Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I want to leave evidence on you that I existed. I want to hold you tight and love you all night so that you can remember me forever. Will you let me?"

You squealed because this was always your favorite part of 707's after ending. The feeling you got every time you played his route felt like genuine love and joy, making you always have a fluttery feeling in your stomach. Finishing the ending, you went onto the secret endings and finished them quickly, using up the last of your hourglasses so you can get the result in the end where 707 proposes to you. You began smiling madly because you knew that 707 would be happy that you were always redoing his route because he was indeed your favorite character, but then your smile began to fade just as quick being that was all he was: a character in a game that will never exist in real life.

Sighing, you put your phone down on your bed to go downstairs to get a little snack before redoing the game for the hundredth time and just as you were walking out, you heard a thump on your floor. You quickly turned around and noticed your phone on the carpet of your room.

"Of course, clumsy me." You chuckled to yourself, going back to pick up your phone from the ground and placing it in the middle of your bed. You nodded contently and proceeded to head downstairs to get your snack.  You were twenty-one and living alone due to college classes and it was pretty easy for you to adjust and get used to things on your own.

Since you were in middle school, you begun to learn things most people started learning at the age of sixteen because of the family you grew up in. You were raised by a single mother and a younger brother who would be a freshman in high school by now. Your dad was hardly in the picture and your mother, well, she didn't exactly mother you in the way you two needed. You always felt guilty for leaving your younger brother behind only for him to be raised in a foster family.

"I promise, I promise with all my might, as soon as I am done with college, I am coming back to get you, do you understand me?"

He held you so close and so desperately as you spoke these words to him. He pulled away with pleading in his eyes. He did not want to go.

"Y/n... I don't want to be here, I don't know these people. What if they treat me bad? I've read so many books on how fostering works and I don't want to become a victim of that abuse."

You chuckled to yourself in admiration for your little brother. "You're so smart for a kid, you know that, Eugene? I promise, this couple is going to take care of you, and look, you'll even have like, brothers and sisters by your side to get to know and to play with!" You began to feel that prickle of liquid start to emerge in the inner corners of your eyes.

"But you're the only sibling I need." He spoke, breaking the tears free from your eyes as he hugged you even tougher than before.

It broke your heart to leave him, and at such a young age, you were only eighteen, he twelve and you couldn't take care of someone else while going to college at the same time. Your reason for attending college would be to give you and your brother a good life. After your bachelors, it would be easier for a job, easier for money and easier to take care of you both.

"Remember my promise, okay? I'll come back for you and always remember to be brave. You have my number and you know how to reach me. I love you."

After getting your snack of a sandwich with a lemonade, you walked back upstairs and into your room. You took a bite of your sandwich and stopped in your tracks when you noticed your phone on the floor again, screen faced up.

"I could've sworn I put it in the middle of my bed, what kind of joke is this?" You spoke into the emptiness of your room. "If there's a ghost in here and you're trying to freak me out, go away, I have enough problems in my life right now than to entertain an apparition. Just let me be!" You extended the 'e' in 'be' and swallowed the bit of sandwich you left in your mouth. Taking slow steps to your phone, you noticed something. The screen was on and it was on the game.

"What? I thought I turned the screen off..." you pondered aloud. You noticed something on the screen though, picking up your phone, there were two squares with options that said "Continue" and "Reset". You had never seen these options before after the secret endings and curiosity was burning within you. "What is this? Some sort of update?" you asked aloud, as if someone was going to answer. You then held your phone close and shrunk in your body remembering there might be a ghost in there with you trying to mess with you. "Uh, never mind... please don't answer that."

Still wondering about the options, the words pulsed in red and yellow. I mean, what won't kill you, won't hurt right? After all, it might have just been an update and you were overthinking this to no avail. It was just a silly game that helped you escape your current troubles even if it was for a short amount of time.

Shrugging and placing your sandwich on a napkin on your nightstand, you sat at the corner of your bed and rested your back on the pillow behind you. You glanced at the pillow, ready to adjust it and realized it was your 707 body pillow. You snickered to yourself and whispered "of course", then spoke louder announcing to the pillow, or rather 707 on the pillow, "Well, here goes one more sleepless night I'm going to spend on this game! Hope this option is fun, Seven, I expect it to unlock a story where we have kids or something."

