LOVEGAME OVER

4 - Press start to play

Taehyung's and the new player's avatars show up on the set, but do not move at first. Taehyung slightly taps on his microphone and asks, "Hello? Captainkook97? Are you there?"

After a moment, a small voice answers, "Yo."

This is all Taehyung needs to smile again and energically resume, "Want to play? What level are you?"

The other boy takes time to reply, as if he did not really want to talk, and finally says, "I'm new here."

"Wait, seriously?" Taehyung exclaims. He is immediately disheartened, he does not want to spend his night playing with an eight-year-old noob. What a waste of his time. As he takes his phone to answer something to Jimin's texts, he carelessly states, "See, I'm level 37 already, I don't have time for this shit."

"No, don't go!" his interlocutor almost cries. He seems to get a grip on himself and says, "I hoped you could teach me. I saw you on my suggestion list. Please?"

Taehyung ponders for a while, his phone in his hand. "Do you have at least any idea of how this works?"

"Well, a friend told me you had to fight until one of you dies. Seemed cool." Taehyung rolls his eyes. The boy could not be more than fifteen. As he is not answering, the new player continues, "So, you're going to teach me or what?"

"Wow, calm down, tiger," Taehyung chuckles. "Yeah, I'll be your mentor for a few hours, if you like."

He locks his phone and smiles when he hears the other boy's satisfied sigh through his headset. Taehyung then suddenly attacks the other player's avatar, killing him in less than five seconds. "Hey!" he screams in outrage. "I wasn't ready! This doesn't count."

Taehyung laughs — he is having fun. He then starts explaining the basics to the boy, who tries to keep everything in mind and put it into practice. But as Taehyung can see, he clearly sucks. But he does not give up.

He cannot help but find the other kid fascinating. Generally, players do not go online before being confident enough with their gaming skills. There is something special about this captainkook97. He looks almost too innocent for the world of video games. But Taehyung decides he likes him.

"I've won! Did I win?" the unknown player yells after two hours.

"Actually, I let you win." Taehyung waits for the boy to grunt, and bursts out laughing. "Did you really think you could beat me?"

Instead of getting an answer, Taehyung sees the boy's avatar move all of a sudden and try to throw an axe to his own avatar's head, which he easily dodges. The player whines in exasperation and his character dashes to bounce on Taehyung's, trying to behead him. "Wait, did you try to take me by surprise? You're being cute."

The boy with the stupid pseudonym keeps quiet and seems to be sulking. Taehyung hears his phone's ringtone go mad as he receives several texts in a row. As he reaches out to answer, the boy in his headset says with a laugh, "Who's that harassing you? Your girlfriend?"

"It's not important," Taehyung only replies, dropping his phone on his bed without answering Jimin's texts. He adds enthusiastically, "Let's play!"

When they finally end the game, after another hour, Taehyung has a big smile on his lips – he has not had this much fun for a long time. He concludes to the other player, "Well, I've got to admit you're really bad at this. But you're nice." After a pause, he asks, "What about a replay tomorrow at eight? Or do you have to attend kindergarten?"

His interlocutor friendly insults him, but sounds more than happy to agree. While he turns his console off, and takes his phone back, Taehyung smiles. He has made a new friend.