The Top Idol Next Door Can't Help But Crave My Guilty Pleasure Meals-Chapter 7Volume 2 .3 - Suzufumi no Bāka ②

ROUND 7 – Suzufumi no Bāka ② 3

“…Well, let’s sleep then”

I sat down on the near side and flipped open the blanket. Naturally, we couldn’t share a pillow, so I made do with a folded cushion for myself.

Following my lead, Yuzuki also lay down.

The single-sized futon was too narrow for a high school boy and girl to share.

The moment our shoulders touched, I felt like my breath might stop.

“Yuzuki, are you completely inside the futon?”

“Yes. Are you okay, Suzufumi?”

“No problem.”

Honestly, my left shoulder was hanging off the futon, but this was the limit.

I wasn’t confident I could control myself if we got any closer.

“Suzufumi, are you nervous?”

“It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t… What about you?”

“W-wel, I’m an idol, you know. When I take two-shot photos with fans, I get this close s-sometimes?”

“Your voice is so strained. You’re super nervous, aren’t you?”

“I-I’m not as nervous as you, Suzufumi!”

As my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, Yuzuki’s face became clearer to me.

Her wet eyes, long eyelashes, nose, cheeks, and mouth—although I should have been used to seeing them by now, I found myself wanting to keep looking at her forever.

Yuzuki was also staring intently at me.

Our distance was only about ten centimeters. A slight change in our posture, and our lips might accidentally touch. I stayed still like a statue, not moving an inch.

These few minutes felt like an eternity.

Still, I couldn’t help but wish that this time would continue forever.

Yet time flows equally for all. Time waits for no one.

That’s why we can’t stand still forever.

“…Yuzuki, have you come to dislike Emoto-san?”

When I asked, Yuzuki’s eyes wavered.

“I don’t dislike her… But I’m seriously angry about her treating your food so poorly, Suzufumi’s.”

“I don’t mind it. You know, maybe it’s about time you forgave her?”

“…”

Silence flowed. No sound could be heard from outside or the next room.

“…I’ve been reflecting on it now. When I first came to Tokyo, I was a bit arrogant.”

“Really?”

It was surprising to hear such words coming from Yuzuki.

“The excitement of my first time in Tokyo and the expectation of becoming the idol I’d always dreamed of… I wasn’t seeing what was around me. I didn’t want to lose to the other members, and my fighting spirit got ahead of me.”

When 【Spotlights】 was released, Yuzuki was in her first year of junior high school.

Counting back to the preparations for her debut, she must have been still in elementary school when she moved to Tokyo.

It’s not unreasonable that her emotions took precedence.

“The members weren’t as close as they are now, and it felt more like rivals than comrades where everyone was individualistic. It was like admitting defeat if you let your guard down… well, not exactly, but we barely had any private conversations. I practiced more than anyone, improved my singing and dancing, and was determined to become the center.”

Wanting to be recognized, not wanting to lose to others, wanting to stand out, wanting to be perfect—turning those feelings into energy isn’t a bad thing.

“So when I was told that my position for the debut song was at the edge, it felt like all my efforts were being called into question. I even confronted the producer directly, asking, ‘Why am I not the center?’ “

“You’re being so blunt.”

I know right? Yuzuki replied with a wry smile.

“I was rejected immediately, and there I was, crying alone in the studio. Ruru-san, who was supposed to have left earlier, came back and spoke to me.”

I see. Emoto-san was taking care of others even though she was still in junior high school herself back then, hardly in a position to be looking after others.

“I was on the far right of the group formation, and Ruru-san was on the far left. As fellow outliers, I thought she would empathize with me.”

“Wasn’t that the case?”

“After listening to my story, the first thing Ruru-san said was, 『Yuzuki, you’re quite greedy, aren’t you?』”

“Greedy?”

“Yeah, greedy. There are plenty of people in the world who have talent but aren’t blessed with luck or the right circumstances. Moreover, it’s hard to debut as an idol if you’re not young, so I was incredibly lucky to get the chance at twelve. Yet, all I had in mind was becoming the center, and I felt as if my effort had been denied when I was rejected. Ruru-san saw through my naivety and pointed it out to me.”

Yuzuki smiled nostalgically.

Despite talking about her embarrassing past, there was warmth in her voice.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

“But it didn’t end there. Ruru-san played back practice videos and recorded audio she had saved, giving me an objective opinion on what I was lacking. Despite being busy with her own stuff, I think she reviewed them over and over again to encourage me.”

Back then, for Emoto-san, Yuzuki was supposed to be the rival to be defeated first.

It was about giving aid to an enemy, something not everyone could do.

“Looking back, I realized that my singing and dancing were worse than I thought. My pitch wasn’t stable, and my dance moves, especially the finer movements of my fingers, were sloppy. I laughed at how I could even think of being the center.”

Yuzuki smiled wryly.

“Before leaving the studio, Ruru-san said, 『If you ever have a hard time again, feel free to talk to me.』 But I’m not very good at relying on others.”

“That’s true.”

I knew all too well her habit of keeping her troubles to herself.

“Especially back then when everyone was so competitive. Even though she’s a senpai, I wondered if it was okay to be so dependent on her. But it seemed Ruru-san had long seen through my personality. In the end, she said this,”

──Then from today, I’ll become Yuzuki’s ‘older sister’. That way, you can rely on me without hesitation, right?

“Upon hearing those words, I finally felt like I could relax. I realized I didn’t have to put on a brave face in front of Ruru-san.”

Even within the group, they weren’t just senpai and kohai, but sisters.

This unique relationship changed Yuzuki.