アンコール | "I got roped into... becoming an idol." Finn sighed in defeat.
Rayne blinked once, twice, and even thrice. He tilted his head to the side, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "You're going to be a what now?"
After graduating from Easton Magic A...
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CHAPTER XII < Finn Ames and the Afterparty > 《Shifting into the Critic's Shadows Arc》
FINN sat on the edge of his bed, his phone gripping tightly in his small hands. The soft hum of the muffled noises downstairs helped drown out his thoughts.
He had finally done it. He performed successfully at the Cherry Blossom Star Fest, his first big event as part of Himeakira. He made Rayne and all of his friends proud. The broadcast of their performance itself had ended hours ago, and now a celebration was in full swing downstairs.
Lemon and Anna were the most ecstatic of the bunch, showering him with praise after singing with him. Wirth even had to ask Rayne if they could host a party at their house to congratulate Finn. All of his friends were present, from Mash to Macaron and even the Divine Visionaries were there.
It should have been perfect.
But it didn't feel that way.
Finn was proud of himself. He performed with no errors, and with the energy he wanted to deliver, and the people who supported him came to watch his performance. Finn was happy. Finn was able to be a star, wasn't he? But the results that appeared once he typed his name on the browser said the opposite.
"Finn Ames? Seriously? Now Love Cute doesn't look that bad anymore."
"He's not even that talented. Anyone could sing like that."
"Was he trying to be cool or cute? He couldn't pull off either lol."
Finn winced, his fingers tightening around his phone as he continued scrolling. He just wanted to know a bit of feedback from Himeakira's fans, but he didn't know they'd hate him this much.
"I miss Love Cute already. This random dude doesn't even have half her stage presence. I'm not even gonna bother watching anymore!"
"Bring back Love Cute! Finn Ames is such a huge downgrade ngl."
Finn's heart pounded as his eyes skimmed the posts, each word felt like a knife twisting deeper into his chest. There were a few numbers of good comments, but it wasn't comforting knowing that all of Love Cute's fans were staring daggers at him.
"Why is he even there? Anyone else could be better if they really wanted to replace Love Cute. That Finn guy isn't made for this."
That one hurt. Finn blinked several times, trying to stop the tears from welling up. Didn't he do well? Wirth's advice to ignore the haters was easier said than done when every time you looked around, people were giving you disgusted looks.
It was a joke that he thought the cheers of the fans during the concert were for him. Who is he kidding? Those were definitely for Anna and Lemon. Stop being delusional, Finn.
