"Alright, good work everyone!"

"Akane want me to walk you home?"

"Thanks but I’m okay. I’ll take a taxi with everyone."

"Be careful."

"You too Ruri-kun. Don’t go speeding on your bike."

"Yeah see you."

The party came to an end and everyone headed off on their own way home.

Ruri also took out his key to go pick up his bike parked at a nearby lot.

"...Memcho are you walking?"

"Yeah I live around here. Ruri-tan you’re on your bike?"

"I could walk back but... having transport makes it hard not to use it."

"Once you get used to convenience it sticks."

She stretched her arms wide and let out a long stretch.

The sparsely populated night streets brought both a sense of openness and a quiet loneliness.

"After this we’ll probably all drift apart pretty quickly."

"Originally we were all in different fields anyway. Aside from me and Akane it’ll be rare to meet the others in person. That’s just how it is when a show ends."

The entertainment industry is like a large school.

The end of a program is close to a graduation.

After graduating middle school you prioritize relationships at your new school and quickly grow distant from your old friends.

It felt similar to that.

"But Nobu and Yuki are different, right? I heard they started dating recently."

"Seems like it. Not really surprising though. Rejecting her properly on the show then dating behind the scenes. In a way they’re doing the standard straightforward celebrity thing."

"It’s pretty technical. Thanks to that it’s just me and Kengo left feeling lonely."

After pretending to cry she took a deep breath.

The usual playful look was gone from her wide-open eyes.

"...It’s lonely. I really loved this set."

Even from Ruri’s perspective her eyes gazing straight into the empty air were beautiful.

As if to dispel the slightly sentimental atmosphere she returned to her usual cheerful self.

"Still I didn’t expect you to do something like that at the very end, Ruri-tan. I thought you’d stay neutral the whole time. I mean yeah I was surprised Akane could act as Ai that perfectly when she got serious."

Memcho’s analysis was correct.

Even I hadn’t imagined she could do that when I accepted the show.

The entertainment world really is unpredictable.

Thanks to that it never gets boring though.

"Yeah even I was a bit surprised. Since coming into this industry I’ve seen some talent but someone at that level is rare... actually you know quite a lot about Ai too Memcho. You’re not from that generation."

"No, no, B-Komachi was a group every girl who wanted to be an idol admired!"

It was the same response I had heard before.

Since this was probably the last time I decided to confirm something I had been wondering during the show.

"...Did you want to be an idol?"

Memcho’s mouth tightened.

She looked like she regretted saying too much but after about ten seconds she closed her eyes as if giving up and began to speak.

"This stays between us okay?"

"Don’t worry I can keep a secret."

"...I originally wanted to be an idol."

Resignation frustration and lingering attachment could be felt in her voice.

"But a lot happened and I gave up. Now I’m cheerfully working as a YouTuber! It’s a pretty common story!"

"Yeah it is. A common story."

"—Yeah... a common story."

These days anyone can upload videos online and play at being an idol.

Uploading videos is free and if they go viral you can even make money.

People willing to risk everything to become an idol are now the minority.

There are countless YouTubers and TikTokers who couldn’t become idols.

It’s a common story.

I wouldn’t sympathize.

She wouldn’t want that either.

However it was also true that I owed her during LoveForReal.

Through TikTok she helped me gain a new fanbase.

She probably didn’t think of it as a favor but I don’t like leaving debts unpaid.

And besides—

"Not using power when you have it is something only fools do."

I’ve never thought of him as a parent but I can’t deny I’ve been influenced by him.

Simply put it felt like a waste.

I felt she didn’t need to give up yet.

That she had talent.

So to her walking slightly ahead—"Strawberry Productions recently restarted its idol division in earnest. They’re trying to launch a new idol project but they only have two members so far."

Apparently recruiting new members has been difficult.

Which makes sense.

Talented cute girls go for auditions at major agencies.

They wouldn’t go out of their way to apply to a small agency like Strawberry Productions.

I’ve seen Ruby cling to Miyako every day saying she wants to start idol activities soon.

Miyako even asked me before if I knew anyone interested in being an idol.

Of course there are plenty of people interested in idols around me.

But when it comes to someone trustworthy the number becomes limited.

"One is my little sister. She’s got good potential but she’s naive and only filled with dreams. The other has ability but she’s a troublesome woman who’s become complicated after experiencing both success and failure."

Both of them have something that shines.

As raw material they’re not bad.