You clicked "Continue" ready for another adventure with 707, but little did you know, it was going to be just that.

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After pressing the Continue option, your phone began to heat up quickly. Hissing, you dropped your phone back to the floor and looked at the different colors that began to appear on your screen. You didn't know what was happening so you crouched down to get a closer look. It started bouncing around in it's area and you freaked out standing back up and inching backward, terrified.

"Oh no... I think I broke my phone! Is this some sort of malware? How am I going to pay for this?!" You brought your hands up to your face and wiped some sweat that was inviting itself upon your forehead. You groaned as your little job at a vinyl shop could only pay you so much that you would need an advance in your paycheck for the next two weeks to fix your phone.

"How careless could I be! One minute I'm playing my favorite game and the next I damage my phone, what more could go wrong?!" you exclaimed into the air.

And just like that, your phone gave off more colors and flashes that didn't look right and as you got closer, your room was disappearing.

"Wait, wait, wait, what's going on now?!" You yelled but it was as if you were underwater, where only muffled sounds were coming out of your mouth and not actual words. You tried running but was like your feet were stuck to the floor. You tried screaming for help but that didn't work either, no noise would come out of your mouth. You continued to look around while everything was disintegrating from your walls, to your bed and you were surrounded by the color TV static, similar to when you rub your eye a little too much and you find yourself in intergalactic space. It seemed that the more you moved your head, the more your neck felt like it was straining itself and when that was happening, your eyes felt heavy your body growing numb, only thing you could hear were the thoughts in your head that you were dreaming or you were somehow drugged through that lemonade you drank from your fridge... though you bought it from the store, it could still be a possibility. Falling unconscious, your last thought was of your brother. Eugene... I'm sorry I couldn't see you just one last time.

Stirring awake, you hear a song, a song you know too well, the Mystic Messenger theme song. You unknowingly look to your right to see a phone buzzing but you payed no attention to it. Your attention was on the first thing you laid your eyes on which was the ceiling right above you. Blinking, you sat up and rubbed your eyes groaning. Your gaze shifted down to your bed... only this wasn't your bed and it definitely wasn't your room. The sheets on the bed were nice and purple silk, obviously giving the impression of a wealthy persons home. Your eyes then landed on a desk with a bunch of manilla folders and paper sitting atop it and a stack of metal drawers right beside it.

"Oh God..." you thought aloud, groggy, "Where the hell am I?"

You got off the bed and looked at your clothes, they were the same thing you had on when you were in your room a second ago, a (f/c) t-shirt and (f/c) shorts. You start to search around, leaving the covers of that bed open, and walk towards the large window in the room. Your phone rings again, startling you in your area gouging a yelp from you. It was the Mystic Messenger theme song again. You walk to it insanely confused and see the caller ID, it said '707'. You picked it up with uncertainty and clicked the green answering button.

"Helloooo," for some reason, the text that comes out on the screen didn't come out so you picked up the phone to your ear, listening to breathing on the other end. Then the voice began again, "Helloooo, aren't you going to say 'hello'?"

You panicked, your breath hitching in your throat, not knowing what to say. It sounded like 707's voice actor but he was speaking in perfect english though, you could still hear the Korean accent. You then heard a sigh on the other end, "I'm sure you're shocked, I didn't think this would work either. I really wanted to see you in person, Mc is just an avatar in this game but you are so much more," You couldn't believe what you were hearing on the other side of the phone and all you could do was keep your jaw dropped at the sound of 707's voice. "Oh right, you're in the apartment right now I'm sure, that's where I set the coordinates for the code to drop you off. Oh my, I could have easily put you in my house agh! Why didn't I think of that, I didn't want to freak you out too much so I-"

The silence you were returning as a response made the voice pause and you heard a nervous sigh on the other end of the call and then continue, "Haha, it is a bit too much talking to you like this huh, how about I meet you there at the apartment? You can stay there and I will be there in 30 minutes. I will explain everything then." Then the phone call ended.

