boyfriend!jay Ă fem!reader.â â â â ââŽïžËïœĄââ â â after a joint realization that your relationship is lacking the usual thrill, you and your boyfriend jay decide to try something new to spice things up. and while the two of you are having the time of your lives, your six friendsâor the "kids" you've both unwillingly adoptedâare convinced that they're about to be children of divorce.
MASTERLIST. âââCONTAINSââ€âSMAU. hints of college!au. suggestive (mdni). comedy / crack. jay n reader r down bad for each other and also very crazy. found family vibes. established relationship. fluff. angst and toxic relationship dynamics, but not really. profanity. death threats & other highly inappropriate jokes. sunki crumbs bc i have freewill. ignore timestamps & typos.ââźâcameos from enhypen's maknae line ( jungwon, sunoo & ni-ki) & stayc's maknae line. (seeun, yoon / jayoon, j / yeeun. )
FROM YAN đ°ââ€âidk how this idea hit me but it has and you all have to bear witness bc i think it's funny and i have to materialize it. :3 part two will be coming out soon. will open one tag list for it so just lmk !!
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âł You have a crush on Heeseung, and Jay has a crush on Dohee, and itâs exactly your crushes who confess their love to each other, and itâs exactly you and Jay who happen to walk in on their confession.
âł Characters: high school student!Jay x high school student!reader/you
âł Genre:Â high school au, festive au, ball au, comedy, fluff
âł Words:Â 5.9k
ⳠTaglist: @gloriouscollectiveobject (you can sign up for the taglist by taking part in my survey)
âł A/N: Dedicated to @dat-townâ because how can I not dedicate my first Jay story to you? â€ïž
âł Check out: my Enhypen masterlist
âI like you.â
âI like you, too.â
That would be all too cute and romantic and unicorns and sunshine if the guy was Park Jongseong instead of Lee Heeseung, and if the girl was you instead of Oh Dohee. Because you have a crush on Heeseung, and Jay has a crush on Dohee, and itâs exactly your crushes who confess their love to each other in the hidden corridor beside the school storage room, and itâs exactly you and Jay who happen to walk in on their confession.
What a boomer, really. If Miss Ryeong hadnât selected you and Jay to pick up the giant world map and the Korea posters for the Geography class right in that minute, just for the next class, exactly on 14th December aka Hug Day in Korea aka the day couples show their affection towards each other with a hug or with a confession that ends up in a hug, you wouldnât have witnessed the confession for yourself.
Both your and Jayâs steps falter when you hear the words and catch sight of the two students in the secluded corridor (students only ever come here if they are ordered by a teacher to grab something from the storage room just like now), and at first, you fail to notice anything about the boyâs behaviour because you are too shocked by the sight in front of you.
You have told yourself that maybe, just maybe, this isnât a one-sided crush because you and Heeseung have been talking more and more lately, but it seems youâve seen it all wrong. Maybe he was there for the after school study sessions because he wanted to talk to Dohee, not because he wanted to discuss the homework with you. Maybe he signed up to be an organiser for the winter ball because Dohee was the class president, and she needed a helping hand, not because you also applied. Maybe he sat at your table in the canteen because Dohee was usually around, not because of you.
Oh gosh, how could you have been so blind?
You may have been oblivious to all the signs, hence youâre the one to blame, but it doesnât mean that it hurts any less. In fact, it hurts even more because it seems like you have seen something into Heeseungâs actions that you really shouldnât have. It would have been one thing if you had just gotten to know about the news through your classmates, but to hear their confession in person? Thatâs just brutal, especially because itâs your first ever crush. To be precise, your first ever one-sided crush, it seems.
To make matters worse, Jay manages to kick into the nearby broom (remember, youâre in front of a storage room), and the two lovebirds distance themselves from each other as if theyâve been caught, staring at the two of you, wide-eyed.
âWe didnât hear-â Youâre trying to say that you didnât hear anything, hoping to save the four of you from further embarrassment even though your words would be a part of a big fat lie, but the boy beside you doesnât seem to cooperate.
âWe wonât tell anyone,â he manages to burn your plan to the ground with just a few of his words, and you really, really have the urge to facepalm. Or to evaporate. Because itâs just so damn awkward idling in front of the storage room, neither of you knowing what to do because now itâs out in the open that youâve heard their confession (and saw them hugging each other too), and clearly, thatâs not how Heeseung and Dohee planned this to go.
Thereâs no bell or a nosy teacher to save you from the awkwardness, and even though youâre usually terrible at dissolving the embarrassment in the air, this time your broken heart is more desperate to escape this situation that it is afraid that you would say the wrong thing, making everything even more awkward.
âWeâre just here for some maps for Geography,â you let them know matter-of-factly, immediately reaching for the storage roomâs door knob. You donât wait for anyone to reply, you open the door wide, walking into the place as fast as if your life depended on him.
You hear the door close behind you after a few seconds, and Jay indeed follows you, although with a very disheartened expression. At that time, you canât quite put your finger on his behaviour as he seems surprised, but itâs not something you can blame him for.
âHeeseung and Dohee... Who would have thoughtâŠâ He mumbles under his breath while heâs making his way towards the maps, and you canât disagree with him either, so you merely nod to his words. Maybe if you hadnât been so blind, you could have seen the signs, but itâs too late now... You were too late.
You two pick up the maps quickly, and head back to the classroom. Thankfully, Heeseung and Dohee arenât in the corridor when you get out of the storage room, but when you and Heeseung lock eyes once you get back to the classroom, you can feel your heart being shattered into tiny little pieces. Is this really how first loves should go? Already with a heartbreak before anything could happen?
Jay still canât process what he has seen and heard earlier that day even though itâs almost the last class of the day, itâs PE on top of that, and the girls are running around the football field thatâs occupied by the boys playing football, so itâs a chill class. Their school has this huge indoor sports field that comes in handy in winter when no one likes to work out outside, and the senior year students are no exception.
Jay is glad that they donât have strength training that day because that would really just top the list of his unpleasant surprises. He can just mindlessly kick into the ball when itâs around him and run a bit from goal to goal, itâs not like heâs the ace of football anyways. Of course, itâs Heeseung whoâs the best. That boy is the top of the class, a born athlete, applauded for his good looks and manners, so really, heâs the dream of every girl, and apparently, the dream of Jayâs crush. How could Jay even dare to challenge him? That would be ridiculous! He shouldnât have even thought about standing a chance with Dohee. After all, Dohee and Heeseung are like a match made in heaven. Jay, on the other hand, isnât exceptionally smart or exceptionally good at sports, so what these two could talk about would probably seem like a foreign language to him.
The more he thinks about it (even though he shouldnât), the angrier he is at himself. What kind of a fool would even think about being liked by Oh Dohee when heâs like Jay? Gosh, heâs so pathetic, he knows, but what can he do about it? He canât control his heart and his feelings, and itâs time to admit that he has lost against Lee Heeseung.
Jay huffs as the realisation hits him yet again and kicks into the ball with all his might, hoping that he could at least score a goal against Heeseungâs team because he shouldnât lose this match if he has already lost that day. However, Jay manages to kick the ball so hard that when it flies out of the field (missing the goal by a tiny bit), it hits one of the girls who are currently jogging behind the goal... Right at her face.
Everyone stills for a bit, and Jayâs first thought is that he managed to aim right at his crushâs face, and now he really should dig his own grave because he has done something unforgivable.
On the other hand, itâs you who has been hit by the ball, and itâs your nose that starts bleeding, not his crushâs which is just a tiny bit better than if it were to be Dohee. The situation still sucks, obviously, but Jay is there in no time, panting as he asks:
âAre you okay?â He knows it sounds dumb, but you appreciate it nevertheless because at least heâs not a jerk about it. So you nod, trying to hold your hand to your nose, so that the blood wouldnât be dripping everywhere.
âHow could she be okay? Take her to the infirmary immediately!â Mr. Jung orders the boy who wouldnât object yet you would, but the PE teacher gives you such a pointed look that you dare not go against his words.
Once you get inside the infirmary, the lady cleans up the mess around your nose, examines it and gives you tissues to help with the bleeding. Then, she excuses herself to go and get a pack of ice from the administration office because they have a fridge where they keep ice packs.
âIâm so sorry. It wasnât on purpose,â Jay apologises immediately, running a hand through his jet-black locks, eyes full of remorse. You sigh, pitying him and pitying yourself for ending up in such a situation again, but you know itâs not his fault.
âItâs okay. I guessed that it wasnât intentional. What reason would you have for hitting me in the face?â You joke lightly, trying to dissolve the solemn atmosphere, but even you feel ashamed by your attempt because youâre the least in the mood for joking around.
âThis day really canât get any worse, huh?â He huffs, scratching the back of his neck, and you canât help but agree (even though heâs only thinking out loud).
