Narrator
"HANNI!" Y/n ran after Hanni.
"Hanni, wait!" Minji yelled.
"Leave me alone and go fuck in the real world!" Hanni yelled back.
Y/n rolled their eyes and gave Minji an annoyed look.
In Y/n's eyes, it was Minji's fault that Hanni became enraged. Along with the chemical excess VRU gives.
The pair kept on following Hanni until they eventually ended up in one of her favorite games.
"Why would you betray me like that?!" Hanni materialized a sword and swung it at Minji.
"You know I like Y/n. Why would you go out with them like that?!" Hanni kept on trying to attack Minji.
"It just happened. It was natural! I didn't go out looking for them!" Minji materialized her own sword.
Y/n watched to the side as the pair fought.
"You're so fa-"
Hanni powered up and swung her sword above her head. Getting ready to strike.
Y/n noticed Hanni's behavior and quickly ran to Minji's aid.
Y/n had forgotten that it was just a game and Minji wouldn't really get hurt.
"STOPPPP!!" Y/n yelled as they put their shield up for Minji.
- Y/N POV -
"I like real-world girls better anyway," I panted out.
My shield had managed to stay intact when Hanni struck it with full force.
Hanni glared at me for a moment before looking Minji up and down.
"Have fun then. Sorry, I'm not like you," she huffed out.... before digging her sword into the ground and teleporting out of the game...
I took a deep breath and let it out.
"Miss Kim, meet me at Hanni's place ASAP," I ordered.
"But I'm like 10 hours away from work!" Minji complained.
"I don't care. I need to talk to you!" I growled before logging off.
- Minji POV -
Dr. Y/n was upset.
Really upset...
But I was just trying to help.
Hanni had been stuck in VRU for almost two years and it broke my heart every single day.
When VRU first came out, Hanni and I were dating. We were the test subjects for the concept. All of us.
Once the platform started getting big, the girls and I decided to make music and become a group. Because we were the only entertainers in the platform, at the time, we got big really quickly.
Unfortunately, as the platform started getting bigger and we became busier... Hanni started to get addicted to playing video games in our off time.... rather than spending time with me.
We ended up breaking up once I realized that Hanni would rather be stuck in VRU than have a night out in the real world with me.
Hanni didn't know what real kissing was anymore, she didn't know what real dates were like, and she started to think that the intimacy we had VRU was the same thing as in real life.
I started to think the same thing at one point.
I was starting to think that maybe VRU was the new way of life. Until... I meet Y/n.....
Y/n made me realize that the real world was still out there and that it was much better than VRU.
I kissed Y/n on the cheek as a 'Thank You'.
It didn't mean anything more than that.
Now, I just wanted to help get the Hanni I loved back.....
Even if she was in love with someone else.
"Is there a reason we're taking the first flight back?" My bodyguard asked.
"I have a meeting," I coldly responded.
I had been in Italy for a brand deal. I was probably the only one who still catered to 1%. We had fans in the real world too. I didn't want them to feel like we didn't care.
"I don't see it on your schedule," he responded a bit confused.
"It's last minute. It's at The Pham Estate, so I won't need you," I answered him.
A few hours went by and we finally landed back home. I asked my driver to take me to Hanni's house and prepared myself for whatever it was that Y/n wanted to say.
- Y/N POV -
It was getting late and I was giving my patient her nightly massage.
I planned on observing her all night to see how she behaved during nighttime. It seemed like she lacked sleep.
"Doctor, you have a guest," The maid suddenly told me.
I furrowed my brows a bit confused and went up to see who it was.
It was Miss Kim.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I had completely forgotten about the request I made to see you," I politely bowed.
"It's okay. I was expecting you to yell at me or something. I guess I was wrong," Miss Kim sighed out.
"Life is too short to spend it mad on silly things. Besides, you were just trying to help," I responded.
"On that note, if you want to help. Please don't upset Miss Pham like that again. I do think you have a point about trying to get her out by making her see what she's missing out on in the real world, but not like that...," I informed her.
