I slowly opened my eyes. My neck hurts. Maybe I fell asleep in my desk again after reading books.
"Ah, I had a weird dream last night about a weird man whom I just met." I mumbled as I massaged my nape.
"It was not a dream and I am not weird." My whole body and my brain cells suddenly woke up. My eyes widened to see someone who is sitting beside me.
"What are you doing inside my car?!"
"Sitting." He simply replied. I can't believe this guy!
I touched my neck. Right. The was blood in it before I fainted. I opened my phone's camera and checked my neck. It's clean like it didn't bleed. There's no scar.
"There's supposed to be a cut in it..."
"I cured it."
"You're kidding me." He didn't answer me. "And what are you doing here?" I checked the time and it's already ten forty-five in the evening. I panicked.
"I have nowhere to go."
"Melissa's mad at me." I said in a small voice, ignoring this weird guy beside me. She's mad at me for not coming to the family dinner. I bumped my head to the steering wheel. Today is a bad day and I want to cry. I really want to cry.
"Leave." I said without raising my hand.
"No."
"Look, I don't even know you. Why are you doing this to me? Just leave."
"You know me. I introduced myself earlier."
"Seriously!" I yelled at him as I raised my head. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. Today is really a bad day. Lawrence is pushing me away. There were men who disrespected me. Melissa is disappointed of me. And now there's a weird man inside my car.
But I stopped crying when I saw a sharp object on his hand. That is what he used to cut my skin earlier. Is that a dagger? He is playing it with his fingers like a professional.
"You are really serious in killing me?"
"Not unless you stop crying." He said while playing with the dagger. It is really sharp that it shined beautifully when the light touched it.
"You are really weird..." I couldn't stop my tears. I really want to cryㅡI want to be okay. But when he suddenly moved closer to me and pointed his dagger on my neck for the second time, my tears ran down my cheeks even more. He is really serious about killing me.
"You are brave enough to disobey me, young lady." He is so close to me that I can see his eyes clearly. They were cold and emotionless.
"I don't know what you're talking about. But let me tell you this thing: I am afraid to die. I just can'tㅡah, why am I even explaining myself to you?"
He didn't move away and he didn't answer me. I touched his hand and took it away from me. He didn't argue. He eventually moved away.
"Like I have said, I have nowhere to go."
"Are you lost?" I asked while wiping my tears.
"I am."
"What's your address? I'll take you home. You are weird and dangerous at the same time. You always pointed a sharp blade on my neck. My life is precious, you see. I still have a lot of things to do. I don't want to die. Not yet."
"You talked too much."
"Your address."
"Land of Dawn."
I glanced at him and started the car.
"Land of Dawn, my foot. Tell me your real address."
"I have already said it."
"Do you think I am a fool? Land of Dawn doesn't exist!"
Within a second, he pointed his dagger on my neck for the third time. My heart raced in nervous.
"If you do not know where Land of Dawn is, then you must bring me somewhere I can get a rest." He is so annoying.
"Okay." Then, he let go of me. It's too dangerous to roam around the city with this man. People will recognize me and it will be a big problem.
I have no choice.
I started driving. I will go home with him. It's dangerous to keep him with me but I think it's more dangerous if someome finds out about him. And I really have no choice.
"Wait." I stopped the car when I saw a 24/7 department store. "Stay here." I bought him random clothes because he look like a fashion terrorist with his current clothes.
"What is that?" He asked when I came back with two paper bags.
"Your clothes." I said before heading home. I parked my car and we entered the lift. I even heard him say, 'This world is one of a kind'. Is it his first time entering a lift?
The lift opened and we walked towards my condo unit. I swiped my card and the door opened.
"This is where I live." I said, putting the paper bags on the couch.
His eyes wandered through my condo's interior. I crossed my arms across my chest and raised my eyebrows at him when he looked at me.
"So tell me who you really are."
"I am sure you are not deaf," he simply said.
"Gusion," I nodded as I sat down on the couch and crossed my legs. "You told me your name but you didn't tell me where you came from. Who are you really?"
"I bet you will not understand."
I shrugged my shoulders, "Tell me." He just looked at me. He looks like he doesn't want to tell me more about himself. I gave up. "Fine. I won't ask you about it anymore. You'll leave tomorrow anyway. Here, take this and go change your clothes." I gave him the paper bags and he accepted it with a confused face.
"You are welcome," I said sarcastically. "That's the guest roomㅡyour room for tonight. If you need something, just sleep and don't bother me." Then I walked inside my room.
I washed up and wore a bath robe. Just when I was drying my hair with a towel, my phone rang. I took my phone from the side table and my heart skipped a beat to see the name of the caller. Lawrence. I like him but I ignored his call instead of answering it. My phone rang for the second time and I don't know what happened to me that I answered his call without hesitation.
"Ren, I'm sorry for calling you at this hour. But I can't sleep without clearing things up."
"You should've just rested." He makes my heart beat fast and faster.
"I'm sorry about what happened today. You know how much important you are to me. I just don't want you to be alone when I am not around. So please, understand me." Am I that important to you, Lawrence?
"It's okay," I said. "You don't have to explain anymore."
"Are we okay now?"
"Hmm."
I heard him taking a deep sigh as if he is relieved to hear my words.