âFirst, Heeseungâs confession, then thisâŠâ You sigh, looking out of the window for a few seconds. You feel like you wouldnât be surprised if it started raining because this morning was the first time in a while when you didnât bring an umbrella, and if life keeps throwing such calamities at you, then you wouldnât be in for a surprise if being hit by a ball wouldnât be the last unfortunate thing happening to you that day.
âWaitâŠâ Jay breaks the momentary silence a bit tentatively, and you turn your head towards him, curious. âDo you perhaps... you know... have a crush on Heeseung?â
He puts together the pieces with a bit of uncertainty, and you realise that your previous wording gave you away. Thereâs no way you could save yourself from this, especially after you open your mouth to deny it, yet nothing comes out, so you just stare at him open-mouthed as the seconds roll by.
âWait! Then, do you have a crush on Dohee?â You ask as the thought hits you, and you think back to how disheartened the boy was beside you when you heard the two studentsâ confession. You assumed that it was merely because he didnât see that coming, but could it be because he likes the girl whom your crush likes?
âAh, no, no, I donât... What? Why would I? PffâŠâ Jay snorts, but the way he jumbles over his words gives him away. Someone as confident and eloquent in his speech as the boy himself doesnât really mess up his speaking unless heâs nervous or lying. And well, he could be both if he was talking about his crush.
âWas it obvious that I just lied?â He exclaims when he catches onto your deadpan expression.
âYeah, a bit.â
You two are silent for a moment, processing the fact that you two out of all people were the witnesses of the confession between your crushes. You wouldnât be surprised if a few other guys had a crush on Dohee because sheâs smart, pretty and confident, and Jay wouldnât be surprised if other girls had a crush on Heeseung because heâs every girlâs dream (and probably every motherâs dream).
âIâm sorry, that sucks.â
âIâm sorry for you, too,â the boy replies immediately, and itâs just so bad. Saying sorry for each other, but at least you two can understand each otherâs feelings. Or well, youâre the closest to understanding it out of all people.
The nurse comes back in that moment, and she furrows her eyebrows when she sees you two sitting there in the room as if you have been run over by something.
âCome on! Are you two really that sad that this happened?â The lady inquires in an almost mother-like tone, and you could laugh at how innocent her question is, but you really donât feel like laughing.
So you just shake your head, and Jay does the same, and itâs just so unbearably awkward that youâre glad that the nurse doesnât ask more questions. Instead, she hands you the pack of ice, and tells you that you can keep it with you and take it back the next day. Additionally, she writes you an excuse letter for leaving school early that day, and as sheâs handing you the paper, she looks at Jay, and writes another for him, too.
âBut-â The boy tries to protect, but the woman merely shushes him.
âJust take it! Others would fake their death for me just to get it,â she mentions with a knowing smile, and so you two leave the infirmary together with the excuse to go home early, and maybe, itâs really for the best. You donât have to suffer through a Maths class which Dohee and Heeseung would probably both nail anyway. You would feel heartbroken if either of them gave the correct answer to a question.
As youâre walking back to the changing rooms, you stop dead in your tracks when you hear something. As you look out of the windows in the corridor, you let out a whimper.
âI canât believe it!â
âWhat is it?â Jay asks, perplexed, and you point at the raindrops dotting the window. Just exactly what you needed.
âItâs raining, and obviously, today is the day I forgot my umbrella at home.â
âI can lend you mine. Or we can go together until the bus stop if youâre going that way. After all, we can both leave now, right?â he offers casually, and youâre just about to protest when he holds up his hands, silencing you. âTake it as a way to make up for hitting you with the ball.â
He says it so desperately that you donât have the heart to say no. He looks like a sad puppy with those achingly twinkling eyes, those messy jet-black locks and the ghost of a smile on his lips, telling tales about the pain of the day behind him. You probably look somewhat similar, especially with the pack of ice in your hands, so you give in, telling him that you would change back into your school uniform and gather your stuff from your locker before meeting him again at the entrance.
Having an interaction with Jay for the third time that day isnât as awkward as the first two. Or well, it wouldnât be if it werenât for his stomach growling from time to time as youâre walking to the bus stop. Feeling pretty sorry for him for having him keep the umbrella above your head and feeling sorry for you too after today, you blurt out without much thinking:
âWe can stop by the corner store if you want. Iâm also pretty hungry,â you admit a bit nervously, keeping the fact to yourself that you skipped lunch because you didnât feel hungry after getting to know that your crush likes someone else. Some might call you overly emotional and dramatic, but what could you do? You really did like Heeseung, and that scene in front of your eyes really did hurt, but now you were also really hungry, so no more skipping meals over heartbreak.
âFor real? Are you not saying this just because you found it awkward how my stomach grumbled?" Jay inquiries directly, and itâs the first time that day that you actually let out a giggle.
âFor real. Now, letâs go eat something!" You prompt him with a smile, and he spares you a few more suspicious looks, but he seems to believe you once you grab your favourite instant noodle pack and also a sandwich, ready to dig into your sandwich while you wait for the noodles to soak up the boiling water.
You love sitting inside these stores, waiting for your ramyeon to be ready, and even though youâre usually alone or with your little sister (you have an older and a younger sister, too) whoâs in her growing phase, so she craves noodles a lot of times after school, you donât mind being around Jay this time.
You take your seats by the window, looking out at the rainy scene, and as youâre thinking about how the PE class is nearing its end by now, you canât help but ask:
âSince when did you have a crush on Dohee? If you donât mind me asking, of course,â you offer because you donât want to burden him with an invasive question. To prove that, you tell him about how Heeseung helped you in your junior year when you were visibly struggling during a science experiment, and he ended up being your science partner for the whole year. You gradually became more and more enamoured by him, and itâs been a constant fall since then.
The boy tells you that it started for him in junior year too when he saw the girl working hard for the school trip, arranging the wooden houses for the students, and making last minute adjustments to help their homeroom teacher. Since she was the class president, he always looked up to her and to her dedication, and he even signed up to help with the winter ball because of her.
âNo way! I signed up for that because of Heeseung!â You chirp in, and Jayâs eyes widen in surprise. After bathing in your mutual understanding towards the otherâs choice though, you both retreat to your nostalgic, bittersweet self quickly, no wonder Jay blurts out:
âI guess we now have to bear the consequences of that, too. Weâll probably have to see those two being all lovey-dovey as weâre decorating the sports hall for the ball.â
âAt least, itâs not today. Today is already bad enough,â you point out, your lips curling into a sad little smile. You know itâs just to hide the pain, but smiling sadly is still better than crying your eyes out (although youâll probably do so when you watch the next episode of your currently watched kdrama because your single ass wonât be able to bear the second male lead syndrome resembling your life all too well).
âYeah, and I donât know about you, but it sucks less because someone knows how Iâm feeling,â Jay admits in between two bites from his sandwich, and you hum while youâre inhaling your ramyeon. Heâs damn right about that, and the fact that he voices it out loud makes you feel a bit better, too.
Just like the rest of your conversation with the boy that makes you forget about why you ended up at the corner store that day. He makes you forget about the painful encounter with the ball and the even more painful confession you heard in the morning. Sure, the atmosphere is still a bit melancholic, you can almost feel this feeling hovering above the two of you, but you feel lucky that after all the calamities, you can find some peace and quiet. And someone who can share his umbrella with you on your way to the bus stop because letâs be honest, thatâs important, too!
So stomach full and lips curled into a genuine smile, you thank the boy for his assistance after you empty your cup of noodles and finish your sandwich and after you get to the end of your conversation, the sky already darkening outside. You might have been excused to leave school early, but you would still go home later than usual, not like you mind. You feel like the day beside Jay (quite literally) has mended your broken heart a bit.
The worst thing about being in the festive season is not exactly being in the festive mood. They say that itâs the most beautiful time of the year, but not for you, nor for Jay, not after being witnesses of the confession of your crushes.
Yet, you canât do anything about it, the winter ball is coming up, and since both you and Jay have signed up to help out, you have to go and help out no matter even if itâs the last thing you would like to do. Itâs fine until you catch sight of Heeseung and Dohee smiling at each other and the girl blushing whenever the boy is close to her to assist her, and itâs fine until the others start cooing around them (because obviously the two couldnât hide their feelings towards each other, and they confirmed their relationship in front of the class a few days after their confession). You canât help but imagine how it could have been you, but you guess that Jay is the same, seeing his dreamy expression when he averts his eyes to the new couple.
âWanna help me put up these garlands?â You nudge the boy in the side, partly because you want to distract him, so he wouldnât feel so bad and partly because you actually need help. You need someone to hold the ladder while you put them on, and the boy gives in with a sigh, but you can feel that his thoughts are somewhere else based on the way he looks out of his head.
