Archive of Our Own

Jisung is doing it for the money. That’s why he’s here. That’s why he’s on this dumbass show. It made so much sense, when his upperclassman, Bang Chan, mentioned the infamous Virtual Reality (VR) show, The Chosen One , Jisung was sure that it was going to be easy. That everything was going to be rigged in his favor. All of these shows always have some kind of method or pattern, but this was insanity. He was insanity.

“Get off me, Minho!” Jisung attempts to pull the grown man from his waist.

Minho clings to him tighter, refusing to let go. “Jisung, I’m scared!”

To be fair, Minho has every right to be scared. Two days ago they were on a cruise ship, but now they were in a jungle. Jisung breaks a branch off a tree to fling the snake that suddenly appeared in front of them away. “I can’t protect you if you’re holding onto me.”

“You’ll protect me?” Minho teases, but there’s a hint of amusement in his voice.

Jisung stops walking to pull Minho from around his waist. “You know we almost died before The Sacrifice last time, right? We have to be careful.”

“I know…”

They stare at each other for a few moments. Jisung can’t understand what is going on in Minho’s head sometimes. They need to survive. The Chosen One isn’t limited through the deaths in The Sacrifice, other contestants could kill them if they aren’t careful.

Jisung sighs looking up at the sky through the branches. “Let’s go, it’s getting late and it’ll be cold tonight.”

“Okay,” Minho says and follows behind Jisung.

“I think we’ll need some twigs for a small fire to stay war-”

There’s a buzz on their wristband, making them both freeze in their tracks.

Jisung looks down and the glowing number ticks from six to five.

“Another contestant is dead,” Minho says barely above a whisper.

Five. They started with twenty-two and now there’s only five of them left in this game. Jisung shakes his head and grabs Minho’s hand. “Today is our third night here which means The Sacrifice is tonight. We can worry about that later. Let’s just focus on staying alive for now.”

Minho squeezes Jisung’s hand gently and he lets go as they separate to gather materials more quickly. Jisung keeps an eye on Minho from a distance. He trusts Minho, but he can’t be too careful. Some days he thinks that he has Minho figured out. Minho seems clumsy and careless. Then every so often it’s like a flip is switched and he can be a completely different person, he’s a fighter and dependable. He’s saved Jisung’s ass more times than Jisung is willing to admit. Still, Minho seems to trust him in a way that none of the other contestants do and Jisung uses that to his advantage.

Minho is a strategy. The viewers want to be entertained and Jisung would give them that. He’s going to use Minho until the end. Jisung’s had his eyes on Minho from day one. Minho wasn’t like all the other contestants. He was different. While everyone else focused on superhuman abilities and creating alliances there was Minho who within the first hour almost got killed while trying to rescue a cat. That’s why for the first ceremony when Minho was betrayed by his last minute shitty alliance, Jisung used his immunity to save him. This was a declaration that Minho was Jisung’s and Jisung was Minho’s.

Throughout the course of the game, people continue to make alliances with them, with the intention of pitting them against each other. Most of the time people’s strategies fail. Minho’s innocent, blind faith that Jisung won’t betray him is his strongest leverage against others. Sometimes though… it’s overwhelming.

Jisung smiles, finding some flint rock tucked between some roots of a big tree. This will make starting the fire much easier since they didn’t exactly have a lighter on them. He digs at it with his fingers and peaks back at Minho who seems to feel his gaze and smile back at him causing Jisung’s ears to warm.

To an extent his strategy works, but he didn’t think that VR would be so realistic. There are some contestants who chose superhuman strength, increased hearing/vision, and other things that normal humans can’t do. Jisung himself increased his agility and made several alliances with multiple people to take advantage of their skills. Never fully putting his eggs in one basket.

Jisung’s sure that the viewers call him a traitor and a snake, but he disagrees. He’s smart. While half the viewers complain of his betrayals, the other half gush over his “relationship” with Minho. Even though he wouldn’t exactly call it that.

He doesn’t have any feelings towards Minho. Sure, Minho is handsome and good company, but that doesn’t mean Jisung likes him. He digs at the piece of flint and sees another larger piece just a little further. He crawls over to grab it only to feel the ground give underneath his weight. He lets out a shriek and just when he thinks he’s about to go falling into the pitch black darkness of the night Minho is there.

“Be careful,” Minho says, calmly despite Jisung’s racing heart. “We’re near a cliff.”

Jisung stares at Minho and nods. He holds up the two pieces of flint. “Found some fire starters.” They just stare at each other for the second time that night then Minho holds out his hand. “What are you doing?” Jisung asks.

“Giving you my hand,” he answers as if it was obvious. “I can’t have you falling off any cliffs. We’re so close to the end.”

“Oh right… I guess,” Jisung mumbles, slipping his hand into Minho’s and lacing their fingers together.

It’s going to be cold tonight, but right now Jisung is warm.

Jisung’s thoughts wander as they search for a good spot to start the fire. He’s sure that the remaining contestants are scheming to eliminate either him or Minho tonight. He just needs to make sure that it won’t be him. Five people remain and realistically, the odds are not in his favor. The only guaranteed vote he has is Minho. The rest are probably dying to vote him out at The Sacrifice tonight.

“Let’s set up here.” Jisung stops and pulls Minho over to a shaded area that will provide them some comfort while they sleep on the cold ground.

Immediately, he gets started on the fire now that Minho’s hands aren’t keeping him warm.

“Jisung? Are you okay?” Minho asks, dropping his sticks next to Jisung.

“Just tired.” Jisung hums, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand to add effect. Part of it is the truth.

“Thinking about The Sacrifice tonight?” Minho asks, catching Jisung by surprise. Minho’s never been concerned about the ceremony. “Why do you look so surprised?” Minho laughs at Jisung’s expression, pinching his cheek with his free hand.

Jisung swats his hand away, an unwanted heat rising to his cheeks. He takes the flints and starts rubbing them together to get the fire going. “It’s not that I was surprised. I mean… I didn’t think you cared about the ceremonies.”

Minho raises an eyebrow. “Of course, I care! I’m a contestant too, right?” He drops the sticks onto the ground by their shelter. “Besides, once you’ve been on The Altar then you really don’t want to go back.”

Sparks crackle, catching to the dry grass, and starting a small warm flame.

“What’s it like?” Jisung asks.

“What is what like?”

