Regardless of how much Ren tried to be productive, his mind refused to cooperate. He opened windows, closed windows, reread messages, stared at the screen for minutes at a time… but absolutely nothing stayed in his head. Eventually he gave up and logged out.
Leonel's nonstop teasing only made it worse. Every time Ren heard that smug voice in his memory — "Oho? Our stone-faced Ren actually confessed?" — his nerves tightened like a snapped wire.
He tossed his headset aside, exhaled sharply, and marched straight to the bathroom.
A cold bath.
That was the best he could think of. Maybe freezing himself half to death would cool the heat burning beneath his skin and clear his mind enough to think of what to do next.
Ren had always known this day would come. He wasn't stupid — he understood himself too well to pretend he would stay silent forever. Feelings eventually spilled out, whether someone wanted them to or not.