You start putting up the garlands diligently, making your way around the room with Jayâs assistance. After you put on another one in very vivid colours, you look down at the boy holding the ladder, staring bitterly at Dohee making silly poses for Heeseung who takes pictures of her. Your heart sinks at the sight. Maybe he thinks no oneâs watching him (just look how you hope no one catches onto you gazing at Heeseung from time to time), but you do, and itâs difficult to not feel heartbroken over his expression. Especially because you know how it feels.
You let out a sigh, and take a step down the ladder, making an attempt to move on with the decorations quickly, so you two can leave the place equally quickly. However, as you take the next step, you miscalculate the landing, and your right foot touches only the edge of the rung, meaning that you lose your balance, falling down abruptly (and not at all graceful).
You land with a loud thud, but instead of the ground, you land on a softer surface. Suspicious, when you open your eyes to see what it is, your heart skips a beat. Itâs Jay. You landed on him, and he landed on his back, and the loud thud was probably his head hitting the floor.
Your eyes are probably eyes wide as the boyâs when you look at him, the close proximity taking your breath away. You never noticed the mole around his eyes or the different shades that collide in his dark, deep orbs. You never noticed how elegant the arch of his nose is, or how perfectly carved his jawline seems. You never noticed how fluffy his jet-black locks are, and how - even despite his disheveled state - handsome he is.
âOh my gosh, are you okay?â You hear someone ask from behind you, and thatâs when you and Jay both come back to your senses. You awkwardly push yourself off the boy while he kindly helps you steady yourself before he also pushes himself off the ground, though with a hiss.
âAre you okay? You must have hit your head badly,â you exclaim at the noise, and take a step closer to the boy to examine his head, but the movement just makes the whole situation even more awkward. Since when were you so awkward around Jay? But the boy is the same, and it doesnât help the situation either.
âItâs fine,â the boy tries to shrug it off nonchalantly, but youâre not that lenient. Neither is Heeseung, it seems, as he walks up to the two of you, worried, Dohee following him closely.
âYou should go to the infirmary. Weâll finish the garlands, donât worry about it!â
âYeah, you two can go. Youâve already helped enough,â Dohee chirps in, and as the kind class president as she is, sheâs thankful for your work even though youâve probably done only half of what you should have.
Their words kind of warm your heart and break it at the same time. The way they look at you two makes you think that Heeseung is really better off with someone like Dohee. They are the ones who can make each other happy, not you and Jay, and while it sucks, they seem kind of cute together. Really, you canât deny that, and this scene is just another proof of that.
So not wanting to make a fuss, you and Jay head to the infirmary together, and you canât stop apologising to him on the way.
âItâs fine. You can say weâre even now after Iâve hit you with the ball. The umbrella wasnât enough compensation anyway,â he protests coolly after about your tenth apology, and you find yourself speechless, not having any more reason to argue. Thus, you nod, letting silence take over the two of you until you arrive at the infirmary and the nurse bellows:
âYou two again?â
You explain to her what happened, and she shakes her head as if she couldnât believe how unlucky the two of you are. Well, you canât believe it either. Nevertheless, she prepares a pack of ice for Jay, going to the administration office for it just like last time. Maybe itâs because you two were unlucky enough to need ice for your injuries, but you wonder why the infirmary doesnât have its own fridge with packs of pre-prepared ice.
As this thought goes through your head, Jay clears his throat, a bit awkward.
âYou know, actually, they seem perfect for each other,â he blurts out quietly as if heâs ready to admit his defeat, yet doesnât want to say it out loud. You donât even need to be told who he refers to.
âI was actually thinking the same while we were dealing with the garlands.â
âFunny how Iâve wanted to ask her to go to the winter ball with me, and just imagine how awkward she would have felt if I asked her, and she was hoping to go with Heeseung. Which she will probably do now,â he admits, and lets out a bitter laughter. His confession is so sudden that you donât even have time to be shocked because it just comes out so quickly. You applaud him for his bravery because you arenât sure you would have dared to admit that you were hoping you wouldnât go alone either if it werenât for him, but after he does so, it isnât that awkward to admit it yourself.
As always, the nurse seems to come just at the right time, and you donât know how much she has heard, but after handing the pack of ice to Jay, she looks at you two and suggests:
âYou two should go to the ball together!â
As absurd as it seems at first, it doesnât seem like a terrible idea later on, yet you donât say anything about it that day, not even when you two grab your stuff, take the same bus for a while and bid your goodbye when he hops off the bus first. You realise you get home that day with a somewhat lighter heart.
The more he thinks about it, the less weird the idea seems, so when Jay actually asks if you want to go to the winter ball with him (to save both of you from the embarrassment of going alone), you say yes without much contemplation. After all, heâs quite a nice guy, and after your very unfortunate and close encounter with him, something bubbles up inside of you that youâve thought died with your crush turning out to be one-sided.
However, you donât give it too much thought, and just think of this whole winter ball thing as something you can overcome quickly and thankfully less embarrassed now that you have someone to go with. Your determination to not think about how gorgeous he looked from up-close is thrown right out of the window as soon as you two meet at school, and he shows up in an elegant suit and cotton pants. It looks like his whole outfit was tailored for him, and he even styled his hair, parting it sideways. You open your mouth to drop a compliment, but he beats you to it.
âYou look really pretty,â he says genuinely, and you go speechless at his unwavering confidence. You didnât bother to look for a new dress, you merely decided to go with the dark blue one you wore for your older sisterâs graduation ceremony, and it was a quick choice even back then. Thereâs nothing extra about your dress, not even about your high heels, the only part you put some effort in was your hair, so really, you didnât expect him to make a comment on it.
âBut wonât you be cold on your way back home?â Jay inquires, tilting his head to the side. Once again, you find yourself speechless at his thoughtfulness, but try to pull yourself together quickly.
âItâs fine. My sister will pick me up when I tell her to come.â
âThatâs good.â He nods briefly, prompting you to go inside the sports hall where the ball is actually held. You nod, and follow him inside.
Yet, for the rest of the night, you canât help but notice all the little things that Jay does to make it a better night than youâve expected it to be. He holds doors for you, he pours punch for you first, he suggests sitting down when he notices you turning your ankles in your high heels, he requests your favourite song for you after you two start complaining about the awful songs being played by the DJ, and he suggests leaving when he catches you rubbing your eyes more.
Truth to be told, you wouldnât mind staying longer because itâs great getting to know more about Jay, his dreams, his interests, his childhood, his family, even about his taste in fashion. No matter what he says, you find yourself being drawn to it, and you wouldnât mind getting to know more. Which is weird since you havenât felt this way towards anyone before developing a crush on Heeseung, but thatâs exactly why itâs scaring you. You donât want to fall head-on yet again, plus he caught onto it well, youâre actually pretty exhausted, so you call your sister, telling her that she can come now, and leave the sports hall with Jay.
âWe can give you a lift. It really wouldnât be a bother,â you offer as you two walk towards the entrance, remembering that he goes the same way home as you do, he lives even closer to school than you do. Even though he initially objects and you let him, your sister suggests the same when he sees the boy beside you by the stairs outside of school. The boy doesnât protest when heâs offered the second time, and gets in the car with you.
Thankfully, your sister doesnât make it awkward by asking anything about Jay (even though you havenât told her about him before), she inquires about the ball instead and starts reminiscing about her own. Somewhere along the way, it turns out that Jayâs older brother and your sister are actually studying under the same department at the same university, and the car ride seems more than comfortable with such topics. Itâs funny how easily your sister gets along with Jay, much like how you seemed to hit it off with him from the start - even though it was over mutual heartbreak.
Despite your sister asking about the boy after you give him a ride home, she doesnât push the topic further when you tell her that heâs a great guy and you donât know whatâs going to happen to the two of you, but you enjoyed your night with him. And itâs no lie, you really did enjoy your night with him. It turned out way better than you could have thought so.
After the winter ball, things start to shift between you two. Youâve already exchanged numbers prior to the winter ball, so you can easily message each other during winter break, wishing each other merry Christmas and a happy new year. Then, random texts came from random moments - such as the time heâs going to the mall with his family and the song that youâve agreed was probably the worst song that year came on the radio, or the time an ad came up for you with his favourite fashion brand, and youâve thought of him because before getting to know him, you didnât even know this brand existed.
Slowly and naturally, as you two are talking more and getting to know each other more, winter turns into spring, and the months until your senior year exams become fewer and fewer. You find yourself spending more time with Jay as time goes by, and your sister canât even help but give you a knowing glance whenever you two talk and she asks about the boy. Itâs all too natural this way, and falling for him seems steady and serene. Itâs not as quick and reckless as with Heeseung, but thatâs exactly how you know that itâs more real, that it has more potential to blossom into something more.
