After dinner and some chaotic board games...
Yuki stretched with a groan. "Alright, chaos crew, it's late and I have a sunrise shoot tomorrow. Haru, let's roll."
Haruka scrambled up, still hugging Momo, cheeks red from the earlier towel incident. "Right. Time to go embarrass myself somewhere else."
"I'll drive," Kaito offered casually, tossing his keys in the air. "It's late. No way you two are walking with Miss Trip Hazard and her fluffy bodyguard."
Haruka puffed her cheeks. "Hey!"
Yuki, unfazed, was already slipping on her shoes. "Aww, thanks Dad."
"I'll ignore that," Kaito said, already heading for the door.
Haruka looked back just once before leaving. Ryo hadn't moved from his seat. Their eyes didn't meet—but she hesitated.
Then Kaito called out, "Let's go before Momo claims squatter's rights on our couch."
And with that, the trio was gone, the door clicking shut behind them.
Ryo didn't move. He just stood there, hand still gripping the doorknob as the muffled echo of Haruka's laughter faded down the hallway. The sound had been too loud, too chaotic, too… bright for his space.
And yet, for some reason, he found himself listening for a little longer than necessary.
With a quiet sigh, he released the knob and turned away. The hallway felt oddly still now—like it was holding its breath.
He rubbed his temple, muttering, "Finally," as he headed to his room. But even he didn't sound convinced.
---
The glow of his monitors blinked to life, casting a cool blue over his features. Hoodie up, mic on, camera off. Everything back in place.
He stared at the "Start Streaming" button for a second longer than usual. Then clicked it.
"Yo," he said into the mic, slouching into his gaming chair. "I'm alive."
Chat instantly flooded in.
> [trashpanda_kun]: "Thought you died or something."
>[CoffeeComa01]: "Was about to send a search team"
>[Hojojo_332]: "Energy check: streamer.exe not responding."
"Relax," Ryo said, smirking faintly. "I just got haunted by a loud girl and her snow beast."
A beat.
"…I meant dog."
Laughter filled the chat.
> [ShipItHard]: "OMG was it FluffyDaddy's mom?? My guy got soft?"
>[xXCrypticXx]: "Soft? He missed a headshot. He's in love."
>[LunarSpam]: "SIMPPPP."
Ryo rolled his eyes. "I'm not in love. Don't be weird."
But then he missed another shot. An easy one.
His hand tightened slightly around the mouse. For once, his concentration wasn't the issue.
"Maybe," he said, voice low. Almost too low for chat to catch.
"But she's the kind of problem that better stays."
The chat exploded.
He let them believe it was sarcasm.
---
Thirty minutes later, he ended the stream early.
"Lag," he lied, as the screen faded to black.
The room was quiet. Too quiet. He leaned back in his chair, fingers idly spinning the mouse in circles, mind spinning worse.
Without really thinking, he pulled out his phone. Switched to a burner account. Opened Instagram.
Haruka's story was at the top.
Momo lay curled up in her lap, fluffy and peaceful, tongue sticking out. The caption read: "He had a big day today."
Ryo stared at it. His thumb hovered over the heart icon. Hesitated. Then moved away.
Back in his notes app, he opened a blank page. Sat there for a moment, then typed:
> "I should've asked her to stay."
He backspaced it slowly.
Typed again:
> "She was too loud. Too messy. Too close."
He paused.
Then, below it:
> "I think I liked it."
The blinking cursor waited. But he didn't add anything else.
He just stared.
"…Crap."
---
Haruka Sato's POV
The car was quiet, save for the low hum of the engine and the occasional sleepy snore from Momo in the back seat. Yuki had already knocked out, her head resting dramatically against the window, one shoe half-off.
Haruka sat stiffly in the passenger seat, replaying every second of dinner in painful high-definition.
She had watered a man.
Pat him.
And worst of all… she didn't hate how it ended. That foot thing. That accidental, maybe-not-so-accidental touch.
Her heart squeezed.
Kaito, ever the calm chauffeur, glanced her way. "You alright? You've gone full statue mode."
She blinked, straightening. "Just… digesting. Emotionally."
Kaito laughed. "That's new."
Before she could form a better excuse, her phone buzzed in her hoodie pocket.
She pulled it out.
[RyoTakkun is now live]
Her heart gave a startled thump.
RyoTakkun.
Her favorite faceless streamer.
She hadn't caught his streams in days—not since she met Hoodie Guy.
She stared at the notification for a second longer than she meant to.
Was it weird that his voice—his stream voice—reminded her so much of someone?
She shook her head. Nope. Not going there. Imagination. Sleep deprivation. Definitely not Hoodie Guy.
