The sound started small, like a low beat. But just as Ria was about to open the door and claim her moment, the sound turned into a literal jump-scare. It wasn't a doorbell anymore—it was a high-pitched shriek that shattered everything.
Ria's eyes snapped open.
The hallway? Gone. The tall, fine man? Vanished into thin air. The butterflies in her stomach literally died on the spot, replaced by a cold, heavy pit of "Are you kidding me?" She wasn't at the door. She was wrapped in her messy sheets, staring at the same mid ceiling she saw every single morning.
The alarm was screaming. It was a total reality check.
To be honest, the disappointment was a literal gut punch. She just lay there, paralyzed. Of course, she thought. Of course it was just a dream. A guy like that—6ft, perfect hair, the main character energy—doesn't just spawn in the lift of a boring apartment. He doesn't just knock on the door of a girl whose only personality trait is "working 24/7."
In the real world, the lift is always a ghost town. In the real world, her notifications are dry and the doorbell never rings.
She felt so robbed. To be honest, the thing is, her own brain had just catfished her. She closed her eyes tight, trying to force a "re-do." She wanted to go back to that hallway. She wanted to know why he was there. She wanted to hear him speak one more time.
"Just five more minutes," she whispered to the empty room. "Please, I was literally this close."
But the sun was already peaking through the curtains, and her "breadwinner" responsibilities were calling her out. She felt so dizzy sitting up. Her heart was still doing backflips from the dream, but her room was just... quiet. And lonely.
The magic was deleted. The grey t-shirt, the 5-second eye contact, the blush—it was all just a glitch in her tired brain. Ria sighed, her vibe completely ruined. She had to get ready. She had to go back to the NPC loop of her life.
But as she walked to the bathroom, she couldn't help but glance at her front door. To be honest, part of her was still being a little delulu, wishing it would just ring for real.