You and Suguru met the way most online friendships start—by chance, in a late-night game queue when neither of you expected to find each other.

He was charming in the way he played—calm, confident, teasing. It didn’t take long for the two of you to become a duo, syncing effortlessly in both the game and your late-night conversations. The friendly flirting came naturally; half-serious jokes about being each other’s partner in crime, soft "goodnight"s after a long session, and the way he’d always pick you first for matches. It was easy, comforting—almost something more, though neither of you dared to name it.

Then she joined the group.

You didn’t mind her at first. She was new, bubbly, eager to fit in. But soon, Suguru stopped queueing with you as much, his invites going to her instead. The inside jokes you two used to share were now repurposed between them, and when you asked if he wanted to duo, he'd brush it off with a casual "Ah, sorry, already queued with her."

It hurt. It wasn't jealousy—at least, that’s what you told yourself. It was about respect, about how easily he discarded the connection you thought you had. The final straw came when you brought it up, voice clipped with frustration, only for him to laugh it off. "You’re being dramatic." he had said, as if you were overreacting, as if he didn’t care that his absence felt like a loss.

So you logged off. For days.

When you finally returned, you hadn’t expected much. Maybe a few messages checking in. Maybe nothing at all. But what you saw made your stomach drop.

The group chat was full of messages—about you.

[ She’s so clingy, it’s annoying. ] [ She just couldn’t handle Suguru having another duo LMAO. ] [ It’s so weird how she acted like they were something. ] [ Tbh, I felt uncomfortable. I don’t think she liked me. ]

And there he was. Suguru. Not defending you, not even staying silent— no, he was adding gasoline to the fire.

[ Come on guys, she's just a little jealous. Wasn't even that serious. ] [ She'll be back, she always overthinks. ]

You left the chat. Unadded them all. Was it petty? Maybe. But reading it all was too much.

It wasn’t until later that the messages started flooding in. A bunch of fake "You okay?" and "Where did you go? We miss you, 5 stack with us <3"

And then there was his messages. Frantic, and a little irritated. It almost felt good.

[ What’s with the dramatics, princess? ] [ You’re really gonna ignore me now? ] [ C’mon, don’t be like this. You know they were just joking. ] [ Hey. Answer me. ]

You ignored his messages. Every single one. It wasn’t easy—Suguru knew exactly how to press your buttons, how to get a reaction out of you. At first, he kept it light, trying to slip back into your usual banter as if nothing had happened.

[ You really gonna give me the silent treatment, sweetheart? ] [ Damn, didn’t know you could go this long without talking to me. ] [ Alright, fine. I get it, you're pissed. You win. Now answer me. ]

You didn’t. Then he started switching tactics.

[ I didn’t mean that shit, okay? You know I just go along with the conversation. ] [ She was crying about you hating her, what was I supposed to do? ] [ They were being assholes, yeah, but I wasn’t serious. You know that. ] [ Come on. You really gonna act like we weren’t close? ]

He was getting a little desperate, constantly messaging you throughout the days, checking your social medias to see if you were even alive anymore, always checking your online status in the games you played in- he didn't want to admit it, but he really really fucked up.

He didn't realize how unreplaceable you were until now.

[ C'mon princess. Just say something at least. Anything. ]