Rin stared up at the bulletin board lining the wall. Their section adviser told them to explore the clubs as freshmen in college, so he dropped by the recruitment area on his way to lunch.
"Astronomy? Man, I dig it," Ryon, his friend straight from high school, said beside him. Ginger hair and not a speck of freckles on his pale face—that's how Rin would describe him. "What about you, Naggy?"
Rin winced at the nickname. It's one of the things he hadn't been able to shed when he graduated. He almost skipped orientation knowing Ryon would be attending the same university and be in the same degree program as him all the while knowing what kids in the neighborhood called him. There's also this sneaking suspicion at the back of Rin's head that nobody in his alma mater even knew what his surname really was.
He shrugged the meaty hands sitting atop his shoulder. Ryon's a big man, after all. Rin couldn't take on all that muscle. "Nothing really stands out," he admitted with a sigh. "I'll just sit recruitments out. It's more fun staying at home."
"You said that back in the bin," Ryon reasoned, stalking after Rin when the latter peeled off the boards and continued towards the cafeteria. Hands in his pockets, Rin prepared to tune out the next argument out of his friend's lips. "I thought you aim to turn a new leaf now that you're a freshman? Come on, live a little."
Rin rolled his eyes. "I'd rather farm at home than sit around in the campus baking cookies," he said.
Ryon clicked his tongue. "You and your games," he said. "My mom would hate having a son like you."
"You should go and join me," Rin nudged his friend's shoulder with a grin. "Be a rebel. Come on, live a little."
Ryon frowned when it settled in his thick skull how what he said would have affected Rin. Petty? Maybe. But it sure taught his friend a lesson. Rin blew a breath and pushed his hair off his forehead. This thing just wouldn't sit still. Should he try gelling it? "Look, I'll join one if anything interests me," he said. "Something about games. Or flowers."
"Gardening?" Ryon blinked.
Rin crossed his arms. "No. Flowers," he said. "Studying them, identifying them, arranging them. Stuff like that."
His friend scratched the back of his head. "So..." his expression was far-away to show he was struggling. "Gardening."
Rin's shoulders deflated. Somehow he had lost his friend at some point in the conversation. "Forget it," he waved a hand in the air. With his height, his fingers only reached his friend's chin. "Let's go. I'm hungry."
They were almost to the cafeteria when Ryon perked up. "How about the programming club?" he said.
Rin looked at his friend like he had just grown antlers. "Do you see me around codes and data? It's going to be a disaster," he said. "I mean, I can handle games and stuff, but I don't think making them is a good fit."
Ryon shook his head. "From what I gathered from the upperclassmen, that's just a front. The council doesn't let leisure-themed clubs inside the university, you know?" he leaned in as they found an empty table. Was it such a deadly secret to do this? "So, they let it stand as a programming club but it's actually a gaming club. I heard they host yearly gaming competitions and other gaming events I couldn't name at the top of my head."
He jerked his chin at Rin. "You're the gamer," he said. "You'd have more luck in understanding half the stuff they say."
"Really?" Rin's eyebrows arched. "Snagged yourself some upper already?"
Ryon had the audacity to look scandalized. "Is that how you think of me?" he placed a hand on his chest in mock-shock. "I got three."
Rin snorted, earning quick glances from the people on the neighboring tables. Ryon stuck his spoon into the pudding he ordered. That's all he has been eating for lunch since orientation day to skimp his allowance. He has been aiming to buy the latest branded shoes from his favorite sports star since forever.
"I might even join you," Ryon sniffed and shoved the spoon into his mouth. "There's reportedly a hottie there. Older and prettier? Totally my vibe."
Rin didn't feel the need to comment on his friend's preferences, so he just munched on his bowl of pasta. The menu wasn't really big on rice meals, so he had to make do with the closest thing. "Even if it's a programming club?" he asked.
Ryon bobbed his head. "Why not?" he rolled his shoulders. "I need to widen my reach."
Rin sometimes wondered how in the world did his friend even got into engineering with a brain full of nothing but that. Then again, with his chucked with games and finding the right grocery in town, it's a wonder how he got in too.
So, with that, they agreed to go together and check it out on the last school day of the week. Then, Ryon forgot it.
That's how Rin ended up striding into a dim set of stairs leading into a basement of some sort found in one of the forgotten alleys of the campus. Was there someone who died here? The dust was atrocious too. A single room sat on the right side of the corridor. Beyond that, a wall blocked his way. In short, he was trapped in a dark basement with only one staircase as an escape route.