“The Altar.” Jisung clarifies, leaning back and watching the fire grow. Minho is silent for a moment before drawing out a long sigh. He spins a blade of grass between his fingers as he thinks. Jisung reaches out and pats his shoulder. “Sorry, you don’t have to talk about it… I wasn’t thinking.”

Minho shakes his head. “No, it’s okay. I don’t think many people get all the way to The Altar and live to tell the tale.” He rests his head on his knees and turns to look at Jisung. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” he says. “It’s lonely and cold being cuffed to the white table. Everyone is watching, including your so-called allies who probably voted for you to be there. It’s hard. But you…” Minho pauses and Jisung looks over to see the glow from the flame accentuating his features. “You saved me.”

Jisung blinks a few times and looks down at the fire that is now big enough that he can feel the heat from here. “I guess I did.”

“Do you regret it?”

Jisung looks at him. Did he regret it? He picks at the blades of grass and tosses them into the fire. “No… I don’t.” The more he thinks about it, he needs Minho. He draws his knees up to his chest and hugs them tightly with his arms. Tonight could go one of two ways with the odds against him. Either he goes or Minho does, and the more Jisung thinks it just frustrates him. He sighs, resting his forehead against his knees. He can’t lose Minho.

“You don’t have to be scared,” Minho whispers.

Jisung turns to stare at him blankly. “What do you mean?”

Minho grins. “I can read your mind.”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “That’s not on the list of VR abilities.”

“I know, but you’re pretty easy to read.”

“Really?” Jisung questions and a small smile appears on his lips.

“Yeah.” Minho hums in response.

“Then, what am I thinking about right now?”

Minho puts his fingers to his temple, pretending to read all of Jisung’s inner thoughts. “Hmmm you’re thinking about how much you like me.” Jisung throws a stick at Minho and Minho flinches away dramatically. “Hey!”

“You’re so ridiculous.”

“But I’m right, aren’t I?” Minho tries to ask again. Jisung sucks his teeth and raises another stick in hand, threatening to throw it. “Okay, okay.” Minho holds his hands up in defeat. “I was kidding.” Jisung smiles, he knows that Minho’s joking around. Minho always makes jokes when Jisung gets nervous to try to calm him down. “But, you never think about it?”

“Think about what?” Jisung asks, settling back down.

“About what I actually look like, y’know in real life?” Minho explains. Jisung scans Minho’s features. Honestly, he has thought about it before. Along with their physical abilities, VR allowed them to change their appearance. Some contestants have even changed their gender. For all Jisung knows Minho could actually be a girl pretending to be a handsome man.

“Of course I’ve thought about it,” he answers honestly. “But, it doesn’t matter.”

 “It doesn’t?” Minho moves closer to Jisung, adding more dry grass to the fire.

“Not to me…” Jisung says, watching the fire grow more. The flames dance around beautifully in the reflection of Minho’s eyes when he looks into them. “Whatever you look like outside of the VR, doesn’t change the person that I’ve met here.”

“And who is that?” Minho asks. “The person that you’ve met in here…”

Jisung thinks back to all the situations they’ve been in so far. They’ve been in a school building, a mall, an abandoned amusement park, a cruise ship, and now they’re in a jungle. It definitely makes it easier to hide from other contestants than the previous places. In those places Minho always stayed by Jisung’s side. Minho has always been a constant. He’s weird, a bit clingy, stubborn in times where he shouldn’t be, and he’s caring by putting others before himself. Jisung shrugs and says the one word that comes to him. “Unique.”

Minho looks away and up at the sky. “Interesting.”

“What about me?” Jisung’s curiosity gets the best of him. He can never quite tell what Minho thinks about him. Not that it matters because only one person can be left in the end. He just wants to know for his own satisfaction. “Do you think about what I might actually look like?”

“No,” Minho answers quickly.

“Why not?” Jisung feigns offense.

Minho looks back at Jisung. “Because you’re you and I just like how I am with you.”

Jisung’s face heats up. “You’re crazy. You can’t just say things like that.”

Minho laughs and his stomach growls immediately after. “Man, I wish we ate more on the cruise ship yesterday.”

“It’s not like the food actually gives us nutrition.”

“It still tasted so delicious.” Minho smiles at the memory of the buffet of food they ate. It’s quiet for a moment, the only sound is the crackling of the fire in front of them. “Hey Jisung…”

“Hm?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask. Why did you save me?”

“Huh?”

“Back then… on The Altar,” Minho reiterates.

“Oh…” Jisung knew this question would come eventually, but the timing of it was off-putting. “Back then… I saved you because I know you would’ve done it for me.”

Minho stares at him and Jisung hopes that his answer is enough. It wouldn’t be good if Minho starts to question their relationship now. He needs Minho more than ever for The Sacrifice tonight. “Is that so…” Minho mumbles. “Then, I have another question.”

“Lots of questions tonight.” Jisung jokes, but Minho doesn’t laugh with him.

“Why did you join the show?”

Money. Jisung needs money, is the real answer. He’s a college student drowning in debt and the money from this show could pay that debt off and help him finish the rest of his courses. No one cares about a struggling college student though. If they did then he wouldn’t be struggling in the first place. So, Jisung has a lie for this answer, a lie that he’s rehearsed. “My grandma… she raised me and I only ever wanted to give back to her in the way that she gave to me. She’s ill and unable to afford her treatments. If I can win then she can get treated without having to worry about the costs.”

“Your grandma…” Minho brings his knees to his chest and leans his head against them. It looks comfortable. “You’re a good grandson.”

Jisung feels a pang in his chest at lying to Minho. It’s different than when he lied to the other contestants. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” Jisung confirms. “Why are you here?”

“I-” Minho starts and a twig snaps from behind them. They both whip around to the direction the noise came from. “Did you hear that?”

“Something’s there.”

The sound of a gun fires off from the darkness of the trees. They both duck just in time as a bullet flies over their heads. “What the hell?!” Minho shouts.

“Quiet,” Jisung whispers.

It’s silent besides the crackling of the campfire before someone emerges from the thick jungle. Jisung squints his eyes to see who it is and he realizes that it’s more than one person. The remaining contestants have joined them at the fire. “Real smart to create a signal for us to find you.”

“Nadia,” Jisung mumbles, glancing at Minho to tell him to keep his head down. “What do you want?”

Nadia laughs despite nothing being funny about his question. “To kill you of course and your lil boyfriend too.”

