sha la la | collab book

1 - game

[ monsta x, yoo kihyun ]

romance, slight angst ; tiffany

-

kihyun's glass eyes shone in the darkness. his pupils had long adapted to the pitch black from the daunting years. sometimes he'd like to pretend he was asleep, and when that didn't work, he pretended he was a normal human suffering from insomnia. his pretend game worked as it distracted him from the truth of his situation. most of the time anyway.

in his glass cell, time blurred into itself. the virtual world was unkind to the common ticking time watch. its exceeding pride paid no mind to the endless expanse of man-made clockwork when it marched on forever with no exception. he had long since given up counting the milliseconds, then seconds, then minutes, until the years passed and the numbers paid little attention to him.

all he knew is that he could sit there in the dark, lost in his pretend game when he was in a real one at the same time.

suddenly, as if teasing him, he once again heard the whirring of the universe that so cruelly twisted his fate. the startup of the prisoning cartridge that replayed in his mind only as distant memories. the familiar yet close to forgotten notes that rang into his ear through his hollow mind and directly out the other. it's irritatingly kid-friendly melody was what drove him the maddest.

he had long since given up hope that the dusty cartridge would be picked up again after the last holder. but the universe had cruel ways of playing with him, in virtually more ways than one. it looked like it was time again.

kihyun wobbled to his feet, dusted off his wrinkle-less clothes, and turned his body to face the glass barrier. dark blue filled the screen miles in front of him.

smile, kihyun. he thought to himself. you have a new player.

-

"minhyuk, check this out!"

minhyuk, your childhood best friend from elementary to high school, tore his eyes away from the movie playing on his TV to see the electronic device and little square cartridge you held in your hand. he raised an eyebrow up at you with a concerned-for-your-health kind of look.

"you're going to play on that when we have perfectly good phones?"

"i found these at a yard sale for only fifty cents. i'd say it's a steal." you proudly stated, rolling your eyes at your close-minded friend. you used your fingers to insert the mini video game perfectly into the slot. you waited for it to load and squealed when a blue screen lit up the old console. bingo, it worked! the startup sound sounded like music to your ears.

minhyuk said something else (most likely judgemental) but you were more focused on the cute 2d character that popped up and greeted you on the home screen. the chat bubble above his head announced that he would be your guide through the game. he looked to be a teenage boy with wavy blonde hair, dressed in a standard hoodie and cargo shorts. you thought it made him stand a little out-of-place for the bright, color-filled environment. shrugging it off, you selected the first level tutorial.

"wow, this is surprisingly fun... it's like a puzzle game," you told minhyuk over your shoulder. a pillow suddenly hit the back of your head. "ow! what was that for?"

minhyuk stuck his tongue out at you when you turned around to glare at him. "i invited you over to hang out and you're going to spend the entire time trying to solve puzzles?"

-

she was something else.

he had been watching her over the past few days from the corner of the screen as she continuously played the game. he noted every small detail in the back of his mind. she was the only player he had ever kept notes on. from the concentrated crease in her brow to the narrowing of her focused eyes. did he mention how they were mesmerizing swirls that could light up the darkest night? oh, and her thoughtful smile every time she unlocked a new level was just too cute.