The Crush Diary

I had been writing in The Crush Diary on an app called Echoes for seven years.

Then one day, a glitch on Echoes exposed every user's real name.

And just like that, I, a D-list actress, was a Trending topic for days.

The internet exploded with theories about who the male subject was, with guesses ranging from Top Idols to famous rappers.

That is, until the famously private Film Emperor came forward and claimed to be the man in question.

This made the Top Idol—who had been the most popular guess but had dismissed it with utter disdain—absolutely lose it. He cornered me backstage, demanding, "You were obviously writing about me. Why won't you admit it?"

The Film Emperor and I, standing side-by-side, exchanged a speechless glance. "Dude, where are you getting this confidence?"

1

As a D-list actress, I made it to the Trending list.

I only found out because my best friend called me.

I'd been writing The Crush Diary on a blog, always keeping my real name private. But then the app glitched and exposed everyone's real names.

In other words, my secret diary was now being publicly humiliated for the entire internet to see.

When I heard the news, my mind went blank. After fumbling around for a bit, I finally managed to log into the blog I hadn't used in ages.

The screen was filled with sappy confessions, rosy-tinted daydreams, and cringey, lovesick prose. It was horrifying to look at.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, I opened Pulse.

I searched for the keywords.

The top result was a video of an interview with the Top Idol, Leo Lyons.

The reporter asked him, "Everyone's speculating that you're the man from the viral Crush Diary. After all, the times and places mentioned in it match your schedule perfectly."

He looked completely disdainful.

"Sienna Sterling, the girl who wrote The Crush Diary? She's probably just a fan. As for what's in the diary, I have no idea. It's probably all just her imagination."

Watching the interview, my heart turned to ash.

This whole thing felt like a nightmare. I never imagined that the crush I had so carefully hidden away would one day be dragged out into the open for public humiliation.

'Curse those app administrators...!'

'SOB... How could they be so irresponsible with their users' privacy?!'