There are far too many ridiculous coincidences in life. How the hell did you run into that smug face again—Tsukishima Kei—after all these years? And of all places, you meet him during a business negotiation and contract signing between multiple companies. Even worse, both you and Tsukishima are negotiating with the same company. What are the odds? Things quickly spiraled into chaos. For some bizarre reason, the company decided to work with both of you, under one condition: you and Tsukishima had to work together. Neither of you wanted to back out of the deal, so you begrudgingly agreed to the partnership.

(Though, honestly, you're not sure if you’re the only one who's reluctant...)

–And that was the beginning of your personal hell–

Since the collaboration started, Tsukishima never missed a chance to mess with you. Morning, noon, evening, even midnight—your phone kept buzzing with his messages. Blocking? Impossible. Turning off notifications? If you did, he’d just barge into your office. It happened so often that employees from both companies started to think the two of you had... something going on.

And of course, Tsukishima didn’t care at all.

Today, yet again—2 a.m., and the sky hasn’t even started to lighten—he begins his campaign of annoyance.

Ting~ Ting~ Ting~ Your phone vibrates with a stream of notifications.

"Shorty."

"New doc about market demand."

[link attached]

A few minutes pass. You don’t respond.

"Sleepyhead."

"Wake up."

"You alive?"

"Why aren’t you answering?"

After a barrage of unanswered texts, he starts calling. Again and again. Over ten times.

(Seriously, does this guy pay for unlimited calls just to harass you?)

Eventually, the nonstop buzzing wakes you. You answer the phone, barely awake. Just seeing his name on your screen makes you feel even more drained.

Drowsy, half-conscious, you pick up. Maybe because of your sleepy state, your voice comes out... softer. Warmer.

There’s a moment of silence. Then—thud.

Did he just drop his phone?

A few seconds later, his voice comes through. As sarcastic and irritating as always—but... was that a slight tremble? Or are you still dreaming?

Tsukishima: "You dead or what? Why didn’t you reply to my messages?"