April.
Ame entered Shiroyama Gakuin Elementary Division, following her older siblings, while Aqua and Ruby entered Shiroyama Gakuin Middle School.
Seeing how the tiny babies from years ago had grown so much and were now middle school students made even the Saito couple, not to mention Kaoru and Ai, keenly aware of the passage of time.
"Waaah-♥ Aqua, Ruby, Ame! Congratulations... sob- uuu... why am I crying? Uu- It's a happy day, hehe- sorry, sorry- why is Mama like this?"
Ai, looking at the twins in their middle school uniforms and Ame in her elementary school uniform, was flustered by the tears gathering in her starlit eyes. Ruby and Ame hugged her tight and tried to comfort her.
"Mama! Don't cryyy-!"
"Mom~! Don't cryyy!"
"Uu... Ruby, Ame. Mama loves you so, so much!"
Watching his wife cry with joy and their two daughters holding her in their arms, Kaoru also hugged Aqua tightly and patted him on the back.
"Thank you for growing up healthy, son."
"...I-I'm the one who should say that. Thank you for always protecting our family... Dad."
Miyako, watching the Hoshino family, wiped away her tears and smiled.
Remembering all the hardships they had gone through together, it felt like a dream that those adorable little angels she had fed with formula and changed diapers for were now all grown up and going to school healthy and strong.
"What are you crying for? It's a happy day."
"Why am I crying? I'm crying because I'm happy!"
Miyako grumbled at Ichigo, who handed her a handkerchief with a casual smile, then took it and carefully dabbed at the corners of her eyes so she wouldn't ruin her makeup as she wiped away her tears.
The promise he had made to divorce the president and let her live with a handsome host.
That promise had never come true, but...
"...I'm happy, too."
She was living a life today that was ten times, no, a hundred times happier than living with some handsome host.
With no lingering regrets, Miyako folded the handkerchief neatly and put it into her handbag, then took Ichigo's hand and smiled softly.
Ichigo, whose face had grown more wrinkled as the twins had grown up, smiled back in return.
-
<Bitcoin hits record highs day after day... approaches $60,000 >
<Will cryptocurrency regulations speed up... Prime Minister convenes cabinet ministers to chair related meeting >
<The Diet is moving... Will a cryptocurrency hearing begin? Ruling and opposition lawmakers watch each other closely >
"What did you say again? That the day would come when you could buy a pizza for 10,000 bitcoin wasn't far off? Did you really inherit some kind of ability to see the future? It's getting to the point where it's frightening. It feels like I'm talking to a [God]."
Excited English poured from the speaker near the driver's seat.
Kaoru, a smile on his lips in contrast to his icy blue eyes, turned the steering wheel smoothly and replied in English to the caller identified on the center display as "RIKA / J. Rosos."
"You already know what I'm going to say. Sell everything except 60 percent. There's a high chance it will hit a new peak again within five years."
"All right. I'm hanging up. We've got an important guest from Chiyoda Ward, you know."
The caller ended the conversation coolly after mentioning that a guest had come from Chiyoda Ward.
Remembering that the National Diet Building was in Chiyoda Ward, Kaoru snorted and parked in front of the newly built Stani-On headquarters.
"Uuugh..."
"Why are you holding your head?"
"Huh? Ah... Kaoru. My light, you've come."
"..."
After greeting Rentaro, who boasted a face so ageless he still looked like he was in his early thirties despite being well past forty, Kaoru sat down on the familiar sofa and placed the donuts and iced Americano he had brought onto the table.
"Is it because of the audition?"
"No. More than that... Ah. Kaoru. I can welcome [Kurokawa Akane] and [Arima Kana] with open arms, but I just can't bring myself to accept [Shiranui Frill]."
"Why?"
At Kaoru's question, Rentaro let out a long sigh.
Last February, Stani-On held an audition to recruit promising child actors and adult actors.
Thanks to the legend that the famous [Kamiki Kaoru] had once belonged to the company, and to Rentaro's skill in forging a close working partnership with Ichigo Production that was practically a merger, which had led to the successful acting debuts of the B Komachi members, many working actors and aspiring actors flooded in with applications.
After fierce rounds of screening that included a one-minute self-introduction video, camera test footage, free acting, one-on-one acting, and group acting, Stani-On discovered six nearly unknown adult actors, three working actors, and five child actors.
