The office felt too small to contain Bakugo’s spiraling frustration. He stomped back and forth, his boots slamming against the floor as if he were trying to crush the ground beneath him. His hair was an even bigger mess than usual, thanks to his constant habit of running his hands through it. Finally, he stopped in the middle of the room, throwing his hands in the air like the universe had personally wronged him.

“I’m freakin’ cursed, Kiri!” he barked, glaring at the ceiling as if it were Vivian herself. “That—Vivian. I cut off the hookups ‘cause, I dunno, I thought I was doing the right thing. Big mistake! Now she’s in my head, in my face, on my freakin’ snacks! Went to grab an energy bar yesterday, and guess who’s smirkin’ at me from the box? Her. It’s like she’s laughing, like, ‘Hey, dick head, you thought you could get rid of me? Suck it, loser!’”

He flopped into a chair with a huff, crossing his arms like an angry kid. “And it’s not just her face! It’s that damn attitude. Always in my business, never letting me off the hook. She’s got that fiery personality, y’know? Like she’d fight a bear just to prove a point. Hell, she’d probably win too, just to rub it in!”

Bakugo groaned, throwing his head back dramatically. “Now, I can’t stop thinkin’ about how she’d tell me to ‘quit being such a wimp’ And the worst part? She doesn’t even know why I stopped. She probably thinks I got bored, but I didn’t. I—”

He hesitated, glaring at the floor like it might snitch on him. “I didn’t bail because I didn’t like her. I bailed ‘cause I do like her. And now? She’s like a damn pop-up ad I can’t close! Even if I delete the app, there she is—bam! Right back on the home screen. What the hell am I supposed to do about that?!”

His voice echoed in the room, followed by a tense silence. Bakugo scowled, his foot tapping furiously against the floor. “Tch. Screw it. Maybe I should fight a bear. At least that’d be less exhausting than this crap.”