You had no idea what was going on. Was this a dream? A coma? You let your phone drop out of your hands and stepped back in a daze as it hit the floor. "Ugh come on, snap out of it!" You slapped both of your hands to the sides of your face expecting to wake up suddenly but all you got were two red cheeks and two sore palms. You pinched yourself in the shoulder as another attempt but that didn't give you anything but more pain. The last attempt to wake up was to smash your head against a wall. "Is this really what I'm resulting to for a sensation of reality?" You asked into the nothing around you. You slowly counted down from three and when you hit one, you threw your head back and soon after, your forehead met the wall making you fall backwards from the impact.

You heard a loud ringing in your ears and with your head throbbing from the collision, you sat up from the ground after a few seconds after reattaining your vision. You held your head in your hands, face stinging like a bunch of needles just shot up your nose. Groaning in agony, you slurred the words, "I guess... this is not a dream..." and tried to stand. You were wobbling from the aftermath but were able to balance yourself enough to hold up.

You looked around once more, seeing if there were anywhere you could find some clean clothes. If this isn't a dream and it better damn well not be one, for the pain in your noggin pounded like a drum, you'll at least need to find something modest to put yourself in. You didn't want to go out looking like you just woke up. Going towards where it seemed to be a closet, you opened the doors only to find a brown sweater and a pair of white flats. "How could there be only one piece of clothing in here?" You asked yourself grabbing it off the hanger and putting it on, slipping your feet into the pair of flats. "What a coincidence... it's a perfect fit."

You grabbed your phone from where you dropped it, picking it up and putting it into one of the pockets of the sweater. "I need to find a way out of here. I feel like someone spiked my drink and took me over here while I was asleep, though that won't explain this throbbing headache I have... that phone call was really weird, it sounded like it really was a real person. Whatever, I just need to get out of here!"

You went straight to what seemed to be the front door of that place and opened it, turning to the corner and seeing a long hallway that led to an elevator. Next to the elevator were stairs going straight down, from what the sign said. You went down the hall and stood in front of the elevator, pressing the down button. It chimed and the sliding doors opened, revealing an empty space. You went in and looked at the side where buttons should be and to your relief, there were numbers on it. You pressed the number 1 and the doors closed, startling you for some reason. The fact that you crashed your head into the wall didn't help your now jitteriness to this entire situation.

The elevator stopped and the movement of it going down playing right into your growing motion sickness. On the verge of vomiting, you swallowed saliva that built up in your mouth and wiped your forehead covered in sweat as the doors opened and you walked right out. You looked around and saw an empty front desk. This place looks like a lobby, am I in an apartment complex? You thought to yourself. You decided to ask aloud if there was anyone there but as expected, no one answered. You went to the desk and looked inside the area, leaning over it and trying to see if there was anybody in the back. Funny, there wasn't even a bell here in the front where there usually would be one to ring for assistance. You left the area and walked to where there were huge glass doors. Alas, there was an outside after all. You went out the doors and looked around not seeing a soul in sight.

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Where am I? You thought to yourself. There was green scenery all around you. If it weren't for your paranoia at the moment, you would surely take a picture of the beauty that the earth had to offer. You looked around to see a parking lot where there would be cars and to your relief, there were cars but not necessarily people, although, that was good enough for you.

"I just need to get out of here, this is really freaking me out." You said aloud. You started running to a direction where a sidewalk followed and made your way to where there were open alleyways. You hid in one of them and stopped to catch your breath. You didn't even know where you were going so you made a split second decision and patted the pocket where you had put your phone. "My phone," you announced. "where is my phone?!" You panicked, searching around those empty pockets, knowing a phone wouldn't just magically appear. "I could've sworn I put my phone in this pocket! Why isn't it here? Did I drop it?!" You were raising your voice at this point, anxiety running through you. You tried to remember where you last had it and it was in the room in that apartment. You were so sure that you tucked it in that sweater pocket. "Ugh! Why me? How could this happen?" You were cursing aloud and blaming yourself for forgetting your phone. From where you stood, you couldn't just head back, you lost your way. "Even if I followed the sidewalk, what if that person on the phone, even if he was real, finds me walking alone! Wait would he even know what I look like? Oh, who am I kidding, I look so out of place!" Your thoughts continued to spill out of your mouth and you sighed heavily after cursing the world for giving you a hard time. "If this is a punishment for cheating on that one quiz, I promise when I get back, I will never use quizlet again."