Kaoru, who had of course been there as a judge, could only smile in satisfaction when he saw that [Arima Kana] and [Kurokawa Akane] had applied.
- Nice to meet you. I'm Arima Kana! Please take care of me.
Arima Kana, whose acting shone as brilliantly as the sun, just like her hair.
- Ah, hello! I'm Kurokawa Akane. I'm still lacking, but please take care of me!
Kurokawa Akane, whose gentle, quiet heart was matched by acting so meticulous and broad that it could hold everything like a wide blue sea.
And then-
- ...I'm Shiranui Frill. I'll do my best.
Arima Kana and Kurokawa Akane. And even the promising child talent already beginning to make a name for herself, the genius with the absurd talent that combined the strengths of both women, [Shiranui Frill].
Coincidentally, all three were girls, but that was no problem at all for Kaoru.
In fact, he had privately told Rentaro to put those three at the very top of the list.
Rentaro, who would go weak at the knees at anything Kaoru said, had already been keeping an eye on the three girls' talent without needing to be told, so he nodded readily.
It went without saying that those three were included among the final selections.
"As for Shiranui Frill... she had applications in a bunch of other places too, not just our agency. I checked around, and it's the same with Astronier Promotion and On-Kind."
"..."
Of all places, she had applied to Astronier Promotion, the company Rentaro hated most.
Of course, rabbits do make several burrows... but why that one of all places...?
Kaoru quietly watched Rentaro sip his coffee with a clearly displeased look, then gave an awkward smile.
It was all in the past now, but what else could he say to Rentaro, who still held a grudge against that major agency that had hijacked an actor named Murata Jun?
Just two years after they had poached Murata Jun, his crimes were exposed: sexual abuse of women he met through burner accounts, illegal filming, and all manner of depravity, and he was ultimately sent to prison and completely erased from society.
But the agency itself had plenty of replacements to spare, so it had barely taken a hit... though the incident still seemed to remain a painful memory for Rentaro.
"If you don't like it, then let's leave Shiranui Frill out. With talent like that, plenty of other places will be eyeing her. Or maybe she's already signed a contract somewhere."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. You're the president of Stani-On, after all. If that's your decision, I'll follow it."
"...Khh, Kaoru."
Rentaro felt the weight on his shoulders, but he was also grateful that Kaoru supported him so fully, and his eyes grew moist.
Even now that he was the father of two children... his tear ducts were still the same.
"..."
Kaoru couldn't even lift his face when he remembered how, back when Rentaro had been confidently preparing an event, he had burst into tears in front of him while reading a letter on their wedding anniversary, a story Yuno had told him directly.
Kaoru handed him a tissue as if it were second nature and said to the tearful Rentaro,
"When you sign with Arima and Kurokawa, please take good care of them."
"...Got it. Leave it to me."
Rentaro immediately understood what he meant and nodded while wiping his tears.
This was about Stani-On's new generation, and these were the talents Kaoru had his eye on, so he intended to make absolutely sure everything was handled properly.
The two of them sat there sipping coffee and talking for a while.
As fathers with children of their own, the conversation naturally drifted from their kids to their wives and then back to their kids again, until an unexpected topic came up.
"A joint autograph event for couples might actually be nice... Kaoru, you haven't held an autograph event in ages. It's been almost ten years, hasn't it?"
"...A joint autograph event for couples?"
Kaoru's face twisted for a moment, but Rentaro, being an extrovert, didn't care at all.
"Yeah. Ai's last handshake event was almost... when was it again? I can't even remember. Wouldn't it be nice if you did one together as a couple?"
"Our fan bases are different, though. And a joint event is a little..."
"Hey. You two had twins when you were fifteen and sixteen, and now the twins are in middle school. That means the fans whose age groups overlapped back then are all the same age now, too.
The overlap between your fans and Ai's fans. That's more than enough time for them to have built a household of their own."
"..."
Come to think of it, that was true. Kaoru's blue eyes shifted slightly, and Rentaro snapped his fingers, his eyes sparkling like a boy who had just discovered something fun.
"What do you think? Ten years ago, you would have been struggling to handle it alone, but this time wouldn't it mean more if Ai joined you?"
"...Haa. The scale..."
"You'll have to keep it reasonable, but if you do 150 people like you did back then, you'll get pelted with stones just walking down the street."
Rentaro was right.
