119 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.119 #119. His Past *Knock, knock, knock* Hearing the sound of someone knocking on the front door, I sat up and opened it. "You've worked hard." Doa, having finished her broadcast, had returned to our place, not her own. "Was it long?" "No, it felt like it was just about the length of one anime episode." Doa, having taken off her coat, went to the bathroom to wash up before coming back out. "Let me change quickly. Could you look the other way for a moment?" My girlfriend instructed me to turn my head as she rummaged through her bag, clutching her pajamas. Considering we've seen all there is to see at this point... I thought perhaps tonight could be the night we sleep naked, but I obediently complied with her wishes. "Okay." Donning her purple pajamas, she seemed to be in high spirits as she dove onto the bed beside me. "Ah~ this feels so good~" "Hey. The 'Pink Duck Gang' might get jealous if they hear that." "Ugh~ but there were so many obnoxious people today~" As the size of her audience grew, so did the absolute number of problematic viewers. Of course, the company did manage them, but there were always those who typed offensive comments. "Sigh... But that happened even when you were just starting out." Thinking that smaller audiences are more manageable would be a mistake. In fact, it was sometimes worse, as kicking even one person out could be difficult. "Ah, I don’t want to talk about Luca anymore! Let's talk about you." The reason she'd come over was... [Love Rides the Waves #Episode 1] I carefully placed the tablet I'd prepared on the pillow. "Do you think it'll be fun?" "I honestly have no idea." Since I didn't usually watch web dramas, let alone regular dramas, I doubted whether I'd find it interesting even if I watched. A group of boys and girls in school uniforms appeared on the screen. I recognized a couple of the faces from real life. "Is your episode the third one?" "Yeah, it airs next week." "Oh wow... amazing." Snug under the covers, Doa gestured for me to come closer, and I nestled beside her. "Shall we start?" As she pressed play, the screen filled with a bright teenage sky, focusing on a school scene. [Hey! Han Sung-ho! You seriously!] A male student burst out through the door, with a female student frantically chasing after him. I could already sense the vibe of the series. Turning slightly, I saw Doa fully engrossed in the video. Sssssp... I doubt it's all that interesting... But I wasn't planning on skipping it, either. After all, it was my first drama appearance; how could I not watch? At the very least, I thought I should know enough to say, "I participated in this." Each episode lasted about 30 minutes. The high school life it depicted didn't resonate deeply with me. It seemed to focus on happenings in large groups, an experience I hadn’t shared. Not that I didn't have friends, but I'd never skipped class to hang out with girls like that. However, one character caught my attention in this rather dull drama. [Shin Gu-min! That otaku freak watching anime again?] The male lead slapped him on the head. [Ah! Why'd you hit me! It was an important scene!] ...These scenes stirred a homicidal impulse. Who the hell made this stuff? Whooooo!? I mean, who watches anime at school without even using earphones? Loving subculture doesn’t mean you can't distinguish appropriate times and places for indulging in it! Special scenes should be savored intensely in solitude at home! Choked with disbelief, I let out a dry laugh. "Sssssp...." Doa also seemed slightly put off by the scene and smacked her lips. With a cute finger, she hit the pause button. "...Isn't this a bit much?" Even though she didn't want to badmouth a show I was in, Doa expressed her feelings quite diplomatically. "It's beyond ridiculous. Completely." I punched my pillow in frustration. "Ah, I wish they put more effort into accurate depictions when making this stuff." "I mean! Huh? Do glasses make one a nerd? Being an otaku means getting ignorantly overlooked?" Doa laughed awkwardly, unsure whether to sympathize or defend it. "Well... shall we watch it all in one go?" "Phew... fine." With a touch, Doa resumed the video, where the actor playing the otaku offered a clumsy smile. [Hey, hey. If you find something good, recommend it to me too.] [... I don't really know either.] ...I wondered if I could file a defamation lawsuit. Seriously!!! How low is their understanding of otaku culture to direct performances like this? Do they think otaku are always that simple, stumbling around with weird laughs? This was an insult to otaku. The director should apologize to all otaku nationwide! As I struggled to control my anger and almost threw the tablet, Doa managed to stop me. "Hey, calm down." "I wouldn’t have appeared if I'd known it was this bad!" When I recalled the scenes I contributed to, the impact intensified. So I told that Shin Gu-min or whoever not to show off...? What kind of name is Shin Gu, anyway? There wasn't a single thing I liked about the character, and it was the worst reunion with mainstream culture. Embraced by a wave of gloom, I pulled Doa closer for comfort. Nothing could soothe me more than Doa's soft waist. "Doa..." "Yes..." "Ughhhhhh..." Ahh... sorry, 'Pink Duck Gang'... I apologize for acting in such a trashy piece of work... The sense of betrayal stung deeply, realizing that I had let down the one group I truly felt belonged to. "Sigh... well... it seems like the research was a bit lacking, haha..." "...This drama shouldn't gain any traction." I meant it. With such poor attention to detail, it deserved to flop. If they're going to use an otaku character as a gimmick, they should at least do it justice. A work devoid of finesse should be buried and forgotten, becoming nothing more than a scrap of data. "What if your first project ends up failing miserably?" "If I could turn back time, I'd ask to be involved in something else." Now that I'd regained my composure, I found myself seriously contemplating whether to press on and watch the second episode. Every time that Shin Gu-min character appeared, I'd probably end up throwing something. "...What do you want to do?" Doa asked me as she hovered over the play button for the next episode. "I'd rather just hang out with you." I placed the tablet on the floor as if confiscating it, deciding instead to gaze at Doa's face, which always lifted my spirits. Leaning forward, I inhaled the soft scent of her skin. Ah, Doa-tan is all I need. In a world of deception, she and Luca were the only real ones to me. Luca didn't pretend to be into subculture; she genuinely was. In conversations, it was clear that Doa, like me, was passionate about subculture at heart. "Still... I guess making it this way could end up attracting some attention." "...That's true." Sometimes, content that was poorly made gained popularity because people found it entertainingly bad. But expecting that from this video seemed improbable given its current state. It seemed like it would just end up receiving a barrage of criticism instead. "Sigh..." Caught in a whirlwind of mixed emotions, I felt Doa gently playing with my chest, and she called out to me. "...Hey." "Yeah?" "I thought of this while watching it." "Yeah." "You never... introduce me to your friends?" Her question was so sudden that I tilted my head in curiosity, prompting her to explain further. "Oh, watching this just made me wonder what you were like in high school, and I'm curious about your friends." As the topic shifted to my high school friends, it seemed we had stumbled upon a new challenge. "Well... that’s understandable." "Do you not want to introduce them to me at all...?" Her voice carried a note of anxiety, causing me to hesitate. High school friends...? There were no girls to introduce, and as for the boys... I really needed to think about whether they were fit to meet Doa. Because we were embarrassments to each other. You might say they were the kind of friends who were embarrassing no matter where you took them. "Oh... well... if it bothers you, never mind... maybe you don't want to introduce them. Right. Well... heh..." Closing my eyes, I steadied my breathing. The more I thought about it, the less sure I became. I wasn't even sure if they'd want to meet up. Nevertheless, I needed a way to verify, so I asked Doa with a serious tone. "Doa." "Yes?" "If you were asked to do an offline fan meeting with the ‘Pink Duck Gang,’ would you do it?" "I'd rather die." ...I can't let my girlfriend suffer such a fate.