Laying your head back at the wall you leaned on, you regained your composure and peaked around the side of the wall to make sure no one was following you or was around you. You put your hand on your chest, letting out a breath of relief that there wasn't a single person in your line of sight. You walked out from the alleyway and continued to walk forward from where you were originally heading. You had to at least look for a convenience store, maybe there you could find a phone and call the police or even your brother. Your brother... you needed to tell him you were ok. What if he was calling you all this time? It's almost time for the college students to be going home for the holidays and you always visited him whenever you had the chance to. Luckily, you were able to room with someone during holidays and leaves, that way you can see your brother whenever you pleased, even if he couldn't live with you, you still always tried to make time to go and see him.

You reminisced for a bit and then shook away the thoughts from your head. Doing so gave you that headache back and you groaned wishing you had a Tylenol for it. Still walking, you kept your eyes open for any sign of a store or a person. Maybe you could ask them if you could borrow their phone. "How is this place a ghost town? Just where in the world am I?" You stopped in your tracks looking around and you could've sworn you could hear the wind whispering in your ear. It made you shudder and you continued your walk to who knows where.

You saw a crosswalk and you gasped in excitement. Sometimes, there were emergency buttons on the crosswalk poles next to the one that say 'press to go,' at least where you're from. You ran towards the pole and looked around for the button, while there were two buttons, a red one and a green one though, you couldn't seem to read what the sticker above them said. The characters on the stickers were very foreign to you. If you didn't know any better, these were Korean characters. You gaped looking at the pole, trying to decipher this language you knew nothing about. Peering at the two buttons, you decided to take a wild guess and press the red one. "Maybe that one's it?" You asked into the air. The box with the light above you dinged, making you jump slightly and you saw the little walking man start doing a walking motion animation. The lit-up box spoke some words in what you heard was definitely Korean and you made a 'tch' sound, not being able to understand what it said, though it seemed self explanatory that maybe that wasn't the correct button. You were about to press the other button when you heard a sound similar to a motorcycle turning the corner away from where you were around.

It seemed like luck was finally starting to get on your side and you inched back as you heard the engine of the bike approach your line of sight. There was someone on it and you could cry of relief in that moment. They were on a black motorcycle wearing a matching leather jacket and leather pants, topped off with a helmet which covered their face. You relaxed within yourself, thanking whatever was looking after you and began to try to catch up to the bike. You waved the person down, running towards them, suddenly stopping mid cry and thinking twice. What if this is the person that led me to the apartment... no, that can't be. What I heard was... no, never mind, it wasn't real. HE isn't real, this is just a huge prank or something, I just need help right away.

Pushing out the thoughts forming in your head, you at least wanted to give this a try so you could have someone tell you where the closest convenience store was. He was driving away in those split seconds you were there pondering and started up your signal. "Hey, hey, Over here!" You yelled, hopeful that they could hear you through the loud roaring of that engine. "Hey!" You were waving your hands above your head so that you could guarantee they'd at least notice you in their mirrors.

To your surprise, the person began to slow down and eventually, you two met half ways upon crossing each other. You caught your breath from the jogging and yelling, putting your hands on your knees and placing your head down, trying to rest. You inhaled that last bit of air and stood up straight, trying to give a friendly smile, though it was strained, you hopped it didn't scare off the stranger.

They braked and put their motorcycle on park while placing the kickstand down and adjusting. You might as well cry. Your eyes were forming tears of relief and gratitude and you spoke, sniffling. "Thank goodness an actual human being!" You began, trying to find the words to explain your bizarre situation. The person on the bike took off their helmet and looked at you with confusion and concern. Your eyes widened in disbelief, jaw dropping to the floor and stepping back from the stranger.

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No way... You thought. It can't be, it just can't, it isn't even possible...

