"Today is the day," said Alex, his fingers combing his messy brown hair in a desperate attempt of taming the tangled strands into a presentable hairstyle. Unfortunately, it appeared worse than an overused broom.
With a frustrated sigh, he dropped his hands as an act of surrender, a look of absolute defeat in his brown eyes as he stared at his reflection.
"You win again, stubborn curls," he muttered, his forehead pressed on the mirror's cool surface.
A confused whimper was heard from behind him, causing Alex to stand straight as he gazes at the golden retriever on his half-made bed through the reflection. The dog laid on its stomach, head tilted with its tongue stuck out.
"Today, Max," Alex smiled as he began adjusting his graphic shirt and jeans to do something with his fidgeting hands, "I'm finally going to tell Mia how I feel."
Max groaned, causing him to pout, "I'm serious. Today I'll try my luck and ask her out. Then, if fate allows it, we can... become an official couple before the end of summer."
Alex's face lit up with a dreamy look in his eyes as his thoughts drifted, his deluded daydream already going as far as marriage.
As if sensing how far his companion's thoughts are heading, Max jumped off the bed and took one of Alex's sneakers that were neatly placed in the messy room, holding it tightly between his teeth before running out of the slightly open door with a bark.
Snapping out of his thoughts instantly, he chased after the canine. "Max!" Alex yelled, running down the stairs, "Give it back! They were specifically chosen for this occasion!!"
In the kitchen, stood a plump middle-aged Asian woman with a black apron tied around her waist over her floral dress, and her black hair tied up as she prepared breakfast, chuckling at the noise.
"Careful, Minjun-a," she said firmly as the teen zoomed past, heading to the backyard.
"미안해요, 엄마! (Sorry, mom!)"
In the backyard, Alex searched for the mischievous retriever holding his left shoe hostage. His brown hues spotted Max near the fence.
The dog's golden fur turning brown from the dirt, his pants echoing across the yard as he dug a hole on the freshly cut lawn.
The teen's eyes widened in horror upon seeing his shoe— discarded, covered in slobber and soil.
"No!" Alex knelt next to the shoe, "What crime did my shoe commit? It did nothing to you, Max. Nothing!"
Max, however, ignored him as he continued digging without a care. Sulking, Alex held the shoe with the tips of his index finger and thumb, rushing back inside the house with disgust written all over his face.
His parents were in the living room, eating breakfast as they watched the morning news with mugs in their hands.
Upon hearing the door slam shut, followed by the stomping of a speed walking Alex heading to the stairs.
"G'morning, kiddo," said his father, Jeremiah. The brunette man chuckled at his son's predicament as the boy drew a frustrated groan, "Max's at it again, I see?"
"At least he's keeping him active or Alex's would've been stuck in his room for the rest of the summer like last year," Alex's mother, Park Eun-hee, giggled, already anticipating Max's muddy appearance.
Alex grumbled furiously as he cleaned his room halfheartedly and packing his scattered stuff on the floor in search for another pair of shoes.
Minutes later, the door opened and a muddy Max made his appearance with his paws leaving a trail of mud and grass, followed his mother's voice, "민준아! 청소하고 있구나! (Minjun-a! You're cleaning up!)"
Alex glared at the canine, pointing at Max's snout, "You. This is all your fault."
Max tilted his head and walked towards him, dropping a small shiny object to his feet, then sat down proudly waiting for proud with a smug look.
A grimace appeared on Alex's freckled face as he stared at the slobber covered object that appeared to be a piece of glass or.... a crystal??? He didn't know.
"Ewww...." Alex gagged, reluctantly reaching for the item with much resistance.
Once his fingertip touched it, the crystal began to glow, turning blue in colour as a rush of energy pulsed through his body and his vision went black.
[Trial Quest Activated]
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"—lex."
"Alex!"
"ALEX!"
The first thing Alex felt was a dull pain on his back as he laid on a hard surface. His blurred vision slowly came to focus, and his muffled hearing began to clear.
The grey sky was the first thing he saw. However, it was unnaturally grey, like the clouds were smoke, instead of its usual storm grey, but the air was cool and fresh.
'Wait.... Isn't it SUMMER?' he sat up instantly, his mind disoriented as he felt his head throb, 'Wasn't I in my room?'
"Alex, are you okay?" asked an unfamiliar voice. It was charming, pleasure to the ear but full of energy as it came from his right.
"I'm fine," Alex responded automatically before his mind finally reacted and he turned, eyes darting around, only to see trees, Max and nothing else.
A ridiculous thought crossed his mind, but he brushed it off, laughing at his stupidity in thinking that Max would say anythi—
"That's good. I was worried that you died or something."
Alex froze; his eyes grew wide as he stared at the canine.
"AHHH!! Y-you.... talked?! H-how can you talk?!" Alex screamed, crawling away from the golden retriever.
"That's speciesist to assume that animals can't talk when you fail to understand most of us," Max stated, casually scratching behind his ear with his hind leg, "or is it because we don't speak Human like parrots?"
Alex was in denial, sure that it was all in his mind from all the stress of thinking about confessing to Mia, as he continued backing away from him, his legs feeling jelly. "It's dream. It has to be a dream. It IS a dream!"
Max rolled his eyes with a sigh, then walked towards him, raised his paw and slapped Alex, leaving the boy flabbergasted.
"What? Don't you humans usually hurt yourselves when you see, feel or hear things that don't expect? Or you just enjoy pain like... What do they call them again? Masochists?"
Alex felt his soul leaving his body as he sat in silence, wisely choosing not to ask questions. His eyes darting around, processing the situation they were in.
Everything about the place was normal. The trees, the ground, the grass, the plants— everything was normal, except for the sky.
"Suspicious," Max squinted his eyes, scanning the area as well. His ears twitching, listening for movement.
"Wait a sec..... Where's that tiny crystal thingy?" Alex looked around for the crystal.
"You don't have it? See. This is why I don't give you stuff. You either throw them away or lose them."
Suddenly, a soft clicking sound rang across the forest from above them and a blue screen hovered over their heads. Words slowly appeared on the screen as if someone was typing behind the scenes.
[Trial Quest: Survive The Forest
-Escape the forest in 24 hours
-Collect the ten items
-Stay alive
•Reward: ???
•Failure: Erasure from existence]
"Survive the forest?" Max tilted his head, "That's easy, because this place looks normal. We got this."
"Then explain why we'll be erased from existence if we fail?" Alex gripped his hair, "What kind of twist dream is this? Wonderland? No... It's not a dream— It's a freaking nightmare!!"
Max side-eyed him, sighing like an unpaid employee and facepalmed with his paw, "Bro, breath. It's probably a prank. Seriously, I don't see anythi—"
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble violently and the smoke in the sky covering the forest in a thick blanket of grey as the trees grew larger in size, engulfing the area in pitch black darkness.
Max stared into the endless darkness and casually said, "Welp! We're screwed."