BUBBLE GUM DANCE - Under the Spotlight (4)

Hm…?

(I felt like looking at the stars for a bit… but it seems like someone might’ve beat me to it.)

(Is that Nice…? Looks like he’s on the phone with someone.)

⁠—Yes. Rest assured, MELLOW DEAR US’s production is going smoothly, and our relationship with ES is exceptionally strong.

Oh? But, our track record and results speak for itself, so the outcome should be obvious.

Hm? “They suffered a close defeat during Mainstream Megasphere”…?

Haha, I wouldn’t really call that a loss.

You can’t see a forest for its trees… ¹ If you let yourself become distracted by short term wins and losses, achieving bigger things becomes harder, no?

The seeds you all have planted have already taken root and begun to grow at an incredible pace.

…Right. I’m glad I’ve managed to put your mind at ease. Well then, we’ll be in touch again soon.

…Was that Z.K.?

Hm? Oh! Juis-kun. What brings you here? I heard you were doing some team bonding with Anzu-chan and the rest of MELLOW DEAR US today.

It ended already. Anzu said she needed to get back to ES for work, so I just came to see her off.

For an arrangement that’s supposed to be a joint production, you seem to be the only one that’s busy. Busy enough to miss our hang out too, huh?

Haha. Are you calling me out? I can’t say you’re wrong. I actually wanted to be there too.

Well, I’m also the intermediary between Thunderbolt Entertainment and ES, so I just haven’t been able to finish all the miscellaneous work yet.

Not only that, but you probably have to deal with the people from the Z.K. Zaibatsu too.

That part isn’t that much of a problem. As long as I keep them updated on how everything is going smoothly, they stop asking questions.

So it’s not just Thunderbolt Entertainment that needs updates on MELLOW DEAR US every step of the way, but the Z.K. Zaibatsu too. What a pain.

…Oh, I see. It’s me they’re wondering about, rather than MELLOW DEAR US.

They want to know how I’m doing as the one who went through the Z.K. Zaibatsu’s training program.

I’ve practically been disowned by them, so you’d think they’d just leave me alone.

Even so, they just can’t seem to let you go, can they? They can talk about disowning you all they’d like, but the fact that they still refuse to let you go says otherwise.

It’s only natural. You’re the greatest success their training program has ever produced, after all.

That’s why, no matter what you do, they’ll never let you go… even if you act out.

As twisted as it is, it’s still a kind of love, no? That’s pretty nice.

Love, huh…

If I ever refused to do as I was told and tried to run away…

They’d search high and low for me, capture me, and put me on the chopping block without even a second thought. You call that love?

If it is, it’s so intense it makes me dizzy.

That’s only natural too. Their actions and motivations are far too clumsy and immature.

Even now, there’s a faction within the Z.K. Zaibatsu that genuinely think that bringing down the Tenshouin family will restore the influence they lost in Japan.

They truly think that they can achieve that by obsessively cultivating individuals that rise to the very top of their respective fields.

Out of all those fields, they seem to be particularly fixated on the idol industry, though.

I imagine it’s because another Zaibatsu, the Tenshouin family, have invested heavily into the idol industry. They probably want to compete with them, and…

In time, they hope to seize that position for themselves and weaken the Tenshouin family’s influence.

So it’s all about revenge for losing control of the Japanese market in the end. That’s what me, MELLOW DEAR US, and the training program are for.

I think there was someone else the family should’ve treasured… and never let go of.

Hm? What’d you say?

Nothing.

Well, these days it’s really only a handful of extremists within the Z.K. Zaibatsu’s upper ranks that are saying things like that.

The Z.K. Zaibatsu isn’t exactly a monolith, you know. Ever since Thunderbolt Entertainment found success outside of the idol industry…

The moderate faction has long since moved on from those old setbacks.

That makes sense. It’d be dumb for them to cling to the past and throw away the benefits they have right now.

They’re better off accepting that the past is in the past and focusing on lining their own pockets.

Even so, since there are still extremists among the upper ranks of the Z.K. Zaibatsu. You and I have no choice but to follow their orders, Juis-kun.

It’s pathetic. Their “obsession” made them take in a stray dog they couldn’t control and cling to it. Now they can’t decide to let it live or put it down.

Pathetic, huh…? I suppose it is.

They’ll feed him a few scraps of freedom… then watch from the other side of the cage, convinced that someday he’ll be tamed. It’s both sad and a little endearing.

……

(Those idiots took everything from me… and now all they have is my hatred.)

(The moment they let their guard down… I’ll sink my teeth into their throat, tear it out, and finish them off myself.)

(I’m sure they hate me just as much. Revenge only breeds more revenge. It’s the beginning of a vicious cycle.)

It’s still because of their pathetic obsession that I was able to meet you. So I can’t say it was all bad.

……

…Really?

Hm? What?

……

(If it weren’t for me… the idol Yoshihide Sanda wouldn’t have died.)

(He never would’ve left the stage.)