Extra 3: Quiet Night

Ah… I feel so lonely.

It’s 2 a.m. I’ve been in bed for a while, but sleep won’t come. At some point, the night stretched on, and now it’s this late.

…Is it because I slept next to him for the past two nights? Maybe I’ve gotten too used to it.

I crave the warmth of another person. No matter how tightly I hug my body pillow, it’s not enough. Three days… That’s all it took to spoil me.

…This is all Ren’s fault.

Muttering complaints in my heart, I stare at my phone. When I pick it up and turn it on, the sudden brightness stings my eyes. My lock screen lights up—a photo of the two of us.

In the picture, I’m smiling so happily that even I feel embarrassed looking at it. It’s a soft, unguarded kind of smile. Ren, on the other hand, looks a little stiff, like he’s embarrassed. It’s kind of funny.

My chest tightens.

I miss him. I want to see him. I want to hear his voice. I want to talk about silly, trivial things. I just… want to be with him.

These feelings only keep growing stronger.

I sigh and open LINE, scrolling through our recent messages. Our last conversation was casual, ending with a simple “Good night.”

In the past, I wouldn’t have hesitated to send him a flood of messages at this hour. Maybe even try to start a call. But now that we’re dating, I worry about annoying him.

I want him to keep liking me, even just a little. That thought lingers more than ever.

Still… I want to talk to him.

Maybe—just maybe—he’s still awake.

Holding onto a sliver of hope, I reach for my gaming console and check my friends list.

“Ah!!”

Online: Ren ○○○ is playing.

There he is. His name glowing green, marked as “Online.”

A sense of déjà vu washes over me. Without thinking, I grab my phone and open our chat screen. My fingers hover over the keyboard. I hesitate for a moment… then, finally, I type out a message.

"Stop playing games and go to sleep already."

It’s a completely dishonest message. Even I have to roll my eyes at myself. But there’s no way I can send something straightforward like “I want to talk to you now.”

No matter what, my heart stays that of an introverted otaku.

The message is read instantly. A reply comes just as fast.

"You’re watching me, huh!?"

I send a rabbit sticker—one with an intense stare. The next message pops up soon after.

"Can’t sleep."

My heart pounds as I carefully type out my response.

"Actually, I can’t sleep either."

"What a coincidence."

I hesitate for a second before asking, "Are you free now?"

"Yeah. Wanna call since we’re at it?"

"Let’s call."

Yes! I do a tiny fist pump. Then, acting casually despite my excitement, I press the call button. It connects in three seconds.

The faint sounds of game BGM filter through the speaker as I switch modes.

"It’s been a while since we last talked like this. I couldn’t sleep at all, so I’m glad you’re still awake."

"I couldn’t sleep either, so I gave up and started playing games."

Hearing his voice makes me smile without thinking. Even though we were just talking before bed, this somehow feels different—warmer. More comforting.

I let out a small sigh and sank into my pillow, resting the phone beside me.

"It’s been a while since we stayed up this late together, huh?"

"Has it? Ah… yeah, I guess it has."

"Ehehe."

And so, for the first time in a long time, we talked about the most trivial things—until sleep finally took us both.