Proposal Through a Mosaic [A Short-Short Story of a Strange Future]

In 2030, following the widespread adoption of smart glasses and the revision of privacy protection laws, a "subscription for the right to see" became mandatory in this country.

The background to this revision was the rampant spread of "unauthorized filming" and "stalker-type surveillance apps" that had once become social issues.

"An individual's visual information should not be viewed without their permission."

Lovers, family, friends—to see anyone's face clearly, you must continue to pay a monthly fee.

If you don't pay, the AI automatically applies a mosaic filter.

"So even love is now a pay-to-play service," the public initially complained, but it had now become completely routine.

Apparently someone somewhere is making money off it, but no one knows the details.

Advertisements in the city boldly read, "This month's popular plan: See your lover's expressions in HD!" and students would say to each other, "SD is enough for my parents' faces."

"Alright, I've decided."

Minato Tanaka checked the small box in his breast pocket with his fingertips and took a deep breath. Today was his girlfriend Nanami's birthday. Against the backdrop of the night view at a high-end restaurant where quiet live piano music was playing, he intended to make the biggest move of his life.

Normally, it is common sense these days to confirm that you can properly see your lover's face before making a reservation.

Just yesterday, he had seen a news story about a couple whose anniversary dinner turned into a "mosaic viewing party" because they had skipped checking just once, and he had laughed at it.

The moment he saw Nanami sitting in the seat in front of him, the blood drained from Minato's face.

"...Huh?"

Nanami's beautiful smile, which should have been there, had turned into a mosaic.

The salaryman at the next table glanced at Minato and muttered in a voice like a smartphone running out of battery, "Ah, subscription expired again. It happens a lot at the beginning of the month."

Minato blinked his eyes in disbelief.

"No, wait. I haven't had any wine today, have I? Is this reality?"

Minato couldn't help but look at the ring case in his pocket a second time.

The lines he had practiced over and over, like "I'll give you this ring while we look at the night view..." had all become meaningless in front of the mosaic.

Hey, Minato? What's wrong? Why are you so stiff?

The voice is definitely Nanami's. However, the visual information is completely that of a "privacy-protected suspicious person." Minato checked his smartphone with trembling hands. A cold message was displayed on the notification screen.

(Subscription expired...? No, but we're getting along just fine. A mosaic at a time like this is terrible for my heart.)

[Important] Love Continuation Plan: Payment error. The renewal fee is unpaid. Rendering permissions for the target have been temporarily suspended.

In even smaller text, it read,
[*Restoration of rendering permissions takes up to 3-5 hours. *Express restoration is an additional 1,200 yen (tax included).]
.

(Oh no... the card's expiration date must have passed!)

Of all days, for the subscription to expire on the day of the proposal. Even if I pay again now, it will take time for it to reflect.

Minato, are you... a bit nervous today?

Nanami's voice was a little softer than usual.

That kindness comes through even through the mosaic.

Have you decided on the menu? I'm thinking of this foie gras...

Every time Nanami peers at the menu, the mosaic blurs the text along with everything else.

The waiter quietly handed over a blacked-out booklet, saying, "Sir, we also have a mosaic-compatible menu."

Oh, right! Sounds good, looks delicious (probably!)

Minato desperately tried to synthesize the Nanami from his memory in his mind, but the scene before him was so surreal that all his moving lines evaporated.

Where in the world is there a man who proposes in a state like this?

For a moment, he almost said to himself, "Let's call it off today."

With the ring gripped tight in his pocket, he played out several futures in his head where he just acted like nothing was wrong and ended the day by just celebrating her birthday.

Nanami peered gently at Minato's hands.

Hey, you're... hiding something today, aren't you?

But on the nights when Nanami felt down from work, the nights she called him while crying, Minato made up his mind.

That night, too, he couldn't see Nanami's face. Only her voice over the phone.

But Minato knew exactly what kind of face she was making while she cried, as if he could feel it.

More vividly than any image resolution.

It was then that Minato realized he had chosen not someone on the other side of a screen, but a single person named "Nanami".

Even if he couldn't see her face, he could see her feelings.