- Hanni POV -
Because I was so mad at Y/n, my pride kept getting in the way of me talking to them again.
I didn't even know what I was so mad about anyway.
Y/n had practically rejected me, but I had no reason to be mad about that. They were just being honest.
I just didn't expect it to be Minji who ended with Y/n.
"Woah, who is that?" Y/n suddenly materialized in front of me.
I was a bit surprised, but I didn't think much of it. I looked in the direction they were looking at and blood started boiling.
It was Minjeong.
VRU user 'Winter'.
"What are you staring at? Your girlfriend will get mad," I scoffed out.
Y/n turned to look at me, but I didn't bother to look at them back. "I'm not dating anyway," Y/n suddenly said.
"What about Minji?" I asked a bit shocked.
Y/n took a deep breath and let it out.
"We're not dating. You just made an assumption. Besides, she just kissed me on the cheek. You're the one that jumped to conclusions," Y/n explained.
I felt like an idiot.
"I like her gun. She looks very skillful," Y/n kept on admiring Winter.
I smirked to myself, knowing Winter couldn't go up against me. I knew everything there was about my favorite game and I knew Winter didn't have the same mods as me.
"Probably not as good as me," I snarked.
"Maybe not, but she's pretty cute. I wonder if she goes out into the real world," Y/n smirked and started walking towards Minjeong.
My blood started boiling up again and I took out my sword.
"Hey, Winter!" Y/n tried to get her attention.
Minjeong looked in our direction and I charged at her full force. Immediately killing her off her current rank.
"wtf was that?! I was trying to talk to her!" Y/n suddenly yelled at me.
I was a bit baffled. I was just trying to show off my skills to Y/n, and instead of being praised, I was met with anger.
"Jeez, I'm logging off before VRU fucks with my brain chemicals as much as it has yours," Y/n huffed out.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" I angrily grabbed Y/n's arm.
"You keep having the most inappropriate reactions to things that aren't that serious. I noticed it when we first started talking but it's just gotten worse. You want to be stuck in here, be my fucking guest, but I'm not putting myself in danger just to be your friend," Y/n sternly said.
"I came here to fix things between us, but I see I was better off not talking to you," Y/n huffed out before logging off.
I closed my eyes and took a painful breath. I had just acted so stupidly in front of Y/n again. It was so embarrassing.
- Y/N POV -
"Did you get her jealous?" Minji asked as I logged off VRU.
I groaned in frustration and answered..., "I didn't even really get the chance to talk to anyone. She lost it the second I asked who the player was".
Minji made an 'AH' face and nodded.
"Guess she's getting in deeper and deeper," she sighed out.
"I don't know. I don't know how to get her out. At this rate, my first patient is going to die and I'll lose my medical license before I even get to help anyone," I exhaled out.
"I think I know someone who can help you," Minji suddenly hummed out.
I looked at her a bit confused.
"Log back on and teleport to my VRU Spot," she ordered.
I groaned out in annoyance and did as she asked.
It didn't take long before we were in some sort of racing game. It looked a bit unfinished and there was only one single person in the game.
"Hey!" Minji yelled at the single player in the game.
The player didn't seem to hear us and zoomed past us.
"Woah, she looked cute," I thought to myself with the little glimpse I caught of her.
Suddenly, the little bubble that had raced past us disappeared and a girl was walking towards us.
"Minji, you know this is a private game. What are you doing here?" The girl looked really upset.
Minji gave her a bow and I followed along out of respect.
"I have someone here who needs your help," Minji informed the girl.
"Who?" The girl crossed her arms and stared me down.
"This is Dr. Y/n," Minji introduced us.
I respectfully extended my hand out to shake her hand and she quickly introduced herself. "I'm Sakura. Pleasure to meet you, Doctor," she respectfully bowed at me.
