Evelyn clipped the leash onto Sunny's collar, getting ready for their usual walk. Just as she reached the front door, she caught a faint sound coming from next door and froze.

"That's weird," she whispered to herself. "That place has been empty forever. Did a new neighbor actually move in?"

Curiosity got the better of her, so she cracked the door open to peek out. The hallway was dead silent. The only thing moving was the motion-sensor light, which flickered on at the sound of her door, casting a warm glow over the polished floor.

"Guess they already left," she muttered, closing the door with a tiny hint of disappointment. "Oh well, walkies first."

Sunny knew exactly what time it was. He let out a couple of excited barks, his tail thumping against her legs. Evie laughed and gave him a quick pat. "Alright, let's go!"

As she stepped into the elevator humming a soft tune, she didn't notice a figure standing deep in the shadows of the stairwell. A pair of eyes followed her every move, and a voice whispered into the dark:

"Do you walk him at this time every day? Must be nice being your dog."

The voice was barely a breath, but it carried a terrifying, obsessive hunger. 

If only he were that dog. Then he could be by her side every single day, feeling her touch, hearing her laugh... the very thought made his fingers tremble.

If it were him, he could do ten thousand times better than some dog.

Evelyn took a couple of laps around the neighborhood. The early autumn sun filtered through the trees, splashing flickering light across the path. Sunny was leading the way happily, occasionally looking back to make sure his human was still keeping up.

But as they walked, Evelyn started feeling that familiar, nagging discomfort. She'd always been sensitive to people looking at her, and right now, she felt like someone's eyes were glued to her back.

She stopped and frowned, scanning the area. She saw a few familiar neighbors out for a stroll, but nobody suspicious.

"I'm probably just imagining things," she said, shaking her head to try and get rid of the feeling.

She pulled a frisbee out of her bag, and Sunny immediately started bouncing around.

"Catch!" She tossed it hard. The golden retriever bolted, leapt into the air to snag it, and trotted back proudly to drop it at her feet.

"Good boy!" Evelyn bent down to grab it and threw it again.

After a while, Mrs. Parker from down the hall walked by with her Corgi. She smiled and waved. "Sunny's got a lot of energy today, huh?"

Evelyn smiled back, a few beads of sweat on her forehead. "Always!"

As she led Sunny back home, she instinctively glanced back one more time. That feeling of being watched was back, but again—nobody was there.

"I guess I'm just burnt out from the deadlines. My brain is playing tricks on me."

Back home, Evelyn started prepping lunch while brainstorming her next manga plot. "Man, I woke up way too late today..." She checked her phone; it was almost 1 PM.

She couldn't help but think about her baby boy in the game. She wondered how Adrian had been doing since she logged off yesterday.

The thing about this game was that the plot didn't just pause when the player left. Every time she logged back in, time had moved forward, and the story had kept developing.

Anyway, work first, play later, she told herself.

After setting down a special bowl of dog food for Sunny, Evelyn finished her own lunch. She tidied up the kitchen and sat down at her drawing tablet to work on her series, Endless Game.

The story followed two rivals who accidentally get sucked into a survival game and have to team up to stay alive, eventually falling for each other. 

Right now, they were entering the first dungeon and had to break an ancient curse. She kept tweaking the panels, trying to perfectly capture that transition from them hating each other to the first spark of trust.

The final panel cropped in on the female lead's face—even when she was pissed off, she was still adorable.

Upload, upload!

She was on fire today; the whole thing only took her one afternoon.

Evelyn gave a little cheer, and Sunny, sensing her mood, came over to nuzzle her leg. She leaned down to rub his furry head.

"Good boy, I'll play with you in a bit."

She stretched her fingers, which were a bit stiff from the long shift, and tapped the game icon. Time to play with her other "puppy."

Wait—was she seeing things? Adrian was actually playing volleyball with his classmates??

The elite school's gym was massive and bright, with plenty of students in the stands watching the match. It looked like quite a bit of time had passed in the game world.

Adrian really had listened to her. Even without her there, the story was moving exactly the way she hoped.

Evelyn watched quietly, not wanting to distract him.

Even though Adrian didn't talk to the other players or even give anyone else a second look, whenever the setter tossed to him, he'd put it away with a brutal spike.

At 188 cm, he was a beast at the net. His long reach and insane vertical made him the undisputed ace of the court.

In this academy, the guys playing with him were all sons of some wealthy families. No one knew why Adrian had suddenly taken up volleyball, but as the ironclad heir to the Vale fortune, everyone was tripping over themselves to stay on his good side.

The set ended, and Adrian's team won easily. Evie beamed at the screen, watching the boy surrounded by his teammates, feeling a surge of "parental" pride.

Look at him go! Adrian, I raised you so well!

Once he walked off the court—ignoring the crowd of people offering him water and towels to grab his own from his bag—Evelyn gave him a little poke.

Adrian froze. A flash of pure joy crossed his face. He quickly grabbed his phone and dodged the crowd, heading for an empty locker room.

He pulled up the notes app and asked, "You're finally here. It's been almost two weeks. When did you arrive?"

Evelyn typed back: "Right when the setter was going for that dump shot."

The words appeared on his screen.

Adrian bit his lip, a bead of sweat rolling down his sharp jawline. "Then why didn't you tell me right away?"

"I didn't want to distract you from the game," she replied.

"You didn't," he shot back instantly. "Promise me, whenever you're here, you'll let me know. No matter what I'm doing."

Not knowing she was there felt like losing a chunk of the very little time they had together.

Seeing how serious he was being made Evie laugh, but she gave him a real promise: "I promise. Next time I'm here, I'll tell you Asap."

Through the screen, she saw the corners of Adrian's mouth tilt up. His dark eyes, usually so cold, were full of light as he nodded, as if they had just made the most important deal in the world.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder: How long will she stay this time? The days without Evie were becoming impossible to bear.