eyes moving away from the screen to look at Jaehwan as he laughed, "Hyung, you suck at this game!"
"No, the game is just really difficult," Jaehwan whined in reply, to which Hongbin laughed even louder before muffling the sounds with his hand.
NƎƎꓕXIS
Jaehwan remembers the first and only time he ran away from training. He had ended up at a PC-bang nearby, hoping for a quiet and safe haven, even just for a while. When he entered the room, the only sounds that resonated through the room were the sounds of the keys on a keyboard being pressed. It was not too distracting as background noise.
What Jaehwan remembers most vividly was the moment when he reached his booth. Instead of taking his seat, he was mesmerized by the effortless manuveur of the keys and mouse, by the boy who had been allocated to the booth beside his, for a game that Jaehwan had not seen before.
Hongbin. Jaehwan still remembers how he managed to convince Hongbin into teaching him to play the game, and how they went from strangers to friends in just a couple of hours by bonding over the game.
It took Junghwan almost four hours to find Jaehwan, huffing and puffing in exhaustion through his annoyance at Jaehwan. Apparently, Junghwan was sent out to look for the missing Jaehwan and, "you should have told me where you were, I've been walking around town for hours just to find you!"
Jaehwan remembers also that Hongbin thought he was skipping classes, chiding him to not skip school. Jaehwan wanted to rebut him; if Jaehwan should be in school then Hongbin should have been too! But Jaehwan was already on the way out with Junghwan, without a proper goodbye.
They did have a quick goodbye, but there was no chance for a see you next time. No time for exchanging phone numbers or even an email address. It was like a blooming fate that got its string cut loose before it even flourished.
EIGHTEEN
The familiar face on the TV screen had Hongbin stopping in his track out of the lounge area. He had come into the area only to refill his bottle, as a short break between his gaming practices. In the almost two years that he had been living in the team's house, Hongbin had never stayed in the lounge area long enough to catch a show on the television. He preferred to play games in one of the practice rooms. It thus took him by surprise not just to see a familiar face but also to hear a recognizable voice coming from the television.
The person on-screen introduced himself as Ken. It wasn't the name Hongbin knew, it wasn't Jaehwan. It was silly how he remembered Jaehwan after all the years despite having interacted for a mere couple of hours. Hongbin wondered, all the same, if Jaehwan remembered him. It felt surreal that it was through the big screen that Hongbin saw Jaehwan once again. Still, Hongbin was contented to see that Jaehwan was well and smiling with ease, as if he had found and settled into his own skin, no longer the runaway kid Hongbin met.
In a way, they were both no longer the lost souls who crossed paths three years ago, each of them moving forward on their separate paths to success.
TWENTY-ONE
Recently, Hongbin has been receiving a lot more invites for variety shows and advertisements. It has been three years since he first shot to fame as the rookie to watch out for. As the relentless love calls indicate, he is still killing it in the pro-gaming scene as one of the top players in the league.
There are invites to shows that Hongbin cannot fathom why they would request for a pro-gamer's appearance. Moreover, for all the confidence that he exudes when he's in front of the computer taking out competitors with virtual arrows, Hongbin is actually still clumsy when it comes to offline interaction with strangers. In the end, he decides to stick with safer grounds and opts for a show about gaming as his first show appearance.
When he arrives at the tall SBS building, he's escorted into the building, and then onto the escalator for the 5th floor where the filming will take place, probably. Hongbin has no idea to be honest, he is just going to let the staff lead him to wherever he should be.
He's dropped off in front of a dressing room with a paper that had the logo of Game Show 유희낙락 stuck on its closed door. This is the correct room then, Hongbin thinks as he pushes the door open.
He is slightly startled to see someone already in the room. As he walks in, he notices through the large mirrors by the side of the room that the person is hunched over and staring intently at his phone, playing one of the latest games in trend.
Hongbin eases into a smile as he moves quietly towards the man whose eyebrows are furrowed in concentration.
"Hyung, you suck at this game too."
Ken turns back, surprise written in his features, and his focus is broken off from his phone. The sound which accompanies a game character's death rings in the background.
After moments of what felt like time has stopped around them, Ken, Jaehwan, grins back widely, eyes turning into crescents, and Hongbin ignores the short twinge in his heart.
This time, it is as if the cut strings of fate have entwined and fastened together, even stronger than before.
"So, teach me."