But each has their own issues and quirks and it would be difficult to form a unit with just those two.

At least one person is needed to connect them and act as a catalyst to spark a chemical reaction.

"Memcho. I think you can do it. You chased your dream, failed and still kept fighting in this world. And you’ve got guts too. Lying like that and making your way onto television."

"Ruri-tan!? You noticed!?"

"I’m confident in my observation skills. And in judging people. So I’m not saying this out of sympathy. You know I’m the type to clearly say if something’s impossible right?"

"W-well yeah but..."

"And a little lying is fine. These days most people doing things on their own exaggerate their profiles anyway. At the very least my sister and our president won’t mind. It’s an agency that’s tolerant of problem children. You don’t need to worry."

After saying that I held out my hand.

There was nothing more to say.

There was no need.

Memcho was stirred by the passion in my words and once again found herself holding onto hope.

A dream she had once given up on.

A dream she still couldn’t let go of.

People who have given up once are the most fragile when shown hope again.

Even without saying anything she would choose for herself.

And—as if proving that expectation correct a few seconds later a hand slightly smaller than mine rested in my own.

* * *

"I did ask if you knew anyone interested in idols but I didn’t expect you to bring someone this big... Maybe I should have hired you as a talent scout."

That night after the LoveForReal wrap party Ruri visited the Strawberry Productions office with someone in tow.

He had already explained the situation over the phone beforehand.

Over the call she sounded half doubtful but now that he had brought her in person she had no choice but to believe it.

"To think you’d bring in the popular YouTuber and influencer ‘Memcho’. I didn’t expect her to be interested in being an idol."

"I figured if I pushed a little it would work but it went more smoothly than I expected."

"That kind of rubs me the wrong way. Do you think I’m easy? I may not look it but I’m actually the loyal type who devotes herself."

"The fact that you followed along so easily just from my smooth talk gives that zero credibility."

"Ugh… I want to argue back but I can’t. Just because a slightly handsome guy whispered sweet words I ended up taking his hand…"

Memcho deliberately slumped her shoulders.

"Anyway, that's as far as I can go. Handle the age falsification yourself."

Saying that Ruri stepped slightly back.

"W-why would you suddenly bring that up!?"

She hurriedly looked toward Miyako but there was no surprise or dissatisfaction on her face.

If anything her lips curled as if to say she already knew.

"So you noticed."

"There’s no way I wouldn’t notice something you noticed. When it comes to that kind of thing I consider myself better than you. Don’t underestimate your elders."

"…Am I really that obvious?"

It made sense she would feel uneasy.

Not only Ruri who had worked with her multiple times but even Miyako who had only seen her through a screen had figured it out.

Seeing her downcast eyes and shadowed expression he felt a slight sense of pity.

It was all the more striking because she was usually so cheerful and carefree.

"There’s no need to worry. You do look properly young. Your bone structure matches too. Unless someone has a trained eye they won’t notice. So relax."

"I-is that so… um then…"

"There’s no need to be scared. It’s common for independent creators to shave a few years off their age. I’m not the kind of manager who cares about that."

"Really… that’s a relief."

She let out a sigh of relief.

Her biggest concern had been resolved just as Ruri said.

"Told you it’d be fine."

"Yeah, thank you."

"More importantly, can Memcho actually be an idol here? I’m more concerned about contracts with other places."

Since she had come this far it was probably fine but it was still something he hadn’t confirmed so it lingered in his mind.

"You brought her here without checking that?"

"I convinced her on impulse."

"Ah that part’s fine."

Memcho was technically operating as an independent contractor.

She had business partnerships with agencies but wasn’t an exclusive talent.

So she could take on work herself.

In this case it would be structured as Strawberry Productions requesting idol work from Memcho.

"If we can have a popular YouTuber perform as B-Komachi it’s perfect timing for us."

"Collabs are still the fastest way to go viral after all."

"By the way, how old are you really?"

At last the unavoidable question from the agency was asked.

Even Memcho looked like she had bitten into something bitter but it couldn’t be helped.

The agency needed the truth to protect its talent.

Memcho quickly approached Miyako and whispered into her ear.

After hearing it Miyako said—"…You padded it a lot!!"

"I’m so sorry!!"

"Was it that much? Not like three years or so?"

Sensing a good opportunity Ruri’s sadistic curiosity perked up.

When he asked Miyako the youthful-looking lady who was actually well past adulthood made an awkward expression.

"What age did you think she was?"

