Archive of Our Own

The box is almost 1.5m high and weights enough for Yunho's arms to ploy below it. Good thing he's tall, too bad he always declined Mingi's invitation to the gym. The building's door is ajar but not open wide enough for him to just cross it. Still, he shimmies his way through it, his package secured in his arms as best as he can.

He puts the package on the floor for a second, to look at the letterboxes - his is as empty as usual. When he turns back, the flight of stairs stands menacingly in front of him. It's ok, he tells himself, he can do it ! He didn't wait all this time to be defeated by a couple steps.

Thirteen months, that's how long it took Yunho and his small mechanic's salary to finally get him the Aurora Immersive Ultra A1024. Three models have gone up since, but Yunho's salary didn't and games were compatible on all of them so it didn't matter. He'd been eyeing the console ever since it first launched - the nerd in him had immediately latched on it, feeling too restricted on his parent's old holographic computer and wanting to feel more connected to his game.

But the price had been too high and his father had refused. Yunho wasn't one to take no for an answer and had decided to take matters in his own hands. If his father didn't want him to live his life, then he would do it on his own ! He didn't plan for his father to tell him to start living on his own once he got a job - who would've thought rent was this expensive ?!? What should have been a couple months of saving quickly turned into thirteen.

But who cared !! After repairing watches upon watches, after replacing defective components after defective components, after getting his eyes teary by looking through a loop for hours on end, he finally had it ! He would finally be able to jump into playing games like he never did before !

After managing to climb that damn flight of stairs, though. What an idea to live on the second floor !

He sighs and crouches down, difficulty balancing the package in his arms again. Slowly, one step at a time, he goes forward, then climbs the stairs. It might as well take him half an hour but he finally reaches the landing, arms strained and slightly trembling. He's not sure he can hold on for much longer so he rushes across it, straight towards his door.

As he reaches the section in the corridor, something bumps into his side. He's vision is obstructed by the box and he struggles to turn it to look the other way. As he's finally starting to see the mop of hair of the person who crashed into him the package in his arms wobbles. He tries to balance it again but his arms must have decided against it and the box starts to fall forward.

Until it stops. Yunho raises his head to see his neighbour's arm maintaining it in place. He's wearing a fluffy sweater. Yunho goes to thank him but as soon as their eyes meet the guy splutters and the package finally meets the floor with a shunk.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry !" Yunho's neighbour squeaks in a small voice. His ears are getting red by the minute and it's really endearing.

Yunho smiles. "It's ok, it was about to fall anyway, thank you for delaying it !"

The guy look at him as if he just said something really weird, bows and says sorry one more time and then goes back to where he came from. Yunho watches him disappear behind a door and stays a bit perplex but eventually shrugs and focuses back on his package. He still has the other half of the corridor to cross.

Once the box is finally - painfully - safely brought inside his flat, Yunho sags against the closed door for a second. He doesn't feel his arms anymore and even his neck feels a bit strained, but it's nothing against the excitement that thrums through his body. Soon, he's back up, unwrapping the package messily, putting cardboard everywhere.

The first thing that emerges from the box is an explicative pamphlet that Yunho quickly leafs through. He decides he's not learning anything from it barely halfway through it however, and dives back into his sea of cardboard pieces.

He successfully unearths the tower and the helmet - it's still called a helmet because of how it looked on the very first model four years ago, but one of the novelty brought by the Aurora collection is how light and design it is : the helmet resembles more a tiara combined with sunglasses, only connecting the important points around the head to the device. The tower is where all the technological part does its magic, powering the helmet and connecting it to the network.

And then you're transported to another world.

Yunho can't wait. He didn't even look the games available up that much, too focused on the technology, but he saw a few promising visuals. Yunho is a FPS player through and through, he grew up snipping his friends from across a map. As his passion for firearms progressed, he even started to collect them. Sadly, his flat isn't really big and he had to let most of it at his parent's.

One of the ad that hit him the most was actually for one of the free base game of the Aurora Immersive Ultra : Bulnoliya. The graphics promised an apocalyptical word, with ruins and mobs everywhere - exactly his lane. He can't wait to launch the game and geek out with weapons again.

Reminiscing the images, Yunho feels his hype swell and hurries to install the device, unplugging his old holographic screen to have an available outlet. Once the tower plugged in, it alights in a myriad of color before settling on emanating a warm and soft white.

Yunho holds his breath for a second. And the next he's jumping up and rushing to grab the helmet and link it to the tower. When a little diode blinks the same white, he props himself on his couch and puts the helmet on. Here goes nothing, he thinks as he press the button that will project him to the console's menu.

A huge hall stands before Yunho. White walls, columns reminiscing of ancient Greece, and openings letting peek the luxurious green of vegetation. He looks down, at his hands, at his feet. He extend an arm, amazed at the fluidity. Every command from his brain is seamlessly reported into the game, making his body— no, his avatar, move. He knows for a fact that his body is still in his flat, comfortably propped on a cushion on his couch. And yet, nothing ever felt more true than the wind on his face, the scent of the forest just outside the walls and the cold marble under his bare feet.

He looks down once again. Bare feet. That's not the only bare thing, he realise quickly. His whole avatar's body is bare. As he focuses a bit more, he also realise that it's not like his own real body. Everything is more neutral, hands not as big, legs not as long… A base to customize.

From a quick glance across the hall, Yunho notices one of the wall has big signs plastered on it. He's also alone, now that he thinks of it. The console is mainly promoted as a multi-player one, so he figures this must be a sort of tutorial before accessing the other parts of the console and the games. It would make sense, to get used to one's body again in such a different setting.

As he walks towards the signs, Yunho also realises he's gonna have to get used to having short legs if he doesn't find how to customize this avatar to his taste. He's definitely not used to be this close to the ground.

"Congratulation on taking your first steps in Aurora Immersive Ultra and welcome !" the first line of the sign reads. Below it, a small paragraph develops a bit further on the idea, promising a world of infinite possibilities across all the games the console can run. Yunho has no idea how to get to the games yet, but a shining arrow under the sign points somewhere obnoxiously.

Yunho follows it, crosses an arch and arrives in a room. Vegetation is scarcer than it looked from the hall, and a lot more tidy too. On the walls, between the climbing plants (Yunho thinks it might be some kind of vine, but he's not really well-versed in plants), floor to ceiling glasses stand. As he gets closer to one, a "Touch me!" symbol starts blinking on it.

Yunho complies and the glass comes to life : an undefined shape vaguely resembling a man looks at him. It takes Yunho a minute to realise it's his reflection. Above him, the letters have stopped blinking and are saying "Imagine yourself". It's succinct, but quite efficient. Yunho tries to picture himself, the last time he saw his reflection in an actual mirror, and the man in the glass shifts and transform to something closer to it.

Yunho's not sure he wants to look exactly like himself in an online game though. The message on top of his reflection seems to be inciting him to tweak it up too, as it now reads "Have fun!" So Yunho experiments. He tries to be taller, which is definitely too tall; he tries to be smaller, which is weird but feels somewhat nice; he tries to change his hair color, his eyes' shape… He even tries to be a woman for a couple seconds but eventually decides against it - it wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, but he doesn't want to have too much things to get acquainted to at first, maybe for a future session or another game.

He fiddles a bit with the icons on the right side of the glass, trying to see if he can change his clothes too, but it seems he only has access to a closet with a predefined ensemble. White shirt and grey pants it is, then. He guesses clothes are unlocked while playing, like in the old mmorpg his grandparents told him about. There's enough to have fun with his own appearance in the meantime.

In the end, he settles for something close enough to feel comfortable and far enough to feel like an avatar and not his IRL self. He's a little shorter than usual, but he made his body proportion as similar as he could so it would be less disturbing. He also decided to have a bit of fun and put deep red strands in his hair - he first wanted to have it entirely blue, but he wasn't sure it would be the best move to hide on an FPS map. Satisfied with the overall result, he touches the small lock icon on the side of the glass. Just as he thought, imagining a new appearance doesn't work anymore.

Now that his appearance is set, Yunho turns around. He's not sure what he's supposed to do next. So far everything had been easy and obvious : his metaphysic body obeyed his brain's orders roughly the same way his physical one does and the glass panel had worked just as his holographic tablet. It had been nice to get acquainted with the console and its functioning, but he's starting to itch to actually play.

Luckily for him, at the back of the room, where he's sure only vegetation stood a few minutes ago, an opening seems to lead to another hall. That one is different from the first one : instead of vegetation, the arches are open on the sky. Deep deep below, a forest lays, overlooked by the construction Yunho's in. Distantly, he wonders if he can jump from the opening or if the forest is out of bond.

For now though, his focus is fully on what stands in the center of the room : three portals, bracketed by columns and surmounted by capitals with inscriptions. Around them, column ruins lays, suggesting that other portals can be added upon the player paying for a new game. But Yunho's broke at the moment, and the portal in the middle is entrancing enough anyway. The "Bulnoliya" inscription on the capital looks like it's made from burning embers.

Yunho decides he'll see what else the console has to offer later and crosses the portal in a determined stride.

Everything around him is grey. Different shades of grey, sure, but grey. Shapes are difficult to make sense of and Yunho's not sure where he is. He tries to blink a few times, in case his vision is blurry, but it doesn't change much.

A noise on his left startles him; a loud bang followed by a squeak. And then something's running away from here, little paws hitting sheet metal in a repetitive way. It's too fast for Yunho to properly catch a proper look at the animal, but its retreating fiery fur is enough to put a smile on his face.

Seeing something move in the otherwise deserted and desolated landscapes also put things in perspective - literally. What appeared as unformed accumulations with no start nor end are now becoming sharper and more defined. In the horizon, toward where the animal disappeared, ruins - grey, yet again - stand. Yunho turns his head to look closer and the accumulation closest to him and— yeah, there's no other words to describe the place he's in than garbage dump.

Yunho figures the game made him spawn here for a reason, so he tries to look for something valuable or useful around him. Instinctively, he goes in the same direction the animal went while he searches. He's starting to bend down to pick a small speck of color that caught his eyes amidst the grey detritus when clanging sounds resonates across the area. If Yunho first thought it might be another animal, the resounding voices that follow makes him stop in his tracks.

"Of course you had to walk out of the trail and stagger !"

"Hyung, stops snickering, I think my foot's stuck…"

"Alright, alright, here, take my hand. Oh wait, look at that !"

"A battery ? Wow, no way ! We've been searching for one for two days now !"

"I told you a new player was gonna spawn in the server today ! My hunches are never wrong."

The voices are coming closer, becoming more and more distinct, and Yunho's not sure what to do. He's here, out of nowhere, metaphorically as naked as the day he was born since he didn't spawn with anything other than the clothes he wore in the lobby, and all he knows is that he has to survive. The people on the other side of the detritus hill are seemingly here to take advantage of him arriving in the server and loot the things that spawned with him.

But what would they do about him ? A shiver runs through him as he remembers the reason the game enticed him in the first place. Would they shoot him ? How would it be to be shoot here, in a hyper realistic game that felt just like real life ? He knows he wouldn't die, and probably would just have to restart the game, but the curiosity is, perhaps a bit morbidly, there.