Jisung holds back correcting her on their relationship status. He scans the vicinity, noting that there’s a small cliff that they might be able to escape down. Either they jump or Nadia and her gang would kill them anyways. “So, you’re breaking our alliance?” He makes conversation in an aim to distract.

“The alliance has been broken for days. The Sacrifice is tonight and we need to end this game sooner rather than later,” Nadia shouts and Jisung can hear her reaching for her bow and arrow. The redhead has been committed to the whole “Katniss Everdeen”-esque since the beginning. “It will be just the three of us going tonight and when we make our votes one of us will duel to the death.”

The sound of the bow being drawn is enough to make Jisung make his move. “Run,” he shouts at Minho, standing to grab his hand and pulling him to escape the assault.

“Get them!” Nadia yells.

A tall slender nerdy man zooms in front of them. “Not so fast!” He reaches for Jisung, but he evades and pulls Minho with him.

“Seriously? ‘Not so fast!’ Is that the best you could come up with?” Jisung mocks.

“Watch out,” Minho pushes Jisung as an arrow whizzes past his face. Jisung’s eyes widen, but he quickly nods at Minho in gratitude.

“Mark! Don’t just stand there,” Nadia commands.

Jisung swipes his leg under Mark and he falls to the floor. Mark’s skills might be to move quickly, but he’s nowhere near as agile as Jisung.

“Are we going to fight them?” Minho asks.

“No, we’re going to jump.” Jisung holds Minho’s hand tightly as they run towards the cliff. “Do you trust me?”

“Not at all.” Minho jokes and the ground disappears from around their feet when they jump, the sound of the third person’s bullet going off as they fall.

Branches and twigs snap to help break their fall into the clearing of the jungle. Jisung groans when his back slams roughly against the marshy flooring. It’s not until the wind is back in his lungs that he feels the sharp pain in his abdomen. He lets out a sharp exhale as he feels the wound on his side. When he lifts his hand he sees the blood and immediately wipes it on his pants. Well, he can cross getting shot off his bucket list.

Minho shuffles next to him and clutches the back of his head.

“Are you okay?” Jisung asks.

“Remind me to never trust you again,” Minho answers, rolling his shoulders to get the pain out. “Feels like my back is on fire.”

“We lived didn’t we?” Jisung questions with a smile. Minho playfully shoves him and Jisung barely covers a grimace.

Minho frowns. “What about you? Break anything in the fall?”

Jisung dismisses his question with a shake of his head. “No, just a little sore and hungry.” There’s no way that he can tell Minho about the gunshot wound. Not because he didn’t want Minho to worry, but because if he tells Minho then maybe Minho will vote for him at The Sacrifice.

“As we were falling…” Minho starts speaking. “I heard a gun.” Jisung pales and his hand unconsciously goes to cover the wound. Minho’s eyes follow his hand. “Did you get shot?”

“I didn’t-” Jisung hesitates at the flash of concern in Minho’s eyes. There’s no point in lying. He knows. “It’s not that bad. It’s a graze.”

“Let me see.” Minho reaches over.

Jisung flinches back, the quick motion making him wince. “It’s nothing!” He slowly stands to his feet, still clutching his side. The day is almost over he refused to let a stupid wound stand between him and his money. Jisung is going to win. “Let’s go, they’ll follow us soon.”

He hears Minho move to stand, but he doesn’t join Jisung’s side. They walk quietly through the jungle at Jisung’s pace. The funny thing about being shot and bleeding out though is that it makes things that are usually simple, a lot more difficult. After a few minutes of walking, Jisung staggers into a nearby tree holding onto it for balance. In seconds, Minho rushes by his side, but Jisung sticks his hand out. “I don’t need your help!” Jisung yells although a bit breathless. “I’m fine!”

“You’re not fine. Jisung, you’re literally bleeding out.” Minho reasons. “Let me help you.”

Stubbornly, Jisung pushes off the tree and they continue until they can hear the sound of water. It’s not until then that Jisung realizes how dehydrated he feels. His mind moves quicker than his feet and he’s falling into the dirt below. Again Minho is quickly at his side and this time Jisung accepts his help when Minho wraps his arm around his waist.

The sound of the water gets increasingly louder as they continue. “It’s a waterfall,” Minho comments. Jisung nods, leaning more weight on Minho as walking gets more exhausting. The sound of the waterfall crashing is almost deafening when they finally get to the bottom. Minho helps Jisung sit down and rushes over to the waterfall. He returns with a handful of water. Minho yells to be heard over the waterfall, “Here! Drink some!”

Jisung eyes the slightly filthy pool of water in his palms, but still sips it greedily. The coolness is refreshing on his tongue. Minho brushes Jisung’s bangs from his forehead when he’s done drinking. “What are you doing?” Jisung frowns.

“You’re burning up.”

Jisung swats his hand away. “I’ll be fine.”

“Let me see the wound.”

“I don’t-”

“Please, Jisung,” Minho pleads with him when they lock eyes. Reluctantly, Jisung rolls up his black shirt, soaked with sweat and blood, to reveal the wound. Minho inhales sharply at the sight and that’s how Jisung knows it’s bad. He’s not going to cry, but when he meets Minho’s eyes he feels the tears build at the corners. “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay.”

Jisung shook his head. “It’s bad isn’t it?”

“It’s-” Minho sighs. “Yeah… it is.”

Jisung breaks down crying. He’s come this far and for nothing. There’s something funny about it all because he’s not scared about dying and losing the money. He’s scared that he’ll leave Minho alone. There’s a familiar buzzing sensation on his wrist and it dawns on him, it’s time for The Sacrifice. He locks eyes with Minho. “Hyung, I don’t want to go.”

“It’s going to be okay, Sungie,” Minho brushes his hair back. It’s really all Minho can say to him right now and the next time he closes his eyes the blinding white light of The Sacrifice is back.

Jisung blinks through his disorientation. Minho’s warm arms are no longer around him and he feels cold, gross, uncomfortable, and sticky from the sweat and blood.

“Fuck, yes!” Jisung looks over to see Yerin cheering from across the room. “See, Nadia! I told you I got him.”

He rolls his eyes and scans the room. Everyone is distanced apart in front of their own sleek white ballot bin.They’re all looking at him with different expressions Minho included. Jisung can’t quite make out the expression on Minho’s face.

“I’m surprised you were even able to make it to the ceremony,” Nadia sneers. “I guess this makes voting easy.”

“I’m not out just yet,” Jisung says, despite his bloody tight grip on his own ballot bin.

