Playing the game, I never expected to be matched against my own boyfriend. It all started when I slightly harassed a girl in the game—just a simple "A" tap. Suddenly, she turned on her mic and snapped, "I'm in a bad mood today. Why are you attacking me?"

She huffed, then whined, "Jungle! Come here, quick! Someone’s bullying me."

The jungle player didn't even bother farming anymore. He rushed straight to my lane, trapping me under my first tower. The girl killed me twelve times in a row.

As if that wasn't enough, after every kill, the jungle player spammed my corpse and sent me back to the respawn point. Then, he opened his mic and sneered, "Apologize to my girlfriend, or I’ll make your life hell."

I froze. That voice... it was unmistakably my boyfriend’s. I quickly checked the game panel. Sure enough, the enemy team’s jungle player was my boyfriend, Gian Vincent. As if fate wanted me to hear the truth, he forgot to mute his mic after speaking. His teammates started laughing.

"Hahaha! Look at Katty Hamilton, she got destroyed twelve times!"

"Serves her right. She bullied Winda Kris in the training match earlier. Gian is just standing up for her."

"Gian, are you still with Katty? When are you dumping her?"

Gian chuckled lazily. "I’ll break up with her after this match. I’m just dragging it out until then."

Someone else chimed in. "Wow, you’re really using her to the last second, huh?"

Gian responded casually, "She plays well and clings to me anyway. Might as well keep her around until the championship is over. After that, I’ll dump her. Winda is my real girl."

——

My hands trembled. I pieced together the cruel reality from their conversation. I had pursued Gian for so long before he finally agreed to date me. But now I understood—he never truly liked me. He just needed me for the competition. Without my spot, he wouldn’t have been able to compete at all since tournament rules had strict team composition requirements.

And today? They had deliberately queued up against me because, during our daytime training match, I had unknowingly defeated Winda a few times. She held a grudge and orchestrated this setup to gang up on me.

Normally, training matches were anonymous—shared IDs and voice changers prevented players from knowing who they were up against. But I played under Gian’s scheduling every night, so I recognized this was Gian’s number.

"She definitely doesn’t realize it was you who killed her," one of Gian’s teammates laughed.

"Haha, nah. Besides, I was using a voice changer. I’ll turn on another mic," Gian said, before repeating coldly, "Did you hear that, enemy team? Apologize to my girlfriend, or I’ll crush you."

Unfortunately for him, his mic malfunctioned. Everything they had just said reached my ears, loud and clear. If not for this glitch, if I hadn’t recognized his game ID, I would still be blissfully unaware of his betrayal.

My in-game character stood motionless, stunned by the revelation. Gian seized the chance and struck me down with another combo.

After the kill, he asked in a low voice, "Winda, happy now?"

Winda giggled. "Brother, isn't it a bit much to kill her so many times?"

"As long as you’re happy, I’d kill her from morning till night just to please you," Gian replied smoothly.

"But what if she gets mad and stops playing with you?" Winda teased.

Gian scoffed. "No chance. Winning the championship is her lifelong dream. Don’t worry, once she’s racked up enough points, I’ll replace her with you. In the end, the championship will be yours… and so will I."

Winda giggled again. "Brother, you’re so good to me."

My chest tightened. A bitter taste filled my mouth. Not only had I been nothing more than a tool to Gian, but he also planned to take away everything I had worked so hard for—the championship, the recognition and my spot on the team—all to hand it over to another girl.

Gian’s voice cut through my thoughts like a blade. "I’ll dump her after the game. Winda, you’ll always be my real girlfriend."

At that moment, something inside me shattered.

Amidst their sickeningly sweet exchange, I held back my tears and dialed the number of the school's tournament coach. There was no need to wait for the game to end—I was done. I was leaving now.

The coach picked up almost instantly. "Katty, I was just about to call you."

"Our school's Wild King refuses to play unless you're on the team. He says only you can keep up with him and he won't compete if you don't join us," the coach said urgently. "Can you reconsider?"

I wiped my eyes. "No need to think about it. I'm in."

"Really?" The coach sounded surprised. "That's fantastic, Katty. You've finally realized it. Your boyfriend’s skills are limited—he’ll never take you to a bigger stage."

Yes. I had always known that Gian wasn’t strong enough to go far. That’s why I played support, covering his weaknesses, clearing his path, doing everything to push him forward—only to be cheated on and used. It was a blessing in disguise that I overheard their conversation before the tournament. Otherwise, I would’ve kept being a fool.

I informed Mr. Joffin, the teacher overseeing Gian’s team, that I was quitting. His brows furrowed deeply. "Katty, you’re a core member. Are you sure you want to leave?"

I shook my head firmly. "Winda is more suitable than me."

Seeing my determination, Mr. Joffin sighed. "Alright. I’ll figure something out."

Since I had decided to leave, I returned my team member ID card to the captain—Gian. I messaged him, but he didn’t respond. So, I walked to their training room, only to be greeted by the unmistakable sounds of flirting.

