"Damn…" Mateo muttered as he stepped into his small one-bedroom apartment, his shoulders sagging beneath the modest weight of the groceries he carried, though the exhaustion in his voice suggested the world itself was sitting on his back today.
The moment he closed the door behind him, a dull click sounded through the silent room, and he let out a sigh that stretched across the dim living space like a tired fog refusing to lift.
He trudged forward with the tiredness of someone who had fought the same battle for too many years, dropping the grocery bag onto the couch with a soft thud that matched the mood in his chest.
"Two whole years in the gym and I haven't even improved much," he muttered, lowering himself onto the sagging cushion while reaching into the bag and pulling out a bright red apple.
He bit into it slowly, his jaw working with deliberate resignation as the slightly sour taste hit his tongue.
'They're saying I should fix my diet but I don't even eat that much…' he thought, staring blankly at the living room wall as though it might offer answers the universe had refused him for far too long.
It wasn't the first time he had wondered why nothing he did ever seemed to make a difference, and deep down he feared it wouldn't be the last.
From the moment Mateo Estes turned seventeen and the orphanage sent him away with nothing more than a pat on the back and well-wishes he never believed.
Life had been a constant uphill climb.
Whether he starved himself for days or pushed his limits in the gym until his lungs burned, his body never changed the way he wanted it to, and he carried that frustration like extra weight strapped to his heart.
The list of jobs he had taken in desperation… A fast food runner, waiter, delivery assistant, store cleaner was longer than his list of successes, and almost each one had come with its own humiliations and struggles.
It wasn't easy for someone at 5'6 and fat to get by in this economy.
Yet now, at the age of twenty, he could lift his head just enough to say life had taken a turn for the better.
He could afford a one-bedroom apartment, something he once thought was the kind of luxury people like him would only marvel at through windows.
And more impressively, he had built an online reputation that no one could take away from him.
"It isn't easy to gather three million followers ready to pay your rent after all," he said with a quiet chuckle as he placed the apple back into the bag, carrying the groceries toward his bedroom.
He paused in the doorway as a sudden reminder clicked into his tired mind.
"I remember, I promised a live today," he muttered, stepping into the bedroom where his modest streaming setup waited like an old loyal companion.
The desk leaned slightly to one side, the chair creaked in protest every time he sat in it, and the small ring light flickered when the apartment's ancient wiring decided it didn't feel like cooperating.
But to Mateo, this imperfect setup was a throne carved from perseverance.
His bed, however, looked like a shrine dedicated to one very specific manga.
Dozens of merch items were sprawled across the surface… shirts, pins, keychains, collectible boxes, prints, plushies all belonging to the same series.
He pushed a few aside as he searched for the manga volume he needed, muttering under his breath like an irritated old man. "Where did I put that manga…"
After a brief struggle with tangled shirts and promotional posters, he finally spotted the glossy manga cover glinting under the dim bedroom light.
The image featured a handsome blond hunk wearing headphones and an idiotic grin, flanked by two heroines whose expressions practically screamed empty characterization.
Mateo's lip curled in disgust the moment he looked at the protagonist, feeling heat rise behind his eyes.
Because no matter how often he saw faces like this, it never failed to irritate him.
The protagonist had everything… looks, talent, plot convenience, and adoration while people like Mateo suffered through challenges that had no narrative payoff and no convenient resolution.
"Right… before I go on stream, I should probably put on the merch," he grumbled, pulling his shirt over his head before wrapping a towel around his waist and heading to the bathroom.
He almost laughed at the pile of gifts he had received for free.
The creators had sent mid-term questions, exam papers, replica uniforms, collectible snacks, and so much exclusive material that anyone else might have felt flattered beyond reason.
It was enough generosity to buy someone's kindness and there was enough sincerity to buy someone's silence.
Someone… but not him.
'Almost made me feel bad… almost,' he thought with a small smirk as he closed the bathroom door.
When he returned a few minutes later, refreshed and wearing a crisp heroine-themed shirt along with a cap bearing the manga logo, he settled into his worn-out chair with determined purpose.
His streaming setup flickered to life before him, he mounted his phone… The Samsung S24 Ultra on a small stand that allowed him to record and stream all at once with beautiful clarity despite the shabby surroundings.
"Wearing their merch clothes… holding the manga… I think everything is set," he said, adjusting the shirt slightly before picking up his phone.
He navigated to his FaceLive profile, where his stats glowed back at him like medals from battles fought in silence.
「Name: MateoTheGreat」
「Followers: 3,146,965」
「Bio: Brutal honesty is the game」
'In two years is crazy…' he thought with a warm sense of disbelief.
With a final breath to steady himself, he tapped on Livestream.
The screen briefly faded to black before his camera activated, capturing him mid-bite into an apple.
Within seconds, his view count rapidly climbed past one thousand, a testament to how devoted his audience was even without him using a post to notify them beforehand.
"Good evening guys," he said, offering a small wave as messages began pouring across the screen.
「Welcome back king!」
「Been waiting all day for this review!」
「Mateo's about to cook someone's manga again lol」
「Bro how have you been fr? You look tired」
「Turned on stream just in time LETSGO」
"How have I been?" Mateo repeated with a smile as he adjusted his cap. "I've been really fine… you know how life is."
His viewer count surged to over ten thousand.
'They sure are coming in quickly. I should be expecting about a million since this is a popular manga.' He thought.
The evening was still young and there was content to destroy.
"But that isn't the main point right now," he said as he set his apple aside and picked up the manga with mock reverence. "I have finished this manga and I'll be giving my brutally honest review on this piece."