He was the man that he saw back then during the camera test for Twilight Struggles. He was number four. He didn’t know the man’s name though. He tested first and was notified of his failure first as well. The reason he remembered him was because this man sighed his way until the end of the test. He sighed so much that it almost disturbed him. He couldn’t just tell him not to sigh since he was so depressed and tried to ignore him as much as possible, but that didn’t mean that the man left a good impression on him.

“Did you pass the audition back then?”

“Yes.”

“I knew it. I knew you’d pass. The judges all seemed bored when the other applicants acted, but they were busy talking to each other and looking at the monitor when you were the one acting.”

“I was lucky.”

“Luck, huh. Luck is definitely a big factor. It would’ve been good if I was a little lucky back then too.”

He spoke in a self-loathing tone before becoming quiet with an awkward smile. Although the conversation ended, Maru did not see the need to continue the conversation so he stayed still. The man’s greeting was neither welcome nor distasteful. He just replied because the other party acted like he knew him.

He scratched his head.

“Sorry, I acted too familiar, didn’t I?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Really? That’s good. Haa, I feel frustrated just thinking about what happened back then. I...