Music buzzed in Scarlett's ears as she counted the company's supplies and marked down items that were low. As she went through the storage unit she would often stop to rearrange items, placing things based on alphabetical order or color depending on what she was organizing. Her co-workers often found this habit of hers highly annoying, as it made it difficult to find things when they needed it, but she had told them repeatedly that if they didn't like it then they should stop assigning her to check the stock. It was their own fault if they couldn't even listen in the first place.
Scarlett moved on to another aisle after marking down another item, proceeding to ignore an uncomfortable buzzing in her back pocket. Under normal circumstances ignoring her phone would be a terrible, terrible idea, especially while at work. But after the events from the night before… Well, she preferred to continue swimming in the river of denial a little bit longer.
When she had woken up this morning, most definitely not in the place she said she would be, she had tried to pass off everything as a bad dream due to the painkillers. That delusion had been shot down like a duck in hunting season when she had checked her phone only to see that the Mystic Messenger app had changed logos to something that might actually resemble a chatting app, and that there was no way to remove it from her phone. Her contacts had been modified to accommodate the members as well, and she had also received various texts asking her questions and sending apologies.
Instead of properly dealing with them, or probably more like instead of busting down figurative doors and demanding answers, Scarlett had chosen the classic tactic of ignoring them and hoping they'd go away. Needless to say it was a blindingly obvious failure.
After the fourth buzz her phone stopped vibrating and she chanced a peek at her voicemail, pulling the device out of her pocket. The number of missed calls was enough to make her cringe. Most of them were from the guy named Seven, but scrolling through revealed that there were calls from at least everyone else in the R.F.A aside from the V guy and the woman named Jaehee. She found it disconcerting that everyone had her phone number, but already had a suspect in mind for how it had gotten leaked in the first place.
Her thumb hovered over the call back button, itching to tell the redhead off for numerous things. But she fought off the retribution seeking impulse. Now most definitely wasn't the time or the place to be fighting with someone that was supposed to be apart of a game.
A dull sigh escaped past parted lips, causing a light rattle to hum through her lungs. She coughed and then cleared her throat in annoyance. The phone returned to her back pocket and she adjusted the clipboard against her left hip, proceeding forward with her original task.
Barely a step in, however, and her work was interrupted once again.
Scarlett pitched forward when a sudden weight collided into her, chubby arms wrapping playfully around her. She managed to keep a hold of the clip, but the pen was sent bouncing and skittering from her hand. One of her headphones slipped out of her ear and slung itself over a pasty tan arm. Individual muscles spasmed from her shoulders and back where the attacker's body made contact with her own. A low hiss whistled past her teeth.
'Damn these bruises,' she swore internally.
She craned her neck back to scowl at her co-worker and friend, Cho.
"Well hello to you too, grumpy puss," Cho sang, her voice lilting like a songbird. Her grin lit up her rounded face, causing her small black eyes to squint in a misleading way. Whenever Scarlett saw her friend smile she couldn't help but think the woman looked like a plotting monkey. Even the short and innocent bob of curly black hair couldn't negate the mischievous angling of her facial features.
"Get off me," Scarlett grumbled, making a half-assed attempt to dislodge her friend's viselike grip. When it became apparent that the arrangement was non-negotiable she simply accepted Cho as a new growth and tottered over to retrieve her pen. When she tried to bend over, however, her legs threatened to collapse under her and she decided the pen could wait. While Cho may have been a bit too heavy for her to bear, it didn't really show in her looks. Often Scarlett would hear people comment about how her friend's chub made her look rather light and fluffy, like a pastry. The two of them often joked that she could make the Pillsbury boy run for his money.
Cho giggled and slid off of her back, bouncing around her in excitement. Her hair jumped up and down in a shiny cascade, reminding Scarlett of curly confetti. She rolled her shoulders as Cho continued to dance in some sort of victory, cocking her eyebrows high enough that they disappeared beyond her bang line.
Finally she bursted. "I talked to the boss and he gave the greenlight!"
A lopsided grin worked the muscles of her face and she reached out to hug Cho.
"See! I told you that the boss man would have been happy to cater for you, even if you are his employee. I mean, it's your wedding after all. The man would have to be nuts not to."
Aside from the fact that he'd miss out on an opportunity to gain profit from it, Scarlett saw no reason their boss would have denied catering to Cho's wedding.
"Oh hush, you." Cho snickered, roughly patting Scarlett's back. She stiffened every time, wincing slightly. Her friend didn't really notice, having moved on to discussing plans she'd heard thousands of times before.