The person spoke in Korean, seemingly asking you something. You only picked up the word, "miss" from that statement. Ok, he was definitely asking you something. When the the person sitting on the bike took off their helmet, they rested it on the front of their bike. If you were a judge at a comic con, this person would win hands down for the best Zen cosplay you had ever seen in your life.

He spoke up again, sounding more concerned than before and that took you out of your thoughts. "Ah..." you began, "I don't understand..." You were making hand movements, trying to emphasize that you didn't understand Korean and that made the person sitting on the bike chuckle in amusement. "Haha, well why didn't you just say so?"

You sighed in relief and wiped some sweat off your face when you heard him speak English. "Oh, th-thank goodness. I thought this was going to be a horrible language barrier that we wouldn't be able to communicate..." Your voice trailed off as you looked up at him. He really looks like Zen... The silence was then broken off by familiar chuckling. You snapped out of your daze and probably rude staring with your mouth agape and stepped back a bit.

"Haha I see," He began, shifting in his seat and raising his hand and putting his fingers on his forehead in a dramatic way. "you have never seen someone this handsome in your life, is that it? Of course it is or else, why would you be staring at me like that! Haha!" He laughed out loud, a cocky laugh. You couldn't believe your eyes AND ears, he even SOUNDED like Zen.

"Oh-Uh... uhm, sorry I-" You began to stammer and look away moving your eyes around the place in an embarrassed manner. You took a deep breath, putting your hand on your chest and started again looking at him normally this time. "Haha... Yeah, I'm sorry," You finally said, "it's just... you remind me of someone and it caught me off guard!" You placed your hands in front of you and put one hand over the other, tilting your head to the side kindly.

He hummed in response. "I bet I remind you of the guy of your dreams!" He gleamed. That charm... it's just the same as his... I bet he took acting lessons JUST for this role.

He noticed you were taken aback by that statement and apologized immediately. "Haha excuse me miss, I'm only teasing," He started, "what can I help you with?" He shot you a kind and reassuring smile indicating he wanted to help you from earlier and you could've sworn you saw a star jump out of the side from his face as he smiled. You shook your head after that hallucination and fidgeted in your area. You seemed like you were in trouble, like you were looking for a place to go. Maybe he can take you there on his bike, he thought.

"Uh, yes!" You snapped back into reality—or whatever this was—and started again. "I don't know where I am or who anybody is. I came out of an apartment not too long ago and-" You paused. How would you even explain this? A game character just spoke to you through the phone as if he were real and now you're seeing someone who looks like ANOTHER character from a game you play?! You sound nuts! Like you're trying to make a fan-fiction come to life!

Zen cocked his head to the side in concern. "You came out of an apartment?" He repeated what you were saying earlier trying to understand what was wrong. He seemed concerned and that persuaded your guilt for disrupting the poor guy and his path. "Aah... sorry sir, I," You started up again, "I just don't know where I'm at, that's all." You picked up your hand and placed it in the back of your neck out of embarrassment and closed your eyes giving a soft sheepish grin hoping he'd buy it, although you weren't actually lying, you truly did not know where you were.

The cosplayer began to speak as he breathes out through his nose at how cute you were when you looked like that, embarrassed and forgetful. "Well we are currently in Seoul, South Korea on a one way street heading towards the city." He clarified. My eyes widened and I dropped my hand.

"I'm sorry... what did you say? I don't think I heard correctly." You said in a slight panic. It seems the Zen look-alike noticed the hint of agitation in your voice and he fixed himself directing more attention to you and speaking even slower.

"We are in Seoul, South Korea."

Your face went pale. The entire world stopped and everything was soundless. You felt dizzy and seemed as if you were about to faint though you caught yourself from falling backwards.

"Did you just say Seoul, South Korea?"

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Hello readers! This is an update for this story, college is crazy but it IS my last semester and I plan to spend full time on my art and creative writing whether it be fan fictions or original works which I truly want to work on. Thank you for the support thus far and the story WILL continue. I'm not abandoning it. I enjoy writing and making ocs for any piece of media I truly admire. I am currently on some drafts for the next chapters really want to publish them but they are being polished so stay tuned! Thank you!