Ren's fingers trembled as he typed, breath uneven, heart racing.
"Hey… are we in a relationship now?"
"I don't know. I'm scared."
"WTF was all that!?"
"Are we having babies??"
"DUDE, WHERE ARE YOU?! I'M PANICKING HERE!"
He stared at the screen.
No reply.
Serin was still offline.
He let the phone drop onto the mattress and sank into it, arms out, eyes staring at the ceiling like it held answers.
And in that silence — something strange happened.
The ceiling smiled back.
Golden beams of sunlight filtered through the slits in his window grill, slicing the shadows like honeyed swords.
The dust in the air danced like slow-moving glitter, suspended in time.
It felt like the sun had aimed its final spotlight… right at him.
Ren's lips parted as he watched the light bend.
He wasn't in his room anymore.
He was floating.
Through cherry blossoms.
Through warm skies blushed with sunset.
Through memories that hadn't fully settled yet.
His heartbeat slowed, but his chest still throbbed.
"So… all this time, that weird ache in my chest…Was it just my heart knowing something like this was coming?"
He leaned on the window sill, resting his chin on his folded arms.
Outside, the sky was painting a story in pinks and oranges.
He climbed up and perched on the ledge, legs dangling over the edge like a free-spirited boy drunk on his first love.
The wind touched his cheeks.
His chest rose with every breath.
He smiled to himself.
"I've met so many girls… laughed with them, flirted with them… but this...This is different. Does this mean…Is She the one?"
He raised both his arms wide, like wings, head tilted back, eyes closed.
And just like that, he was flying.
Through skies of melting hues.
Through memories of her soft kiss.
Through laughter, blushes, Pepsi fizz, and pizza crumbs on her lips.
Every second with her was painted across the sky, like a mural only he could see.
He fell back into his room and spun.
Literally, arms stretched like a ballerina, barefoot, smiling like a lunatic.
He slid into his bed and clutched his phone like it was a treasure chest.
He hit play.
And again.
And again.
That kiss.
Those mochi-soft cheeks.
Her giggle.
Her lips.
His blushing panic.
The sound of his heart pounding in sync with hers.
He fell asleep still smiling.
Still blushing.
Still not believing any of it was real.
Darkness.
Then, Flickering light.
Like a broken spotlight on a theater stage.
Ren stood alone.
The smile from earlier gone.
His posture… tense. Vulnerable.
Footsteps echoed from the shadows.
"Again...? Another girl in your trap?"
Hayane.
She stepped forward with her arms crossed, voice cold like glass breaking in silence.
Then came Ashiwkun, behind her.
"Come on... give him two weeks. He'll be with another girl again."
More figures emerged from the dark like ghosts from his past.
One girl.
Two.
Three.
Ten.
Their faces weren't fully visible, Just pain.
Just memory.
Just noise.
And they all began to chant, "Once a player, always a player."
Again.
Louder.
"ONCE A PLAYER, ALWAYS A PLAYER!"
The world around him became a stadium.
The voices multiplied.
Echoed.
Twisted into a storm.
Ren clutched his head.
Pressed his palms to his ears.
His knees hit the floor.
"I'm not that person anymore…I'm not that guy…"
But the voices didn't care.
"ALWAYS A PLAYER—"
"SHUT UP!"
The world shattered.
Everything froze.
Silence.
And from the far end of the void, A glow.
A warm light.
And within it, Serin stepped forward.
Her voice wasn't loud.
But it shook the earth.
"Keep your thoughts to yourselves."
The crowd stared.
"I believe in second chances. I don't care about his past. He's mine now."
Ren's eyes filled with tears.
Her presence, It wasn't dramatic.
It was… safe.
Like home.
Like calm, during a panic attack.
She walked to him.
Her hand reached out.
He took it.
And the world didn't just quiet—It healed.
They floated, hand in hand, upward through the void.
Through shadows and memories.
Toward a single point of golden light.
The stadium faded.
The voices died.
There was only them.
Eyes locked.
She leaned closer.
"I love yo—"
Ren gasped awake.
Eyes wide.
Chest heaving.
"NOOOOO! NOOOO PLEASE!!"
He pressed his face back into his pillow.
"She didn't say it… She didn't finish the sentence!"
"Go back to sleep. C'mon, brain, replay the dream!"
He rolled left.
Right.
Pressed harder.
But no, The dream was gone.
Yet… he didn't feel lost.
Because for once in his life, his world wasn't empty anymore.
Even if the dream had ended…She existed.
And that was enough.
Footsteps echoed from downstairs.
His mom. His dad. His sister.
But Ren didn't move.
Because this room wasn't just four walls anymore.
It was a universe of Serin, Of pizza-fed blushes, Of kisses, Of laughter.
He checked his phone.
9 new messages.
He rubbed his eyes and read them:
"DUDEEEEEEEEEE"
"CALL MEEEEEE"
"WHERE ARE YOU"
"ARE YOU DEAD??"
"WE NEED TO TALK."
Panic.
"WHAT DOES 'WE NEED TO TALK' MEAN?!
Am I dead?
