"Two-hundred thousand?!" I yelled. I looked at Aya and asked her, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You might've gotten nervous."

"You know me well enough to know I wouldn't have."

"Still, it went pretty well. Even I didn't expect such a reception. I don't know if it'll be a blessing or a curse."

"Probably both," Tomokazu added. "There's no point in worrying about it, we'll dodge all punches thrown at us. Isn't that right, dear friend?"

"Yeah," I responded.

And to think all of this began because I needed something for my final project….

"Anyway," I continued. "Let's keep doing what we do best: music. Umi, you'll dance with the girls three hours a day and work on songs for the remaining four hours until the last three songs are finished. Don't work out of work hours."

"Fine," she replied with her arms crossed.

"Aki, Astra, Sanae, and Risa, you'll practice all you can while helping and giving ideas to Aya and Tomokazu. I'll also find acting and speech lessons. Hopefully, they'll become classes in the near future."

"Yes!" Astra responded. Aki, Sanae, and Risa nodded with a confident smile.

"Aya and Tomokazu, come up with ideas for advertising and merchandising. You guys are masters at them, so I can't give you better instructions. I'll leave you to it."

"We won't disappoint," Tomokazu replied.

"Good. Meanwhile, I'll make sure all the paperwork is in order and I'll prepare the job postings for a choreographer and a sound engineer. Oh, I haven't told you that I rented the unit next to this one. I'll order chairs and tables so that we can move in in the next few days. Aya, Tomokazu, tell me if you need something specific and I'll buy it as well."

"Will do," Aya responded. "See? This can feel like an authentic workplace if you give jobs to everyone."

I glanced at her. "Alright, let's get to work."

We moved the chairs away from the dance floor and the girls started to practice. Aya, Tomokazu, and I sat at a tiny table in the corner. We could've gone into Umi's studio, but there was no space whatsoever.

The rest of the afternoon was as productive as an afternoon could be. I managed to do everything I wanted to; Aya and Tomokazu came up with interesting ideas, although they had yet to be turned into concepts; and the girls made incredible progress. Astra quickly improved at dancing thanks to her commitment and the girls helping her.

Astra was the first one to leave, followed by Aya and Tomokazu. I waited for Butcher to come to pick up Sanae and Risa, but he took longer than usual. I sat with them next to the dance floor.

Umi walked out of the bathroom. "I'm leaving."

About to reply, Aki interrupted me. "I'm going with you."

"Aki?" I wondered. Even Umi seemed surprised.

She stood up. "Sorry, I just want to get home as soon as possible."

I stood up as well. "I'll go with you, then."

"No, you can stay with Sanae and Risa. I actually want some time alone."

Unsure if I should've persisted, I complied. "Sure. Call me if you need anything."

"I will," she smiled. She leaned forward to kiss me on the cheek and walked out of the studio along with Umi.

I stood still for a moment before turning around. Risa seemed worried, but Sanae had a strange frown on her face. She snapped her head away and Risa did the same after her.

I should fix this as soon as possible.

"Don't worry too much about her," Sanae said, still looking away from me. "She needs time after what she told us today."

"I know that," I replied.

"Then why are you staring at me like that?"

I sighed. "Where's Butcher?"

"He had a few deliveries scheduled on the way here, so he's doing them now," Risa answered.

"Can you call him?" I asked.

"Why?"

"Tell him we'll spend the evening together."

Confused, Sanae and Risa looked at each other. Even though I explained that there were several things I wanted to talk to them about, they didn't seem to understand. Still, they called Butcher and told them they were going to spend the evening with me.

"Done," Risa said after ending the call. "But don't you have a lecture today?"

The words I wanted to say disappeared from my mind. I forgot.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Sanae asked.

I sighed. "I'll message Professor Fuku that I won't be coming today."

It didn't take long to do so and we headed out of the studio. We could've gone to Nova Shibuya, but I wanted to avoid crowded places. Regardless, people kept glancing at us as we walked to a restaurant nearby.

Unlike the Araki restaurant, this one didn't have fancy decorations or human waiters, but it had reasonable prices. We sat down and ordered our food too quickly to realize how hard it was going to be to talk without people snooping. We had already placed our orders, so we stayed and ate.

