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Disclaimer: Jungwon's been going on about mosquitoes lately, so I wrote this. Consider this my tribute to the tiny bloodsuckers and the baby cat who bravely battles them.
The summer air in the dorm hung thick and heavy, a humid blanket draped over everything. Jungwon, sprawled on the couch, was attempting to conquer the latest level of his mobile game, a pixelated knight slashing through hordes of adorable slimes. His brow was furrowed in concentration, one leg bouncing nervously.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Jay was practicing a particularly intricate guitar riff. He hit a high note, a sustained, almost ear-splitting squeal, and the air around him shimmered.
A strange, electric blue light enveloped him, and then – poof – a tiny cloud of smoke, and where Jay once stood strumming his guitar, a rather large, unusually iridescent mosquito now hovered.
Jay, or rather, the mosquito-version of Jay, felt a strange tingling sensation all over his… well, all over his tiny mosquito body.
He looked down at his six spindly legs, his delicate wings, his long, needle-like proboscis. Panic flared, a tiny, insect-sized panic, but panic nonetheless.
Then, as if summoned from the digital ether, a notification popped up in his… vision? Mosquito vision? It was a translucent, shimmering box, like a holographic message hovering in mid-air. It read:
ALERT! TRANSFORMATION INITIATED!
Subject: Park Jongseong (Designated: Jay)
Current Status: Insectoid (Mosquito Variant)
REVERSAL PROTOCOL:
To revert to human form, subject must consume a minimum of 0.5 ml of Yang Jungwon’s blood.
WARNING: Failure to comply within 24 hours may result in permanent transformation.
Jay, the mosquito, buzzed in alarm. He didn't have a phone, or hands to use one, but somehow, he understood the message perfectly. He needed Jungwon’s blood. And he needed it fast.
Back on the couch, Jungwon swatted the air.
“Ugh, not again,” he muttered.
A mosquito, tiny and yet somehow possessing the sound of a jet engine (or perhaps, the faint echo of a distorted guitar riff), buzzed around his head.
It was persistent, a tiny, winged menace with an apparent vendetta against Jungwon’s exposed ankle.
The mosquito, which was actually Jay, dive-bombed again. He buzzed closer to Jungwon’s ear, as if trying to say,
“Jungwon! It’s me! Jay! I’m a mosquito! And I need your blood to become human again! It’s an emergency!”
But all that came out was a high-pitched whine.
“Is it just me, or does this mosquito seem…extra?”
Jungwon wondered aloud, squinting at the tiny creature. It hovered in front of him, vibrating its wings rapidly. It was almost as if… it was trying to communicate.
Jay buzzed frantically, performing a series of erratic loop-de-loops, hoping to convey the urgency of his situation.
He even tried to land on Jungwon's phone screen, hoping the proximity to the bright light would trigger some recognition. Unfortunately, Jungwon just recoiled, cross-eyed.
“Get off my screen, you creepy thing!”
The chase began, a chaotic ballet of swats, dodges, and high-pitched buzzing. Jay, the mosquito, was determined.
He needed that blood.
He needed to be Jay again.
He needed to play his guitar.
He definitely did not want to be a permanent mosquito.
The chase led them through the dorm, a chaotic ballet of swats, dodges, and high-pitched buzzing. Jungwon tripped over a stray slipper, sending him sprawling onto the couch.
Jay, sensing an opportunity and remembering the ominous 24-hour warning, zoomed in. He needed just a tiny sip. He landed on Jungwon's wrist, extending his proboscis, the tiny needle trembling slightly.
He just needed to pierce the skin, just a little bit. Just as he was about to make contact, Jungwon instinctively slapped his wrist.
“GOTCHA!” he yelled triumphantly, holding his hand up.
Jay lay stunned, legs twitching, the holographic notification flickering and dimming. He had failed. For now. The clock was ticking.
Jay lay stunned in Jungwon’s palm, the holographic notification flickering weakly. The words:
TIME REMAINING: 23:47:12
were barely visible.
He had to act fast. He feebly buzzed his wings, trying to get Jungwon’s attention.
Jungwon peered closer. “Wait a minute…” he muttered, noticing something odd. The mosquito had landed on a small, almost invisible, tear in the leather strap of his watch.
