BUBBLE GUM DANCE - Under the Spotlight (5)

(Somehow, those people within the Z.K. Zaibatsu caught wind of my potential as an idol and recognized it.)

(They more or less forced me into an adoption by the Kojika family, who were one of the Z.K. Zaibatsu’s branch families that didn’t have any children.)

(My biological parents probably sold me off for the money or something like that…)

(I’d already been living a pretty miserable life, so being taken in by a wealthy branch family wasn’t all that bad.)

(I thought that maybe, if things went that way… there’d be a bright future waiting for me.)

(But that wasn’t actually the case. What awaited me was the Z.K. Zaibatsu’s twisted training program.)

(In the Z.K. Zaibatsu, everyone was required to develop an obsessive devotion to a particular field. They even designed a training program specifically for that purpose.)

(Most people lost their sanity in the process and were forcibly turned into “obsessive devotees”.)

(Naturally, “free will” wasn’t something that existed there. Even if it was, it would be crushed.)

(The obsessive devotion the Z.K. Zaibatsu forces on people is, in a way, like an arranged marriage.)

(They arbitrarily decide the person that’s right, and choose your partner for you.)

(And… for the rest of your life, you’re only allowed to love the partner that was chosen for you.)

(Through that program, I was forced to obsessively devote myself to idols.)

(What do they take me for? It’s so disgusting it makes me want to throw up.)

(But my one saving grace was that I met Yoshihide there.)

(Yoshihide Sanda. After I entered the Kojika family, Yoshihide and I basically became cousins.)

(Yoshihide had been assigned to obsessively devote himself to idols by Z.K. before me.)

(He was incredible. Unlike me, he truly loved idols with all his heart and was a natural. It was like he was born to be an idol.)

(That Yoshihide saved me over and over again.)

(Because you spoke so openly about how much you loved idols…)

(I got swept up in Yoshihide’s enthusiasm, and… before I knew it, something that had started out as a duty turned into something I admired.)

(Yoshihide became the very idol I wanted to be.)

(I wanted to keep watching you… closer than anyone else.)

(As time passed, the one the Z.K. Zaibatsu ended up choosing wasn’t Yoshihide… it was me.)

(There could only be one person at the top of the training programs hierarchy.)

(…Yoshihide was no longer an idol.)

(He took up the name “Nice Arneb Thunder” and transitioned into becoming a producer.)

(You smiled and said “The two of us were taught to love idols. Isn’t it wonderful that we got to chase the same dream together?”, but…)

(What… was really going through your mind back then?)

(After having the thing that you loved from the bottom of your heart taken because of me.)

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

(He never would’ve left the stage.)

(I killed him.)

…? Juis-kun, what’s wrong? You’re not yourself.

Hey… If–

(If you could become an idol again… do you think you would want to?)

⁠—Nothing. Nevermind.

Did something happen? You seem a bit sentimental today.

……

I… had a dream about the past the other day.

I dreamt about when you and I were going through the training program together, Nice. Maybe that’s why.

Ah, that brings back memories.

Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since the two of us last talked like this.

Talking with you like this under the night sky really does bring back memories.

Back then we’d happily talk about idols while we walked home under the stars together, didn’t we?

It was mostly you doing all the talking, Nice. I was just walking beside you and listening.

Were you? That’s not how I remember it.

(I had fun. At least… in those moments.)

Well, that’s just how memories work. As time goes on, it’s only natural you’d forget things.

How cold. They’re precious memories that the two of us share. If I could, I’d want to hold onto every one of them.

(The truth is, I remember. I haven’t forgotten. To me, you were the only light among all those rotten people.)

Being cold isn’t exactly a new trait of mine, you know.

That’s not true. You’ve always been a deeply caring person. I think it’s nice.

(There’s no way I’m that kind of person. If I ever seemed to care that deeply… it was only because the person in front of me was you.)

If the people from the Zaibatsu heard you say that, they’d be surprised. I feel like only someone like you would be able to say something like that about me, even though I’m no “idol”.

Really?

Come to think of it… You’ve been calling me “Nice” this whole time, Juis-kun. You really have changed, haven’t you?

(We’ve both changed. You didn’t always use watashi to refer to yourself, either. ¹)

You’re a producer and I’m an idol. It’s important to keep things professional, isn’t it?

Haha. You’re as serious as ever, Juis-kun.

But we’re not really at work. It’s just the two of us here, so you can call me “Yoshihide” like you used to, alright?

……

……

Nice. I’m going to head home now. I have work first thing tomorrow morning.

…I see. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.