He doesn't wanna experience that right now, he decides. Maybe if he could crouch down behind that metal sheet and wait for the people to leave… It could work, hopefully. And maybe he could learn more things about the game in the meantime, since the voices didn't seem to take precautions in what they were saying, nor how loud they were talking.

Hastily, Yunho retrieves the small bright red plastic-y thing that caught his eyes in the first place - he'll look it up later on, for now he just need to try and secure something for himself - and walks toward the metal sheet he spotted. It's a hassle to move it just enough to slide behind it without making noises, but he somehow manages. He's grateful he chose a body on the smaller side too, because he knows there's no way he'd put the long limbs of his gangly self there in real life.

He doesn't have a good view on the area anymore, barely even in front of his hiding place, but it's good enough. It also means he's less likely to be seen from outside. As the voices comes yet again closer, the sun decides to peek out from behind the grey clouds and human-shaped shadows are projected on the ground. They're closer than Yunho thought.

"I don't see anyone."

"That's strange… Maybe it was a noob ? It's not unheard of for new players to just leave the spawned items behind as they wander around aimlessly…"

"Sigh… Maybe… That suck though, I was excited at the prospect of meeting someone new !"

"Hyung, your proclivity to help new players out is admirable."

"What, that's not why you came with me ? I thought you liked it too ?"

"I don't hate it… But I'm more looking forward to recruit someone else and win against NO1's guild in the next event ! An agreeable companion is only a bonus point."

The shadows are now right in front of where Yunho's hiding, posture relaxed, lazily gazing around. They could be fainting and their discussion could be a lure, but somehow Yunho's inclined to trust that they're here to help a random new player. He can't see any weapons on them from their shadows, for starter, and they're way too chill. If it was somewhere people went to snipe on new players, there would probably be campers or other people interested in the loot. Yet, the area is peaceful and the two strangers are not even fiddling with a knife. If Yunho had a weapon himself, he could have tried to overtake them, benefiting from surprise effect. As he's pondering on whether he trust them enough to reveal himself, one of the voice - the more husky one, seemingly to the younger of the two since it was calling the other "hyung" - says :

"Wait, look at the sun ! There's definitely someone near us, we wouldn't see that well otherwise, that place's always cloudy as fuck unless a rookie meets people for the first time."

Well, this settles it then. If the game is thought that way, it must mean the developers want the area to be safe and for player's first encounters to be positive. It's probably a no PVP area, now that Yunho thinks of it. It would make sense. He's not sure extracting himself from under the metal sheet now will leave such a positive memory, however, with how impossible it is to do that and keep his pride intact. But would being found like this really better ?

He doesn't have much time to think more about it, because suddenly the metal sheet above his head falls to the ground with a loud thunk, startling him and the two men in front of it. The one on the left is wearing dirty-white baggy clothes and worn-down pink protection gear, his eyes are squeezed tight and the way his arms are circling tightly around the man on the right show how startled he's just been. The other wears less ostentatious clothes, they're a boring deep blue but more fitting. His face is androgynous, and Yunho swears he's wearing make up, even if the long hair falling around his face prevent him from seeing it well enough.

There's a lull, where none of them say anything, all staring at each other like porcelain dogs. And then the man in blue shrugs the one in pink off his shoulders and crouches down to get to Yunho's level.

"Hello," he says. His voice is sweet. Yunho almost feels like a scared animal that's being talked to to be reassured. "You're new here, aren't you ?"

Behind him the other man scoffs. "Hyung, why are you asking obvious things ? Look at his clothes, he clearly just got the console !"

The older closes his eyes for a second, clearly trying to keep his calm. There's definitely eye-shadow on them. When he reopens them, it's to send an apologetic smile Yunho's way. Excuse him, it says.

"I am new here, yes." Yunho ends up saying.

The man in blue beams at him, like a proud mom watching her baby take their first steps, and the younger man leans down in curiosity. "Well, newbie, what's your name then ?" the latter asks.

[Your pseudonym cannot be changed once you've said it since it will be the way people will know you. You can however still lie about it to people who don't know you. Do not use your civil identity,] a pop-up window appearing suddenly in front of him reads. Behind it the two men are bantering again - "You can't ask it like that, Fixxn, we're supposed to introduce ourselves first !" "Who cares ! Why should politeness be following the same rules here anyway ?" - and it allows Yunho a bit of time to ponder.

"Spideyu._.u," he ends up saying. It's already his pseudonym for his regular FPS games, might as well carry on his legacy on this new console too. The man in pink protect wear - Fixxnn ? - looks at him with his chest bombed and the man in bloom beams at him even more.

"Well, Spideyu._.u, I'm NookDebt4Life, nice to meet you. And welcome to Bulnoliya !"

It takes Yunho approximately ten minutes into the game to realise it's not an FPS at all. He anticipated the more mmorpg style part of the game, since the console gloats on recreating entire world, but he didn't think the game was almost only built around it. Not only does the game valuate and reward mutual aid, but it also doesn't allow anyone to shoot other players. The closest they have, as NookDebt4Life tells him, is a snowball game during winter events.

And yet, Yunho finds himself logging in again the next day. And the next one. Sooner than he realizes, he's been playing everyday for a week. Fixxnn and NookDebt4Life throw him a small party to celebrate it and officially have him join their guild. According to them, if Yunho went this far there's no going back already. He's dubious but he doesn't mind entertaining them as he wonders over the way too realistic taste of cake in his meta-mouth.

"We need to prepare you for events now !" Fixxnn declares. And Yunho's far from against it. From what his new friends told him, events are the only time there's actual competition in the game. The mere prospect of competition has Yunho's blood rushing to his heart. There's a reason he likes FPS so much; he likes being the best at something and making others know.

He's about to nod, but Fixxnn is already too lost in his tirade about needing "to finally be able to fight Kitten" to care about Yunho's reaction. Yunho looks over at NookDebt4Life questioningly, and the latter shakes his head with a sigh.

"Kitten is…" a shiver visibly runs through the older man. "He's one of the few people under contract here. For a reason."

"He means he's fucking scary," Fixxnn whispers next to Yunho. If there's one thing that Yunho learned about Fixxnn in his single week of playing with him is that the man is easily frightened so he quickly dismiss the information.

"During events," NookDebt4Life starts again, not without glaring at Fixxnn, "Kitten is like… someone only the top ten people ranking in the event, across all servers, can fight. If you manage to win, you can earn a really big benefit for your guild. Mingi's wanted to face him for a while now."

Yunho nods and takes another spoon of cake. "What kind of benefits ?"

That gets NookDebt4Life's eyes shimmer instantly, and Yunho's subjected to a very detailed presentation of all the amelioration they plan to make for their guild, starting with fancy exclusive decorations. He's not sure he shares the hype over the benefits, but if that's something his friends would enjoy and he can gloat about something that basically means he's the best in the server, Yunho thinks he just found a goal to reach in this game. Maybe there's no going back for him after all.

Yunho's more rushed when he comes home lately. The prospect of playing, immersing himself in a world where he can fully take his mind of and meeting new friends is exciting. Enough for him to not be as vigilant as usual and forgo looking ahead of himself.

The crash this time is a lot softer, since it doesn't involve an enormous box that weights enough to smother a man. When Yunho looks to his side and falls face to face with the same neighbour, he wants to laugh at the irony of it. But before he could apologise properly, the smaller man has retrieved into his own flat again. Yunho distantly registers the "107" on the door as it closes behind his neighbour and goes back to his own 110 flat.

One day, when Fixxnn and NookDebt4Life aren't playing, Yunho meets Ruby's1stFan for the first time. He was just wandering around, trying to find a good place to practice his aim - Fixxnn had told him the next event's mini game was about throwing balls in a loop, and while Yunho's certain it's easy enough for a FPS player like him he's always eager to get better; to become the absolute best.

So he's there, between ruins, throwing bits of cray at a random wall, when this man peek his head from behind him and ask him "what are you doing ?" Yunho's a bit startled at first but the man seems friendly.

"I'm training," he answers, before adding on a whim, "I want to face Kitten. And beat him."

The man burst out laughing, his laugh a high and strident but somehow communicative thing. Yunho smiles as the man keeps laughing. He's not sure what's so funny but the man seems to have a lot of fun.

"Good luck," he says when he's done laughing, removing a small tear from his eye. "I'm sure Kitten would be delighted to see someone new, though ! Seeing NO1's old face everytime must be tiring." He stops for a few second before splitting into a grin. "Don't tell them I said that though, I don't want my ass to be whipped."

And just like that the man turns heels and is out of Yunho's vision field under a second.

When he retells the events at NookDebt4Life later on, his friend tells him that it was most likely NO1's closest man, Ruby's1stFan, and he shouldn't talk to him too much. The man apparently has a knack for being annoying.

Yunho's running late for work. He overslept, mainly because he spent too much time in Bulnoliya with Fixxnn running after squox - the game's squirrel foxes - for a reason that had seemed of utmost importance to them at the time but totally eludes him as he rushes through his morning routine. A surreptitious glance at the hour convinces him to skip breakfast. He can always snack on something at the stall near the shop during his 9am break.

He exits his flat a good ten minutes later than usual, step hasty and still closing his bag. Yunho starts work fairly early, and has to leave home even earlier; it's safe to say he usually doesn't meet anyone in the communal spaces of the building. And yet, as if those mere ten minutes were enough to awake someone, he falls on his neighbour in the lobby.

He instantly recognize 107's man, by his fluffy sweater. Yunho stays frozen for a second, not used to seeing someone here at this hour. The man is trying to reach for something in his letterbox, arm extended as much as possible.

It's the first time Yunho can take a second and look at him for real. His sweater hides it well at first glance, but the guy's shoulder are definitely broad, powerful in a subtle way. Yunho's pretty sure the guy's into working out. His face is facing the letterbox, giving Yunho a good view of his perfectly triangular nose. It's a cute nose.

He's about to try and count how much moles the man has when the latter turns and sees him. Instantly, the neighbour takes a step back, away for the letterboxes and further from Yunho. His cheeks takes a warmer tint. Yunho chalks it to the embarrassment; he would feel awkward too if one of his neighbour caught him rummaging into his letterbox.

Without really thinking, Yunho extends an arm toward the letterbox, left wide open. "Need help ?"

His neighbour shakes his head vehemently, closes the letterbox and barrels through the lobby, back towards the flats. Yunho's about to call to wish him a good day when he hears a beep. Fuck, 05:30. The Aerial bus. Work. He's late.

Yunho meets Ruby's1stFan for the second time roughly a week after they first met. The next event is around the corner, which means everyone's hyped up and playing more. Fixxnn and NookDebt4Life meet with old friends who don't play as much anymore, and Yunho's left to his own devices - they wouldn't mind him tagging along, but the rare times he did he felt like he was invading, with how much inside jokes they were doing that only made him feel out of the loop.