Totally not creepy.
Neon lights lit the sides of the door, proving some sort of civilization was beyond it. The moment he slid the splintering, wooden block away, a multitude of heads turned to him. Blue screens blinked against casted eyeglasses. Sounds of guns shooting and swords clanging rang from headphones. In all their gamer glory, their attention on Rin only lasted a couple of seconds before going back to screaming into their microphones about getting their enemies. Across the room, a grown man shot up from his chair, screaming bloody murder into the screen. Apparently, his team lost.
"How many?" a girl with wild, multicolored hair held out a flier towards him.
Rin looked behind him to signify he came alone. The girl clicked her tongue and shoved a page into his chest. "Head there with the noobs," she pointed in some vague direction beyond them. In the dim lighting similar to midnight computer cafes downtown, Rin could glimpse a trio of girls and a guy sitting on rectangular benches similar to those in the university cashier.
He gave them a small wave when he got there. "Hi," he said. "Mind if I sit?"
The guy scooted over, squishing against a girl with ultra-straight dark hair and too much mascara. Saying she looked like a panda didn't seem like a good conversation starter or even a decent thing to say without being slapped.
"Have you been here long?" Rin asked no one in particular.
Instead of the guy, the girl with the dark hair spoke. Her mouth was curled into a frown. "Oh, you have no idea," she said. "I came here to see hot guys in the middle of matches but, so far, all I see were sweaty man-children throwing tantrums."
Was it bad that Rin was somehow duped by Ryon the same way too? Granted, Rin wasn't here for hot girls, but for an amazing gaming experience while inside an educational facility. Talk about being a rebel.
"So, are you a gamer too?" Rin ventured. If they're going to be stuck here while waiting their turn to get their hands on a computer, might as well. "What do you play?"
The girl laid her hand in front of her. They were long, slender, and totally made for pressing keys all day. "A lot of various things," she said. "I'm currently hooked on Fortress and Strife."
Rin's eyes widened when the name clicked. "No way!" he said. "I'm hooked by it too! That's amazing."
The girl didn't look too impressed. "What's your season rank?" she asked. "I bet I'm higher than you."
Oh, was that how it's going to go? Someone's competitive. Rin felt the need to smile. "Emperor 5," he said. "You?"
To his surprise, the girl rolled her shoulders. "Eh, same," she said.
"Really?" Rin asked.
The girl's jaw parted in shock as she whirled to him. "Do you doubt me?"
Rin felt like he had just dug a grave for his soul right then and there. "It's not that I doubt you, just that..." he rolled his hand in the air, searching for the right word. "It took me more than a month to get there when the season reset. How long did it take you?"
"Three weeks," she said, playing with the ends of her hair. "You're not a hotshot."
Rin snorted. "Wanna have a go at it then?" he said. "To see which one's better?"
The girl turned to the sea of computer screens blaring beyond them. As if by chance, two more sore losers tore their headphones off their heads and strode out of the room. Rin smiled at the girl. "Well?"
The smile she returned to him was nothing short of cute. "G," she said.
Not even an hour later, a dark red DEFEAT flashed on Rin's screen. He gave an amused chuckle. It's a deserved loss. After all, he had never seen a play-style as the girl displayed. BLatant use of magic and physical skills, all the while keeping track of her stats as well as her opponents'. Then, using overwhelming tactics to shock the enemy into inaction. Before he knew it, it was over.
"That's a good one," the girl opened and closed her hands to wring the tension in them. Rin found himself doing the same. He had never slammed his fingers onto a keyboard that fast before. In fact, his eyes hurt from darting across the screen at a speed he didn't know he was capable of before. "One of the best I've had in a while. You're good."
Rin rounded the aisle and met the girl halfway. "I could say the same," he said. "How did you do that? I couldn't even land a hit in your turf."
The girl rolled her shoulders. "If you're hard up for something, it'll open up," she said. It's something Rin hasn't heard before so he found himself blinking at her. She sighed. "It means to never give up on breaching your enemy's defenses. Or on any aspect of life, for that matter. If you don't give up, if you keep at it so long as you're able, you'll get it. Eventually."
That's profound for someone their age, even if it's being said in a dark room full of sweaty students and the sounds of keyboards clacking. She extended a hand towards him. "Good game," she paused as she waited for him to supply his name.
"Rin," he said, taking her hand. "Nagara Rin. You?"
The girl smiled as she gave their locked hands a firm shake. "Hye-jin," she said. "Joon Hye-jin."