Making a choice

A Stranger in the Chat

She didn't have long to look around before her phone dinged again. Thinking it was Unknown, possibly telling her something he forgot, she reached into her purse and pulled it out. Once the screen was turned on she could tell it was not Unknown right away, even before glancing at the messages. The background was a gradient of purple to blue, lacking any green numbers or letters scrolling down constantly. The messages themselves were flashing by so quickly she almost couldn't keep up. One boy who was blonde in his profile picture was complaining about college life, she could relate, while the others were all either comforting him or telling him off for acting how he was. They seemed a close knit group, but why was she suddenly thrust into their chat.

707:

WAIT!

His message came in a bubble that looked like an explosion to her, that was the only reason that she even noticed something was up.

707:

Think someone entered the chat room;;

She began to panic at the sight of the message. He had just alerted the others to her presence while she was attempting to find a way to leave their chat. Who was this 707 guy to tell everyone about her? She hadn't even said anything to them. She hadn't even said hello and yet they were now all talking about her. The business man seemed extremely upset and called for his assistants attention while the others were asking this 707 about her. The assumption that she was a simple error had her flabbergasted, though she guessed since she was being a lurker to the chat it was to be expected. With a steadying breath, she replied.

MC:

Hello...

Yoosung:

Gahhhh it's talking!!!!

Zen:

So it's not two smartphones.

Jumin Han:

Who is it?

Yoosung:

Find out what it is!

Jaehee Kang:

How did you find out about this place? Where did you download the application?

So many questions were thrown at her that it made her head spin. She was struggling to think of how to answer them in the clearest way when 707 decided to disclose the information he had gathered. He traced her IP apparently, she had no idea how that worked but it told him that she was in the apartment of someone named Rika.

At least she knew the name of the phone owner now.

Now they were hacking to find out who she was? What kind of chat room had she gotten into?

With bated breath she read the next few messages. Zen thought she was a fan of his but she wasn't really, she didn't even know what he was famous for. His comment prompted the one known as Jumin Han to post an adorable chibi emoji of his profile picture angry. She snorted despite herself and quickly typed out a reply before the barrage of messages could continue. It was like she was on autopilot, her body going through the motions while her mind was still in shock.

MC:

I am Mirae Cheo, but I go by MC. Who are you all and what is this place?

That got an 'lol so awkward' from the user 707, for whatever reason this made her frown and duck her head as if she could hide her discomfort from them. They were all introducing themselves now and not interrogating her, that was a good thing she supposed. Selfies and personal information like their jobs and relationships within the group were being shared, it was a bit overwhelming. They were still referring to her as an 'it' though, probably not as friendly as they let on. When she was asked in a roundabout way how she managed to get inside the apartment she answered as concisely as she could.

MC:

I came here while chatting with a person called 'Unknown'. Do you know him by any chance?

That set the 707 off on a tangent, apparently being Unknown was impossible on the app. This led her to doubt it was this app that she had spoken to him on. 707 seemed adamant that no hacker could get into the chatroom after all. It was true, she was no hacker and she got in. The thought caused her to chuckle lightly.

707:

Hey, MC, So he told you the password for the door lock?

MC:

Yes.

This set everyone else off, asking questions and spouting theories. When she was asked how she got the app she couldn't think of an answer so simply replied with the most obvious one.

MC:

Just got it @ app store...

Once again a barrage of messages she could barely follow, and a new name was thrown into the mix to top it all off. V.

MC:

Who's V?

Apparently he ran the organization that the chat room was for, the RFA. They were talking quickly about V and Rika and what the RFA did, it made her head swim. So many emotions were bubbling up inside her that she wasn't sure where to begin. She was growing more and more nervous, and embarrassed as the one known as 707 declared she was a cute girl. MC hid her face in one hand and let out a soft groan as she sat on the dust covered couch. This was becoming just too much. She explained she was just there to return a phone, which ultimately lead to 707 asking if they should explain to her in more detail, about the RFA and this Rika. When she asked for them to explain it was Zen and Yoosung who filled her in... a bit. The RFA organized parties for a charity of some kind apparently.

She was being recruited by the now leader herself, he explained to her that she wouldn't even have to go somewhere else to help. She could do it all through the RFA app, which was what she was currently chatting with them all. It all seemed a little too good to be true. She went through each of their messages, each one leading to the ultimate question which wasn't asked by V, who left shortly after joining, it was Jumin Han who sent it.

Jumin Han:

MC will you join RFA?

She thought about it for a moment as she glanced up to a blinking red light set into a black half sphere in the ceiling, a fire alarm she assumed based on the fact she could see one in the kitchen as well. Her back pressed into the cushion of the couch as she let out a slow even breath. Did she even want to join? They were using her name now at least, and not referring to her as an 'it'. On top of that it didn't look like they planned to call the authorities.

MC:

Alright. It looks fun. I'll give it a go.

It felt like as soon as she accepted the offer she was being pulled into their ranks. There were a few concerned messages but most of them were positive. She watched as each of them said what was on their mind and then left the chat room, leaving her to stare blankly at the messages.