The weekend of the Seoul Invitational qualifiers arrived, but the air between Jae-wook and Yoo-na remained cold. Jae-wook sat in the high-tech gaming arena, surrounded by flashing RGB lights and the roar of a crowd that didn't even know his real name. They were cheering for "Gun," the invincible sniper. But inside, Jae-wook felt like he was missing every shot.
Every time he looked at his second monitor, he hoped to see a message from Starry. There was nothing. Just the silent, gray icon of a partner who had stopped waiting.
Meanwhile, back at school, the atmosphere was shifting into something dangerous. Sarah and Jin-ho, seeing the distance between the school's "Power Duo," decided to strike one last time. They didn't use rumors this time; they used the school festival's "Confession Wall"—a public board where students posted anonymous notes.
By Monday morning, the wall was covered with hateful messages targeted at Yoo-na. "Used and dumped." "Thought she was special because she hung out with a celebrity." "Back to being a nobody, Yoo-na."
Yoo-na stood before the board, her hands trembling. She didn't cry. She was Park Yoo-na—she was strong. But the silence from Jae-wook hurt more than any anonymous note. She felt like she had been left behind in a world that only valued her when she was standing next to a star.
At the arena, Jae-wook was minutes away from the final qualifying match. His coach was giving him a pep talk, but Jae-wook wasn't listening. He had just seen a photo of the "Confession Wall" sent to him by a worried Min-ji.
"They're tearing her apart, Jae-wook. And you're not here," the text read.
Jae-wook looked at his keyboard. Then he looked at the stage. He realized that if he won this match but lost Yoo-na, the victory would be hollow. He stood up, pulling off his headset.
"What are you doing? We're live in three minutes!" his coach hissed.
"I have a more important match to win," Jae-wook said.
He didn't run to the exit. Instead, he walked over to the official tournament commentator's desk and grabbed a microphone. The stadium went quiet. The livestream, watched by hundreds of thousands, focused on him.
"I have a message for someone," Jae-wook's voice echoed through the speakers, deep and unwavering. "A lot of people think I'm here because I'm a 'pro' or a 'celebrity.' But the truth is, I only started winning because of my Duo partner. She's the one who saw me when I was invisible. She's the one who stayed when I was a glitch."
He looked directly into the camera lens, as if he could see Yoo-na through the screen. "Yoo-na... Starry... I'm sorry I let the fame create lag between us. I'm coming back. And to everyone at Saebom High—if you have something to say about her, say it to my face. Because I'm not just Gun. I'm Kim Jae-wook, and I'm hers."
The school was in an uproar. Students huddled around phones, watching the clip of Gun's public apology go viral instantly. The "Confession Wall" was suddenly forgotten as the same people who wrote the hateful notes began tearing them down in shame.
Jae-wook arrived at the school gates an hour later, still wearing his team jersey. He didn't care about the qualifiers he had walked out on. He didn't care about the forfeited prize money.
He found Yoo-na standing by the school fountain, the same place where she had first smiled at him. She was holding her phone, the video of his confession still paused on the screen.
"You forfeited the match," she whispered as he approached, breathless.
"I didn't forfeit," Jae-wook said, stopping in front of her. "I just changed my objective. The win condition wasn't a trophy. It was you."
Yoo-na's eyes finally overflowed with tears, but she was smiling. She stepped forward and buried her face in his chest. "You're such an idiot, Kim Jae-wook. Your manager is going to kill you."
"Let them," he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. "As long as my Duo partner is back online, I can handle any boss fight."
The static was gone. The connection was restored. But as they stood there, the school bell rang for the final time before the festival, signaling the beginning of their final chapter.