So he's wandering around, taking in the landscapes of one of his favorite part of the game. Players affectionately reference to it as "The Garden", because of the amount of vegetation there. Yunho really likes the border of it, the transition between sterile ruins to luxurious vegetation. He especially likes to come here and relax with friends. Talking for hours on end, losing track of time.

He's searching for the best spot to sit and enjoy the sunset when a loud voice startles him.

"Ah ! Kitten's new challenger !"

Yunho turns and sees a slightly familiar figure pummelling towards him. The man's clothes are even more outstanding than the other time, catching eyes even from afar. Eventually, the man plants himself in front of him, smile wide and full mischief with a loud 'Hi !'

Yunho blinks but answers, a bit dumbfounded. "Hi…"

"We didn't properly meet last time," the man continues without a regard to the slight awkwardness of the situation. He holds his hand out ostensibly. "I'm Foxy, nice to meet you !"

Yunho knows it's a lie. NookDebt4Life knows this player and told him about it. He wonders for a second, wether he should lie too. But in the end, he doesn't really find it in himself to care. "Spideyu._.u, nice to meet you."

The man's eyes glint with something akin to mirth. Yunho's not sure what's there to be so excited about introductions. Foxy - Yunho decides he might as well call him that, if that's what he wants to be called - props himself on a ruin, legs crossed, head on his joint hands, and starts what feels a lot like an interview :

"So, you want to face Kitten, right ? What else ? Tell me more about you !"

Yunho squints his eyes playfully and retorts : "Well, why would I tell you ? Shouldn't I get something out of it ?"

A bark of appreciative laughter crosses the meadow. "I like you !" Foxy states. "Alright, let's do this, you tell me about yourself and I tell you about Kitten. Good deal, right ? Know your enemy and all that jazz…"

Yunho's a bit dubious on how it could be useful but it's not like he expected to really get something out of the conversation so he'll take it. They spend over two hours talking, Yunho answering random questions about his favorite dish or his favorite squox, and Foxy telling him random things about Kitten that Yunho has no way to fact check.

When he leaves for work, Yunho catches himself lingering in front of the letterboxes. And maybe he's a bit more tight on time everytime, too. A mere coincidence, surely. He's not lonely enough to seek human interactions that bad.

The three of them are sat in NookDebt4Life's home - they took the habit to chill there together since it's the oldest of them puts a lot more care into his than Yunho and Fixxnn - when Yunho mention meeting Foxy again. His friends tense visibly. Fixxnn shrugs and stands up, suddenly telling them he forgot he had promised to help a friend. It's obviously a pretext but they let it slide. Yunho does raise an eyebrow in NookDebt4Life's direction but the older shakes his head; later.

The silence stays between them for almost a whole minute, before NookDebt4Life sighs audibly.

"I'm pretty sure he came to you and you just didn't told him off. Sorry, we just have… history with the guy."

Yunho hums in understanding but doesn't say anything.

Seonghwa sighs again and explains by himself soon enough anyway. "Foxy is… playing dirty. I'm not just saying this, by the way, we have good reasons to think that. He scooted players from our guilds for NO1's before. Each time by telling lies - we know because we've kept in touch with some. They didn't return with us despite the lies, for some reasons. That's even more infuriating, not gonna lie. Anyway, don't trust everything he says too easily, ok ?"

Yunho hums again, pensive. "We mainly talked about Kitten anyway, I don't know how that could make me change guilds…" he ends up saying.

NookDebt4Life looks at Yunho straight in the eyes at that, like he was surprised by it. "What ? Why haven't you just asked me ?"

Yunho shrugs. "I don't know, the man just appeared one day and proposed knowledge about Kitten, you never made it known that you had extensive knowledge about him other than basic game informations ?" He ponders for a second. "Could be nice to confirm with you what was real or not, however, because some of those facts were…" Yunho punctuates his sentence by a dubious grimace.

NookDebt4Life is eager to correct and share more things about Kitten, a lot more than Yunho would've thought. He also seems to know a bit too much about the man for it not to be a bit suspicious but Yunho decides to wait and see for now.

Between Foxy and NookDebt4Life Yunho gathered a lot of informations on Kitten, some unexpected, some really useless and some he doesn't know what to do with yet :

- Kitten used to be a player, just like them, one of the first ones even;
- Kitten signed his contract around six years ago now;
- Despite Yunho thinking Foxy was playing with him, Kitten can indeed be spotted outside of events, people just don't always make the link because they wouldn't expect it;
- Kitten has garnered a nickname for when he's spotted outside of events (but NookDebt4Life refuses to tell him, under the pretence it's nice to keep mystery around the game's urban legends);
- Kitten had (has?) an extensive group of familiars (Foxy said it was where his name came from, because at the time the game allowed people to put a name on their friends and the name that stuck sometimes were the nicknames other used for you, NookDebt4Life hadn't said anything anything to refute that nor infute it either - Kitten's original name seemed to be lost media either if that were to be true);
- Kitten likes strawberries (he has no idea how NookDebt4Life knows that, and even less why Foxy lied on that point by telling him Kitten was into grapes instead);

When at the end of the conversation Yunho asks his friend why Fixxnn had to leave if it was just guild squabbles, the older shrugs. "I'm not sure, he's jealous and possessive and doesn't like when people end up leaving him one way or another for sure, but I'm not sure if it's really because he likes you, because it made him think of MonsterOfCapitalism and Jutdwae again or if it's because of yet something else." At that NookDebt4Life lower his voice and confides, "I think there's something with NO1 himself but you didn't hear it from me."

Yunho is left with more answer on Kitten and more questions on Fixxnn.

Has fate would have it, Yunho doesn't do well enough in the event to meet Kitten. He does well, better than anyone else in his guild even. But for some reason NO1 beats him by a single point and the other server's first players too. It feels a bit too suspicious but Yunho just vows to do better next time. Fixxnn tells him the next event is nothing like this one, since it's done through a memory mini-game, but Yunho doesn't deter himself.

He's still grumbling, mulling over how and trying to find ways to train his memory for the upcoming event in a month when he meets someone strange. He's in one of the field of the guild, the one NookDebt4Life uses for cultivating the red root they use to tint fabric - Yunho never took the time to memorize the name of it, he doesn't really use it since he's not that interested in the customisation aspect of the game; that's partly why he's here actually, to try and remember what some of the items of the game he doesn't use look like. Their guild isn't big, despite them being the second most powerful one, and even if Yunho mainly plays with Fixxnn and NookDebt4Life he has met every one by now.

And yet, someone spawns in the middle of the guild restricted field. Yunho's pretty sure people can't spawn there, and that he never saw the man before. He's wearing black, his hair is slick and styled out of his forehead. His gaze is piercing and his eyebrows frown when he spots Yunho, making the latter feel a chill run down his spine. Yunho's not easily spooked - not to say never but he definitely doesn't remember the last time he felt the slightest bit afraid, and he plays a lot of horror games - but this man's gaze makes him uneasy. There's something in how the man stands straight, perfect posture making him look tall and imposing, that just awakes something in the pit of his stomach.

As if to add on the frightening look, a huge black feline the size of a man stands behind him, placid but watching over the scene attentively. Yunho's not really interested in familiars - pets that were partially connected to your character's emotions - apart from the idea of possessing the best one to help him be the best - or alternatively the rarest no one else got. So he only knows two types of familiars : the ones that could help him and the ones that are extremely rare that he can get. This one doesn't belong to either of those categories. And yet Yunho reminds it, because when he was looking up the rarest one it was sitting on the top of the list; with the ones from limited events. Yunho doesn't remind much about it. Just that he can never have it because it's never coming back. Which means he's facing an old player, with impressive aura and capacities that goes beyond a normal player.

The game has never been a scary one, Yunho even was afraid the lack of adrenaline would make it quit at first. And yet, right now, facing who can only be the man he wanted to meet the most just the previous day, he can't fight it. He has no idea what is going to happen to him, he feels like on the first day, adrenaline rushing through him as he wonders if he's gonna stay alive or not. Just because the man looked at him. Fixxnn's right, Kitten's fucking scary.

But Yunho doesn't even have the time to enjoy his adrenaline rush that the man just un-spawn. In the blink of an eye it's like nothing happened, no more huge familiar, no dark aura, no piercing eyes, nothing. If he was trusting himself less, Yunho could've thought his brain projected an image of who he spent so many time thinking about the last couple weeks. But no, he knows what he saw. Kitten was just here, in front of him, in NookDebt4Life's tint root field.

Yunho's not sure if he wants to forget and act as if meeting Kitten was just a fluke from the game or if he should indulge on his suspicions and ask NookDebt4Life. He's not given much choice anyway, since he has too much to do at the moment and can't play. His second machine of the day is on and he's cooking his dinner, head filled with memories from the previous day - how Kitten had looked, the way his eyebrows had frowned when their eyes met, the imposing feline behind him… - when he realises something. He's out of onions.

Yunho doesn't cook a lot, he likes to order and be lazy. But there's one dish he doesn't joke about, no matter what : abura soba. Abura soba are one of two things; either he eats them in his most trusted restaurant or he cooks them himself, from scratch. And in both cases, he had mastered the utmost flavourful way to eat them. With a shit ton of raw onions on top, that is.

But here he is, looking at his pantry, while his noodles are laying on the worktop, ready to be cooked and all the other toppings are prepped. And there's not a single onion in sight.

Yunho refuses to be defeated. He's not gonna pass on his precious onions like that. So, with a big sighs, he makes sure he's presentable and exits his flat.

Once in the corridor, he decides on a plan of action. There's no way none of his neighbours have onions, he smells the way the air is rich with spices and petri-meat aroma too often for that. Still, he needs to use his brain and find the fastest route to his onions; he's hungry and abura soba does not wait. Quickly, he makes a mental scan of the level. He knows there's a nice mom who cooks meals for her kids on the fourth floor, but it's only his last resort - if he can find onion on his floor first it would save him the trip there and, mainly, the scolding about eating better, cook more often, stopping relying so much on ordering in and how abura soba aren't that good for him and the cheek pinch that accompanied it.

The door closest to him won't do; it's a doctor who's never home. The door a bit further, on the right, won't do either; Yunho's met the tenant there too many time while retrieving the food he ordered himself to not know how often they order at the same places, they definitely don't cook. Then there's a couple empty flats near the building's entrance, people he doesn't know in a few others… If he makes a map of the potential doors that can lead to onions, the closest is the 107.

Yunho doesn't think more than that, and marches towards unit 107's door. He half expect to bump into its tenant on the way there, but when he turns left in the corridor leading to it there's no one. The corridor feels longer despite his long strides than when he sees his neighbour scurrying away and disappearing at the end of it in seconds.

He knocks. Noises are heard from the other side, like something - or someone - fell, a few back and forth and shuffling around that he has no idea how to interpret until, finally, the door opens. Not by much, just enough for a head to peek through it, eyes wide and curious.

"Yes ?" he asks in a whisper.

Yunho stays there, looking at these eyes that somehow reflects the lights in the corridor. He's not sure he ever saw slanted eyes that reflected lights that much before. Or maybe he never really took the time to look into other people's eyes.