So when you two have a random conversation before your exams, wondering what would happen to the two of you in half a year, and where you could be, and Jay takes his chance to ask you out on a date before itâs too late, you know itâs because both of you are now sure enough of not only your feelings but the otherâs as well.
âIâd love to,â you conclude with a wide smile, and both of you are giddy and a bit shy, but itâs all okay. Being happy that a crush isnât just a crush, itâs the start of a blooming relationship instead isnât anything to be ashamed of.
Plus, now looking back, you can definitely say that everything happens for a reason, and sometimes what breaks your heart is exactly what leads you to have your heart mended.
âł Youâve signed up for a VR companyâs beta testing for their new innovation, but you would have never thought that you and Jay - the son of the CEO - would be the two testers who actually get stuck inside the game.
âł Characters: rich boy!Jay x reader/you
âł Genre: experiment au, game au, kind of futuristic au, biotech au, action, comedy
âł Words:Â 10.1k
âł A/N: The levels are inspired by the settings in the Enhypen MVs in order, namely Given-Taken, Let Me In, Drunk-Dazed, Fever and Tamed-Dashed. Merry Christmas @dat-town! I love you more than words could explain! đ
âł A/N: Click here to be added to the TAGLIST and to let me know about your fic preferences. đ
âł Check out: my Enhypen masterlist
Belift Lab is one of the most popular VR companies in the world, and surely the most well-known in South Korea as of now. It doesnât produce only excellent VR games that have won numerous awards, but it also helps furniture and fashion companies with VR-based customer experiences (you can place your product inside your room through your phone or try on a dress virtually to decide whether it would fit you), it assists automotive companies with the designs for new cars and aids racers to try themselves out in new fields without even being there personally. With such cutting-edge technology, rising prices on the stock market and an immaculate reputation, itâs no wonder Belift Lab is looking for its next big thing.
Turns out you just got yourself into it when you walk into the building of the given address, and find yourself being surrounded by Belift Lab employees, telling you all about the experiment you have previously signed up for.
The thing is: you saw the ad with the opportunity to take part in an experiment that pays well (like reeeaally well, a monthâs worth of salary, to be precise), and given your broken college student state (already feeling the burden of your college debt), youâve decided that it wouldnât do you any harm to apply. Later on, you were contacted by someone who asked you questions, and when they asked if youâve ever played a VR game, you thought that you would be doomed saying no. Yet, you didnât want to lie, so you told them the truth. Actually, it was really the right thing to do because they were also looking for people with no experience in VR games (not just ones who did have experience) because they were testing out a new innovation, and they wanted to see if it would do well with people who have zero experience (like you).
So you were given a date and an address to come by for the experiment, instructions on what to look out for and what were the possible complications (headaches, nightmares, dizziness and such⊠though you had no idea at that time what the actual experiment would include), but you would have never thought that it would be Belift Lab out of all companies. Yet, here you are, already signing a confidentiality contract that you wouldnât tell anyone about the details about todayâs experiment, and theyâve also promised to take responsibility for any additional complications.
Thatâs when they tell you that they are testing pills that make you feel like youâre inside a VR game when in reality, you are just lying in an excellently built capsule, and the pill has this effect on your brain waves. There are scientists and doctors on the site in case something goes wrong, so even though it seems a bit scary, the amount of people who are there to help reassure you that they arenât going to kill you right then and there.
âBeta tester number 25, please, come forward!â A woman with rounded glasses calls for you, and you walk from the lobby through the corridor beside her, fingers playing with the hem of your comfy sweater. The womanâs high heels echo through the corridor as youâre making your way to another room. Then, another. And then, another.
When you arrive at the final one, you can see the capsules lined up beside the wall. They are huge, and look like rocket ships (not that youâve ever seen one in real life or been in one before), and they look really expensive. You can already tell that a lot of money and technological advances have gone into those capsules.
âPlease, make yourself comfortable in the capsule beside Mr. Kim!â The woman instructs you as she points at a friendly-looking 30-something man by the first capsule on your left. You nod, thanking the woman for her assistance and walk to the said man who immediately introduces himself as Kim Seokjin, then motions you to look at the table beside him.
On the table, there are a few pills, a glass and a jug of water. The pills look tiny enough to swallow easily, so youâre hopeful that you wouldnât choke on it, ruining your impression as a beta tester.
âWhat you have to do is to swallow the pill, then lay down in the capsule,â Mr. Kim starts in a professional, patient tone. âThe pill will make you feel sleepy, and you may feel like dreaming, but what you will feel and experience wonât be real, so remember that! You wonât get hurt no matter what happens in the game. Your body may have physical reactions to the virtual images projected into your brain, but weâll monitor you throughout the experience, so you donât need to worry.â
The way he says it makes it so easy to trust him, and obviously, Belift Lab knows what itâs doing, no wonder itâs so well-known and high-praised. Everyone here has seemed so professional and helpful so far, and theyâve given you multiple chances to turn down the experiment and bail out, and they have made sure that you knew about all the possible complications that have happened during the previous beta testing rounds, so youâre well-informed, thereâs no need to worry.
âThe pillâs effect aka the whole game should last for an hour, but weâre already at the fifth prototype, so it may differ a bit due to the modifications we did after the last round of beta testing. Another additional part of this round of beta testing is the pair youâll get. He will arrive soon, and join you inside the game. Together, you might be able to solve the problems faster, and help each other throughout the different levels. There are altogether 5 levels, but due to the time limit, you will most probably not be able to get through all of them. However, if you lose in a round, you can try until you succeed or until the time is up, so you donât need to worry about getting eliminated quickly,â he explains and lets out a chuckle by the end that just makes him even friendlier in your eyes.
âWell, I guess I wonât get through them all since I havenât been in a game like this before,â you admit, letting out a chuckle yourself. The young manâs smile doesnât fade as he reassures you:
âDonât worry! Itâs going to be a thrilling game, so you will probably enjoy it even if you havenât tried anything like this before. Or so the previous beta testers have said so.â
At this time, a black-haired guy appears by the door, but heâs far from you, so you canât see him properly. From afar, you can only see that heâs tall and slender, and has a rather confident, chic aura about him - itâs in the way he carries himself, and he doesnât try to seem small, he rather puffs his chest out and straightens his back. You can only guess that he would be your pair in the game since heâs led to the first capsule on the right-hand side of the room, but you canât dwell on it long either since Mr. Kim asks if you have any questions.
âNo, I donât think so,â you tell him with a smile, and he reassures you again that if thereâs anything wrong with your brain waves and body signals (for instance, your blood pressure levels), they can tell because they will monitor you through the capsules, so you donât need to worry.
Taking that as a final word, you reach for the jug of water and pour yourself a glass, then reach for the pill to place it on your tongue. Thanks to its size and the liquid, it slips down easily, and thereâs no odd aftertaste, so you get inside the capsule with a light heart.
âGood luck!â Mr. Kim wishes beamingly before closing the lid of the capsule. As youâre laying there, you can see the ceiling of the room through the glass of the lid, and itâs the last thing you see before you feel like youâre drifting into sleep.
 When you get inside the game, you find yourself in a rather vintage-looking room with wooden chairs and tables, a flower-patterned armchair, a worn rug, a chandelier, an old, loudly ticking clock on the wall and even a teddy bear. It seems like a living room, and thereâs a dining table behind the sofa you sit on, so that must be the dining room behind you. Thereâs also a kitchen attached to the dining room with all kinds of cutleries and cupboards.
However, as you look around, your eyes settle on the jetblack-haired boy whoâs just regained his consciousness in the chair beside the sofa, and your eyes widen in bewilderment. He must be the same boy from before, but now you can recognise who he is.
âWhat are you doing here?â
The words come out harsher than you would have intended, but the boy beside you seems more amused than hurt, so he casually shrugs his shoulders and says:
âWhy canât I be here?â
âI meanâŠâ You try to pull yourself together, not wanting to seem like a gossipy person, but anyone who has ever heard of Belift Lab has heard of the son of its CEO: Park Jongseong, also known as Jay. Heâs there with his father at all major events, and with his good looks, he always stands out. His fashion choices are always the talk of the town, but itâs no wonder that he knows how to combine colours and styles since heâs said to be a fashion designer college major, and with his build, he can pull off literally anything. And yes, you donât live under a rock, so you know these about him just by scrolling through social media, and reading some news sites. âDonât you already know what the games are about?â
Hearing that, Jay lets out a bit of a snicker, then looks straight into your eyes, and thereâs something cold about his gaze. Something that you canât quite put your finger on.
âNo, I donât. Iâm here as an ordinary beta tester just like you,â he explains dryly, almost coolly, and you need to remind yourself that despite what you know about him, you donât actually know anything about him, so you might as well just accept that heâs speaking the truth.
