ALL NOVEL Chapter 350
“Hey, they made a scouting offer from Suika Production…”
“…Huh?”
That was completely unexpected.
Suika Production.
Currently the most famous production in Japan.
They’ve made a scouting offer to me…?
Why on earth?
It’s been two years since I started activities as part of the idol group ‘Eden’ under Momoko Production.
But our Eden hasn’t achieved any significant results yet.
We’ve got a steady fan base, and sometimes we even get invited to variety shows, but that’s about it.
To call us top idols would be an overstatement for anyone to see.
The fact that they made a scouting offer indicates they know that too, so why…?
While I was pondering this question, Momoko gave a wry smile and lifted the corners of her mouth.
“That employee said it. I’m not bringing out Yurika’s charm at all. The reason Yurika is still just an average idol is my policies.”
“…What?”
What kind of nonsense is that?
Does that employee have no manners?
“…I don’t think it’s wrong. Yurika has the talent to become a top idol. The proof? Look how far you’ve come in just two years! But the reason you haven’t gone further is…”
“What do you mean, Momoko? I started being an idol because of you. You said you could become a top idol, which is why I began! So I, Momoko, want to be with you…!”
At my words, Momoko quietly shook her head.
As if… the story is already over.
The bright smile that used to be in front of me was no longer there.
“Ha…”
I was genuinely disappointed by that fact.
“Alright. I’ll accept that scouting offer. Lisa and Chloe….”
“Wait a moment, Yurika. The scouting offer isn’t for ‘Eden.’ It’s just for you.”
“…What?”
“Suika Production said they don’t need Lisa and Chloe…”
“…So right now, you’re telling me to leave Lisa and Chloe behind and go alone?”
“….”
Momoko nodded silently.
And my mind went completely blank in an instant.
★
When was the last time I unleashed such malice on someone?
‘Let’s see if you dare to do that again next time.’
It feels like it’s the first time since that day in high school.
However, despite my explosive anger, Momoko’s response didn’t change.
In her mind, I was already an idol belonging to Suika Production.
“Ha…”
Sitting alone in the waiting room and sighing, I looked up at the ceiling when, click, the sound of the door opening reached my ears.
“Yurika…”
Entering the waiting room were Lisa and Chloe.
For some reason, both were nervously bowing their heads.
“…What’s wrong?”
“Earlier… you had a fight with Momoko, right?”
So they already heard the news, huh?
This is awkward.
I had yelled out casually that I’d do what they wanted in the end.
Lisa and Chloe could only feel betrayed.
The leader, who had sworn to become a top idol together, was transferring to another agency all alone.
Of course, it wasn’t really a sincere statement, but even if that wasn’t the case, it must have hurt them.
“Hey, Lisa, Chloe…”
Having concluded that thought, I was about to tell Lisa and Chloe the truth, but…
“Please don’t be too angry at Momoko…”
Unexpectedly, I received a reply from Chloe.
“…What do you mean?”
“It means we think you should go to Suika Production.”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t understand.
Why would they say something like that?
Why…?
“Do you both hate me or something…?”
“Of course not!”
“That’s not it, Yurika.”
“Then why?!”
“…We accidentally overheard the conversation between the employee from Suika Production and Momoko.”
“What…?”
Lisa’s following words were shocking.
When Momoko first heard the offer, she adamantly opposed it and said that it was absolutely impossible.
But our Momoko Production is a small agency in this industry.
No matter how much our Eden is active as an average idol group, we can’t even compare to Suika Production.
According to Lisa, the employee from Suika Production pressured Momoko by leveraging that point.
They said that if she rejected this offer, there would be issues with all future activities of Momoko Production, or that with Momoko’s abilities, she couldn’t develop me… with all sorts of ludicrous remarks.
Even so, Momoko tried to protect our Eden, but eventually, Lisa and Chloe couldn’t hold back and intervened in the matter.
“I know, both Chloe and I are aware that our Eden can’t become a top idol group.”
“What do you mean…?”
“It’s all thanks to you that I, and Lisa, were able to become recognized as members of an average idol with a bit of fame. …In other words, that means we’re Yurika’s weakness.”
“That can’t be true. That’s just not possible…!”
It’s because of Lisa and Chloe.
And because of Momoko that I was able to come this far.
If even one of the three of us were missing, I would have given up halfway.