Gian's voice was painfully familiar and they were so caught up in each other that they had no idea I was there. Winda’s teary eyes shimmered, making her look so pitiful, while Gian’s expression was filled with emotion as he held her close. His back was to me, but Winda saw me first. Meeting my gaze, she smirked, kissed Gian even harder and threw me a provocative look.

I took two steps back and cleared my throat. They immediately pulled apart. Winda eyed me smugly, expecting to see anger, humiliation—anything. But my expression remained calm, confusing her.

Gian looked slightly flustered. "Winda lost a match, so I was just comforting her."

I hummed indifferently and placed my ID card on the table. "It's fine. I’m quitting the team. I won’t be playing anymore."

Gian frowned. "Katty, what do you mean? I was just comforting Winda. Are you really this petty?"

Maybe I had already grieved enough these past two days. Because instead of feeling heartbroken, I just found him ridiculous. "I’m not angry. I just don’t want to compete anymore. Also, we’re breaking up," I said coldly.

Winda stepped in, feigning innocence. "Katty, I was just feeling down. Please don’t be mad at Gian. Don’t let this affect the tournament."

Gian suddenly seemed to realize something. "Is this because I haven’t been duo-queuing with you these past few days? Are you jealous because I’ve been playing with Winda? She’s just my junior, you know."

I sighed. "Then keep playing with her. Do whatever you want."

Taking out my phone, I exited the online battle team in front of him.

"Katty!" Gian grabbed my wrist, his face twisting in frustration. "Why are you so emotional? Winda already backed off. Do you think no one else wants your spot?"

As he snatched my phone, his fingers accidentally tapped my match history. A string of duo-queue records appeared on the screen. His expression darkened instantly. His grip on my wrist tightened violently. "Who have you been duo-ing with these past few days?!"

The records showed every game I had played with my school’s Wild King. The tournament coach had told me there wasn’t much time left before the championship, so he arranged private training sessions these past two days And now, Gian was finally realizing— I had already moved on.

Thinking of him brings a faint smile to my lips. He doesn’t talk much, but he’s incredibly skilled—solid in his gameplay and always looking out for his teammates.

"As you can see, I have a new teammate now," I said. "Let’s go our separate ways."

Gian scoffed, his face full of disbelief. "Katty, have you lost your mind? I'm the number one fielding player in all of New York. Who could you possibly find to replace me?"

Gian's expression turned cold. "From now on, Winda will take your place and you’ll be the substitute. When you realize your mistake, come back and apologize."

Mr. Joffin was delighted when Gian suddenly insisted on bringing Winda into the lineup. With a newcomer taking my place, Mr. Joffin no longer paid much attention to my withdrawal from the team. However, since the tournament was approaching, he still arranged for me to stay on as a substitute, allowing me to remain close to the team and giving Gian and Winda a transition period.

As I settled into the gaming chair, a teammate muttered, "Katty, I heard you quit the team on your own. Are you crazy? Gian is the number one player in New York."

I merely adjusted my headset. "Let’s start."

This practice match was being live-streamed to hype up the audience before the official tournament.

The moment the stream opened, the chat exploded with comments.

[Gian No. 1!]

[Who’s the new support, Winda?]

[Isn’t Winda Gian’s girlfriend? I saw them together in the grove last time. They were… well, you know.]

Scanning the chat, I realized that many people already knew about them. My misplaced trust had become a weapon used against me.

Winda, clearly overjoyed, still feigned unease. "Katty, this position was originally yours. If you want to come back, I can step aside. I don’t want to make things difficult for you and Gian."

Gian scoffed. "Winda, don’t worry about her. She left on her own. Now, you are my teammate."

The last part was said in a soft, affectionate tone, directed only at Winda.

She blushed and responded sweetly, "Gian, I’ll follow your lead."

Halfway through the match, I found myself low on health, surrounded by two enemies. Winda hesitated. "Gian, should I go help Katty? But I don’t want to leave you…"

Gian shot me a glance and ordered, "Ignore her. Let her die. The rest of you, just focus on farming."

The chat caught on quickly.

[Shouldn’t Gian be helping Katty right now?]

[I heard Katty was a desperate third wheel, clinging to Gian. Even after everything, he still treats her like trash.]

[Look at how much Gian is protecting Winda.]

Winda turned to me with a sly smile. "Kat, you’re not playing well today. How about you let us take your resources? You don’t mind, right?"

The live camera was still on. I kept my expression composed. "I don’t mind."

Just then, Winda let out a dramatic gasp. Her screen turned gray—she had been killed.

"I was trying to help you! Why did you betray me?" she whimpered, her eyes welling with fake tears.

In the game, I had barely escaped with a sliver of health, while Winda had died. I could have easily gotten out on my own, but Winda insisted on coming over—only to walk straight into the enemy’s attack and get herself killed.

Gian’s voice turned ice-cold with fury. "Katty, are you done messing around? First, you refuse to cooperate and now you let Winda die? Get lost. I don’t want to see you before the tournament."

Winda sniffled, barely holding back her tears. "Gian, don’t be mad. It’s my fault… I shouldn’t have insisted on playing despite my lack of skill… it’s all my fault."