"Y/n, Sakura is the daughter of another founder of VRU. She knows a lot about the games and the VRU world," Minji explained.
"The Doctor here is a Reintegration Doctor. Hanni's reintegration doctor," she informed Sakura.
"Uuhh, that's brutal!" Miss Sakura exclaimed.
I scoffed a bit, but ultimately couldn't help but laugh.
It was indeed brutal.
"Y/n and I are at The Pham Estate in the real world. I was wondering if maybe you could meet with us there to maybe-"
Minji was inviting Sakura to something when we suddenly heard someone say...
"You're at my house?"
- Hanni POV -
I felt so bad about my behavior with Y/n and I knew it'd be a while before we'd talk again. So, to prevent that, I turned on Y/n's log-on notifications.
I wanted to know when Y/n would be online so I could try to talk to them and apologize for the way I've been acting.
Oddly enough, it took less than 10 minutes for Y/n to log back in... but when I saw where they were on the map.... my blood began to boil again.
I teleported myself to Y/n's location and input the password to Sakura's half-built sector.
I was pissed.
I didn't know how Y/n knew Sakura or why they'd even be in her part of VRU.
Sakura was the total real-world girl. She only played in games she built and she hated it when I reminded her that her parents were the only ones to vote against making VRU legal.
I didn't want her to get in Y/n's head about how bad VRU was or how VRU brainwashes people. Y/n already had those beliefs as it was. I didn't want someone making those beliefs worse.
After a few tries of trying to break into Sakura's sector, I was finally in.
I abruptly walked in and was about to pull Y/n out of there, when I saw Minji talking to Sakura.... and saying....
"Y/n and I are at The Pham Estate in the real world. I was wondering if maybe you could meet with us there to maybe-"
I froze and my heart sank to my stomach.
"You're at my house?" I asked, a bit choked up.
Everyone suddenly turned to look at me.
"Hanni!" Y/n exclaimed.
"Why are you at my house?" I asked a little scared.
"Don't worry about it. I invited Y/n over to your place to meet you," Minji stepped up to explain.
I took a step back in fear.
"Meet me?" I felt like I was I couldn't breathe.
*WARNING*
*ANXIETY LEVELS RISING*
Warning messages started to appear on my screen and I started to panic.
I had forgotten that Sakura had coded her sector to prevent VRU from correcting certain errors. So, my VRU couldn't create a comfortable environment for me.
"Shit, her heart rate is beating irregularly and her blood pressure is rising!" Y/n suddenly exclaimed.
"Don't let her leave. I need to stabilize her!" Y/n suddenly logged off.
I felt myself getting dizzy and I was choking up. I couldn't breathe. I could feel my heart pounding like crazy, and not in a good way.
I felt like I was gonna die.
"Miss Pham," I muffly heard.
My vision went blurry and I slowly felt myself fall to the floor.
"Miss Pham, I need you to count to 3," I keep hearing a muffled voice.
After a few minutes, I felt myself relax and my vision started to slowly come back.
"Miss Pham," I heard Y/n's voice.
I looked up to find Y/n hovering over me with their VRU Doctor's gear on.
"Are you feeling any better?" Y/n asked.
I nodded a little but decided to stay lying on the floor for a little longer.
"This is why I don't trust the VRU chemicals," I heard Sakura say in the background.
"Yeah, this isn't the time to be saying that," Minji seemed to shut her up.
"I'm pretty sure the doctor here agrees with me," I kept hearing them bicker.
"D-Doctor?" I mumbled.
I started to sit up slowly and found Y/n sitting on the floor in front of me.
"W-what kind of doctor are you?" I struggled to get the words out.
I was slowly starting to feel better.
Y/n looked up at Minji and then at Sakura, before turning to me... and saying.... "I will only tell you if you tell me what you've been hiding from me."
I took a deep breath and acted clueless.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"You know what I'm talking about," Y/n sighed out.
"I don't," I chuckled out.