There’s no way Lisa and Chloe would say such things.
“…If I transfer to Suika Production, what do you two plan to do?”
“Hmm… maybe we’ll both graduate?”
“That would make sense. An Eden without Yurika… I can’t even imagine it.”
“Well, that’s troublesome~. Momoko Production doesn’t have anyone else active besides us right now.”
“Well, that’s something Momoko will have to deal with!”
“That’s true.”
In response to my question, Lisa and Chloe chatted away without a care.
But the fingertips of both were trembling slightly.
…They must be feeling wronged and angry.
They must have run together this whole time, but for some reason, only one of us was recognized.
Yet they want to let me go with a smile on their faces.
‘I’ll definitely become a top idol!’
For the dream we swore to uphold the first day we met.
So thinking of their feelings, I should move to Suika Production…
“Not a chance.”
“…Huh?”
“I decided from the start. If I become a top idol, it’ll definitely be with both of you. Not elsewhere, but at Momoko Production.”
Lisa and Chloe are smiling, but I know they must also feel like getting angry about this situation.
And I feel the same way.
If it weren’t for Lisa and Chloe, Eden would never have made it this far.
Only because they were there was I able to keep trying.
Similarly, if it weren’t for Momoko, I wouldn’t have started being an idol.
Because it was Momoko, and not someone else, that I wanted to dream of becoming a top idol.
To be signed under a company that doesn’t understand that feeling is unbearable.
“I refuse. I’ll stay with Momoko Production until the end. That’s what I decided from the beginning.”
“But Yurika… if you continue like this, we won’t even be able to carry out our proper activities. Suika Production has the means to make it work; Momoko even said so… We don’t want this either. We want to be with you, Yurika. But if this keeps up, nothing will be left. So you…!”
I know.
The difference between Momoko Production and Suika Production is like the difference between an adult and a child, and I can’t come up with a way to break this situation.
So now… it’s time to accept the end of my dream.
★
“Momoko.”
“Ah, Yurika…”
“I’ve made up my mind.”
“…About what?”
Momoko, who asks me with a smile, seems like she already knows what I’m going to say.
“I’ll graduate.”
And slowly, I uttered the words that Momoko likely expected.
“Ha. So it’s coming to this, huh… Did you tell Lisa and Chloe?”
“Yeah. I told them. They both said they understand.”
In fact, until the very end, Lisa and Chloe disagreed, but I had no intentions of bending my stubbornness, so it ended with them giving up.
But there’s no need to mention that part.
“Did you know? Lisa and Chloe also received scouting offers from other productions. They could still use the name ‘Eden’.”
“…That’s the first I’m hearing of that.”
“But Lisa and Chloe said that without you, Yurika, ‘Eden’ wouldn’t have any meaning, so they turned it down. At that moment, I thought for sure that you would make the same choice. Eden… Momoko Production ends here.”
Saying that, Momoko looked quietly up at the ceiling.
“…I see. So it’s really over. …What a shame. No matter what, I wanted to make you, Yurika, and Eden into top idols.”
Thus, my dream.
Momoko’s dream came to an end.
After that, we chatted a bit.
“What will you do from now on, Momoko?”
“Well… since the only talent currently under our production is Eden, you guys… it might be best to just look for a new job? How about you, Yurika?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet.”
From the future ahead to trivial chatter.
“Thinking back, it feels like Lisa and Chloe fought a lot at first.”
“…Those were some tough times for me, to be honest.”
And then we reminisced about our past.
“That said, it turns out becoming a top idol was impossible after all. You remember our promise, right, Momoko?”
“Didn’t we say we’d take our revenge…? What should I do? I feel like I might cry just thinking about it.”
After about an hour of chatting, Momoko looked directly into my eyes and asked.
“…So, Yurika. How was your experience as part of Eden?”
At her words, I quietly recalled all those memories.
I felt joy in talking with fans, analyzing their personalities through gifts, and showing various sides of myself.
From training to my first live performance, appearing on variety shows, and radio programs.
I experienced loads of things I would never have been able to do if I hadn’t challenged myself in this industry.
There were lots of hard times, and ending it like this really doesn’t sit well with me, but…
Still, the experiences from these two years were certainly.
“Yeah. It was fun.”
“…I see. Yup! That makes sense! We really worked hard, after all!”
It was a memory I would never have again in my life.