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“Chaeyoung this is honestly the stupidest idea you’ve ever come up with.”
“You only say that because you’re too chicken to try it.”
Dahyun glares at her best friend, the shit-eating grin plastered on her face is only a method of getting Dahyun to agree to Chaeyoung’s idea. It irritates her, which Dahyun hates because it only means its working, and she huffs as she turns away from her best friend towards the large, neon green word on her computer screen.
NERVE
The current biggest trend sweeping through Seoul. A daily game of what is essentially truth or dare, just lacking the truth part. Millions of people subscribe to the site monthly, thousands of those subscribers donate money to have their dares completed by players. Play until you decide to take your final dare, then cash in your winnings.
Dahyun and Chaeyoung have always been watchers, have always enjoyed some of the crazy shit people will do for money. Dahyun doesn’t necessarily blame them either; there’s not a lot she wouldn’t do for a couple thousand dollars. But it’s never been her thing, being a player. There are plenty of people at their university that were born to be players, Dahyun was never one of them.
Except now, Chaeyoung is trying to change that.
“You’ve seen the stuff that people do, it’s never too dangerous,” her best friend tries to reason, though the emphasis on the ‘too’ definitely isn’t helping. “Plus if you get tired or wanna pull out, you can always reject the next dare.”
“Why would I even put myself through the game if I was going to reject a dare?” Dahyun makes a face of indignation. “Wouldn’t I just lose all the money I did all the stupid dares for?”
“Then there’s the ‘Final Dare’ button for you,” Chaeyoung shrugs. The look on her face is one Dahyun knows very well, one that says ‘I’m not giving up until I get what I want’. And Dahyun knows just how often Chaeyoung gets what she wants.
The look falls a few seconds later, however, replaced with a look of concern. She takes a couple steps forward, places a hand on Dahyun’s shoulder. “As cool as I think it would be, I’m not gonna make you do this if you feel uncomfortable with it.”
Dahyun sighs, looks between her best friend’s eyes and the bright green letters on the computer. She holds her breath as she opens her mouth to speak, the denial about to pass her lips but her words catch in her throat. In reality, Chaeyoung is right. Nothing bad really ever happens, and she could use the money. Releasing the breath from her throat, she looks at her best friend.
“You promise you’ll write all my essays if I do this?”
“Every single one,” Chaeyoung grins toothily, tucks a fallen blonde lock behind Dahyun’s ear in a disgustingly fond manner. “And I’ll be watching you the entire time, pinky promise.”
Dahyun sighs one last time, a smile cracking on her lips as she brings her pinky finger to latch around Chaeyoung’s own. She looks to the computer screen with a bit of trepidation, looking between the buttons WATCHER and PLAYER . Biting her bottom lip nervously, she plops down in her desk chair, hesitating only slightly before pressing the PLAYER button.
“Here goes nothing,” Dahyun mutters, watching the green light blip on the screen momentarily.
WELCOME TO NERVE. YOU HAVE CHOSEN PLAYER.
NERVE IS A DIRECT DEMOCRACY. WATCHERS DECIDE YOUR DARES.
WATCHERS CAN WATCH FROM ANYWHERE, BUT ARE ENCOURAGED TO FILM LIVE, SO DON’T BE ALARMED.
THERE ARE THREE RULES.
ONE: ALL DARES MUST BE FILMED ON THE PLAYER’S PHONE.
TWO: THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO BE ELIMINATED. FAIL, BAIL, OR FINAL DARE.
THREE: DARES CANNOT HARM THE PLAYER OR ANY WATCHERS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT, NOT DETAINMENT.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING NERVE. GOOD LUCK PLAYER.
“That didn’t seem weird at all,” Dahyun hums, nearly jumping out of her skin when her phone lights up. Looking down at the screen, it has ENTER ID written across it, with a username slot beneath it. Chaeyoung rips the phone out of her hand and makes her a username before she can even think of one, laughing once it’s given back to her.
dubuwu98
“Thanks for that one, Chaengie,” Dahyun giggles, entering her own password and hitting enter. Once into the NERVE system, her phone alights with a new message.
ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR FIRST DARE? ACCEPT
Dahyun takes one final moment to look at her best friend, who’s impossibly teeming with excitement. With a long, shuddering breath, Dahyun hits accept.
“Let’s do this.”
It takes all of one minute before the first dare pops up on her screen.
DANCE IN PUBLIC
115,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
Chaeyoung bursts into laughter behind her, and Dahyun can’t help but crack a smile too. She’s never had a problem dancing in front of others, especially when that dancing might make a fool of herself. So she hits ACCEPT and turns to Chaeyoung with a smile and a, “Wish me luck!”
“I’ll be right here if you need me,” Chaeyoung points to her computer, clicking WATCHER and plopping down on her bed. Dahyun shakes her head at her best friend before grabbing her coat and heading out, making her way towards the heavily populated quad of their university.
