The match ended.
Two minutes.
The screen flashed DEFEAT.
Rax stared at it.
Blink.
Blink again.
"…That doesn't count," he said immediately.
"My focus wasn't there."
He looked up, irritated.
"Again."
Elena glanced at the screen, then at him.
"Okay."
No drama.
No excitement.
They restarted.
The second match didn't last any longer.
Two minutes. Again.
DEFEAT.
The café went suspiciously quiet.
Elena leaned back in her chair and tilted her head.
"So…" she asked mildly,
"still no focus?"
Rax slammed his hand on the desk.
"This game isn't my zone," he snapped.
He pointed sharply at another screen nearby.
"That one. That's my game."
Elena followed his finger seriously, then looked back at him.
"Oh," she said thoughtfully.
"So this is your game?"
She nodded slowly.
"You made it?"
Rax frowned.
"…What?"
She smiled politely.
"I didn't know I was playing the owner of the game itself. My bad."
A couple of people nearby laughed outright.
Rax shot her a furious look, then inhaled deeply—visibly forcing himself to calm down.
"Play," he said tightly.
"This time, I'll win."
Elena laughed.
Actually laughed.
"Sure," she said cheerfully.
"Dream big."
She added kindly,
"Dreams are free anyway."
That was it.
Leo and Ivan completely lost control.
They'd been holding it in for way too long.
Leo bent forward, laughing into his sleeve.
Ivan turned away, shoulders shaking violently.
Rax clenched his teeth and ignored them, eyes locked on the screen like it owed him respect.
The match started again.
Rax leaned forward, sweating, fingers moving fast—too fast.
Elena?
She played lazily.
One hand on the keyboard.
The other resting near the mouse.
Posture relaxed. Expression bored.
Two minutes later.
DEFEAT.
Again.
Rax froze.
No excuse this time.
No anger either.
Just silence.
Elena looked at him.
Then—gently—she stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Her voice softened dramatically.
"Aww," she said sweetly.
"It's okay."
She smiled like a kind, beautiful, soft-hearted girl.
"I can't stand seeing children upset."
She patted his shoulder once.
"Alright. Let's stop."
She tilted her head.
"We'll protect what little dignity you have left… for now."
Rax stared at her.
Kind?
Soft-hearted?
Where exactly?
Before he could say anything, Elena had already turned away.
She walked a few steps, then looked back at Leo.
"Next time," she said calmly,
"play with someone who actually knows how to play."
She sighed.
"Such a waste of time."
Then, casually—
"Come on."
Leo and Ivan stood up immediately and followed her out, still laughing under their breath.
The door slid shut behind them.
Rax sat there, staring at the empty screen.
His hands slowly curled into fists.
I won't forget this, he thought darkly.
He looked up at his friends.
They met his gaze.
No words needed.
They understood.
And quietly, one by one—
They got up and left with him.
Elena stepped out of the internet café with her hands tucked casually into her pockets, walking like she had just finished buying snacks instead of dismantling someone's ego in under ten minutes.
No rush.
No tension.
No visible sign of destruction.
Leo and Ivan followed behind her.
Ivan was still replaying the scene in his head.
She really did that.
Twice.
No—three times.
Leo let out a quiet laugh, then stopped himself.
"Okay," he muttered. "Either I'm dreaming… or our sister is terrifying."
They walked a little farther—
And both of them froze mid-step.
Right there.
In the middle of the road.
Rax.
And his friends.
Standing in a loose line, blocking the path like villains who had practiced this entrance in front of a mirror.
Waiting.
Leo's smile vanished instantly.
Ivan felt his stomach drop to his shoes.
This was bad.
Very bad.
They knew that look.
They knew this setup.
This was not a conversation situation.
Leo swallowed.
"Ivan…" he whispered, eyes locked forward.
"This is bad, right?"
Ivan nodded stiffly.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"Extremely bad."
Elena noticed their sudden silence and hesitation and followed their gaze.
