Near midnight on October 11, 2001, the Unfair team gathers to bring Mapleworld online. Despite doubts after 9/11, they decide to launch on time. Sam flips the server switch while Sadie and Marx are upstairs, and the team celebrates as support staff begin moderating the live game.

Heading to find them, Sam sees Sadie tenderly brush something from Marx’s face. The casual intimacy makes Sam realize they are in love. Shocked and heartsick, he imagines their future together and his isolation. Unable to face them, he leaves the office and drives toward Echo Park.

On the drive, Sam recalls the months he battled driving anxiety after his amputation, his late-night therapy drives, and rescuing a wounded stray he named Tuesday. The dog helped distract him from pain and loneliness. In a dog park confrontation, a stranger mistook Tuesday for a coyote, provoking Sam’s rage and later a strained exchange with Sadie, who said the story was “about” him.

Sam reaches his grandparents’ home, admits to Dong Hyun that he loves Sadie, and learns she loves someone else. Dong Hyun comforts him, framing change as a life “pivot,” urging Sam to value enduring friendship even without romance. A message from Marx draws Sam back to the office to help the team.

Driving west again with Tuesday, Sam notices a hidden turnoff marked only by a “therefore” symbol. Weighing risk and direction in the quiet hours, he signals to take the unnamed road, poised between retreat and a new path as Mapleworld begins.