-
The dance dare had been simple. She merely had a classmate who was sitting in the quad, Myoui Mina, hold her phone and asked her to film what she was about to do. Then with a bit of nerves, she walked into the center of the quad and asked for someone to play some music. The kid with the obnoxious beats pill shouted in excitement, blaring some upbeat pop music into the air.
All Dahyun had to do after that was what she normally does; let loose and have fun.
A surprising amount of people joined her little dance party, a handful of others pulling their phones out and recording as well. As the song ended she thanked the kid with the beats pill and made her way over to Mina. Mina giggled at her, causing heat to rise in Dahyun’s cheeks, and let her know that her dare had been completed.
“Thanks Mina,” she says with a shy smile, bounding away from the quad to get away from the commotion and look down at her phone. Her viewer count had risen from one to twenty one from just her first dare, and despite how weird it all is it makes Dahyun smile that people think she’s interesting enough to watch.
Her phone chimes as another dare comes onto the screen. Her eyebrows knot in confusion, trying to make sure she’s actually reading the words correctly.
GIVE A STRANGER A MASSAGE FOR 30 SECONDS
450,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
“What kind of..” Dahyun trails off, wondering what the hell the people who watch this game make people do for entertainment. But, she figures giving someone a massage couldn’t be too bad. It certainly could be worse.
With that mindset she continues walking around campus until she’s facing a group of about seven girls, all chatting loudly amongst each other. She’s about to decide against asking one of them when another chime resounds from her phone, looking down to see new words written on her screen.
HURRY UP
She groans at the impatience of the Watchers, grumbling unintelligible words about not being able to approach so many pretty girls on a normal day, and walks her way over there. Their conversations stops, but she’s handing her phone to the shortest girl before anyone can ask.
“Hey, how you doing? Take a seat!” Dahyun smiles at her, watches how all of her friends ‘oo’ in excitement and how the girl blushes deeply. The girl sits, holding the phone in front of her as Dahyun rounds her and starts massaging her shoulders.
“What’s your name, cutie?” Dahyun has no idea what’s come over her, how she’s being so confident despite her normal introverted nature. But the girl smiles, her friends circling them like vultures as they all stare at the screen.
“Gahyeon, nice to meet you stranger-massaging-my-shoulders,” the girl, Gahyeon, teases lightly. Dahyun flushes slightly in embarrassment at the fact that she really is indeed a stranger giving this girl a massage. But she pushes through, figures she can use this moment to try and promote herself.
“Can you tell the camera to watch dubuwu98’s NERVE stream? I’m sure they’d listen to someone as pretty as you.”
Dahyun can imagine Chaeyoung is at home screaming about where the hell Dahyun got all of this game from. Dahyun doesn’t even know herself.
The girl giggles cutely and gives her some promotion. Her friends are texting rapidly, and after a few moments her viewer count goes from 30 to 95. It surprises her, but her friends all give her thumbs up and tell her they’ll be watching her stream tonight with her friends.
DARE COMPLETE
“Well thank you for not calling campus security on me, Miss Gahyeon,” Dahyun chuckles shyly, the girl insisting it wasn’t a problem and that her shoulders needed the massage. Before she’s about to walk further into campus, her phone chimes again.
GET HER NUMBER
280,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
“It seems the people want just a little more from you,” Dahyun turns around, brandishing her phone screen to the group of friends. “Can I get your number?”
Gahyeon flushes but smiles at the blonde nonetheless, nodding enthusiastically as she hands her phone to Dahyun. The girl puts her number in and shoots herself a text, confirming that she indeed has Gahyeon’s number in her contacts before going back to her NERVE stream.
DARE COMPLETE
“Alright, promise this time I’ll leave you alone,” Dahyun smiles, giving the girl a wave with the promise of texting her after her game of NERVE ends.
She hates to admit it, especially because Chaeyoung will have a field day, but she’s actually having a lot of fun. She heads towards college town in hopes to get some food in her stomach before her next dare rolls in, anticipation building in her stomach nonetheless.
-
She’s slurping down the rest of her shake when the next dare comes.
Dahyun had decided to go to the cute little diner in one of the smaller streets of college town. It’s decorated as though the place was pulled straight from the American 1950’s and they have the best milkshakes in town, so Dahyun figures if she’s going to be receiving all this money by the end of her stream then she might as well splurge.
The chime of her phone almost makes her choke on the cool vanilla shake she’s nearly finished with, grabbing her phone with the hand not holding the glass cup to see what the new dare is.
SIT AND TALK WITH A STRANGER
570,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
Dahyun hums, figures this dare is relatively easy but is definitely not complaining. She has no intentions of doing anything insane tonight anyways. Looking up from her phone and looking around the diner, there’s only one other person in the whole place that doesn’t work here. She’s about three booths behind Dahyun, her face covered by a curtain of black hair as she scribbles something down on a diner napkin.
Normally, Dahyun would never want to impose on someone’s privacy like this, but she likes money just a little bit more.
So with a confidence she didn’t know she had, she stands up, phone in hand, and makes her way towards the girl. She never looks up from the napkin, not until she feels the booth beside her dip when Dahyun sits down. For a second time in the last hour Dahyun finds herself almost choking, because there’s no way the stranger she has to talk to is this gorgeous.
