Chapter Text
Jungkook wondered whether he’d officially gone insane at the grand old age of thirteen.
Welcome to the Ultimate Music Star Dating Sim Game! Player, are you ready to win over the music world and the hearts of your capture targets?
He stared, bewildered, at the floating screen that had appeared the moment he’d laid eyes on the young man in front of him.
“He’s one of our trainees,” Bang PD-nim explained. “A very promising rapper. If you joined us, you could debut together.”
Congratulations, you’ve unlocked Ultra Rare+++ Character Kim Namjoon!
Character type: Sensitive, intellectual, clumsy, Gentle Giant
Status: Cautious, polite
Likes: books, hip-hop, museums, bonsai. (Expand list for more details)
“Hi, Jeon Jungkook-ssi. It’s nice to meet you,” Namjoon said with a smile, dimples popping out. They made him look soft in contrast to the tough-boy look his hair and clothes projected. “My name is Kim Namjoon. So you’re thinking of joining BigHit?”
Another screen popped up in front of him.
Choose:
<Hello! It’s very nice to meet you too.><bow>
<Wow, thighs!>
<Are all the trainees in this agency as handsome as you?><wink>
Jungkook nearly choked as he stared at the dialogue options presented to him. Okay, one of them was normal, but what was up with the other two?
He realized he’d been ignoring Namjoon and staring at the screen in a daze for too long when his mom cleared her throat next to him and gave him a nudge. It caught him completely off-guard and had him stumbling forward with a yelp, hand flailing as he tried to steady himself.
And because the universe had it out for him, that hand accidentally pressed one of the options.
“Wow, thighs!” he blurted out.
Jungkook immediately flushed, covering his mouth with his hands as everyone else in the room gaped at him in disbelief.
Namjoon let out a chuckle, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “Cute,” Namjoon mumbled, so low Jungkook almost didn’t hear him.
Affection points increased +1,000!
Kim Namjoon Status: Embarrassed, Endeared, Holding Back from the Intense Desire to Pinch Your CheeksCongratulations! You’ve unlocked the Route: My First and Last Role Model + My Forever Little One.
Continue unlocking more routes to build the Greatest Band of All Time!
***
Later, when interviewers asked him why he chose BigHit over all the other labels that had made him offers, Jungkook honestly answered that it was because of Namjoon.
It was true that he’d been impressed by Namjoon’s rap talent, but there was another reason that he didn’t tell anyone about:
At all the other agencies that he’d gone to, he’d never encountered a single other Ultra Rare character.
He’d seen lot of Normal or Rare characters popped up, occasionally even a Super Rare, but at the time he was choosing among the agencies, Namjoon was the only Ultra Rare he’d met.
(Aside from Bang PD-nim, who the system classified as an Ultra-Rare+++ ‘locked’ character only accessible once the age restrictions on the game were lifted. But the fact that Bang PD-nim was a potential capture target at all freaked him out so much that he decided to bleach that detail from his brain.)
Later, when he’d met five other Ultra Rare+++ characters and Taehyung asked him if he really thought they would be able to debut together, he answered with perfect conviction, “I know we will.”
***
After some experimenting, Jungkook came to know more about the system.
He couldn’t tell anyone about it. When he’d tried to mention it to his brother on the day that it had first appeared, he’d found himself doubled over and gasping for breath, unable to speak. A huge red screen popped up in front of him, flashing ominously.
WARNING! PLAYER MUST NOT INFORM CHARACTERS ABOUT THE GAME!
FURTHER ATTEMPTS WILL TERMINATE THE GAME AND THE USER WILL INCUR A PERMANENT PENALTY.
To his relief, he’d also discovered that he didn’t need to choose among the dialogue or action options presented on system panels. He also didn’t need to press on a choice to make it, he could simply say or do the offered option. After a while, he got used to the floating screens and learned to act like they weren’t there.
He was much less pleased to find out the implications of the age restriction portion of the system.
Basically: no alcohol, not even a sip of one of the hyung’s glasses of soju; no swearing, because every time he tried it came out as something silly, like saying “meanie” instead of “asshole”; and absolutely nothing NSFW. Up to and including him watching porn (which always automatically became pixelated and had children’s songs playing over the audio) or jerking off only to find that he couldn’t get it up, as a screen in sparkly rainbow colours appeared in front of him.
Player, your current persona is a minor! Please refrain from these activities until the age restriction is lifted! (Otherwise the morality police will complain even though this is a fictional story.)
