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Back and forth, back and forth. I watch Hoseok pace around, anxiously biting down his nails. We've continued trying to log out so many times I've lost count, hoping that whatever is going in the game would have been fixed with each attempt, but the result stayed the same, causing our hope to falter and our anxiety to rise.
"Would you stop pacing like that? You're making me feel even more uneasy," Taehyung pleads with Hoseok, frustratedly pulling at the sides of his hair.
"I don't like this," he declares, ignoring Taehyung's request. "This is giving me some creepy sword art online vibes."
At the mention of the show's name, I want to laugh at the comparison, but remembering the fate of the characters in that show stifled that laugh, buried it down deep, somewhere to rot away. I never watched the whole show, but I know enough. The players get trapped inside the game and have to fight to escape.
I shake my head, trying to push the thought from my mind before I start pacing the room along with Hoseok. This is very advanced technology, and technology always has it's problems. I'm sure the game moderators have already noticed the problem and are working to fix it. The company that developed this game have some of the best people working for them to keep an eye on things and make sure things are running smoothly. If anyone can help us, it has to be them.
"Well," Namjoon grunts as he stands up from where he previously sat on the ground, "sitting here and worrying won't do us any good. Let's find out if anyone else is having the same problem as us."
We all follow Namjoon's lead, thankful that we have something to do to preoccupy our minds instead of dwelling on the worst possible outcomes. Hoseok seems to relax a bit too, his stance being less tense than before. One thing about Namjoon is that he pays attention, he notices details and can see through our exteriors. He sees when we're troubled, he cares, and most importantly, he does something to help us. He saw through Jungkook's facade, he saw through mine, he knew I was hiding something from him, and even though it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Hoseok was afraid, Namjoon knew that he needed a distraction. Namjoon is the glue that holds everyone together. Everyone has to know that he's a natural born leader, that's why I wanted to tell Namjoon about what was going on with Jungkook, because he seems like the kind of person that would know what to do. He seems like someone you can trust.
We decide to go to the one place that we know will be busy no matter what's going on, Cafe 13. As expected, the popular shop is filled to the brim, just like how the workers here fill your cup of coffee; they make sure there's barely any empty space left. When Jimin tries to open the door, it barely budges before someone standing in front of it stops it from swinging open.
"Sorry," Jimin squeaks out. The person that Jimin just attacked with the door grumbles before she attempts to move enough for us to slide through the door. Once we get inside, I immediately regret coming here. I feel like a sardine, packed tightly in a can with no room to breathe. A loud, constant hum of people talking over one another attacks my ears.
