It was a casual day for Hyejoo who had woken up just a few hours ago, showered, and ate breakfast even if it was nearly seven in the afternoon. That's what came with staying up all night studying and then distressing over video games until her head spun or passed out of exhaustion.
Hyejoo had just sat down on the gaming chair all her friends had bought for her birthday some years ago, damp hair messily worn in a ponytail while her headphones rested around her neck. The girl chewed on her bottom lip, fingers pressing the buttons of her controller when her phone vibrated against her thigh.
yeojin skipped school today
March 30th 6:59 PM
haseul
What's up with the group chat name?
Whatever, Vivi and I
are going out for dinner
tonight. Anyone want
to tag along?
yerim
I'm in!!
jinsoul
same
heejin
Both Hyunjin and I too ^-^
yeojin
I want pizza~
sooyoung
Sure
jungeun
only if any of you buy
me a drink.
i need alcohol
sooyoung
I got you Jung.
chaewon
I can tag along too.
Hyejoo?
The girl sighed, leaving her controller on the side for a moment as she typed her answer.
hyejoo
sorry i can't
Hyejoo was in no mood of going out tonight or any other day of the week. Socializing at school was enough pressure for her and in order to finally get out of her house and spend time with her friends she needed at least one to two weeks of isolation.
chaewon
Come on we haven't
seen you in so long :(
hyunjin
one night with your
best buddies will clear
your mind and give you all
the strength you need!!
sooyoung
You heard them rat
hyejoo
stfu unnie
and sorry guys im
super busy. maybe
another time?
jungeun
you're buying drinks
vivi
She's underage
haseul
And a college student
jungeun
hags
chaewon
Promise, Hyejoo?
hyejoo
yep chaewonie
i promise
jinsoul
truly whipped
The raven head rolled her eyes, switching from her phone to the controller. Sitting comfortably in her chair, she put on her headphones and started the game, looking for a busy lobby to join.
Hyejoo loved video games and was pretty good at them, she spent most of her childhood around game machines due to her father's job as a game designer. However, none of her friends ever played with her apart from Jiwoo.
Jiwoo and Hyejoo would play every Saturday for two hours, laughing and screaming at each other through their microphones. It was the only time the younger was carefree, not having to force herself to stop playing just because her friends said so. And somehow, the older was able to make her feel comfortable, even though they weren't the closest.
Hyejoo groaned when she lost, feeling her phone vibrate again and almost screaming in fear as she jumped up from the chair. Her phone and controller dropped to the ground, her teammates asking her if she was okay while they continued playing.
"please.accept wants to send you an audio file." she read as she picked up her phone, thanking whatever God when the screen didn't crack from the fall.
The girl blinked slowly, eyes so intently looking at the screen of her phone she didn't realize a new match had started and her teammates where trying to get her attention.
"Wolf, wake up, dude!" a man spoke loudly, his voice buzzing inside Hyejoo's ears because of how loud her headphones were.
"Yeah, sorry. Lag." mumbled the girl, pressing decline on her phone and continuing to play.
She focused on the big screen in front of her, fighting the urge to think about the audio file or letting herself regret pressing decline. It would've probably been something nasty, she thought to herself. Trolls often liked sending weird things to people and she assumed the person wanting to reach out to her had similar plans.
Soon, her phone vibrated again. For a moment, Hyejoo wished she had put it on silent before returning her focus to the game. Her team was losing, only her and another guy were left standing and having to face twelve members of the rival team.
"please.accept wants to send you an audio file." her eyes darted at her phone screen once again before she pushed her headphones away, hiding her character in the game behind some bushes and reached to press accept.
In no time, Hyejoo focused back on the game as she waited for the file to start playing. She couldn't afford to die for an audio file, so figured she could both play and listen to whatever this person wanted to send her. They were persistent too, so why not just get over with it.
"Ah, Hyejoo, hello," a familiar voice made the raven head choke, aggressively coughing into the mic attached to her headphones "We haven't talked in a while, haven't we? I hope you've broken your multi-kill record, I'd be upset to know you don't put all that negative energy of yours to good use."
"You're alright, Wolf?" a teammate of hers spoke.
"Mhm." Hyejoo hummed in reply. She couldn't use words, there weren't any she could think of. It was like she had forgotten how to speak, like her tongue was tied in a knot.
Listening to your dead friend's voice was definitely not a side effect to spending many times in front of a screen, the girl thought. Although it felt like it wasn't real, like Jiwoo's voice was just playing inside her head instead from her phone.
"This, even though I'm sure you were forced to listen, is a lame explanation," Jiwoo spoke "That's how you're going to call it, right?"
Hyejoo cursed, feeling anger building up inside of her. She had never head Jiwoo this angry in the many years she was friends with her. The girl sweated through her t-shirt, the memory of Chaewon talking about the files she had received, suddenly coming back.
"You're the only person I've said this to," Chaewon muttered, head resting on Hyejoo's pillow as the younger searched through her closet for a shirt that fit the blonde "But I was sent a creepy audio file."
The blonde was staying over tonight, eyes heavy after their very long Naruto marathon. Chaewon didn't even know why she decided to talk about the files in the first place, it was a stupid idea.
"Yeah, I know, me too," Hyejoo grumbled "It's just stupid porn. I don't accept any of them anymore."
"No!" the raven head dropped the shirt "It was Jiwoo, her voice."
That's why the sender wouldn't give up until Hyejoo accepted the file. They wanted her to listen to whatever Jiwoo had to say.
"Without a further ado," Jiwoo chuckled "Welcome, Son Hyejoo, to the path of the truth."
-kimwig
YOU ARE READING
12 REASONS WHY | LOONA
Fanfiction"If you're listening to this, you're one of the reasons why." Jiwoo was always viewed as the happy girl, the energetic one of her friend group. She had no reason to be sad, people thought, and if she was, she was being dramatic. But what if she real...