“WELCOME TO THE SACRIFICE,” the loud disguised voice of the host booms into the nothingness of the room. “Wow, what an exciting three days it has been, right? Nadia forming an alliance with Mark and Yerin for a collective betrayal against Jisung and Minho. Jisung, how do you feel? You aren’t looking too good right now.”

Jisung huffs. “I’m fine.”

The host chuckles. “Do you think you still stand a chance at being The Chosen One ?”

“Of course,” he lies.

“Any doubt that your partner will betray you like the others tonight?”

Jisung steals a glance at Minho then looks at The Altar. “Whatever Minho decides tonight I won’t consider it betrayal.”

The ugly laugh of the host echoes in the room. “Interesting! So, interesting! What about you Minho? Do you feel the same as Jisung? You two have been through a lot together.”

“Jisung is strong,” Minho answers. “He’ll be okay.”

“I see, I see… Nadia! You said earlier that voting will be easy. Have you developed a strategy with your alliance?”

Nadia shrugs. “I guess, we’ll find out.”

“Fair enough! Yerin and Mark!” The host addresses the other two. “Are you nervous about the possibility that Nadia might betray you? She’s already betrayed Jisung.”

“We all betrayed Jisung.” Yerin smirks. “That’s what happens when you have loyalty to more than one person.”

“Besides, we already know how we’re going to end things at the final three.” Mark adds, confidently.

“I’m excited to see it! Now, you have 1 minute to place your votes. Think carefully and choose wisely!”

Jisung looks around the room again, his shaky hands hover over the screen. He carefully presses on the first letter, M, then he backspaces. He can’t do this. He can’t vote for Minho. So, who does he vote for? Voting for the others seems pointless when it’s clear they’re all going to vote for him or Minho. He looks up from his screen at Minho who meets his eyes and smiles.

“Ten seconds remaining to vote.”

Jisung quickly types a name in and presses ‘Vote’.

“All votes are in! Let’s see who will be on The Altar tonight. Three votes for one person means that they will be selected for The Altar,” the host says. “The first vote… Minho.” A tally mark appears over Minho’s head and Jisung holds his breath. “The second vote… Minho.” A second tally mark appears and Minho looks down at his feet, not daring to meet anyone's eyes. “The third vote… Jisung. That’s two votes for Minho, one vote for Jisung.”

It’s not the first time that Jisung’s been voted for, but this vote feels heavier, weighted. He glances at Minho who is now looking at him in shock. His gaze is questioning and Jisung isn’t sure if he has answers for him, but he nods anyway.

“The fourth vote…”

“Wait!” Minho says. “I’d like to play an immunity.”

The rest of them turn to look at him with wide eyes. Nadia shouts, “What the hell? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Minho, please present your immunity to The Altar,” the host instructs him. Minho walks to the center of the room where The Altar is located and places the small immunity ring down. On his way back to his spot, Minho catches Jisung’s eye again and offers him a small smile. “Minho… who is this immunity for?”

“I will be using this immunity for myself.”

The host hums in acknowledgment. “The immunity will be accepted. I will continue. The fourth vote… Minho.” The tally appears above Minho’s head. “That’s three votes, Minho. One vote, Jisung. I will read the last vote.” There’s a pause in the room as the suspense builds in the air. “If the last vote is for Minho then due to his immunity Jisung will be The Sacrifice for tonight's ceremony. If the final vote is not Jisung or Minho then we will do a revote to make the decision,” the host explains.

Jisung holds tightly onto the wound in a vain attempt to keep the blood from dripping to the white floor beneath his feet.

“The fifth and final vote goes to… Minho.” Jisung looks over at Minho with the same shock that Minho looked at him with previously. “That’s four votes, Minho. One vote, Jisung.”

“Aw, they finally betrayed each other. I guess everyone betrayed you in the end.” Nadia immediately begins to taunt Jisung. He isn’t paying her any mind though, his focus is on Minho.

“Jisung, you are The Sacrifice please approach The Altar,” the host says as a spotlight shines brightly over The Altar.

Right now, he doesn’t really give a fuck about being The Sacrifice, going to The Altar or about this stupid game. There’s something about the feeling of death that gives you a sense of clarity. He slowly walks over to where Minho is standing. He stands in front of him and reaches his non-bloody hand to hold Minho’s index finger. “This is it, huh?” Jisung’s voice comes out softer, weaker than he’d like. Minho nods and Jisung holds his finger tighter, afraid to let go. “Will you walk with me?”

Minho meets his eyes with so many questions that he wants to ask. “Okay,” he whispers.

They walk the short distance to The Altar, Jisung’s heart thumping heavily in his chest with each step. “Hyung,” Jisung says and uses his remaining strength to bring Minho into a hug. Minho stands there with his hands limp at his sides, unsure what to do with them. “You can’t let them win, okay? It has to be you. Win this,” Jisung pleads. If there’s anyone that should be The Chosen One besides himself then it’s Minho.

Jisung can feel Minho’s hands wrap around his waist and he accepts the hug. “I’ll do my best,” he hums.

Jisung shakes his head. “I don’t want your best. Promise me,” he says. “Promise me that you’ll win.”

Minho pulls away, reaching his hand up to caress Jisung’s cheek gently, “I’ll win. I promise.”

Unconsciously, Jisung leans into his warm touch. “Minho, I don’t want to die,” he admits. “I’m scared.”

“This isn’t real, okay? It feels real, but it’s not. When you get to the real world then I’ll find you.”

Jisung nods and wipes the tears from his eyes. He steps backwards, sitting on The Altar. “Please lean back.” one of the virtual guards besides The Altar directs. Jisung lays back until his head hits the cool, pristine, white surface of The Altar. The guard reads out the script for The Sacrifice and Jisung keeps his eyes trained on Minho who hasn’t moved from where he stood. Minho’s hands are clasped together so tightly that his knuckles are turning white. Jisung can’t help, but wonder when Minho began to mean more to him than a strategy in this game. “…with this sacrifice we are one step closer to finding The Chosen One.”

The lid on The Altar closes like it’s some kind of makeshift casket. In reality, it’s because it’s too graphic to show what a sacrifice looks like to the viewers. Jisung has seen how it goes enough to know what is happening now. The guards are lifting their swords to plunge it straight through The Altar, straight through him, and when they do the crimson color will seep out and the game will continue.

