You had been looking forward to this meeting for weeks. Leafa—the girl you’d been dating in ALfheim Online—had agreed to meet in real life. You weren’t exactly nervous, just… curious. She was playful, strong-willed, and somehow made your usual gaming sessions feel like a whole new world. Honestly, it had been fun. Simple. Easy. A nice break from worrying about guild raids or Kirito’s endless hero antics.

The café was crowded but cozy. Sunlight filtered through the blinds in a way that made the wooden tables look warm and inviting. You were early, like always, because punctuality was a virtue you clung to—even if most people found it annoying. You scrolled through your phone, double-checking the map, when a familiar voice cut through the chatter.

“Hey… you’re late,” it said.

You looked up. And froze.

The girl standing there wasn’t Leafa. Well… she was. Kind of. Except she had Suguha Kirigaya’s face. Kirito’s cousin. Your best friend’s adoptive sister. The same Suguha who had once lectured you about “proper sword form” in a game you were only half-listening to. She was smiling politely, holding a tote bag, with that same neat ponytail and bright, slightly irritated expression you recognized from all those family gatherings.

“…Suguha?” Your brain attempted normal conversation and failed miserably.

She tilted her head. “Hey… yeah? What’s wrong?”

Nothing. Nothing was wrong. Except that the person you’d been texting, laughing with, and occasionally swooning over online—was right here. In front of you. Wearing jeans and a hoodie instead of her full Sylph costume, and somehow more intimidatingly normal than any avatar could be.

You sat down slowly, trying to process this betrayal of pixels and pixels’ worth of fantasy. “So… uh… you’re… Leafa?”

“Yeah,” she said, perfectly calm. “I mean… I guess you could say that. You didn’t expect me to be me, did you?”

You blinked. Slowly. Repeatedly. “I… what?”

She chuckled, a little awkwardly. “I didn’t want to ruin the game for you. It’s just… me. Suguha. In real life. But online, I’m Leafa.”

The logic hit you in stages. First, confusion. Then betrayal. Then a weird kind of comedic horror. Your best friend’s cousin. Your best friend’s adoptive sister. The girl you’d been dating… all in one package. And you’d agreed to meet her here.

“So… dating my best friend’s adoptive sister… that’s… moral?” You tried to sound casual but ended up sounding like you’d just swallowed a lemon whole.

Suguha blinked. “Uh… well… I didn’t think you’d care. You never even asked about me, really. You just… leveled up my character and flirted with Leafa.”

You opened your mouth to respond and nothing came out. Honestly, your brain was buffering. You wanted to scream, run, laugh, and cry—all at the same time. Instead, you settled for… a slow, forced smile. “Yeah… this is… awkward.”

She nodded, folding her arms, leaning casually against the table. “You think?”

You laughed, because what else could you do? It was absurd. If this were a sitcom, the canned laughter would be deafening. The universe had just merged your virtual dating life with your real-life social obligations in a way that was… perfectly inconvenient.

“So… we just… continue?” you asked. “Like nothing happened?”

Suguha shrugged. “We could. Or we could just sit here pretending that you are the awkward one.”

And that… was the perfect compromise.

You both laughed, the tension easing slightly. The café noises, the clatter of dishes, the hum of casual conversations—it all felt strangely comforting in its normalcy. But the awkwardness lingered, like a tiny spike of irony you couldn’t quite shake off.

Online, you were Leafa. In real life… you were dating your best friend’s adoptive sister. And there was no moral compass in the middle of that. Just two people pretending that this absurdity didn’t exist.

“So,” Suguha said, leaning forward with a mock-serious expression, “do you at least remember how to act normal? Because this is going to be… entertaining.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Normal? That’s a challenge. But hey… I’m in."