On the walk to the VirtualTask party, Jin and Nina were already out of sync. Jin, walking with aggressive confidence, kept trying to steer the conversation back to his charm, but Nina's thoughts kept drifting.
"I just can't believe how close Jax and Astraea have gotten," Nina mused, adjusting her jacket. "They went from virtual to sharing spring rolls in two days. It's... fast."
Jin's smile tightened. He had just executed a masterful performance during dinner, yet Nina's attention was still monopolized by Jax's work drama. It's always Jax. Jin felt a familiar, sharp spike of jealousy. This was his date, his time to shine. He needed a move that would immediately re-establish the narrative.
Aggressive Courting isn't enough, Jin realized, his eyes narrowing dramatically. I need a power statement.
By the time they reached the bar, Jin had his plan. He would make a declaration of ownership so grand, so public, that Nina would be forced to react, and Jax would be forced to watch.
Nina immediately spotted the disaster: Jax seated right next to a beaming Astraea. The sight confirmed her worst fears, and a surge of cold fury instantly replaced the painful pang of jealousy in her chest.
Before Nina could even compose herself, Jin grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the empty seats. "There they are! The whole gang!" Jin bellowed, slamming his hand down on the table as he pulled a rigid Nina into the chair directly opposite Jax and Astraea.
Then, with the theatrical commitment of a man accepting a major award, Jin beamed at his gathered colleagues.
"Behold, my friends and colleagues! Allow me to introduce Nina—my very special girl, my exclusive date! Treat her well, for she is the jewel of my eyes!"
A small, strained smile immediately froze on Nina's face. The way he stressed my, turning her from a person into a statement, made a cold knot tighten in her stomach. It felt less like a compliment and more like a public acquisition. She desperately wanted to wince, or to shoot a frantic S.O.S. look toward the nearest exit. But the genuine, proud, almost innocent shine in Jin's eyes stopped her. He was clearly ecstatic, and the last thing she wanted was to humiliate him in front of his entire colleagues. So, she swallowed the surge of discomfort, smoothed her features into a mask of professional politeness, and offered the group a calm smile that was so fake, it looked like a mannequin had been accidentally wheeled into the scene.
The colleagues at the table burst into cheers and teasing. Jin revelled in the attention, but the joke landed like a rock on both women Nina and Jax.
Jax, still deeply tipsy, felt the sound of the applause not in her ears, but like a dizzying, confusing blow to her chest. It was a cold rush, instantly chasing the warm, comfortable alcohol buzz away. Anger, sharp and unfamiliar, mixed with a sickening sense of loss. It wasn't just Jin's hand on Nina's shoulder that infuriated her; it was the way Jin's grand announcement suddenly made Nina seem unattainable, finalized, and his. She froze mid-sip, the glass halfway to her mouth, her gaze darting frantically between Nina's rigid, publicly-owned posture and Astraea's cool, observing eyes. The sight was a punch to the gut that left her winded, struggling to reconcile her drunken happiness with this sudden, confusing, jealous dread.
Astraea was the first to notice the emotional damage radiating from across the table. She gave a slow, smooth smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, a calculated maneuver designed to neutralize Jin's pathetic attempt at dominance while subtly highlighting the raw tension between Jax and Nina.
"Oh, Jin," Astraea murmured, leaning slightly forward, her voice carrying easily but remaining perfectly composed. "That's a definite status update. But before we finalize any deliverables, shouldn't we check if the stakeholder has signed off?"
The crowd roared with laughter, mistaking Astraea's loaded question for simple witty banter. The immediate, painful awkwardness was cut by the wave of noise, and the conversation fractured into smaller, safer topics.
As the night wore on, the alcohol continued its work on Jax. While Nina watched every tense micro-expression between Jax and Astraea, Jax herself was focused on the movements of Jin, trying to ensure her best friend wasn't being completely suffocated. Jax kept drinking, her self-appointed duty as Nina's bodyguard dissolving into a very sloppy, very drunk state.