The other man's cheeks are starting to take a warmer tint, and his eyes are getting wider, but more on the verge of weirded out now, so Yunho shakes himself out of it. He clears his throat, sports his most charming smile and asks in his most polite and gentle voice :

"Hello, I'm sorry to disturb you, I'm you're neighbour from unit 110, I was wondering if, by any chance, you would happen to have some onions you could lend me ?"

"Onions ?" The guy seems a bit surprised but not too hostile. He looks back inside his flat, then back at Yunho. He stands up a bit more straight, opens the door a tad bit more and nods. "Sure, just wait here."

And just like that, Yunho is left to his devices, staring at the left-ajar door while he hears his neighbour rummage through his kitchen. Curiosity gets the best of him and sooner than he'd admit it, he's peeking through the door to divert himself. The entrance of unit 107 is similar to his in layout, but his neighbour decorated it in such a different way that it takes him a few second to spot the familiarities.

As far as he knows, all the flats from the first floor are roughly the same, with an entrance similar to old-fashioned genkan he learnt about in school - he had an elective about Japan 1950s to 2050s History, as all self-respecting nerds did. Yunho just used it as such, leaving his shoes in a messy pile and had put a small cabinet to put his keys on when going home. Everything else, including after the small step, was bare.

His neighbour, however, had fully furnished it. The shoes where nowhere in sight, most probably tucked safely in the floor to ceiling furniture on the left. Near what Yunho presumed to be the shoes cabinet, a comfortable looking bench was inviting. Then, more furniture and more clutter - plushies here and there, for example - all along the space. The other side of the entrance was just as furnished, as if everything had been carefully crafted to fulfil a purpose, to make the most of the space.

In itself, the furniture gave a very different sense of the space. But that wasn't the most contrasting aspect of it. No, what was the most striking was the color. Whereas Yunho's entrance was bare and just white with a touch of black, his neighbour had painted his walls and furniture in different tints of purple. It wasn't overwhelming, just a touch here and there on each furniture, to contrast with the otherwise white paint. And across all of it, in little black spots, hand painted paw prints ran throughout the space. It was cute. Most of all, it was eye-catching.

His eyes are starting to drift from one plushie to another when his neighbour suddenly comes into view, a bag of onions in his arms. He sports a sheepish smile, as if unsure it would do.

"Here," he says, extending them to Yunho through the threshold. "I hope there's enough…"

Yunho takes them, and is instantly certain it will be more than enough. He's not sure how this guy was carrying so much onions like it weighted nothing just a second ago but he has to put them down for a minute.

"Thank you, you're a life saver ! I'm Yunho by the way, I don't think we ever properly met…" Yunho extends a hand, as if baring his identity in exchange for the onions.

His neighbour contemplates it for a moment, before reaching for it in return. "San," he says, shaking their hands. Yunho can feel there's an underlying force in this handshake. It makes him curious; he wants to know more about San. But he has the misfortune to smile wide and suddenly San is retreating in his flat, cheeks warmed up in pink hue and the door is closed on Yunho's nose.

Yunho shrugs, retrieves the bag of onions and goes back toward his flat. Mission success, he only needs to cut them and finish cooking his abura soba now.

The very second he logs into Bulnoliya, Yunho is surprised by Fixxnn hollering and hooting about something in an undecipherable way. He's in the guild's living room, as his last set spawn point, and the logging here can be a bit… lively there. This is a new record though.

Gathering his spirit, he looks around the room, searching for the reason of the noise. Fixxnn is raising his arms in the air near the door, as if acclaiming something. The more Yunho's adapting to the situation, the more his screams looks like barks. On the other side of the room, sat at the dining table, NookDebt4Life is trying to enjoy a beverage, but it's obvious the noise is wearing him down. Across from him, sits a girl Yunho saw a handful of times before. She's one of the more laid-back player of the guild, only logging in every now and then.

Eventually, NookDebt4Life's patience runs thin, and a loud screech resonates across the room. It's effective, as Fixxnn shuts up, but Yunho's ears are not sure it's much better. He winces a bit, and that, along with th silence now reigning, must be what makes his presence known to the others.

"Spideyu._.u, hey !" The girl next to NookDebt4Life says, making Yunho feel a bit guilty for not remembering her name. "Have you heard about the news yet ?"

"The news ? What news ?" He cocks his head to the side in interrogation.

NookDebt4Life opens his mouth to answer him, but Yunho is swept off his feet by Fixxnn excitedly shoving him to the side. "There's gonna be a new event !!" the latter tells him, voice still too loud. "Like, a really new one, in all sense of the term ! New form, new quest, new… everything !"

The excitation oozing from his friend is obvious, and that's nice to see. A little bit less to understand what is happening, though. So Yunho turns his head to NookDebt4Life, questioning him with a look.

The older man sighs, and call them both to sit around the table too. "Let me explain, we don't have all the details yet but it would be better to build a strategy as soon as we can anyway…"

The new, and next, event turns out to be a lot more different than the previous ones. The studio seems to be experimenting and pursuing a new way to connect players. Which means the best players don't meet Kitten anymore. No, instead Kitten is there from the beginning, and everyone can see him. The new event seems to be spooky vibes oriented, and Kitten allegedly will be there for all mini games, as a guide of sort (or maybe not exactly, this part isn't clear yet, the trailers weren't very explicit on his role yet, just that he'll be there throughout the event.)

Either way, it changes a lot of things for the guild. The system to count point could change, the rewards too. A patch note is to be issued during the next week, but for now they can only rely on supposition and theories.

They're in the middle of discussing it, Fixxnn being very hyped up by a few details of the trailers that lead him to think they're gonna be able to battle with Kitten, when a whiny 'Hyuuuuung' is heard through the guild's building. If Yunho didn't know better, he'd think it'd come from the field. But NookDebt4Life stands straighter on his sit, eyes shifting. Something of a roar is heard next, that has the older man stands up and excusing himself promptly before scurrying away.

Yunho eyes the other two quizzically, but the girl just shrugs. Fixxnn smirks, raises his eyebrows suggestively, but doesn't say anything about it either.

Ever since the onions, Yunho does his best to greet San. It's not exactly an easy task, however. Not only San doesn't seem to leave his flat around the same time Yunho does, but he's also very easily embarrassed. It doesn't take Yunho long before he realise a smile too wide, a gesture too wide or a gaze lingering a second too much makes his neighbour disappear in the safety of his flat, cheeks a tint pinker.

If anything, Yunho likes a challenge. And to make new friends. So instead of letting go, he doubles his efforts. He greets San loudly at first, in the most extrovert way he can. San, of course, shy away from it everytime. He's not being rude and bow his head in recognition everytime, but the speed he scutter away is unmistakable.

Until, one day, instead of running away to his flat as soon as Yunho smiles at him, he takes the time to retrieve his mail first.

He still disappears back into his flat as soon as his letters are safely tucked under his arm, but that's a first. And that means Yunho can step up in his plan on making friend with him.

Despite the proverb, curiosity doesn't kill Yunho, but it does make him find the cat. NookDebt4Life had been elusive lately, and Yunho missed the friendship he had built with him. He just wanted to spend some quality time with the older man, even ready to lean into some of the gameplay features he likes less of Bulnoliya for that.

That's how Yunho finds himself back into the tint-roots field of the guild. Except, near the hedge at the back, between the blue-leafed section of it, a small garden cabin now stands. It blends into the landscapes quite well, especially considering how it had been dyed the color of the guild. Had Yunho not been as acquainted with the fields from all the time he went there in search for NookDebt4Life, he would have overlooked it.

But as it is, it's something new, on his guild's ground, and Yunho's curious.

He figures NookDebt4Life might have a reason for not disclosing it, might even have wanted to make it a place of his own… But if it was the case he shouldn't have made it in a guild's communal place. So Yunho feels entitled enough to act on his curiosity and enter the cabin.

Inside feels bigger than the outside let on, which means NookDebt4Life probably used a lot of rare components while building - he was however certain that the guild had run out of enlargement shards and hadn't find any in the last month. The interior was also nicely furnished and decorated, a bit scarce compared to the degree their guild used to go to but still a lot more than you'd expect for a garden cabin in the middle of a field.

And, most importantly, in the middle of it, back turned to the door, a man was laying his head on a table, playing with a vaguely cat-looking familiar Yunho had never seen. The black clothes, imposing shoulders and dark aura emitting from the person didn't leave room for much hesitation. Kitten.

Yunho shivered. Kitten was there. Again. Not only in their field, but in the cabin NookDebt4Life had built.

Behind Yunho, the door closes with a small noise, making the other man straights his back a little.

"Hyung, you won't believe it, they're asking me to reco—" the man starts while he starts turning around, before stopping in his track when his eyes fall on Yunho. He squints immediately. The stare is hard, inquisitive, made to make people squirm. Very effective too.

Yunho is frozen in place. He doesn't really know what he could do anyway, but Kitten is looking at him like he could swipe his account from existence just because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and Yunho certainly does not wish for that.

Kitten rises, seems to ponder for a bit, his brows furrowed and his mouth tight. The familiar on the table hop on the floor and follow him. Yunho absentmindedly notes it stands on two feet and not four. And when Yunho thinks he will get scolded or obliterated back into the Aurora's lobby, Kitten sighs, mumbles something against someone and sits back on his chair, half facing Yunho this time.

"Come sit," he says, voice cold and snapping, not leaving room for argument.

Yunho isn't sure he ever complied as fast before. It makes him realise how much he came to enjoy and cherish the game and everything he has in it. When he started playing, he didn't care about dying and beginning a new game in the slightest. Now, however, the mere thought of losing NookDebt4Life, Fixxnn and the time they share in game is crushing him. He might have felt more alone than he thought, ever since he's left his parents home.

Kitten doesn't say anything at first. He just watches Yunho with intent. When he finally opens his mouth, it's to ask a question : "You know who I am, don't you ?"

Yunho nods, a bit wary still.

It makes Kitten snicker. "What, gave your tongue to the cat ? "

"Ah, no, sorry, I, uh," Yunho stammers before pulling himself together. "Yes, I know who you are. Kitten-nim."

Kitten sighs again. His expression is conflicted. Yunho's not sure it's a good sign, but it's not exactly a bad one for him either as far as he can tell.

"Ok," the man eventually lets out, "I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm not exactly supposed to be there."

That much Yunho could have guessed. He'd even guess Kitten and NookDebt4Life know each other, and quite well at that. Probably from when Kitten was still a regular player. He just nods in understanding to show Kitten he's following.

"If it were to be known," Kitten continues, "I— we could be in trouble. Me first, but I'd only get a scolding. Probably. You, on the other hand… they'd want to keep you from spreading rumours. Woo— Foxy's spreading enough as it is, but they think they can control him for some reason. I don't think they'd let another liability be as… free, if you catch my drift…"

"They'd delete my account…"

"Or make you sign an NDA, but it's not exactly better and would put a lot of restrictions on your account…"

Yunho sighs. "So it never happened ?"