We barely talked for twenty minutes. Once we finished the food, we headed out and walked to a tiny park a block away from the restaurant.

The artificial trees and bushes still made a pretty landscape. Luckily, there weren't many people around. Some glanced at us, but they wouldn't stay to spy since it would've looked suspicious, to say the least.

Sanae sat on a bench and Risa sat beside her. I sat next to Risa. Only the wind and passing cars could be heard as we sat in silence for a minute until Risa broke the ice.

"I'm too full," she giggled.

"Me too," I said. "And the price wasn't bad. I'll probably go again."

She nodded. "Thank you for inviting us."

"Well, you don't have a salary yet. How is the registration going, by the way?"

"It's almost done. If there are no problems, we should be citizens by tomorrow."

"Awesome. Your contracts are ready."

"That is what you wanted to talk to us about?" Sanae asked. Her elbow rested on the bench as she leaned her cheek on her fist.

Why is she upset? I know what to say.

"I also wanted to ask how you feel about Aki's situation."

As I expected, her frown became more prominent. She looked away from me, while Risa giggled.

"I think that, as long as she's changed, it doesn't matter," she answered. "Although I wonder about some things, I don't dare ask her."

"Yeah, there's no need to know more, but I know she'll tell us more if she wants to," I replied. "Sanae?"

She sighed. "I think the same as Risa."

She was actually getting on my nerves. I wanted to approach the next topic subtly, but it probably wouldn't have worked.

"I see," I said. "There's actually one more thing I wanted to talk about."

"What is it?" Risa wondered.

"Sanae, do you like me?"

Their eyes widened. Sanae stared at me for a second before snapping her head away. It was impossible to hide her red face. I expected her to yell at me, but she said nothing. She seemed like she wanted to run, though.

"What if I do?" she asked.

She admitted it faster than I expected.

"I want to make clear that I'm already—"

"…with Aki? I know that."

This is going to be harder than I thought.

"And that you're too—"

"…young? I know that too. That's why I've never said anything."

Is she going to let me finish a sentence?

I didn't have anything more to say. However, she suddenly continued the conversation.

"What if I wasn't?" she asked.

"What?"

"What if I was older? Would you… date me?"

I took a deep breath. "It depends on many things. If your personality was the same, then no, I wouldn't."

I immediately realized how bad my word choice was when her frown turned into one of sadness. She looked at the ground.

"I didn't mean anything bad by that," I continued. "It's just that you aren't my type. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," she replied. "So, what? Do you want me to merely stop liking you?"

"That would be ideal but, obviously, I can't force you."

Risa suddenly slapped my arm. Only then did I notice a tear coming out of Sanae's eye, which she hastily swept away.

"It's not fair," she continued. "I'm always too young to do anything, I'm not the best at anything, and I always lose. Aki and you have only known each other for a month and you're already together."

"It's because you're always interested in things out of your reach," I replied. "I know I should shut up, but I'll say it anyway. It's normal to be attracted to unreachable things, but you need to accept that you won't reach all of them. Sometimes you're too early or too late, but that's how life is."

Sanae stared at me and her frown slowly softened. I knew I was on the right track.

"I have a different mentality about being the best. Still, you're great at dancing, singing, and convincing people. You're a pillar for Blostars and you'll only go up. About always losing, that's simply untrue. What have you lost since we met?"

She stared at me and said nothing. I couldn't know what was happening inside her head, but I hoped I did a good job.

"Let's go home," she said as she stood up.

Risa walked beside her, while I followed them a few steps back.

We arrived at their house having said nothing. I said goodbye and headed back to my apartment.

I did my evening routine before going to bed. Aki hadn't called or messaged me. Although it had been a productive day, it wasn't the best emotionally. At least I had taken a weight off my shoulders.

Suddenly, Aya called.

"What is it?" I answered.

"How was your lecture?"

I remained silent.

"Did you skip it?"

"I did, but it was for a good reason."

She sighed. "For once I try to be a nice sister. Anyway, we need to talk about Aki."