As if the world was falling apart around us, the building we were in begins to collapse with us still inside.
__________

I squeeze my eyes shut as the walls look like they are about to crumble and fall. Dowoon pats my head to reassure me that everything will be okay.

I open one of my eyes to peak just in time to see the walls break into a billion pieces. The colorful pixels surround us as we are transported to an empty field.

It was midnight in the game.

The stars above us were breathtaking as the night sky held a slight purple tint.

The full moon that was hidden by wispy clouds was still able to illuminate the playing field as if it was daytime.

"2017 edition of QQ was labeled as Sunrise. This new update is called Moonrise. " YoungK said in awe as we all stared up at the sky.

"This place would have been considered beautiful if it didn't have a sad story behind it." JunHyeok mumbled.

"Story?" I asked absently

"Oh, the game tells me my time is up. I need to go back to my own server. " YoungK waved goodbye. "Are you coming with me, JunHyeok?"

"Naw, I'll stay a little longer since my character was last logged into the Chinese server."

"Last?" YoungK asked, but before he could pry, his character faded away.

"Should we tell him?" Dowoon sneaked a look at JunHyeok before deciding to just collapse onto the soft grass.

I join Dowoon on the ground as I looked up at the fake sky. "The graphics are no joke."

"Yeah..." JunHyeok whispered as he continued to stand. His eyes wistfully stared at the moon sadly.

"Let's make this place our next meeting place. I'll get SungJin to ask his uncle to bridge all the servers here too." Dowoon smiled as he closed his eyes in peace.

I chose not to ask who SungJin was since I'd figure I would eventually meet him.

"What will I do when I return to reality?" Will I become popular or will I gain this special skill that places me above anyone else?Will my life change drastically like those heroines in the books I read

Oh, will I meet this insanely hot guy who happens to be the heir to a vast amount of fortune and he so happens to be enamored by me?

Dowoon turns to look at me. I turn my head too as we face each other while laying on the grass.

"I can tell you're over thinking things." Dowoon's eyes crinkle as he laughs at me. "You will act like a normal college girl. You'll probably get up late and rush through your morning routine to get to school in time. You might even miss the bus. Your teacher would lecture you on being late, but everyone will act the same even if you yourself feel different. It will just be a mundane Wednesday like usual."

"That's too depressing. If you have the same ability to enter into a virtual world or see dead people...than why aren't you excited or at least a little pumped at your gift?" I said in frustration.

"Like death, the world will keep turning when something significant happens. Wars and empires have risen and fallen, but the world has continued revolving without a care. Us being able to see ghosts or enter into a virtual world will not change the world any more than usual." Dowoon shrugged his shoulders as he turned his head back to the sky.

"Your depressing words are killing my mood." I grumbled

"Will you still be paralyzed when we log off?"

Dowoon nods his head. "The surgery I had will help me walk but I have to go through physical therapy. The process will be long and painful, but it's better than giving up."

We both just stare at each other in that field of grass for I don't know how long. All I know is that at one point we had fallen asleep. When I open my eyes, my first image I saw was Dowoon cuddled in the grass as his deep breathing seemed calming.

Suddenly, I realized that JunHyeok was still logged in when we were having our conversation.

"Will you disappear if you log out of the game?" I looked up at JunHyeok only to find him gone.

I quickly sit up and look around me.

"What is it?" Dowoon looked at me in confusion as he wakes up at the sound of my voice.

"Where is JunHyeok?"

We both scramble to our feet and brush off any stray blades of grass off our clothes.

When we saw that we were alone, we both turned to each other in fear.

As if our pleasant moment together never happened, the air around us turned cold as the wind began to pick up.

The magical aspect of the game seemed to turn sinister.

"Yumi! Log...Ack! Dowoon began to grap at his neck frantically as if he was being choked.

"Log off" a faint whisper wrapped around my body. The voice was the same one that I heard in my bedroom.

Following my instinct I bring up my menu and scroll down before I see the log off button.

I look up only to see Dowoon's face turning blue as he slowly ceased to struggle.

I squeeze my eyes closed before I tap the button.

Halyceon has logged off.

••••••••••••••••••

I gasp awake as I frantically look around me. I was in a dark room.

I stand up and look towards the hospital bed. A dark shadow was bent over Dowoon's hospital bed.

Fear paralyzed me.

I attempted to scream but I don't think anything came out.

Great, I'm deaf again. I'm hating reality right now.

I quickly look at the shadow but immediately ruled out attacking it.

I need to exercise more...

While I was frantically panicking, the blinking light on Dowoon's monitor gave me an idea. I rush past the shadowy figure to the monitor and was about to push the Need Assistance button when something metal touched my neck.

He probably whispered some creepy warning like those cliché action shows.

But since I was deaf, I fearlessly punched the button.

Unfortunately, I didn't know if it actually worked since the last thing I remembered was a stinging sensation on my neck.

******

How was it? Do you like the suspense? What happened to JunHyeok? Did everyone end up dying in the end? Hope you guys stay faithful to this book and I'll see you guys on January 16.

January 6, 2017