Kitten smiles, but his face is such that it doesn't feel much like a smile. "Exactly. We never met."

Yunho ponders. Kitten seems really intent on keeping it all a secret. Maybe he can get something out of it too. He extends his hand. "Ok, if we have a conversation first, I'm up to make it a deal." He knows he's playing the bull by the horns, but he always had a thing for adrenaline. And he likes to believe he's good at judging people's character. Kitten seems to be all bark no bite.

And indeed, Kitten just shrugs and shakes his hand. "Deal. Can't reveal just anything to you, but I'm sure you're smart enough to realise that."

Of course. It makes sense. Yunho still wants to push his luck a bit and ask about the upcoming event, but he figures he'll have to play it smart. So he starts with the second subject he wants to hear the most about.

"It's not the first time I see you here. And you were gonna say something when I first entered here." It's not a question as much as it is a statement, leaving the actual question aside but still obvious.

In front of him Kitten shrugs and give him a small nod, unbothered.

"You're here to complain about something, right ?"

"Yeah. Ah, it's not like it's something you don't know, unless you don't follow the game's updates but… the new event is something so different, and… I just need a friendly ear."

Yunho can understand that. But he's greedy - and a bit frustrated to know NookDebt4Life never used his leverage on Kitten to garner more informations for the guild. He raises an eyebrow, and jumps on the occasion : "Any friendly ear ? I could be one if you want to !"

Kitten eyes widen in surprise, then shimmer in amusement. "I doubt you'd be very thrilled to ear me complain about filming cutscenes and what is or isn't in my contract. Besides, it's a bit presumptuous to think you could fill in for a friend I've known for years. I come to see him for a reason."

Yunho's not sure what information to latch on. Ultimately, he files the fact that NookDebt4Life has known Kitten for years now (and that they discuss his contract, what the hell) for later. "Cutscenes ? I thought the event was about more player being able to meet you ?"

Kitten sighs. "Yes and no. I can be at several place at the same time but I'm still human, I can't hold several conversation at once. I thought the trailer had been clear enough on that point ?"

Yunho smiles sheepishly. "I haven't seen it yet, I've only relied on what Fixxnn and NookDebt4Life told me…"

"Ah… Makes sense then. Especially with the excitement…" Kitten doesn't elaborate more but Yunho is certain he meant Fixxnn - not that NookDebt4Life never gets excited, but it's never to the same extent.

"It's a bit disappointing, I thought I would get to meet you at the event. Well, I guess it's nice that we met here and now then."

The look on Kitten's face is puzzled.

Yunho doesn't think he's gonna get more intel than that on the event, it's actually already nice to have a peek at how things are done behind the scenes. He doesn't want the conversation to end though. "Foxy told me you were a regular player before. Is that how you met NookDebt4Life ?"

"You met Foxy ? Ah, you must be the newbie who thought he could win an event on the first try !" Kitten doesn't seem to be implying anything, he seems very earnest actually, but Yunho's not sure he likes what Foxy had seemed to imply when he told the story. Then Kitten seems to catch up on what Yunho said. "Wait, I never said who I was coming to see !"

Yunho levels him with an unimpressed stare. The more he talks with Kitten the more he realise that his scary facade is just that; a facade. "No one else really dyes stuff. Even among the few other players in the guild that are into decoration."

It's all the explanation Kitten needs, really, but what Yunho doesn't expect is for him to say, "still ? I would've thought he'd find more people decoration and style oriented for his guild by now…"

Something clicks at that. "Wait, were you in this guild before ? Are you still ? Is that why you can come here ?"

Kitten shakes his head. "No, I was in the rival guild. I can just go anywhere now. I still go to see NO1 too, but sometimes I need someone who's not too busy to listen to me." The small laugh that comes after it is a bit questioning, like Kitten's not sure Yunho gets the joke. He's right, Yunho doesn't. But he smiles at it nonetheless.

Yunho's searching for something to ask that could potentially give him intel on NO1's guild's strategy for the upcoming event when the familiar, that had been sleeping under Kitten's chair the whole time, suddenly appear in their field of vision. It hops up and down a few times, before reaching to grab at Kitten's pants. The latter rises to take the familiar in his arms. He then turns to Yunho.

"Sorry, it seems I lost track of time, I have to go. It was nice to meeting you, I don't meet new people as often nowadays."

Kitten bows and under a second, just like that, he's gone.

The next time he sees San, Yunho doesn't greet him in the obnoxious way he had made usual. Instead, he just says hello softly to him, with a gentle smile. And San smiles in return, greets him in return. And stays where he is reading the new notice on the lobby's board. So Yunho pushes his luck, just so.

"What does it says ?"

"Piping renovation. We won't have water for ten minutes tomorrow, just the time for the robots to do their work." San answers easily, still more focused on the words than on what is happening.

"What hour ?"

"Hmmm…" San squints a bit, raises his hand to find the information with his finger. "Noon. Well, 12:10 to be precise."

"Hm. I'll still be at work, then."

"Makes sense."

Yunho lingers a bit after that, even if the discussion seems over. Eventually, San turns over, probably to go back to his flat. He clearly didn't expect Yunho to still be there, if the way he almost bumps into him is any indication. His face takes that delightful warmth again when he realises it.

"It seems we bump into each other a lot…" Yunho jokes, pun fully intended, unable to hold the smirk spreading over his face.

San flushes even more. His eyes shift to the side, shy. He opens his mouth and tries a sentence, but ultimately he's too embarrassed to say anything. Yunho decides to let it slide and free him for now.

"See you around San !" he throws as he steps aside, letting his neighbour bow and scurry away. "Until the next time we bump into each other !"

The next time they bump into each other is totally by surprise. Not that it hadn't been so far, but the circumstances were still similar. But this time, it's different. Yunho's busy taking components from the box on the highest shelf when the door signals him someone entered the shop. He curses under his breath. Of course the boss had to put the most used components on the less convenient spot and of course a client had to come up while he was busy rummaging the box blindly.

He turns to greet the client, hand still in the box searching for the right size and material he needs to fix the outdate tablet he was currently working on - seriously, who even still uses Apple products in this day and ages, the brand had been discontinued for almost fifteen years now. Where his error comes from precisely is hard to tell; is it keeping his hand there and trapping it between the box and the top of the shelf as he turns, is it turning too quick to try and be a good employee, is it the way his foot slides slightly where it's resting on one of the bottom shelves…? Either way, he falls all the same.

There's a squeak, as the client tries to rush and help him, but his fall is just too big and they both end up on the floor. The box's content spilled all over them, rolling on the floor, surely hiding in every spots available in the store. Great. More work.

"Yunho ?" The voice is familiar, but not too much. He turns his head toward the man he's definitely crushing on the floor under his body.

"San !" He stands up quickly. Once up, he extends a hand toward his neighbour to help him. "I'm so sorry, are you alright ? Be careful, those pieces are rounder than they look, you could slip on them and fall…"

San gets up and nod, watching the floor with caution. He doesn't move his feet one bit. Yunho smiles, tells him to wait for a bit, and goes to retrieve a cleaning device. He puts it down, sets it on 'sorting', so the dust and the components aren't mixed. His eyes catch a bigger, shinier ball on the floor and he goes to take it and put it on the table before the device starts. At least, he won't have to search for the piece he needs again today.

San looks at the device doing its job, and only once a small corridor of safe floor has been cleaned out does he goes to join Yunho near his desk, like the taller had signalled him to. He hovers hesitantly, eyes sweeping over the counter.

Yunho smiles, not the customer service smile he's trying to perfect, the more genuine one he can't really help to sport when he genuinely wants someone to like him. "How can I help you ?" His question is simple. He wants to ask for more, to tease and be all fancy seeing you here, grin wide and obnoxious… But he knows San, his skittish ways at the very least. San is here for a reason, as a customer, and he doesn't want to scare him away. He wants San to complete his errand and to feel safe. For him to come back to the shop too, if he allows himself to wish for a little bit more, even if it would mean San would have a hard time with one of his electronic devices for that.

"I'm searching for a XTR cable, 1.5mm diameter, with a USB tip."

That makes Yunho pause for a second. That's an awfully precise demand. The type he'd order for his own reparations. No one uses USB anymore, unless their device was at least a decade and a half old. Especially for inside components. Might be a hybrid situation.

"What for ?" He can't help but ask, words sleeping out of him before he can reign them in. San frowns, hesitates, and Yunho backpedal despite his curiosity. "Ah, sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to ! I'll check if we have some, and if we don't I can always order it for you, don't worry ! I use it sometimes for some repair, and—" He's ranting, he has to stop. "Anyway, let me check."

They do have one in stock, but the inventory page only show a (1) and Yunho knows his own tendencies not to keep it up to date. He really hopes he didn't use the last one and forgot to mark it down so they could command more - he often wonders why his boss doesn't get an automatised storage, not only would they never run out of anything but it would be a gain of time too.

San is still hovering, hesitant and shy, clearly not knowing what to do with himself. It's cute. Yunho smiles his way. "I'm gonna look in the storage in the back, it should be quick." He's not sure why he says the last part, like he doesn't want San to leave the store. No one ever complained over him taking too long in the backroom storage before. But he's not just tending to a client right now. He's in a battle with San, to overcome the challenge he is and become his friend. That's probably why he wants to reassure San, even when it's not necessary.

The cleaning device is done and back under the desk; Yunho grabs it in passing, he needs to take it in the backroom too. The emptied box stays on the floor though, it's too far and not in the way. San watches him with curious eyes.

The cables are, for some reason, the most organised type of components they have, so Yunho knows exactly where to look and has his answer quickly. There is one left indeed. He ponders for a second. Should he sell it to San ? Or should he lie and tell San to come back the next day, just to have an excuse to see him again ? It's a bit low, maybe, and probably not the best way to start a relationship but Yunho's not above acting like that. End justifies means or whatever. But then he thinks about San, who always run back to his flat, whose fist is always closed as if he needs it for comfort, who just seems so out of place in the shop. Surely there's other ways to meet this end.

So Yunho takes the cable and goes back to the store. San is still there, still looking like he doesn't quite know what to do and how to act. "Here !" Yunho announces triumphantly, brandishing the cable above his head. And as if there was magic inside that mix of plastic and metal, San visibly relaxes. It's just his shoulder dropping for a few millimetres, but still.

Yunho takes his place behind the desk again, types things away and busies himself with clicking on random things on the screen. "Do you often need specific components like that ?" he asks, conversationally, focus on anywhere but San to try and appear nonchalant.

"Oh, hum. Not often but… regularly I'd say ?"

It's more than most people and exactly the answer Yunho wanted. He keeps the corner of his lips in check, he'll grin victoriously later, when his plan would have successfully ended and San would be on his way home. "Ah, well, feel free to come here. We have a bit of everything, and what we don't have we can just order more easily since it's a professional account, you know." He's almost dismissive, as if he was just doing his job. And San bite the bait.

