Wait, what did you just say?"

"I mean... I’m kind of tempted."

"Not that part. You said Akari Hojo was his girlfriend?"

"What kind of nonsense is that? His girlfriend is supposed to be me."

Nozomi Sakura’s eyes snapped open. Her delicate, arched brows drew together, irritation sharpening her voice.

"Oh, so what you’re saying is that she’s his ex? Akari Hojo is the ex?"

"Mhmm... that’s what he told me."

Nozomi replied absentmindedly, then shot back reflexively,

"But how is that even possible?"

"There’s no way Hojo could have any connection with him. He’s probably just one of those hopeless otaku who fantasize about idols, you know the type..."

She went on and on, telling Akane Mia how Alan had hidden promotional posters of Hojo in his car and treated them like treasure.

Nozomi argued her case at length, insisting it was completely impossible.

After listening quietly, Mia considered for a moment before saying,

"Hard to say."

"..."

Nozomi’s eyelid twitched as she sat bolt upright.

Annoyance flared.

Why was everything suddenly "hard to say"?

She knew Mia was cautious by nature, but lately, whenever Alan came up, the answer was always that same evasive phrase...

Nozomi puffed out her cheeks and forced herself to ask, "So, what’s your brilliant take?"

"He’s rich. He could easily be keeping Hojo as a sugar baby. There’ve been online rumors about some wealthy backer supporting her. Otherwise, there’s no way she could’ve risen so fast."

"Oh..."

Nozomi’s lips parted, some of the irritation draining away. She slumped back against the wall.

"If you put it that way... I suppose it’s not impossible."

"Hm?"

Mia sounded confused on the other end of the call.

"Nozomi, I thought you hated hearing bad rumors about Akari Hojo."

Nozomi Sakura was, in fact, a die-hard Akari Hojo fan.

Ever since she’d seen the young singer debut in that contest—her confidence on stage, her captivating voice—Nozomi had been hopelessly hooked. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She streamed Hojo’s songs daily and queued them nonstop at karaoke.

A die-hard fan through and through.

Once an idol became famous, trash talk inevitably followed. Whenever her friends badmouthed Hojo, Nozomi would smile and brush it off.

"Who knows? The media probably exaggerates. Besides, her songs are great, right?"

But the moment she spotted online trolls, she became someone else entirely, calmly asking whether their family trees were circular.

Mia had realized long ago that Nozomi was in too deep. During the worst of the rumors, she’d chosen to stay silent.

Recently, the slander had died down, and Nozomi no longer spent every night fighting haters online.

Even so, Mia hadn’t expected her to react so calmly to the kept-woman theory.

When Mia pressed her, Nozomi’s expression stiffened. She chewed over her words before replying.

"I’m just following your logic. Theoretically, it is possible."

Deep down, she couldn’t accept the idea that the two of them had ever dated.

Even if Hojo’s charm rivaled her own, it still felt like being overshadowed.

It rankled.

And if, just if, Hojo really had been Alan’s girlfriend, Nozomi preferred to imagine it as a transactional relationship forced upon Hojo by harsh reality. If they’d both been victims of rotten luck, the sting would hurt less.

"So," Mia asked gently, "do you really want to become an actress?"

"...No."

Nozomi answered.

"I said I was tempted. That doesn’t mean I’d actually do it. Even if Alan’s telling the truth, if my father found out, he’d probably break my legs."

Mia fell silent.

She’d known Nozomi since middle school. The day a talent scout had spotted Nozomi at the mall, Mia had been standing right beside her.

She knew how much Nozomi loved attention, clubs, cliques, crowds. Nozomi never bragged, she simply arranged things so that all eyes naturally drifted her way.

The accessories, the bags, the clothes a girl from her background shouldn’t have been able to afford, they were props, tools to make people look.

Mia had expected Nozomi to at least discuss it with her family. Instead, she’d refused on the spot.

Only later had Mia learned the truth: Nozomi’s father was an old-school Showa-era fossil who believed a woman’s destiny was to become a housewife and raise children.

Anything beyond a school uniform was frowned upon. Yukata were allowed, plain casual wear was tolerated. Nothing more.

Mia suspected Nozomi’s current spending spree—two million yen in credit card debt—was backlash from years of repression.

"I’m just daydreaming..."

"If I can’t become a star, it’s still fun to imagine it, right? Besides, I’m already too late. Real actresses start as child stars. They’ve got connections and skills I’ll never catch up to."

"That’s only part of the picture," Mia replied gently. "Some people start training in high school and debut two or three years after graduation. Why assume you’re behind?"

She nudged softly.

"Why not just try, Nozomi? You’ve already moved out. Take some lessons, do small stage roles. Your parents won’t even know. By the time you graduate, your father won’t have a say."

"..."

Silence stretched across the line.

After a moment, Nozomi laughed softly.

"Forget it. I don’t actually want acting that badly. It’s exhausting, and the rumors are disgusting. Everyone online says showbiz is hell, ’she slept her way up,’ ’that one’s a sugar baby,’ and so on."

"Besides, what if I get tricked into signing some contract and end up in an adult film? I’d rather die."

"...Okay."

"Alright, let’s stop there. Mia, I’m exhausted. We’ll talk properly when we meet."

Mia started to say more, but hearing the fatigue in Nozomi’s voice, she simply wished her good night and hung up.

"...."

Nozomi tossed her phone aside. The cramped, dim room fell silent.

She stared at the ceiling.

A sliver of pale moonlight slipped through the window, illuminating the poster of Akari Hojo taped to the wall.

Her gaze followed the light.

Slowly, she raised her hand, peering at the idol’s face through her fingers.

For an instant, Nozomi felt as though the girl on the poster was herself.

Alan’s words echoed in her mind.

"Have you ever thought that one day you might stand on a stage, appear on screen?"

"Don’t say you can’t. If you never try, you’ll never know how brightly you can shine."

Clouds drifted past. The full moon vanished, plunging the room into darkness.

Nozomi snapped back to reality.

She stared blankly, then gave a self-mocking smile, yanked the quilt over her head, and burrowed inside.

"Pipe dream."