You donât have more time to dwell on such thoughts anyways because in the next moment, a door opens and a few guys enter the room. At first, you think that they might be beta testers just like you, but then you catch sight of their outfit - much like a uniform for boys at a boysâ school, but like in the previous decade: plain white shirts tucked into their black cotton pants that reach until their ankles, black socks and uniform dark shoes. They all have matching black ties that are loose around their necks, one boy even has a vest, but thereâs also one thing that catches your eyes when you look at them: they all look sickly pale.
Then, as the light from outside shines onto one of their faces, something flashes when the nearest boy smiles at you, and you and Jay look at each other at the same time.
âThey have fangs!â You shriek, horrified, because it wasnât the kind of theme youâve expected when Mr. Kim has told you that it would be a thrilling game. You know itâs just the first level, but youâve expected something light, not vampires.
However, your survival instincts kick in at the sight of the newly arrived creatures, and your eyes scan the room for possible escape routes. There seems to be only one door, and thatâs behind the boys, so you have to get there somehow (while not getting bitten by them).
âWe gotta go!â Jay exclaims, still composed, as he bolts from his seat, but youâre already making your way towards the kitchen. âWhat are you doing there? You canât hide from vampires in a cupboard!â
âIâm looking for weapons, you dumbass!â You reason harshly because just as much as you know that this game isnât real, hence you canât possibly get hurt, you donât intend on having a close encounter with a vampire. And no, you arenât an empty-headed, screaming girl like in horror movies, you have functioning brain cells, so you open cupboard after cupboard, looking for knives and even frying pans (getting hit by a frying pan must hurt, right?).
Seemingly, Jay doesnât have a better idea either, so he quickly runs towards you, and you lend him a longer cutting knife without sparing him a glance. He could think whatever he wants about you, but when he doesnât thank you, you know that youâre going to have a difficult time being his partner for the game because he doesnât really have the best first impression on you (neither do you on him probably by asking him what he is doing here⊠fair enough, you guess).
You get yourself a frying pan and a knife, and look back at the vampire boys who are closing on you two. Youâre pretty much in the corner of the kitchen at this point, so thereâs really no other way than to get through them and hopefully escape. Whatever this level is about, you are sure that you would find out only after getting rid of the vampires or getting out of their sight.
So not waiting for Jay to say anything or to make a move, you try to gather all your strength as you hit the nearest vampire in the face with the frying pan. Thankfully, the boy backs away and loses his balance, so you can continue punching the vampires in their faces with that brilliant frying pan or stabbing the knife in their side. Thank god you arenât scared of blood because there is sure a lot of blood, and everything seems so real that you get a bit dizzy at the sight of those suffering bodies by your side.
Due to the sudden light-headed moment of yours, you become a bit less careful, and someone immediately reaches for your wrist from behind you, twisting it in a way that doesnât break the bone but it hurts nevertheless, and the frying pan falls from your hands. You let out a scream in agony, and turn around, only to be faced with a very much enraged and crimson-eyed boy: the first victim of your frying pan hits. Your heart skips a beat when you realise just how close he is, and the pain coming from your wrist numbs your senses, so when he leans forward, you react belatedly, and donât push him away even though you still have your knife on you.
But someone reacts.
Jay directs a well-calculated kick into the vampireâs side thatâs enough to make him lose his balance. After that, he grabs the knife out of your hands and stabs it into the vampireâs chest, a pool of blood immediately oozing out of the spot. You let out a long breath that youâve been holding back, and catch Jayâs deep, dark eyes when they search for yours.
âThanks,â you mumble, still in shock, and you wince when the pain coming from your wrist flares up again.
You donât have time to tend to it though because another vampire comes from behind Jay, and you reach for the boyâs arm to pull him with you as you start making your way towards the door that youâve noticed when you first looked around.
âThereâs one coming after us,â you tell him, and he looks back, seeing the situation for himself. You two run fast enough, but the vampire isnât slow either, and manages to grab Jay by his shoulder. While Jay and the vampire are kicking and punching each other, you notice that neither of them has a weapon anymore, so your eyes scan the room quickly, and you crouch down to the nearest vampire, pulling the knife out of the body. Itâs disgusting, you know it, thereâs even more blood coming out of it, but by telling yourself that it isnât real and that youâve seen a lot worse in horror movies, you can still keep your shit together.
With the knife in your hand, you try to position yourself behind the vampire to aim at his back, but they are constantly moving, and you canât get a good hold of him, and you donât want to hurt Jay. So you do what might seem silly, but itâs your only chance:
âJay, please, stop!â You exclaim, and the boy hesitates for a moment hearing your voice, his body still. Itâs enough for the vampire to launch himself onto the boy, but taking advantage of Jayâs constant spot, you can stab the vampire in the back who falls to his knees almost immediately.
Jay looks up, quite bewildered, and both of you are still panting from the intensity of the last few minutes. He brushes his midnight-black locks that stick to his forehead due to sweating so much, but even in his state, heâs annoyingly good-looking (not that you would ever tell him face-to-face).
âThanks,â he breathes out at last, but he doesnât look you in the eye when he says so. Itâs still enough for you, and you wonât start arguing about it right then and there because you want to get out as soon as possible. He probably thinks the same way as he bobs his head in the doorâs direction, and after stepping over the last vampireâs body, you follow the boy.
You donât dare to look back as you walk towards the door, and your wrist is still hurting a lot, so you focus on not wincing constantly while Jayâs reaching for the doorknob. Only to find it closed.
He tries to open it a few more times, but it seems like you wonât just get out of the place so easily.
âI suppose we should look for a key,â you announce a bit wearily because youâve thought that you were over the most intense part of this level by fighting off those vampires.
âI guess so,â Jay agrees, giving you a brief nod before turning back and looking around. âIâll start in the kitchen,â he decides after a few moments of silence, and doesnât even wait for your approval. Hence, you go for the living room, looking into all of the drawers, looking behind the shelves, even looking under the rug.
It takes a bit more time for you to investigate because you donât want to use your pained right hand, and youâre right-handed, so youâre a bit clumsier with your other hand. You feel like giving up when the minutes pass by unfruitful, but then you notice that thereâs something in the neck of the teddy bear that youâve disregarded, and when you look closer, you can take out the shape of a key.
âIâve found it!â You tell Jay whoâs currently looking into the cupboards in the kitchen for the third time. The boyâs eyes light up when you take the necklace off of the teddy bear, the key right in the middle of it.
âWho would have thought that it would be on the teddy bear?â Jay mumbles, but you just shrug your shoulders. If he doesnât know the kind of games and the tricks in them that his father is making, then you wouldnât know either.
With the key in your hand, you now walk confidently to the door, and when it finally budges, you let out a sigh in relief. Thatâs the last thing you can do before you get swept off of your feet as the door opens and darkness engulfs you.
 Itâs just a moment, similar to when you stand up too quickly and canât see for a second, and then you find yourself inside a forest. The air is heavy, humid, almost as if you were in a rainforest. There are trees and bushes everywhere, even birds chirping, but something is very odd about the otherwise pretty scene, and you only notice it when you look up: thereâs no sky. Itâs pitch black above you. As you look around further, you can see the same darkness around you two, and you have no idea what it is, but you know that youâll only get to the end of it if you start exploring this forest.
âWe should probably look around, and try to find something that doesnât seem fitting to the scene. Like the teddy bear last time,â you speak up after you take in your surroundings, and when you avert your eyes to Jay, he merely shrugs his shoulders.
âI guess so,â he agrees flatly, and you quirk an eyebrow challengingly.
âIf you donât agree, you can say so. Iâve never played VR games, so I have no idea what to expect from this pill-innovation. Iâm just trying to come up with something logical,â you reason thoroughly, trying to find something in his jetblack orbs that might give him away. He looks away though, so you canât even try to read his expression.
âIâve never played one either,â he admits as he kicks into a branch under his feet, much like a sulky kid. He doesnât seem like he wants to talk, and based on his words, you have a feeling that his lack of experience in VR games and his presence at the beta testing site might have to do something with his father, but not in the way you would have thought so.
However, you know better than to ask an almost stranger about his family issues, so you shut up, and start walking around instead. As youâre trying to walk over a giant fallen trunk (or more like crawl over), you realise that your wrist isnât hurting anymore, so you can easily assist yourself in the process. Jay behind you, on the other hand, isnât that careful, and he slips off the tree in a rather clumsy way, almost falling head-on. He lets out a curse, and you watch him tentatively, trying to figure him out. How can someone so charismatic and chic be so hurt and careless?
