A clearly bored celebrity named Aiko was doing an Instagram Live, trying to entertain his audience, though his own boredom was obvious. As he read through the comments, a few messages caught his eye about storytelling.
He smiled and told them how he used to write stories back in school, though he never narrated any of them. "Maybe I just wasn't confident back then," he admitted. He shared how he'd tried writing different genres and often failed. Now, his fans wanted him to narrate one of those stories, but he hesitated.
He had never done something like that live before. Besides, he felt it would be unprofessional to suddenly start narrating a story during a casual session. After all, people joined at different times, not everyone might like it or even understand it. So, he declined the request but promised he'd do it during next week's Live. Deep down, he hoped they would forget by then.
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NEXT WEEK
Just 5–10 minutes into his Instagram Live, the comments were flooded with messages asking him to narrate a story. He wasn't prepared at all. Nervously, he tried to steer the conversation in another direction. But after noticing that people genuinely wanted to appreciate his art, he gave in. Hesitantly, he began with a light, funny story from his daily life.
To his surprise, the response was overwhelmingly positive. People loved it! Motivated, he promised to narrate one of his best stories in the next Live.
During the week, Aiko worked hard to find the perfect story among his handwritten notebooks. Some had dark themes, which he felt weren't suitable for his audience. He wanted something lighter, funnier — but found nothing that matched his current vibe.
He shared his dilemma with his team, but they weren't convinced. They asked him to submit his notebooks for review. Initially, he refused. But later, to avoid conflict, he handed them over. After going through the material, they chose a love story and wanted him to narrate that one.
Aiko didn't want to. But with his company now pressuring him, having tasted the success of his previous storytelling episode, he had no real choice.
On the day of the Live, Aiko felt nervous and anxious. As the session time approached, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Still, he was determined to give it his best.
He began the Live session sitting comfortably on a couch, knowing this session would be longer than usual. Beside him sat on a coach, there was a thick notebook on a table, next to a cold coffee cup. The lighting was soft but bright enough to clearly see his face.
He started:
"This story is from a time when Facebook was new. Not everyone used it frequently like now."
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The Story Begins
The story is about a grumpy, clumsy boy who had a special ability — he could learn things quickly. But he was emotionally distant, choosing to approach everything logically. He dreamed of going to the US for higher studies, but in his college, no one shared that ambition. Everyone seemed content settling for less. That's why he had no real friends and spent most of his time in the library.
One day, while researching in the library, he accidentally spilled coffee on a table. To his horror, the coffee landed on someone's handwritten notes. Panicked, he tried to clean them, but it only made things worse.
Suddenly, a girl with a high, tight ponytail came running toward him. From the look on her face, he thought, One slap from her might knock out all my teeth.
She looked furious.
Before she could say anything, he nervously blurted out,
"I know you're angry, but don't worry — I'll provide new notes to you."
He was looking down at her hands as he spoke, which only made her angrier.
"Maybe you're more intelligent than me, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!"
He didn't understand what she was saying. Her words were a blur. But he didn't interrupt — afraid she really might slap him.
After the heated exchange, she stormed off, leaving him confused about what had just happened. He shook his head and suddenly remembered he had a math class to attend after lunch.
He quickly took his lunch to the cafeteria and then headed to class.
During class, he was busy solving questions when, out of nowhere, someone asked him to borrow a pen. Without looking up, he reached into his bag and handed over a pen.
That's when he noticed those same hands.
He raised his head — and this time, he finally saw her face. For a moment, he was just lost in her beauty. Before he could say anything, she softly said she wanted to talk to him outside the class.
He didn't fully understand what was going on, but he followed her outside.
There, she apologised for her earlier behaviour.
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After that incident, things began to shift. They started greeting each other casually, exchanging notes, and helping each other with studies. In other words, they became good friends. They even called each other occasionally. There was no awkwardness between them anymore — only comfort.
One day, while they were working together on a project, she told him that the next day was her birthday and that she wanted to celebrate it with him. As many of her friends were busy with work and couldn't attend, she didn't want to celebrate it alone.
That night was special. It was her first birthday.
He wanted to make it memorable — to do something that would make her smile. So, he decided to gift her a pendant. It was beautiful and unique — perhaps more suitable as a gift from a boyfriend than from just a friend.
But the truth was, he had never bought a gift for a girl before. He had no idea what kind of gift would be appropriate. He just assumed all girls liked jewellery. So, casually, without overthinking it, he bought the pendant and wrapped it for her.
What he didn't expect… was how she would interpret it.
She thought it wasn't just a gift, but a confession. That he liked her. That this was his way of proposing.
And the thing is…
She liked him too.
So she accepted the relationship.
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End of Flashback.
Aiko smiled and said:
"That's how our hero and heroine started dating."
And that's how he concluded the first episode of the love story.