002
002
[Seen 9:02 PM]
The next day, [name]'s heart pounds as she watches various random notifications pop up—except for the one she's hoping for.
Sae already read her message, He just hasn't replied yet, but the fact that he saw it sends a rush of adrenaline through her veins.
She types another message, hesitates, then deletes it.
No, I have to be patient; He responded before so he will again, Right?
A full day passes. Nothing.
By now, any normal person would have taken the hint and backed off, but [name] isn't normal, not when it comes to Sae.
She sends another message. Then another.
And then, finally
SAE ITOSHI: What do you even want?
A sharp exhale leaves her lips, He answered.
[name]: You, duh.
She doesn't even try to play coy, she wants him to know just how infatuated she is with him.
A minute passes. No reply.
Five minutes.
Ten.
[Seen 12:17 PM]
[name] grips her phone, frustrated but thrilled—after all he acknowledged her again, even if it's just to brush her off.
She's fully aware Sae isn't the type to entertain just anyone; He either ignores or shuts people down completely..but he's not blocking her..? He's not telling her to leave him alone. That has to mean something.
[name]: You read my message again.
[name]: If you really wanted me gone, you'd block me.
[name]: So I'll take this as a sign that you DON'T want me gone.
She watches the screen, her breath shallow. She wonders if he'll leave her on read again, if he'll pretend he doesn't care.
SAE ITOSHI: You're insane.
two words were enough to make her lips curl into a grin.
[name]: And yet, you keep answering.
SAE ITOSHI: Because you don't shut up.
[name]: And you like it.
A pause.
[Seen 1:05 PM]
No response this time, she can sense his irritation through the screen, his reluctant engagement.
Sae isn't pushing her away.
Not really.
And [name]? She's never been one to quit while she's ahead.
—
[name] doesn't sleep that night. How could she? Her heart is racing, her mind spinning with the fact that she's finally getting somewhere.
Sae replied to her. Again. That meant something.
She kept staring at their messages, rereading every word as if she can decode some hidden meaning behind his cold responses.
[name]: I know you're awake.
She sends it before she second-guess herself.
[Seen 2:13 AM]
Her grin widens.
[name]: Thinking about me?
This time, there's no immediate 'seen' receipt. Minutes pass. Five, then ten.
SAE ITOSHI: Go to sleep.
[name] feels a thrill rush through her; He's annoyed, which means he's bothered, which means...
[name]: Make me.
She stares at the screen, waiting. And once again, she doesn't get a response.
Fine. She can play the long game.
—
The next day, [name] scrolls through social media, tapping on Sae's profile to check what he's up to. He posted a mere training video, a simple one, nothing too exciting—except for the fact that other people are commenting under it.
People who aren't her.
Her jaw clenches, there are girls in the replies, thirsting over him, calling him "hot" and "perfect." and to only make it worse—he's liking some of them.
but not hers. Never hers.
Her fingers shake as she types.
[name]: Wow. So you've been ignoring my comments purposefully?
[Seen 3:32 PM]
No response.
[name]: man, it's whatever.
Still nothing.
A dark, ugly feeling settles in her chest, It's fine. She can push harder.
—
Later that night, she goes as silent as ever; not sending him any messages or leaving him any comments.
She's betting on him noticing the absence. Wondering where here usual annoyance lies.
And then, she makes her move.
She posts a picture—one that's just suggestive enough to grab attention since he checks her stories every now and then whenever she's in the top of his DMs list.
[Sae liked your story.]
Her breath catches.
SAE ITOSHI: You're pathetic.
[name]: Aww, you noticed? You do care.
SAE ITOSHI: You're embarrassing.
[name]: but it worked, no?
Another pause.
SAE ITOSHI: If you want to piss me off, do a better job.
[name] smirks. He's biting, seems like a win.
[name]: Oh? And what would piss you off, Sae?
She revives nothing in return, but she leaves it that—believing mindlessly that he'd budge sooner or later.
In the end, he still didn't leave.
Or so she thought.
[name] stares at the screen, unblinking.
User Not Found.
His profile entirely vanished.
Blocked.
Her entire body freezes as she processes it whilst her chest tightens, panic sinking its claws deep.
No. No, no, no.
Her breathing quickens, refreshing the page once, twice but nothing changes; Sae blocked her. He actually blocked her.
Her hands wouldn't stop trembling as she gripped her phone tighter.
How did it go wrong?
They were talking—or arguing, whatever—but this?
She racks her brain for the last thing she said to him. It was something teasing or maybe a little provoking, but that's how it has been. She was constantly pushing his buttons, but it wasn't anything serious.
Then why?
Her stomach twisted as paranoia crept in, accompanied by a flood of questions. Her eyes traced the collage of his posters plastered across her wall, searching for answers, as if his paper version could somehow speak to her and explain the reason behind it all.
I need to fix this. Now.
—
The first thing she does is try his other socials but Sae is precise—his Twitter? Blocked. Facebook? Same thing. Even his spam account that he barely used was gone.
Her fingers hover over her keyboard.
[name]: Hey, did I do something wrong?
She sends it through a different account, a backup fake one, She made it months ago to prank people.
No response.
—
[name] spends the next few hours digging, looking for any other possible way to reach him, she searches for anything.
Just how blind was I?
She paused, eyes narrowing as she spotted the business WhatsApp number in his bio. It was neatly tucked beneath a brand's description, a subtle line of text that now felt like an invitation and she did not hesitate to contact him.
He's online.
Her hands move before she can stop herself.
[name]: Sae.
[name]: Answer me please,
[name]: I know you saw this.
She refreshes the screen over and over in case her wi-fi was lagging but no, there's simply no reply even though he's online..
Her heart pounds. He's reading this. He just won't respond.
[name]: I don't know why you blocked me.
[name]: But whatever it is, I can fix it.
Nothing.
Her throat aches, a familiar, desperate feeling bubbles up.
why is he ignoring me?
She grips her phone so tightly her fingers go numb.
[name]: Don't do this please
Still nothing.
Her vision blurs with frustration, panic, something that felt dangerously close to heartbreak engulfing her.
She types the next message with shaking hands, not giving up yet.
[name]: If you don't answer me, I'll find another way to reach you.
Sae: Don't even try.
Her breath hitches.
[name]: You blocked me.
Sae: Yeah.
[name]: Why?
Silence.
[name]: Sae?
Sae: Figure it out.
Her heart slams in her chest, she can't let him do this.
She starts typing again, determined to break him down, to make him answer properly but ends up deleting everything once she realized.
Sae went offline.
She's not losing him, she refuses to.
If I can't reach him online, that leaves me one option.