[Virtual YouTuber Minor Gallery]
[Title: Why has Umiko-sensei not been active lately…?]
[Posted by: ㅇㅇ]
Why?
[Recommended: 0 / Disrecommended: 0]
uwu: She hasn’t even narrated anything besides the pictures she posted anyway.
└ㅇㅇ: I just want to see that picture…
[Title: What is Izumi doing these days?]
[Posted by: uwu]
When she first graduated, I thought she’d reincarnate as a solo illustrator, but
Umiko never shared any personal stories and just posted pictures, and now she’s stopped doing that too.
I don’t think she’s actively involved in the solo scene anymore.
[Recommended: 0 / Disrecommended: 0]
Villainess Lady: With how much the Star’s Flow members keep talking about her, she must be doing well.
└uwu: That’s a relief if that’s the case.
[Title: I suddenly missed Izumi today and cried.]
[Posted by: Mizukiri Mei-chan]
Sniff I cried.
[Recommended: 0 / Disrecommended: 0]
Suzuiz: I cried too…
[Kaino Izumi Minor Gallery]
[Title: Izumi’s Comeback Wish, Day 365]
[Posted by: I love Mei-chan🔸]
[Kaino Izumi☆Star’s Flow_Graduate @KainoIzumi · 1 min]
I’m heading out!!!
I’ll be waiting!
[Recommended: 0 / Disrecommended: 0]
ㅇㅇ: Oh wow, it’s already been a year;
★
Yawn…
I woke up at 6:30 AM after stretching and checking the time.
It was the same time I always woke up at.
Uuuhhhh…
Rubbing my eyes lightly while checking my phone, I found a ton of LINE notifications waiting for me.
[Star’s Flow 0 ~ 3rd generation!]
[Suzuha Koga: Have you all seen this video?]
[Hikari Kurokami: …It’s super cute.]
[Sakuya Suzumichi: Oh, I’ve seen this!]
…
[Namikawa Tsubaki: For some reason, I’m in the mood for yakiniku today!]
[Ichika Minazuki: Shall we go together?]
[Kaguya Aoba: I want to go too!]
I started getting ready to rise while scrolling through the hundreds of messages stacked up.
It’s always so lively here.
According to Suzuha, aside from this group chat created just for me, even the real Star’s Flow group chat with the 4th generation is just as noisy…
Is it really possible to keep chatting like that?
I seriously think it’s absolutely impossible for me, though.
[Aki Nekoto: I’ve completed all routes, including the hidden ones…]
[Aki Nekoto: (photo)]
[Aki Nekoto: I’m going to sleep now….]
And just like always, the last message was from Nekoto.
It seemed like she’d spent another night playing an eroge since the message was sent just 5 minutes ago.
[Kaino Izumi: Sleep well.]
[Okatami]
Next up is the group chat with Miyauchi, Tateyama, and Onodera.
The group chat was named Okatami, taking the first letters of our surnames.
[Kayanoh Mina: I’m heading to sleep now.]
[Tateyama Haru: Goodnight, Kayacchi!]
[Miyauchi Sara: Sleep tight.]
[Onodera Sachi: Sweet dreams~ (－_－) zzZ]
…
[Tateyama Haru: But aren’t university classes really tough?!]
[Onodera Sachi: Haru, you say that every day! Yet your grades are always good! ⊂(・▽・⊂)]
[Tateyama Haru: But they really are hard….]
[Miyauchi Sara: You can do it! ヽ(￣ω￣(。。 )ゝ]
[Tateyama Haru: Miyauchi~. Sat-chan is bothering me….]
[Onodera Sachi: It’s not bothering; I was just stating the facts.]
[Miyauchi Sara: I’m not familiar with that… c⌒っ╹v╹ )っ]
[Tateyama Haru: That’s so unfair! As your university classmate, you should support me!]
[Onodera Sachi: You’re in different universities, you know.]
[Tateyama Haru: Still, it’s the bond that comes from being a university student!]
Once again, this chat was overflowing with messages.
The difference is that the Star’s Flow group chat was lively from dawn to morning, but this one becomes quiet in the early hours.
Tateyama and Miyauchi are busy with university life.
Onodera is running a family restaurant, so she tends to sleep before dawn.
Of course, I’m usually the first to fall asleep, and when I wake up, it’s just as packed with messages.
[Kayanoh Mina: I’m heading to work now.]
Finally, I left a message in the group chat that I was heading to work, just like usual, and got out of bed.