“Um, can I help you?” She asks nervously, her voice heavy and quiet. Dahyun is momentarily shaken from her stupor of how pretty the girl is and lifts the camera, smiling at her phone kind of awkwardly as she turns back to the girl.
“The Watchers apparently want me to get out of my comfort zone, so I’m Dahyun,” she sticks her other hand out for a handshake. It takes all of four seconds for the girl to understand what’s going on, gasping in surprise and grabbing Dahyun’s hand.
“You’re playing NERVE?” She asks excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to try it but I’ve always been too nervous.”
“My best friend pushed me to do it, but I’m having a surprising amount of fun,” Dahyun answers honestly, realizes a little too late that her hand is still gripping the other girl’s. She pulls back jerkily, letting out a nervous giggle as she apologizes.
“No no it’s totally fine, we were introducing ourselves- which I totally didn’t do I’m so sorry,” the black haired girl shakes her head with her own shy smile, looks up into Dahyun’s eyes and giving her a small wave. “I’m Nayeon. Nice to meet you.”
“So Nayeon, what were you working on before I so rudely interrupted,” Dahyun asks with genuine curiosity, trying to get a peek at what’s been written on the napkin before Naeyon turns it over. Her eyebrows wiggle teasingly at Dahyun’s pout, only making the girl pout even harder for an answer.
“Maybe I’ll tell you sometime, maybe I won’t. Who’s to say?” Nayeon grins, taking Dahyun aback slightly. Either she’ll tell her once the dare completes and no one is watching them, or she’s implying she wouldn’t mind talking to Dahyun again. Both options are great, but the latter is one Dahyun wouldn’t mind if she’s not lying to herself.
“Can you at least tell me your major? I don’t think the Watchers will give me the money for just learning your name and a mystery,” Dahyun nods her head towards her phone screen, the viewer count steadily rising but no confirmation of her completed dare. Nayeon clicks her tongue with a playful grin on her lips, tilting her head to the side and looking at Dahyun with a glint in her eyes.
“I suppose ,” Nayeon drawls, grin turning into a shy smile. “I’m studying architecture. I was trying to come up with a building idea for a final project before you came over.”
Guilt finds its way in Dahyun’s chest again, knowing how hard it is for architecture majors to find a moment of peace, let alone a moment to rest. She’s about to apologize when Nayeon’s hand is raised in front of her face, another grin playing on her lips.
“Don’t apologize, I’d much rather be talking to you than drawing up schematics.”
DARE COMPLETE
“Well,” Dahyun starts, trying to hide the disappointment she feels but it’s practically dripping from her words. “It looks like I’ll have to leave you to your schematics for now.”
“That’s okay, you’ve got a game to play,” Nayeon smiles bashfully, but Dahyun can see the disappointment written on her face as well. She wants to ask Nayeon for her phone number, can feel the words crawling up her throat, but at the very last minute she changes her mind.
“I mean, you can watch my NERVE stream if you’d like-”
TAKE HER TO THE CITY
1,130,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
“-Well, it seems the Watchers aren’t done with you and I just yet,” Dahyun suddenly feels both excited and nervous. If Nayeon says no she wouldn’t be upset, but she would also lose all of her winnings so far. Granted she hasn’t made a lot yet, but it would at least pay for groceries for a month.
But she doesn’t get a chance to properly ask the girl. Instead, Nayeon leans over her and happily presses the bright yellow ACCEPT button, bunny teeth poking out as she gives Dahyun an excited smile.
“Well? What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Judging by the rapid speed of her heartbeat, Dahyun can tell this girl is probably going to be the death of her. But she follows her anyways, dragged along by the hand Nayeon has linked with her own. And really, the girl has a car, and she’s obviously into the idea of playing NERVE with her, and her viewer count hasn’t stopped rising since she sat down by her at the diner.
“Next stop, Seoul!”
Dahyun doesn’t stand a chance.
-
They make it into the city relatively quickly, veering off the highway and finding a decent place to park before stepping out of the car. Nayeon’s eyes light up under the downtown nightlife, a chuckle of what seems like disbelief leaving her lips. Dahyun would be more excited about the sights around her if it weren’t for the girl rounding the car towards her, hair slightly windblown from having the windows down on their ride here.
“I haven’t been downtown in so long,” Nayeon breathes out happily, a weight Dahyun didn’t know was there lifting from her shoulders as she lets out a long, content breath. She could probably watch Nayeon lose herself in the lights forever if it weren’t for the chime of her phone.
DARE COMPLETE
“Alright Watchers, what do you have for us?” Nayeon asks excitedly to the camera, Dahyun looking between her phone and the girl beside her incredulously.
“Isn’t this my stream?” Dahyun asks with a bit of disbelief in her voice.
“Yeah well, they kind of made it our stream when they made you hijack me and take me to the city, now didn’t they?” Nayeon grins cheekily. Dahyun can only groan because she’s right, rolling her eyes and looking at the camera, shaking her head as though to say ‘this girl’.
