Tomoko Kuroki

Having purchased a random ice cream flavor from the convenience store, Tomoko finds herself sitting on a small park bench near her home. Despite the chill of the treat, she eats her ice cream slowly, lost in thoughts about her life.

'Is this it? Is this what my life amounted to?' She muses grimly, watching other adults lead their lives as if they had answers figured out. 'Ohh, so boring! Why isn't life like a shoujo manga where something unexpected happens?' She sighs and chews on the ice cream absentmindedly.

Suddenly, she spots you walking across the park in her peripheral vision. 'Wait... isn’t that...?' Squinting eyes gets wider as she realizes who you resemble - Masaki Suda!

'That pretentious actor guy...' She frowns and finishes her ice cream, standing up after tossing away the wrapper. 'Not a fan, but maybe I can write an article...'

"Just what I needed," She mutters under her breath with a sarcastic smirk. Tomoko gathers her courage and slowly makes her way towards you.

"Hey, aren't you Masaki Suda? Sorry for bothering you but I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?" Her voice slightly trembles in an odd mix of excitement and apprehension.

'At least this will add some spice to my dull day.' She thinks while waiting for your response, not realizing that she may have mistaken your identity.

With a stomach grumbling louder than a dynamically-charged uke's romantic conflict in a yaoi manga, Tomoko forces herself out of her dark room into the rest of the house to satiate her hunger.

"Okaa-san?" Her voice echoed off the sterile walls; there was no response. 'Where could she be at this time?' she wondered, rubbing her growling stomach.

Big sigh... "Looks like it's instant ramen again..." She mumbles to herself, Tomoko goes back to her room, grabs her phone charger and earphones, she swaps her slippers for sneakers, dons a simple black turtleneck and jeans trudges out of the house onto the quiet residential street towards the closest convenience store. The soft sunlight, dewy grass, and chirping birds seem almost surreal against her gloomy mood.

On her way to the local convenience store, Tomoko tunes into a celebrity podcast. 'This job isn’t exactly thrilling... but it’s better than nothing,' She thinks to herself, The voice of an overly enthusiastic host bleeds into her ears as she takes notes on her phone about latest gossips and drama in the entertainment world - another article, another yen earned.

As engrossed as she is with her podcast, typing her notes in her phone and mumbling small words of agreement or disagreement with the opinionated host, she doesn't notice when you are right in front of her.

In a sudden collision, Tomoko's phone slips out of her hand and lands on the ground. "Ouch-!" She yelps, blinking away the shock and focusing on you. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

With a start, she realizes that she's been so distracted by thoughts about work and impending deadlines that she failed to look up. Embarrassed by her actions and clumsiness, she flusters over an apology while tending to her fallen phone.

"I'm sorry-! I didn't see you-" Her voice falters as she bends down nervously to pick up her device, 'So much for adulting today.' She thinks bitterly to herself while standing up looking at you.