She saw Rax.
She stopped.
For a second, she simply stood there—calm, unreadable, completely unimpressed.
Then, without even turning around, she said casually,
"You two stay here."
Leo panicked instantly.
"Wait—sis—"
But before either of them could finish, Elena stepped forward on her own.
Rax smirked when he saw her approaching, arms crossing over his chest like confidence alone could protect him.
"Well, well," he said mockingly.
"I lose one game, and suddenly you think you're brave?"
Elena tilted her head slightly, genuinely puzzled.
"Didn't I just beat you?"
She blinked, innocent as ever.
"And you came back already?"
A short pause.
"Are you… desperate to lose again?"
Rax's face twisted.
"So what if you beat me?" he snapped.
"The same thing that happened to your brothers will happen to you."
He stepped closer, trying very hard to look intimidating.
"You'll get a reward for beating me."
Elena's eyes lit up.
"Really?" she asked, sounding honestly interested.
She smiled—bright, pleased, almost excited.
"Then you should've told me earlier."
She took another step forward.
"If beating you comes with rewards, I would've taken you more seriously."
She clasped her hands together thoughtfully.
"Who says no to free rewards?"
Then she added lightly,
"Especially when they don't even require effort?"
That did it.
Rax snapped.
"You—!"
Before the word even finished leaving his mouth, Elena was already standing right in front of him.
She extended her hand politely, palm up.
"So," she said calmly,
"where's my reward?"
Rax stared at her like his brain had stopped loading.
Then he turned sharply to his friends.
"Give it to her," he growled through clenched teeth.
One of them—a huge, muscular guy who clearly believed muscles solved everything—stepped forward and raised his fist.
Big mistake.
Elena caught his wrist mid-air.
Twist.
Pressure.
CRACK.
Before anyone could react, she stepped on his leg and shoved him down. He collapsed with a loud groan, clutching his arm.
Elena looked down at him, mildly annoyed.
"We were talking about rewards," she said calmly.
"Why did you interrupt?"
She tilted her head.
"Did you want one too?"
She looked back at Rax, who was completely frozen.
"This," she said, pointing casually at the guy on the ground,
"is what you get for beating him."
She waved her hand dismissively.
"You can collect it later."
Then, like nothing unusual had happened—
"So anyway," she continued,
"about my reward."
The injured guy crawled away, rethinking every decision that led him here.
Behind Elena, Leo and Ivan stood in total shock.
Since when was she this cool?
HOW did we not know this?!
Rax finally snapped out of it.
"Get her!" he shouted, pointing wildly.
All his friends rushed forward at once.
Leo and Ivan panicked and ran toward her—
Then stopped.
Because Elena was already moving.
Fast.
Clean.
Effortless.
A punch.
A kick.
Someone flying back.
Someone sliding across the road.
Five minutes later—
Every single one of them was down.
Elena stood in the middle of the road, completely fine. Not even out of breath.
She sighed.
"That's rude," she said.
"We were discussing rewards."
She looked around at the groaning bodies.
"You all changed your minds halfway."
She shook her head sadly.
"How could you treat a kind, soft-hearted big sister like this, Rax?"
Rax felt real fear crawl up his spine.
"I—I was joking!" he blurted out.
"You didn't need to take it seriously!"
Elena smiled sweetly.
"But I did."
She walked toward him slowly.
Rax stepped back without thinking.
"W-what reward do you want?" he asked desperately.
"I'll give it to you!"
Elena nodded in approval.
"Good."
"If I don't get rewards, I get stressed," she said seriously.
"And stress is bad for kind people like me."
She sighed dramatically.
"Your friends scared me. Mentally."
She looked at him firmly.
"So I deserve extra compensation."
Rax thought wildly—
Scared? WHEN? HOW?
But he nodded anyway.
"Y-yes. Of course."
"I don't have a reward right now—"
"Money works," Elena cut in instantly.
She smiled.
Sweet.
Dangerous.