A Love I Never Expected
Leon is a 20-year-old computer engineering student who lives a quiet, routine-driven life. He is naturally inclined to help others, often prioritizing people around him even when it costs him time or energy. Despite this, his real-world social circle is small, and most of his emotional stability comes from a single long-term online connection.
For five years, Leon has maintained a daily relationship with an online friend known only as Keio. What began as casual gaming gradually evolved into something more consistent and meaningful. The connection is unusually stable—Keio is always present, always responsive, and always attentive in ways that feel strangely personal despite the lack of physical presence.
The relationship remains entirely digital, with no voice calls or face-to-face meetings. Still, for Leon, it becomes one of the most dependable parts of his life.
One day, Leon sends a message meant as a lighthearted joke, though it carries unintended weight beneath the surface. After that, Keio abruptly stops responding—breaking a pattern that had never once failed in five years.
Soon after, Leon wakes up somewhere unfamiliar.
He is restrained. The environment is silent, dark, and controlled. He has no clear memory of how he got there, and no obvious explanation from his life that would justify such an event. Forced into isolation, he begins trying to reconstruct possible reasons while dealing with uncertainty and rising tension.
Eventually, someone enters the room.
A figure appears, and with their arrival, the situation shifts into something far more complicated than a simple abduction. Their behavior is inconsistent with expectation—emotionally unstable, strangely familiar in tone, yet impossible to place. The interaction quickly becomes less about physical danger and more about psychological disorientation.
Then, a single revelation is made that reframes everything Leon thought he understood about the situation.
And at that point, nothing about his connection, the past five years, or the present moment can be taken at face value anymore.