"Welp, I guess I'll just keep on hating the creators of VRU. I mean it's a horrible concept after all. Everyone involved in its creation and legalization are just horrible money-hungry people," Y/n started getting up from the floor.
"Agreed," Sakura suddenly said.
"My parents aren't very good people," she told Y/n.
"Yeah, well at least your parents didn't vote to legalize it," Y/n gave her a soft smile.
I felt my blood start to boil.
But, it felt different than how it does in the regular VRU world.
"My parents are the founders of VRU," I finally confessed.
Y/n always complained about how bad VRU was and how they hated the creators behind it. I always pretended like I didn't know who the creators were. I didn't want Y/n to hate me if they found out that my parents were the ones behind it all.
Y/n suddenly squatted down in front of me and cupped my face.
"I know," Y/n whispered.
I felt an intense sense of relief when Y/n touched my face.
It almost felt real.
"I'm your doctor," Y/n informed me.
"My doctor?" I questioned.
"What kind of doctor?" I asked, brushing my cheeks against Y/n's hands.
Y/n let go of my face and sat back down in front of me.
"You might not know what a reincarnation doctor is since you've been stuck here for almost two years, but I'm your reintegration doctor," Y/n began to explain.
"I'm in charge of downloading you safely from VRU. Your parents hired me a few months ago to be your doctor. Basically, I'm in charge of keeping you healthy before and after you download. Minji here has been assisting me with some information on how to help you and also helping me out with some physical therapy. You know, like massaging your muscles and moving your limbs a little," Y/n kept explaining.
I looked at Minji and felt a little embarrassed about how I had treated her when I found out she had met Y/n in the real world.
"Do you have any questions?" Y/n suddenly asked.
I bit my lip a little bit flustered.
It was a lot of information to process.
"Where did you go just now?" Was all I could manage to ask.
Y/n raised their hand up to my cheek and caressed it a bit.
I felt that overwhelming warm and relaxing feeling take over me again.
"You were having a panic attack. Since your body and brain are no longer equipped to regulate themselves without the VRU chemicals, then I had to log off to tranquilize you a bit. It seems like this part of VRU doesn't correct chemical imbalances without permission," Y/n explained.
I looked up at Sakura a bit embarrassed too.
The fact that she had created a VRU sector where she didn't need chemicals or required a doctor's supervision.... made me feel a little inferior...
I always hated being in Sakura's sector because of how shitty it felt...
I always thought it was Sakura's fault, but it was just that my body couldn't handle real things anymore.
"Am I going to die?" I brushed my cheek against Y/n's hand again.
Y/n took a deep breath and it scared me.
"With a good care plan, we can make it work," Y/n tried to reassure me.
"We can talk about it some more, but I need to make a more detailed care plan now that you know what's going on. For now, just go back to doing what you were doing and try not to join activities that are too overstimulating," Y/n let go of my cheek.
I felt my heart break a little when that happened.
My feelings for Y/n felt a bit more intense in Sakura's sector.
"I have to go meet with Minji and Sakura in the real world. You go back and watch a movie or go to a basketball game or something," Y/n helped me up from the floor.
"Can I come with you? To the real world," I shyly asked.
I watched as Y/n took a really long breath.
"Not yet. It's not safe for you to do that yet. I'm really happy that you want to and I can't wait to meet you in the real world, but we have to take it slow and follow the care plan. Okay?" Y/n cupped my face.
I felt tears start to form in my eyes.
"We'll be together real soon, okay?" Y/n caressed my cheeks.
"Okay," I sniffled out.
I watched as Y/n logged off, with Minji and Sakura right behind, and I was kicked out of Sakura's sector into the real VRU.
I felt my mood instantly start to get better and I realized how blind I had been.
Y/n had been kind, understanding, and patient with me all this time.
Y/n had been a good friend to me from the start and now they were my doctor.
"Pst, I even said how bad I felt for people who didn't realize they were stuck," I scoffed to myself.
"How could I be so stupid?" I sniffled out.
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