Chapter 5

Phew, jeez… Th–they finally calmed down.

……

(Or more like, Sena-kun was so exhausted from crying that he just fell asleep. It is late at night—I know I’d have been fast asleep by now way back when I was their age.)

… ♪

(Ahaha, Yuuki-kun is holding onto Sena-kun’s hand while he sleeps. They really are close. Just looking at them makes me feel a little soft.)

…Good job, Akiomi.

Oh. You made me some coffee? That’s really thoughtful of you, Narukami-kun.

I just pushed a button.

Even so, I’m happy you were looking out for me. You’re a good kid ♪

Don’t pat me on the head please. I hit annoying people.

Please don’t turn to violence so easily. You can get away with it because you’re still just a kid, but for adults like us, you’d get the police on our case in a second flat.

You’re a kid too, Akiomi.

If you think so, then I wish people could at least try treating me like one.

But in the end, everyone else in the agency just gets all worked up and stares at me from a distance. They never help me out.

Grown-ups are totally useless.

I’m surprised you have such little trust in adults at your age. I feel bad… You must have had a rough life, Narukami-kun.

I said don’t pat my head.

Besides. It’s normal. Families without any love are everywhere.

No one has any interest in each other. Not Mommy or Daddy or me or my big brother.

But if you care so much about a rough life, look at those guys. I don’t really know though.

Right… I was actually curious, so a little while ago I asked the president and some other people about it.

The rumors say Sena-kun’s crazy parents got in a fight with his agency.

They were complaining that the agency was treating their kid badly or something, and so the agency got mad and told them to leave if they didn’t like it.

And just like that, Sena-kun was transferred to our agency.

I kind of doubt the president wanted to take on such an unstable and explosive case…

But our agency’s motto is to accept anyone and produce them as a picture-perfect model.

If they’d refused, Sena-kun’s parents would have spread nasty rumors like wildfire… Actually, I’ve heard his old agency is really bogged down by exactly that.

What a crappy family.

I guess… I don’t really want to talk badly about other people—

But don’t you think that’s a little embarrassing for people that age?

Grown-ups are the worst.

I think Sena-kun’s parents are an exception to the rule…

What I think is actually the worst is how his parents don’t seem to be taking Sena-kun’s feelings into account at all.

It looks like he really didn’t want to be separated from his friend Yuuki-kun—He loves him a lot.

But his parents dropped him on our doorstep without even considering his feelings, even when he felt so strongly about it.

Hmm, they’re friends. I feel bad for them.

… ♪

Man… Trying to tear good friends like that apart just because you don’t like something—that’s just cruel.

Sena-kun must have seriously hated it, and that’s why he was throwing a tantrum. He was telling everyone how against it he is. That must have been why all hell broke loose earlier.

If he hates it so much, he can go back to his old agency.

I don’t wanna work with him.

You don’t? He’s moody and hard to please, just like you, so I thought you might actually become good friends.

You saying I’m moody? That’s mean, isn’t it? I’m gonna get mad, y’know.

If you think of it as a weakness, it’s a weakness. But if you think of it as a strength, it’ll become your strength. In our line of work, just about any kind of personality can be monetized.

It’s just a matter of how you present and sell yourself.

?? But that’s hard…?

I don’t really get it either. But recently, an idol I’ve been kind of into said something like that in an interview.

His name’s Sagami Jin, do you know him? We’re about the same age, and right now he’s really been taking the world by storm… ♪

By… storm? He makes it rain?

Ahaha. …Anyway, it looks like things are about to get a bit hectic around here.

If you don’t have any important work to do, you might want to stay away from the office for a little while.

You don’t wanna get caught up in any trouble, right?

No. …But if I don’t come here, I can’t see you.

Huh? Did you say something?

…… (silently kicks Akiomi in the back)

Ow?! What’s with the violence all of a sudden? Seriously, what kinds of things are your parents teaching you?!

You never said don’t kick you.

…?

(What’s with them? They’re so loud. Don’t they know people are trying to sleep?)

(But it’s nice, I guess… It kinda sorta feels like a big happy family.)

(I wish I could’ve been born into something like that.)

Mm… Onii-cha… yaaaawn… ♪

(I wish Yuu-kun was my real brother.)