"Now that I've got my work catering for me then this wedding can finally speed up! I'll have to go over the nitpicky details with Yeong-Gi, but the whole city should be hearing bells tolling sometime within the next couple of weeks." Suddenly Cho stopped. She turned to Scarlett with her mouth animatedly shaped like a skinny 'o' and she began bouncing again, repeatedly slapping her arm, much to Scarlett's discomfort. "Let's go to the spa sometime soon! And then we can have a sleepover and discuss things like what kind of strippers we'll invite to the bachelorette party, and what kind of dress you'll wear to the wedding! You'll be the prettiest bridesmaid ever, Scarlett!"
She chuckled at her friend's outlandish ideas, fighting the urge to let the smile drop and stare at her sadly. As much as she would love to, wanted to, she was less and less certain each day that she'd actually be there for her friend on her special day.
"Your days are numbered."
The doctor's words echoed in her mind, rockets bouncing against walls of glass. She flicked her head to the side, mentally tossing the somber warning out so she could focus on what was happening in the present moment. Things like that were best saved for moments spent in sleepless nights.
As she opened her mouth to make a comment, perhaps a bit on the teasing side of things, her phone buzzed in her pocket again. The vibrating startled her and her immediate reaction was to whip it out and end its incessant humming. Her thumb was just about to hit the answer button when she saw the smiling icon of a devilish redhead. She glowered at Seven's picture for a moment before hitting the decline button instead. Before she could even begin to think about putting her phone away, it began vibrating again.
"Well, are you gonna answer that?" She shot Cho a stink eye before shoving the clipboard into the other woman's chest and turning her back on her friend to stalk off.
The moment she thought she was out of earshot she accepted the call and poured as much venom into her greeting as she possibly could. "What?!"
The other end of the line was silent enough that she was certain she'd be able to hear a pin drop.
"Speak now or I'm hanging up. I'm in the middle of work at the moment, you know."
She heard Seven's shiver crackle over the line before he coughed and began laughing. "Yikes! For a second there I thought you were going to come crawling out of my phone just to strangle me."
"Wanna test and find out if I can?" It was a fairly tempting idea.
"Haha, no. Not today. Actually I was calling about the fact that you've been missing my calls and that you didn't go back to Rika's apartment last night like you said you would."
Scarlett couldn't help the smug grin that twitched at the corners of her mouth. He sounded a bit annoyed about that. If there was one thing that Scarlett took a little bit of pride in, it was that she could get under people's skin to some extent, whether it was intentional or not. It was a gift that she didn't really have to hone or work at; she was just naturally a nuisance.
"Oh, sorry. I never did mention if I'd take a painkiller after I got back to my apartment, or if I'd take one after I returned to Rika's apartment. Or the fact that painkillers knock me out like a light. And then when I woke up this morning I took a dip in denial and haven't come back out yet. Maybe I could see about squeezing you in sometime before six? I've got dinner with myself and I can't cancel on that again."
Seven was wheezing by the time she had finished and she wondered if she had actually managed to break the poor man. Somewhere amongst his unholy noises she caught random phrases such as 'living shitpost generator' and 'embodiment of sarcasm'. She studied her nails without much interest, mainly fighting the urge to laugh with his uncontrollable snorting.
When he had finally calmed down enough to be coherent, he said, "Well if you would be so kind as to step out of denial, then that'd be great. You did promise that you'd come back after all, and not just to Rika's apartment. Which, by the way, I'm still expecting you to go back to."
She pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut. Every couple of seconds she switched the weight of her body from her left leg to her right, then right to left, back and forth in mild annoyance. Of course he was still expecting her to go back, and of course the other members of the R.F.A would be expecting her to show up. And damn her for making promises she shouldn't have been making. The night before had been hectic enough that she had literally said anything to get out of the situation. And that anything had entailed promises, something that usually ended up coming back to bite her in the ass. Unfortunately for her she couldn't really see a way out of this situation. The app and contacts weren't deletable, and she couldn't afford a new phone at the moment if she tried to get rid of this one. In short, her hands were tied behind her back.
She blew a heavy breath and looked around. Her hand fell to her hip and she began pacing. Five steps forward, five steps back. It was almost a ridiculous method, but it helped clear her mind a little to think things through. While she did so Seven waited patiently for her to give him an answer.
"There's a family dinner that I'm in charge of catering at seven thirty, and that should last for about a good hour- hour and a half. Then I'll be cleaning and tallying up net profit for at least another half hour. So I should be in sometime after ten."
The faint sound of a keyboard being tapped on made it through the line and she scowled. What was he doing? Was he seriously hacking stuff while talking to her right now? And how could he talk and type at the same time? What kind of demon was he to possess that level of multitasking? The best she could manage was to not trip while carrying platters full of food, and even that was a stretch.
"Okay, if you really mean it this time then I'll believe you. Just don't stay out too late young lady!"
"Bite me." She regretted her choice of words the moment she heard him suck in a breath to respond. Quickly she added, "And stop blowing up my phone while you're at it!"
