Debris calmly swept along near deserted streets of an inner Seoul town while sunlight reflected off grooves of dusty apartment complexes, small units’ and local stores’ rooves, intensifying the heat shrouding the town. A faint buzzing reverberated from cooling systems; installed almost at every corner. It seemed any trace of water would never reach the ground before vaporising, leaving little moisture but dry, thick air. Waves of summer heat seemed to slow movement, enveloping a scarce amount of townspeople as they somnolently carried on their late afternoon duties.

The tranquillity lingering in the air was abruptly offset by rapid footsteps thundering down a rough pavement. Gravel scattered as it scraped against the path; a plume of dust immersed in the air, condensing a small dirt cloud which dispersed slowly. Movement halted as a slim figure of a high school girl nestled under a hood of a nearby grocery store, keen to seek shelter from the sun’s concentrated rays. Her body heaved up and down, panting from the brief and hastened fashion she had stormed down the street. Despite her lack of layers- merely wearing a short sleeved white blouse, tie and navy skirt, the summer heat had a substantial effect upon her. Beneath the sun’s scorching gaze she had ran multiple times along the same street with a glistening forehead decorated in beads of sweat, cheeks flushed deep pink with a hint of sunburn and restlessness caused by irritable heat. Her eyes flitted around briefly upon each neighbouring store within sight. A slight frown developed, evidently marking exhaustion and frustration. I’ve terrible luck- a stray thought which seemed to cling to her conscience like the dark strands of short hair plastered on her forehead.

About an hour had passed since her school’s bell rang. In the beginning she had leapt out the gates with fiery determination until her enthusiasm was sapped by the present weather conditions and strenuous ‘small scale exploration’ she had undertaken. It all seemed pointless now- to locate a certain game store upon her friend, Miyoung’s recommendation. The entire adventure proved deciphering a simple hand-drawn map beyond her capabilities. She glanced towards a piece of paper crumpled in her slender fingers, immensely regretting her vehement denial of being an undefeated contender among her classmates as ‘directionally-challenged’. She cursed her sense of pride for declining her friend’s offer as a travel guide. Imagining Miyoung’s playful grin after she’d concede defeat was rather humiliating.

All this time and effort in vain… No thank you.

She scanned surrounding buildings once more and to no avail, did she spot the game store. Heaving an exasperated sigh she entered the grocery store; a familiar humming enticing her stay.

—-

Welcomed by a chilling rush of air she sighed in great satisfaction while strolling down numerous grocery aisles. An enormous selection of refrigerated beverages in the frozen section appealed to her dry throat. She spent a few minutes weighing her options then opted for peach ice tea, an old time favourite. As she approached the shop register, an elderly man met her gaze. His receding hairline only added to the aging effect as well as the wrinkles around his eyelids, creating several folds under almond shaped eyes. He looked at her peach tea and slightly nodded, as if approving her taste.

“That will be 2500 won.”

Placing the bottle on the counter the teen fished for coins in her skirt pocket. After a few moments of clinking she put the said amount in the outreached hand of the shop attendant.

“Have a good day.”

The girl smiled and opened the bottle, downing the contents until a third remained. For the time being, she placed the cool tea in her school bag. Before exiting however, she realised she hadn’t a single clue to reach that dreaded game store.

Oh drats.

She silently contemplated the idea and without any further consideration, in she swerved on her heel, determined to inquire the store’s whereabouts as she returned to the counter, “Excuse me Ajusshi…”

NB: Ajusshi = Uncle, polite manner of addressing an older or unfamiliar man

At the sound of her voice he turned to face the young girl, quizzically staring. “How may I help you?”

She unfurled the crumpled paper from her grasp, pointing her index finger with the opposite hand and queried, “Would you happen to know directions to ‘FC.G’?”

Taking the dilapidated paper from her hand he attempted to ease the creases by flattening it on the counter. The girl blushed slightly in embarrassment but regained composure. He brought the paper close to his face and his eyes squinted trying to read the smudged scrawl on the map. After a moment, his facial recognition concluded he understood where the store was located. He pointed at the map, “From this grocery…” his finger trailed along a faint line, “Go along here, and make a turn into this alleyway.”

The girl’s face brightened and bowed, “Thank you very much Ajusshi.” and hastily left the store. Immediately she disappeared through the automatic doors, bolting along the street, leaving dust plumes once more.

“Youngsters sure do fly…” The old man mused.

—-

The girl now stood before a gaming store with block letters ‘FC.G’ illuminated in green neon lighting. Although she was drained of energy she willfully stepped inside the store, relieved she had finally managed to arrive at her destination after roughly an hour of pointless meandering before asking directions.