Kaoru's infamous lack of interest in fan service was already well known, not just among fans but even among ordinary citizens.
What kind of celebrity holds an autograph event once ten years ago and never again after that?
His wife Ai, on the other hand, was the pinnacle of fan service in the idol world, giving autographs, handshakes, and even cheki photos, slipping handwritten letters into album bonuses, and remembering the names of every fan who attended.
If the autograph event held after ten years was only for 150 people again... a riot might break out.
But he couldn't just think about himself; he had to ask his wife's opinion too.
"So, are you doing it or not?"
"...I'll talk it over with my wife."
"So you are doing it in the end."
"..."
Kaoru couldn't argue back against Rentaro's snickering and could only sigh.
Just as expected... the moment he brought it up to Ai-
【 I want to~★ I want to! I want to! I want to! I want to! A joint couple autograph event~! Just imagining it is already- amazing-★ 】
"Anyway, I'll talk it over. Please handle the Arima and Kurokawa contracts properly. I'm leaving."
Kaoru's face had gone the color of mud as he stood up from the sofa, and Rentaro grinned wickedly as he saw him off.
"Heh heh. Sure, sure. Take care on your way home. Ahh~ this coffee is way too sweet~ Maybe I should go shopping for agencies? Oh right, I should call President Ichigo too. What was his number again~"
"..."
Listening to Rentaro's extremely cheerful humming, Kaoru let out a deep sigh.
-
Today was the long-awaited contract day with Stani-On, but Arima Kana was not in a good mood.
She had gone down to the countryside to retrieve her mother's seal, which she rarely contacted her about, and had entered the Stani-On headquarters alone, only to find...
"..."
"..."
Kurokawa Akane, with whom she did not get along very well.
And she had brought her mother with her!
Of all things.
Of all days, they had to sign contracts on the same day!
'I should have said I couldn't make it because of my schedule and moved it to another day!'
Kana, annoyed by how awkward and unpleasant it felt to be in the same space, kept hammering the elevator close button and sighed as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
"..."
"..."
Akane's eyes in the mirror. And her own face.
Inside the elevator, where the awkwardness and discord had reached their peak.
"H-hello... Um, what floor is the president's office on again?"
Only Akane's mother, Kurokawa Riko, let out an awkward laugh and pressed the floor button, which no one had touched.
Akane, glancing at Kana, who was deliberately avoiding her eyes and turning her head away, puffed out her cheeks and stuck out her lips.
'It's not just stubbornness, you won't even try to talk to me!'
Kana still disliked her, and she still felt hurt and disappointed, but...
Wasn't turning away completely like she had just run into a sworn enemy a little too much?
She had been startled by the sudden encounter, but there was no reason for things to go badly like this...
There wasn't!
Because today was-!!!
'A happy day!'
'It's a happy day!'
"Phew."
Inside the elevator, where a cold wind seemed to be blowing through, Kurokawa Riko watched the strange blue-and-red standoff with an awkward expression.
There was clearly something she didn't know about why her daughter, who had once been a fan of Arima Kana, had become so icy toward her... but even if she asked, her daughter would definitely not answer.
Ding-dong-
The elevator doors opened, and Kana hurried out first, followed by the Kurokawa mother and daughter, who then received guidance from a secretary and headed to the president's office.
When they entered the office, Rentaro, the president, dressed in a comfortable shirt without a tie, greeted them with a bright smile.
"Ah, welcome. Thank you for making the trip."
"Hello!"
"Hello."
Kana and Akane bowed to President Rentaro at the same time.
After exchanging greetings, they sat on the sofa and immediately began discussing the contract.
"Both of you will sign five-year exclusive contracts, and after five years, you'll renew them again today. And then..."
President Rentaro explained each clause in detail so that even Kana, who had come alone without a guardian, could easily understand.
Just as Kaoru had said, all the toxic clauses had been removed as much as possible, and the terms were favorable to the two child actors.
Kana, who had been sharp since childhood and was also a working actress, could tell that the contract was far more favorable to the talent side than any so-called industry standard form.
The revenue split was a fair 5:5, and even the special commission for successful ad products was an astonishing 7:3.
Stani-On would also fully handle tax filing for their acting work, and there were none of the toxic clauses so common in the industry that forced talents to pay penalties when they terminated their contracts.