"Then, are you free tomorrow?"
"Huh?"
"I have a game tournament at our school tomorrow. If you are free, you can come and show your support for me. I would really like to see you there."
"I've read the letter at the school's main bulletin board two days ago. Freshmen from the other school are your team's oponent." It's a tournament about video game which I am not really interested in. But it's Lawrence, I can't say no to him.
"Yeah, but only few are allowed to watch."
"I'll come."
"That would be fun, Ren." He seemed happy. "And if you like, you can choose what hero I will be using tomorrow for the tournament."
"NoㅡI mean, I don't know anything about the game you're into."
"I will send you my account." He said. "Download the application and log in my account. Then, you can choose any hero you'd like me to use for the tournament."
"But I don'tㅡ"
"Any hero is fine."
After we said goodbyes, I recieved a text and the name of the game. Mobile Legends, huh?
I went to playstore and downloaded the game and went to the kitchen to drink water. I don't know why he wants me to choose a hero but it made me feel special. I sat at the dining area and logged in his account when I finally downloaded the game.
"Uh..."
I don't know where to go when it's already okay. And when I saw the heroes section, I pressed it with my finger. There are too many heroes. I scrolled down and I couldn't pick properly. I went to his profile and I saw the favorite section. There are heroes. Each hero has number of matches and win rate. The first hero's name is Claude. He is a marksman. The second's name is Lancelot. Third is Dyrroth. Fourth is Hanzo.
"Cool." I mumbled. I almost drop the glass I am holding in my hand when I saw something. The fifth hero is really, really familiar to me. Even his name.
I pressed it and the hero says, 'The perfect combination of might and magic'.
"Oh. My. God." Same name. Same clothes. Same looks. Same voice. What the hell is happening? I blinked my eyes twice and checked if I was just dreaming. But no. This isn't a dream. There is really a hero in this game called Mobile Legends whose name is the same with this weird man inside of my house!
But what's more surprising is the way he play with the blade on his fingers. It's the same way when he did it inside my car. No. This is not real. Tell me this is not real.
There's a button below. It says story. I pressed it and started reading the text.
'The Paxley family is one of the most powerful and prestigious magic families in the Land of Dawn, and each member is raised to become a mage of the finest order. In their eyes, the path of the magician is the most sacred and noble vocation there is, and all those who brandish a sword in battle are merely weak, dim-witted fools. Gusion, however, is determined to break the mold.'
I'd look like a fool if I will believe in this game. There is no way that a hero from a game would come into the real world. This is not a movie. Right.
'The patriarch's fourth son, Gusion, exhibited a high affinity towards light elements at a very early age, but rather than spend his days with his nose buried in a book, Gusion would use his control over light to imbue himself with the speed to run laps of the family estate in mere minutes, and to enchant ceremonial swords with powerful light energy.'
I stood up and put the glass in the sink and walked to the living room while reading the story.
'Finally, Gusion was given the chance to prove himself, when the time came for him to take the Paxley family's most important testㅡa rite of passage into adulthood. With Gusion's blistering speed in battle, his oponent was unable to lock onto his position, and with his light-charged blade, he claimed victory before his opponent even had a chance to launch a single spell.'
"His family must be disappointed of him..." I said in a small voice and continued reading.
'The elders were in awe of his incridible form and fighting technique, but with their deep-rooted prejudice against physical combat and their strict adherence to tradition, they gave Gusion two choices: to either abandon his fighting style or be banished from the family. Facing such adversity and unable to control his rebelliously independent nature, Gusion chose to leave the family, convinced that soon the entire Land of Dawn would know his name and understand the true extent of his power.'
"Stupid."
"Who's stupid?"
I was shocked to hear the sudden voice and dropped my phone on the floor. His cold eyes met mine. He is standing in the corner while crossing his arms across his chest and looking at me directly.
"What are you doing?" I asked and I realized that he changed his clothes. He is now wearing the pajamas that I bought for him.
"I can't sleep." He said as he walked towards me.
I woudn't want to believe everythingㅡthat he is from the game and he is not real. This is driving me crazy. What if it's really him? What if he is really an assassin/mage who came from the game?
"Just close your eyes and you'll fall asleep." I turned my back at him but he called my name. How did he know my name?
"This is yours." He took my phone from the floor. He's going to see what I was reading! I ran towards him and tried to take my phone away from him. The world seems to hate me and Gusion saw everything.
"Give me that." I said. He is looking at my phone seriously.
"This is me. How is that possible?"
"I said give me back my phone."
"Why am I here?" He asked me.
I threw him a spiteful look and took the chance to take my phone from him, and walked away. But he is really fast. He caught my arm.
"Who are you?" He asked in a serious tone. Really? He knows my name and I don't even know how he got it! He held me tighter which made me groan in pain.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" He is so strong. I can't even push him away from me. He is giving me a deadly stare and is trying to hurt me right now.
And my phone rang. Lawrence is calling. I answered it immediately. Gusion's eyes won't leave me.
"Have you decided already?" Lawrence asked.
"Yes," I answered without taking my eyes away from Gusion. If eye contact is what he wants to do right now, I won't give up and look like a fool. "Gusion. Gusion Paxley would be the best."