Kyle went out of his room to the kitchen and washed the burned hand of his before he takes the door and opens it a bit to check the one outside.
When he leaned on the small opening of the door, a man in his casual wear is waiting for him outside while his back facing the front door of Kyle's house.
When the man noticed the creaking sound of the slightly opened door, he turns around and reveals himself to Kyle, a face that Kyle immediately recognized.
"Oh, hey… it's you." Kyle said, acting familiar with the man as if they know each other for a long time.
"Yeah, been a while." The man answered.
And Kyle opens the door wider as he requests the man to come inside the house.
"Come in then."
The man enters the house while Kyle follows behind him.
Kyle's visitor immediately goes to the living room, and he seems somehow familiar with the structure of the house.
The man took a comfortable seat on the couch while Kyle walks straight to the kitchen and took out some cold drinks for him and his visitor.
He placed the drinks on the table and then sat on the opposing chair.
"You still don't drink alcohol?" the man asked as he looks at the drinks Kyle brought and noticed that it is all carbonated drinks.
"I just prefer soda in this hot climate." Kyle answered the man and then grabbed one of the drinks on the table.
"How can I help you?" Kyle added while popping the lid of the drink he is holding.
Then there is a sudden change in the atmosphere as Kyle chugs down the drink he is holding.
The silence that surrounds the place turns the warm climate into something that is off-season, that instead of sweating, Kyle felt a chilling breeze passing by making him shiver.
Kyle thought that it must be because of the ice-cold drink he is drinking, but he knows better than blinding himself and forcing his thought that it is due to the cold drink he drank.
"Do you know what day is today?" The man asked in a cold way that sounds a bit more of a challenging question to Kyle if he can still remember what day it is supposed to be.
"Yeah, my birthday." He said while staring daggers back at the man.
And the man immediately answers him back.
"And her anniversary too."
And then there is another awkward silence between the two.
"I already visited her." The man said as he stands up from where he is sitting and is about to leave the place when Kyle speaks up something that made his visitor stop on walking further.
"I'll visit her later." Kyle said.
"You should be." The man answers back and then continues on walking to the front door and leaves Kyle's house.
A few minutes after that encounter, Kyle prepares himself to go out.
While walking on the streets he noticed a huge billboard showing a commercial about the trending game that he is also playing, stating the upcoming event that most players have been waiting for to occur, and that is the annual Grand Nexus's Team Battle Royal.
An inter-server Battle Royal that last for weeks due to the numbers of competitors that are joining annually, in which a team of five will compete with other teams in a head-on single-elimination duel until there is only one team, left standing and will win the grand prize of five hundred thousand dollars and will be automatically converted to their countries currency and is tax-free and a few more other freebies.
'Wow, that's a lot of cold cash.'
'Hmmm… how much is the exchange rate for dollars in my country's currency now?' Kyle thought as he grabs his phone inside his jeans' pocket and checks the exchange rate for it and the numbers showing on his phone's screen almost made Kyle's eyes pop out.
'It's more than twenty-four million in my country's currency!'
'It's like winning in a lottery!' He thought and continued on his walking while his eyes are glued to the screen of his phone.
Kyle, walking the sidewalk continuously while scrolling down his phone, checking either an SMS or an email, finally made a huge mistake for not looking on the road and accidentally bumped someone.
On their collision, Kyle somehow didn't budge since the impact he felt is somehow on the gentle side, but for the one he bumped, the things the person is carrying are now scattered on the sidewalk.
The groan of the one Kyle bumps enters his ears, on the same time, Kyle looks down to the road to check the identity of the person he bumped and found a girl on the ground as she grunts due to the pain of being pushed by someone and a convenience store bag filled with snacks and drinks on her side.
"Hey, watch where you are going!" She said, exclaiming to Kyle and for what he did while Kyle walked straight ahead as if nothing has happened.
But a plastic bottle of water came flying on Kyle's back and the woman exclaimed again.
"At least help me get up you punk!" She yelled and then throws a bag of chips after, making Kyle twitch in irritation due to what she just did.
But since he knows that he is in the wrong, he turns around to help the girl he accidentally bumped to stand up.
"Sorry miss." Kyle said and pulled her up to the ground where she is sitting.
"Yeah, you should be." She replied and seems to be ungrateful.
'What's with this grumpy attitude?' Kyle thought, noticing how the girl bluntly responds to him.
"You know, it should be "Thank you." if you catch my drift." Kyle said.
But the girl didn't bother to listen, hence she picks up the items she threw to Kyle that is rolling on the sideway.
After she picks all her stuff, she then turns her attention to Kyle, but since they have at least a foot in height difference, the girl needs to lean upwards to have a better view of him.