That was exactly why, if he ran away now, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"...Nanami, hey."

"What?"

He felt the density of the mosaic thicken slightly. A part of it stuttered as if the processing had lagged. It was proof that she was making a puzzled face.

Minato took a deep breath, steeled himself, and knelt on the restaurant floor.

(Calm down... the person is a mosaic. No, the person is Nanami. No, it's a mosaic. Which is it?)

Even through the mosaic, he knew Nanami was looking at him.

"I had decided. I was going to tell you today."

"Minato...?"

Minato took the ring out of his pocket and shouted toward the center of the mosaic—the position where her mouth likely was.

"Marry me! Even if I can't see your face, I know you're Nanami. I know how you laugh, how you get angry, and how you cry—I know it all. Whether you're a mosaic or anything else, I will love you for the rest of my life!"

The entire restaurant held its breath.

Even the sound of cutlery clinking faded away.

The mass of the mosaic trembled slightly.

Through the screen, a single tear slid down the boundary of the mosaic.

A long, long silence.

On the other side of the mosaic, Nanami gasped.

To be asked to spend a lifetime together in this way—honestly, it's unfair, embarrassing, and makes me a little angry.

But even through the mosaic, I can tell. I can tell that Minato has the most serious look on his face that he's ever had.

His timing is truly the worst, but—Nanami has been saved by that clumsiness many times before.

Even so—it made her heart itch, and she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Before long, a snort leaked out from the other side of the mosaic.

“...Ahahahaha! Hey, Minato! What kind of proposal is that! And why, of all days, did you not update it today!”

At that moment, laughter erupted from all over the shop.

“I forgot to update last month and the same thing happened to me.”

“That happens all the time.”

The couple at the next table secretly held up their phones, and the clerk stood frozen with a wry smile.

Minato thought, (This world is completely broken...!)

On the other side of the mosaic, Nanami was definitely watching. Watching Minato's desperate expression.

“I told you to ‘make sure auto-update is on’ at least three times, didn't I?”

Nanami laughed out loud. However, her voice was filled with as much joy as it was exasperation.

The mosaic shivered and shook in time with her laughter.

“I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! But the timing for this, of all things...!”

“Really, you always mess up on such important days. I'll be hearing about being proposed to through a mosaic from my friends for the rest of my life. ...Since you've made me feel so embarrassed, you'd better take responsibility, okay? ...Fine, I accept. Prepare yourself. I'm the one who decided this.”

Really!?

Minato rejoiced and took her hand. However, all he could see was a mass of pixels. He had no idea where her ring finger was.

Oh, this way? Is it here?

Ouch, Minato, that's my pinky! Oh, now you're on my knuckle! How clumsy can you be?

The clerk finally whispered, "A little more to the left!"

Then, they quietly approached and, with a troubled yet practiced hand, held out a tablet.

Customer, I apologize for interfering with your proposal. If you use our 'Premium Visibility Bypass Line,' the update might reflect about 30 seconds faster... Wishing you eternal happiness.

Sorry, I really want to see Nanami's face. I just hit the update button with the express fee and the store's bypass line all added on!

As their laughter echoed, Minato's smartphone chimed with a 'Payment Complete' sound.

The digital sandstorm cleared, and Nanami's face, finally revealed, was laughing so hard she was crying.

Hey Minato. From now on, if you forget to update, there's a fine, okay?

The next day, a notification arrived on Minato's smartphone.

Congratulations! As a proposal commemorative gift, here is a coupon for 10% off your next update fee! 🎉

I wonder if there's a couple's discount plan once we get married.

Nanami chuckled while operating her smartphone.

I looked it up, and there's a family plan. 2,980 yen per month. An additional 980 yen per child.

So it's a pay-as-you-go system...

Afterword

This work was inspired by dialogues with generative AI (Gemini, Copilot, etc.), but the final decisions on structure and writing were all made by me, a human.

Production support tools: Google Gemini 3 Fast Mode/Thinking Mode, Microsoft Copilot Smart, Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5, xAI Grok 4.1 Thinking
Image generation: Chat GPT