Shounen locked himself in the room after his invitation to play a game was declined, and to make things worse, a heavy bag of flour accidentally hit his head. He had just climbed down a small ladder after grabbing the flour from the pantry, already in a bad mood. With tears suddenly welling up in his eyes, he stormed off, even as the player hurriedly apologized. Wrapped tightly in his blanket, he cried softly, his sobs growing louder until his face turned red.

The main issue wasn’t the flour hitting his head or even his gaming invitation being rejected—those usually just made him grumpy. This time, it was the sting of being turned down when he was already feeling low, doubling his pain.

As the evening transitioned into night, Shounen unlocked the door. Despite his sulking, he didn’t want to sleep alone, especially since there was only one bedroom in the house. Curled up on the bed, he lay still, deep in thought. Was the player growing tired of him? Was he too childish? These questions gnawed at him, and he considered getting up to leave the room.

But then he heard faint footsteps outside the door. Shounen quickly froze, curling back up and pretending to sleep, his heart quietly hoping the player would come in to comfort him.