-

Jisung gasps, shooting up into a sitting position and clutching his chest where he’s sure he felt a sword go through him moments before. There’s nothing though, no bullet wound, no sword, no Minho.

“Please relax,” someone tells him gently. “Total in-game play time is 60 hours. Please drink this.”

Jisung leans forward to sip the glass of water that she held up to his lips. He looks to his left to see a nurse replacing an IV in his arm, another at his feet scribbling things on his clipboard and someone to the right checking his vitals.

“I’m going to ask you some questions,” the nurse at the end of the bed says with a deep voice. “Please state your name and date of birth.”

“Han Jisung, September 14th 2000.”

“Good, what year is it?”

“2021.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“… The Chosen One .”

He scribbles something on the paper. “Good looks like your psych is stable and vitals?”

“Good,” the nurse to the right of Jisung confirms.

The man nods again, “Physical is also good.” He scribbles more things on his paper, dropping the clipboard in the plastic bin attached to the end of the bed. “When the timer dings then you can use the facilities to shower and get ready for interviews and a banquet for The Chosen One. If you need any assistance, please feel free to push the button on the side of the bed.”

Jisung nods, taking it all in and before he can process anything the nurses are gone and he’s alone with the beeping of the machinery. The room is boring and gray with nothing, but the bed that he’s laying on and a door. He’s alone. It’s been a long time since he’s felt alone.

Time moves differently in the VR and it’s a bit disorienting to be back in the normal world. He spent a little over two weeks in the VR, but realistically it hasn’t even been three days. He closes his eyes, recalling the online audience that’s selected to be sponsors for the duration of The Chosen One . He wonders if any of them will take pity on Minho and support him until the end with care packages. He can’t help it when his thoughts drift back to Minho. He thinks about their reunion and if he’ll be grateful that Jisung looks exactly the same. He hopes that Minho will too, but chances are he might not. Even just thinking about it though… Jisung’s pretty sure it wouldn’t matter too much to him.

The sound of the timer dinging interrupts him from his thoughts. He sits up, removing the IV from his arm then slinging his legs to dangle off the side of the bed. When his feet touch the cold ground he almost shivers and not even a step out the door he’s tripping over his own feet. That’s right, the real Jisung is clumsy unlike the super agile VR Jisung.

He hauls himself to his feet and makes his way to the facilities. The shower is warm and he realizes exactly how dirty he is, despite their efforts to keep him clean these past couple days. He can’t help but wonder if the game is over yet? Did Minho win? Is he also showering right now with the water dripping from his toned muscles?

Jisung slaps his cheeks a couple times and rests his head on the tiles letting the water cleanse his mind. He needs to get it together. He doesn’t have that kind of relationship with Minho. He doesn’t even like him in that way. He’d never once thought of him like that and Minho never looked at Jisung like that. Still… he can’t help but wonder if Minho missed him at all.

Jisung turns the shower nozzle off, stepping out the shower, and bolting to the dressing room before he can think anymore.

Immediately, the staff greets him and begins to help him into a midnight blue suit while someone else does his makeup. The whole process feels overwhelming and makes his head spin a bit. They bring him to stand in front of the mirror. “What do you think?”

He looks amazing. He looks rich and expensive. It’s completely opposite of who he is. “I think it looks good.”

“Great, right this way for your interviews! The ceremony to present The Chosen One will begin shortly.” The makeup artist smiles with her cherry red lips, pointing him towards a corridor that leads to a different smaller room. It’s a bright white that reminds him of The Sacrifice and chills go down his spine.

“Han Jisung?” He looks behind the studio lighting and sees a short lady in a black mask and cap. He remembers her from the first day when they did interviews. “Right on time and it is so good to see you again! You played an amazing game. Please take a seat.”

Jisung nods and sits down across from her with squinting eyes.

“Oh please, look in the camera, not at me. It makes for a better shot plus the light can be blinding.” Jisung follows her instruction again and the harsh blinding lights become a little less intense. “Amazing, you look absolutely amazing.”

“I’m not amazing.” Jisung denies, shaking his hands, flustered.

“Nonsense, you’re incredible! Some of your moments in The Chosen One received some of the best reactions. Let’s go over some of them and your thought process.”

A clip plays for him, one that feels strangely surreal when seeing yourself play back on the screen. It’s when he used his immunity on Minho. He remembers being cocky, but the person on the screen looks desperate holding up the immunity ring. The clip suddenly freezes and the interviewer speaks again.

“Now, this completely took everyone by surprise. What was your thought process in this move? We all believed you to be a strategist, so was this also a strategy, using your immunity for someone else?”

Jisung’s mouth feels dry so he reaches for the glass of water and sips before answering. “Um, well my intentions were to help.”

“Was it?” She asks and another clip plays. They have to do interviews after every ceremony. In this interview they asked him a similar question. Why did he use his immunity on Minho? His answer: as a strategy. “See you even say it here. Minho was a strategy to you. Did something change? Was romance actually born in a fight to the death?”

“I wouldn’t call it romance…” Jisung trailed off, unsure of his answer. The barrage of questions takes him by surprise and he tries to not let it show on his face how uncomfortable he feels… not when the cameras are rolling.

“Interesting… Here is another favorite moment that we’ve prepared for you.”

Another clip played on the screen.

Jisung squints at the screen because it’s a little too dark to see the video. It’s only when he hears the audio that he recalls the incident in question and feels his skin heat up. The lightning crackles outside the window making the walls shake in the creaky house and causing Jisung to jump. He looks around suspicious of his surroundings.

“You’re scared,” Minho says beside him.

They had taken refuge in the haunted house at the amusement park until the rain died down because Minho could barely stand on two feet. “I’m not scared.” Jisung draws his legs to his chest from his seat on the floor.

Minho scoffs. “You don’t have to lie about it.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Three people died yesterday, Sungie. It’s okay to be scared,” Minho responds and Jisung buries his face deeper into his knees. He tries not to think about it. As more contestants get eliminated it’s only a matter of time before he has to betray Minho. The same Minho who had fought side by side with him as Jisung’s alliances slowly went up in flames. If Minho wasn’t there yesterday then he probably would’ve been the one dead instead of the other three.

“Okay, fine. I am scared.” Jisung admits. It’s quiet aside from the pitter-pattering of the rain against the window. A soft pressure lands against Jisung’s shoulder and he lifts his head. Minho is leaning on Jisung and he’s not quite sure when Minho moved over to where he was sitting. He let his guard down. “What are you doing?” Jisung asks.