When she had a clear view of him, the girl stands frozen as if she saw someone that isn't supposed to be there.
Kyle noticed the stunned reaction of the girl and wonder if there is anything more she needs.
"Uhm… Is there something wrong?" Kyle said.
But the girl didn't answer him. Instead, she shakes her head as if she is trying to dust away some floating thoughts in her head.
Kyle thought that what she means by that action is that there is nothing more she needs, so Kyle took the initiative to continue on to where he is heading to but before he could completely leave, the girl calls him back.
"Hey mister!" she said, on the same time Kyle turns around to the girl.
"What?" Kyle answers the girl immediately.
"Are you somehow… playing a game?" She said.
Kyle wonders what she means by him playing a game, leaving him with a blank face because of her question to him.
"All people worldwide play games, whether it is a child or an adult. If you can be a bit specific, maybe I can give you a clear answer." He said since the question of the girl is too vague for him to give a clear answer.
"I mean, do you play a game called Grand Nexus?" She said.
Then, there is a sudden stop before Kyle answers her back.
Since he doesn't know who this person might be, Kyle hesitated to answer her at first, but since what she asked is something that is not confidential as far as he thinks it is, Kyle then decided to answer her question.
"Yeah, why?" he said after a few seconds.
Hearing it, the girl's eyes flicker in wonder then went closer to Kyle as quickly as she can.
"Is your avatar named Cael?"
And made Kyle wonder how she managed to know his in-game name, forcing him to answer in the same way as he did before.
"Y-yeah… Why?"
And the girl's eyes widen, almost forming a perfect circle upon hearing his answer.
'I think she has a loose screw.' He thought while taking a step backward to create a friendly distance between them.
"It's me!" she said, while she points a finger to her face and somehow swaps her grumpy mood into a joyous one.
Not knowing what she meant by it, Kyle answers her impulsively.
"And… who you might be?" He asked because he really doesn't know who she is.
The girl then became upset after hearing Kyle's response but immediately recovers when she somehow realized something that is vital for Kyle to remember her.
"Oh, right!" she said, while she grabs something inside her pocket.
After pulling it out, she wears the thing she is holding which ends to be a pair of glasses, and then turns her face back to Kyle while slightly combing her hair with her hands.
"How about now?" she said as she curves her lips showing Kyle a slight smile.
"Nope, I still don't recognize you." he answered and is about to turn around because he had enough of this farce, but the girl grabs both his shoulders before he could, stopping him from going away.
"Argh, Damn it! Just imagine me having pink hair instead of brown!" She said, requesting Kyle to use his wild imagination.
Kyle while looking meticulously at the girl, activates his vast imagination and began replacing the girl's brown colored hair with the color she suggested it to be and a shocking realization came into his mind like an over speeding bus that made Kyle cover his mouth due to surprise.
"You're that porn star with pink hair?!" He said, reacting to the girl in a very surprising way while pointing his hand to her.
The girl stands frozen after hearing it, but her daze was immediately replaced by raging anger.
"No! You piece of sh… Argh! …it's me, Emily! And who the fuck is this porn star with pink hair?!" She yelled due to the wrong realization of Kyle.
"E-Emily?"
"Yeah, you small wit nut brain!"
Then Kyle scans the entirety of the girl in front of him that claims to be Emily.
He begins from her head that he first noticed due to the awful bed hair that needs a good combing.
'Maybe she doesn't have a comb, or maybe it's a windy day today?'
Then going down to her torso until his eyes reach the belly part, but before he scans further down, Kyle's eyes move up again because he noticed something, something that he didn't expect for a woman in her size.
'Those are a nice pair of jugs.'
"You know I can sue you for sexual harassment." The girl claiming to be Emily said loud enough for the people passing by to look their way as she wraps herself using her arms, especially the chest area with a bit of embarrassment showing on her face.
"Hey, watch your mouth we're in public." Said Kyle while hushing a gesture to the girl because of what she just said.
Then after a few minutes of arguing, the two decided to settle things up by Kyle treating her in a café for a snack.
"Hey, Emily right? That shielder who defeated the Red Dragon earlier today."
"Yeah, why?" She answered Kyle as she sips a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
"You said you have something for us to discuss? What is it?"
"Oh, right… about that…"
Emily took out her phone from her pocket and then she shows a picture to Kyle.
Kyle gazes at the picture and noticed that it is a poster of the upcoming battle royal of the game they are playing.
Kyle could only raise a brow in wonder after Emily shows her the picture.
"And by this… you mean?" Kyle asked Emily that is still facing the screen of her phone towards Kyle.
"We're going to win this!" she said confidently.
As Kyle hears it, he almost chokes himself with the spoonful of pie that he is about to swallow.