Episode 19: Childhood Friend Digs a Hole on Video Streaming

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Alone on the balcony of my room, I pondered what to do with the serialized version.

“…Yuta-san.”

From the neighboring vacant room, the singer Alyssa appeared, wearing my mother’s pajamas.

Seeing her in an unfamiliar attire made my heart skip a beat, and I felt flustered by her figure, faintly visible in the moonlight.

“…Are you unsure about posting the new work?”

She was referring to the new short story I had just uploaded on Narou, titled “Devote My Heart to You.”

“Yeah… My mother told me to decide whether I want to write it or not… So…”

In reality, I couldn’t help but think about things other than that.

For example…

“…You’re worried about disappointing everyone’s expectations, aren’t you?”

“Huh…?”

Surprised, I looked at Alyssa’s face. She was smiling.

“…When you create a great work in the past, expectations naturally increase. But you never know if the next one will be received well. It’s scary to think about disappointing people’s expectations, right?”

“H-How do you know…?”

“…Because I feel the same way.”

That’s right. Alyssa is a singer too. She’s a creator just like me.

She understands the pressure that comes with creating something new.

“…Yuta-san, I understand your feelings very well. But… just being scared and anxious won’t change anything. You have to keep moving forward, step by step.”

“Even if the new work fails?”

“Yes. When you release creative works to the world, criticism is inevitable. But you create something new while carrying that anxiety. And in doing so, you can save the hearts of many people who look forward to it… I believe that’s the mission of a talented creator, someone born with that ability.”

…I have my doubts.

But through the conversation with Alyssa, I realized that as a creator, it is our duty to not be crushed by expectations and continuously deliver new content to our fans.

“I… I’ll write. The new work.”

“I believed you would say that. As expected of Yuta-san, my most respected and greatest divine author ♡”

I smiled at Alyssa.

“Thank you for listening to my worries.”

“I’m glad I could be of help.”

There was a time when I was heartbroken because of my childhood friend’s rejection. But it led me to meet the best fellow creator like this.

I have to express my gratitude to Michiru.

★

While Yuta made up his mind to continue the serialization, Michiru, on the other hand, was feeling restless at home.

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“Ugh…”

Lying on her bed, she looked at her smartphone.

It was the page of the daily comprehensive ranking on Narou.

In first place was a new short story by her admired author, Kamimatsu.

In the past, Michiru would have been delighted to read it.

But… she couldn’t bring herself to read it that day.

“…As a distraction, maybe I should do a live stream.”

Michiru started up her computer and prepared for a video stream.

She occasionally did live streams on a video posting site called Our TUBE.

Showing her face, and with a decent appearance, she had around 50,000 subscribers.

“Hello, everyone. It’s been a while.”

As soon as the stream started, viewers gathered quickly.

She had quite a number of fans.

Comments from fans started flowing on the screen.

“Mitchi! Long time no see!”

“Missed you since you haven’t been streaming lately!”

“Mitchi, you’re doing well!”

“…That’s right. I’ve been feeling a bit down recently, so I skipped streaming.”

“Really? What happened?”

“If it’s tough, feel free to vent it out!”

Her fans cared about her. They praised her.

Michiru had recently lost her self-confidence.

It was because her childhood friend, Yuta, had fallen for stunningly beautiful girls.

Her self-esteem had taken a big hit.

“Thank you, everyone. I really need to cherish my fans…!”

Boosted by the comments from her fans, Michiru’s spirits lifted.

“Now, today’s stream is going to be a casual chat… What should we talk about…?”

“You mentioned being down earlier.”

“Why were you feeling down?”

“…Well, you know? Aren’t I pretty?”

“What an arrogant remark.”

However, since she maintained that character, her fans were delighted.

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“So, the other day, my childhood friend confessed to me. Well, of course, I turned him down.”

“What?! Mitchi is cute, so it can’t be helped!”

“I envy your childhood friend.”

Being showered with praise, Michiru’s mood inflated.

“And then, just a week later, he fell for another girl! Isn’t that awful?”

…Michiru was hiding the truth as she spoke.

Yes, she wanted to play the victim.

She conveniently omitted the inconvenient parts.

She knew that if she spoke the truth, she would face criticism.

“Ugh, what a terrible childhood friend!”

“That sucks.”

“Tell me his name and address, I’ll beat him up for you!”

Of course, Michiru didn’t disclose Yuta’s personal information.

Doing so would only lead to Michiru being blamed and facing repercussions.

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me. There are plenty of guys out there. Besides… I have all of you, my fans.”

