➛ park.

@── yoo jimin. ❜ “Ah, no need to apologize. I know how it is with playing games. And oh, the C.C. ride?” Jaehyun diced his answer with a laugh in between. “It’s in the shop right now, unfortunately. Some people just can’t drive in this city; fender benders are common. So I had to drive something a bit more casual here. Quite boring, I know.” He let his keys spin along his forefinger as they continued their strides. “Tacos? You read my cravings like a book. Alright, I got a place for us.” Soon, the placating smile crossing his lips fell slightly as the saturation of the ambiance dampened. What was previously a sky spotted with clouds and sunshine which threatened to pierce the vision now turned into a growing gray canopy gathering just above them. It wasn’t long until his fallen gaze caught the wet, darkened spots that congregated on the ground, rainfall generous enough to introduce itself in mere droplets. They had time. “Yikes. Ok, let’s go. I parked just down the block, but we’ll get there.” Soon thereafter did Jaehyun slide his forearm down, untangling the tie of their arms but succinctly grabbing ahold of the hand of Karina’s into his. He quickens his steps to kite them both toward his car which spills into view - a modern sedan in black, devoid of any grand bells and whistles but with some touches here and there. The man chuckled as he used the bit of energy he had to lead the woman toward the passenger’s side first as the rain reached the crown of his head with some fervor. “Ah quick, quick, here get in.” He guides her hand and leads her to take refuge inside the vehicle. The man then hops and skips around the rear of the car to finally situate himself inside at the driver’s seat. The ambiance inside was now dominated by the sound of droplets defusing itself along the metal exterior of the car, but at least they were both inside. “ me, why does rain do that? It picks up without permission.” Another laugh leaves him as he pulls back the fleeting strands of hair which caught the worst of the rain. “At least you didn’t get as wet as I did, but here-” His torso twists to grab a beach towel from the back seat. “It’s washed and unused, don't worry, but something to dry you off a bit more.” He fiddles his keys with his knuckles to find the ignition key before starting the car and adjusting the temperature of the vents, hovering his hand over each one. “Let me know if the air is too hot or cold for you. We should be there in no time, so we won’t have to drive in the rain for long. Get comfortable and…” As he begins to buckle himself and pull out from the space, small glances of his juggle between her and the stickers he had placed along the edge of the window next to her, as well as the figurine hanging from the rear-view mirror. “...and please don’t mind the Mob Psycho ornaments staring at you. They build the feng shui of the car.”

@── jung jaehyun. ❜ There’s a flux in tension between them, a shift that’s hard to ignore as Jaehyun’s currently processing the information all at once. Karina was so carried away with the internet persona she embellished and the identity that was revealed, she had almost forgotten the relationship they shared before the exposé. He meant so much to her, but she was still riding on the coattails of the excitement that penetrated her like a cupid's arrow at discovering yet another interest they had in common, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.” Biting the inside of her cheek, her spunky nature simmers down during their stroll through the park as she turns her gaze towards anything other than his own. “Some of the best players are around your age, maybe they were just jealous kids.” No longer providing her input on the situation, he draws her attention to something of a playful nature that makes her cheeks tint with guilt. What a swift way to make her look forward to the rest of the day together but also cringe from embarrassment. “That’s right you did agree to feed me like the gentleman you are.” His sarcasm diffuses the mood as a small simper rests on her visage. She observes the way he reaches for his keys in his pocket, pursing her lips into a thin line once she’s asked about food to give it some serious thought. He provided a variety of options, cuisine after cuisine from another culture or the ones she’s mentioned from a previous discussion they’ve had. Although her stomach chimes in a way to say anything will do, she’s far more interested in the exterior design of his car. “You didn’t possibly bring the C.C car here to this park did you?” She’d already expected his answer to be a flat-out ‘no’. The neon color was as blaring and eye-catching as his respective group, but she wanted to entertain the conversation as much as possible. “Since you’re implying you’ll pay anyway, I think I’m down for some soft shells and tacos.” If he was trying to be nonchalant he was doing a horrible job at it. comfort weighed on her shoulders as she looks at the sky above. Clouds formed making the vibrant park dull with a grayish filter in seconds as the forecast predicted. “I guess this is why the event was canceled. Let’s get out of here before it rains.”