"Only if you don't break your curfew." Scarlett could practically hear the wink in his words. She didn't know whether to gag, cringe, or mentally hang herself because of his cheesiness. Still, she had to give the guy props where props were due. It had been a while since she'd met a guy willing to put up with her quirks for as long as he's been holding out.
"Haha, alright, alright. I'll stop holding you from work now. Talk to ya later, Lumikki!" Seven hung up, leaving Scarlett dumbfounded. She found it very hard to believe that he didn't already know what her real name was, as him being a hacker practically entitled him to all of her information that he could get his cyber hands on. However she decided to let it slide so as to better avoid another headache.
Scarlett tucked the phone back into her pocket before groaning in frustration. If she had known that the game she had downloaded would have turned into this then she probably would have thought twice before letting her impulse get the better of her. She shook her head then turned around to return to where she had left Cho.
Cho was watching her with eyes narrowed coyly, causing Scarlett to stiffen up defensively, almost guiltily.
"What?"
"Oh ho~," Cho fluttered over gracefully and suggestively wrapped her hand around Scarlett's shoulder. She wrinkled her nose at the hand before turning to combat a sly expression with a blank face. "That was a pretty intense conversation you were having there. I'm placing my bets on a secret love affair and the two of you were having a lover's tiff!"
The forwardness of the statement alone was enough to make her facepalm. "Crimeny Cho! That could have been a customer I was talking to!"
"I don't know how many customers you say, and I quote, 'Bite me' to, but either way that's kinky." Scarlett batted Cho's hand away from her, face flushing slightly.
"You were eavesdropping?!"
Cho grinned, fluttering her eyelashes delicately before prancing out of strangling distance. "It's entirely possible that I caught some of your end of the conversation. By the way, who is this mystery suitor, and will I get to meet him?"
Scarlett had begun rubbing her eyes, trying to remember the exact reason she was still friends with Cho. Yet as she thought up the answer to that question, she ended up stumbling upon a solution for the current dilemma. A wicked grin split across her face and she faced her friend, blinking rapidly to rid herself of the blurriness.
"Alright, you caught me. Remember how you were talking about a stripper for the bachelorette party?" Cho's jaw dropped before quickly morphing into her plotting monkey smile. "I just so happened to be a step ahead of you."
"No way."
The smirk on her face grew a little bit more smug. 'Revenge of this caliber is best served unexpectedly. Check and mate, 707.'
Besides, it wasn't like she was giving away vital information that she didn't really have anyways.
"Still doesn't explain why you're making kinky plans to meet up later, but hey, at least now I don't have to worry about hiring a stripper. What does he look like? Is he hot?" Cho bounced off and she followed after.
"I won't deny he's got some looks going for him, and that red hair definitely sticks out," she shrugged.
Cho whirled around and gripped her shoulders tightly. Scarlett fought the urge to lash out, or screech, whichever would have ended up coming first. "Oh my god. A redhead?! You two are so together then!"
Prying the pudgy hands off, she shot Cho an exasperated look and said, "Just because he's got red hair doesn't mean we're together."
"Oh come on. Your favorite color is obviously red; from that scarf you wear during winter to the random trinkets you buy! A redhead would so be your type!"
"I do not have 'a type'," she scoffed. Finally she managed to wriggle out of Cho's grip and continue walking, heading outside of the storage unit. "And I wouldn't just date someone simply because they were a redhead. I'm not that shallow."
Not that she'd be dating anyone right now anyways. It wouldn't be fair to them…
"Say what you will, say what you will, but I know you." Cho giggled and linked arms with her. She stared at their conjoined limbs for a moment before looking up to gaze absently ahead of her.
'I don't think you know me as well as you think you do,' she sighed inwardly. 'But the only one to blame for that is myself.'
And for a little bit longer she just wanted to hope that it would be for the best.
Scarlett stared at the blinking chatroom, sitting in mild discomfort on the edge of Rika's couch, in the apartment as she had promised. (Though staying in the place of a dead person's was still against her better judgement, and by all rights, was creepy.) By her feet was a green duffel bag, one she liked to use for trips that extended over a couple of days. Inside it was clothes and a blanket, hygiene products, and various forms of entertainment. There was a reason she liked to call it the three body duffel bag. Fitting all that stuff inside had been easy, and there was still room to spare for her medication and then some.
After looking around the apartment for the millionth time she finally quit procrastinating and opened the chat.
- Lumikki has entered the chatroom -
Yoosung: Oh Lumikki! There you are~
Yoosung: I can't believe I'm talking to the new member finally!
Yoosung: I was a little worried since I couldn't get ahold of you all day. But then Seven said you were working so I waited patiently.
Yoosung: And now here we are!
Lumikki: lol sorry I didn't check in earlier. I was a bit busy with more than just work.
Lumikki: Last night was crazy enough that I felt like I needed to take a long dip in Denial.
