The sound of tires crunching against gravel echoed outside the house.
Rio froze mid-sentence.
Her pen stopped moving.
The room went silent.
Then—
A car door shut.
Her entire body locked up.
"…No way."
Ryota blinked from the couch.
"Hm?"
Rio slowly turned toward the window.
The color drained from her face.
"…My mom's home."
Ryota looked toward the front door.
"Oh."
Rio stared at him in horror.
"…Why did you say that so casually?!"
Ryota scratched his cheek.
"Was I supposed to panic?"
"YES!"
She immediately grabbed her head.
"No—wait—DON'T panic!"
Her thoughts exploded into chaos.
Why today?!
Why now?!
Why did I bring him home before thinking this through?!
Footsteps approached outside.
Slow.
Steady.
Closer.
Closer.
The sound of keys jingled softly.
Rio's soul nearly left her body.
"Okay," she whispered rapidly, pacing in circles. "Okay okay okay. New plan."
Ryota raised a hand.
"Do we have an old plan?"
"SHUT UP!"
Click.
The front door opened.
"Rio? I'm home."
A gentle voice filled the house.
Warm.
Tired.
Familiar.
Rio instantly stood straight like a criminal caught at the scene.
Ryota awkwardly remained beside the couch holding one of the VR headset boxes against his chest.
Like an NPC waiting for dialogue options.
Her mother stepped inside slowly, brushing dust from her sleeves. Dark circles sat faintly beneath her eyes from another long shift at work.
But despite that—
She still smiled.
"Dinner might be a little late tonight, I had extra—"
She stopped.
Her eyes landed on Ryota.
Blink.
Then another.
Silence consumed the room.
"…Rio."
Rio could physically feel her lifespan decreasing.
Her mother tilted her head slightly.
"…Who is this boy?"
Every intelligent thought inside Rio's brain died instantly.
Ryota reacted first.
He bowed politely.
"Hello, ma'am."
Her mother looked between the two of them.
Not angry.
Not suspicious.
Just confused.
Which somehow made this even worse.
"…Rio," she said softly. "Can we talk for a moment?"
Rio nodded like someone accepting a death sentence.
"…Y-Yeah."
A few moments later—
They sat at the dining table.
Ryota remained awkwardly standing nearby holding the headset box like emotional support luggage.
Rio couldn't even look up.
Her mother folded her hands calmly.
"Rio."
"…Yes?"
"…Why is there a boy inside our house?"
Rio opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Her brain was completely blank.
Static.
White noise.
Error 404.
Her mother continued gently,
"Does he need help?"
Rio hesitated.
"…Kind of."
"…Does he have somewhere to stay?"
Slowly—
Rio shook her head.
A quiet sigh escaped her mother.
Not annoyed.
Not disappointed.
Just worried.
"I understand wanting to help someone."
Her voice softened further.
"But Rio…"
She glanced toward the old kitchen.
Toward the worn walls.
The small apartment.
Their life.
"…You know our situation."
Rio lowered her eyes.
"…I know."
Her mother looked tired.
More tired than usual.
"It's already difficult supporting you and your sister."
A pause.
"…Adding another person…"
She hesitated carefully.
"…I'm not sure we can afford it."
And that—
That sentence hit Rio harder than any boss monster ever could.
Her chest tightened instantly.
Because she knew.
Of course she knew.
She saw her mother come home exhausted every night.
Saw the unpaid bills.
Saw the stress hidden behind her smile.
And yet—
The thought of Ryota going back out there…
Back onto the streets…
For some reason—
She couldn't accept it.
Panic took over.
Pure instinct.
"HE'S MY BOYFRIEND!"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The universe itself stopped moving.
Rio froze.
Her own words hit her like a truck.
Her mother blinked slowly.
"…What?"
Ryota nearly dropped the VR headset.
"W-WHAT?!"
Rio's face exploded red instantly.
But it was too late.
The lie had escaped.
There was no saving this anymore.
Her survival instincts activated violently.
"H-He's transferring to my school next week!"
She pointed at Ryota like an attorney presenting evidence.
"He said he'd get a job!"
"He'll help with expenses!"
Ryota stared at her with the expression of a man whose soul had disconnected from his body.
Her mother looked genuinely surprised now.
"…Your boyfriend?"
Rio nodded so fast she almost got whiplash.
"Yes!"
"I just… didn't tell you…"
"I was keeping it secret…"
Her mother studied her quietly.
"…I didn't realize you had a boyfriend."
Rio lowered her head in shame.
"…Sorry."
Silence filled the room again.
Then—
Her mother sighed softly.
"…Well."
She looked at Ryota.
"You seem polite."
Ryota straightened instantly.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"And if you truly plan to help…"
A pause.
"…Then you can stay."
Rio froze.