Tee-hee! ❤️
He’d screamed into his pillow in despair when he’d realized that he would effectively have erectile dysfunction until he came of age. And what was up with that sadistic giggle at the end?!
Aside from dialogue options, the system also gave him missions. Sometimes they were silly things, like finding Jin’s missing socks or sneaking away with Taehyung to get fast food and risking the wrath of their managers to increase affection points. But sometimes the system gave him far more important notices.
“Hoseok-hyung!” he yelled, slamming the door to the dorms open tackling him. Hoseok let out a little grunt of surprise as he dropped his luggage and caught Jungkook in his arms.
“Kookie? You’re supposed to be at a vocal lesson—“
“Y-you’re leaving?” he stammered. He’d run right out of the training room without stopping to ask for permission when the system alert had popped up in front of him. Hoseok had been showing his status as Homesick and Apprehensive for weeks, peppered with the Exhausted and Hungry that had become normal to see on the members, Jungkook still hadn’t anticipated this.
New Mission: 7-1 = 0
Clear requirements: Prevent Hoseok from quitting!
Time to complete mission: 30 minutes.
Reward: ???
Rewards will be calculated depending on the manner in which the player completes the mission.
Failure penalties:
Capture target Jung Hoseok will be permanently locked.
Affection -100,000 for capture targets Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Park Jimin, and Kim Taehyung.
Permanent Characteristic ‘A Sense of Loss’ will be inflicted on the player and all current capture targets.
‘The Greatest Band of All Time’ route will be permanently locked.
Other penalties may also be applied.
“I’m not,” Hoseok denied, though he looked away when he said it. “I just asked PD-nim for some time off for a while to see my family.”
“Please don’t leave, Hoseokie-hyung,” he whispered, clinging to him.
Choose:
<”I know you’re lying!”>
<”We need you.”>
<Call the other members for help.>
Jungkook was so desperate he just blindly reached out and smashed into all of the options. He would do anything, everything, to keep Hoseok there.
It wasn’t about the stupid system and winning over capture targets or routes being locked. They’d been training together for months, sleeping in one room and enduring the same awful conditions. He’d grown to like, even love, the other members, and he couldn’t imagine debuting without them. Debuting and becoming an artist had always been his dream, but now his dream was to do it with the others. The mission title rang true for him.
They had to be seven. It had to be them.
Special action unlocked!
Instead of saying or doing any of the choices he’d pressed, Jungkook, stoic Jungkook who bowed his head and wordlessly put up with the PDs’ scolding and endless exhaustion and harsh comments from other trainees, burst into tears.
Hoseok immediately freaked out.
“No, no, don’t cry, Jungkookie, hyung didn’t mean to make you cry.” He bit his lip. “Kookie—“
“Were you even going to say goodbye?”
The look on Hoseok’s face was answer enough.
“Hyung,” Jungkook hiccupped. His hands felt so small all of the sudden. Too small to hold Hoseok in place.
“Hyung, you’re my hope,” he whispered. “I’m begging you, hyung. Stay. Please, please, stay.”
Hoseok let out a strangled cry and held him close. “I’m so sorry, Kookie. Look, I, I mean it, I’m just going to see my family. I’m coming back, okay?”
“Do you promise?”
Hoseok hesitated before a resolute look took over his face. “Yeah,” he said, kissing the top of his head. “Hyung promises. So don’t cry anymore, okay? I’ll come back.”
Mission cleared!
Reward: Affection points +100,000
Jung Hoseok Status: Determined, Guilty, Apologetic, Wants to Cuddle You All Night To Say Sorry
New Characteristic: Oathbound. Player will receive a +5% bonus for positive interactions with Jung Hoseok as long as this characteristic is active. Removal of the characteristic will result in -1,000,000,000 penalty on your affection points with Jung Hosok.
Jung Hoseok has acquired a new catchphrase!
The difficulty levels of all future choreography will be increased by 80%, but a +120% learning bonus will be applied for all members.
‘Best Choreography’ and ‘Best Performance’ awards will be rewarded at appropriate future scenarios. Route Golden Hyung + Golden Maknae has progressed by 10%!
Continue progressing along the routes to build the Greatest Band of All Time!
***
Later, Jungkook couldn’t hold back his giggles when Hoseok revealed his new catchphrase: “I’m your hope, you’re my hope, I’m J-Hope!”
Hyung, you’re my hope.
And Hoseok just smiled at him and ruffled his hair. “You’re my hope too, Jungkookie. Thank you for asking me to stay.”