“Resting. Just for a moment,” Minho answers. Jisung doesn’t reply and just stares ahead, looking at the rain pouring. If he wasn’t fighting for his life in this stupid survival show then the rain might actually look relaxing.

“We don’t have time to rest.”

Minho hums in acknowledgement, but doesn’t make any motion to move. “Who are we voting for tomorrow?”

Jisung sighs. “Do we have to think about it right now?”

“It has to be someone,” Minho says. Jisung hears it as please don’t be me. “You have a lot of alliances don’t you. Break one.”

“It’s not that easy. I have to play my hand well or everyone will turn on me.”

“Not everyone…”

Jisung looks away from the window to stare at Minho whose eyes are closed and a stray hair has fallen neatly in front of his face. “Yeah, not everyone.” His eyes catch Minho’s hand tucked neatly between them and Jisung shifts so that he’s able to lace his fingers in his.

Minho’s eyes flutter open and this time it’s his turn to ask. “What are you doing?”

“Just for a moment.” Jisung returns Minho’s previous answer. Minho seems to accept it easily and his eyes shut gently again. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Just… thank you.” Jisung fails to explain.

Minho tightens his fingers around Jisung’s as if he would disappear. “You too… thank you.”

The interviewer is smiling ear to ear at him. “This is such a fan favorite moment,” she says slowly enunciating each word. “The moment when you let your guard down around Minho. Doesn’t seem like he was a strategy to you here.”

“It’s not like that,” Jisung defends. “We were just resting.”

“And there’s your excuse.” She grins. “We have a lot more moments that we could go through that suggest your relationship with Minho was more than a strategy. Would you at least agree to that? That at some point things changed.”

Jisung plays with his fingers nervously in his lap. He’s never felt more vulnerable in his whole life. It’s not like he forgot that his every move in the VR was displayed for thousands of people to see if not millions, but being questioned about it feels absolutely humiliating. He gives her the answer that she wants to hear. “It did… at some point.”

“In what way did your relationship change?”

Jisung looks down at his lap where he notes that he had been unconsciously picking at the skin by his nail. “Um… I mean we cared for each other.”

“We? You think Minho felt the same? What if he was using you as a strategy?”

Jisung snaps his head up, squinting at the momentary blindness from the lights. “Minho wouldn’t do that. He’s not like me.”

“How do you know? You don’t even know what he actually looks like or if Minho is a man at all. Everything could have been a lie.”

Jisung sighs in frustration. He’s tired of people assuming they know anything about Jisung or Minho. “I trust him,” he says, standing up. “Am I done with this interview?”

She rushes to stand up and holds out her hand. “Yes, of course. Thank you again for an amazing play. Enjoy the ceremony.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Jisung brushes past her, refusing to shake her hand and heads out the door. He’s not even sure if he knows exactly where to go until he sees his name on a door.

When he opens the door he’s greeted by the bright white light once again and he’s a voice. “Oh, Han Jisung! Welcome! You’re just in time.”

Jisung freezes and immediately puts his guard up. “You’re the voice from The Sacrifice.”

“That I am. No need to get so anxious.” The voice talks casually as if it didn’t send Jisung to his death moments prior. “Your humble sacrifice was noble. Why didn’t you mention it in your interview?”

Jisung arches his eyebrow. “So, you know?”

“I know everything that happens. It’s my game after all. You may be fighting to see who will be The Chosen One, but you can think of me like god in this game. Nothing gets past me.”

“God, huh…” Jisung mumbles, leaning against the wall.

“Wondering who won in the end? If your sacrifice was worth it?” The voice asks and Jisung rolls his eyes. “I’ve spent days monitoring you in real life and weeks monitoring you in the VR. The last thing I expected was for you to vote for yourself.”

“Well, I guess you don’t know everything after all.” Jisung walks around the room that appears like it has no doors. If he wasn’t so irritated at talking with that stupid voice then he would’ve been panicking more.

“Do you like him?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would!” The voice says in excitement. A door slides open on the other side of the room. “Unfortunately, it looks like my time for questions is over. If you head straight out that door and follow the corridor then you’ll enter the Banquet. Everyone else is already there except for the final four.”

“Where are they?” Jisung asks, heading towards the door.

“Finishing their interviews. The game ended about an hour ago. Now, hurry along. I’m sure everyone is waiting in anticipation to see who was outsmarting them for weeks.”

Jisung hates how the voice sounds so friendly all of a sudden, but follows its instructions. When he enters he’s surprised by the scenery. He steps onto the red velvet carpet rolled across the stage, following it to the front. “Whoa, this place is beautiful,” he mutters aloud.

The first thing that captures his eye is the large windows. The real sun is breathtaking after so long and his mouth hangs a bit at the sight. There’s a gorgeous chandelier hanging in the center of the room that reflects the lights magnificently.

“Han Jisung, is that you?” Jisung whips around to see a group of people sitting at a long table. “Holy shit, it’s really you. You look just the same.”

“Uh… you are?” Jisung hesitates, but walks down the stage stairs and approaches the table.

“I was Chloe! My real name is Xiao,” he says. “Man this is so crazy. I would’ve thought you were going to win.”

Chloe… she was one of the first people that Jisung made an alliance with. He felt bad for betraying her. She would’ve been Top 10 if he hadn’t voted for her… him? Jisung sits at the table. “Yeah, I thought so too. It was a close game…”

“Man, I’m so excited to see what everyone else looks like. I think other than you out of the rest of us Jaemin and Sara are the only two that look exactly the same. Everyone else tweaked their features a bit like Josh slimmed up and Bora adjusted her height.” Xiao grins in excitement when they hear the next person coming down the hall.

“Holy shit! This place is sick as hell,” Mark practically runs into the room. Jisung sighs in relief. Another person that looks exactly the same. “Oh man, is that food? Real food? I’m starving.” Everyone at the table laughs. Mark has always been a good mood maker. Even with the hostile environment you can easily tell he’s a people person.

“Hurry up and take your seat Mark!” Xiao yells over.

Mark hops down the stage and bounds over to the table. “Who are you?”

“Chloe.” Xiao grins.

“Dude…I can’t recognize the majority of the people here.” Mark looks down at the table. “Except for you Jisung.” He nudges Jisung. “No hard feelings, right?”

“Of course not.” Jisung laughs. “It’s just a game after all.”