"Well I figured she was at least over twenty."

"You’re still too naive."

"Wait then don’t tell me she’s thirty—"

"It’s not that far!! I’m 25!!"

"—You really padded it."

Flustered by the misunderstanding she blurted out the truth.

It was only after Ruri stared into space and started counting that she realized that was his aim.

"You said you were 18 on LoveForReal right. So that means… wow."

"Don’t count it out on your fingers! And don’t say wow! There were reasons! Reasons higher than mountains and deeper than the sea!"

And so she told the story of a girl who had given up on becoming an idol.

She came from a single-parent household with two younger brothers.

That environment was too harsh to recklessly chase a dream and her personality was too kind.

Her mother was a good person who supported her dream but raising three children is difficult even with two parents.

With only one parent it was inevitable they would reach their limit.

"After my mom collapsed and was hospitalized I couldn’t keep chasing my dream. We needed money… I wanted my brothers to go to university. So I gave up on auditions took a leave from high school worked part-time and even at a girls bar to make money—"

She managed to send her brothers to university and her mother recovered.

"—But by then I was already 23."

—That’s incredible.

Ruri’s evaluation of Memcho shot up dramatically.

Nowadays most people in the entertainment industry come from middle-class families.

To chase dreams you absolutely need money and environment.

People from single-parent or poor households are disadvantaged from the starting line.

In that sense Ruri had been fortunate.

Ai had died and his father was unknown.

But they had Miyako.

Because she protected Strawberry Productions in place of the absent president he was able to enter the industry easily.

The entertainment world gathers people who are far from ordinary.

Ruri knew several people with talent who had to give up their dreams due to family circumstances.

Memcho was one of them.

That alone might not have impressed him this much.

But she had endured hardships she shouldn’t have faced as a minor.

She accomplished the difficult task of raising people that even working adults struggle with all by herself.

She must have resented her mother, hated her father and envied her brothers at times.

That was only natural.

Even so she did it.

She accomplished it and now smiles while working as a YouTuber.

That was truly incredible.

Ruri probably couldn’t have done it.

He had been able to live freely because Miyako took care of Ruby whose mentality was still immature.

He knew that.

He was aware of it.

That’s why this girl is amazing.

Maybe for the first time he thought someone’s path rather than talent was amazing.

"I started streaming with all that leftover passion and at the time I was technically still on leave from high school so I went with something like ‘current high school girl lol’ and somehow it took off and my subscribers skyrocketed!"

"You couldn’t back out after that."

"Exactly. And I’ve kept it up for about two years until now…"

She collapsed to her knees.

A lie once told grew into something bigger and gained more power than the truth.

That too was common in the entertainment industry.

"…That’s amazing."

After laying everything bare her face was filled with resignation and lingering attachment.

Having spoken it aloud she seemed to feel once again that it was impossible.

Whether it was possible or not wasn’t his place to decide.

That’s why he chose to say what he truly thought.

"You really are amazing. Honestly your guts for lying about your age and appearing on TV might even surpass mine."

"Ugh."

"The process and results you’ve built up are incredible. I don’t think what you’ve done is a reason to give up on being an idol."

"Ruri-tan…"

Just as he finished speaking the door burst open.

"That’s right!"

Before anyone knew it his younger sister had arrived and placed her hand on Memcho’s shoulder.

"Memcho! The real one! So cute!!"

"I heard everything."

"Oh Arima you were here… wait why are you crying?"

The girl with reddish-black hair who had entered in a dramatic pose was shedding large tears.

"I’ve also been judged over my age so I kind of understand how you feel…"

"Doesn’t look like just kind of… though come to think of it Arima you were basically self-producing from late elementary school."

Child actor agencies discard you before middle school.

That’s why Ruri avoided entering the industry as a child actor.

She must have gone through her own difficult dark period to endure that.

"As I said earlier I have no objections. Arima seems fine too. What about Ruby?"

"I don’t object! Age doesn’t matter when it comes to being an idol! Because you can’t stop admiration!"

Ruby spread her arms wide toward the downcast Memcho.

There was no hesitation or doubt in the hand she offered.

"Welcome to ‘B-Komachi’!"

That carefree expression and those eyes filled only with dreams and hope looked slightly dazzling to Ruri.

And so one chapter came to an end and the two who seemed destined to go their separate ways ended up continuing their activities closer than expected.

From here actor Hoshino Ruri and the idol group B-Komachi would finally begin their full-fledged activities.