It seemed to be… stuck? He carefully picked the mosquito up, examining it closely.
“You’re… caught?”
Jay buzzed weakly in response, a tiny, desperate plea. He tried to wiggle free, but his tiny mosquito legs were firmly entangled in the frayed leather.
Jungwon, oblivious to the life-or-death situation unfolding in his hand, started to poke at the trapped insect with his fingertip.
“You’re kind of cute, for a mosquito,” Jungwon mused.
“Usually, I just squish you guys.”
Jay buzzed frantically, trying to convey his urgent need for blood, but all that came out was a pathetic, high-pitched whine.
He even tried to headbutt Jungwon’s finger, a futile attempt to communicate his dire situation.
Suddenly, the dorm door burst open, and Jake and the rest bounded in, holding a bag of snacks.
“Jungwon-ah! We brought churros!” he announced cheerfully.
“Perfect timing!” Jungwon replied, turning to show them the trapped mosquito.
“Look, this little guy got stuck on my watch.”
Sunghoon leaned in for a closer look. “Ew, a mosquito. Just squish it, Jungwon.”
“No!” Jungwon protested. “He’s kind of… interesting.”
Jay, hearing the word “squish,” buzzed with renewed vigor, a desperate surge of adrenaline coursing through his tiny mosquito body.
He thrashed against the leather strap, finally managing to free one leg. He used the freed leg to push against the leather, and with a final, mighty tug, he was free!
He immediately zoomed towards Jungwon’s exposed neck, the nearest source of the life-saving blood.
He landed gently, extending his proboscis. Jungwon, distracted by Sunoo’s enthusiastic description of the churros, didn’t even notice.
Just as Jay was about to pierce the skin, Heeseung gasped. “Jungwon! There’s a mosquito on your neck!”
Jungwon instinctively swatted at his neck, sending Jay flying across the room. He landed with a soft thump on the couch cushion. The holographic notification flickered violently, displaying a new message:
CRITICAL ERROR! REVERSAL PROTOCOL COMPROMISED! TIME REMAINING: 00:00:05
Jay, the mosquito, felt a wave of despair. He had failed. He was going to be a mosquito forever. He closed his tiny mosquito eyes, bracing for the inevitable.
Suddenly, Jungwon, feeling a strange prickling sensation on his neck, scratched it absentmindedly.
He then brought his hand down, and unknowingly, his finger brushed against Jay, the mosquito. A tiny speck of blood, drawn from the scratch, clung to Jungwon’s fingertip.
As if by some cosmic miracle, Jay, in his weakened state, instinctively extended his proboscis and took a tiny sip of the blood on Jungwon's finger.
A blinding flash of blue light erupted from the couch cushion. Everyone screamed, a high-pitched, synchronized shriek that echoed through the dorm.
Jungwon, in a moment of pure instinct and perhaps morbid curiosity, whipped out his phone and snapped a quick photo just as the light began to fade.
When the light subsided, Jay was no longer a mosquito. He was back in his human form, sprawled awkwardly on the couch… completely naked.
He had been so focused on playing his guitar that he had only been wearing pajama pants, which were presumably disintegrated during the transformation.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” they all screamed again, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of shock and horror.
Jungwon, still clutching his phone, stared at the photo he had just taken, his eyes wide. It was a blurry, slightly overexposed mess, but it clearly showed… something. Or rather, someone.
Jay, still dazed from the transformation, looked down at himself and then his eyes widened in horror. He scrambled to cover himself with a nearby cushion, his face turning a deep shade of crimson.
“Oh my god,” he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.
Niki, still reeling from the shock, stammered, “Hyung! you… you were a mosquito! And then… you were… that! And now… you’re… that again! But… naked!”
Sunoo, between gasps of laughter and occasional screams, managed to choke out, “Jungwon… you… you took a picture!”
Jungwon blinked, then held up his phone. “Want to see?” he offered brightly.
Jay let out a strangled cry and dove under the nearest pillow. He had been a mosquito. He had needed Jungwon’s blood to become human again. And he had returned to human form completely and utterly exposed, with photographic evidence (now being circulated among the members with alarming speed) to boot.
The dorm had never been quite the same. The air, however, was now blessedly normal. For a while, at least. But the group chat was now a constant stream of mosquito emojis and poorly photoshopped images of Jay.