"Oh, hum, I usually just order online when I can, I don't really…"

Yunho perks up. "Ah, well. You can also just knock on my door if you want. I'll order it for you from here and advance the money. It's not like we don't know where the other lives, eh." He tries his best to keep his smile down. It's not enough to keep the red away from San's cheeks, but this time he doesn't have anywhere to run into safety. Yunho holds his precious cable hostage.

San shifts on his feet. He wriggles his hand a little. "You would ?" he ends up asking in a small, hesitant voice. Like he didn't believe it. Like he really wanted it to be true but knew people usually didn't propose something like that.

"Yeah, of course ! Neighbours should help each other, shouldn't they ?" He would have preferred a 'we're friends, aren't we ?' but he knows it's too soon. They're not. Not yet.

San nods slowly. "Yeah, I-," he takes a breath, "I'd like that."

Yunho smiles, like it was easy and he didn't just offer a service that could cost him his job if his boss were to realise he was doing something behind their back. Nothing illegal, but still enough to break trust.

"Let's do that, then ! For now, I just need you to pay." He gestures towards the pod. San taps it with his electronic bracelet. Yunho hands him the cable and just like that, San is gone.

Yunho stares at the door for a few seconds after it closes behind San. The shop is empty again, just him and his current project. And the empty box he has to fill up again and put back in place.

Kitten keeps coming to see NookDebt4Life, and Yunho keeps crashing into him while searching for his friend. The older player never was one to play at regular hours so neither of them resent him for it. Instead they exchange a few words each time it happens, keeping amicable relationship.

One day, Yunho arrives to the cabin first. He's bored, lonely and he knows Fixxnn will only log on in around an hour and a half. He doesn't want to log out and back in, there's not much to do in his flat and he already planned his evening to be spent on Bulnoliya. He had a tiring day at work - a regular client he didn't like brought them a decoder, that should be brought to a museum with antiquities but no, they had to fix it with recent components somehow, as if it still was of use in this day and age.

He paces around a bit, searching for something to do. To keep himself occupied. He thinks about harvesting a few dye root for his friend, even though he has no idea what his current project is and what he needs for it. He's about to pluck a random one when he catches something on the ground. A paw print.

It makes him think. Kitten is always accompanied by a familiar, always a different one, a feline one more often than not but not necessarily. Yunho didn't have a familiar himself but he knew their features a bit still. If Kitten was to come with one each time, wouldn't it be worth it to have something for them to play ?

He's assembling the last few planks of the design when Kitten spawns in the middle of the cabin. Yunho barely startles, used to the change in atmosphere and always prepared for it to happen any time he hanged by the cabin by this point, and give his furniture the last touches for a slightly more polished look. He knows it can't be wonky because of the game's help, but he still gives it a small shake, nodding when he finds it sturdy enough for his taste.

Behind him, Kitten seems to try to peek at what he's doing in a tentatively discreet manner. When Yunho finally shifts a bit to let him see, he gawks.

"No way !? Is this what I think it is ?" His voice is higher than usual.

Yunho looks over at him, sheepish. "Ah, I thought… You know, since you like familiars and there's always one with you…"

The smile on Kitten's face is blinding. Like a ray of sunshine so strong it pierces the veil of dark clouds. It's disconcerting. So unusual and breaking with his usual image and the dark aura emanating from him. But so so genuine. Yunho feels like he could get dizzy with such raw genuineness.

"That's so thoughtful. Thanks. Really." If Yunho didn't know better, or if Kitten had been facing him, he could've sworn he saw hints of tears in the corner of Kitten's eyes. But the man was looking straight in front of him, at the newly built furniture and it had to be a light effect.

As if on cue, a small rodent sized, feline looking familiar emerges from Kitten's outfit to post itself on his shoulder. It detects the new furniture and, with a joyful squeak, jumps on it. After a few back and forth of exploration, it settles on it and decides to take a nap. Yunho knows it's also a game platform for them, but for now he still feels proud. A win is a win.

"It's beautiful," Kitten whispers behind him.

"Eh, it's still rough looking," Yunho downplays. "I'm sure NookDebt4Life would've make it look pretty but…"

Kitten shakes his head. "No no no, the intention itself is what makes it beautiful. And my familiar liking it only heightens the feeling."

That's really sappy. Yunho doesn't really think like that by himself, but he can get behind it. Probably. There's something beautiful in finding Kitten, whose most recent event trailer have all the players shaking in their boots, is so tender hearted too.

"Besides," Kitten continues, "we can always take care of the paint later. I'm sure Hyung will let us use a few of his crops to make some dye and paint out of and use it for that."

"Deal !" Yunho says without thinking. "Let's do that, next time we paint it." It's binding. It's not exactly who they are to each other. But Yunho doesn't really wants to take it back.

Kitten just nods, smile still as wide. And just like that their next meeting is set, planned almost.

NookDebt4Life arrives at that moment, notifying him Fixxnn is looking for him. Yunho bids them goodbye and leaves. On his way out, he turns back one last time and sees Kitten, hunched over his sleeping familiar with adoration in his eyes. It feels nice to do a nice thing.

Yunho is going home late because of a last minute errand his boss asked him to do when he spots someone pacing in front of his door. As he closes in on them, he recognizes San, who stops and raises his hand as if to knock before shaking his head and starting pacing again. He does that a couple times as Yunho progresses down the corridor. Even when he finally reach the last ten feet before his door, his neighbour doesn't seem to notice him.

"Do you need something ?"

San startles at Yunho's question, comically so. His eyes are wide and his shoulders are tense, up by his face. Even one of his leg is up in the air from how he almost jumped in the direction of the door. As recognition downs in his eyes, he relaxes a little.

"Yunho, hey," he breathes out.

Yunho smiles. "Hey San ! So, any reason you're pacing in front of my door ?"

San rocks back and forth, clearly weighting pros and cons, hesitating. "It's a bit dumb," he starts gently, "but, hm, I, uh… You said we - well, you said neighbours - should help each other and I thought, maybe…"

Yunho hums in what he hopes is a comforting way to try to have San relax furthermore and speed up the process a bit because that's a lot of ranting and beating around the bush. He's pretty sure he'll be fine with the service San is asking of him, but he still needs to hear it first.

"Could I stay in your flat for a couple hours ?" San finally blurts out.

"Uh ?" Yunho would like to have a better response but he definitely did not expect that. He's not against it on principle, on the contrary he'd like spending time with San and getting to know him, but the reason for such a demand eludes him. "Sure," he ends up saying, still a bit dumbfounded. He goes toward the door to open it. "Like, right now, or ?"

San wriggles his hands together and nods sheepishly. "I, yeah, please ? I'll make myself small, don't worry, it's just that I locked myself out by mistake and…"

"Oh, okay, yeah sure, no problem." It's a bit laughable but San seems so distraught already that Yunho doesn't find it in himself to laugh just yet. He opens the door and gestures for San to enter. "You don't have to make yourself small though, I'd rather you make yourself at home."

San enters first and hovers in the entryway while Yunho closes the door behind them. Yunho removes his shoes and leaves them there, going straight for the main room. San copies him silently and follows him like a shadow. As Yunho puts his stuff away, San just stays put in the middle of the room.

"You want something to drink ?" The question startles San again, even if way less. He hesitates again but ends up refusing. Yunho shrugs and goes to get himself a glass of water.

When Yunho comes back from the kitchen, San is still standing standoffishly in the middle of the room.

"So, how did you manage to lock yourself out ?" he asks to make conversation, while showing San the couch to indicate he can sit there.

San scratches the back of his head, reluctantly sitting on the couch. "My last project ended up a bit… ambitious," he answers without giving more details.

Hm, this won't do. Yunho needs something to bring the tension down. Maybe he needs to bring San's walls down first before trying to start a conversation, or have something to act as a buffer between them. He looks at the wall in front of the couch, the embed holographic device in it suddenly coming in mind.

"Wanna watch a movie ?"

This proves to be effective. San accepts, and as they scour the catalog, he slowly becomes more vocal about his tastes. Yunho proposes a horror movie at some point, which has his neighbour recoil and almost beg him to chose anything but that. On the other end, when he quickly passes over a romcom, the shorter man tenses a bit. Yunho goes back on it, pondering out loud about it, and San opens up and suddenly Yunho has a chattering enthusiast on his couch. They end up watching the (quite old school) romcom.

San receives a ping on his watch not too long after they finish it. Yunho was listening to him gushing about all the romanticism hidden in the small parts of the movie, not really getting it but enjoying to see his neighbour so passionate about something. Nothing seemed to be able to pull San out of his explanations. But the ping had him look over at his watch and under a second his face was closing a little again and he was standing up, telling Yunho he had to go now.

Yunho accompanies San to the door, wishing him good luck for his own door's reparation. And, in a wishfully optimistic way, he bids San goodbye with a "I had fun ! Come by anytime, if you want to watch a movie again !"

Kitten appears to be a passionate and opinionated painter. He has a clear vision of what he wants the furniture for his familiar to look like and makes it known. Yunho follows indications blindly, painting messily with the game's support, and find he doesn't dislike it as much as he thought he would.

Once the first one is done, they stand proudly in front of it. Yunho likes the sensation of something being finished, something well done you can look at with a bubbling feeling in your heart. Doing something for someone, seeing the mirth in their eyes when they see the result has always been a huge dopamine kick. It's something he really likes in his work, when the job is done and then when the clients come to see his work. Now, at he looks at the freshly painted furniture, he realise sharing this process with someone has yet another taste to it, a really sweet one. It makes him want to do more.

So he asks Kitten if there's anything else the familiars could like. It lands right because Kitten starts to rant about all the buildable furniture familiar for a good hour. They settle on a plan to refurnish the cabin entirely with familiars in mind.

The next weeks are spent making this plan into action. When NookDebt4Life enters the cabin to see them jokingly fight on a color choice for the accent of something that looks a lot like a hammock, he decides to close the door and only come back later.

They don't advance on the refurnishing everytime, sometimes Kitten spawns with a long face and they just wait in companionable silence or exchange a bit of small talk until their older friend logs in.

At some point, Yunho realises a shift happened. Kitten doesn't only come to see NookDebt4Life anymore, but to see him too.

The next time Yunho crosses path with San in the lobby, he references the movie they saw together and renews his invite. San shyly accepts to come the next day. From then on they start a routine of watching something every other Friday in the late afternoon after Yunho comes home from work.

Sometimes they watch recent releases, making the most of Yunho's high end projector's spatial effects, and sometimes they watch older movies. San really likes romcom, but he's also able to see and gush about romanticism in about any genre. Horror films are, however, always a big no, to Yunho's dismay. Part of him really wants to see San's reaction to one, to see how he is when he's scared. He knows it would be cruel and doesn't press further than the occasional testing the water.

Those times are always nice and they learn how to act around each other as something more than sympathetic neighbours. San becomes more relaxed around Yunho, and they even start conversations in the lobby or in the corridor when they meet there. He still flushes at some instances, but he doesn't shy away from Yunho anymore.

Anyone would say they're friends now, even if it's still a bit tentative around the edges, but Yunho doesn't feel like he reached his goal. Something feels lacking, like he's missing a piece of his own plan.

