𝑶𝑭𝑭𝑺𝑰𝑫𝑬 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 ★ 𝒊. 𝒔𝒂𝒆

001

You never expected him to respond.

For months, you've spammed Sae Itoshi's DMs knowing full well he'd never see them, let alone reply. It started as a joke, little messages here and there. Then, as time passed, it became routine.

"Good morning, Sae! Hope you lose today <3"

"I bet you eat dry toast with no butter. Prove me wrong."

"Blink twice if you secretly read my messages."

"Sae, please, I just need to know if you have any emotions. Even just one."

"I'm your biggest hater (and fan, unfortunately)."

You never thought much of it. He was one of the biggest soccer players in the world. Why would he ever check his DMs?

Until one night, as you lay in bed, scrolling through social media, you saw it.

[SAE ITOSHI: SEEN]

Your heart stopped.

Then, as if the universe decided to make a fool out of you tonight—three dots appeared.

He was typing.

You sat up as fast as your heart thumped against your chest. Then, the message popped up.

SAE ITOSHI: You're annoying.

You screamed. Actually screamed.

Fumbling with your phone, you stared at the message like it was a hallucination. Did the Sae Itoshi just respond to you? You weren't even verified. There was no way.

You hesitated for a moment before quickly typing back.

YOU: OMG YOU REPLIED WTF

YOU: Wait I thought you didn't read your DMs

YOU: Why did you respond to ME of all people lmao

The typing bubbles appeared again. Your heart felt like it was going to explode.

SAE ITOSHI: You wouldn't shut up.

You slapped a hand over your mouth, trying not to burst into laughter; not an expected response but you get what you get.

YOU: So you have been reading my messages??

He didn't reply right away, and you started to panic. Did you scare him off already? Was he going to block you? 

SAE ITOSHI: Unfortunately.

Your life was complete.

YOU: LMAOO so do you eat dry toast with no butter or what?

A full minute passed. You stared at the chat, not even breathing. Then, his reply came.

SAE ITOSHI: Blocked.

YOU: WAIT NO I WAS KIDDING

He left you on read. Expected.

You sat there, staring at your screen in disbelief, before bursting into laughter. Sae Itoshi had actually replied to you.

And, knowing yourself, this was only the beginning.

You never really had to work for anything, after all you grew up with everything handed to you on a silver platter—intelligence, wealth, and opportunities. Your family, well off and always occupied with their own lives, sent you abroad for college once you graduated high school. 

However, you chose to take a gap year instead of diving straight into school. Though your parents didn't take much interest in your decision, they supported you financially, believing you'd follow through eventually. 

This made everything come easy for you—except Sae. He became the first challenge in your life that required effort, your obsession with him would become the most complicated thing you ever tried to attain, a task you couldn't buy or receive passively.

—

You spent the next few hours staring at your phone, occasionally refreshing the chat like it would magically change.

No new messages. No activity. Just the last words Sae left you with:

"Blocked."

But you weren't actually blocked.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he'd gotten annoyed enough to put you in your place and now you'd return to screaming into the void with no response.

But knowing that he had actually read your messages before? That he had been silently putting up with your spam for who knows how long? That was enough to make you hopeful.

—

For the next few days, you kept things normal or, at least, as normal as you could after knowing Sae fucking Itoshi had acknowledged your existence. You continued to send your usual dumb messages.

YOU: Good morning, Sae! Bet you woke up scowling..

YOU: How's life as an international superstar? Still boring?

YOU: I hope you miss an open goal today. (I don't.)

No response.

Not even a "seen" this time.

That should've been your sign to give up, but you were nothing if not stubborn.

And then, one night, completely out of nowhere

SAE ITOSHI: You're insufferable.

You nearly dropped your phone.

YOU: OMG you came back???

YOU: Does this mean you missed me?

SAE ITOSHI: No.

YOU: Liar.

There was a pause. You could almost imagine him sighing at his screen, probably already regretting responding and giving you the time of day.

SAE ITOSHI: Why do you even message me?

You blinked.

Why did you?

