In a small apartment bathed in the dim light of a desk lamp, a guy sat pressing buttons on a gamepad. His eyes were glued to the TV screen, where another battle was unfolding. But suddenly, the game was interrupted. A message in bold red letters appeared on the screen: "YOUR PARTY HAS BEEN DEFEATED."

  — Damn it! This is already the fifth attempt, — the guy exhaled in frustration, tossing the gamepad onto the bed.

  — Who would’ve thought this DLC would be harder than the main story.

  Ding — a sharp notification sound from his phone interrupted his thoughts. The guy picked up the phone and, after reading the message, couldn’t help but smile.

  [Antoha, I’m nearby. Wanna grab a bite? My treat.]

  [What’s with the sudden generosity? Well, whatever, I was planning to go out anyway.]

  [Then meet me at BurgerDay in 15 minutes.]

  The guy with short, light brown hair put his phone aside, threw on a gray jacket, and left the apartment.

  Ten minutes later, he was standing at the entrance to the restaurant. As he walked in, he immediately spotted a familiar figure — a tanned guy with short black hair and dark eyes.

  — Oh, there’s our nerd! — the tanned guy greeted cheerfully.

  — Did your boss let you off the fields early today? — Anton quipped sarcastically.

  — Always so mean, — San smirked. — Look what I got!

  He pointed to a tray with two large burgers.

  — San, you already ordered for yourself? Your stomach won’t burst?

  — The second one’s for you.

  — Well, I won’t say no then, — Anton sat down across from his friend and dug in.

  — Antoha, did you really spend the whole weekend playing that girly game again? — San asked, finishing his burger.

  — Yeah. You’re the one who gave it to me last year. As soon as I finished my exams, I jumped right into it.

  — You’re hopeless. A second-year engineering student, and you’re still playing those dating sims, — San sighed. — Maybe it’s time to find yourself a girlfriend?

  The guys chatted about their studies, San’s job, and reminisced about old stories until a call on San’s phone interrupted their conversation.

  — Not gonna answer? — Anton asked, still eating.

  San glanced at the screen and frowned.

  — Don’t want to. She’ll start bombarding me with questions, — his voice sounded tired.

  — She? Your sister? — Anton asked, finishing his burger.

  — Liza. My girlfriend. Short, with pink hair. I showed you her picture, — San replied, scratching the back of his head.

  — Honestly, I want to break up, but I don’t know how to do it without hurting her too much.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The look on San’s face made it clear he was genuinely unsure of what to do.

  — Don’t forget, my relationship experience ends with Japanese dating sims, — Anton reminded him. — Weren’t you happy when you got a girlfriend?

  — I was, — San leaned back in his chair. — The first four months were amazing. But then Liza started acting weird. More jealous, I guess.

  — Jealous? You didn’t give her any reasons, did you?

  — Hey, it’s like you don’t know me! First, she made me tell her about all the girls in my life. That was still okay. But then she started checking my phone, listening to my conversations, and reading my messages. It just got worse and worse.

  Anton listened, understanding how hard it was for his friend.

  — And the last straw was when I was helping my childhood friend with some shopping, and Liza suddenly showed up and caused a scene.

  His face showed how much the whole situation was weighing on him.

  — Did you talk to her about it?

  — What do you think? When I tried to bring it up, she started crying and said she was scared I’d cheat on her. Then she just ran off in tears.

  — Damn, San, you’re in deep.

  — Tell me about it. Got any ideas?

  — I’ve got one.

  — Really? What is it? — San jumped up but, realizing he’d attracted too much attention, quickly sat back down.

  Anton sighed heavily and suggested San call his girlfriend. But there was no need.

  — San! Why aren’t you answering your phone? — a sharp female voice came from behind San. — Or replying to my messages?

  A girl with pink hair slowly approached San, ignoring everyone around her.

  — Liza! What are you doing here? — San looked at her irritably. — Were you following me again?

  — Why aren’t you answering? Why? Why? — the girl muttered, still approaching.

  — Lady, you need to calm down and back off from my friend, — Anton stood between Liza and San, blocking her path.

  — And who are you? This isn’t your business, idiot! — the girl grew even more irritated.

  — Hey, Anton, don’t get involved! — San shouted.

  — Anton? — Liza pulled out her phone and started searching for something. — Oh, you’re that nerd, the socially awkward loser with no life or girlfriend.

  Her words hit Anton like arrows, but he wasn’t about to back down.

  — I don’t want to hear that from a stalker with trust issues obsessed with her boyfriend, — Anton knew exactly what kind of girl she was.

  — Obsessed? That’s called love, loser, — Liza grabbed Anton by the collar.

  — Go ahead, try it! — Anton stood his ground.

  — Both of you, stop! — San stepped between his girlfriend and his friend. — Liza, leave. I don’t want to see you anymore. We’re done.

  — Why? Why? That’s not true, right? — San’s words hit her hard. — You! Damn piece of... Fine, I’m sorry. I won’t bother you again.

  With that, Liza hurriedly left the restaurant, leaving the two guys in shock.

  — Well, guess you’re single again, — Anton said, turning to his friend.

  — Tell me about it. Didn’t expect that, — San replied.

  — Hey, Romeo, you’re heading to the station, right? Let me walk you, — Anton patted his friend on the back.

  — Let’s go, nerd.

  The guys headed to the station. Before leaving, San put on a cap gifted to him by his now ex-girlfriend.

  At the station, they continued chatting about their usual topics.

  — San, what’s up with Nectar? Still wants to be a pedophile?

  — You mean a Catholic priest? Nah, he took a different path. Wants to be a history teacher now.

  — Yeah, with his personality, that’s all he’s good for.

  The guys joked about their friend until they heard the announcement of the train’s arrival.

  — Alright, Anton, let’s all hang out again sometime.

  — Sure, if we can drag our femboy friend out of his house, — Anton said. — And I’m borrowing this indefinitely, so it doesn’t remind you of certain things.

  He quickly took the cap off San’s head and put it on his own.

  — Fine, cowboy, take it, — San smirked.

  A few seconds later, the train was about to arrive at the platform.

  — Alright, good luck getting home, Romeo.

  — You too, nerd, don’t slack off.

  As he was about to leave, Anton felt a strong push on his back. The force was enough to send him tumbling onto the tracks as the train approached. In the split second before his death, he managed to see who had pushed him.

  A short girl with pink hair stood there, a genuine look of joy on her face.

  — Crazy b*tch...

  BAM

  Daily News

  — Last night, a 19-year-old young man died at Berkut Station. Witnesses claim he was pushed by an 18-year-old girl. The cause was an earlier argument between the deceased...

  Click — the tanned guy turned off the TV. He walked over to the console and inserted the game disc. The TV screen lit up with the main menu. A girl with chestnut hair and two small pigtails was surrounded by pretty boys.

  — You’re such an idiot for playing this... — San whispered, staring at the screen.