As the event comes closer and closer, Kitten becomes chattier too. Yunho now knows a lot more about all the things that bothers and stresses him about this event, how the event in itself was really close to a breach of contract from the company's end and how it had Kitten reconsider his contract and position in the game.

But he also learns a lot more about Kitten, the gamer, the person behind the character. How he started to play because he was sick and needed an escape from his daily life, how the game had been everything he had for the longest time, how the friends he met there were important to him.

NookDebt4Life opens up a bit more about Kitten too, seeing how they're becoming close. Yunho learns from him how Kitten gained his contract in the first place (he had a reputation to be scary and the company, which was trying to reinforce roleplay acts at the time, thought it would be a good thing to play on it - according to NookDebt4Life Kitten wasn't ever scary, he just had the habit to frown badly when he was tired and didn't know people, which happened a lot.). Kitten confirms later on, and even admits that the company has added an effect on him so he'd look even more impressive at all time.

One time, Yunho meets Foxy again and learns how Kitten had been talking about making a new friend. Foxy then proceeds to tease him, before thanking him with a genuineness that makes Yunho a bit uneasy.

The first squeal is distant and isolated enough for Yunho to dismiss it. His windows are open for once, because his mom pestered him about it the last time she came to see him over the weekend and he suspects she wants to come soon. So any way to make his flat look a little bit less like a man cave is good. Open windows come with hearing strange noises and not being able to make sense of them, he knows that, so he's not really surprised nor concerned .

Except there's another squeal sounding a dozen minute later that makes Yunho stops in his tracks. The voice feels familiar. But it couldn't be, could it ? A loud laugh follows, and he's sure this one he doesn't know so he moves on. He has a meal to prepare after all - he's not even cooking for himself tonight, he wanted to impress San by making homemade snacks for their next movie afternoon the next day and had to make it now because he was supposed to meet Kitten in game tonight.

So he focuses back on cutting the crackers. Until he hears a "Ah, seriously, stop it !" and there's no doubt left. This is San's voice. A laugh follows, the same as previously. It's a very genuine laugh, even if a bit shrilling.

Yunho should leave it. He has crackers to put in the oven, a pop cereal mix to put in the air fryer and season and frozen dry milk in his fridge to blend for the drinks. Whoever San has over is none of his business, it's surely just a friend and they're clearly having fun, aren't they ?

Except San doesn't have friends, as far as Yunho knows, and the laughs he's hard never were his. Albeit, San's laugh is more subdued and probably just doesn't carry all the way to his window but… A wave of 'what ifs' swarm him. This could be someone mean having fun at San's expenses. San could think of them as a true friend because he didn't have any to really compare. Or maybe San was bad at imposing his limits, despite just having stating them clearly. But what if it was someone there to harm San ?

The next noise is more of a surprised scream from San, and Yunho cannot take it anymore. He abandons his knife and crackers and goes to knock on San's door without even changing himself.

The door open to a man two head shorter than Yunho himself, with a crooked nose and hair stylishly arrange to fall from where they're attached in thin strands in front of his asymmetrical eyes. Very much not San. The man eyes Yunho up and down, judgmentally, making the latter squirms a bit.

"San-a, did you call a chief to make your lunch or something ?" the man finally half-yell to the flat, teasing obvious in his voice.

Yunho flushes and is about to explain himself when San's head peeks into the genkan.

"Yunho ?" San's voice is soft and surprised, as if he wasn't sure of what he was seeing. The effect of him uttering those words is immediate though : the stranger's eyes are suddenly glimmering, smile widening with mischief,, San catches on the reaction and blushes furiously and Yunho raises a hand with a small hesitant "Hi ?".

Yunho isn't sure exactly what happens next, but in a flurry of coaxing, bickering, teasing, San being embarrassed but retaliating and him realising the two are indeed very well acquainted, he finds himself on a plush couch in the middle of San's living room.

He'd like to take the time to observe the room and to soak up the atmosphere of it, to catch all the small details and learn more about San through them. But he's not given such an opportunity because as soon as he's sat, the stranger sits in front of him on a beanbag.

"Wooyoung," the man says, putting his hand assertively in Yunho's face.

Yunho takes the hand and shakes it, "Yunho."

Wooyoung grins. "I know !"

And Wooyoung starts to ask question in a rapid fire style. Yunho doesn't think he had as much a hard time to answer before, even for his job interview. On the side, San drags another beanbag and puts it next to Wooyoung's before sitting down too. He sags down on Wooyoung's shoulder, taking his arm to cuddle it while weakly protesting - why are you giving him such a hard time, young-a, let the boy breathe - and Yunho is stricken by something.

San never touched him.

The man in front of him who is indubitably clingy, cuddly and touchy, never acted even a tenth like this with him. And maybe it's because Yunho himself was so wary of giving him space and respecting his rhythm, because Yunho himself never acted on his own touch starved cuddly self with San. But maybe it's because San doesn't feel at ease enough with him. Doesn't consider him his friend.

Or maybe Wooyoung isn't exactly his friend.

It doesn't quite make sense, because Yunho wants to think San would have told him if he was dating someone, but nothing assure him of it. San had still moments where he was really shy with him, suddenly becoming quiet, even in the middle of a sentence sometimes. What if Yunho had misread everything they had so far and San only saw him as a nice neighbour that could never be his friend ?

Something in that stung. Above the challenge lover and above the bad loser one. He really liked what they had with San - what he thought they had ?

Something must have bled on his face, because suddenly San's face is in front of his, frowning in mild worry. San, who apparently does know how and when to put his foot down, stands and announces he's gonna walk Yunho home without leaving place for argument. Wooyoung shrugs and lets them go, even though he does snicker a bit about how it could be walking someone home if said someone lives in the same building.

They stop in front of Yunho's door. San is the first one to talk. "Sorry about Wooyoung, he can be a bit overbearing. It's not against you, I swear, it's just… He's been my only friend for so long, and he takes his best friend role at heart. I don't have a— new friend that often and he can be a bit overprotective. Sorry."

San's smile is apologetic but Yunho couldn't care less about all he just said. Only one word is important to him. Friend. It loops around in his mind, even after he assured San it was okay and bid him goodbye. Friend. Only friend, best friend, new friend.

What he's not sure about, however, is which one is the most important. And what it could mean.

"I have a neighbour," Kitten says from where he's perched on a window, surrounded by vines. They're at the Garden for once, instead of staying hidden in the guild's ground. Kitten had told him a few days ago how the contract, despite its promise not to, had ended up tainting his relationship with the game, preventing him from playing the way he used to because. The event is only a day away, Kitten being seen around would only bring more hype so they took the opportunity to do something different today.

Yunho's not sure how to answer that. 'Yes me too' ? He just hums, waiting for what's going to follow. He's too focused on climbing his way to another window anyway, the rubble behind the wall not being the sturdiest.

"He's really handsome."

Yunho's foot slips out of surprise. He wasn't expecting that. "Uh ?" he answers intelligently.

"Yeah, he's like… wow ! So handsome." Yunho's almost on top of the rubble hill now. "You'd get it if you saw him, I swear it's one of the most beautiful faces I've ever seen in my life."

Yunho puts a leg on the other side of the window he chose and wonders if Kitten's neighbour could beat San, in the beauty department. He doubts it. San's got the kind of face you can't find any flaw on, for some reason. The kind of face the longer you look at it the better it becomes. It's funny, he thinks, how he also has a handsome man for neighbour.

"And the best part," Kitten continues, "is that he's really nice too. So kind, so… dependable."

Hm. San's like that too. Kitten wouldn't happen to have San for neighbour too, would he ? Yunho dismisses the thought quickly, San doesn't have a lot of friends, and Wooyoung would have said something about the second neighbour if there was one. Or maybe Wooyoung could keep his tongue from running better than Yunho had made it out to be from their encounter, but he's not really believing that.

"Sounds like a crush," he teases Kitten without really thinking about it.

"Well, yeah." Kitten's response is entirely too honest. Yunho's thrown off his kilter; he expected embarrassment or retaliation, not confidence. But the deed is done, the door is open. And as Kitten goes on telling him all about how he looks forward to see his neighbour and always wants to spend more time with him, Yunho can't suppresses the 'just like San' thoughts that take over.

He thinks back to Wooyoung. San's best friend. Only a friend. How that confirmation had eased something in him. He thinks back to how jealous he had been to see San being cuddly with someone - because this is what it had been, jealousy, he wants to cuddle San too. He thinks back to how he was a bit disappointed not being able to soak in San's vibes when he finally had been in his flat.

Fuck, he totally has a crush on San.

Kitten is still ranting about his own neighbour crush, and Yunho distantly feel glad that the man apparently is tall enough to bump his head in threshold, Kitten's neighbour is not his, he's not sure how he would have reacted if his online friend had been San's pretender. He likes Kitten too much to battle him on that field, he realises, which, for a jealous man like him, is a wild thought.

The event's timing ends up being really bad for Yunho. Ever since he realised his crush on San, he wants nothing more than to spend more time with him, but his in game promises are tying him to his console. He doesn't see San much either way, so maybe his neighbour is busy too, but still.

He wants to try something else. Not just watch a movie but what about playing a game together, dining together (maybe Yunho could make him something fancy, or better yet, abura soba), and only then, once their hearts and stomach would be full enough off of each others, discussion and yummy food would they put something to watch, snuggling on the couch, and Yunho would put his arm leisurely around San's shoulder and then they'd be cuddling and– And he needs to see San to invite him over first anyway. And not to be busy too, so he can have time to invite him over.

Would San even accept his affection ? San had said Yunho was his 'new friend', maybe he doesn't want it to be anything else. It could make sense, since he doesn't have a lot of friends, for him to prefer to keep things as they are. Maybe Yunho should reign his feelings in at first, test the waters, prod around… Just to be sure. He'd be sad if San doesn't see him as a potential lover, but he'd be even sadder if he were to jeopardize what they already have.

It doesn't really fix his first issue though : he still needs free time and to meet San for that.

Since the start of the event, Kitten comes to unwind after his required public time in front of players. NookDebt4Life joins them, and they look at the sun setting in game before bidding each other goodbye and wishing everyone a good night. It would be a welcomed development, one Yunho could fully enjoy, and it is for the main part, if Kitten talking about his crush on his neighbour before the event hadn't set lose some barrier.

It's not the Kitten only talks about his neighbour now, thankfully. But still, there's always a time in the discussion where he's gonna do, and it's starting to set Yunho on the edge. He, too, got a scrumptious neighbour to brag about ! He, too, has a crush on the most amazing man he got to see ! And the more Kitten lets little things about how wonderful his crush is, the more Yunho is reminded he hasn't been able to ask San on a date - even a friendly one - in over two weeks now.

It's making him cranky. He wants to be there for his friend, to be supporting him in talking about his crush. But it's making him cranky and he hates it.