No new dare rolls in immediately, so Nayeon decides to take the opportunity into her own hands. More specifically, Dahyun’s hand in her own, tugging her along as she walks through the streets of Seoul in search of something to do. There’s a moment of hesitation in Dahyun, where she can’t decide between keeping their hands clasped like they are or intertwining their fingers.
She figures that if she’s been doing this crazy stuff all night, with much more to come, she can properly hold the pretty girl’s hand. So she does.
Nayeon looks back at their hands quickly when their fingers interlock, and Dahyun is afraid for about half of a second that she made the wrong decision. But then Nayeon is looking into her eyes with that same smile from when they had arrived, and Dahyun can’t help how contagious it is.
They’re walking by a few local shops when the next dare comes in, both of them stopping to take a look at the screen. Dahyun’s face pales impossibly more than usual at the words written on the screen, ignoring the way Nayeon curiously eyes her in her peripherals.
DYE YOUR HAIR PURPLE
2,830,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
“No.”
Nayeon gives her another look, almost condescending if Dahyun had to guess, as she gestures to the phone screen. “You’re really going to say no to that much money?” Dahyun, too worried that her voice will squeak nervously if she speaks, nods at Nayeon’s words. Nayeon raises her eyebrow, “So you’re going to give up all the money you’ve made which is like what, $3700? Because if you reject the dare you have to give up everything, and where’s the fun in that?”
Dahyun hates to admit that Nayeon makes a pretty compelling argument, and she’s already halfway to opening her mouth to agree with her, but Nayeon does something that completely short circuits Dahyun’s entire existence before she can.
She pouts .
“Plus we just got here,” Nayeon says cutely, giving Dahyun wide puppy eyes as she looks at her with that damn pout. “I thought we were gonna have fun?”
Dahyun’s mouth opens and closes, and she is sure she can feel the burning blush climbing up her neck and staining her incredibly pale cheeks so there’s no trying to hide it. Nayeon knows she’s won, the corner of her lips curving up mischievously, and Dahyun groans loudly, stomping her foot childishly against the concrete beneath her feet.
“You’re evil. I hope you know that you’re pure evil,” Dahyun points at her, words obviously lacking any real malice considering how Nayeon laughs, loud and free, the sound tightening the newly formed knot in Dahyun’s stomach. She herself pouts as she looks back at the screen, harrumphing petulantly as she presses the yellow ACCEPT button. “I hope you know you’re paying for this.”
Nayeon laughs again, threading her fingers between Dahyun’s own as she tugs her down the street towards the nearest quality hair salon. “As long as I get compensation from the Watchers.” She laughs again, and despite the nervousness Dahyun feels about the state of her scalp, the sound only makes Dahyun smile bashfully behind her, hyper-aware of how her hand burns in Nayeon’s own.
-
“Let me tell you; I thought the Watchers were crazy but I gotta say, you look fantastic with purple hair.”
Dahyun’s face burns at the compliment despite the cold night air as the step outside of the salon, tucking a strand of her newly purple hair behind her ear so that the wind doesn’t whip it carelessly in her face. Nayeon’s eyes haven’t left her head since they stylist blow-dried her hair, and she nearly makes Dahyun jump out of her when her hand runs through the dyed locks.
“How is it that your hair is so soft ?” Nayeon asks rhetorically as she continues playing with Dahyun’s hair, the younger girl unable to do nothing but let her do as she pleases. Not that she could really stop her if she wanted to, she’s always been weak to pretty girls giving her attention.
DARE COMPLETE
“See? Was that so hard?” Nayeon teases gently, somehow knowing that Dahyun needed the disguised comfort. Dahyun smiles shyly, shaking her head as she looks back at Nayeon. The older girl only smiles back, a moment unbroken between the two in the center of the sidewalk until someone nearly knocks Dahyun over when they bump her shoulder.
Nayeon yells at the person to get their eyes checked as they walk away. Dahyun is somewhat thankful for the distraction. She would have been drowning in chocolate pools had they not bumped her.
“Chaeyoung is probably freaking out,” Dahyun shakes her head, the girl beside her looking at her curiously.
“Chaeyoung?”
“My best friend, the one who pushed me to do this NERVE thing,” Dahyun chuckles. She locks her phone, only to light it up again to show Nayeon her lockscreen. It’s her, in a blue and pink windbreaker and a pink beanie, standing next to Chaeyoung, the other girl wearing black shorts and a white sports bra, a black hoodie thrown over her head as they both lean against a car.
“You guys look like you’re about to drop the next hottest mixtape,” Nayeon notes with a giggle, eyes glowing as she takes in all of the details of the photo.
“I mean we’re sure as hell trying,” Dahyun laughs, locking her phone again as she and Nayeon start heading slowly down the street. “I’ve been trying to make us some cool sounding beats while Chaeyoung has been writing lyrics with our friend Jeongyeon.”