"…Really?"
Her mother nodded.
"But only if he seriously looks for work."
Ryota nodded immediately.
"I will!"
Her mother smiled faintly.
"Alright then."
She picked up her bag again.
"I'll start dinner."
And just like that—
She walked into the kitchen.
The moment she disappeared—
Silence returned.
Three seconds passed.
Five.
Rio slowly stood up.
Then pointed upstairs.
"…Room."
Ryota wisely chose not to question the tone of impending death.
The second they entered—
The door slammed shut.
Rio stood motionless in the center of the room.
Then—
She collapsed face-first onto the floor.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!"
Ryota physically jumped.
Rio rolled across the carpet clutching her head in complete psychological agony.
"WHAT DID I JUST DO?!"
She slammed her forehead repeatedly into the floor.
"WHY WOULD I SAY THAT?!"
Ryota crouched nearby awkwardly.
"…Boyfriend?"
Rio pointed at him instantly.
"DON'T USE THAT WORD!"
She curled into a ball.
"I JUST LIED TO MY MOTHER!"
"My hardworking, kind, trusting mother!"
Ryota scratched his cheek carefully.
"…It worked though."
Rio slowly turned toward him.
Her eyes were dead.
Utterly dead.
"…That was the worst decision of my life."
Ryota shrugged slightly.
"Well…"
"At least I'm not homeless anymore."
Rio groaned into the carpet.
"THIS IS A NIGHTMARE…"
A long silence followed.
Then Ryota spoke carefully.
"…So I'm officially the fake boyfriend now?"
Rio's eye twitched violently.
"If you say fake boyfriend one more time…"
"…I'm throwing you out the window."
Ryota immediately shut his mouth.
Rio rolled onto her back dramatically.
Her first day back in the past.
And somehow—
She already derailed her entire life.
"…Unbelievable…"
After nearly a full minute of suffering, she slowly sat up.
"…Okay."
Ryota blinked.
"…Okay?"
Rio suddenly grabbed her notebook with terrifying seriousness.
"If we're doing this…"
She flipped it open aggressively.
"…then we need rules."
"…Rules?"
She began writing rapidly.
Then turned the notebook around.
Written in massive letters:
FAKE COUPLE RULES
Ryota stared.
"…You're actually serious."
Rio pointed her pen at him like a weapon.
"Rule One."
"No physical contact."
Ryota nodded immediately.
"Easy."
"Rule Two."
"In front of my mother, we act like a real couple."
Ryota raised a hand slowly.
"…Define act."
Rio froze.
Her face immediately turned red again.
"…W-We'll improvise."
"…That sounds dangerous."
"SHUT UP!"
She quickly wrote again.
"Rule Three."
She looked him dead in the eyes.
"You absolutely do NOT tell my little sister."
Ryota blinked.
"…You have a sister?"
Rio's expression became completely serious.
Deadly serious.
"If she finds out…"
She slowly dragged her finger across her throat.
Ryota gulped.
"…Understood."
Rio shut the notebook dramatically.
"Good."
She tossed it aside and flopped back into her chair.
"…Now."
Her eyes shifted toward the VR headsets sitting on the desk.
Instantly—
Her expression changed.
The panic faded.
The embarrassment faded.
Replaced by focus.
Excitement.
Determination.
"Evermount."
Ryota leaned back slightly.
"You're still thinking about speedrunning it?"
Rio looked at him like the question itself was stupid.
"Of course."
She opened another notebook page immediately.
"Early leveling routes."
"Hidden quests."
"Spawn manipulation."
"Rare class chains."
"Dungeon triggers."
Her pen moved rapidly across the paper.
Like a general planning a war campaign.
Ryota watched quietly.
"…You really know all this?"
Rio didn't look up.
"I know more than this."
A pause.
"…Much more."
Her pen stopped suddenly.
She frowned.
"…Wait."
Ryota noticed immediately.
"What?"
Rio leaned back slowly.
"…This won't work."
"…Why?"
Her gaze lowered slightly.
"In Evermount…"
"Your first skill changes everything."
Ryota blinked.
"…Everything?"
Rio nodded.
"It's randomized."
"And depending on what you get…"
"Your entire future changes with it."
The room quieted.
Ryota scratched his cheek.
"So all this planning…"
"…Could become useless."
Rio sighed.
"…Exactly."
She closed the notebook slowly.
"…We finalize our builds after logging in."
Ryota smiled faintly.
"So we wait."
Rio nodded.
Her eyes drifted toward the two unopened VR headsets again.
One week.
Just one more week.
A slow smile formed across her face.
Excited.
Confident.
Dangerous.
"Evermount…"
Her blue eye gleamed faintly in the dim room.
"This time…"
"…I'm taking the top spot before anyone realizes it's missing."