The next week passed quietly.
MK never joined her live streams again. His name—once familiar in her chat window—was now just an empty space between thousands of messages that flickered past.
Hanaya would start every stream with the same energy.
"Hello guys! How have you all been?"
But even as she smiled at the camera, her eyes always searched for one name — MK.
Two days later, something changed in her heart.
She didn't know why, but she began to feel something like a mother's affection toward that boy who always spoke kindly, who always worried about everyone but himself.
Whenever she ended her streams, she would glance at the chat list, whispering softly,
"MK... are you watching? You're not sick, right?"
Her friends in the chat teased her —
"You sound like his mom!"
She laughed, but deep down… she didn't deny it.
Because maybe, for the first time, she wanted to protect someone fragile.
Meanwhile, MK sat alone in his small room, headphones on, listening to soft, sad music.
He muttered under his breath,
"No one really loves me… If I were older, I'd go to her, fall to my knees and say, please adopt me."
He smiled bitterly at his own words, but a tear slipped down his cheek.
He opened his phone, scrolled through the app, and saw that Hanaya was streaming again.
For a moment, his heart raced—
and he tapped on it.
The screen lit up, her voice filled the room.
"Hey everyone! Hope you're all having a good night!"
Her laughter echoed softly.
MK froze.
He typed "Hello," but didn't send it.
His fingers trembled… and he closed the stream.
At that exact moment, Hanaya looked up suddenly, sensing something.
"MK? …Are you here?"
She stared at the chat, eyes trembling.
When no reply came, her voice wavered—
and tears began to fall, silently, as she whispered,
"I don't know why I'm crying… but it hurts."
That night, MK lay back on his bed.
The song still played softly from his speaker—
a melody about loneliness and forgiveness.
He whispered to himself,
"Maybe… I shouldn't apologize for that day. Maybe… it's better this way."
The room was quiet. Only the sound of music and a heart that
wished someone could hear it.
End of Chapter 3.