diff --git a/HellionChat/PayloadHandler.cs b/HellionChat/PayloadHandler.cs
index 2d3d95b..91aeb5e 100644
--- a/HellionChat/PayloadHandler.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/PayloadHandler.cs
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ internal sealed class PayloadHandler
     public uint LastHoverCounter;
 
     private (Chunk, Payload?)? _popup;
+    private object? _popupOwner;
 
     public PayloadHandler(
         ThemeRegistry themes,
@@ -69,6 +70,10 @@ internal sealed class PayloadHandler
         _logger = logger;
     }
 
+    // Every chat surface shares this handler, so each one claims it before it
+    // renders. Without that the popup cannot tell whose click it belongs to.
+    internal object? ActiveSurface { get; set; }
+
     internal void Draw()
     {
         DrawPopups();
@@ -84,7 +89,9 @@ internal sealed class PayloadHandler
 
     private void DrawPopups()
     {
-        if (_popup == null)
+        // A foreign surface finds no open popup here and would otherwise read
+        // that as "closed" and drop the state before the owner gets to draw.
+        if (_popup == null || !PopupOwnership.Owns(_popupOwner, ActiveSurface))
             return;
 
         var (chunk, payload) = _popup.Value;
@@ -93,6 +100,7 @@ internal sealed class PayloadHandler
         if (!popup.Success)
         {
             _popup = null;
+            _popupOwner = null;
             return;
         }
 
@@ -934,6 +942,7 @@ internal sealed class PayloadHandler
     private void RightClickPayload(Chunk chunk, Payload? payload)
     {
         _popup = (chunk, payload);
+        _popupOwner = ActiveSurface;
         ImGui.OpenPopup(PopupId);
     }
 }
diff --git a/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
index 4704632..89c0ffc 100644
--- a/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
@@ -158,6 +158,11 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
             return;
         }
 
+        // Claim the shared handler, so a popup opened here stays with this
+        // window instead of being cleared by whichever surface draws first.
+        if (_handler is not null)
+            _handler.ActiveSurface = this;
+
         // No own ImRaii.Child here — MainWindow already wraps the message
         // area in one. Nesting would give the window two stacked scrolls
         // and a runaway content-height computation.
diff --git a/HellionChat/Ui/InputPreview.cs b/HellionChat/Ui/InputPreview.cs
index 8de71c9..60b3c80 100644
--- a/HellionChat/Ui/InputPreview.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/Ui/InputPreview.cs
@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ internal sealed class InputPreview : Window
                 _handlerLender.ResetCounter();
 
             var handler = _handlerLender.Borrow();
+            handler.ActiveSurface = this;
             _chunkRenderer.DrawChunks(
                 _previewMessage!.Content,
                 wrap: true,
diff --git a/HellionChat/Util/PopupOwnership.cs b/HellionChat/Util/PopupOwnership.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb6165d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/HellionChat/Util/PopupOwnership.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+namespace HellionChat.Util;
+
+// Chat surfaces share one payload handler and all render it in the same frame.
+// A popup belongs to the surface that opened it; the others must leave its
+// state alone instead of reading "no popup here" as "popup was closed".
+internal static class PopupOwnership
+{
+    // Reference identity on purpose -- two surfaces can compare equal without
+    // being the same window.
+    internal static bool Owns(object? owner, object? surface) =>
+        owner is not null && ReferenceEquals(owner, surface);
+}