When I nod my head, he smiles down at me. "Welcome to the Quest for Qilin, otherwise known as QQ."
___________

"Like I would fall for that, Dowoon. I'm not that stupid. " I sighed before I pulled the covers off.

Dowoon looked at me with worry at my disbelief. "This would be a joke taken too far if I was."

I ignore Dowoon as I stumble out of bed. "Everything is perfectly normal....holy crap! What in the world am I wearing?!" I look down at my outfit.

"It's called a Hanfu. It's a traditional chinese dress."

"I know what a Hanfu is!" I snapped at him. "What I meant was...why am I wearing a Hanfu?!" I shot daggers at Dowoon since he was the closest target.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he rubs his hands against his face. "I didn't think she'd break from this. Every heroine in the video games I played were always cool with it." he said to himself.

I frown at Dowoon. Motioning for him to come closer, he innocently obeys me.

I smack the top of his head with as much force as I could muster which left him dizzy.

"Ah ah! Why did you hit me?!" he yelled at me in outrage.

"Do I look like a stupid videogame character to you! I have every right to freak out about this! Who knows, you might just he playing a pervy prank on me."

"Have I've ever acted pervy towards you, Yumi! You're like my little sister, so that would be so gross!" Dowoon groaned again as he kept his distance from me. "Besides, you do look like a video game character. I told you already, you're in QQ right now."

"You know what? I've had enough of this. Where's the bathroom?" My eyes were blurry, so I fumbled to where Dowoon pointed.

Curse this dress, it's beautiful, but so impractical!

Slowly, my eyes were able to adjust to the eerie lighting. Picking the closest stall, I quickly do my business.

Hearing someone else enter the bathroom, I hurry up and finish.

While I was washing my hands, I gasped at my reflection. My face looked strangely...perfect. My features were the same but for some reason I had really long hair. And my face held no blenished.

I stare at the mirror as I tugged at my skin.

I still have feeling...but my skin...its too pretty.

I frowned at my reflection. Now that I see the perfect version of my face, I decided that I didn't like it.

Yes, I look gorgeous, but I don't look like me. The imperfections of my face make me...me.

I quickly exit the bathroom since my reflection was starting to creep me out.

As I walk closer to Dowoon, I see someone else with him.

"Okay, jokes over. You." I pointed to Dowoon. "What happened to my face? It looks too perfect!"

Dowoon turns to me startled while also revealing the person he was talking to.

JunHyeok?

"Never thought I'd hear those words come out of a girl. Be careful, Dowoon
It's one of those trick questions." The ghost boy joked.

"You're suppose to be dead! " I pointed at him in surprise.

"I think we covered this subject already." Junhyeok gave me an annoyed look.

"She's still in denial." Dowoon whispered to him.

JunHyeok's mouth formed an o in understanding.

"I can hear you, you know!"

"That should be further proof that we aren't in reality anymore, Yumi." Dowoon sighed.

"Then how come you are in cruches? "

"I broke my legs in the game as well."

"And..ghosts can play the game too?"

"Actually, how does that work?" Dowoon turns to JunHyeok in confusion.

"Beats me..." JunHyeok shrugged his shoulder. "I think it has something to do with the escape of the Qilin."

"Whoa, hold up everyone. You guys are speaking a foreign language to me called "geek". Now let me sit back down before I fall on my face because of this stupid pile of cloth called a dress." Waddling up onto the hospital bed, my legs dangle off the side.

"How did you meet this girl, again?" Junhyeok turns to Dowoon and jerks his thumb at me in disgust.

"Now. Start from the beginning." I commanded Dowoon as I ignored Junhyeok's comment.

Nodding his head, Dowoon sits on the bed next to me while JunHyeok finds something to sit on.

JunHyeok takes one of the waiting room chairs and drags it closer to the hospital bed.

"Quest for Qilin is a virtual reality game that was first released in China but became famous in South Korea under a different name. The story line of QQ is to become the top player of your server so that the Qilin can grant to you one wish. The ranking resets each year. Do you know what a Qilin is?"

"Yes. It's a mythical beast that is known for it's dragon's body, dear-like legs, and a lion's tail. The ancient beast is known for protecting the innocent and killing the evil. It also connects the bridge between the physical and the spiritual world. "

"Correct! This app was released in Korea under the name of Girin's Quest. So GQ was the slang word for it. When me and my friends played, we formed our own guild called Day6 and JunHyeok won. His wish was for him and his friends to be able to experience the game in an immersive condition. When JunHyeok left school, he also disbanded and changed servers so we were unable to find him. I also had to change servers when I moved to study in China. "

"So...if you guys are able be in this game because of the wish...." I waved my hands around me, "but why am I experiencing this? "

Dowoon and JunHyeok look at each other and share a secret message before turning back to me.

"We suspect it has something to do with the Qilin or Girin of the game. I found a bug in QQ before I died. Evidently, when I made my wish, the boundary that keeps all of the qualities of this game inside QQ and outside of the real world has been tampered." JunHyeok told me.

"To summarize everything, we suspect the Qilin has escaped into the real world." Dowoon confessed. "When we were in that accident, I was the only one that survived. Your body died in the hospital but not before I donated my blood to you for a certain surgery.

You died on that surgery table, Yumi.

But the next day you miraculously opened your eyes and your heart began to beat again. I don't know if it has anything to do with my blood, the Qilin, or maybe both. BUT for some reason, you are connected to both the living and the dead.

"The Qilin has escaped from the game and is messing with the lines of reality." JunHyeok frowned. "And now...we are left with a problem."

"What is it?"

"Ludic was the number one player for this year. But we don't know what he will wish for. We fear he will wish for the same thing that JunHyeok did. If Ludic does wish for the same thing...this virtual reality may become way too real for comfort."

******
Sorry, this is a rough draft. Hopefully I was able to clear a lot of questions. I also put a picture of a Hanfu dress in the header. If you still have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment and thank you for reading!

December 30, 2017