Lumikki: It's not just a river in Egypt anymore folks ᕕ( •́︿•́ )ᕗ
Lumikki: *badum tss*
Yoosung: lololol
Yoosung: Ahh… I just have so much on my mind because of you…
Yoosung: I can't even focus on gaming! What should I do?
"Well for starters you could not sound like you literally came from a dating sim," she muttered under her breath, eyeing his second to last line suspiciously. Even if she had finally come to terms with the fact that she was indeed no longer playing a game it didn't necessarily stop her from viewing her conversations as if she were still playing one.
Right now Yoosung was definitely striking her as a character that would fall in love too easily. The classic Romeo and Juliet syndrome. However she figured she'd give him the benefit of the doubt and not judge him too harshly. Perhaps this guy had an advanced stage of RJS, and his ability to fall in love quickly could lead him to actual true love. First she had to get to know him better for that to happen.
It still made her uneasy to think of getting close to this group of strangers, though. After having reviewed what she had missed in the last chat it had become blindingly obvious that Rika had been held on a very, very high pedestal. And when she had come tumbling down, so had the rest of the R.F.A. Even if most of them had been able to build themselves back up she wasn't sure yet if her dynamic entrance in their lives would result in a catastrophic exit that would ultimately drag them down and keep them there. If she somehow got close and became important to them…
Scarlett blinked, remembering that she still had to respond to Yoosung.
Lumikki: I hear that you're in college. What major are you studying for?
Yoosung: Oh?
Yoosung: About that… that's um…
Yoosung: Why don't we talk about you instead? I want to know more about you.
Yoosung: *(´ヮ`)~*
"Avoiding the question, check. This is shaping up for some tragic backstory." Then again giving people that were technically supposed to be a part of a game the benefit of the doubt was proving to be more of a challenge than it had first appeared.
Lumikki: I almost hesitate to respond, but what do you want to know?
Yoosung: Anything! Everything! Whatever you want to tell me~
Lumikki: Ah… Then I guess we'll start with something easy. My name isn't actually Lumikki. That's just my go to pen name these days.
Yoosung: Oh really? What's your name then?
Yoosung: ﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿?
Lumikki: Tis a secret for now ;)
Yoosung: Aw man~ You sound like Seven when you say that.
Lumikki: Really?
Lumikki: Speaking of Seven, btw, where is he? I've got something I need to tell him.
Yoosung: He's probably working right now.
Lumikki: Oh well. Guess I'll tell him later.
Lumikki: And probably unlike Seven I'll give you a hint for my name.
Yoosung: （ °□°）
Yoosung: Really?!
Lumikki: Yep. ｡•́ ‿ •́｡
Lumikki: The hint is that my name is a color.
The phone vibrated in her hand and a little notification popped up in the tab at the top. Her eyes widened when she saw the name.
Lumikki: Hey I'm gonna have to step out of the chat for a minute.
Yoosung: Okay. I will too then.
Yoosung: I think I'll go for a walk for a little while.
Lumikki: Have fun then.
Yoosung: Yep! Don't stay up too late, okay?
Lumikki: Haha, okay.
"Liiieeessss." Yes, even she was not above calling herself out. If she knew herself, which she liked to think that she did, then Scarlett knew that sleep would be far off tonight unless she took something to make her fall asleep. Even with extra help she wasn't entirely certain she'd be able to sleep well since she was staying in a dead person's home. Call her superstitious, or someone who might let horror movies get under her skin sometimes, but that was always a bad idea.
Yoosung: Alright, bye then!
- Yoosung has left the chatroom -
- Lumikki has left the chatroom -
Quick as could be Scarlett exited the messenger app and was in her text messages. There was a recently sent message from none other than the elusive Unknown themself. She opened the message and read it.
Unknown
It'll be really fun from now on. Enjoy your time with everyone.
I'll go get you soon.
As serious as Unknown had probably meant for this to be, she couldn't help but respond the way she did with him. At this point it was practically an obligation.
And you said you weren't a creepy character. Guess who should have
listened to me when I was handing out that character analysis quiz?
While a response would have been nice, she hadn't been expecting one to come flying in so quickly.
This isn't a game anymore.
At least… not one where your actions won't result without
serious consequences.
Really? Oh my god! No it can't be!
（ °□°）
You're saying that this is real life?! I can't believe it!
(ㅍ_ㅍ)
You'll see, eventually.
And when you do, you'll be in paradise with me.
Scarlett refrained from responding. Something about his text suggested finality, and it was eerie. A shiver ran down her spine and she turned around. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, tingling. Something, no someone, had been watching her. She just knew it.
For once in her life, Scarlett hoped it was just a ghost.
I've entered this story into the NaNoWriMo contest so I should be working on this one more frequently ^_^ Also-
I REGRET NOTHING! 707 can meet me in the pit if he wants me to rescind the stripper jibe! (((c=(°ロ°;q
-Yopū Yuna