Chapter 2 – Nakamura Wataru: I Want to Support My Childhood Friends (2)
That evening, I prepared dinner for the two of us as usual.
"I am home!"
Just as the meal was ready, Haruka opened the front door and entered.
"Mmm, it smells delicious. Is it soup curry today?"
"Chicken wings were on sale."
"Yay! I'm looking forward to it!"
Haruka hung her blazer on a hanger, washed her hands in the bathroom, and sat down at the table. It felt like she was visiting a familiar neighbor's house.
"Listen, today I mentioned that I had a video shoot for a MeTube program collaboration, right? The director's demands were crazy. I guess I'm not cut out for on-camera ad-lib work."
"That might be true."
"Hey, shouldn't you be more supportive? I managed to get through it! Look forward to the stream!"
"Sure, I'll watch."
I joked, but I knew Haruka had been struggling with this ever since her debut as a middle schooler.
Comforting her now, while she was doing it as part of her job, would be pointless.
As someone who relied on my parents' support, I couldn't find the right words to encourage my childhood friend who had entered society ahead of me. Anything I said would sound trivial.
"Well, eat up and regain your energy."
"Wow! Turmeric rice! Perfect for soup curry. And where are the raisins?"
"I've got them ready, of course."
For some reason, Haruka always adds raisins instead of pickled radishes or fukujinzuke when serving soup curry.
This combination ranks in Haruka's top three favorite foods.
Although it's a bit labor-intensive to prepare, I chose it tonight because I knew she had a video shoot.
"Thanks, Wataru."
"What for?"
"For cooking dinner."
"It's nothing special. Besides, your parents reimburse me for the ingredients."
Both my parents and the Hyuuga family next door had demanding jobs that kept them away during dinner hours.
So, when I started high school, Haruka began having dinner at our place.
"Yeah, but Wataru, you're amazing."
Haruka's face seemed a little lonely.
"You're the amazing one. Working as a professional voice actress."
"Hehe..."
Lately, Haruka had been giving me this ambiguous smile.
It was different from the cheerful smile she showed fans and classmates.
When I saw that expression, it felt like a weight in my chest.
"Aoi's stream is about to start. Let's watch while we eat."
I tuned the TV to MeTube.
I chose "Violet S. Anillum Channel." It was a virtual MeTuber channel where they used 2D and 3D avatars for streaming.
The live stream was about to begin in one minute. The thumbnail displayed "Debut 6-Month Anniversary Stream."
"Wow... There are already thirty thousand concurrent viewers."
Haruka's surprise was understandable.
Even before the stream started, that many people were already watching the channel.
Achieving such numbers wasn't easy, even for TV celebrities.
"It's been half a year since the three of us stopped having dinner together."
Until the first half of our freshman year, Aoi used to join us for dinner every night.
Aoi's family lived in the neighboring upscale apartment, and we'd been close since kindergarten. When my parents were assigned overseas, Aoi started having dinner with us.
But lately, she'd become busy during this time due to her activities as Violet.
At the same time, Haruka and Aoi seemed to feel a bit awkward around each other.
While I was happy for my childhood friends' success, I couldn't help feeling a little lonely.
Supporting my childhood friends was something I had to do with all my heart—it wasn't a lie.