Am I dumped?
Did her family catch us?
Is she pregnant???
Am I dreaming again??"
He hit call.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
No answer.
"Yep. I'm cooked. Burnt toast. Buried alive. FU—"
She called back.
"DUDE. Hey. Please tell me you're not pregnant " Ren gasped.
"ME?! I—NO?! ARE YOU—WHAT—NO!!!"
She giggled.
That same giggle that melted him every time.
"I'm scared too," she admitted.
Ren Was Still confused about What they both where
"Are we… in a relationship?"
"I don't know! I like you REN. I mean I really like you. But this is so fast and I—"
"Please don't ruin it," he begged softly. "We kissed. We had our moment. Don't make me forget it."
Serin's voice trembled.
"Ren… you don't get it. I was raised to hate love. My parents… they'll disown me if they find out."
"Then we fight together,"he said, voice unwavering.
" You think my family's cool with this ? Hell no. But I'm not giving up."
He paused.
"Remember Serin, that dream I told you about? The peaceful family. No drama. Just love. A kid who laughs. A wife who's my best friend."
He smiled softly.
"I saw you in it, Serin. I imagined you as the mother of my child."
She gasped.
Her voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
"Ren… just try to understand my situation."
He stayed silent, gripping the phone tighter.
"My family… it's not like yours. I was raised in a home where love was… forbidden. Not just discouraged, punished. They taught me it was a distraction. A trap. That girls like me weren't supposed to fall for anything that couldn't be planned. Anything that couldn't be explained."
She paused. Her breath shook.
"Ever since I was a kid, I believed them. I thought I'd never need love. Just friends, grades, goals. I never planned for this… you. And then—"
Her voice cracked.
"The night you explained what love meant to you… I don't know, Ren. It broke something. It was like you flipped a switch inside me that I didn't even know existed."
She exhaled, shaky.
"And now… the date, the kiss, this whole thing — it happened so fast. I wasn't ready. I still don't know if I'm ready."
Ren's heart twisted.
But he listened.
Because for once, this wasn't about panic, It was about her.
"You think your family won't accept this?" she whispered, "If mine finds out I kissed someone, I'll be locked up. Like literally — no phone, no school, no talking to boys for the rest of my damn life. That's how serious it is."
"I'm not exaggerating, Ren, I'll lose everything. My parents… they'd rather see me dead than in love."
She didn't cry, but her silence screamed.
Ren opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words.
She continued:
"I always imagined you as a best friend. That was the plan. A goofy, dramatic, overthinking idiot who makes me laugh when the world feels like pressure. But then… you talked about love. And for the first time, I didn't feel afraid of it. I just didn't expect it would happen this fast."
"Then let me say this—right now—clearly "
Ren cut in.
His voice was calm.
But heavy.
Like a promise carved into stone.
"I swear I won't cheat on you.
I won't look at another girl.
I won't do anything that could ever hurt you.
I would take good care of you
I will treat You better than anyone could do
You may not be the most beautiful or Most perfect girl in this world,
But your just as perfect as a girl could possibly be"
He swallowed hard, eyes burning.
"If I lose my legs, I'll walk with my hands.
If I lose my hands, I'll crawl beside you.
If I lose everything, I'll live on in your memories.
If you leave, I won't stop you…But if you ever come back, I'll still be here."
Serin's lips parted.
But nothing came out.
Her eyes filled.
Tears didn't fall yet, But they were right there, sitting on the edge of her silence.
A quiet hum from the other end of the call.
Stillness.
"Hey, Serin?"
Ren whispered it gently, afraid to disturb her.
"Mhm…"
Her voice, a fragile echo.
"I love you, Serin."
Silence.
Not even breathing.
Just the sound of electricity between two hearts.
"SERINN…"
" I LOVE YOU "
That's when she broke.
A small sob escaped, A breath she had been holding for way too long.
Tears began to fall, slow and trembling, as if her whole being cracked from the weight of his sincerity.
Her voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
He knew.
He felt it.
Ren felt the Guilt of making her cry...
He was disappointed at himself.
He lowered His Gaze and walked back.
Ren hung up and walked toward the curtain.
A bright silver outline pulsed through its edges, as if the night itself was trying to reach him.
He pulled it aside.
The moon was already there.
Waiting.
Watching.
He stepped up to his window ledge, legs dangling outside.
The air was cold now.
The light from the moon kissed his cheeks.
His eyes shimmered.
"All I wanted… was to make her happy ."
He Gasped.
"And now I made her cry ."
He looked up.
"Tell me, Did I mess it up? Did I rush it? Was I too much… again?"
The moon didn't answer.
But the wind grew softer.
Like a quiet hand on his shoulder.
Ren let his tears fall.
No shaking.
No breakdown.
Just… quiet.
The kind of quiet you cry into when the world's asleep.
He rested his head on his knees.
The moonlight wrapped around him like a blanket made of silver sadness.
"It's all my fault,"
he whispered into the dark.
Behind him, his phone buzzed.
He didn't hear it.
On the screen, One unread message Buzzed.
from Serin:
"Ren… I love you too."