As soon as she stepped inside from automatic doors her eyes glistened, games and gear galore; video game haven. She peered around, eager to seek a new game rumoured to be one of the best real graphics massive multiplayer online role-playing games on several forums in South Korea. As of late RGMMORPGs had become more increasingly popular since its first establishment in Japan a few years ago. In rapid pursuit, competing large-scale gaming companies in Asia and America released their own realistic graphics games, earning a humongous landslide of income from the highly sought after and envied game-play. -A fantastical reality. This new game under FulCeption in particular had been released into beta mode just today but nevertheless, she was determined to grab a copy for herself. The girl joined the end of a large queue in front of a counter which resembled a rather disjointed line with some customers shoving in front of others. Although it was an unsightly struggle, her excitement over the new game was winning the battle against her growing impatience.

—-

It was almost closing time. Can customer service be this terrible?

She’d waited several hours already. Only now did she manage to come within a few metres of the counter. She flicked open her smartphone, 8.37pm. Miyoung won’t believe I waited more than three hours for this game. Unexpectedly she was forced a step backwards when a young teenage boy in front of her bumped into her shoulder while cursing at the store clerk who had rudely dismissed him. He stormed off, angrily stomping and cussing his way through the automatic doors.

Feeling rather indignant but not yet disheartened by the previous exchange, the girl stepped in front of the counter enthusiastic as the last customer. Her attention however, was focused solely upon rummaging through her school bag, “Is Equilibrium Online avail-?”

“No.” Came a low grunt in response.

The girl frowned at the short disinterested remark. She immediately glared upwards, only to be surprised to see a vaguely familiar face of the clerk. Stunned, she became unable to coherently gather her speeding thoughts into a sentence. The male remained indifferent but spoke more neutrally without distaste, “Kim Sooyoung, yes?”

How did he know? Could it be Sh-

“Shin Yuhan, we were neighbours till 6th grade.”

The male examined the girl before him, the insignia on her navy tie belonging to Hyehwa Girls’ High. More notably her round face, her intense brown eyes and short dark hair had not changed significantly since he’d last seen her. Her height however…

Although hesitant, Sooyoung responded, “It’s been a long time.” Shin Yuhan she thought. Short. Bright…

“You haven’t changed much.” Shin smirked. And blunt…

Slightly irked, she replied eyeing him smugly, “Neither has your height.”

Shin clicked his tongue and stood from a stool he was sitting upon. When he straightened his body, he was a fraction shorter than Sooyoung. His eyes fell to Sooyoung’s bag,“Still flying after balls?”

Sooyoung scoffed, “I’m not some dog.”

He gestured towards her bag, “The softball key chain Seongsaeng Lee gave you.”

NB: Seongsaeng = Teacher

Sooyoung glanced at the side of her schoolbag where a small white ball, dotted with red lines attached to a chain hung. Vaguely in her mind, she recalled two children practising their pitching on an open field. “When did you move back?”

“Last month.”

“Your father transferred jobs?”

“Yeah.”

“So,” back to the subject… “How about Equilibrium Online for your dearest childhood friend?”

“Official release date is August 25^th. You’re two months fourteen days too early.”

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow, taking out the sheet of paper she had searched for from her bag and handed it to Shin, “I’m after the beta, which releases today.”

Shin perused the paper; it was a gaming advertisement under FulCeption announcing the release of EO. He then proceeded to nimbly flick through papers in a rather empty filing cabinet. As he found his desired paper, he faced it upward on the counter.

“Sooyoung, you do know that only 500 Beta positions are available? A fifth has already been distributed to FC’s company associates.”

Sooyoung began reading the notice, “400 to the public… That’s too few for beta testing don’t you think?”

Shin nodded, “1000 or more. It seems FC.G want to lay low until the official release.” Probably to avoid bad reviews, considering past mishaps… Shin thought.

Sooyoung pouted crossing her arms, “Darn, I was looking forward to today.”

Shin looked at the sulking Sooyoung contemplating. A wicked grin appeared on his features as he reminded himself about the several boxes in the storage room which had been delivered yesterday afternoon. Then, he glanced at the filing cabinet behind him. He proceeded to lean forward, feigning a thinking pose as his index finger and thumb stroked a hairless chin.

“As for me, I’ll be playing EO after school finishes this Saturday”.

Sooyoung was incredulous, “You’ve got a beta position!? Tsk, lucky bastard! Twerp! Beansprou-”

“Enough.” Shin replied curtly.

“Give me a reason to stop,” Sooyoung huffed.

In that moment Shin whipped out a copy of Equilibrium Online from the clerk desk, completely immaculate. The cover had an intricate silver sword wrapped in a long sash; its grip and guard elongated and thin with a rounded pommel. While the guard had spearheads attached at each end, the hilt consisted of two hollowed circles; the inner circle then followed by the outer one, each connecting the grip and guard. The outer circle had four spearheads connected to four bars attached to the inner circle, diverging diagonally from the other. Further along the guard, two large arcs extended with ends rounded just below the guard and at the tips two spearheads in opposing direction. It gave off a curious sensation; perfect balance.

From behind the first copy, Shin then swiftly shuffled out a second copy.

Sooyoung at a loss for words could only stare dumbfounded at the two copies.