"Your boyfriend?" Kaito teased, eyeing her expression.
"I wish," she muttered under her breath, thumb still frozen over the screen.
A voice suddenly piped in from the back seat. "Definitely RyoTakkun, right?"
Haruka yelped and twisted around. "YES—wait—weren't you asleep?!"
Yuki cracked one eye open lazily, grinning. "You were making dreamy sighs. It woke me up. You only do that when it's Hoodie Guy or RyoTakkun."
"I do not make dreamy sighs."
Kaito raised a brow. "RyoTakkun?"
Haruka immediately straightened, clutching her phone like it might detonate. "He's just… a streamer. Faceless. Mysterious. Funny. It's not a big deal."
Yuki smirked. "She's in love."
"I am not in love!" Haruka protested, cheeks on fire. "It's just parasocial appreciation!"
Kaito chuckled as he pulled into the apartment complex. "Wait, wait—you mean that RyoTakkun? The one who doesn't show his face on stream? "
"Yeah that one! Haruka has been in love with him since forever" Yuki excitedly said. "You know him?"
"NO I DON'T!" Haruka shot back.
"Yes I do know him.. I know him sooo much." Kaito then slowly let out a dramatic villain laugh through the speaker."MUUAAHAHAHAH—"
Yuki jolted upright like a reanimated corpse. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Haruka shrieked and dropped her phone. "IS HE—IS HE POSSESSED?!"
Kaito nearly swerved. "What the—?"
"You're kidnapping us, aren't you?!" Haruka gasped, clutching the door handle like it might save her soul. "This is it! This is how we die! We're being sacrificed to a hoodie cult—"
"Please do," Yuki said calmly, eyes sparkling with mischief. "But make it quick. I don't want to miss the plot twist."
Kaito sighed, clearly rethinking every life decision that brought him to this moment. "Relax, you two. You're five minutes from your door, not a dungeon."
"But that laugh—" Haruka jabbed at her phone, voice still pitchy. "That was straight out of a villain monologue! What kind of stream is this?!"
"I just got the greatest idea ever," Kaito said with a smirk.
Haruka blinked. "Why does that sound like a warning?"
Yuki leaned forward, intrigued. "I'm listening."
"Oh, you'll see soon enough. Haruka can you open his stream on full volume?"
Haruka blinked at him, suspicious. "Why?"
Kaito's grin widened. "Just trust me."
"That's the least trustworthy thing anyone ever says before doing something completely unhinged."
But curiosity—and her tragic weakness for Hoodie Guy's voice—won out.
With a reluctant sigh, she tapped the notification. The stream loaded, and RyoTakkun's familiar voice filled the car, calm and sarcastic as ever.
"I know, I know—you all missed my emotional breakdown over instant noodles."
Haruka immediately melted into her seat. There it was. That voice. Flat, mildly annoyed, and somehow still stupidly attractive.
Kaito gave a casual hum. "Hmm… he sounds kinda familiar, doesn't he?"
Haruka stiffened. "No, he doesn't."
Yuki leaned in between the seats. "He really does. Like... weirdly so."
Haruka scrambled to lower the volume. "Can I please simp in peace?! Without conspiracy theories?"
But then—
Ryo's voice on stream dropped into a sarcastic lilt.
"So get this—I was having my dinner, minding my own peaceful, caffeine-deprived business. And a girl straight-up watered me. Like, 'here, sir, have this glass of hydration'—on my lap."
Haruka's soul left her body.
Yuki's jaw dropped. "Oh No way."
Kaito bit his knuckle, trying not to laugh. "Oh yes way."
"And also," Ryo continued dryly, "she tackled me for no reason, headbutted me into smithereens then accused me for assaulting her."
Haruka slapped a hand over her mouth. "NO NO NO NO NO—"
Ryo added with mock sentimentality, "It was the most confusing humiliation I've ever experienced."
"THAT'S DEFINITELY HIM," Yuki wheezed.
Haruka slapped her forehead. "I NEED TO MOVE TO ANOTHER PLANET."
Kaito, clearly thriving, parked the car and stretched like this was a spa day. "What a strange coincidence."
Ryo's voice kept going, casual but clearly amused underneath the sarcasm.
"Anyway. If you're out there, WaterGirl, thanks. My trousers needed a wash."
Haruka let out a tiny scream and sunk so low in the seat she could probably legally qualify as floor decor.
"This is my nightmare," she muttered. "I'm the main character in someone's sarcastic horror movie."
Yuki clapped like it was opening night. "Main character energy confirmed."
Kaito, meanwhile, looked like a man who'd just discovered the world's greatest sitcom.
Two Harukas. One crush. Same sarcastic gremlin.
And he had front-row seats.