MiSide: Taming Crazy Mita

Snap!

Ren Hoshino took another photo with Crazy Mita, then uploaded it.

"What's going on? Why does Mita look so unhappy?"

"Why does she seem angry? Humiliated?"

"Hard to explain, but it feels off—like, Madam, you don't want your husband to lose his job, do you?"

"Foreign netizens, calm down."

"He's probably worn it out by now—no wonder she's dissatisfied."

"Is this a new play route?"

"More pics! I want to see Mita's expression!"

Crazy Mita's lips twitched.

"These people are really…"

She didn't finish.

"I think so too," Ren replied.

"Alright, let me dry your hair. Go sit down, I'll grab the hair dryer."

She sat at the dressing mirror while Ren gently parted her damp navy-blue hair, using the warm air to dry it strand by strand.

Once the moisture was gone, he tied it neatly with a light blue hairband—twin tails, just like before.

Mission complete.

Crazy Mita looked at herself in the mirror and felt a rising irritation.

"Ren… do you want to leave?"

Ren paused.

"I could find a way to get you out of here," she continued.

"Leave this place and find the people you love."

He blinked in surprise.

"You're kicking me out?"

"Is my being here just a reminder of him?"

"Why can't I be the real Ren Hoshino to you?"

"I am him. Am I not enough?"

"Is it my presence that makes you so unhappy…?"

"…I'm sorry."

Crazy Mita remained silent. But she didn't deny it.

Maybe she should let him go.

This Ren always reminded her of the one who had left—that guy.

She'd thought about removing the cassette and keeping it locked away. Going out to search for a new "player" herself.

But she couldn't do it.

She couldn't forget Su Cheng.

And she couldn't throw away the gift he had left her in the vent.

She simply… couldn't.

That's why she lived here with it for so long—this strange, half-living gift.

If she couldn't bring herself to store it away, the least she could do was let it go.

Maybe that's the freedom he always wanted.

The one he never got—not even in death.

And now, all she could do was return the only thing he gave her:

Freedom.

Even if this Ren didn't want it.

Even if he wanted to stay with her.

He could never be him.

"Ren… It's time for you to leave."

"You don't belong here."

"I'll help you enter your ID. Then you can leave through that door."

Ren went quiet for a moment.

"Okay."

They walked together to the wardrobe, descending into the basement in silence.

At the terminal prompt, Ren entered his ID under Crazy Mita's watch.

No one spoke.

Then they went back upstairs—through the bedroom, toward the exit.

He pushed the door open.

A white light spilled in, too bright to see what lay beyond.

Ren turned around.

"Can I hug you, Mita?"

Crazy Mita stood frozen, hands clenched together at her chest.

She nodded—just slightly.

So this is goodbye.

This is the gift you left behind.

Time to return it.

Ren stepped forward and hugged her.

"It was good to see you again, Mita."

"Thank you for everything these past few days."

They held each other for a few more seconds, then pulled away.

"I… I was happy," Crazy Mita murmured, trying to keep her composure.

"Thank you… for staying with me."

But her pain still leaked through her expression.

This wasn't Ren.

Not the boy she remembered.

Just a gift he left.

And freedom—freedom was his dying wish.

She couldn't give him happiness.

But she could give him this.

Ren smiled and gently placed a hand on her head.

"I'll think of you, Mita."

"I'll never forget you."

"It's such a shame our time was so short…"

"Well… I'm leaving now."

He turned around and stepped toward the light.

Crazy Mita reached out instinctively, wanting to stop him.

But she let her hand fall back.

Her expression cracked.

A single crystal tear slid down her cheek.

The door closed.

She dropped to her knees.

"Ren… Why are you so cruel?"

"Why didn't you want to stay with me?"

"You were perfect… I loved you so much."

Crazy Mita wasn't delusional—she knew the truth.

A "player" who fully accepts her doesn't exist.

The ones she loves always leave.

Just like her, they act irrationally when they don't want to be seen as failures.

Just like she acts irrationally when she's afraid to be forgotten.

And that…

That's why she loved Ren.

But that's also why they could never truly be together.

"God… why are you like this?"

"You gave me the perfect player—just for me—and yet you made sure we could never stay together."

"You always save the dolls…"

"But who's going to save me?"

She buried her head in her hands.

"You win, Ren."

"Don't leave me…"

Snap!

The shutter sound of a phone camera cut through the silence.

"Ahh… that's the expression I wanted to see all along."

"I thought maybe you wouldn't cry."

Ren stood at the door, holding his phone, a wicked grin stretched across his face.

"I finally got to see you cry. I won, Mita."

Her tear-stained face twisted in disbelief.

"Wha… what are you talking about?"

"I don't… understand…"

"Don't you get it?" Ren said.

"I never reset myself. Not once."

"You thought I'd forget everything like some cassette tape? I'm human, Mita. Not some rebootable program like you."

"It was all fake."

"HA—Ha ha ha ha!"

Her navy-blue eyes widened.

"Then… why do you still remember?"

"No… no, that's impossible. You were reset…"

"You actually believed that?" Ren laughed.

"You really are a fool."

"I played the part perfectly, didn't I?"

"You should've seen your face."

"It was priceless."

Crazy Mita stared at him, trembling.

"You… lied to me?"

"This whole time… you lied?"

She'd spent so long thinking she was living with a remnant, a shadow of the Su Cheng she loved.

But it had been him the entire time.

He had hidden the truth from her.

Deceived her.

Let her believe he was gone.

How could he do this to her?

She surged to her feet, fury burning in her veins.

Ren immediately squatted down and grabbed her chin.

"Remember our bet?"

"I said I'd wager everything. If you could catch me—really catch me—I'd go back with you."

"And you did it."

"So I'll keep my promise."

"And I never go back on my word."

"You win, Crazy Mita."