LOVEGAME OVER

3 - New player!

When Yoongi wakes up at the sound of Taehyung's alarm clock the next morning, he gropes for his shirt and reluctantly sits up on the mattress the Kims have permanently placed in their son's room. Well, it is not like Yoongi does not have a spare room just for himself in the house, but as he usually falls asleep while playing with Taehyung, his friend's parents have simply bought a mattress for him. Yet, the younger teenager has not even heard the alarm, he is still sleeping with his mouth wide open.

"Wake up," Yoongi mumbles in a hoarse voice. But Taehyung only whines and turns his back to him, rolling under his covers. "Come on, I ain't gonna say it twice."

His friend mutters something inaudible, and when Yoongi asks him to repeat, the taller boy says in a sleepy voice, "M'not going to school today. M'fucking exhausted."

As Yoongi is putting his jeans on, he frowns. Taehyung's half-opened eyes are red, as he has not got a wink of sleep. He seems stuck to his bed. "Of course you're exhausted, you've been playing all night. You went to sleep three hours ago."

His friend moans, covering his face with his arms because Yoongi has opened the curtains and the sunlight is burning his eyes. "You just go ahead," Taehyung concludes, hiding under his sheets.

The small teenager shrugs and heads towards the kitchen, already smelling the sweet fragrance of pancakes and hot chocolate. He smiles, but the dining room is empty, save for the plates and food that have been set on the table. Yoongi takes a seat, starting eating silently, when he hears voices coming from Taehyung's parents' bedroom, which is adjacent to the kitchen.

"This cannot go on, honey," Mrs Kim is saying in a pleading voice. "You have to do something, maybe he'll listen to you."

"There's nothing wrong with our kid, Jin," a stronger and deeper voice firmly states.

"But the only thing he does is play videos games, and it's destroying him. You obviously cannot see this, but I can tell you it's really worrisome."

As Yoongi shoves a whole pancake into his tiny mouth, he hears the bedroom door creak open, and Mr Kim gets out. When he notices his son's friend, a smile appears on his face, and he gestures to high five Yoongi. "How are you, young man?"

"Fine, thanks, Namjoon-ssi."

Mr Kim asks where is son is, and when Yoongi points towards Taehyung's room, as he is still chewing, the adult man frowns. "Still sleeping? Why, he's going to be late for school!"

"He said he was not going today."

Yoongi sees his friend's father's features distort, and he storms out, striding towards Taehyung's bedroom. The seated boy can only hear distant shouts and finally Mr Kim slamming the door, getting back in the dining room, where his wife is now serving coffee.

"Everything alright, Joon?"

"This damn kid. He won't listen."

Mrs Kim bites her lips, and eventually addresses Yoongi, "Sweetie, I think you should get going. Don't wait for Tae, he'll be staying at home for today."

The student nods and thanks the Kims, picking his backpack and heading for school on his own. As soon as he arrives, Jimin peppers him with questions about why Taehyung is not answering him on the phone, and Yoongi only says their friend is tired and needs sleep.

"Tired?" Jimin mumbles, slightly irritated. "Well, if he didn't spend his nights playing those stupid games, and answered my texts instead, maybe he'd be able to wake up and make it to school." He crosses his arms on his chest, sulking on his own.

Next to him, Hoseok tries to lift up his spirits, "At least, you won't hear him talk about how many zombie bunnies he killed last night."

"They're zombie dogs," Jimin corrects bitterly. Then, he starts again in a higher voice, "God, see what he does to me? Why do I even know these kinds of things? Truth is, I'm just sick of this. He doesn't even care about us. Not even about you, Yoongi. The only thing he thinks about during the day is getting back home to play."

Yoongi does not feel offended, as he perfectly knows this is right. But Hoseok vainly tries to defend Taehyung, "You know it's not easy for Taehyung..." Jimin rolls his eyes, barely convinced. "His father has always been absent, and his mom has problems of her own. It's not been easy for her to take care of Tae alone, since he was so troublesome and whimsical as a kid. You know the only way she could ease him was with TV and video games. I guess he just became addicted to them over time."

"Don't try to find him excuses," Jimin replies darkly. He finally spits, "I bet he didn't come to school just so he can play all day."

Before Hoseok can speak, Jimin storms away, heading for his next period, without even saying goodbye. Yoongi, who has remained silent until now, only shrugs at Hoseok. Jimin truly is an angel, except when it comes to his best friend. When it comes to Taehyung, he can turn into a real harpy.

But Jimin is not totally mistaken. Taehyung has indeed played video games from the moment he emerged, at noon, until now, when his mother is sound alseep, and his father is once again gone on a three-day business trip.

He has made sure to call Jimin on the phone because he seemed quite furious, and is now focused on his TV screen, as his best friend keeps sending him texts. When he gets ready to finally change games, his attention gets caught by a tab suddenly popping in the corner of the screen.

New player!

captainkook97 added you.

ACCEPT / DECLINE

As Taehyung intriguingly clicks on "ACCEPT", he smiles. First, because it has been a while since he last played with strangers online — he likes being with Yoongi better. And then, because, he thinks, "captainkook97" truly is a terrible pseudonym.