5 Chapter 5

The days flew by, and it was now June 12, 2010.

Two months had passed since Edward's arrival in this new world, and it had been one month since he embarked on his journey of creating cover videos.

Currently, a week had gone by since he started recording his second video, and today, he finally felt like he had created the most perfect version of 'Jeepney' by Sponge Cola.

He called it perfect because he believed it was the best rendition out of the thousands he had attempted.

As he shared his video, the comments started pouring in:

"What a talented guy."

"You sang so well."

"No way, am I really that good?"

"Hehe, how handsome."

Edward couldn't help but smirk narcissistically as he admired himself in the mirror.

"Edward! Can you please lower your voice? It's already 10:30 in the evening, for heaven's sake!" His mom scolded from the room next door, forcing Edward to quiet down.

The following day, just like the previous ones, Edward rose early in the morning to complete his chores and dedicate an hour to his usual run.

After several laps around their community, he decided to brag—I mean, showcase his song cover to his neighbors and seek their opinions and ratings.

The outcome aligned with his expectations: the majority rated it a 10 or 9, while a few gave it scores of 8, 7, or even as low as 6.

However, Edward found himself content with these responses.

Singing might not be his strongest suit, but as long as his voice and guitar rhythm harmonized well, producing a satisfactory result, that was enough for him.

At 10:00 am in the morning, Edward made his way to the Internet Cafe to begin editing his video.

He increased the brightness and sharpness, adjusted the hue, added subtitles, and placed a watermark in the upper left corner, etc.

After a while, he started the uploading process, carefully filling out the necessary forms like the title, description, and keywords.

Ten minutes later, the video was finally uploaded.

Even after playing it several times, Edward's expression remained impassive.

Despite the song cover sounding good, Edward still couldn't shake the feeling of discomfort when he listened to it.

However, his expression changed when he looked at the statistics of his previous video.

As expected, the views had stopped at around 51,092.

It wasn't an astronomical number, but it wasn't too shabby either.

While it didn't experience the overnight million-view phenomenon like in the future, he was pleased to see his subscribers had surpassed 2,000, totaling 2,312.

... 

Manila, Quezon City

Today, Andrew was going about his usual routine, browsing his Facebook account, which occasionally involved checking his ex-girlfriend's profile.

However, today was different.

As soon as he opened his ex-girlfriend's profile, a picture of her with an unfamiliar man caught his attention.

"What the heck?!" Andrew's eyes widened, and he found himself involuntarily taking deeper breaths.

The two of them could be considered childhood friends... not extremely close but having lived in the same neighborhood, attended the same school, and with their parents being good friends.

Ever since he could remember, she had been his childhood crush, his goddess, the light in his darkness—well, that might be a tad poetic, but you get the idea. He was a 'simp' for her.

During their college days, he began pursuing her. He bought her flowers and chocolates almost daily, wrote her love letters, and even dedicated countless hours to practicing the guitar just to play a song for her.

In total, it took him a whole year to earn her appreciation, and at that time, he felt like the happiest man in the world.

In those two years of their relationship, it was like they were living in a fairy tale. Andrew and his girlfriend never had a single argument, and their love was always overflowing.

They were inseparable, and many around them envied their seemingly perfect relationship.

Andrew had even started planning how he would propose to her and spend the rest of their lives together.

However, their fairy tale came to an abrupt end just two months ago when his girlfriend unexpectedly decided to break up with him.

The suddenness and the mystery surrounding the breakup left Andrew in a state of shock and confusion. 

The reasons she gave him for their breakup were all too familiar and clichéd:

"It's not you, it's me!"

"I'm sorry, I just need space."

"I'm just going to find myself."

And the list went on.

Andrew, being a considerate boyfriend, understood her need for space and the desire to explore her own path.

He agreed to their breakup, thinking that it might be a temporary separation, and they would eventually find their way back to each other.

