While waiting for Love Letter to be released, Michiya Gōshin stayed quietly in his rental apartment.
The online attacks against him never ceased. Johnny & Associates truly was one of the giants of the entertainment industry; a quick scroll through Twitter each day would reveal all sorts of new, fabricated scandals.
This even became the young man's daily source of amusement.
Some of the exposé posts and news articles were so ridiculous that just reading the text was enough to make Michiya Gōshin laugh for a good while.
On the other hand, as these overwhelming smear campaigns grew, a tiny sub-group gradually evolved among the active residents of the online world. Out of curiosity about the scandals, these people became curious about Michiya Gōshin himself.
So they started searching on Twitter for works he had appeared in. After watching the first episode of '49' that had already aired, they were captivated by the young man's handsome face and acting skills. Contrasting this with the rumors and scandals they had read, a strange sense of defiance grew within them.
Hmph, everyone says he's bad, so I'm going to try liking him!
The next step was a simple tap of their fingers, a click on the follow button, and they became one of Michiya Gōshin's silent, anonymous fans.
This change was directly reflected in his total number of Twitter followers.
Ever since the "blacklisting order" from Johnny & Associates had been issued, the young man's Twitter followers had undergone a steep change in trajectory.
First, there was a sharp drop, but then, during the days of constant smear campaigns, the number actually began to slowly climb back up.
After nearly two weeks of being "blacklisted," Michiya Gōshin discovered his Twitter followers were approaching fifty thousand, an increase of more than ten thousand from before. It was all very strange.
On Saturday evening, Michiya Gōshin received a call from his agent, Nakahara Kazuya.
"Hello, Michiya."
"What's up?"
"Ten o'clock tomorrow morning, three accounts will post the announcement simultaneously. The publishing house has already finalized the promotional image. Get some rest, and keep your phone on and available."
"Understood."
Michiya Gōshin glanced at his phone. At the very top of his Line app were two pinned chats: Sakurajima Mai and Kurokawa Akane.
During this time, the two young women had been chatting with him frequently.
Sakurajima Mai mostly shared stories from the '49' set; after all, she was the contracted female lead and had scenes to film until the finale.
As for Kurokawa Akane, Michiya Gōshin had already told her that he was writing Love Letter.
The girl was naturally delighted by this. She had been hoping Michiya Gōshin could stage a comeback against the odds, as that was the only way they would have a chance to act together again.
But Kurokawa Akane was different from Sakurajima Mai. Her current situation was quite delicate. As a new, minor entertainer, her Twitter account was still supervised by her agent, so she couldn't take the initiative to help him like Sakurajima Mai could.
The only thing Kurokawa Akane could do right now was to provide Michiya Gōshin with more emotional support, which was exactly what she wanted to do.
For instance, they often chatted on Line, and she would share pictures of cute little animals, interesting news, and her daily life at the LALALAI Theater Troupe.
She wasn't as busy as Sakurajima Mai and even found time to visit Michiya Gōshin's apartment several times, bringing dishes she had cooked herself.
The young man cherished the warmth he received from both of them, and of course, it further strengthened his resolve to become a better person.
Turning off his phone and lying back on the bed, a smile of anticipation curved Michiya Gōshin's lips in the darkness.
The time for the counterattack was finally here.
---------------------------------------------------------------
December 18th, 9:59 AM, in the president's office of Hoshino Talent Agency.
Kato Arashi stood by the window, watching the bustling crowds below. Her palms were slightly sweaty.
Michiya Gōshin's agent, Nakahara Kazuya, stared at the computer screen, his finger hovering over the publish button, his breathing shallow. "President, one minute to go."
In the editorial department of Fujikawa Bookstore, Machida Sonoko and her colleagues gathered around a large screen. The screen displayed the backend of three Twitter accounts simultaneously—Michiya Gōshin's personal account, the agency's official account, and Fujikawa Bookstore's official account. In the post composition box of all three pages lay the same announcement and the meticulously designed promotional image.
