It's been two weeks ever since they shared that night, but neither of them has dared to speak to each other.
Yunho's Monday class got canceled, so he logged into Border of Fate. The familiar screen loaded quickly, and the first thing Yunho did was check his friend list. He noticed that his duo, Noctis, was online.
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Wassup! How you been noctis?"
Noctis didn't respond for a few minutes but then Yunho saw a message notification pop up. DING! DING!
[Noctis]: "Thought you ghosted me. *roll eyes*."
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "LOL. WHATS WITH THAT "roll eyes", you into roleplaying now!?"
[Noctis]: "STFU. YOU DISAPPEARED FOR WEEKS AND I HAD TO RAID DUNGEON WITH STUPID PPL. ARE YOU EVEN MY DUO!?!?!??!? *crying emoji*"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Stupid people? Who? The Noctis I know doesn't have friends LOL."
[Noctis]: "IMMA SERIOUSLY K*LL YOU!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "OKAY CALM DOWN! I know it's my fault for not notifying you about my absent.. 😭"
[Noctis]: "If you're sorry then give me your Kakao Talk. You always refused to give me it, but I'm not forgiving you if you don't give me it this time. 😤💢"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Haizzz... What am I gonna do with you? You're so childish... Fine, I'll give you it."
They exchanged each other IDs. Noctis finally obtained Yunho's KaKao Talk after knowing him for a long time.
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Anyways, who's the people you been raiding with?"
[Noctis]: "Why? You jealous? *smirking emoji*"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "JEALOUS? I'M JUST CURIOUS!"
[Noctis]: "Usually I would join a random party but since you been disappeared for weeks. I made a decision to join a guild."
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "GUILD!? You always made a fuss about joining a guild. 💀"
[Noctis]: "I KNOW! But I need some help with raiding the dungeons. Anyways, since you're back. I can introduce you to the guild!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Ehh... That's so bothersome..."
[Noctis]: "JOIN SAME GUILD!!!! PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!????!?!?!??!???!?!?!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Why?...."
[Noctis]: "You already know why...."
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "No I don't!?!??!?!"
[Noctis]: "I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY DUO OBVIOUSLY!?"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "That gave me goosebumps, never say that again... 🤢"
[Noctis]: "Join the guild and I won't bother you about it again~"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "What's it called...?"
[Noctis]: "They're very famous. HEHEHE!!!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "You're scaring me..."
[Noctis]: "THE NPC SLAYERS!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Who comes up with that name... I did heard about that guild before. Apparently their guild master is one of the top 50 players?"
[Noctis]: "YEPPP! You guessed it right!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Isn't it hard to get in that guild? How you managed to get in..."
[Noctis]: "They begged me to join."
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "....."
[Noctis]: "Seriously? You don't believe me?"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Absolutely not. 🤨"
[Noctis]: "Believe it or not but your duo is pretty amazing! HAHAHAH! Anyways, I'll write a message to the Guild Master to send you an invitation in order to join."
A few seconds later, a guild invite pops up.
You have been invited to join the guild
Yunho clicks accept. Suddenly, his screen blurs, and he's moved to the guild base.
He finds himself in a small, cozy village surrounded by gentle hills. There are little wooden houses with smoke coming out of their chimneys around a busy square. Soft lanterns light up the area, making everything feel warm and calm.
Players gather around a campfire, chatting and laughing. Some are sitting on wooden benches, others are cleaning their weapons.
Near the center stands a tall figure in simple but elegant black armor with glowing blue marks: Vanta, the Guild Master.
[Vanta]: "Welcome to the NPC Slayers,
Noctis appeared at the guild base with a sly smile waves.
[Noctis]: "HEY EVERYONE! MY DUO IS HERE! I TOLD YOU HE WOULD COME!"
Next to them, a healer with silver hair and a flower crown rolls her eyes.
[Seren]: "Another new member... Please don't tell me he types in all caps like Noctis."
A colorful bard with a big feathered hat smiles wide.
[Tatsu]: "Hey Kyren! I've heard a lot about you! Can't wait to see you play~"
A big warrior in red armor looks serious.
[Bingryong]: "He better be good. I don't want to drag another noob through Lava Abyss."
[Noctis]: "Shut up, Bingryong! Kyren's better than you!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "...Should I be scared or happy?"
[Seren]: "Both."
[Vanta]: "We're raiding next Saturday. You two warm up with some quests. Noctis, don't cause trouble."
[Noctis]: "Trouble? Me? Never."
[Tatsu]: "Omg, duo stream? Will you guys use voice chat? I want to watch! 👀"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Uh, no… 😅"
[Noctis]: "He's shy, but he hits hard. Let's go kill some monsters!"
Kyren and Noctis started the quest and moved into the forest area outside the village. They fought groups of goblins and wild animals, working together to defeat each enemy.
They teased each other as they went, but their teamwork was strong. Kyren dodged attacks while Noctis attacked quickly. After defeating the last monster, they completed the quest.
They started walking back to the guild base.
Yunho struck up a conversation as they walked.
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Noctis..."
[Noctis]: "What? You sound serious..."
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Have you ever been in a relationship?"
[Noctis]: "UMMM... Yeah, I had a couple relationships. Why?"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Like straight or do you also date guys?"
[Noctis]: "I only date girls until now... THIS IS KINDA SHOCKING... Why would you ask me that??"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Oh sorry, it just I need some advices on something."
[Noctis]: "Look, I'm not a judgmental person. So go ahead and ask."
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "So, I have this neighbor who's been really flirty… and he makes me feel kind of weird. Something happened between us recently, and since then, we've just been avoiding each other..."
[Noctis]: "WTF. So you guys just been avoiding each other?"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Yeah, he's younger than me and it feels weird striking up a conversation with him."
[Noctis]: "Well, I lowkey have my own situation too and I don't have any advices for that. I think you should get to know him better and see if you actually like him."
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "You're right.. But the thing is that I DON'T KNOW HOW TO APPROACH HIM. 😭"
[Noctis]: "LOL."
[Noctis]: "Anyways, I gotta go! I have some plans for the next few days, so I'll see you on Saturday for the raid! AND MAKE SURE YOU REPLY TO MY MESSAGES OR IMMA BOTHER YOU!"
[Yunho (Kyren)]: "Gosh! If you're gonna go, go peacefully and leave me be!!!!"
Noctis logged off.
Yunho sighed, "Not even a goodnight."
A message notification appeared on Yunho's phone.
END OF CHAPTER 8