Chapter Text
“Brother.”
Yoo Joonghyuk hums in response as he flips the seafood pancake in the pan. A chair creaks behind him as his sister settles at the kitchen table.
“Can I get a tablet?”
He glances at her over his shoulder. He’s been avoiding the idea of getting her any devices for a while, deeming it unnecessary. There were far too many kids her age who couldn’t seem to live without their devices, a sight that he has seen multiple times during his occasional outings. When the image of a snotty, zombified Yoo Mia with a tablet an inch away from her face appears in his mind, he winces.
“What do you need one for?” Yoo Joonghyuk plates the cooked pancake and places it in front of her. “Careful. It’s hot.”
She ignores his warning and tries taking a bite, immediately dropping it from her mouth when it burns. “School. The teachers put stuff online now, so I need it.” She tries again.
The pan sizzles as he makes another batch. “I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t think too hard about it, this is my education.”
He pauses and gives her a look.
“What?” She huffs.
“...just eat your food.”
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Yoo Joonghyuk is sitting in his room, preparing to stream after cleaning up the kitchen. His nebula, ‘ Breaking the Sky’ , has been on a well needed short break after a series of tournaments. The members individually stream games on the Star Stream app in their free time.
He puts his headphones and glasses on. He’s been playing a game called ‘ Ways of Survival’ recently, and frankly, it has him hooked. The game starts out with a lone protagonist who has to survive in a ruined, post-apocalyptic world. As progress is made, darker truths are revealed. Unsurprisingly, Yoo Joonghyuk maxed out every stat he has so far and has gotten a handful of legendary grade stigmas. He’s now trying for a mystic grade.
He starts the stream.
Instantly, users flood in. It would be unusual if he didn’t have at least 10,000 viewers within the first minute, given his popularity. The quest required to get the stigma he wanted was well known for being quite extensive, so he wastes no time to begin.
About an hour and a half passes by in relative silence, aside from the clicking of his mouse and the clacking of keys alongside the game’s sound effects and music. Yoo Joonghyuk has made significant progress in the quest, though there is still a lot to go, and has reached an important section. It is at that point when he has a lag spike. The game freezes for a few seconds before it cuts back to a different scene. He frowns at the missed dialogue, glancing to the side where his PC is. The fans have been louder recently and things seemed to load extremely slow.
When he tries to continue playing, however, his entire screen freezes rather than just the game. He attempts to click around despite the lack of response from his cursor, brows furrowing. After a solid minute or two passes by, the screen begins to work again. At least he thought so. The last thing the viewers see is a pixelated frame of Yoo Joonghyuk’s slightly parted mouth, probably in the middle of taking a deep breath in to calm his frustration. The stream ends way earlier than intended.
Seeing the screen turn black, he curses. The gamer slaps his PC a few times, shaking it. His attempts at reviving the device are futile. If the thing was sentient, it would shiver in fear at the hateful gaze Yoo Joonghyuk has directed at it. Damn, he didn’t even get the chance to save his progress! All that hard work and time spent… It was about time that he got a replacement, which he knew, but really? Right when he got to a good part? He picks up his phone.
[Yoo Joonghyuk] : My PC stopped working.
[Namgung Minyoung] : What does this have to do with me?
[Yoo Joonghyuk] : You’re my boss.
[Namgung Minyoung] : And? Fix it yourself, boy. Grown ass man.
Yoo Joonghyuk fights the urge to crush the phone in his hand. How the hell was he going to fix it himself? He plays games, he’s not fixing devices for a living.
[Namgung Minyoung] : SSS Class Technology, down two blocks from you. Go.
His eyes narrow upon seeing the name of the place. What kind of name is that? Though, if his boss was recommending it, it shouldn’t be as bad as the name is. He sighs and leaves his room, grabbing a light jacket hanging from the kitchen chair and the house keys before calling out to his sister as he makes his way to the door.
“Mia, I’m heading out for a bit. I’ll be back soon, remember the rules.” He begins putting on his shoes, leaning against the wall for support.
“Yeah yeah, ignore whoever’s at the door and never answer it, get me a soda on the way!” She yells back from her room.
The front door clicks shut. He makes sure to lock both the top and bottom locks.
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As expected, the walk is short. Yoo Joonghyuk easily spots the giant, golden, glowing letters despite his lack of glasses. The words are big enough for him to see their outline and guess what it says. The sign seems unnecessarily large for a smaller store like this one. A cheery automated message greets him from a speaker when he opens the door and steps inside.
“Welcome to SSS Class Technology! Buying, trading, repairs, you name it, we’ll do it!”
He takes a quick look around with slightly squinted eyes. Phones, tablets, and laptops are separated into sections with rows of display tables. The interior isn’t blinding white, though it is white, with gold accents all around. Almost like it was some sort of luxury brand store. He could probably be convinced if he didn’t know the store’s name.
Yoo Joonghyuk finally looks to the back when he’s seen enough, and farthest from the entrance is a counter. He stares for a second at the strange contorted shape behind it before approaching. The squid shaped figure in the distance starts to morph into a man as he nears. He’s expecting a greeting of some sort from this worker, but it seems that the guy was too absorbed in his own world. He’s scrolling slowly on the phone with his thumb, eyes sliding across the screen. Yoo Joonghyuk thinks that maybe it isn’t just kids who have an obsession with devices.
“Hello.” He tries.
No response. Did he speak too softly? He tilts to the side a little to see if the guy has anything in his ears. Nothing. Maybe just an incompetent worker. Squinting at the rectangular name plate, Yoo Joonghyuk can barely make out the words written. The name ‘Kim Dokja’ is printed neatly and plainly on the flat, gold surface. Maybe his name would work.
Raising his voice to be slightly louder, he tries again. “ Kim Dokja.”
Flinching at the sudden loud, deep voice in close proximity to him, Kim Dokja almost drops his phone. He fumbles with it and freezes when his eyes slide up to Yoo Joonghyuk’s face. His already large eyes widen minutely at the man before him. A brief silence passes over them.
“Do– do I know you?” He stutters out a little pathetically.
Quirking an eyebrow, Yoo Joonghyuk studies him with narrowed eyes. His face is a bit blurry. He watches as the worker, which he now knows as Kim Dokja, squirms under his gaze. Kim Dokja glances to the side and back before visibly swallowing.
“No,” he finally says. “I need a PC.”