The stairs led to some basement—all dark and musty—Rin thought something died there once and people kind of forgot about it. Like how Ryon was supposed to meet him by the lobby of their dorm and join him in this mess he got them both in. 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. All were bored out of their minds and were looking for something interesting to occupy their time.

Hye-jin, especially, felt like she had just wasted precious gaming time just preparing for this. Underwhelming—that's the word she's going to describe this. But she couldn't deny the loud sounds emanating from the headphones and the curses flitting out of the losers' mouths told her she was in a better place than being alone in her room.

Rin approached the girls and gave them a small wave. "Hi," he said. "Mind if I sit?"

The guy beside Hye-jin scooted over, squishing agains her. Rin blinked and studied her. She was the girl he met on the hallway, the one with the 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. Besides, Rin knew nothing about current make-up trends. For what it's worth, panda eyes might be the "in" thing.

"Have you been here long?" Rin asked no one in particular, desperate to drown out the ringing awkwardness in the air around him.

Hye-jin, meanwhile, thought the kid to be mildly annoying. Ugh. Couldn't he mind his own business? So, she leaned over and blurted, "Oh, you have no idea. I came here to see hot guys in the middle of matches but, so far, all I see were sweaty man-children throwing tantrums."

It was funny, Rin thought, but he shouldn't be laughing at a stranger's jokes, especially if it's by a girl he didn't know. Weird, but it wouldn't kill him if he followed it or not. Rin was duped by Ryon too. Well, not because Rin was looking for hot girls, but because his friend was the one who invited him and them promptly forgot about it. Ryon and Rin would have a talk tomorrow.

The real reason Rin showed up here was because he's curious about the programming club. Turning an educational organization into a video game cave was so rebel Rin had to give it to them for making it this far without despite the rumors circulating around about them.

"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?"

Hye-jin waved a hand in front of her face. She never really noticed it, but Anette told her she had long fingers, as if she was made to press keys all day. "A lot of various things," she said. "I'm currently hooked on Fortress and Strife."

Rin's eyes widened. "No way!" he exclaimed. "I'm hooked by it too! It's amazing."

Eh? Hye-jin thought, but decided to not push it. Besides, she'd rather not deal with an overeager kid. "What's your season rank?" she asked. "I bet I'm higher than you."

He raised an eyebrow. Oh, was that how this was going to go? Someone's competitive, for sure. "Emperor 5," he smiled. "You?"

To his surprise, Hye-jin shrugged. "Eh, same."

"Really?" Rin cocked his head to one side.

Hye-jin felt waves of shock wash over her. "Do you doubt me?"

Maybe Rin 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," Hye-jin played 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?"

As if by chance, two more sore losers tore their headphones off their heads and strode out of the room. Rin glanced at Hye-jin without really knowing her name nor would he dare ask at all. "Well?"

The smile she returned to him was nothing short of cute. "G."

They sat on opposing desktops and snatched the semi-oily headphones. Almost simultaneously, they put them on and poised their fingers over the keys and the mouse. "Ready?" Rin asked as he logged into the server.

Hye-jin snorted from the other side. As if this small fry would amount to her. "Ready."

The sound of their mice clicking the START button echoed in the dim electronic cave. Rin surged ahead, just as Hye-jin did. Both of them clacked and raged against the keys. Their screens lit up in various shades of red, pink, orange, green, and blue. Rin tackled Hye-jin's middle tier while he let her take his inner tiers. Let her have her fun. He'd have her turf in a while.

From the opposite side, Hye-jin cursed. Once her usual tactics of bombardment didn't work, she was forced on defense. She had never seen a play-style as Rin's, where she was actually forced to retreat to defensive. She needed to take care of her middle tier and she couldn't do that if she's laying waste into his turf. So, she'd tackle Rin's force from her front lines.

Her middle tier collapsed. Rin, still shielded by the dark desktop screens chuckled to himself. Hye-jin's play style, while tight and well-executed, were nothing to his technique. He didn't spend his while throwing darts into the air. This tactic worked against almost every type of opponent. He knew, because he had tried.

Hye-jin, still on the defensive, whipped her mouse to Rin's turf. The front lines were knocked over, paving a clear path for her to the inner sanctum. If she took that, she would win this match, but it wouldn't be like she forced his hand. She'd just taken the cowardly way and took the crown from under him. Then, again, wasn't that what he's already doing? So, she gritted her teeth and switched gears.

Rin noticed it—that shift. As Hye-jin barreled into his turf while he's occupied in her middle tier, he checked her movements. And cursed. She's using her own tactic against him? Smart. She turned it to a battle of speed, to see who gets to take the other's last remaining tier the fastest. Well, Rin's not going to lose.

Fingers pounded against keys. Chair legs scraped against the dusty floor. Breaths were held, and tension rose into the air that even the neighboring gamers and the girl with multi-colored hair had wandered off to look. Sweat dripped from the side of Rin's face as he slammed his fingers against the right and left buttons of his mouse. Come on. Come on.

A bright red DEFEAT flashed in Rin's screen. Hye-jin's arms shot to the air. She stood so suddenly her chair toppled back with a loud thud. It faded underneath the timber of her yelling, though. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, resting her twined fingers over her head. Like Rin, her hairline glistened with sweat. She wrung her hands, rolled her wrists, and cracked her knuckles. "Oh my God."

Rin rounded the aisle to see Hye-jin still not finished freaking out. It's a deserved loss. Hye-jin's actually good. Flexible. Studious. He should fear her if she asked for a rematch. He never met anyone who was able to see through and emulate his technique all in one game.

Hye-jin calmed down and approached Rin. "That's a good one," she opened and closed her hands to wring the tension in them. "One of the best I've had in a while. You're good."

Rin found himself following after Hye-jin's stretches. 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. And doing it in such a dim light as this.

He grinned. "I could say the same," he tilted his head to one side. "I never met someone who used my game against me."

"It's just so good—something I never thought of before. So, I decided to try it, and it works!" Hye-jin stuck her hands into her pockets. "What made you decide to sneak through my defenses first?"

Warmth blossomed in Rin's chest. No one has ever asked him that question—not even his constant game buddies. Most of them were sore about how they couldn't win against him. "I prefer the element of surprise," he jerked a chin towards Hye-jin. "It's like your overwhelm tactic, except I add the sneak elements."

"Besides, you've got a clean play too," Rin added. "One of the best I've come across. Quick. Structured. It's a force," he said. "What's your secret?"

A laugh bubbled up Hye-jin's throat. She didn't even know why she's giggling like an idiot. "You can thank my mom for that. She used to tell me that if you're hard up for something, it'll open up," she rolled her shoulders.

Rin blinked. He hadn't heard that before. Hye-jin saw his expression and blew a breath. "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 said.

He took her hand. "Good game."

They exchanged names for the first time. Then, Hye-jin inclined her head at Rin. "Wanna get out of here and grab something?" she said. "I know a good place. They have the best pasta dishes."

Rin's stomach growled without his permission. Had he really spent a long time down here? Or maybe it's the stress of his near-win and utter defeat. Well, whatever. Hye-jin was interesting, so he found himself nodding to her offer. "Sure," he said. He's been craving for some pasta anyway. "Let's go."