"Yes, I don't intend to change my decision..."
The manager spoke into the phone, her tone incredibly calm.
"Mhm, just use 'no availability in her schedule' as an excuse... Okay, that's it."
After giving her final instructions, she put down the phone and looked at the young woman who had been staring at her this whole time.
"What, worried I'd go back on my word?"
"No, I just came to report on my work!"
"Sigh..."
Looking at Ai acting all serious, the manager massaged her forehead, speechless.
"That line might work on others, but just drop it with me. Don't forget who taught you to be the way you are now."
"Ahaha... that's true."
Ai stuck out her tongue, then moved behind her manager and began to massage her shoulders.
"Thank you, Higuchi-san. While I really want to help the agency with as much work as possible... this is the one brand whose work I can't accept, no matter what."
"..."
The manager glanced back at Ai's smile-less face before speaking.
"It doesn't matter. Not forcing our talent to do work they don't like is one of our agency's core principles."
"Is that why our agency has never been able to expand?"
"We don't need to. Ever since the current president took over, our agency has never pursued that. We have only one goal: to cultivate the top idols."
"..."
Ai was silent for a long moment before asking:
"Before this... have there been other idols like me, who were active for less than half a year?"
"No."
The manager shook her head decisively.
"But your situation is special, so you can't really be compared to others..."
She paused for a moment before asking:
"So, that Mr. Chihaya from [KaZoKu], he's the one you've been looking for?"
"Yes."
Ai nodded in acknowledgment without hesitation.
"He's the one who protected me at the orphanage, the one who taught me what love is."
"Then your luck is pretty good, achieving your goal so soon after your debut."
The manager's tone was so calm it was less like she was facing a talent about to graduate from her management and more like she was having a casual chat with a friend.
"No, not just achieving your goal, you even got to wear clothes he made for you himself."
"...Yes."
A happy smile bloomed on Ai's face.
"Being able to reunite with him again has made me so happy... That's why I can't let this chance slip by. To make sure I don't lose him again like I did seven years ago, I—"
"I've told you, you don't need to explain your thoughts to me."
However, before Ai could finish, her manager interrupted her forcefully.
"I'm different from you. I was born into a complete and ordinary family, and I've lived a happy life surrounded by important people for as long as I can remember. So even if I heard your explanation, I probably wouldn't be able to understand your extremism, nor would I approve of your choice. Besides, understanding these things isn't my job... But as your manager, there is one thing I need to remind you of."
"?"
"If you've already decided to graduate from being an idol, then you'd better think fast, right now, about what things you can only do as an idol."
The manager said.
"Otherwise, it'll be too late to have regrets after you've graduated."
"Eh..."
Ai was taken aback for a moment, then repeated blankly:
"Things I can only do as an idol... I'm sorry, Manager, I don't quite understand what you mean..."
"An 'idol' has a very short shelf life. You've certainly gained a lot of popularity, attention, and love during your time with [Summer Zodiac], but in the end, these are just temporary stimuli built on an entertainment relationship. Once you graduate, in less than a year, your name will gradually fade from the world. Perhaps your most loyal fans will feel sad or resentful about your graduation, but the light you bathed in as an idol will never return to you."
"Whoa... is it really okay for an idol manager to say such negative and realistic things to an idol?"
Ai couldn't help but retort.
"If any other idols heard that, they'd definitely be pretty hurt, right?"
"But you won't be."
The manager's expression and tone were as cool as her conviction.
"Because what you've been chasing from the very beginning is the attention and love of a single person. So, what other people think isn't that important to you... But don't misunderstand. What other people seek from you isn't anything so noble either. A temporary emotional crutch, a brief, intense thrill, or some other selfish desire."
"The relationship between an idol and their fans is one where each takes what they need. It's just that this supply-and-demand relationship is presented in a very beautiful way. Idols, with their different wishes, shine their light on stage, and the fans below the stage offer their love and applause to a fictional god they have created in their hearts."
"Hearing it like that... it seems like it's all lies."
Ai tilted her head.
"Both the idols and the fans are just chasing what they want in this tacitly understood lie..."
"That's right. But the interesting thing is, even in this kind of fake, distant, and unreal relationship where minds can never truly meet, real things can be born."
At this, a rare smile appeared on the manager's face.
"Without you knowing it, your singing voice, your shining figure on stage, and the beauty you portray could very well be giving someone the motivation and direction to move forward. And their support, which was originally for their own self-satisfaction, could also become your strength in a very real sense, helping you achieve your own wishes."
"Since you believe your happiness is not on the stage, then you can leave. Go and properly pursue your happiness. It's just that, as your manager, and also as your senior as an idol, I don't want you to leave behind a lifetime of regret because of a momentary oversight... After all, in my opinion, now that you're a popular idol, you can afford to think in a way that isn't so full of insecurity. As an idol, you should be greedier, more self-centered, in getting everything you want."
With that, she gently patted the hands on her shoulders, which had stopped moving at some point, and stood up.
"Don't leave yourself with any regrets, Ai."
After hearing her manager's words, Ai remained in a daze for a long, long time.
At that moment, her mind was filled with the words Chihaya Tetsuya had said to her that day.
"We definitely have a better option."
—20 days until the May Live.