Chapter 8

(Gahhh…)

(It went exactly as I expected: They got suuuper angry.)

(I used to be the model student all the adults liked, but ever since I started getting involved with those kids, it’s just been one thing after another.)

(Sena-kun’s only goal is to be with Yuuki-kun.)

(And I sympathized with him—or like, I tried to accommodate him because I had no idea what he’d do if I refused.)

(He tried negotiating with me to see if I could play a minor role in Kleiner Faust, since it’s the movie Yuuki-kun is performing in, too.)

(If I’m acting in the same movie as him, I’ll have more opportunities to be around him. And then Sena-kun can accompany me.)

(I can make all sorts of excuses, like that I’m having him observe the movie set so he gets some hands-on experience, or that he’s acting as my personal gofer.)

(If possible, I’d have wanted Sena-kun to star in the movie too, but it looks like that’s easier said than done… There aren’t any more roles for kids.)

(But our agency and Yuuki-kun’s agency are business rivals…)

(So I got told off by the president for basically acting in the enemy’s interests for proposing the idea.)

(I’m one of the biggest earners at the agency, after all.)

(He asked why I wanted to do such an unnecessary job when there were plenty of other things I could do that actually helped the agency.)

(And while he was laying into me, I said I wanted to expand my range and be an idol in the future without even thinking.)

(And he was pretty disappointed to hear that. I mean, it’s a modeling agency; if I turned around and became an idol, it’d be like I was betraying them—)

(I guess it feels like if their son that they painstakingly raised to take over the family business one day eloped and ran away with their lover.)

(And I get that, but seriously, I didn’t think I’d get such a strong reaction.)

(I guess I’m a little surprised, too…)

(It came out in the spur of the moment, but I really do want to expand my horizons as an artist and try being an idol.)

(I got to where I am by desperately trying to be this convenient model who could be used as people saw fit.)

(But with each passing year, the amount of jobs I get steadily declines.)

(I’m really getting tired of it… Yuuki-kun and the others are coming in as the new generation, and they’re starting to take on the responsibilities I have up to now.)

(The place where I fit in is disappearing fast. I can’t keep working as a model forever.)

(So I have to start thinking about my future, and I’ve been making some plans for the here on out.)

(One of those plans was to be an idol.)

(Just like that Sagami Jin—I want to be someone everyone wants and loves.)

(I want a whole bunch of people to want me and love me.)

(I mean, that’s why I started modeling. I love myself, and I wanted other people to love me just as much.)

(But in order for that to happen, I can’t just stay put in the modeling industry, relying only on my good looks. That’s just going to go downhill and get boring.)

(That’s what’s been on my mind, but none of the adults understand that…)

(They just laugh at it, writing it off as some childish nonsense, like it’s nothing more than a vague, teenage insecurity.)

(But no, it’s something we’re seriously worrying ourselves sick over.)

(……)