âAre you okay?â
âYeah, of course. Why wouldnât I be? I donât have anything else to do with my life anyways than to beta test my fatherâs new innovation,â he grunts, dusting off his black sweatpants and oversized jumper. It seems like you two find yourselves in your original clothes and original state whenever you get to a new level because neither of you have blood on your clothes from the fight with the vampires and your wrist isnât hurting anymore. Itâs interesting.
Whatâs more interesting is the implication behind his words. When you first wondered why he was there in the game with you, and he said that he was an ordinary beta tester like you, you assumed that he was there of his own free will. On the other hand, his slight outburst makes you think otherwise. Youâre in no place to ask questions though since you donât know him and you will probably never see him again after this, so you try with a friendly smile and say:
âLetâs try to go around quickly, so we can be done with this whole game as soon as possible!â You suggest quite frankly because you donât want to drag this further either. The first level was scary enough for you to think twice about signing up for such experiments in the future no matter the money.
Jay does look up at you after your words, and something akin to gratitude flashes across the dark sky of his eyes. Just as deep and cold as his orbs seem, they are also enigmatic, but in a beautiful way. Heâs the kind of mystery you wish to solve, but the thought alone is enough to make you shake your head and turn back, so that you could look ahead of yourself. Yet, itâs too late.
You manage to walk into a small pond at that moment, and once your feet touch the water, it feels like something literally grabs your legs and drags you inside. You fall onto your back with a loud thud, and then the next thing you see and feel is the water weighing you down.
You have no idea whatâs inside the water, but you have to try extra hard to fight off whatever that is holding you down. You kick a few times with all your might, but youâre too scared and shocked to look behind you in the water, youâre concentrating on coming up for air instead. However, those seconds above the water arenât enough to make up for all the water you manage to gulp down and the strength with which that mysterious something is holding onto you.
Youâre literally drowning and suffocated, and your eyes canât get adjusted to the dirty water and its saltiness around you, and it gets extremely hard to see and feel anything other than undefeatable power. Your silent screams are just a useless cry in the whirlwind, and you wonder whether it feels similar to dying because your lungs are on fire, your eyes are burning, and your heart is beating as if it would break through your ribcage. Everything is dark and salty and futile, and youâre ready to accept your fate, so you close your eyes, letting the water carry your body instead of fighting against it.
And then darkness.
You faintly register when someone carries your body onto the slippery grass, but the moment you can breathe again, you start coughing up water and your eyes bolt open. Youâre alive. You didnât die. Or at least, not on this level, not in this game.
âItâs okay, itâs over now,â Jay tells you surprisingly gently, his familiar voice being the kind of anchor you would have never thought you would be thankful for, but after the events behind you, you are. You can feel his hands on your back as he helps you sit up and pat your back, so that you could cough up more water if needed.
âWhat happened?â You ask between two coughs, blinking at the boy in confusion. He looks just as startled and shaken up as you do, and the sight kind of warms your heart because this is the first time you can see some care behind his chic boy interior (and itâs because of you).
âI donât exactly know.â Jay shakes his head, quite bewildered. There are a few jetblack locks that fall into his eyes as he speaks, but he doesnât bother pushing them away as his hands are still on your back. âIt seemed like some kind of a creature that just grabbed you and pulled you inside the water. I had no idea what to do, but there was this blue glow coming from behind one of the trees, and I ran to see what it was, and found this glass of blue liquid, and Iâve tried my luck and poured it inside the pond. Then, there was this big glow again, and I donât know why, but your body came up to the surface, and I could go into the water, and get you out without having to encounter that creature.â
The way he says it as if he himself wouldnât believe what just happened tells you just how shocking it was to him, and you arenât any different, to be honest. You wouldnât even be any different if you were in his shoes because you really have no idea what to expect from this whole experiment. The vampires were surprising enough, but this? Even more so.
Just as much as you know that none of this is real, and what you see and feel is actually the combination of the pill and the technology built inside the capsule, your crazily beating heart doesnât care that itâs just an experiment. It only knows just how scary it was to be dragged by that unknown creature and to fight for your life. No wonder the same words from before roll off your tongue so easily:
âThank you,â you breathe out when you can finally stop coughing. âIt was so frightening. I didnât even see what I was fighting against.â
âNo worries. You would have done the same,â Jay reassures you in a rather kind way, and despite what youâve felt during the beginning of your acquaintanceship, youâre actually thankful that heâs been beside you now, and you could rely on his help. Sure, you could have just lost this round and tried again, but it feels good that he actually looks out for you (just like youâve done for him).
After you pull yourself together and squeeze out as much water from your clothes as possible, you continue looking around the forest with the boy, being extra careful this time. You brainstorm about why the sky could be pitch-black, and what you should be looking for, but you only realise the purpose of this whole level when Jay literally walks into something.
Youâve thought that you would see the rest of the forest ahead of you, itâs just dark like the sky above you, but no, thereâs no more forest once Jay walks into what seems like the end of it. Because youâre actually stuck inside a glass cube which means that the darkness above you means that thereâs actually nothing above you except the glass.
âBut wait⊠If thereâs glass around us and above us, how come thereâs a pond? There should be glass under us, but thereâs a pond, and it seems pretty deep, so can it be the way we can get out? Maybe thereâs something at the bottom of it?â Jay muses out loud after you come to the conclusion that youâre trapped inside a glass cube.
You ponder over his words, trying to understand the logic of this game. On the first level, you were still just trying to get used to the game itself, so you didnât even pay attention to the door the vampires entered through, but it was what turned out to be the escape you were looking for.
âIt would make sense since last time we had to fight through vampires who were the obstacle towards the door. Here, it seems like the obstacle was the creature you managed to get rid of with the help of that blue liquid, and it would make sense that it was guarding the pond just like the vampires didnât let us get to the door. The question is: do we need to find a key this time, too?â You wonder out loud because youâre sure at this point that it would do you good if you worked together and started putting together your ideas.
âI mean, we could try getting into the pond again to see if thereâs something at the bottom. We canât get any wetter than we are now,â Jay points out very much reasonably, and itâs in the way he says it so coolly and casually that actually makes you crack a smile because heâs right, but you wouldnât have thought that he would back up his idea by saying that youâve already been drenched anyways, so why not go for it?
So you give in to his idea, and start walking towards the pond again. Even though you donât have the fondest memories with it, you donât have a better idea to try and find your escape because it seems obvious by now that both levels are a kind of âhow to get out of this placeâ themed. Not to mention that this time, youâre prepared to go into the water, so you can mentally and physically prepare yourself for getting underwater and holding your breath.
You and Jay both swim to the bottom of the pond, and even though it seems like thereâs no bottom or itâs so deep that you canât see it, eventually, something flashes there, and you exchange a gaze with Jay when you realise what it is: an actual door. So pushing yourself forward with your legs, you make your way to the door, and Jay rips it open easily, and thatâs the last thing you see before you feel like all the air is punched out of your lungs.
 Just like last time, you find yourself in a new place with your original clothes in their original state. However, this time, thereâs no eerie silence like on the first level, not even birds chirping like in the next second one, thereâs actually loud music busting from speakers, and you donât need a lot of time to put together where you are: a party.
âReally?â You quirk an eyebrow, a bit taken aback by how ordinary the setting is compared to the ones before.
âDonât jinx it! You might walk into an ordinary-looking pond and get attacked by something,â Jay points it out with a half-careful, half-playful tone. You roll your eyes at him, but you know that heâs right. Thereâs always been something extraordinary in the levels even though you couldnât see it at first, so you have to be careful.
As you scan the area around you, it seems too ordinary though. There are drinks and food on a table nearby, the disco lights are dressing up the room in vibrant colours, thereâs a darts board and a foosball table for entertainment, music is played from big hi-fi towers on two sides of a tv, and there are cushions scattered around the room. It looks like a living room but a fancy one; itâs so big, itâs more like a lecture hall at your university. There are twenty-something guys and girls chatting in smaller groups, seemingly occupied with their own stuff (well, as much as they could be considering that itâs not actually real, itâs just a game).
âFound anything suspicious?â You turn to Jay after you look around a bit, but he seems just as clueless as you are, shaking his head alongside his answer.
âNo. It seems like an ordinary college party.â
âSpeaking from experience?â You quirk an eyebrow playfully, but you canât not imagine him as the popular college guy whoâs invited to every college party, whoâs surrounded by girls who have a crush on him, and who seems to be the life of the party wherever he goes.
Jay, on the other hand, lets a lazy, almost smug grin invade his thin lips.
âIâm sorry to break it down to you, but no. I havenât been to a single college party in my life,â he admits casually, shrugging his shoulders. You have to admit that youâre a bit taken aback, but he doesnât let you muse over it too much. âAttending my fatherâs events is enough socializing for me, I donât crave loud music and sweaty bodies on top of that.â
Your earlier smile fades away as another piece of the puzzle fits the assumption that youâve been building ever since you first talked to him, and asked why he was there with you in the game. He certainly doesnât have the best relationship with his father, and it seems like his rather chic outfits at formal events and his good looks hide something way deeper, way more hurt.
