Later that night, Hana sat cross-legged on her bed, her laptop perched on a pillow. She hesitated for a second before clicking the Valerion Realms icon.
Her heart beat a little faster than usual.
"Okay… let's see if he logs in again," she muttered, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
As soon as she entered the world, she spawned in the main city—a bustling place filled with shops, NPCs, and high-level players showing off their shiny gear. Her own character still wore the default leather armor and a bow that looked like it came from a garage sale.
She opened her friends list. Still empty.
Then she checked the player rankings. There he was. SpecterX. Online.
He's on...
Hana paused.
"Should I… message him? Again?"
Her stomach twisted. She didn't want to be annoying. What if he thought she was just some clingy newbie?
But something told her to do it anyway.
She opened the search bar, typed SpecterX, and his profile appeared. Same armor. Same mysterious aura.
She took a deep breath and clicked Send Friend Request.
Seconds passed. Nothing.
Minutes.
Still nothing.
"Maybe he's in a dungeon," she mumbled.
Meanwhile, miles away, Kaito stared at the request notification.
He didn't accept it.
He didn't decline it either.
He just stared.
"…She remembered me," he said quietly.
For a moment, his mouse hovered over Accept.
Then he stood up and walked away from his desk, heart racing for no reason he understood.
Back in the game, Hana waited a little longer, then sighed.
"No big deal. He's probably busy." She smiled to herself. "Still worth a shot."
She closed the request window and started walking around the town, looking for new quests.
But even as she ran past vendors and message boards, she kept checking the corner of her screen, hoping that little notification might change.
That maybe, just maybe…
He'd accept.
---
Meanwhile, the next day…
At school, Kaito sat in his usual seat by the window, hoodie up. But today, he wasn't staring out the window.
He was staring at his phone screen. At the notification still sitting there, unopened.
Friend Request from: HanaQuest
And just as he looked up…
Hana walked in.
She didn't notice him.
But he noticed the faint smile on her face. The same one from the game.
And in that moment, something inside Kaito shifted.
For the first time…
He wanted to be seen.