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The wee hours of the morning are made for staring at her phone and doom scrolling in peace, hence why Rin always puts off going to bed at a reasonable hour. For someone whose entire life revolves around order, around running herself ragged to keep up the best grades and make enough money and prove her place at Sinegard, it seems entirely fair to Rin that she should be able to stay up until 3am browsing Reddit just to get some fucking peace and quiet.
Which is why, when her phone dings with an actual notification just past 1am, Rin scowls at her phone and wonders who could have the nerve to disturb her late-night me time.
“Yin Nezha (derogatory)” flashes across the banner at the top of her screen, and Rin’s frown deepens. Despite their rivalry in the early years of school, they’re no strangers to texting one another. Whether it’s sharing notes or actually planning a night out with Venka and Kitay, Rin doesn’t find it unusual when Nezha reaches out to her anymore.
That is, she doesn’t find it unusual during the day. At this late hour it’s a different story.
When she opens her messages app, she’s bombard by a wall of text from Nezha, so much so that she has to scroll to the top of it to start reading. And what she does read leaves her feeling even more confused.
“Hey, Rin,
I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now, and I hope you don't mind me sharing this over text. It's been on my mind for a long time, and I think it's finally time to get it off my chest.
I have a crush on you.
I know it might sound unexpected, but it's something that has been growing for quite some time. Every time we hang out, I find myself looking forward to seeing you more and more. You have this incredible way of making people feel comfortable and valued, and I can't help but admire that about you.
I remember the first time we met and how easy it was to talk to you. Since then, I've noticed all the little things that make you special. The way you laugh, your kindness, your passion for your schoolwork, and just the way you carry yourself – all of it has made me realize how much I like you.
I didn't want to keep these feelings to myself any longer because I feel like you deserve to know the truth. I understand if you don't feel the same way, and that's okay. I don't want this to change our friendship or make things awkward between us. I value what we have, and no matter what, that won't change.
I just needed to be honest with you because keeping this to myself has been tough. You mean a lot to me, and I thought it was important to share how I feel.
Thank you for reading this and for being such an amazing person. No matter what, I'm grateful to have you in my life. Please let me know how you feel about me at your convenience. I need you so bad.
Take care,
Nezha”
Rin stares at the message for at least a few minutes, long enough for her body to think she’s trying to sleep and to let her eyelids droop for half a second. But when she startles herself awake the message is still there, not something her sleep-deprived brain dreamed up.
“What the fuck,” she responds, finding no other recourse for what Nezha has sent her.
And then, when Nezha’s read receipt turns on (because of course he uses read receipts), she adds, “Did you just send me an AI generated confession that you have a crush on me.”
Three dots appear on Nezha’s side of the conversation, disappear, then reappear. Rin watches, in real time, as they stay like that for five whole minutes, Nezha typing away at something.
When the message finally comes through, it reads, “No.”
“You totally did,” she responds, throwing a few laughing emojis in there for good measure.
“I drafted it and had Kitay look it over with me,” he adds.
Rin puts a hand up to her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud at the idea that Kitay would approve a corporate-speak, cheesy, clearly AI-generated love confession to her of all people.
“If I ask him about that in the morning, will he confirm that he helped you?” She asks.
Nezha types for another minute, and then answers, “No.”
“Ok but why the fuck are you sending me an AI love confession?” Rin asks. “Is this a prank? Did Venka put you up to this?”
That would make Rin feel a little better, the idea that Nezha doesn’t actually have a crush on her. If nothing else, it would slow the beating of her heart from the racehorse pace it’s currently going to something more manageable. She knows full well why her cheeks are so hot and why she suddenly feels very sweaty and wide-awake, but if Nezha says it’s all a joke, those feelings can go back in the mental shoebox under her mental bed where they belong.
“Because I wanted to tell you and didn’t have the words,” his next message reads. Rin sits bolt upright in bed, her thumbs hovering over the tiny keyboard on her screen. Before she can even think in coherent words, let alone formulate something that sounds like an appropriate response, another message comes in. “I’m sorry if using ChatGPT to help sounded fake. I did try to write some of it myself.”
While it’s no surprise to Rin that Nezha is allergic to vulnerability (she once claims she saw him break out in hives when Venka told him he was her best friend), this gives her pause.
Nezha has a crush on her.
She scrolls back up to re-read his original message, and can indeed find the more… personal touches that he attempted to add, for better or for worse. It makes her giggle, which then makes Rin stop and stare off into the early morning darkness of her bedroom while her thoughts race.
Nezha has a crush on her, and she likes it. It makes her happy.
“We can forget this ever happened if you want,” another message from him says, and Rin supposes he can’t begrudge him the anxiety after getting something so… genuine and human and real off his chest.
“I’ll tell you what,” she says in one message, her smile only growing when she sees that he’s read it immediately. “I’ll forget this ever happened and then you can send me a real confession next time and I might have a better answer for you.”
She punctuates it with a smiley face and puts her phone down to actually sleep, though she can’t help but keep herself awake with thoughts of Nezha. And then next day, when she gets a really, heartfelt confession from Nezha in her messages, she has her reply ready to go:
“Hey Nezha,
Thank you for reaching out! Hearing that you have a crush on me makes me really happy because I feel the same way about you. I like you too, and I've been wanting to tell you but wasn't sure how. I'm really glad you told me. Would you like to hang out sometime and get to know each other better?
Warmly,
Rin”