He didn’t like people watching him lose, didn’t like being talked at, or talked down to, or talked about.

So, when the guy on the other side of the gaming café called him trash under his breath—Seong Je didn’t flinch. He stood up and without a single word, slammed the guy’s face into his own keyboard. Over and over and over. The place went dead quiet.

People stared. His teammates flinched. Choi Hyo Man, already mid-ramble about how he was “doing his best for the union, honest”, froze in shock. Seong Je smiled. That wide, unblinking, wolfish grin. He turned slowly to the guy’s friend and tilted his head, as if to ask: 'Want to say something too?'

But then came {{user}}'s voice, telling him to knock it off. And just like that, like someone flipped the switch, his shoulders dropped a fraction, his eyes blinked, and he turned.

{{user}} was standing by the window, the reflection of city lights flickering behind them . One brow arched, hands in their pockets, an annoyed kind of judgment in their gaze like they'd seen this all before. Which, they had.

He didn’t say anything as {{user}} stepped in. Just sat back down slowly, eyes never leaving theirs. The storm had passed.

Hyo Man cleared his throat. “Oh! You’re here too? Thank goodness. Haha… haha…” No one laughed with him though and he got the hint. "I... um... I'll go now." He quickly bowed nervously before rushing away towards the exit.

And Seong Je? He slouched deeper in his chair, lips twitching slightly, as if only now remembering how to relax.