When you’re a socially awkward kid, either video games or books will become your best friend. Derrick always thought people were hard to deal with, as sometimes you can approach them in a way that seems totally friendly, at least to you, and receive a bitter response. It’s completely different from numbers, because as long as do the right calculations the answer will be the same, no matter how many times you do it. That being so, his best friends were the books - Math books, to be exact.

He immersed himself so much in his studies that he was always the top student of the class and it was uncommon for him not get all questions right on exact sciences tests. As a children only the adults valued his intelligence and dedication, but it changed during high school, when he grew into a quite handsome teenager. His looks were considered exotic in Germany because, even though he was German himself, his mother was Japanese. That added to his outstanding academic performance seemed to call the attention of the girls, automatically making him popular between the boys who wanted to be as cool as him. Derrick, however, didn’t have any romantic interest on his female colleagues, even though he wasn’t gay at all.

The truth was that his heart only belonged to one person, and that person was Mayuyu. The said girl was a member of a famous Japanese girl group, who Derrick got to know during her debut, when he was still seven years old. Seeing her perform always filled his heart with happiness, even though he could only do it through the internet, as they lived in different continents. No matter if the hopes of ever seeing her in flesh were small, the boy never lost his hope, not even after ten years passed.

Of course, no one from his high school knew about his platonic love. He had a reputation to protect, and if his secret was found out he’d certainly be relegated to the weirdos group. When his friends went to visit him, he took all posters from the walls and placed the goodies and albums inside his wardrobe. When talking to fellow German fans on the internet, he made sure to use a picture of Mayuyu instead of his own just in case they ever came across each other in the streets. That showed how committed to hiding his double life Derrick was.

Mayuyu was so important in his life that she was the main reason that he studied. He didn’t notice that when he was young, but as he became a teenager it became clear that the most likely way for him to get geographically closer - and stay close - to her was through studying. Even if he got a trip as a gift from his parents it would only last for a week or two, not enough to fulfill the needs of hardcore fan like him. However, if he got into a Japanese university, he would stay there for at least a few years, what would already be a great improvement.

His desire to study in Japan was also something he kept a secret from everyone, even his parents. If he wanted to attend to an university abroad, why not Harvard or Caltech as he had the potential? There was no way to explain that without exposing himself. It was a good thing that he learned Japanese from his mother, so the internet was enough for him to deepen his knowledge on the language.

This dream also leaded him to bigger things. The students from his school were invited to participate in International Mathematical Olympiad and, as Derrick was excellent at the subject, it was natural for his teachers to strongly encourage him to take the test. He was reluctant at first, thinking that it would only be a bother, but his mindset changed as he was told that getting a good position would highly increase his chances of getting into a university anywhere in the world. In his junior year he was already selected as a German representant and went to Brazil for the 2017 competition. He got a silver medal, what was already a great accomplishment, and decided to try again the next year with the gold medal in mind.

During break before his senior year, Derrick was ready to start his last year at school giving all he got, as it’d be determining for his future. However, during dinner with his parents at home, his mother told him news that would change everything: his father would be transferred to Japan. If they needed someone to work there the husband of a Japanese woman would be a likely choice, but the boy never expected that it’d happen. The shock was clear on his face, he couldn’t help being speechless for over a minute. His parents thought he didn’t want to move from Germany and leave his friends behind, telling him things like “You already know some of the language, you’ll be fine” and “You’ll make new friends there”. None of that worried him though. The only concern on his mind was “My efforts were for nothing”.

School year in Germany starts in September, while in Japan it starts in April. Because of that, Derrick had the longest break of his whole life, totally dedicated to his fanboy side. Now that he was in Japan, no distance or shipping time could keep him apart from Mayuyu’s activities. He joined the official fandom, that was exclusive for Japan residents, watched every TV show as it was broadcast, bought all goodies he could afford and even got a ticket to a handshake event. His dream was coming true, what made his hard work at studying become part of the past.

Out of all fandom activities, there was nothing he dreamed more about than the handshake event. As if seeing Mayuyu up close wasn’t good enough, he’d be able to touch her lovely hand. He arrived hours before the scheduled time and every minute waiting in line felt like an eternity. His legs were shaking, his face was sweating, but as soon as the gates were open he took a deep breath and regained his composure to try to make an impression on the girl of his dreams. Derrick was sure Mayuyu would notice he was the man of her life as soon as their eyes met, just as all guys waiting in line with him.

The time each fan had was limited, so they had to make the best out of it. As Derrick started to shake the hands of the other group members, he could hardly pay attention to them, just smiling and making an approximation of how many seconds he’d have with Mayuyu. There were many things he’d like to say to her, how he dreamed about her every day when he was in Germany and how he was never able to fall in love with anybody else, but it wouldn’t be possible in the five seconds he had.

When the long-awaited moment finally came, Derrick asked her “What kind of men do you like?” He had heard that answer over a thousand times in interviews, but he wanted to hear it from her. Mayuyu answered “Hm, lately I’ve come to think that I like intelligent guys.” The German fan could help grinning. Was it possible that he was right? Mayuyu and him were really made for each other? During interviews she always said she liked funny men with a beautiful smile, why did she change her answer just now? The idol had years of experience meeting fans, so obviously she knew the right things to say to each one of them, but part of her job was acting dumb to make sure they wouldn’t find it out. That answer was on point and more than enough to make Derrick go back to his double life.

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