At first, it had been a joke—just another fan having fun. But now, after everything, you weren't sure what the reason was anymore.

YOU: Because it's fun?

Three dots. Then..

SAE ITOSHI: You're weird.

YOU: Yet here you are, talking to me👅

He left you on read again.

But this time, you knew he'd be back.

—

The next few days passed with radio silence. You tried not to think too much about it; Sae was busy, after all he was literally an international athlete with a strict training schedule, interviews, sponsorships, and matches to prepare for.

You were just some random fan in his DMs.

But the fact that he had actually responded—not once but twice—meant you had somehow gotten under his skin and you weren't about to let the opportunity slip.

So, naturally, you kept doing what you're best at. Annoying him.

YOU: Good morning, bestie!

YOU: have you got any other emotes in store?

YOU: Okay but real talk what do you do for fun?

YOU: wear red in your next post if you actually enjoy playing soccer and aren't just fueled by your superiority complex.

Nothing.

And then..

SAE ITOSHI: Stop texting me.

You grinned.

YOU: No <3

Another long pause.

SAE ITOSHI: You're ridiculous.

YOU: Yet you keep answering me🙏🏻

No response.

—

This became your new normal. Sae would go days, sometimes a week, without answering, but when he did, his responses got slightly longer—still blunt, still dry, but he was still engaging.

YOU: Okay be honest..Do you even like your fans?

SAE ITOSHI: Some of them are tolerable.

YOU: Am I tolerable?👅

SAE ITOSHI: No.

YOU: mhm that's why you're still texting me back..

SAE ITOSHI: It's entertaining watching you embarrass yourself.

You gasped dramatically.

YOU: YOU FIND ME ENTERTAINING???

YOU: You're literally so obsessed with me just admit it.

Left on read.

Classic Sae.

—

Over time, the conversations got easier.

You learned he spent most of his free time sleeping, that he had a weird love for expensive coffee, and that, despite everything, he did actually care about soccer—it was just that nothing else compared to it.

And the most surprising thing? He never actually told you to stop messaging him again.

Which meant, in your eyes, that you had won.

—

One night, as you lay in bed scrolling through your texts, you decided to push your luck.

YOU: Sae.

YOU: Do you ever get lonely?

He didn't answer right away.

SAE ITOSHI: Why are you asking?

YOU: dunno. Just wondering.

This time, he took longer than usual to reply. You half-expected him to leave you on read for good, but then—

SAE ITOSHI: I don't have time to be lonely.

You frowned. That wasn't really an answer.

YOU: ? That's not the same thing as not feeling it..

No response.

You sighed, setting your phone aside. Maybe that was too much. Maybe you should've kept things light instead of digging into things that weren't your business.

—

You didn't know when her obsession with Sae turned from harmless admiration into something darker, more consuming.

Maybe it was the way he never truly shut you out that entertained your delusions or maybe it was the thrill of knowing that you had somehow managed to claw your way into his carefully guarded life, where so many others had failed.

Or maybe it was just him. The way he existed so effortlessly—untouchable, unreachable. A force of nature that she wanted to wrap yourself around, to consume, to claim as your own.

You couldn't stop thinking about him.

It was bad.

YOU: Do you ever think about me when we're not texting?

You knew it was a risky question, but you couldn't help yourself. The waiting, the agonizing silence between his replies, was starting to drive you insane.

You needed more.

Sae took his time responding like always.

SAE ITOSHI: No.

Liar. Or so you believed 

You smiled to yourself, rolling onto your stomach as your stared at your phone. He was so predictable. If he really didn't think about you, why hadn't he blocked you yet? Why did he still answer?

You knew why.

YOU: I think about you all the time.

You hesitated for a moment before sending another message.

YOU: Is that weird?

Read.

You stared at the screen, waiting, heartbeat quickening with anticipation.

Nothing.

Minutes passed then hours.

By the time you finally fell asleep, your phone was still devoid of any new messages.

Even though you believed he'd seen it.

He probably just didn't know what to say.

That was okay.

You could be patient.

Because Sae was yours.

He just didn't realize it yet.