However, two months had passed, and Andrew was taken aback when he stumbled upon a picture of his ex-girlfriend with another guy on Facebook.

This unexpected sight left him stunned and bewildered.

It was a situation that he hadn't anticipated after their amicable breakup, and it filled him with a mix of emotions, including surprise, confusion, and a hint of sadness.

"F***!" Andrew couldn't help but curse under his breath.

As a self-proclaimed simp and someone deeply attached to his ex-girlfriend, how could he accept this situation? Refusing to face the reality, he clung to a thread of hope.

In his desperate attempt to find an alternative explanation, he tried to convince himself that the guy in the picture might just be a cousin or some distant relative. Andrew, ever the hopeful romantic, deliberately chose to overlook the undeniable fact that the two individuals in the photo appeared incredibly close and affectionate.

With a glimmer of hope in his eyes, Andrew mustered the courage to send her a message:

"Hey, how are you?"

"I miss you."

"By the way, who's the guy in your picture?"

"Your cousin? Nice, you two look good together. Hahaha."

His heart raced as he anxiously waited for a response. Two minutes later, his hopeful smile froze as he read her blunt reply:

"I'm okay."

"He's not my cousin."

"He's my new boyfriend."

The message hit him like a ton of bricks, shattering the last traces of his optimism.

With trembling hands, Andrew found himself in a whirlwind of emotions, typing out a lengthy message on his keyboard.

He was on the verge of asking questions like 'Why did this happen?' 'How could you move on so quickly?' 'What went wrong? Don't you still care about me?' But as he stared at the screen, he hesitated, realizing that perhaps it was best not to delve into these emotions at this moment.

With a deep breath, he cleared the message he had composed and sent a simple ')kay.'

It was a mix of frustration, acceptance, and a touch of indifference.

Andrew often turned to music as a source of comfort during difficult times, and today was one of those days.

When he opened his YouTube account, he immediately noticed a video from a content creator he had recently subscribed to.

Without any second thoughts, he clicked on the video, seeking solace in the familiar melodies that had the power to ease his troubled mind.

The video started just like the others, with a simple black screen displaying the song title in bold.

After a brief pause, the same guy, the one Andrew had recently subscribed to, appeared with his guitar.

The backdrop was as stunning as always, with a vast and colorful grassland that never failed to please the eye. As the guy started singing the song, Andrew couldn't help but feel a rush of memories from the past flooding back into his mind.

The same girl who was fun and outgoing, the girl who was so perfect that he couldn't help but want to spoil her.

Soon, the chorus came; the rhythm changed, the voice became hoarse, and at the same time, the picture in his mind had also changed.

The girl who was full of smiles and sweetness at the beginning slowly changed. She smiled less, the time they spent together became less, and the length of her messages became shorter.

Minutes later, the song ended, and the screen turned black.

Andrew snapped out of his daydreaming and realized he was still sitting in front of the computer in his room.

Slowly, he touched his face and was surprised to find that his cheeks were drenched in tears. Surprisingly, he felt a sense of relief.

"I see, so that's why," Andrew's eyes lit up as if enlightened, and then he chuckled suddenly.

Honestly, he found it amusing, and no, he wasn't pretending; it was his genuine emotion.

At the same time, he also realized how naive he had been.

In fact, long before their breakup, he had noticed her changing demeanor, her growing distance, and her unusual behavior.

He knew it; he wasn't stupid.

It's just that, at the time, he had been in denial.

Sighing, Andrew felt a mix of sadness and relief.

Throughout their two years of dating, it had always been him putting in the effort, him giving, and him trying to keep the spark alive.

Andrew had once come across a saying: 'If you treat her like a queen, she will treat you as a servant.'

Back then, he had found it absurd and had even made fun of it. But now, having experienced it, he couldn't help but find it ironic.

Is it wrong to love someone deeply?

Had he gone overboard?

It's so ironic...

Fortunately, he had realized this sooner rather than later; otherwise, he didn't know how deep he might have sunk.