Once I arrived back in my room I settled in front of my computer and opened the LOLOL page. If I was supposed to play with Yoosung then I had to make it look like I've played before. LOLOL seemed to be laid out like any other MMO game. This should be easy enough, I mean I used to play Runescape back in the day. I turned the volume down so I could focus and prepared to learn the controls. The gameplay was probably the same thing as Runescape but with some better graphics or something. Hmm, what should my username be, maybe something with a rose? Before I could get started, however, there was a soft knock at the door. I took off my headphones and swirled in my chair to greet my guest. Ray opened the door and walked over to where I was. Curiously he looked at what I was working on and pulled a chair so he could sit beside me."I thought you could use a little help with the game. It's not as easy as it looks."
"Thanks, Ray. I have to admit I haven't played an MMO in a while. But are you sure this won't interfere with your workload?" I was happy to spend time with him but I knew that he had a lot on his plate as well. The last thing I wanted was for Ray to fall behind in his own work because of me. He shook his head and smiled at me.
"No, it's quite alright. I finished most of what I had to do earlier so that I could help you. Plus, I thought it would be fun to game with you." He took control of the keyboard and entered in a username and password. An avatar popped up complete with armor, an expansive skill tree, and items already in her inventory. It looked like Ray had a character set up for me so I wouldn't be a total beginner. "I hope you don't mind that I created an account for you."
Ray explained the controls to me and showed me the easiest ways to attack enemies. Despite my best efforts it took me a while to learn all the combos and controls. It was way more difficult than I had initially thought it would be. I soon found out that games were way more advanced to play than they were to write or research about. I let out an exasperated sigh as I was killed again by the low-level monster. What was I doing wrong?
"Don't get frustrated." Ray chuckled at my reaction to my loss. "Here, let me help you." He placed his right hand over mine on the mouse. His touch was warm against my hand. I leaned into him so he would have a better angle on the mouse. I couldn't believe how close we were, my shoulder relaxed into his chest. Ray rested his other hand on the back of my chair close enough that it was against my back. "Okay, are you ready to try this enemy again?" I nodded with determination. Ray's hand expertly guided mine to hit the right combos in time with the items. He then told me which keys to press to achieve better combos. Before I knew it we had defeated the first goblin. We moved on through the goblin waves and defeated the boss.
"We did it!" I exclaimed. I'll admit it, I got a little too excited at the small victory. I didn't even control my body as I turned to hug Ray in the victory. He seemed a little surprised at the sudden embrace but laughed and accepted my hug. We sat there for a minute in each other's arms. I allowed myself to appreciate the comfort he brought me before I gazed up at him. "You are a great teacher. I think I will be able to convince Yoosung that I am a game master now." Ray's smile was pure as he watched me relish in our defeat of the low-level boss. I didn't even care how childish I was acting.
With the excitement subsiding, Ray and I went to the dining table to chat over coffee like we used to. Ray poured two cups of coffee for us. He topped mine off with sprinkles of cinnamon and nutmeg before adding extra spoonfuls of sugar to his own. He preferred sweet things while I enjoyed the bitter taste. We both sat there for a moment enjoying the first couple sips of our coffee. With each sip, the fragrance from the coffee drifted to my nose giving me a sense of familiarity. Directing his attention away from his coffee, Ray broke the silence.
"So MC, how are you finding your work so far? Are you adjusting well to your new environment? I know that it is not very comfortable to have been locked in your room these past few days. Please bear with me a little bit longer. I should be able to give you your ID tomorrow. The ID will allow you to access more rooms on this floor and give you some more freedom. There is also an initiation of sorts that you will have to do still. Uh, but don't worry I will prepare everything especially for you." Ray seemed to be visibly tense as he tried to make me more comfortable. I appreciated his concern for me. What was this initiation thing? Was it like doing extra work for my higher-ups or something? That should be okay, I had to do that when I was an intern in an office. If it was only that why was Ray so visibly tense then? There was also a weird mood in the room the moment he mentioned this initiation.