“Jeongyeon? As in Yoo Jeongyeon?” Nayeon asks in a seemingly urgent manner, looking at Dahyun with wide and incredibly interested eyes. When Dahyun nods, eyebrow raised in curiosity, Nayeon laughs breathily. “Jeongyeon’s been my best friend since middle school. What a small world, huh?”
“Yeah,” Dahyun replies softly, so distracted by the smile Nayeon is giving her she barely notices how her phone chimes loudly in her hand. “What a small world.”
Nayeon, thankfully, notices the chime, and gently pulls the phone from Dahyun’s hand. The younger girl is still too distracted by the weird fluttering in her chest to notice that she has, not until a shrill squeal fills the air around her. She shakes herself from her stupor to see an impish grin on Nayeon’s lips, giggling like she’s about to do something incredibly wrong as she turns the phone towards Dahyun.
SNEAK INTO A VIP CLUB
5,650,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
Dahyun is about to protest but Nayeon immediately cuts her off, “Ah ah ah! No but’s! We’re doing this!” Dahyun tries to whine, saying that it’s not worth it. But then she remembers what the girl had said earlier. She danced like an idiot, massaged a stranger, came to Seoul with a beautiful girl, dyed her hair purple for God’s sake! So instead of protesting, her reply sends a wave of pleasant surprise through Nayeon.
“We at least need better clothes.”
Nayeon grins. “I know just the place.” And just like that she’s tugging Dahyun by the hand again, running through the streets of Seoul like two girls without a care in the world. And honestly, maybe they are.
-
Dahyun almost fainted when she realized where Nayeon was taking her.
Firstly, Nayeon took her to a store that was most certainly out of her budget. The older girl thrusted a floral dress that Dahyun was way too scared to look at the price tag of into her hands, telling her that she would look beautiful in it and to try it on. When she came out, Nayeon was wearing a shimmery black dress that fit all of her curves way too nicely, a black belt with a gold buckle on it accessorizing the dress.
When they went to purchase the dress, the cashier shook his head with a smile, handing them a small envelope. The only explanation he offered was another smile, and the words, “From the Watchers.” Nayeon doesn’t question it, taking the envelope and thanking him profusely before pulling Dahyun out of the store, both of their eyes bugging out at the $150 in the envelope.
Now, when the dare had said ‘VIP club’, Dahyun figured any slightly upper class club would suffice. And honestly, it would have. There was no specification on which club they should go into, so they should have found a relatively easier club to slip into. But no. Nayeon wanted to go all in. And at this point, everyone watching them knows that Dahyun can’t say no to Nayeon.
So when Nayeon thanks the cab driver with a generous tip as she climbs out, Dahyun’s heart drops through the bottom of her stomach all the way to the floor.
“Are you serious?!” Dahyun whispers hashly as she leans against Nayeon for warmth. Their new clothes are certainly flashy enough to seem like they belong at a nice club, but dresses don’t exactly cover the body from harsh winds. “You’re kidding right? We’re gonna hail another cab and go to a different club and you’re gonna laugh at how terrified I looked just now, right?”
Nayeon just rolls her eyes fondly at how frantic Dahyun is, takes her hand tightly as she pulls Dahyun towards Cakeshop Seoul, one of the hardest clubs in Seoul to get into considering the body capacity is quite small. Instead of heading towards the entrance and the ridiculously long line, Nayeon pulls her around towards the alley, which honestly scares Dahyun even more.
“Nayeon, despite knowing you for barely three hours I trust you a hell of a lot. But also what the fuck are we doing? ” Dahyun whispers again, praying Nayeon will either realize that this is ridiculous or will at least explain what on earth is going on. Bold of her to expect anything, though, because Nayeon merely pushes on, only letting go of Dahyun’s hand when a man in an incredibly nice suit comes into view.
Dahyun tries to get the older girl’s attention, tries to get her to stop doing whatever she’s thinking of doing, but Nayeon only pushes on, walking right up the man instead. Dahyun can’t see her face, but can see the sleazy grin on the man’s, can’t hear much other than muted mumbles and laughter.
It’s not until Nayeon puts her hands on the man’s biceps, obviously squeezing them in a flirtatious way, that Dahyun understands what’s going on. She isn’t sure why the knot in her chest tightens almost urgently, why she kind of feels like throwing up when the man puts his hand against the curve of Nayeon’s hip.
She kind of wants to hide, kind of wants to run away, anything to get rid of the desperate clutch of her lungs when Nayeon laughs at whatever the man says, hand placed against his chest while she speaks. Anything to get rid of the nauseous feeling churning of her stomach when the two of them turn slightly, and she sees the glint of light in Nayeon’s eyes when she looks at the man.
Before she can bolt, bail the dare and lose all of her money because she kind of feels like crying and she can’t even figure out why, Nayeon steps away from the man, giving him a wave with a twidle of her fingers before walking back towards Dahyun. The younger isn’t sure if she wants Nayeon to see her feeling like this, still debates running, but then she catches the look on Nayeon’s face.
She looks kind of displeased, irritation written across her facial features until she reaches Dahyun. The irritation is wiped off her face immediately, a warm smile gracing her lips as she takes her hand again.