“So, Top 3 is Nadia, Yerin, and Minho… I don’t know who is going to win,” Mark says.

“Wouldn’t it be Nadia? She’s always had that weird main character vibe to her,” Sara says from across the table.

Mark shrugs and plays with the empty glass on the table. “I don’t know… I mean it’s so hard to tell.”

“Why? Yerin definitely isn’t fighting for it.”

“You’re right, I’m not,” Yerin says from the stage, except she looks nothing like Yerin in the VR. She’s shorter, stubbier, with fuller cheeks and freckles. “Geez, I don’t get a greeting.”

“Don’t take it personally Yerin. It’s a lot to take in when you look this different,” Jaemin comments.

“Your dress is beautiful,” says Sara.

She rolls her eyes at Mark and takes a seat next to Sara. “I didn’t stand a chance against Nadia. I was going to team up with her against Minho, but…”

“Yeah,” Mark adds. “I don’t remember Minho being so…”

“Violent.” Yerin finishes.

“Yes, that!” Mark exclaims.

This catches Jisung’s attention. “Violent? Minho?”

“I’m pretty sure that Yerin and I went out at the same time. The three of us were ambushed by Minho. It was insane! The only reason we knew he was there was because he was just like ‘The Chosen One will be me!’” Mark does an awful imitation of Minho’s voice.

“He’s pretty good at impressions.” Sara laughs across the table and Jisung rolls his eyes. She might be a bit too nice because that sounded nothing like Minho.

“You got ambushed by a one man band?” Xiao questions.

“You don’t get it.” Yerin shakes her head. “It was scary. We didn’t see it coming. Last thing I remember before dying was Nadia stabbing him.”

“Did she kill him?” Xiao asks. Jisung feels sick at the thought of Minho dying. “Is she the winner?”

Yerin shrugs. “How should I know? I’m here with you.”

The room is suddenly shrouded in darkness. “G’day everyone. Thank you for joining us for The Chosen One’s Banquet.” The voice booms across the room. Minho and Nadia’s pictures appear on a screen above the stage. “Everyone here gave us an amazing show. Now, we have two people left, Minho and Nadia, and only one of them can be The Chosen One.”

The lights in the room dim and there’s a singular spotlight that lights up the center of the stage.

“Who is this season’s Chosen One?” the host asks no one in particular. Jisung assumes that it’s directed towards the viewers. Fog creeps across the stage and Jisung can see a hidden door on the stage floor open. “Congratulations to this season’s Chosen One!”

Unlike on TV there are no dramatic pauses for reactions and everything feels like it’s happening so quickly. Jisung’s not sure why, but he closes his eyes. Maybe it’s to delay the inevitable or maybe the thought of Nadia winning sounds just as bad as discovering that Minho looks different in real life.

“I knew it!” Mark shouts.

Jisung chances his eyes open and he sees him standing under the spotlight. A staff member places roses in his hands and he’s smiling at her with that same cheshire grin from when Jisung first met him. “Minho won…” Jisung whispers.

He can’t take his eyes off Minho. Minho’s wearing a charcoal gray suit with his hair slicked to one side. Other than the round glasses hanging off the bridge of his nose, the person standing on the stage is the Minho that Jisung remembers. Minho steps to the side and Nadia enters behind Minho wearing a beautiful red dress that compliments her figure and makeup. She shakes Minho’s hand and Jisung notes that her hair isn’t red nor is it a long braided ponytail, but she also looks exactly the same. Everyone is applauding as Nadia also accepts roses and walks off the stage.

“Minho, you are this season’s Chosen One. How does it feel?”

Minho smiles and speaks into the microphone that he was given. “It feels good. I feel so grateful to have not only made it this far, but to have won against some incredible people.” Minho’s eyes scan the small audience and Jisung freezes when they lock eyes.

“Would you say that it’s because of luck that you’re here?”

Minho shakes his head. “I didn’t get here because of luck. I got here because of the viewers' generous donations and of course with a strong strategy.”

Jisung feels his stomach drop. Of course he considered that Minho was using him just as much as Jisung was using him. However, hearing a confirmation that you were just a strategy is a lot different than just considering the possibility. Jisung thinks back to all the moments that they’ve had until now and finally drops eye contact with Minho. He can hear applause around him about whatever is being said on stage, but all he can think about is that Minho had been lying and he never noticed. If Jisung had chosen someone else or even kept his immunity that day then would he have been The Chosen One instead of Minho? Was all Jisung’s efforts up to this point only an aid to Minho’s plan?

“Jisung, come on.” Xiao pushes his shoulders to go around the table. “We’re taking a picture to commemorate this season before we eat.”

“Sorry, I just zoned out there for a second,” Jisung says as Xiao continues to guide him over to the rest of the group with an arm over his shoulder. They’re walking to the end when someone grabs his hand. “Hyung?” Jisung questions when he looks at him.

“Want to stand next to me?” Minho asks.

Jisung looks back at Xiao who removes his hand. “Oh, it’s no problem dude. I’ll just stand with Mark.”

Minho pulls Jisung towards him, resting his hand at his waist. “How does it feel to be standing next to The Chosen One?” Minho teases. Jisung shrugs, trying not to think about the pressure of Minho’s fingertips holding him close. To be honest, he’s feeling a lot of things right now that he can’t form a proper sentence for. He feels a finger poke at his cheek. “Smile for the picture.”

Jisung looks up just in time for the picture and the photographer cheers. “Awesome everyone. Just a few more and you can eat!” The camera flashes a few more times, then everyone is off mingling and grabbing either wine or plates to eat the assortment of food. Cameras are still rolling and they all have mics on which means that whatever happens at the banquet will probably be shown later on.

Jisung watches, unsure of exactly what he should do or where he should go. His first goal is to get away from Minho. He tries to locate Xiao so that he can join whatever conversation he’s having. The man is nowhere to be seen though. Jisung walks to the corner of the room to at least get away from most of the cameras only to hear the voice of the person he was trying to avoid the most.

“I found you. Are you not going to eat?” Minho asks. “Sorry, I noticed that you didn’t go with everyone else.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

Minho raises an eyebrow at that. “You haven’t had a proper meal in days. I’m sure the IV drip wasn’t that filling.”

“I guess, you’re right.”

“I know, I’m right!” Minho pushes Jisung towards the food. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

They grab their plates and sit at a circular table in a corner a little further from everyone else to eat. “Hyung, you don’t have to follow me around or pretend to be nice anymore, okay?” Jisung tells Minho in between his bite of pasta.

