A sigh escaped Jace's lips as he collapsed into his cramped apartment, the weight of the day dragging behind him like chains. Work had drained him, but at least he was home now — if he could call this place that.
He tossed his bag aside, peeled off his clothes, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Another night, another lonely scroll through TikTok and Instagram — like the loser he'd come to accept he was.
Loneliness. That word echoed in his mind more than he liked to admit. Since high school, he hadn't felt truly wanted — not by anyone. Always the friend. Never the one. Over time, the rejections chipped away at him, made him too shy to even talk to girls anymore. He could barely speak at work without mumbling.
He kept scrolling, watching skits, couple videos, anything to distract himself. But instead, it just made the ache worse. A cold, invisible pressure sat on his chest as he stared at the laughing faces. The pain wasn't emotional anymore — it was physical.
With a groan, he let his phone slip from his hand. It auto-scrolled on its own while he stared blankly at the spinning ceiling fan.
"Will anyone ever like me?" he muttered to no one.
That's when the ad started playing.
> Do you ever feel like escaping to a world of fantasy — with knights, magic, kingdoms, and romance? Then this webnovel is for you. Dive into soft-hearted stories like The Wayward Prince and His Strong, Loving Knight.
Jace scoffed.
"Seriously? These dumb BL novels again?" he said out loud. "Only desperate weirdos read this kind of stuff."
He was about to skip it — but then paused.
"The Wayward Prince?" he muttered, squinting at the title. "Wait… is this gay?"
He rolled his eyes. "Even worse. I'd rather stay a virgin than read that crap."
But as his thumb hovered over the "skip" button, something inside him hesitated. He looked around. No one was watching. No one would ever know.
"…I am a loser anyway," he sighed. "What the hell. It's not like I've got better plans."
And so, he tapped.
At first, he read with mockery in his mind — picking at the tropes, the pacing, the cheesy dialogue. But something about the knight got to him. The way he stood by the prince. The quiet loyalty. The fierce love that never asked for anything in return.
He told himself he didn't care. That it was just boredom. But chapter after chapter, he found himself pulled in — until a paywall popped up.
> Ding. Payment received.
One payment turned into another. Then another. And soon, Jace wasn't reading just for fun — he was invested. This BL story, of all things, had burrowed into the emptiness in his heart. For the first time in years, he felt… something.
But then the story stopped.
> Author on hiatus.
Right on a cliffhanger. The prince had to make a choice — accept the knight's love or be betrayed by assassins sent by his own family. The tension was unbearable.
Jace checked every day for updates. Nothing.
Weeks passed. Then months.
He even wrote to the author — dozens of messages — but no replies. It was strange. The author used to respond sometimes. Not anymore.
And just like that… two years passed.
He still checked. Still waited. Still hoped. But the story remained frozen, unfinished.
He tried other stories — fantasy epics, romance dramas, even a few more BL novels he would've mocked before. Some were decent. Some were fun. But none of them hit the same.
None of them made him feel like that one did.
And life went on — dull, gray, and empty.
Until Christmas Eve came around.
It was Christmas Eve when his captain at work announced a company night out. There'd be drinks, music, snow — the works.
Jace felt nothing. Just a familiar hollowness.
He was about to decline when a friend nudged him. "Come on, man. Maybe you'll meet someone. A cute girl or something."
Jace gave a weak smile and nodded.
But deep down, he knew: he didn't expect anything from the night.
After all, no one looks at the quiet guy in the back.
Not in real life, anyway.