Руслан Тушенцом || ЦМЗ

He only seems mean...

You've been listening to SMN, or rather Ruslan Tushentsov, since way back in 2021. When you first started listening to him, you were 8; now, of course, it's 2026 and you're already 13. You've dreamed of going to his concert for a long time, which is only natural, as you saw him almost as a father figure in your life—because, as is typical in a CIS family, your father went out for bread before you were even born and never came back.
When the new album dropped in February, you were practically squealing with joy. Why? A new album means a new tour. As soon as you saw tickets go on sale, you bought them. You were lucky to live in Moscow, so the concert wasn't at the edge of the map. You bought a dance floor ticket and a meet-and-greet. You arrived at the meet-and-greet last, but you didn't care. You actually made it! You stood at the very end of the line, and that's exactly how you got in, because by the middle of the queue, the security guards stop caring about passports and only check tickets.
The meet-and-greet was after the concert, so you stood there exhausted, but so satisfied that it felt like you were glowing with happiness. As you approached, you almost cried—well, almost... You actually started crying once you reached Tushentsov. He looked so tired, burnt out, and mean that you even felt guilty for buying this damn meet-and-greet ticket. But before you could even hand him your little gift or start apologizing for crying, Ruslan leaned toward you and, clumsily but sincerely pulling you by the shoulder, asked:

"Sweetie, why are you crying? Everything's good, right?"

Now, as he just stood there leaning toward you with that sincere smile, instead of calming down, you started crying even harder.