Honestly, I don’t think I really need to announce my working hours, but Tateyama and Onodera insisted that since “Kayacchi hardly speaks on a usual basis, we should do at least this!” so it has come to this.
Well, that just means they care about me that much, so I’ll just go along with it.
★
“Kayanoh-san! Please handle this paperwork!”
“Yes…!”
It’s busy.
I feel like I’m so busy I can barely blink.
Being the youngest at the company is as hectic as this.
I realized this once again.
“Kayanoh-san, did you reach out to Akai-sensei?”
“Ah, yes. She said she’d definitely finish it by today…”
“Did she say ‘definitely’ when you spoke?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s fine. If Akai-sensei said it would be done, then it will be done.”
“Isn’t it a bit too risky to always be this on edge…?”
“Well, she guarantees quality for that reason, doesn’t she? We should be satisfied with that.”
“That’s true.”
Right now, I’m working as an intern at a publishing company.
After working as an illustrator under the name “Umiko-sen” for about 5 months, I realized that for me, keeping art as a hobby may be best.
Because taking commissions means I can’t create what I envision exactly.
To me, drawing was about spreading the wings of imagination, so creating what clients want never satisfied my inner self at all.
So, I returned to Japan after leaving Korea, and now I’m interning at a publishing company.
Of course, my aunt Shia kept asking me to stay in Korea until the end….
Anyway, work as an intern at this publishing company has been more manageable than I thought, aside from being busy.
Although the scope of what I can do as an intern isn’t that wide, fortunately, all the senior employees are kind, allowing me to learn a lot.
Methods to discuss with authors or good books for expanding my knowledge…
Everything is precious nourishment for life.
…Well, that’s all coming to an end today.
“Kayanoh-san! Please make contact with Chihaya-sensei!”
“Ah, understood!”
“You’ve really worked hard until the end, Kayanoh-san.”
“It’s alright, hehe. Thanks to the seniors, I never once thought I was overwhelmed with work…”
“Aww…”
And so, my last day as an intern at the publishing company came to an end.
★
“Kayanoh-san… can’t you just work with us a little longer? I’ll talk to the manager, so please…”
“Haha… I’m, I’m sorry.”
It was my farewell party.
My immediate superior, Minase-san, was clinging to me, completely drunk.
Isn’t it excessive to have a farewell party for someone who’s only been an intern for 6 months? But after listening to what the seniors said, they expressed that I did better than they expected, so this was justifiable.
…True, though.
The manager did say they’d consider converting me to full-time staff, and asked if I’d stay with the company.
“Have you said you’re still not allowed to drink?”
“Ah, yes, I’m still 19…”
“You’re young~.”
Waaaaah! Kayanoh-san…! Please let’s keep working together…! I’ll treat you better!!!
As I was chatting with the seniors, Minase-san suddenly wailed and hugged me.
“Sniff?!”
I got goosebumps from the sticky sensation.
It felt like when Ayaka clings to me…!
“Hey, Minase, what’s wrong?”
“I’m not normally like this; I must really like Kayanoh-san.”
“Haha… it’s, it’s okay.”
If it’s familiar, it’s familiar…
It’s actually enjoyable to see Minase-san’s usual stoic demeanor change like this.
“By the way, what do you plan to do in the future, Kayanoh-san? Honestly, I thought you were definitely aiming for a full-time position here. …This might sound boastful, but it’s quite a good company.”
“…I’m not sure.”
To be honest, I haven’t really decided what I want to do yet.
But…
“I haven’t settled on anything yet, but I’m thinking of traveling for now.”
“Heh….”
I had enough money.
The earnings I made as an illustrator and my current salary had been steadily saved up.
If I add the money I saved from high school, it should last me about a year.
“Make sure to take lots of pictures of the places you visit and send them to me!”
“Yes, I’ll definitely send them!”
“Kayanoh-san, pleeeaaase… stay at the company…!”
“Whoa?!”
★
After the farewell party at the company, I returned home, washed up, and flopped onto my bed.
Uuuhhhh…
Five months as an illustrator, and six months at this company.
It’s already been a year since I graduated from Star’s Flow.
A year can feel both short and long, and it’s enough time for those feelings to gradually fade away.
Deciding to quit my job and travel is part of that reason.
To search for what I truly wanted.
I feel that if I see more and experience more, I might grasp something.
It’s like I can finally understand if those feelings that began to fade were a mere momentary impulse.
Sigh…
I quietly let out a breath and closed my eyes.
The first image that came to mind was that scene from that day.
…Beautiful waves formed by gathering blue lights.
Still, my heart raced.
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