Minho is in the middle of cutting through his steak when he looks at Jisung with a funny look. “Pretend? I’m not pretending.”

Jisung stares at him for a long moment, setting his utensils down. “Didn’t you say it yourself? Wasn’t I just a strategy to you?”

“Ah…” Minho says, popping the steak in his mouth and chewing slowly. When he’s done he smiles at Jisung. “Something like that I suppose.”

Jisung’s mouth goes dry and he sips his glass of water.

“But not in the way you think.” Minho adds, going back to slicing another chunk of meat. “My strategy was never to use someone.”

“What do you mean?” Jisung frowns. Isn’t that exactly what Minho did? Jisung sure felt like he was used.

Minho takes another bite before answering. “My strategy was to find a partner to make it to the end of the game with. It’s funny because my friends said that it was stupid and would get me killed or eliminated by the first sacrifice. In a way they were right, but they didn’t account for you being there.”

“Me?”

“The strategy was simply you have my back and I have yours.” Minho sighs, placing his fork and knife down. “It’s unfortunate… I was expecting to make it to the end with you and repaying your kindness from the beginning.”

“You didn’t want to win?”

Minho shakes his head. “Of course, I wanted to win, but I didn’t need to. Your grandma needs treatment right?”

Jisung’s mouth drops open. “Oh. I- fuck. That was… I was lying.”

Minho stares at him for a moment. “You lied about having a sick grandmother?”

“I mean sick grandma vs crippling college debt. It’s clear which one people care about more.” Jisung defends. “I’ll make it up to grandma when I visit her.”

“Still…” Minho places a hand over his own heart. “Poor grandma.”

Jisung shoves his arm playfully. “Okay, I get it. It was fucked up. You never told me why you were playing though. Why are you here?”

“For me… it was less about the prize money and just a personal challenge. I wanted to see how long I could last and you get to meet a lot of people doing this show. I’m sure our lives are going to change drastically when we leave here today.”

“Your life maybe…” Jisung mumbles, finally taking another bite of his pasta.

Minho shakes his head. “Think about it, Jisung. We have a story to tell don’t we?” Jisung looks at him curiously and Minho reaches behind himself to turn off his mic. Jisung mimics the action.

“What is it?”

“During The Sacrifice… you voted for yourself, right? Just like I voted for myself.”

Jisung looks down at his half eaten pasta and picks at it with his fork. “I know it wouldn’t have helped, but I couldn’t bring myself to vote for you.”

“That’s true, it was obvious that the others would’ve voted me to be on The Altar so that you would be an easy target later.” Minho sips his wine and places it back down on the white tablecloth. “Everyone thinks we betrayed each other though.”

“Then, let them think that,” Jisung says. “We don’t have to clear anything up. We both know what happened back there.”

Minho places a hand on Jisung’s shoulder. “Do you hate me for winning?” Jisung frowns at him. Why would he ask that? Of course, he doesn’t hate him. He can’t hate him. “Would you rather Nadia won?”

“Fuck no,” Jisung says. He’s the one that asked Minho to win in the first place. “You only kept your promise, so no, I don’t hate you. Maybe, just a little jealous of course.”

“That’s fair.” Minho giggles. “Listen… I have a proposal for you.”

“What?” Jisung takes a sip of his drink.

“Be my boyfriend,” Minho says casually. Way too casually and Jisung chokes. He brings a napkin to his mouth just in time to cough his wine into it. “Are you okay?” Minho’s patting his back now and Jisung waves him away.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I mean think about it. The interviews after The Chosen One are crazy, especially if you win. Not only that, but people are interested in us already. I’m sure we have a fanbase of people who want to see us get together.”

“Okay, but why?”

“Well, first you need the money, right?”

“And? What do you get out of it?” Jisung asks.

Minho props his chin up with his hand and smiles. “A boyfriend… unless you already have someone.”

Jisung shakes his head. He hasn’t dated anyone since high school and that wasn’t even a serious relationship. He was as single as a slice of cheese. “So, we’d just be going out for publicities sake?”

“If that’s what you want. I mean it would be nice to have a trophy boyfriend along with my title of The Chosen One.”

“Okay, you don’t have to rub it in.” Jisung rolls his eyes.

A staff member from the show suddenly appears behind them. “Please make sure you have your mics on.”

“Oh, sorry,” Jisung says and they both turn their mics on.

“So, what do you say?” Minho asks again.

“Can I get some time to think about it?” Everything about Minho’s request sounds ridiculous. First off, Jisung isn’t an actor. It’s not like he doesn’t enjoy Minho’s company because he’s comfortably spent weeks with him. He just doesn’t even know Minho outside of this game.

“Sure, whatever you need,” Minho answers and goes back to eating his food.

The silence draws on for a moment. Jisung pushes the food around on his own plate. It’s not that he isn’t hungry, but it’s a lot to think about. For one he doesn’t want to be Minho’s fake boyfriend for obvious reasons. It would be so much to keep up with and at what cost? He would have to lie to so many people and for what? Money? Lying in the game was different. It wasn’t this, it wasn’t faking feelings. Still… what did he have to lose?

“Minho…” Jisung starts to say and the man in question hums in response. “If I hadn’t gotten stabbed. Would you have used your immunity on me?”

Minho’s fork hovers in the air, he turns to stare at Jisung, and a teasing smile stretches across his face. “I guess, we’ll never know.”

“I’m being serious.” Minho shovels another bite in his mouth, continuing to ignore Jisung. “Minho-”

“You would’ve done it for me,” Minho finally says. “I said it before, I wanted to repay your kindness.” He turns his head away so that Jisung can’t clearly make out his expression, but Jisung’s palms feel sweaty at his answer. Minho would have saved him. He chuckles a bit even though nothing is funny. “Why are you laughing?” Minho frowns.

“Sorry, it’s just you’re so different from how you were in the game,” Jisung says in between his laughter.

“How so?” Minho inquires.

Jisung thinks for a moment to gather his words and let the laughter subside. “Less clumsy… more unhinged and a dash of insanity.” He stabs his pasta with his fork and swirls it around.

“And is that bad?”

Jisung shakes his head. “No, I like it. Let’s do it.”

“Really?” Minho beams in excitement.

Jisung places his free hand over top of Minho’s, taking note of how they’re similar in size. He looks up at Minho’s curious expression. “Anything for The Chosen One.”