Johnny & Associates, inside a small conference room.
An assistant projected the tablet's screen onto the large monitor. It displayed the bustling comment section under Michiya Gōshin's tweet, which, at this particular moment, was exceptionally jarring to the eye.
"He's publishing a book?!"
Mizushima Ryo had been waiting for a long time. He hadn't received the swift capitulation from Hoshino Talent Agency, nor had he received a desperate call of surrender from Michiya Gōshin.
But today, he was met with this piece of news, and the man's voice was tinged with incredulous fury.
"Can he actually write a novel? When you were gathering information before, didn't you say he was just an ordinary minor actor?!"
The assistant's face was a deathly pale. He stood to the side, fingers flying as he made a call. "I'll look into it right now! This might just be a stunt by Hoshino Talent Agency to grab attention..."
Half an hour later, facing a grim-faced Mizushima Ryo, the assistant returned with the latest information, his voice trembling as he explained.
"Director Mizushima, it's true! Both Fujikawa Bookstore and Kodansha have confirmed the release information—an initial print run of fifty thousand copies!"
"I also inquired with the Dongjie Printing Factory we've worked with before. They said the book went to print a long time ago and will be delivered to all major bookstores by tomorrow morning!"
"Bastards!!!"
Mizushima Ryo shot to his feet, yanking his expensive suit jacket out of shape. "You can't even find out something like this! An entertainer we've blacklisted can still pull off such a huge move!"
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the bustling traffic below, his eyes terrifyingly sinister.
"What should we do now?" the assistant asked timidly from the side.
Ever since the "blacklisting" of Michiya Gōshin was announced, the news had spread widely within the entertainment industry. Both actors and the top-tier agencies comparable in size to Johnny & Associates were aware of it.
If Michiya Gōshin actually managed to turn the tables and return to the spotlight, Johnny & Associates would become a laughingstock for everyone.
After all, failing to even blacklist a small actor who had just entered the industry would be a massive blow to the authority of Johnny & Associates.
"What should we do?"
Mizushima Ryo sneered again, his eyes filled with viciousness as he turned around.
"Tell the paid commenters to ramp it up! Go flood the comment sections of Fujikawa Bookstore and Kodansha, say they have no bottom line for the sake of money! Get marketing accounts to publish articles questioning if Michiya Gōshin's Love Letter was ghostwritten! I want everyone who sees this book to be reminded of his scandals. I want those fifty thousand copies to rot in a warehouse!"
He pointed at the screen, where the topic's popularity was continuously rising, his tone icy.
"Send out the notice. Keep pushing these scandals until the release date tomorrow. I'd like to see if he can turn the world upside down with one lousy book!"
The assistant nodded repeatedly and hurried away.
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At eight o'clock on Sunday morning, the winter wind blew against Michiya Gōshin's face, making him feel even more awake.
He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead as a new notification popped up on the system's holographic screen.
[Production Queue 1: Long-Distance Runner]
[Experience: 75/100]
[Experience: 76/100]
[Experience: 77/100]
"I'll be able to produce this entry soon. I'm really looking forward to upgrading the [Entry Library]."
Michiya Gōshin currently possessed eight entries. As long as he produced this [Long-Distance Runner] and then synthesized the [Sports Ace (Green)] entry, he would have ten.
"Ding-dong—"
His phone vibrated. It was a message from Nakahara Kazuya, attached with a photo: the bestseller section of Jinbocho Bookstore. Love Letter was displayed on the most prominent shelf, its pale white spine standing out among the colorful covers. Next to it stood a small sign that read, "A sincere work from new author Michiya Gōshin."
The young man took a deep breath, opened Twitter, and began browsing the day's lively developments.
The comment section of his post was still as chaotic as an early morning market. The paid commenters relentlessly launched repetitive attacks, piling them on one after another.
"Anyone who buys a book from a disgraced entertainer is a fool. It must have been ghostwritten, right?"
"Boycott tainted entertainers! Don't let capitalists treat readers like idiots!"
These harsh voices were constantly flooding the feed. However, unlike the rampant scandals that flew around after he was kicked off the '49' production, the announcement of Love Letter's release had attracted many people who didn't follow the entertainment industry to browse Michiya Gōshin's feed, and their perspectives were entirely different.
Of course, among them were some of Michiya Gōshin's true fans.
They had been working hard to promote the book and continuously argued with the paid commenters. Although they were few in number, they brought more and more vibrant responses to the comment section.
As he scanned the comments, one with a pink heart emoji suddenly shot to the top.
[Supporting Michiya-sensei! I just bought it at the bookstore, the cover feels amazing!]
In the accompanying picture, a girl wearing a face mask held up Love Letter, her eyes smiling. A cherry blossom commemorative sticker from Fujikawa Bookstore was affixed to the plain white spine, and the sunlight cast a delicate sheen on the pages.
Another popular comment followed below: [I was passing by a bookstore and flipped through the sample chapter... The part where Watanabe Hiroko lies in the snow to mail a letter is written with such a strong sense of imagery, it even describes the feeling of snowflakes landing on her eyelashes. Already bought it!]
People in the comments asked for more details about the plot, quickly building a discussion thread dozens of layers deep.
Similarly, more neutral voices gradually began to appear.
[Not a fan but a bit curious. The quality of Fujikawa Bookstore's books is usually good. Waiting for a real review.]
[I'll buy it and give it a try. It's not expensive anyway, only 550 yen a copy.]
Seeing these sincere words, Michiya Gōshin couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
He clicked on the profile of the girl in the mask and saw that she had posted several photos taken at the bookstore. Love Letter was placed on the bestseller display, surrounded by several readers who were looking down at their books with gentle expressions.
"Not bad at all."
After murmuring this softly, Michiya Gōshin prepared to head to the agency. His agent had told him that Fujikawa Bookstore's data website was ready, which would allow them to track the specific sales situation.
But before that, his fingertips danced lightly across the screen, a faint smile unconsciously gracing his lips.
Opening his own Twitter account, the young man's fingertips typed a line of text on the keyboard. After some editing, it was finalized into a simple sentence.
"Thank you all for your support. I hope Love Letter can accompany you through this winter."
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