Youâre about to open your mouth when the boy cuts you off, averting his eyes back to you after looking around once more.
âI think the two guys in the corner behind me are staring at us,â he breaks it down to you as he points in the said direction. Your eyes follow where heâs pointing at, and you canât help but agree with him. The two guys stare right at the two of you, and when they catch your gazes, they just turn around and start walking away.
âDo you think we should follow them?â
âI donât think we could find it out without actually following them,â Jay points out rather reasonably. You nod to his words, but thereâs a knot in your throat. What could await you on this level? Youâve had vampires and water creatures, blood and water, fighting and swimming so far, so there was a possibility you would have something even worse this time.
You maneuver yourself around all those random people, but they donât seem to notice you two even when you bump into them, so it makes you think that they wonât attack you (hopefully), they are just like those non player characters that are there in video games for aesthetic purposes (not that you play video games, but your little brother does, so you hear a thing or two from him). Jay goes first, and you follow him, hoping that the two suspicious boys could lead you to a clue that helps you figure out what this level is about.
However, when a door closes behind them and you open it, what you see is far from what youâve expected. The door immediately closes behind you two the moment you both step into the room, and the suspicious boys are nowhere in sight. Instead of them, thereâs a whole obstacle course in front of you.
You used to enjoy it as a kid at theme parks, but it seems all too real and all too dangerous now. Thereâs a narrow footbridge in the middle but without the rails on the sides (so itâs just the deck), deep, discoloured water under it that sizzles as if thereâs some kind of acid in there, thereâs fire coming out of pillars on both sides of the room, and there are different objects hanging down from the ceiling, swaying left to right, momentarily blocking the way to the end of the trail.
Thereâs a ladder that leads to the beginning of the footbridge, and thereâs no other way to go around the course because the giant glass under the bridge that holds the water from spilling out is built into the room from wall to wall. No matter who did this part of the experiment, they made sure that the players knew that they had no choice but to go through it.
âSo⊠uhm⊠I think we should follow each other closely in case one of us has trouble at some point, but that footbridge-like thing isnât wide enough for the two of us to start at the same time,â you try to pull yourself together at the sight of the flames and the suspicious looking water and all those objects swaying left to right, probably heavy enough to push any person into the water without a problem.
âIâll start first then,â Jay volunteers confidently, and you try to thank him with a reassuring smile, but it probably seems a bit too forced. âItâll be okay, just take it easy. Thereâs no need to rush,â he adds oddly gently, yet you guess your fear is written all over your face, so thereâs no way he couldnât have guessed how scared you are.
âThanks,â you mumble out, your voice shaking a bit. He smiles back at you before he walks to the ladder, taking one step after another. You follow him after a few seconds, but the moment you place your feet on the ladder, a timer appears on the ceiling, and it starts counting back.
04:59⊠04:58âŠ
âOh jesus! Are we supposed to do it under 5 minutes?â You shriek out in horror, but quicken your steps nevertheless, making it to the top of the ladder in no time.
âThatâs it for taking our time,â Jay mimics your surprise in a rather ironic tone, and you donât know whatâs worse: knowing that this is not real and your heart still feels like itâll jump out of your ribcage, or seeing the always confident Jay waver in front of you. âIâll go first nevertheless. You can follow me, and Iâll try to help whenever I can. Okay?â
The way he looks at you makes you shiver a bit. Thereâs no sign of the cool, chic boy anymore, he seems more determined than ever. He seems like a real fighter, and maybe itâs because he handles the thought of it not being real better, but he seems so much more composed than you yourself are, so you try to pull yourself together for his sake (and for your sake, of course).
You nod, and watch as he takes the first step on the bridge. If the whole situation isnât bad enough, the boy tells you that the deck is slippery, so you have to be careful. When he gets near the first object thatâs swaying above the bridge yet low enough to throw anyone off, he crouches down and starts crawling, his back avoiding the object only by a bit. While youâre watching him, you look up at the timer, and then look back at the bridge, then look up again.
âThe fire is coming out every 5 seconds. They go off at the same time as far as I can see,â you notify him of your observation, and help him with the counting when he walks through the first zone with the fire pillars.
You can feel your heart beat in an erratic rhythm, but you gulp down your nervousness as you take the first step onto the bridge. Thereâs no time to waste, 35 seconds already passed by, and Jay passed only the first two trials, thereâs plenty more left, so you try to be quick yet careful. You mimic Jay when you get to the first swaying object, and you practically lay down onto the cold metal, then push yourself up when itâs getting further from you. Then, you wait for the fire to go off first, so you can start counting, and run through the first fire zone when itâs time.
After youâve overcome the second fire zone, you catch sight of Jay miscalculating his steps and almost getting burned by the fire that goes off at the next zone. He stumbles backwards, momentarily forgetting about anything else and is about to take a step forward when you exclaim:
âJay, on your right!â You warn him about the object swaying right in his direction, and he doesnât have time to crouch down, so he hastily takes two steps backwards, almost crashing into you, yet successfully avoiding the object.
You automatically grab his sweater from the back to minimise the chances of bumping into each other, but the boyâs surprise is evident when he turns his head towards you, and his eyes widen. As heâs turning around, he almost slips, and you grab onto him harder to steady him. Thatâs how you find yourself looking right into his eyes from up-close, examining the different dark shades that collide in his orbs, one of your hands on his back and the other on his chest, your faces only a few centimetres away. Your breath hitches in your throat, and you go speechless, the chaotic sounds around you going numb for a second.
âThanks,â Jayâs whisper is the only thing you can hear and that fills up your senses before the world goes crazy again.
Before an alarm goes off.
You both look up at the timer, and it signals half-time. 2 minutes and 30 seconds left. You probably arenât even halfway to the end, you realise as your eyes dart to the rest of the footbridge and its challenges.
âLetâs try going through the trials right after each other! 5 seconds should be enough for both of us to go through them,â the boy suggests hastily, and no matter how crazy it sounds, youâre willing to risk it. What could you lose though? If itâs game over, then itâs game over, but you might as well try until that, thereâs no other way anyway to survive this in time.
So you nod, and yank your hands away from him, but Jay grabs your left wrist as heâs turning back, pulling you with him. This way, when the objects sway to either side of the room, he can pull you with him, and after the fire goes off, you can both run through the zones before they go off again. Everything seems to go smoothly until the very end of the bridge when water shoots from underneath you, and you nearly get splashed with the sizzling liquid. That comes so out of the blue that you nearly trip as you take a step forward, and you literally crush into Jay this time.
Yet, you have no time to waste, the clock is ticking, itâs close to 20 seconds now, and the ladder is close at the end of the bridge, so when Jayâs hold is tighter around your wrist than before, you donât ask questions, you just follow him until the very end, and note with a relieved sigh when the water doesnât shoot at you again, and you can go down the ladder one by one.
Another alarm goes off when the countdown is up, and youâre running towards the door at the end of the room when you realise what the countdown was for: the glass holding the water starts cracking, making worrying noises as if it couldnât handle the weight of the water anymore, and as you grab the doorknob and throw the door open, the water starts flooding the room, and you can barely close the door before it would get there and wash you away with it.
Then darkness.
 Usually, when a new level comes, the first thing you can feel is the shift in the atmosphere. This time, itâs more than just the atmosphere. This time, itâs the temperature.
âGod, isnât it hot in here?â Jay voices out his disapproval first, drops of sweat already forming on his face. He starts fanning himself with his hands as heâs looking around, but for now, the most burning question is definitely the boyâs: why is it so hot?
âItâs like someone left the heater on for way too long,â you agree with a snicker, glad that youâve thought of putting your hair up in a high ponytail before this whole experiment started because you would be annoyed by your hair sticking to your temple if you didnât.
Itâs not only hot, itâs also humid in the room which surprisingly seems like a private bath house. Or not? Well, you have no idea what kind of a concept it is, but you two are standing in front of a giant pool thatâs surrounded by sun loungers and a bench, and there are majestic rose windows that let the light in from outside (which is probably fake and thereâs nothing outside, or you have to find the way outside, that much you could already expect from this game).
âI doubt weâll have to dip in the pool and wait for something to pop out from behind a door,â Jay muses out loud, and you instantly nod to his words. It seems just way too easy. Suspiciously easy.
On the other hand, the water is very much tempting since you can already feel buckets of sweat dripping down your body and it hasnât even been long since you arrived. Jay must feel the same way because he starts undressing, and you are so shocked that you immediately turn around, all words dying on your lips. You donât know what to expect, the only thing you know is that your heartbeat picks up its pace, and youâre already hot, so your burning cheeks donât help the situation either.