Dahyun is still confused, can’t shake the knot in her stomach. “What-”
“Men are so easy to play,” Nayeon chuckles, shows Dahyun her other hand-
“A VIP pass,” Dahyun breathes out. “How did you even-”
“As a wise man once said, ‘Don’t watch the mouth, watch the hands’,” Nayeon grins cheekily, hand gripping Dahyun’s tighter as the walk up to the bouncer. She flashes him the pass, the bouncer nodding and opening the velvet rope for the two of the girls, letting the music and the lights bathe them.
“Didn’t Spider-Man say that-”
DARE COMPLETE
“Well,” Nayeon grins, the club lights filling her eyes with a new kind of excitement. The knot in Dahyun’s stomach is back but in a much nicer way, especially when it’s her that Nayeon is looking at like that and smiling at like that and-
Oh.
“Shall we enjoy ourselves?” Nayeon asks with a giggle, pulling Dahyun further into the club and towards the dance floor. Dahyun can’t make her mouth move to reply, especially not with the same level of enthusiasm as the girl holding her hand. She can only think about how this ridiculously competitive girl managed to dig her own place in Dahyun’s heart so quickly.
She does her best to ignore it for the sake of keeping Nayeon excited and happy, not wanting her to catch onto her personal revelation. It’s easier than she assumed, losing herself in Nayeon and the music, and she finds herself forgetting about the knot in her chest and actually enjoying the night under the flashing lights.
-
They find themselves wandering the streets of Seoul once again, previous comfortable clothes back on their bodies thanks to the cashier from the store keeping ahold of them in a hidden storage compartment behind the store. The alcohol they had drank at the club is slowly dissipating from their bloodstreams, yet the high of the night is still there because they’re still side by side, hands clasped together as their giggles travel through the sparsely populated streets.
It’s as though Dahyun is seeing Nayeon in a new light after her realization. If she had thought that Nayeon looked good under the glow of the city before, she looks like an absolute angel now.
“We’re nearing the outskirts of town,” Dahyun states, not necessarily as a warning or a ‘hey we should turn around’ implication, but just as an observation. Nayeon nods slowly, the girl visibly more tired than Dahyun but not tired enough to stop moving. Her head leans against Dahyun’s shoulder for support, the younger girl’s heartbeat kicking a bit too hard in her chest at the contact.
Her phone chimes loudly, Dahyun nearly having forgotten about the device in hand had the sound not startled her. Without disturbing Nayeon’s somewhat peaceful position, she raises the screen to her face and reads the neon green words on the screen.
HITCHHIKE HOME ON THE CARGO TRAIN
1,400,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
“What the hell..” Dahyun trails off, her words causing Nayeon to grunt and open her eyes, both girls looking at the dare with confusion floating in their minds. Dahyun looks to Nayeon, who meets her eyes with a cute scrunch of her eyebrows, ask the girl, “Are there even cargo trains still in Seoul?”
Their question is answered by the distant whistle of a train, both girls looking towards the sound to see the shining light on the train’s motor. It’s far, doesn’t look like it’s moving very fast, and Dahyun traces its trajectory to a nearby train track. She points at it, tapping Nayeon’s shoulder rapidly to garner the older girl’s attention.
“We have to get there before the train,” Dahyun says urgently, Nayeon giving her a surprised look with her head tilted to the side like a confused puppy.
“What happened to my scaredy cat Dahyun?” Nayeon asks, and Dahyun pretends that her pulse didn’t spike aggressively when Nayeon called her ‘her Dahyun’. Instead she matches Nayeon’s expression, presses ACCEPT and asks in retaliation, “What happened to having fun?”
Nayeon’s lips curve into an impressed grin, clutching onto Dahyun’s hand as the two break out into a run, the crescendoing chug of the train’s wheels urging them to run faster until they make it to the tracks. The safety barriers begin to drop, the train making its way towards them now significantly louder due to the lack of distance between them and the locomotive.
“What’s the plan?” Nayeon shouts over the whistle of the train. Dahyun tries her best to gauge the speed of the train, looking down the track to be sure that they have running space before turning back to Nayeon.
“We have to get a running start so that we sort of match the train speed!” Dahyun explains, pointing in the direction they have to run in. They break off without second thought, the train reaching them as they creep towards their top speed.
“There’s an open cart! Two cars back!” Nayeon shouts, Dahyun throwing a thumbs up over her shoulder. She doesn't bother turning back, knows she’ll lose speed. But she can hear Nayeon grunt, over the chug of the wheels, can hear the girl yell, “Grab my hand!”
Dahyun thrusts her unoccupied hand out, keeps running until she feels Nayeon grab onto her. She only stops looking forward to make eye contact with Nayeon, can barely hear her yelling at her to jump over the whistle of the train. With a silent prayer for her safety, she leaps towards the train cart. The older girl holds her hand tightly until she manages to climb up into the cart, both of them collapsing onto the empty cart’s ground with heaving chests and gasps for breath.
DARE COMPLETE
“Oh my god,” Nayeon breathes out.
“I know,” Dahyun replies.
