One farewell that haunts a lifetime. Let’s end it here, my love.

🌸 Chapter 1: The Day Everything Changed It was just another ordinary night. Hong lay on her bed, phone in hand, logging into her favorite game. She had this little habit — a few matches before bedtime to unwind. But tonight, her mind wasn’t on the game. Next month, she’d be transferring to a new school — new faces, new routines. Would she be able to fit in? Her thoughts were suddenly cut off by a cold, irritated voice in her headset. “Hey, Dark Devil, do you even know how to play? Where are you? Turn on your mic! If you’re not gonna play seriously, just delete the game already!” Startled, Hong blinked at the screen. That was her username — Dark Devil. Wait… was he talking about her? Flustered, she quickly typed a short apology and focused back on the match. Thankfully, they still managed to win. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. When she glanced at the time, it was already close to ten. Just as she was about to log off, a notification popped up — a friend request from someone named H2Ozz, along with a short message: > “Hey, accept my request.” Hong frowned. It was the first time someone had ever messaged her first. After a moment’s hesitation, she tapped accept. Almost immediately, messages began to flood in: “Wanna play another round?” “Hey, are you there?” “I can see you’re still online!” “Hey!” Hong frowned and typed back quickly: “I’m a girl. Stop calling me ‘bro.’” Silence followed. She thought he might’ve just been teasing her, and was about to log off when another message appeared. “Oh… I didn’t realize. Didn’t expect someone with that username to be a girl. Sorry about that.” Something in her chest softened. Then another message came. “So… how old are you? What’s your name?” She hesitated for just a second before replying. “I’m Hong. Fifteen.” No reply. The chat went quiet. Hong looked at the empty screen for a moment, then sighed, put down her phone, and drifted into sleep. 🌅 The Next Morning The alarm buzzed loudly. Her mother gently opened the door. “Hong, are you up yet? Breakfast’s ready — go wash up.” Hong rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up. After breakfast, it was almost seven. She turned on her laptop for online class. Then her phone began to buzz — again and again. Notifications from the game. Dozens of messages from H2Ozz. “Hey, sorry about last night. Something came up, I had to leave suddenly.” “Your name’s Hong, right? I’m really sorry for what I said yesterday.” Hong blinked. Was this really the same guy who’d snapped at her last night? He sounded… completely different. She thought for a moment, then typed back: “It’s fine. I already forgot about it.” His reply came almost instantly. “Thanks for not being mad. By the way, do you use social media? Maybe we can chat there. Your name’s pretty — and the way you play is interesting. Let’s be friends?” “No. I don’t like adding people. Playing the game is enough. I’m about to start class. Don’t message me again.” She set her phone aside and tried to focus on her lessons. Throughout class, she took notes carefully, determined to keep up. When class finally ended, she picked up her phone to set a reminder for the afternoon — only to find ten unread messages. All from H2Ozz. “Guess you’re still mad about last night. I really am sorry — I promise it won’t happen again.” “I just think friends help each other — they share things, give advice.” “I feel like we get along. I’m Hoang, sixteen — a year older than you. Funny, we both have an H in our names. Maybe we’re meant to be friends.” There were a few cute emojis too. Hong couldn’t help but smile. Well… maybe adding him wouldn’t hurt. Replying once or twice wouldn’t mean much anyway. She sent him her social media account. Almost instantly, another message appeared: “Thanks for adding me. I just sent a friend request — please accept it.” A few random messages. A few words tossed across a screen. Neither of them knew that those simple lines would quietly tie their lives together — softly, slowly, until it was far too late to turn back. Later, when they looked back… those messages would be both the sweetest memory, and the beginning of a tragedy they would never forget.