She made a statement to get men interested.

“Wow~” “Mitchi, you’re so adorable!” “I’ll follow you forever, Mitchi-sama!”

Just that alone triggered an avalanche of comments from her fans.

…Internet losers are so easy.

Michiru smirked inwardly.

“Thank you for listening to my story. I feel much better now.”

Feeling relieved, she was about to end the stream.

But… that’s when it happened.

Suddenly, she caught sight of this comment.

“By the way, Mitchi. Have you read Kamimatsu-sama’s new short story?”

…She should have ended the stream right then and there.

“I did, of course.”

“Mitchi, you’re a big fan of Kamimatsu-sama, right?” “That’s our common understanding.” “Yeah, you always give your thoughts on his works.”

Michiru openly declared herself as a big fan of Kamimatsu.

She often shared her thoughts on Kamimatsu’s works during her streams.

“Well, um…”

“Huh? But lately, there haven’t been any review videos, right?” “Come to think of it, you’re right.” “Did something happen?”

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…Did something happen, huh?

Bitter memories began to spread in Michiru’s heart.

There were plenty of them.



Just when she was feeling good, her mood was dampened by this revelation, and Michiru became grumpy.

“W-Well…”

But Michiru thought it wouldn’t be good to throw a tantrum at this moment.

“So, about that short story, it was amazing, right?”

“Oh yeah, it was seriously divine.”

“As expected of Kamimatsu-sensei, haha.”

Many of Michiru’s fans started reading Kamimatsu’s works because of her influence.

So, in this context, Michiru’s fans could also be called Kamimatsu fans.

“…………”

“Oh, uh, what’s wrong?”

“We want to hear your thoughts on the short story.”

Michiru hadn’t read Kamimatsu’s short story.

No, she didn’t even want to read it.

The reason was simple and straightforward.

Even without reading the content, she knew that this short story was a masterpiece.

On novel platforms, you could read the comments and impressions without reading the actual content.

A storm of praise was attached to it: the accumulated points, the rankings…

When combined, it pointed to Kamimatsu’s new work, “Dedicate My Heart to You.”

There was no doubt that it was an extraordinary masterpiece.

That’s precisely why she couldn’t read it.

If she read it, she would regret even more for letting Kamimatsu slip away.

She had rejected not just Digimas, but also a writer like Yuta, who could create two super amazing works…

It was visible that it would lead to greater regret and torment herself.

That’s why she hadn’t read it.

“Mitchi?”

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and share your thoughts.”

“…You guys are annoying.”

Michiru found her fans, who mindlessly dropped comments, vexing.

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“You’re all so annoying! Don’t you even consider my feelings…!”

…Michiru lacked composure.

“What’s Kamimatsu anyway? I haven’t read such… such a childish work from someone like him! Making a fuss over it… you’re all idiots!”

…Michiru vented her anger.

It encompassed the negative feelings she had harbored towards Yuta, who had rejected her.

While she felt relieved to express what she wanted to say, she was greeted by even more regret.

“Huh? What was that just now…?”

Yes, the listeners heard Michiru’s words and felt with Michiru’s recent remarks.

Oh no…! Michiru panicked greatly.

“I-I’m sorry… Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.”

But by making them uncomfortable once, her fans showed their anger.

“What do you mean pretend it didn’t happen? We came here to listen.”

“Apologize.”

“What!? You want me to apologize… Who do you think you are! You’re just pathetic, antisocial losers who have no other enjoyment in life except for watching these livestreams. I don’t want to be ordered around by the likes of you who have no real fulfillment in their lives!”

…She dug herself an even deeper hole.

Then, a torrent of anti-comments flooded in from her fans.

“Don’t mess around.”

“Don’t get too cocky just because you’re feeling a bit high and mighty.”

“Don’t let your head swell just because you have 50,000 subscribers, you insignificant little fish.”

Yes… Love and hate are two sides of the same coin.

The fans who had loved Michiru just moments ago had turned into antis because of her thoughtless remarks.

Michiru realized this and turned even paler.

“Um… That, I… I don’t know anymore!”

Michiru forcefully ended the livestream.

She flopped onto her bed and scratched her head vigorously.

“I did it… I was careful with my words, but…”

Michiru hesitantly opened her smartphone and accessed the OurTUBE page.

…As expected, it was overflowing with anti-comments.

And her subscriber count was rapidly decreasing at an alarming rate.

“Oh… Oh no… Why… Why did this happen…”

Michiru sobbed quietly to herself.

TL notes: hehe… tbh it was quite satisfying

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