CHAPTER 2 — THE FIRST REPLY
1093 Words
Ellise’s POV
The sun hadn’t even fully risen, and I was already making a fool of myself.
I sat cross-legged on my bed, staring at my phone like it was the most important exam of my life. My thumb hovered, my mind replaying last night’s moment like a broken record.
No reply.
No notification.
Nothing.
“Of course,” I muttered, glaring at the ceiling.
“Why would Renji Sage, international superstar and heartbreak delivery service, reply to me? He’s probably too busy polishing his Grammys or combing his perfect hair.”
The AUREN poster above my desk smirked at me. His smirk. His stupidly perfect smirk.
I grabbed my pillow and threw it at the poster. “Stop judging me, Sage.”
On cue, my best friend Amara Zoey stumbled into the room, hair in a messy bun, clutching a cereal box like it was gold. “Are you yelling at cardboard again?” she asked flatly.
“...No,” I lied, too fast.
She arched a brow. “Ellise Blair, you’re squeaking again. You only squeak when you’re lying.”
“I do not squeak!”
“You do. Like a guinea pig in distress.”
Before I could throw another pillow at her, my phone lit up again. My heart did Olympic-level gymnastics in my chest.
No new DMs. Just an email reminder about my assignment.
I groaned. “Kill me.”
Amara plopped beside me, stealing my pillow. “Still no reply from Lover Boy?”
I gasped. “How did you—”
“You were mumbling his name in your sleep last night.”
I buried my face in my blanket. “I hate myself.”
“Good. At least one of us does,” she said with a grin, shoving cereal into her mouth.
I should’ve let it go. I should’ve admitted defeat. But my fingers betrayed me, opening i********: DMs again. My heart thudded as I typed:
> Good morning! (Or maybe evening for you?) Anyway, I hope you’re practicing, but also resting. If you don’t rest, I’ll scold you.
I hesitated. Delete? Keep? Send?
I chewed my lip. “Don’t do it, Ellise. Don’t—”
Send.
I yeeted the phone onto the bed like it was cursed. “WHY am I like this?”
“Because you’re insane,” Amara said through a mouthful of cereal.
And then… my phone buzzed.
I froze. My pulse pounded in my ears. Slowly, I picked it up.
One new message.
Renji Sage: Don’t waste your time.
The world stopped spinning.
I screamed.
Amara dropped her cereal. “WHAT HAPPENED?”
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her like a maraca. “HE REPLIED. RENJI. SAGE. REPLIED.”
She blinked. “Wait—actual reply? From him? Like, him-him? Not a bot?”
“YES.”
“Show me!”
I held the phone out with trembling hands. She read it aloud like it was sacred scripture.
“Don’t waste your time.” She looked unimpressed. “Wow. Shakespeare could never.”
“Shut up!” I squealed, bouncing on the bed.
“He could’ve ignored me completely, but he didn’t. He CHOSE to reply. To me. Me, Amara!”
She threw her arms up dramatically. “Congratulations. You’ve just been rejected by your bias. How does it feel?”
“Magical,” I whispered, hugging the phone.
Amara groaned. “You’re hopeless.”
But my brain was already racing. What do I say? Do I reply? Do I leave it?
No. I wasn’t going to let Renji Sage think I’d run away after one cold brush-off.
So I typed back, grinning like a fool.
> Too late. I already wasted my time on you. You’re welcome.
Send.
Amara facepalmed. “You’re gonna give that man a heart attack—or yourself one.”
“Worth it,” I said, collapsing into the blanket, my heart refusing to calm down.
———
Renji’s POV
The rehearsal room reeked of sweat, determination, and faint frustration. My groupmates were packing up, laughing and joking as they threw towels at each other.
“You staying again, Sage?” Kai, our leader, asked.
“Yeah,” I muttered, grabbing my water bottle.
He gave me a look but didn’t argue. The others filed out, leaving the room quiet except for the faint hum of the air conditioning.
I sat on the bench, muscles aching, phone heavy in my hand.
The DMs were endless. Most I ignored without reading—confessions, proposals, declarations of eternal love.
But then there was hers.
Her messages were plain. Almost boring. Except they weren’t.
Don’t skip meals.
I’ll scold you if you don’t rest.
She wasn’t begging for attention. She was… nagging? Concerned? Like she actually thought of me as a person, not an idol on a stage.
Weird.
I told myself not to reply. My manager would kill me if he knew. But somehow, my thumb typed back anyway.
Don’t waste your time.
Cold. Dismissive. Exactly the kind of wall I needed.
That would end it.
Except it didn’t.
Her reply came faster than I expected.
> Too late. I already wasted my time on you. You’re welcome.
I blinked at the screen, water bottle paused halfway to my lips.
Did she just—
Did she just sass me?
Most people would’ve apologized. Begged me not to block them. But she… teased me?
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it.
Shaking my head, I shoved the phone into my pocket. I shouldn’t care. She was a stranger.
But her words echoed louder than the cheers from thousands of fans.
And for the first time in weeks, I caught myself smiling.
———
Ellise’s POV – later that night
Amara Zoey refused to shut up about it.
We were lying in my room, lights off, scrolling through our phones. Every five minutes she’d nudge me. “Ellise. What if he replies again? What if you marry him? Can I be maid of honor?”
“Go to sleep.”
“What if he blocks you? Should we prepare tissues? I’ll make a breakup playlist.”
“Amara, I swear—”
“Ellise Blair, international superstar’s wife. Has a nice ring to it.”
I smacked her with a pillow. “I hate you.”
But as I buried myself under the blankets, my phone warm in my hand, I couldn’t stop smiling either.
Renji Sage had replied.
To me.
And somehow… I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time.
- Writer