Astraea had been interrupted by a manager's phone call to discuss something serious about "third-quarter synergy" and was gone for a good twenty minutes. When she returned, she immediately noticed Jax's glassy, red-rimmed eyes.
Astraea slid back into her seat, concern replacing calculation. "Jax, you've had too much. You need water and a cab. I should take you home," she offered softly, gently resting a hand on Jax's arm.
Before Jax could slurr a reply, Nina leaned over and pulled Jax's arm away from Astraea. Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
"No, I'll take her," Nina insisted. "I know her house. I'll make sure she gets there safely."
Astraea gave Nina a cool, skeptical look, sizing up the petite blonde. "You?" she questioned, a hint of disdain in her voice. "Nina, look at her. Jax is two heads taller than you. You won't be able to carry her."
"Nina's resolve hardened. "I've been dragging her off the sidewalk since she was sixteen, Astraea. I know her exact dead weight, I know the noises she makes when she passes out, and I know which of my good shirts she'll inevitably throw up on. And for the record, when she was sixteen, I was trying to figure out how to stop eating crayons. I've got this."
Astraea knew an unmovable obstacle when she saw one. Just then, her phone buzzed again—the manager, undoubtedly. With a frustrated sigh, she conceded. Jin was completely passed out, slumped dramatically in his chair, making him useless as an escort.
"Fine," Astraea said, standing up. "Just keep an eye on her."
Nina somehow managed to drag, carry, and maneuver Jax the entire way back to Jax's studio apartment. As soon as the door closed, Nina let go, dropping Jax unceremoniously onto the hallway floor.
"Ugh, you are so heavy, Jaxy! I swear, you weigh exactly one ton of bad decisions and stale resentment," Nina complained, rubbing her aching shoulders. "And you smell like a brewery lost a fight with a homeless man's backpack. You know Astraea doesn't even wrinkle her silk blouses? If you were trying to impress the Virtual Goddess, you failed—this is less 'flirting' and more 'chemical spill.' Seriously, I'm putting your therapy sessions on my credit card."
Jax mumbled something incoherent about her brain being a sponsored ad for bad decisions.
Nina laughed, a genuine, tired sound. She reached down to try and heave Jax toward the bed. "Come on, you idiot, let's get you on a flat surface."
Nina tugged at the unsteady Jax, but Jax lurched forward and pulled them both down. They landed on the floor in a messy pile, and the collision shocked the remaining drunkenness right out of Jax.
Nina landed on top of Jax, their bodies perfectly aligned. The air was knocked out of Nina, and she lay there, stunned, her face hovering mere inches from Jax's. Everything else in the world disappeared.
Then, Jax's slurred voice broke the silence, thick with alcohol and absolute sincerity. "Nina," Jax whispered, her eyes never leaving her best friend's. "Don't get a boyfriend. I'll get you a cat."
Nina didn't need a decoder ring for that message. She saw past the alcohol and the ridiculous "cat" substitute; Jax was offering her commitment, clumsy and panicked, and asking her not to choose Jin—or anyone else. The joke about the pet evaporated as Nina felt the fierce, absolute sincerity of the demand. It was a wave of truth too big to ignore. A shocking rush of heat flared in Nina's chest, replacing her surprise and leaving her feeling completely defenseless. She was suddenly consumed by the simple, terrifying, electric understanding: this was real.
Nina's gaze dropped to Jax's lips. Jax shifted, a faint, hopeful warmth replacing the haze in her eyes as she slowly began to close the tiny space between them. Nina instinctively mirrored the movement, her own lips parting—
—when the loud, demanding doorbell rang and shattered the moment.
They instantly broke apart, scrambling up in a frantic mess. Jax rolled clumsily away, and Nina shot to her feet. Both stared at the door, cheeks flushed with panic. Nina, heart pounding, rushed to the peephole.
Her heart sank. She yanked the door open and found Astraea standing there, perfectly composed and holding a plastic bag.
"I know it's late," Astraea said, her voice dropping all corporate polish, "but I found this twenty-four-hour place. I was just making sure you both made it safe, and I brought some electrolyte water and a pain reliever."
To be continued...