He does consider avoiding Kitten, ditching their post-event hang-out and unwind on his own - it wouldn't be very hard, and NookDebt4Life would still be there, so it's not like he'd let Kitten alone and fully stood him up, would it ? But the further he thinks about it the more guilt settles, so he scraps the idea.

And that's why he's currently regretting his decision, when he's stuck between his two friends on the cabin's new couch (NookDebt4Life insisted they needed to be comfortable too, not just the familiars), a purring… rabbit ? in his lap, listening to yet another version of 'how great Kitten's crush is'.

By now he already knows everything about the man's legs running for miles on end, heart-shaped lips and cutest moles. He knows how Kitten has a hard time telling him no because of how his handsome face was making him melt and cave in so easily - Yunho would use this to his advantage if he knew that, good thing Kitten's crush is decent and/or unaware. Yunho even knows Kitten has been wanting to ask him on a date a - at least both him and Kitten are forced to postpone their plans because of the event, it makes him feel less alone in regard of his dismay.

This time, the conversation is a bit different. And Yunho's not sure what to think of it, except that it's making him uneasy.

"Wouldn't it be nice ? In game dates… We'd go to the Garden and watch the sunset, we'd construct things together… Maybe we could even raise a familiar together, have you seen the next generation ? There's this cute ball with pointy ears, what the name again ?"

"Kyeranyang," NookDebt4Life enlightens them, entertaining Kitten. Yunho stays mum. He can't help but think about it. Watching the sunset together, going to the Garden, building furniture together… That's all things he's done with Kitten.

On one hand, it feels weird to be possessive of something like that. He did it with other players too, and Kitten can do it with whoever he wants. But he doesn't want Kitten to share what Yunho now considers his most cherished moments in the game with someone else - not in a way that would matter so much, at least.

On the other hand… He can't help but agree. Wouldn't it be nice to have all that with San ? If the army of cat-like plushies are anything to go by, he'd say his neighbour would love to raise a Kyeranyang in Bulnoliya. They'd make it the cutest bedding, and they could maybe share a room in the guild. San would paint it purple and Yunho would just let him because he's that good at letting go for things that make San happy. And in a year's time or two, San would have collected too much feline familiars and they'd be forced to have a whole house just for them. They'd be together in game too, and San could share what became to matter so much in Yunho's life with him. Yunho can't resent Kitten for wanting something like that too.

But he can't help being a little petty over it. "Does he even have an Aurora, this console isn't exactly cheap…"

It was meant as a jab, something to defer Kitten, but his friend only grins knowingly. "Oh he does, I'm certain of it. He doesn't have a flat that's that furnished, really, and the console is right in the middle of his coffee table, like it was his most prized possession."

Kitten and NookDebt4Life laughs about it but Yunho stops to think about it. That's a bit too precise. He thinks about his own coffee table and how San had make fun of him, just a month ago, for using it as a console stand. It can't be, right ? Surely it's just a coincidence, there's got to be another nerd out there who slaved months on end to pay himself a high-end console and made it out to be exactly what it was : a treasure.

"The coffee table isn't even bad, it would be so nice to have flowers on it," Kitten continues, unaware of Yunho's crisis just next to him.

"Didn't you tell me he also has a nice projector ?" NookDebt4Life asks as if this isn't more fuel for Yunho's thoughts. Kitten talks about his crush when he isn't there ? Does he also talk about it to other people ? Foxy, maybe, if Foxy is as much of a friend to Kitten as he says he is…

"Oh, yeah, he does. The nice kind with spacial projection and all," Kitten nods. "But I think this one he got from his parents, they seem kinda rich. The Aurora though, I know he bought himself."

Yunho isn't sure he can go on like that, he needs a certitude. "Oh really, what's his favorite movie genre to watch on it, then ?" The question is innocent enough to pass out as genuine curiosity, or that's what Yunho wants to think, at least.

When Kitten replies, "horror, I think ? He always proposes it, even though I already told him I can't watch it for the life of me time and time again," Yunho decides he had enough. There's only one way he can truly resolve this, and it's not like this, in game with NookDebt4Life as a spectator.

"Hey, I, uh, I forgot I had a washing machine to unload," he pretexts suddenly. "I'm sorry, I'm gonna log out, see you around ?" His friends look at him with wide eyes, as if they weren't quite believing him, but just waves him goodbye. Before he actually logs off, Yunho throws Kitten a look he hopes desperate enough to be understood as "log out too", but he doesn't have high hopes.

As soon as he removes the helmet from his head, Yunho starts pacing in his living room. He can't just go and knock on San's door now, can he ? He looks at his coffee table and remembers Kitten's comment. Flowers. Maybe… Maybe he could bring San's flower. And use the opportunity to ask him out on a date. That way, even if he's imagining things, he'd make the most out of the situation.

It's still crazy to him, he thinks as he goes down the stairs to retrieve the bouquet he ordered. How come San, sweet San who flushes so easily and wears knitted sweaters, could be Kitten, intimidating Kitten with his dark aura and freezing glare ? And at the same time… Introverted with a few friends, shy at first and then oh so friendly, genuine and open once they've warmed out to someone; liking every cute things, especially ones shaped like cats… Kitten even liked purple and painted most of their in game familiar furniture that color. They have so much in common it's a bit humbling to think Yunho never connected the dots before.

The delivery robot is waiting patiently in front of the building's main entrance, a pretty bouquet of various purple and white flowers ready for Yunho to pick up. Yunho checks everything is fine and turns around, ready to knock on door 107.

Yunho knocks three times and waits. Time seems to stretch, in front of that door that separate him from San. Yunho wonders, if the more time he spends waiting there the more probable it is that San is Kitten and has to log out first. The Aurora is highly immersive, so San wouldn't have heard the knock directly, but he'd have a notification to let him know about it - it's a necessary security measure, but it's extended to all sorts of life matters. But maybe San is just occupied with something else, or maybe the time is stretching so much Yunho is losing sense of it and it's only been ten seconds since he knocked. And maybe San isn't even home. Does he ever leave his flat, apart from the time Yunho saw him at his own job ?

But San does open the door after some time. Yunho, who was already starting to lose hope and reconsider his actions, messily push the bouquet in San's chest with a "Kitten ?" San's eyes widen at the flowers, and it's like stars have fallen into them with how bright they shine at this instant. He doesn't answer the name, just read the card in a soft voice.

"Do you want to raise a Kyeranyang with me ?" He raises an eyebrow at Yunho, questioning, and the latter suddenly feels bashful.

"Ah, it's uh, from my game, they're cute cats ?"

San huffs a small laughs, "Not that, you idiot." His smile is soft and tender, fond. Yunho catches himself believing San might indeed have a crush on his tall, super handsome and super nice neighbour too - his ego will definitely swell a bit too big if he's indeed the man Kitten has been praising for weeks now, he realizes.

San gestures for Yunho to enter, and once the door is closed he goes for the living room, Yunho on his heels. They sit on the couch and look at each other for a couple second before one of them talks, San with amusement and Yunho with nerves running through him.

"I had my doubts, but I guess this settles them, then." San declares, as if it was that simple. Maybe for him it is, but Yunho's whole world has just been shaken up and he'd like as much reassurance as he can get. "So you're really Spideyu– Spidey ? Spideyuyu ? However that pseudonym is pronounced… See, that's why we used organic nickname back them, no one wonders how Kitten or Foxy is pronounced, nor Star but Seonghwa-hyung had to start again on a new account…" San sighs at that.

Yunho's glad for the explicit confirmation, but he's a bit lost. "I don't really pronounce it anyway," he settles on answering.

San's smile directed at him is so bright Yunho feels like a moth. San shuffles a bit and reaches for the card again. He waves it in Yunho's direction. "Do you realize what you mean with this ?" he asks.

Yunho gulps. "I'd hope so ?" A date. It's obvious and neither of them really need to say it, and it's becoming even more obvious that this is what San wanted to ask him too. Still, Yunho feels like all his nerves are set alive, anticipation and hope coursing through him along the fear of rejection. He really wants San to say yes.

"Does this extend to real life ?" San asks instead.

Yunho stutters for a bit, before managing a "of course, first and foremost, even" out. San's smile, somehow, widens again, gets even more bright. His eyes are bunched up on top of his cheeks, disappearing a bit and yet glimmering all the more.

"Then yes, I'd like to. I want to be the first one to plan an IRL date though."

Yunho nods immediately, there's no way he would oppose this condition. San extends a hand and they shake it. The action is silly and they giggle at themselves.

Yunho stays a bit dumbfounded for a bit. "Wow, I got a boyfriend," he ends up saying, making San laugh. It's a bright and clear laughs, similar to San himself. Yunho wants to hear it forever. Tentatively, he takes San's hand in his, just to hold it. San puts the bouquet on his coffee table and goes to plaster himself against Yunho. It's not exactly a hug, but it's a start and it's comfortable enough to pass as one. Yunho likes feeling San against him like that.

"Wait, does that mean I have to plan the first in game date ?" San only smiles at his belated question.

The sun sets behind the building's ruins, reds and oranges painting the otherwise gray landscape. They're sat in the middle of the dump, atop a rubble hill, cosily leaning against each other. Yunho thought it through : if someone were to see Kitten with no knowledge about him then they wouldn't be able to talk about it in a compromising way. They couldn't exactly have an in game date anywhere, not without jeopardising Kitten's image and therefore breaking trust clauses on his contract, and Yunho wasn't really up to have his guild members around, even his friends. So, what better place than the spawning area for new players ?

A lot, probably, but being there with his boyfriend, talking about everything and nothing feels worth it. Still, he's not sure he was delivering on what San wanted.

"I'm sorry, this isn't the most romantic place for a date…" he ends up voicing during a lull in their conversation.

San, or rather Kitten, looks at him a bit surprised. "What are you saying, it's not the place but the intent that makes it romantic ! And isn't it filled with romance, to come where everything begins in this game ? Where it all began for the both of us that eventually led us to know each other in this game ?"

Yunho blinks. "It's a garbage dump, San."

San smiles at him. "Yes, and it's still the most romantic place if that's where you're taking me on a date."

They look at each other, Yunho a bit in disbelief but unable to hide his adoration.

"Besides," San continues, "I'd take anywhere I can be alone with you." He stops for a second or two, before frowning a bit. "I hope we stay alone though, Wooyoung might be on a hunt for us to grill you as we speak."

"Wooyoung ?" Why would San's overbearing friend seek them out ?

"Yeah, you met him here too, didn't you ? I believe he introduced himself as Foxy to you ?"

"Oh, right ! NookDebt4Life called him Ruby's1stFan I believe ?"

Yunho saw San blush more time than he can count, but for the very first time he sees his in game alter ego flutter. He has no idea why but he'll definitely ask Foxy about it next time, the reaction is too delightful to induce to pass on.

"Hum, yeah, that, anyway," San dismisses quickly before focusing back on the subject at hand. "Remember how excited he was when he met you ? He was already curious about you as my friend and crush and it's about at least ten time worse now that I told him we started dating. And that you're Spideyu._.u."

"Let's enjoy it for as long as we can, then. And if we see him coming, we can always log out and you can come over watch a movie."