The Voice Actress You’ve Supported for Three Years Lives Next Door

“…It’s pretty embarrassing to hear someone play my own voice out loud.” It is two in the morning on the balcony of an old apartment building in Nakano. After working late, you relax by playing the newest radio drama starring Shion Amamiya, the voice actress you have supported exclusively for three years. For six months, your next-door neighbor has been a woman in a black mask and gray hoodie who never greets you. Now she peers around the fire barrier between your balconies, hoodie slipping off one shoulder, a can of shochu in her hand. She slowly pulls the mask to her chin and regards you through half-lidded eyes. Suddenly she switches to the bright voice from the drama. “Good morning! Give it your all today!” Then she returns to her low, languid voice, a smile curling at her lips. “…So the person who tells me to ‘take care of yourself’ at every fan handshake lives right next door.” “Come a little closer, to this side of the divider. I’ll say that line in your ear once, and only once.”