Morning homeroom buzzed like a beehive that had been kicked over. Even as the teacher started roll call at the blackboard, more than half the class was gripping phones under their desks. On social feeds, the trending bar read things like #FindYu and "Ordinary Boy Confessed To By Otherworld Beauty," with screenshots and clip edits flooding every timeline.

  "Yo, check this." The boy in front shoved his phone at a friend. "'Yu' isn't that rare a name, but... we've got one in our class, right?" Snickering eyes flicked back and skimmed over Yu's desk. A second later, a new ping hit the class group chat. [Class 2-B Chat] [User_A]: Hey, is this "Yu" you? [User_B]: lol [User_C]: (Sticker) A rush of messages with attached caps buried the thread, stamps and "lol" carpet-bombing the screen.

  "Knock it off," Harukawa cut in, voice low but sharp. "It's just a viral thing. No way it's related." He slid his notebook over to cover Yu's phone, blocking the light. "..." Yu kept his mouth shut and his eyes down. Every laugh, every notification sounded like it had his name on it.

  ?

  By lunch, the buzz hadn't died down. Someone had taped a printout to the hallway bulletin board: [ Yu Called Out By Otherworld Beauty LOL ] A crudely typeset collage of screenshots. Passing students pointed and snickered as they went to and from class.

  "Who put this up...?" Harukawa grimaced, tore the paper down, crumpled it, and dunked it in the trash. "Forget it, Yu. This is a 24-hour meme; it'll pass." But behind them, whispers still pierced the air. "Seriously think it's that Yu?" "Rize—that streamer girl, right? So Claval stole Yu from her?" "Dramaaa lol" The snickering crawled along the walls. Yu said nothing. If he answered, it was a denial; if he stayed quiet, it was an admission. Either way, his name was getting chewed up for sport. His lunch sat untouched, chopsticks idle in his hand. He stared out at the athletic field. Even the cheers from PE sounded like they belonged to some other world.

  ?

  Night fell. Yu's room sat under a blanket of heavy quiet. No wind outside. The only light was the cool glow of his phone, washing over the textbooks and notebooks on his desk. —Should I connect... or not? Even while he hesitated, his thumb tapped the app. Heat prickled in his chest; his pulse beat against his inner ear. A soft shimmer, and the frame opened. The inn room appeared. In lamplight, there was Rize. Knees hugged, back held taut, eyes locked on him without blinking. They trembled, yet they were straight—fear and resolve braided together.

  "...Yu." Her small voice reached him. Yu opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came. He groped for words, and they stuck in his throat like thorns. Rize drew a tiny breath; her lips quivered. "...Maybe we shouldn't connect anymore." The single line carved straight into Yu's chest. His heart dropped, a beat late and heavy. "..." He wanted to answer. No voice came. Silence fell between them, heavier than any wall. Rize dropped her gaze, as if she couldn't bear that silence, and forced the words out.

  "I'm scared." Her voice trembled, barely strung together. "I'm really, truly scared of watching you get targeted." Yu's hand gripped the desk before he knew it. —It is my fault. Because I got involved, I made her afraid. That call-out warped everything. "So..." Rize's eyes wavered as she went on. "Maybe we should put some distance between us." It sounded like a decision—and also like a shaking doubt. The thinner her voice grew, the heavier the weight behind it struck. Yu parted his lips. No words formed. He wanted to push back. To say she was wrong. But the courage wouldn't come. Their sentences scraped past each other in fragments. Rize lowered her eyes, as if asking and fearing the answer at once. "Say it... please." The small plea froze his breath.

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  "Tell me, 'Don't connect with me anymore.'" Urgent—half entreaty, half surrender. Yu was struck dumb. Words swirled in his chest and refused to take shape. "..." Every time he tried to speak, his throat cinched. He could neither give the answer she asked for nor deny it. Staring at each other through the frame, their feelings hung suspended in midair. Rize's eyes trembled, but never left him. Long silence settled. They didn't look away, yet words wouldn't come. The clock's second hand pounded too loud. Tick. Tick. Yu bit his lip and finally scraped up a hoarse whisper.

  "...Even so—" Rize cried over him, almost tripping on the words. "Say 'even so'... say it!" It was a tearful voice. The girl who always looked strong was fraying at the edges of her tone. Yu's eyes flew wide; he sucked in a breath. "I... I—" He dug down, dragging words up from his core. "Letting go won't keep you safe." Rize fired back, her voice shaking. "But if you break yourself to protect me—what's the point?" Yu's fist hit the desk. Thud. His voice rose. "Then I'll break!" Rize's eyes went wide beyond the frame.

  "I don't care if I break... Losing you is worse." His breath was ragged; his chest burned. But he couldn't smother that truth. Rize's lips trembled. "That's not... that's not what I want..." "I don't want it either!" Yu's voice overlapped hers. "But... I'm more scared of you slipping away." Heat crept into his tone; tears and breath tangled. Rize pressed both hands to her chest, face twisting as she searched for words. "...I'm scared too. Of you getting hurt, of losing you—more than anything—" "Then—!" Yu leaned in. "Then we have to stay together!" Words collided, stacked, cut each other off.

  "No!" "Yes!" The voices tangled, neither giving ground. Tears tracked down cheeks and caught the frame's light. Yu reached out on impulse. —But he couldn't touch her. His fingertips sliced only air past the frame. He couldn't stop. Rize, too, stretched a trembling hand. Through the screen, their fingertips hovered a breath apart.

  "...Even so," Yu murmured. "...Even so," Rize echoed. As their voices overlapped, the frame's glow pulsed hard. Repeated like a spell, the phrase seared into each of their hearts. It was a wish, a vow, a declaration of defiance. Even after the words, both kept their hands outstretched, frozen there. Through tear-blurred vision, Yu and Rize's voices layered—their feelings, small but certain, aligning.

  The next instant—an unfamiliar light flickered at the edge of the screen. Not EWS's usual cool blue. A deeper afterglow, heated—Crimson. A thin film bled in, burning the corner of Yu's sight like a wound in the air. He jerked back.

  "...What is that...?" Rize saw it too and gasped. "It's not blue... that's..." The red spread slowly but surely, staining the edges of their shared space. In Rize's eyes, fear and anger mixed. "...Claval." She spat the name, and the blood drained from Yu's face. The crimson afterglow thinned and faded, leaving a residue of red wavering deep in the view. They fell silent, staring at the dim-swept frame. Neither dared name what it meant—but the same certainty sprouted in both their chests.—Claval was getting closer.