It was the night the decision was made to kick Atsumu out.
"But the look on his face when he got disowned was hilarious!"
Mutsuki said while happily cutting into her steak, recalling the events from earlier.
"That's true, Mutsuki-chan. It was funnier than any prank show comedian. And the best part? It wasn't even a prank."
Futaba agreed, and Shiki burst out laughing.
"Isn't the air so much cleaner now that he's gone? Plus, from now on I can finally eat whatever I want without someone nagging me about my diet."
Mika voiced her long-held frustration.
"Right? I was constantly told not to eat spicy food because I'm a voice actress. It was so annoying."
"Seriously? I'm a model so I don't gain weight easily anyway, but it was still super stressful."
And so began the "Atsumu-bashing" competition.
"Photogram restrictions were the worst for me! Every single photo had to go through him first. Even selfies, I had to retake them over and over. I look good every time anyway!"
"Meanwhile, I wasn't even allowed to tweet. How is a multi-talented actress supposed to survive without tweeting? Everyone wants to know what I'm thinking!"
"I was restricted on which films I could appear in. I once saw him turn down an offer from a famous director."
"No way! If that's true, he could have let you appear in anything! What was he even thinking? He was ruining your chances. Hey, hey, what do you think, Io-nee? Nana?"
Shiki turned the conversation toward Nana.
"I don't really care about that stuff. As long as I can sing the songs Atsumu made for me, I'm fine."
"There it is. Nana-chan's full-on Atsumu worship. That song she released before was a massive hit. It really suits your voice."
"Hmm. Atsumu is the person who understands me the best."
Normally Nana had little interest in most things, but when the topic turned to a certain someone, her expression became dreamy and ecstatic.
"Oh no, she's gone into her own world again. There's no saving her now."
Shiki looked at her in disbelief.
Futaba then called out to the person who had been quietly standing in the corner.
"What about you, Ya-chan? What do you think of him?"
"I don't want him coming back to this house ever again."
"Yeah. I don't even want to see his face."
"Well, that guy really did give you all a hard time, huh? But from now on, you don't have to worry about anything. You're all popular now. As long as you keep aiming for number one, you can do whatever you want with your work, social media, and private life!"
Amana looked around at her daughters and declared confidently.
"Hmm, then I'll start turning down bad productions and only take the ones I actually want."
"Seriously? That's awesome. You can go clubbing as much as you want now."
"Ahh~ I'm finally free to eat all the delicious food I want!"
"I'm gonna play games all day."
"Ha. I'm free at last."
"Gufufu. Atsumu-san."
"I did it! I'm gonna live doing only what I love!"
Yachiru shouted triumphantly.
The badmouthing continued late into the night.
Without any of them knowing what the future held for them.
○ ●
The next day, in the president's office.
"President! Why did you kick Atsumu-kun out?!"
"Oh, Yuki. I don't need to explain it to you, do I?"
Her name was Yuki Koumi.
Tall and slender, with her hair neatly tied back and glasses that gave her a serious, intellectual air.
She now worked as the president's secretary at Amagasaki Office, a position she took out of gratitude for the kindness Amana's mother (Atsumu's grandmother) had shown her in the past.
Today, she had come to the president's office to demand answers.
"No. I told you to consult me when making important company decisions, didn't I?"
"You did. But if it's just some trivial, unimportant matter, there's no need to make a big fuss, right?"
"Kicking Atsumu-kun out is not trivial! He handled almost all the behind-the-scenes work in this office. His departure is going to have a massive impact on everything!"
Yuki raised her voice, harshly criticizing the president.
"Not really. Now that my daughters are famous, this agency only manages my seven daughters. It's not that difficult to support them. Besides, if a useless man like him could do it, then it's easy work that anyone can handle."
Amana brushed it off lightly while admiring her reflection in a hand mirror.
Indeed, Amagasaki Agency was a small outfit with only seven talents.
But recently their popularity had exploded, the amount of work had surged, and it was already becoming difficult for one person to manage everything alone.
"Enough of that. Hurry up and get in the car. It's almost time for the dinner meeting with the producer."
"This is."
Thanks to her beauty, Amana could entertain producers, company presidents, and other key figures and secure jobs.
It was undeniable that the mother who gave birth to these stunning entertainer sisters was herself exceptionally beautiful.
Yuki had also participated in those entertainment dinners.
That was the president's policy: having many beautiful women around made the other party lower their guard and more willing to offer work.
After the dinners, Yuki handled all follow-up communication, pretending to be the president when necessary.
If she didn't remember the details of those conversations, communication would break down, so she had to be present.
When the agency first started, Yuki had worked alongside Atsumu as a manager, providing various kinds of support.
But in recent years, the number of events involving entertainment dinners and follow-up dealings had increased dramatically. Yuki alone could no longer keep up.
Unable to bear watching her struggle, Atsumu had told her:
"Yuki, you focus on handling the dinners and communication. I'll take care of everything else."
From that point on, Yuki had devoted herself entirely to her role as the president's secretary.
(Back then. Atsumu-kun looked like an angel to me. An angel who saved me from hell. If he hadn't reached out, I wouldn't be here now.)
But Yuki regretted accepting that arrangement.
Because it meant dumping the entire burden of the office's behind-the-scenes work onto Atsumu, who was still just a student.
She had noticed the problem and suggested to the president that they hire more staff, but Amana refused, saying:
"If things are running smoothly, there's no need to hire more people."
Typical of her miserly nature.
Amana indulged herself lavishly, dining at expensive restaurants, going to high-end beauty salons, buying brand-name goods by the armful.
Her "job" was to maintain her beauty and dress appropriately as the president while entertaining important people.
In other words, she was extremely stingy when it came to spending money on anything or anyone else.
That was a problem, but not the most pressing one right now.
The real question was: Who would handle all the support work from now on?
Yes, that was the immediate issue.
At that moment, there was a knock at the president's office door.
"You're right on time. Come in."
"Excuse me! I'm Rima Harima from the Support Department of Yumekoshi Academy. I'll be working with you starting today. Thank you for having me!"
A small girl with glasses introduced herself and gave a perfect, polite bow.
When Yuki saw her, she thought the girl seemed unusually serious and capable, but at the same time, a question immediately arose.
"Why is a student from Yumekoshi Academy here?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention. She's here as an intern to support the talents at Amagasaki Agency. Unlike that other person, she has excellent grades, so I expect her to do more than just fill in the gaps. And the best part? She's only an intern, so her salary is practically nothing."
Yuki was stunned at how casually the president was proceeding.
And she was pretty sure that last muttered part was Amana's true feelings.
"Yes! I'm honored to be working at the currently rising Amagasaki Office! I'll do my very best to live up to the president's expectations!"
"That's reassuring. Here are the handover documents, so please take a look. We're heading out now, so the rest is in your hands."
"Yes! Understood!"
Amana pointed at a rather thick stack of documents (the ones Atsumu must have organized just yesterday), then left the room with the others.
But Amana had no idea.
She had no idea how much work Atsumu had actually been doing.
The reason there had been no major problems until now was because of him, Atsumu, number five.
It was thanks to him that so much work was flowing in.
As a result, it would take a while before the Amagasaki family and agency finally collapsed.
But by the time they realized it, it would be far too late.
Because Atsumu was never coming back.