@── yoo jimin. ❜ The way Jaehyun is castigated for his gaming behavior is not lost on him. His demeanor, on one hand, was prone to subduing an impending laughter and did not want to break the lines of his face to come off as flippant. “Hey, it’s still a battle royale. Sometimes, we have to do what we have to do.” On the other hand, his gaming ego had a permanent memory of all the wrongdoings she had done to him in-game, while simultaneously holding a tiny memory for all the shortcomings he had retaliated with. The memories flooded back over to the stream of his consciousness again. He could not deny it. The conversation certainly had shone a light upon a side to her in which he could empathize with - competitiveness, a passion for the game, and a zeal which grits the teeth together. But this was someone he had known for a time now, and the blanket of ambiguity was cast aside as the person he thought would be a stranger to him in-person, was not exactly a stranger at all. His lips parted to an exhale which relieved a bit of the weight on his shoulders. The man’s arms crossed thereafter. Hearing her say ‘get wrecked’ certainly didn’t do any favors for the discombobulation he was feeling, “Well, good game. You know, you could’ve just said you were better than me. I hear enough trash talk from the 15 year old kids in voice chat who bully and call me ‘old man’ and ask why I’m playing games instead of calling my grandkids.” Yet his arms only come apart shortly after - the woman’s arm now notched along his. Another sigh leaves him but it’s a bit lighter, not sitting as heavy in his chest, “Well… alright. If you say so. Since we’re here, and I did mention I would treat you to whatever your favorite foods were. You’re lucky my car keys are on the side of my free hand. Also, thanks for calling me a loser; that really helps.” His last sentence adheres to an inkling of sarcasm. Though passionate about his games, he is not one to never lighten up under the right circumstances. His free hand fishes a pocket for his keys before he starts to move both of them forward, toward an exit of the park. “So, ‘Bosrightelbow’ who is now holding my right elbow, what do we feel like eating? Seafood boil? Maybe some Mediterranean? Mexican? Whatever you want. Not /saying/ you have free reign because I'm paying for it, but... I'm merely implying it.”

@── jung jaehyun. ❜ CounterPeach2…CounterPeach2… Why did that sound so familiar to her? It was almost haunting. The username probes the female’s brain, taking a moment to digest the male's words as he continues to ramble about their virtual endeavors together. She'd never seen him so animatedly expressive before in person. The passion igniting in the brown hues of his eyes was almost fiery, with furrowed brows and a noticeable base in his voice as he announced his frustration. Then, it all clicked. Karina gasps loudly, pointing a finger at the culprit she was acquainted with in the wee hours of the night. “You're the little that kept stealing my loot in Pochinki first!” Visible shock is written all over her face. First, at herself for being so brazen, and second, at the player that she remembers continuously screwing her over because of the structure of the map. When they were teammates, she remembered him so merrily stealing her items for keepsakes and when they weren't, she made him regret it. Gamer language was practically a taboo to her tongue outside in the open. Staring at his cellular device, then back at him, then back at his cellphone in disbelief, the woman turns her back facing towards him after carefully observing his stats. “Sometimes when I have insomnia, it's a good way to help me blow off some steam until I'm tired. So respectfully, get wrecked.” She feels ridiculous from her outburst, staring down at her shoes to suppress the urge to laugh at their coincidental fate meeting. Why was it so easy to get riled up over a minuscule video game issue compared to their career? Maybe because of how leisurely it felt to completely let herself go without a filter. No matter how sheepish she felt, she meets his benevolent gaze with a cheeky grin. “Would you hold it against me if I asked you, the loser, to buy me, the winner, lunch?” A proposition only Bosrightelbow could get away with. She straightens her posture, turning back around to link their arms together as a mischievous jibe. “I promise I'm harmless IRL, Jaeh.”

