Crossword

nine | 游戏

AT NINETEEN, YEN THINKS SHE KNOWS GAMES.

The television loads Overwatch, and Yen takes the opportunity to explore the buttons, getting used to the controls. Jun's lounging on the sofa, the corner of his lip turned up as he watches her. She turns to him. "You're going to lose."

"I've played this game for four years," he says, amused. "How long have you played it?"

It's the first time she's played on a Nintendo. "Long enough to beat you."

"Just like the time you said you could beat me in running and ended up crashing into that old lady?"

Her face flushes. "That was the only time I've lost to you."

"Sure." The syllable is dragged out, and Yen huffs, determined to prove him wrong. In the background, Eric Chou sings about only knowing what you miss when it's gone.

Like he hears the sound, Han walks out of his room, hands buttoning his collar. He looks at the sofa, sees Yen, and says, "I knew you were here."

Now that home is a desolate place - her mother is almost always at work, Yue stays in her room, and Jia-Le has so many extracurricular activities she's lost track - Yen spends almost all of her time here. Still, cooperatively, she says, "What made you think so?"

Han glances at his brother. His eyes glint. "Jun doesn't usually listen to this kind of music."

"Oh?" The screen changes as Jun sets up the game, and a map starts to load. It's supposed to be a futuristic Lijiang in China - blue-and-purple skyscrapers surround a glowing temple with orange accents, and fireworks dot the virtual sky. Yen tears her gaze back to Han. "What kind of music does he listen to, then?"

"Why," Jun groans, already burying his head in his hands.

"What are siblings for if not to embarrass each other?" Han says, smirking. Yen high-fives him. "He used to love Blackpink. That was awful. It then became these really old songs - you know, like Hoi Fut Tin Hong and Wo De Hao Xiong Di -"

"Good songs," Yen interrupts.

"- yes, but not when they're played for 24 hours a day." This is punctuated by a glare in Jun's direction. "I think he then had an IU phase."

Yen grins devilishly and mentally adds it to her arsenal. Jun's ears are red, and he's focusing on the screen as the 360 camera pans around to show the full view. In the background, there are hovercrafts, strobe lights, and even a floating pink pig. When pigs fly, Yen thinks wryly.

"Oh," Han says thoughtfully, "he then also had a love song phase. The ones that have things like people meowing -"

"- that was one song, and it wasn't even in my playlist -"

"- and the ones with super embarrassing dances that everyone remembers, you know?"

Yen is trying to hold in her laughter. It's the first time she's seen Jun blush so much. "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."

"I'm not," he protests weakly. "I've moved on."

She raises her eyebrows. Han has finished adjusting his clothes and is near the door now, getting ready to leave for work. Before he does, though, he adds, "He really has. All he listens to is your music, now."

The door shuts. Jun sighs defeatedly. "Can we play now?"

But Yen's too busy listening to the song, which has changed. The voice sounds strangely familiar. A beat later, she realises it's JJ Lin, one of her favourite artists. Suddenly, she sees Jun curled up on this sofa, scrolling through his phone as he tries to find songs she'll like.

She turns to him to say something, but the words die in her throat when she realises how close he is. At this distance, she thinks she can count his eyelashes. There's something about the way he's looking at her - like he's looking at her for the last time, terrified that if he blinks she'll be gone.

She knows because even after dating for almost a year, she still feels that way.

Stray hairs fall across her vision, and his gaze darkens. She swallows. Her heartbeat crescendos. Her world shrinks. Before she can process what's happening, their foreheads are meeting, and his nose rubs against hers.

Then the doorbell rings.

Jun clears his throat and looks away, and the moment is over, dissolving back into the air it was born from. The controllers rattle as he walks past and accidentally nudges the table. He signs off the delivery and tucks a box under his hand, but instead of walking back to the living room, he pauses at the door.

Yen grins. "Don't make me come get it."

"It's not for you."

"Yeah?" Before he can react, she's already grabbed the box and thrown it open.

It's the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus: the pair of sport shoes she's been eyeing for a long time but has never been able to get.

Though the price tag's gone, she's more than aware that they're two hundred dollars. "How did you get the money to buy this?"

A hand comes up to rub the back of his neck. "I got a paid internship at my dad's friend's company."

"Ah." She raises her eyebrows knowingly. "And you spent it all on shoes for me?"

He drops his eyes. "Actually, that didn't even make a dent in it."

Her mouth drops open. She's impressed - but it isn't really a surprise. Jun has always been the best at what he's done. Half-wonderingly, she says, "What are you planning to do with the rest of it?"

"Eat fried chicken."

She can't help it - she laughs. Fried chicken is their favourite food, grabbed from literally any stall they pass. Just thinking of it makes her swallow. "This is why I'm going to be managing the money."

And just like that, the air changes.

Despite the air conditioning blowing through the room, Yen's face feels like it's on fire. Hesitantly, she sneaks a glance at Jun, but a soft smile graces his lips.

It's his comfortable smile. The one he gives when he feels like he's at home.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

✽

the songs mentioned
hoi fut tin hong/wo de hao xiong di (海闊天空/我的好兄弟) are absolute classics!! go check them out, they're available on spotify or youtube (or dm me, i'd gladly provide a link!). ps the song with meowing is called 学猫叫, and the embarrassing dance one is 小苹果. just in case you needed to know.