A few seconds later, the boy lets out a wholehearted laughter, and says:
âChill! Iâve only gotten rid of my sweater. I have a T-shirt underneath,â he breaks it down to you casually. You close your eyes for a moment, trying to deal with the embarrassment internally, but you reckon that your awkwardness shows big time even when you turn around and look at the boy.
âWell, thanks for the info,â you mumble out, trying to act nonchalant yet failing terribly.
âYou can get rid of your sweater, too.â
âI only have a bra underneath,â you tell him straightforwardly, and now itâs his turn to get all awkward and blushing. He visibly gulps down, averting his eyes to the pool instead, and even though you know itâs not fair to smile at his antics, you do anyways. Heâs kinda cute when he gets shy.
Anyways, after overcoming the awkwardness of the little undressing session, you try to come up with a plan. Itâs difficult to think of anything when you feel dizzy and light-headed, and the room around you seems somewhat distant, but having no better idea, you start looking around because youâre lacking any hint of what you should be looking for. The pool seems like an ordinary one, there arenât any extraordinary objects under the chair or around the bench either, and there arenât creatures coming out from the rooms attached to the pool area either. Thereâs a simple bedroom with all too ordinary things and a bathroom with a shower cubicle, a mirror and a sink. Everything looks so ordinary, yet thereâs no sight of any heater or whatsoever that could be causing this unbearable heat, so you are clueless.
Retreating back to the pool area, you let yourself and your dizzy self rest on one of the sun loungers, your body getting heavier and heavier as the heat doesnât lessen. Feeling a bit feverish, you find yourself blurting out an apology.
âIâm sorry.â
It was long overdue, but since you two are in a game thatâs constantly bombarding you with deadly creatures and challenges, thereâs not much time to talk apart from coming up with plans. So you never really had the time or the right chance to apologise for asking such questions about his family, but now that you have no idea what to do and a vampire doesnât want to suck your blood either, you find yourself wanting to come clean.
âFor what?â Jay raises an eyebrow as he follows your example, and takes a seat in the sun lounger next to yours. You roll onto your right side to be able to look at him when you answer him.
âFor jumping to stupid assumptions about you. That was very shallow of me.â
When itâs out, it doesnât seem that daunting anymore, but maybe itâs also because you feel so light-headed that nothing seems too real or too difficult anymore. You kind of just float in this dizzy state without much purpose or direction.
âAh, no, itâs okay. Thatâs not something you should apologise for.â The boy shakes his head immediately, a flicker of surprise splashing through his orbs when he hears your explanation. âIt would have been shallow if you had started telling me to be grateful for what I have and if you had pretended that you knew better how I should live my life than I do.â
âDo people really do that?â You furrow your eyebrows in question because it would be such nonsense.
âYep.â
âThatâs messed up. No one should tell you how to feel. We see only just a fraction of other peopleâs lives, we have no right to tell them how they should feel,â you mumble out, and at this point, youâre not sure that anything you say makes sense. You really feel like youâre having a fever, and you know that feeling well when youâre sweating, your body is aching, your mind is foggy, yet you keep talking to someone because itâs better than focusing on the pain.
âI guess not everyoneâs thinking that way,â Jay lets you know with a bittersweet smile. Thatâs so in contrast to the chic, cold-looking boy he appeared to be at first, and your heart aches for him even though you donât really know him. Or at least, you know some facts about him and what youâve been through in the past levels, but not more.
You donât actually mind because Jay turns out to be so much more than just the chic boy youâve known from the news. Heâs caring and extremely loyal to those close to him, heâs hard-working and an avid rule-follower, he can be judgemental and honest, but tries not to hurt people with his words, and he can also be funny, not the hilarious type but the subtle one, and his jokes make you crack a smile. Heâs handsome, too, you canât deny that; the way he ruffles his pitch-black locks or the way he stares into the distance, it all seems so effortless on his part, but heâs handsome even more so because heâs not aware that your eyes are on him while heâs doing so.
You donât know how much time passes when Jay has enough and decides to go into the pool to cool himself, risking the possibility that something might come at him or the water might contain something that harms him. As heâs slipping into the water, his T-shirt slips a bit and shows a part of a tattoo around his temple. You canât see what exactly it is because heâs far enough for that, but the fact that he has a tattoo is enough to render you speechless, yet you tell yourself that itâs because of the situation itself and that he might be getting hurt (which doesnât happen, by the way).
âI think thereâs something under the water,â the boy lets you know, his voice full of suspicion. âIt looks like some kind of an object, but I donât know what it is,â he adds before you could ask whether itâs some kind of a creature that might come at him (or the two of you). You stand up from the sun lounger to walk closer to the edge of the pool, but you canât tell either what it could be.
âI mean, I guess the only possibility for us getting to the end of this level is by examining anything that might seem suspicious, and thatâs the first thing that seems suspicious,â you reason as you also sink into the pool, letting the cold water cool your body.
Thankfully, thereâs no awkwardness this time even though your clothes are sticking to your body, and you two go underwater to look at the said object that seems like a metal box from up-close. You blink at each other underwater, neither of you knowing what to expect, but you both reach for the box nevertheless. After all, youâre paired together for this game, you two should probably do something together with it, too.
When you two touch the box, the ground slips from under your feet, and darkness engulfs you for a few seconds.
 The next thing you can see is the familiar ceiling from the beta testing site through the capsule youâve been put inside. Youâre so relieved that itâs over that you barely register when the capsule opens up and a worried Mr. Kim shows up.
âOh my gosh, we thought you two would never find the box! I swear that you two were the only ones who havenât gone inside the water first things first and found the box. Although I must admit you were one out of three pairs who have actually gotten to the 4th level. But also itâs because you got a bit stuck inside the game, this prototype is clearly not the closest one to the one-hour time frame.â
He just blabbers and blabbers, and you feel like youâve just woken up from a really long and deep yet exhausting sleep, so you can barely comprehend what heâs saying. When you finally pull yourself together and youâre also taken into another room to get some check-up tests on your physical state, they finally tell you that something must have gone wrong with the pill because you were inside the game for about 100 minutes, and the pillâs effect usually wears off as soon as the 60-minute threshold arrives, but it wasnât the same this time. To put simply: you two were stuck inside the game for another 30-minutes(ish), and it seemed like your brain could only let you come to consciousness if you found the key to the next level. Which, obviously, you didnât get to because you were already over the time limit, but it was fascinating, as they said, how your and Jayâs brain kept you working until you got to the metal box.
Speaking of which, the doctors and researchers could monitor what was projected into your brain through this brand new technology theyâve come up with, so they could ask specific questions about your experience. Truth to tell, when they told you prior to the game that you two would be monitored, you didnât think that they would listen to all of your conversations and know what youâve been through but well⊠Itâs too late to take back what youâve said of only wearing a bra underneath or Jay telling you about his family or fangirling over Vincenzo.
Plus, speaking of whom, you canât wait to finish with the post-experiment interview because you want to talk to Jay about the new findings. Yet, the boy is nowhere to be found, and when you ask the lady who called your name when you arrived about the boyâs whereabouts, she says that he has already left. Which is a bit sad, but honestly, you shouldnât have gotten your hopes up high. He might not have felt the need to talk to you or to keep in touch with you, and thatâs okay.
Or so you think until a few days later, you get a mysterious message on your phone, saying:
 âWho are you?â You ask back even though you have a hunch about who it could be, yet you canât be sure.
 âSorry, itâs Jay.â You squeal a little inside when you see his name on the screen, but you try to play the hard-to-get girl a bit before letting him know about your answer to his question.
 âHow did you get my number?â
 âIâve gotten it from the beta tester database.â
 âHah, and Iâve thought that was strictly confidential informationâŠâ You tease him a bit, and you canât help but smile down at your phone, imagining Jayâs subtle smile to your words.
 âSorry? They made an exception with me.â
 âWell, if you were that keen on getting my number⊠why not?â
 âCool. Then, thatâs a date.â Your heart literally skips a beat when you see the word âdateâ written down like that, yet before you could respond in any way, another message arrives. âI mean, a deal. Stupid autocorrect.â
 You let out a wholehearted laughter that makes the woman beside you on the metro furrow her eyebrows, but you couldnât care less. You save Jayâs number in your phone right immediately, and you two pick up where you left off: the day of the experiment with Jay roasting his fatherâs company regarding the mistake they made with the pill youâve been given. Truthfully, youâre actually thankful that it happened this way because you may not talk to him like this if it werenât for the feverish conversation beside the pool, but who knows?
Life is a game, and sometimes, you can have the best possible outcome only if you get a bit off track.