Taking their status as students into account, the agency would not force unreasonable schedules, and if the company failed to fulfill its contractual obligations, the girls could unilaterally cancel the contract.
Even the privacy clause, which was usually one of the biggest sources of abuse, only said, [To ensure that the contractual relationship between the parties can proceed smoothly, full attention shall be paid to personal safety.] There was nothing beyond that.
"Um..."
Akane, whose cleverness was no less than Kana's, also looked back and forth at President Rentaro with an expression so flustered it was almost embarrassing, even with her mother present.
President Rentaro, a veteran of the industry, seemed to have anticipated their reaction and smiled as he said,
"Don't worry. The contract itself has been notarized, so its legal validity is guaranteed. If anyone starts talking nonsense, they'll have to be ready for a mountain of penalties and a civil lawsuit."
"..."
"..."
They weren't really in a position to say anything in the first place.
Unless you were a top-tier actor, the rule in this business was to live bound by the agency's contract like a slave.
For both of them, if they hadn't been lucky enough for their contracts with their previous agencies to expire this January, they would have had to pay enormous penalties and come crawling back.
This world was anything but forgiving.
'This is real. A once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck...!'
Kana, who had finished preparing to soar again alongside her [idol], barely managed to calm her pounding heart and swallow hard.
'I will never give up!'
Akane, who had always dreamed while standing on the shoulders of her admiration for her [idol], steadied her trembling heart and let her eyes shine.
"Hah! So... should I just stamp it here?"
Holding her own seal and her mother's seal, one in each hand, Kana asked with determined resolve.
"I'll sign it!"
Akane, likewise gripping the pen that had been handed to her, let her eyes shine with determination.
Both of them, driven by the competitiveness of not being able to sit still while the other seized such a blessing.
And to prove that they were not fools who would let such luck come to them and then fail to seize it.
They decided to sign the contract.
"Excellent. Kana, Akane. I sincerely welcome you to our Stani-On family. Let's get along well together."
""Yes! Please take care of us!""
President Rentaro stood up and bowed back with satisfaction as he watched the two young actresses rise and bow politely.
He ordered tea to be brought in through the secretary.
Once the tea arrived, President Rentaro skillfully led the conversation and drank tea with Kana and the Kurokawa mother and daughter while chatting.
After about ten minutes of light conversation, President Rentaro stood up, placed the contract on his work desk, and smiled as he saw the Kurokawa mother and daughter and Kana out of the office.
"Working in this industry, there are many times when you really feel that [noble people] exist."
"Noble people?"
"Yes."
With a mysterious smile, President Rentaro slowly met the curious, puzzled eyes of Kana and Akane and said,
"Here's a tip for you while you're still students: always cherish the people around you. That [noble person] might be one of them.
It's a tip I learned firsthand on the edge of a cliff, so you can trust it. Hahaha!"
"..."
"..."
After staring at President Rentaro, Akane and Kana, as if by agreement, both turned their heads to look at each other, then both turned away again.
It was suffocatingly awkward.
They had gone from sworn enemies to fellow actresses under the same roof... but they still had a long way to go.
Ding-dong-
The elevator doors opened, and just like before, Kana got off first, followed by the Kurokawa mother and daughter.
The suffocating awkwardness remained exactly the same.
In front of the headquarters, the two of them turned their backs and walked in opposite directions.
Even though they were now colleagues in the same agency, they were about to part without saying goodbye again-
"W-wait!"
At Akane's voice, Kana flinched and stopped in her tracks, then slowly turned around.
Her feet felt as though they had been glued to the ground, but Kana couldn't hide her surprise at how her body was moving on its own.
Akane, standing there with her mother and looking at her with a flushed face and tightly pressed lips, was just as awkward and stiff.
"G-goodbye...!"
"..."
Kana couldn't meet Akane's gaze directly. She bit her lip for a moment, then took a deep breath and shouted with her eyes shut,
"G-goodbye, then-! Do whatever you want!"
After shouting that, Kana immediately turned around and hurried off at a trot, almost as if she were running away.
Akane watched her back and, for some reason, felt a little lighter than she had when they first met.
"Let's go, Mom."
"Yes. My daughter. Fufu~ how admirable~"
"Uu! I'm not a little kid anymore! Don't pat my head~!"
"Hohoho~"
Watching her sweet, lovable daughter protest while still accepting the hand that patted her head, Riko smiled happily.
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