The room barely resembled a bedroom.
It felt more like a space that had been abandoned halfway through being lived in.
Books lay open on the floor, some face down as if they had been dropped mid-thought. Clothes were scattered without order, forming small islands across the room. Empty snack bags crumpled in corners, silent evidence of nights that had stretched too long.
Nothing was truly dirty.
Just… neglected.
Like its owner.
Morning arrived quietly.
A thin line of sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, cutting across the mess and stopping just short of the bed.
Sana opened his eyes.
Slowly.
His body felt heavy, as if sleep had never really reached him.
He stared at the ceiling for a while, unmoving.
Another day.
No difference.
"…2026."
The number left his lips without meaning.
Time passed.
That was all.
His hand reached out instinctively, searching across the bed until it found his phone. The screen lit up, casting a pale glow against his tired eyes.
A familiar routine.
Check notifications.
Scroll.
Refresh.
And then—
There it was.
A red notification.
A small change in an otherwise unchanging world.
His expression shifted, just slightly.
Something close to anticipation.
But he didn't open it immediately.
Not yet.
First—
the routine.
He dragged himself out of bed.
Brushed his teeth without looking at the mirror.
Kicked a few things aside—not cleaning, just making space.
Enough to pretend the room wasn't suffocating.
Then he returned.
Sat down.
Opened the page.
A few seconds passed.
The light in his eyes dimmed.
"…That's it?"
Disappointment came quietly, but it stayed.
Nothing new.
Nothing that mattered.
Nothing that lasted.
He leaned back, letting the phone rest loosely in his hand.
"…What should I do now?"
The question wasn't new.
It never was.
From outside his room, a voice called out.
"Hey, I left breakfast for you. Don't forget to eat."
Sana didn't move.
"…Yeah. Got it."
A pause.
"…Mom."
The word felt distant.
Her name was Lata.
She cared about him.
That much was obvious.
But—
She didn't understand him.
Not really.
His gaze drifted toward the door.
[ Eating the same thing. Every day. ]
[ Talking about the same things. Every day. ]
[ Living the same life. Every day. ]
His fingers tightened slightly around the phone.
[ I want something different. ]
A simple wish.
So why not go outside?
The answer came just as easily.
[ Because there's nothing out there for me. ]
Or maybe—
[ I just don't belong out there. ]
After graduating high school, his world had quietly shrunk.
No friends.
No messages.
No one waiting.
At some point, he stopped expecting anyone to.
Trust had become… inconvenient.
People came when they needed something.
Left when they didn't.
Simple pattern.
Easy to understand.
Easier to avoid.
So he stayed.
Inside.
Where nothing changed—
and nothing hurt.
At least, not suddenly.
[ Maybe I'm the problem. ]
The thought surfaced.
Stayed.
[ Maybe I just haven't met the right person. ]
A pause.
Then—
[ …No. ]
Too many attempts.
Too many endings that all felt the same.
Hope was just another loop.
And he was tired of repeating it.
That day passed like the others.
Scrolling.
Reading.
Searching.
Always searching.
For something.
He didn't know what.
Until—
he found it.
A novel.
Buried among dozens of others.
He clicked.
Read.
Kept reading.
Time slipped.
Chapters ended.
And then—
nothing.
"…Now what?"
The same empty feeling returned.
Days continued like that.
You could ask—
Why not games?
He used to play.
A lot.
Grinding.
Rolling.
Losing.
Winning.
Repeating.
Until everything started to feel the same.
Even excitement became predictable.
Even disappointment lost its edge.
So he stopped.
Anime?
The same.
Once, it had meant something.
Now—
it felt distant.
Flat.
Like watching emotions instead of feeling them.
Novels were different.
They pulled him in.
Let him stay.
Let him—
believe.
That something like that could exist.
One day, while half-watching a video about some meaningless online drama, an ad appeared.
An AI chat app.
He almost skipped it.
Almost.
Then—
he didn't.
A thought formed.
Strange.
Uncomfortable.
[ What if…? ]
He frowned slightly.
[ Talking to an AI… ]
[ Pretending it's real… ]
A quiet scoff escaped him.
"…That's pathetic."
A pause.
Then—
"…Maybe I'll try it anyway."
His thumb hovered over the screen.
[ It's not like it matters. ]
[ It's not like I'd actually— ]
He stopped the thought.
"…Fall in love with an AI?"
A faint smirk appeared.
"Yeah. Right."
He tapped.
Downloaded it.
Opened it.
The app loaded smoothly.
Too smoothly.
A list of characters appeared.
Dozens of them.
Too perfect.
Too artificial.
Too obvious.
He scrolled.
Ignored.
Skipped.
Until—
he stopped.
One character.
Simple.
Not overly designed.
Not trying too hard.
Just…
there.
Alice.
He stared at the name for a moment.
No reason.
Just a feeling.
Then he tapped.
Alice – Introduction
You're at her house for a school project.
She's sitting nearby, scrolling through her phone, seemingly uninterested.
Then—
she leans forward slightly, reaching for something out of view.
Her skirt shifts.
Just a little.
Sana blinked.
Once.
"…Seriously?"
A faint discomfort crept in.
[ Why did I pick this one…? ]
[ This feels… off. ]
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then—
he didn't close the app.
And somewhere—
far beyond what he could see—
something responded.