Ten o'clock in the morning, sharp.
"Post!" Kato Arashi's voice rang out in the office.
At almost the exact same moment, the publish button was clicked on all three accounts.
A scheduled post officially appeared on Michiya Gōshin's personal Twitter, its accompanying text concise and powerful.
"Hello everyone, my first novel, Love Letter, is finally going to meet you all. It will be officially released tomorrow, December 19th, by Fujikawa Bookstore."
"This is a story about unrequited love and reconciliation. I hope it can accompany you through this warm winter."
The image below was the cover of Love Letter—on a plain white background, the book's title was written in light blue fountain pen script. A yellowed, replica library card was affixed to the bottom right corner, with the three characters for "Fujii Itsuki" written on it.
The tweet from the official Hoshino Talent Agency account was similar to Michiya Gōshin's, just with an added agency perspective.
Fujikawa Bookstore's account, however, was a little different. For promotional purposes, it specifically emphasized the size of the initial print run.
"Announcing a major release: the debut work from the new generation author, Michiya-sensei, Love Letter."
"The most sincere monologue from a misunderstood soul. On sale nationwide December 19th, with an initial print run of fifty thousand copies."
Three tweets in total, and in an instant, they hit social media like bombshells, turning everything upside down.
Ten seconds later, countless comments flooded the comment sections, and discussions of all kinds began to refresh endlessly.
"WTF! What kind of fantasy plot is this? An actor drowning in scandals is switching careers to become a writer?"
"Heh, so any random person can publish a book now? I suggest sending it straight to the paper mill for recycling."
"I remember Fujikawa Bookstore has a very strict review process. If it passed, the quality must be good, right?"
An account belonging to a blogger named Kumokawa Ichiyo, who often published literary reviews, posted a comment: "I've read the sample chapters on Fujikawa's official website. The writing is quite polished, not at all like a newcomer's work. Looking forward to the physical copy."
Of course, the replies under this tweet quickly became a battleground.
"Has Kumokawa-sensei been bought out too?"
"Fifty thousand initial print run? They'll be lucky to sell ten thousand!"
"Kumokawa-sensei, why do you think Fujikawa Bookstore would sign someone with so many scandals? Are they crazy?"
In addition to the increasing likes and replies on this post, more passersby and the paid commenters from Johnny & Associates caught wind of it and immediately turned the comment sections of the three accounts into a lively battlefield.
"Isn't an initial print run of fifty thousand a bit of an exaggeration? But Fujikawa Bookstore has always had good taste, maybe it's actually good?"
"Has anyone read the sample chapters? What's the book actually about?"
"Hilarious. His acting sucks so he's switching to writing? He probably hired a ghostwriter!"
The discussion was pushed to a climax when Machida Sonoko, an editor at Fujikawa Bookstore who was quite famous in the publishing industry and had a large number of followers, posted a tweet.
"As the editor in charge of Love Letter, I can responsibly say that this is the most moving pure love story I have read this year."
"For those who doubt Michiya-sensei, I suggest you take a look at the gentle world he has crafted with his pen."
This tweet was quickly retweeted over ten thousand times, and many figures from the publishing world immediately came to like and support it, along with people from literary and educational circles.
In just one hour, the tag #MichiyaGōshinLoveLetterOnSaleTomorrow shot into the top three on Twitter's trending list, with the discussion volume surpassing one million.
And this was for Michiya Gōshin, a minor, unknown actor with fewer than fifty thousand Twitter followers.
The internet was in an uproar. Some mocked, some were hopeful, some dug up old scandals, and others were explaining the highlights of the novel's sample chapters. All of Twitter felt like a grand carnival.
"...So many people~"
Glancing at his own comment section, a playful arc formed on Michiya Gōshin's lips.
He was sure of it.
Johnny & Associates had to be getting antsy right now.
________________________________________
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