"Oh, there are no problems at all. Thank you for everything you've done Ray! I really appreciate all the effort you've put in to make me feel like home here. I don't really mind being in my room, the preliminary research has kept me busy. Plus, I get to go on outings to the university still so It's not like I'm stuck here. Also, I'm sure the initiation is nothing I can't handle. I've had my fair share of difficult situations so I should be fine." This was the truth. I didn't feel like I was confined here or anything. Ray seemed to relax at my response. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but it looked like Ray was a little more stiff than usual. Was he that concerned about my comfort? My instincts made me a little suspicious at his aura. I shook it off blaming it on my imagination I was probably over analyzing the situation as usual.
"Thank you for saying that MC. I will let you know when your cere… initiation will take place. I am hoping to prolong it as long as possible. This is only so you can focus your initial research and don't feel so pressured. Once you have completed your introduction initiation then you will be able to learn more about the company." It seemed like this topic made Ray increasingly uncomfortable. Again my senses were screaming at me to be on high alert. Something about this initiation was off but I wasn't sure what to make of it. For now, I should just trust Ray and hope he would never want to hurt me.
Suddenly my phone interrupted us. I looked at the screen and saw that Yoosung wanted to game. Apologetically I looked up at Ray. "Sorry Ray, duty calls. Yoosung just got home and wants to game with me. I think I'll be able to convince him that I am a gamer thanks to your help!" Ray understood and got up to leave.
"Good luck with your research. I'm sure you will do a wonderful job. I will be very busy for the next couple days so please message me if you need anything." He waved to me as he closed the door. I couldn't help but feel the sad air that surrounded him. Something was definitely off, I just didn't know what. We had such a great time gaming together only a short time ago. Maybe he was sad that we wouldn't get to spend much time together this upcoming week. I slapped my cheeks so I could focus again on my task at hand. Yoosung was waiting for me.
It was a bit awkward playing with Yoosung at first. It was obvious that he didn't talk to girls all that much. He didn't seem to know what to talk about so we focused on the raids instead. I did unexpectedly well considering I'd learned how to play hours before. It seemed that the better I was at the game the more comfortable Yoosung became with me. I think this was his way of trusting people.
"Wow Rose! We obliterated those monsters! I haven't played so well with someone in a long time. It's kinda like we are reading each other's minds." Yoosung was getting increasingly excited. He wasn't exactly wrong about the mind reading. I had so much information on him that it was easy to guess his next actions so I could compliment them.
"Yeah, we make a great team! You're really good Yoosung, you must really love this game. How did you start playing?" I needed to start to learn more about him. I thought this was a pretty easy convo starter. The other end went quiet for a little bit and I wondered if we had lost connection.
After some silence on the other end, Yoosung finally responded. "Well... I guess I needed something to focus on other than school. My cousin... died five months ago. I fell into a deep pit of despair and I started to do badly in school. No one seemed to believe me that I thought Rika was still alive! No one took me seriously and I felt so alone. The RFA... uh haha, ignore that last part. My friends just made fun of me and said I was too emotional. I needed an escape and LOLOL gave it to me. I'm not really sure how I started to play the game. It kind of just showed up on my computer one day. This game allowed me to be strong and a leader even when I felt like I was worthless." Wow. I had no idea he was going through such intense emotions. I quickly wrote down RFA in my notepad and continued to listen to Yoosung's feelings. I think he really needed someone to vent to and I could be there for him.
We continued to play as he told me of his cousin. She seemed like a really caring person. Rika did a lot of charity work and helped Yoosung to excel in his schooling. He genuinely looked up to her as a role model in life. It hurt my heart to see someone in such distress about something he couldn't do anything about. It wasn't only about gaining information anymore but to be a support for Yoosung as well. I mean it wouldn't hurt my research if I showed him some compassion. Yoosung and I gamed late into the night. I listened intently to everything he had to tell me.