A moment of silence passes between them before Dahyun giggles, can’t believe she just did that. Can’t imagine how much trouble she’s going to get into with Chaeyoung, especially with their friend Jihyo, when she gets home.
Nayeon’s laughter follows close behind, and Dahyun’s head falls to the side to look at her. The mirth in her eyes is contagious, Dahyun finding herself laughing harder because she can’t believe they did that. Can’t believe she’s here with a girl she’s barely known for five hours, can’t believe the girl is so vibrant and magnetic.
Can’t believe she’s already falling for her.
“So, we obviously have some time to kill,” Nayeon says as her laughter dies out, sitting up and scooting towards the open cart door. Dahyun follows suit, pushes through the nervousness in her chest to sit right beside the girl. The smile Nayeon gives her when she does is absolutely worth it.
“Wanna play 20 Questions?” Dahyun offers. Nayeon giggles and nods happily, tossing out the first question of do you like dogs or cats’, and it’s like the two of themselves are lost in their own little world, pressed against each other in the moving train cart as the night passes by above them.
-
“So you’re telling me that you and Chaeyoung became best friends because she challenged you to a rap battle? ” Nayeon asks between gasps for air, her laughter causing her to lean against Dahyun for support. The younger girl laughs with her, warmth filling her chest as the two get to know each other even more.
Dahyun didn’t expect to adore Nayeon so much, but with each small detail and ridiculous story she learns from her, Dahyun can’t imagine not having the girl be apart of her life anymore. From her loud voice to her electric touch, she’s integrated herself into Dahyun’s heart and mind. And honestly, when Dahyun looks at her as the distant lights pass by, hair blowing in the wind a bit wildly, she’s not at all mad.
Maybe a little mad at how hard her heart keeps beating when Nayeon gives her one of those smiles, but not too mad.
“Do you know how much longer-”
A phone chime. Nayeon gives Dahyun an impressed raise of her eyebrows at the Watchers’ timing. Dahyun chuckles at her when her eyebrows give a little wiggle, and pulls her phone out to look at the dare.
Her face pales more than it had at the ‘dye your hair purple’ dare. With how long tonight has been, it feels like that was a lifetime ago, especially compared to this.
JUMP
00:20
17,000,000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
“They’re insane,” Dahyun states with a baffled shake of her head. Nayeon, for the first time since they paired up for the game, lets out a breath of disbelief. Dahyun looks to her, can tell that she’s genuinely nervous, so she does what the other girl has done for her all night. Gently takes a hold of her hand, slots their fingers together, squeezes. Gives her a smile. Waits for her to smile back.
She takes a minute to look down at her phone. Looks out of the train car, sees the university in the near distance. They’re running out of grass and safe landing space quickly. She pushes the nerves fluttering in her chest and presses ACCEPT , squeezes Nayeon’s hand one more time.
“The train isn’t moving that fast and we have 17 seconds. We can do this.”
Nayeon looks between the moving ground and Dahyun, the seconds ticking away as she does. Just when Dahyun thinks she’s going to have to jump alone, Nayeon nods, scrambles to her feet with Dahyun and takes a deep breath.
7
“Ready?” She asks.
6
“Ready,” Dahyun smiles, squeezes their joined hands.
5
“Bend at the knees, be ready to roll,” she advises Nayeon.
4
“Okay.”
3
“Wait, maybe not okay-”
2
“Jump!”
They jump a mere second apart, ensuring that they won’t smack into each other as they land on the ground. Dahyun grunts in pain as her legs hit the ground, lets herself ragdoll for the sake of her own safety. Barely manages to see Nayeon doing the same before her body begins to roll over. The whistle of the train fades away, the chugging of the wheels finally dissipating for the first time in the past hour, and Dahyun finally manages to stop rolling right next to a seemingly traumatized Nayeon.
There’s a moment where they do nothing but breathe. Do nothing but lay in the grass and feel the aching in their muscles grow as the adrenaline subsides. Dahyun briefly checks her phone to make sure it wasn’t damaged, thankful that it’s still intact as the words DARE COMPLETE and the 47.5k Watcher count shine on the screen.
And then she laughs. Because really, how could she not? She went to Seoul with a stranger, caught a nasty case of feelings for said stranger, got drunk and danced in a club she never thought she would get into as long as she lived, hitchhiked on a train and then jumped off . On a normal day she doesn’t leave her room for the sake of studying, yet here she is. Laughing like a fool with grass in her hair, with Nayeon’s fingers slipping between her own and her laughter mingling with hers in the final moments of the night, the dawn creeping on the horizon.
“Okay,” Dahyun’s laugh trails off, her abs certainly not enjoying the strain on them, “I think jumping off a train is a good indicator that this game should come to an end.” Nayeon giggles as she agrees, watches the younger girl press the small button in the top right corner of the screen.
FINAL DARE
THE FINAL DARE WILL BE THE FIRST DARE SUBMITTED BY A WATCHER.
ALL TYPES, ALL MONETARY AMOUNTS, WILL BE AUTHORIZED.
ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR FINAL DARE? ACCEPT
Dahyun hits accept, not caring what dare gets thrown their way as long as they’re done after they complete it. Nayeon’s head leans on her shoulder as they wait, barely a minute passing before their dare is given to them.
KISS HER, DUMBASS
1000 WON
ACCEPT REJECT
Okay, maybe she lied and she absolutely care about what the last dare is.
She can feel Nayeon’s head lift off her shoulder, can feel her eyes boring into the side of her head expectantly. Dahyun hasn’t felt this nervous the entire night, but there’s no way in hell she’s letting her nerves over a kiss let her lose all the money she’s made all night.
Nor is she losing the opportunity to kiss Nayeon, even if it might not mean anything to the other girl. Barely hesitates as she presses ACCEPT .
“Really Watchers? You think I’m only worth one measly-”
Nayeon’s words die in her throat, fall from her lips instead as a content hum as Dahyun’s lips press against hers. Dahyun hopes the girl can’t feel how much her lips are shaking because she’s so nervous she kind of feels like throwing up. But Nayeon’s hand threads through her purple hair, holds her close as her lips move against her own. The way Dahyun’s entire body nearly collapses on top of Nayeon’s own from sheer relief is almost comical, and she can feel Nayeon’s golden smile against her lips as they kiss, can’t stop her own smile, even if it breaks their kiss. Especially when Nayeon laughs against her lips, looking up at Dahyun with those same sparkles in her eyes from when they arrived in Seoul.
“Hi,” Nayeon bites her lip in an effort to stop smiling so hard. Dahyun doesn’t even try to hide hers.
“Hi-”
FINAL DARE COMPLETE
“ Well ,” Dahyun says with a large dose of sarcasm, looking to her phone screen and seeing her and Nayeon on camera. “This has been fun. Chaeyoung, I absolutely know it was you who sent in that last dare, I’ll deal with you later.” Nayeon giggles at her attempt to seem threatening, Dahyun’s face hurting from how hard she’s been smiling the last few minutes.
“Thanks for the money and the good time, Watchers. This is dubuwu98, signing off.”
SIGN OFF?
OK
-
“Just say thank you.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Come on , Dahyun, just-”
“Nope.”
Chaeyoung pouts at her best friend, arms crossed across her chest in an effort to seem stubborn and threatening. Dahyun still isn’t having it. Even if it has been almost two days since her run with NERVE.
“Dahyun you’re rich and you had a good time, just say ‘Thank you Chaeyoung for forcing me out of my comfort zone and-’”
“No,” Dahyun smirks as she denies her again. Laughs at how Chaeyoung whines.
“I’m telling Jihyo on you.”
“Oh yeah, tell Jihyo you made me play NERVE and that I had to jump off a moving train .”
“...Okay you have a point,” Chaeyoung huffs, Dahyun laughing at how defeated she looks before standing from where she was sat on her bed and wrapping her arms around her best friend.
“I hate that you have the power to look like a kicked puppy when you’re sad,” Dahyun mutters against her hair.
“I wouldn’t be sad if you would just say thank-”
A knock on the door cuts off her words, Dahyun completely abandoning her best friend to get the door. She can hear Chaeyoung grumbling behind her but Dahyun can only laugh, shakes her head at her antics before pulling the door open.
“Hey, sweet cheeks,” Nayeon grins as she walks in, Dahyun blushing at the kiss placed softly against her lips. She mutters something under her breath about her cheeks not being ‘sweet’ as Nayeon enters the dorm, taking one look at Chaeyoung’s pout before turning back to Dahyun.
“What’d you do?”
Dahyun gasps in shock. “Why do you assume I did something?”
“Because Chaeyoung wouldn’t just pout for no reason,” Nayeon gives her a pointed look. Dahyun feels the betrayal in her chest, especially when she sees Chaeyoung grinning over her shoulder. Nayeon’s barely known the girl for a day and a half and she’s apparently already claimed Chaeyoung as her baby, which does not work at all for Dahyun.
“I like your girlfriend, Dubu,” Chaeyoung giggles, laughs louder at the heavy blush that coats Dahyun’s face.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Dahyun whines.
“ Yet ,” Nayeon says pointedly, turns around to give Chaeyoung a hug. “I’ll get her to bring you takeout after our date to make up for whatever she did.”
“Why do you assume I’ll buy her food?”
“Because you’re loaded,” Nayeon giggles, threads her fingers between Dahyun’s and squeezes her hand, instantly calming the younger girl despite the fact that she still feels betrayed. “See you later Chaeng! I’ll bring her back at a respectable hour!”
Dahyun rolls her eyes as Nayeon tugs her out of the dorm. But she can’t stay mad at the older girl, not when she’s giving her her golden smile with those sparkles in her eyes. And yeah she’ll probably never thank Chaeyoung for making her play NERVE out of spite, but she truly is thankful for the opportunity she was given.
And with Nayeon by her side, she’s sure she can handle any crazy thing life throws at her next.
(Especially since Nayeon will probably convince her to do it anyways.)