@── yoo jimin. ❜ Jaehyun almost stutters the flow of his steps when the young woman does indeed answer to his hunch; an unexpected meeting for sure. “Yeah, I got the message. No kidding, I would’ve guessed that you had the aptitude for the game, but seeing you here wasn’t on my list of occurrences today.” The man folded his shades after removing them, eyes shuttering slightly at the difference in saturation of light. His stature remained planted yet obviously curious at the stats displayed on the phone screen as he gave into a small lean, “You obviously are good at the game then. Wow. It’s really- wait…” The previously lax nature of his shoulders suddenly tensed and rose, causing him to take a foot backwards again and wiggle his index finger towards the young woman, “You’re ‘Bosrightelbow’? You? The one who’s been single-handedly keeping me out of Silver??? I’ve been stuck on Bronze 1 forever.” The air accompanying his words is neither serious nor needlessly joyous, but he definitely had a hard time choosing one over the other as his conscience needed to stomach this all for a bit. Jaehyun pulls out his phone to identify himself, holding it towards her, “It’s ‘CounterPeach2,’ THE ‘CounterPeach2.’ And yes, I get heckled by a few high schoolers here and there in the voice chat, but that pales in comparison to being in the same lobby as you who wouldn’t leave me alone in Sosnovka Island last week.“ The inflection he carries is sullied purely by lack of commitment to the indignation he should feel, as opposed to knowing that the one who had routinely bested him was someone he knew. One bystander might find his stalwart words of shock a matter of silly grandeur, but Jung Jaehyun, he took his games seriously, “And here I was thinking I was beefing against someone who was /just/ potentially the biggest fan of Shin-chan, but no not just that, she’s also Karina from Aespa. I need to practice more then. Unbelievable…”

@── jung jaehyun. ❜ She hears a familiar voice in the distance, quick to snap her out of an existential crisis as she turns to the supposedly dimpled man in shades. “..Jaehyun?”Seeing her senior at a niche event such as this was the last thing she expected on her bingo card. Karina temporarily lowers her mask, smiling at the individual before drawing the fabric back up to hide her face before the plethora of questions roll off her tongue, “You said PUBG, right? The event was canceled on short notice.” The shorter woman nudges his side gently, the weariness in her bones evaporating altogether in his presence. “What’s your user? Rank? Have we crossed paths before?” Having a private moment while remaining anonymous couldn’t hurt, right? The now enthusiastic gamer raises her phone to show him her stats, stepping closer to conversate casually. ‘Bosrightelbow’ was a name that paid homage to her favorite cartoon. It was also the username she used to rank above average while still being quite active in the industry. If Jaehyun was a gamer of her caliber there would be so much more they could talk about. Her doe eyes look up to see her glossy reflection in the frame of his glasses for a positive reaction, gnawing on her lip in concealed giddiness. “I know you’re impressed.”

@── yoo jimin. ❜ The man lightly laughs as he whispers to himself underneath his breath, sauntering toward his destination, “I wonder if that jerk is going to be there…” Not without a face mask hugging his face and a pair of sunglasses darkening his vision ever so slightly to conceal himself from the public on his way over, Jaehyun arrives at the modestly sun-kissed park. He takes another gander at his phone and then back at the park which surrounded him. Then back at his phone, the park, the phone, and then the park again. “Hmmm…” He hums; the man is dumbfounded. “Hello, are you all here for the PUBG event?” He brings his steps over to a group of mere bystanders to ask if they were there for the same reason, only to lightly bow in apology as they proclaimed they were not. Adhering to a sigh, the announcement on his phone almost retires his desire to keep looking. Rolling his eyes, however, his gaze catches the figure of a young woman with the same mannerisms of distraught as him. “Ah, excuse me…” He steps toward her, making sure his voice is heard ahead of time to not bring about a startle, “...are you maybe also looking for the PUBG event taking place here- hold on… is that you, Karina?” He quickly removes his shades to get a better look thereafter.

@── jung jaehyun. ❜ 'Congratulations, you've RSVPed to the annual PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS event. Scroll down to read the details for the location, venue, and more!'

Jimin read the insights of the virtual invitation over and over again. Did she get the date wrong? No, that couldn't be it. Did she arrive at the incorrect location? Certainly not. It was the same venue where they held the event annually. The only difference is that her schedule was open for her to attend for once. Looking over her shoulder for a possible crowd of gamers, she only set her sights on families involved in picnics, couples enjoying the warm weather, and children playing in the grassy fields. Disappointment left a frown on her face behind the white color of her mask to blend in the crowd without creating a scene. The idol scans her phone for any more possible updates of the event and finally comes across words highlighted in red in the pubg server she joined anonymously. 'Event canceled due to possible weather changes'. "Well me." Holding her phone dear to her chest, she groans softly and looks for an exit to the park she was left stranded in.