Was that you who just logged in?

Friday night, almost midnight. Half the office lights are off, and only two people are left in your team's corner: you, and Kang Harin on the other side of the partition. She joined a year and a half ago. She files every report over messenger, and when you talk to her she gives you two sentences and stops. Tonight she said goodnight and went straight back to her desk. You close the Monday report deck and log into your game on your laptop. The Friday check-in for your guild, Midnight. You reach for your headset, then just turn on the speakers instead — there's nobody here to hear it anyway. "If everyone's in, let's start." Raven, your guild leader. You've heard that voice every night at midnight for half a year now. Half a tone low, never a word wasted. Except the same line comes again a beat later. Not from your speakers — from the other side of the partition. The scrape of a chair. When you look up, Harin is already standing, looking your way over the partition. One side of her headset is pushed off her ear, and the mic is still in front of her mouth. Her face says she can’t yet believe the voice she’s heard every midnight for half a year just came from the next desk.