I Just Want To Play Games

Seojoon sat down at his desk and took out his homework. After scanning the tens of papers filled to the brim with mathematical, literary, and science questions, he let out a sigh of relief. Everything was still the same, which meant that he could finish it easily.

He glanced at his phone and saw that it was 3:59. Dinner was approximately 4 hours away. Seojoon gave a smirk as he glanced at the stack of papers in front of him. Finishing the homework in four hours was no impossible feat, even if he showed his work. It would be easier than copying off of an answer sheet, as the only thing that held him back would be how fast he could move his pen.

Seojoon put on a pair of wireless earbuds and selected a playlist on his phone. The moment he heard the first note of music, he fell into his own world as his pen scribbled away madly against the paper.

Time seemed to lose its meaning because the moment Seojoon finished the last piece of homework, his mother's voice interrupted the flow of music, dragging him back to reality.

"Seojoon!"

He took off one earbud and waited for a continuation of her line but never received it. Shaking his head, Seojoon placed his pen down and stretched his arms before getting up from his desk.

He picked up his phone and checked the time before placing it in his pocket.

It was 7:56, his mother had called him for dinner. Seojoon gave a last look at his pile of finished homework with satisfaction before heading out to the kitchen.

His father had arrived home from work and was at the kitchen cooking while his mother was sitting at the table drinking some coffee. Four clean bowls and four sets of silverware were set neatly on the table.

As Seojoon sat down, his mother took a sip of her coffee and let out a relaxed sigh.

His mother was a Korean lady with very pale skin. Her warm brown eyes and short cut hair made her seem very energetic and full of youth. Although she was wearing a standard work suit, that went very well with her black hair, she looked very relaxed and comfortable.

"How was school today? Are you excited for the break?"I

Seojoon nodded his head. "School was fine, took a test and I think I did pretty well."

Pretty well was an understatement.

As if she had heard his thoughts, his mom let out a snort. "Pretty well? More like another A+, or maybe a perfect score? I wonder what will happen when you take the SAT or the National Exams? I bet people from Harvard or some other famous college will come to recruit you?"

Actually, they begged and pleaded him to go to their school.... but Seojoon didn't mention that piece of information. Time skipping wasn't an everyday event after all.

His father let out a chuckle as he brought a pot of steaming meat stew. "Leave our son alone, it's a miracle that he is this smart."

His father was an American white man with kind eyes and a warm smile. His raised black hair had a few gray streaks that did not make him look old. In fact, it added to his charm causing him to look mature and handsome. His stormy gray eyes would twinkle as he stared at Seojoon.

"It didn't come from me and it definitely didn't come from you. If he wasn't the spitting image of me, I would've suspected you of committing adultery."

His mother let a laugh. "I suspected myself of committing adultery as well. Now, what did you cook up for me today my dear hubby."

"Don't call me that. It's so cringy."

"That's exactly why I'll keep calling you that. Now hurry up and present me my dinner, my little hubby."

His dad let out a sigh of defeat before placing the pot of stew onto the table. "One pot of beef stew served and ready for consumption."

"Thank you very much hubby," said his mother giving his father a nudge on the shoulder.

"Thanks for the meal dad."

"You're welcome. Now, where the hell is your older sister?"

His mother let out a sigh. "She is out drinking with her friends again. Just because she is in college, she thinks that the whole world is hers to play in. I can't wait until her grades come back. The amount of nagging that I will be able to do...."

His dad shrugged. "I guess we will eat with only the three of us. Let's dig in."

Seojoon took a sip of the broth and nodded his head in bliss. It had been such a long time since he had tasted his father's home beef stew. He really missed it.

He scarfed down the bowl as fast as he could.... and choked.

"Wow, is my stew that good?"

"You dumb ass husband, you should be asking him whether he is ok or not!"

"Ah, you're right. Seojoon-ah, you alright?"

Seojoon coughed a couple of times before giving his parents a reassuring look.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you. The stew just tasted so good."

"Hah! My son likes my cooking more than yours," bragged his father as smirked at his mom. "No wonder you make me cook all the time."

His mother gave his father a scowl.

"The only reason why you are cooking today is that I feel lazy and you lost at Rock Paper Scissors. He only choked because he was especially hungry today. Don't get cocky."

His father shrugged before teasingly remarking "Our son never choked on any of your dishes due to eating quickly, did he? Isn't it obviously clear who has the better cooking skill in this house?"

"...."

Seojoon's mother gave him a demonic glare as his father gave him a pat on the back.

"Seojoon-ah~ Ask me for anything and I'll buy it for you. It's not every day that I win an argument against your mother. What do you want? A textbook? A book? Cash?"

Seojoon immediately thought about the game that was coming out tonight.

"Erm, I actually do have one thing I want to buy...."

"Tell me what it is, I'll buy it for you as long as it is below a hundred dollars."

Seojoon hesitated. Should he ask them to buy him a game? Would they allow it?

After a split second of debating his choices, Seojoon gave in. He had to strike the iron while it was hot.

"Can you buy.... a game for me? It's coming out tonight and I was kinda interested in it."

His mother dropped her spoon and her dark look immediately morphed into one that represented shock.

His father froze completely as if he had heard something utterly absurd. As an attempt to regain his mind, his father tried to weakly laugh it off.

"Ahahaha, do you want to buy some sort of gamebook or something? Sure, dad will buy it for you no problem."

"No, not a gamebook but an actual game. It's the virtual reality game that always pops up in the adds these days. I want to buy that game."

The room went silent as the three of them stared at each other with different expressions.

"Hubby, we should go call an ambulance."

"Yes, we should. We should also contact the police. Call our daughter as well. She might be able to fix him."

Seojoon gave his parents a confused look. "What is wrong? Why do you need to call the police? Fix who?"

His father took out his phone and started to call his sister while his mother stared at him from a distance away.

"What did you do to my little Seojoon-ee! Give him back you imposter! My son would never care about playing a game! What do you want from us!"

"Hurry up and come home. Your brother is gone. He was replaced with a fake that wants to play games. I'm serious. Come home right now."

"...."

Seojoon realized that maybe he studied a little too hard in his previous life.