𝒩ᴼᵂ 𝒫ᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : ❝ 𝒞ᴿᴼᴼᴷᴱᴰ 𝒮ᴹᴵᴸᴱ ❞ 𝒷ᵞ 𝒥. 𝒞ᴼᴸᴱ
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
ᴡᴇ ᴀɪɴ'ᴛ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ-ᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴄᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴡᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ
﹌﹌﹌
ꜱᴛᴜᴘɪᴅ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ what Aqua was. He, off all people, should have realized Ruby would get triggered from the stalker role he was playing. He should have never let her come with him, and now he had to make it up to her.
After calling Miyako to tell him Ruby would be home later, he went home and told her he wanted to make it up to Ruby despite her telling him she wasn't mad. He then left and found several stores with items Ruby liked. He had just left the last one when he heard a voice behind him say, "Aqua, is that you?"
Aqua turned around to see a man wearing a black jacket with shoulder-length brown hair. He looked practically the same as he remembered.
"Director Gotanda!" Aqua turned around and bowed.
Taishi smiled. "No need to call me that. Just call me Taishi."
"Okay, Taishi...Sir." The last time Aqua had seen him was during the production of That Was The Start, a movie that had won Taishi an award due to Ai's immaculate performance, which also made Ai think Aqua would become an actor. It seemed his awkwardness around Taishi had remained to this day.
"How have you been?" Taishi asked.
"I've been well. I'm going home now since the filming of the last episode of Sweet Today was just finished."
"You're in the Sweet Today live action? The reviews on it are something..."
Aqua laughed, avoiding eye contact and looking at his hands. "I got the role of the stalker. This is really the only episode I'm in, so..."
"Well, congrats on the role. You were always made to be an actor." Taishi looked around them. "You were almost always with your sister, weren't you? Ruby, her name?"
"Ruby, yes. She came with me to the filming after she got permission to. She just left to see her friend and her new dog." Ruby was always one to make friends fast. That was one of the things about her that didn't make him have to worry.
He gestured to the shopping bags draped over his arms. "Are all these for her?"
"Yeah..." He didn't want to explain why.
They stayed silent before Taishi said, "I see you two are doing well. Well then, I'll see you around, Aqua."
Aqua nodded goodbye, though he felt as though they would see each other more often.
. . .
ᴀQᴜᴀ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ about to enter his apartment when Kana sent him a message telling him about a Sweet Today drama wrap party. Despite being the newest one in the cast, he was still invited to come. As he read the text, he overheard Miyako tell Ruby, "Next, just sign these two papers, and you're done."
Aqua put his phone away and saw Ruby signing a paper. "What are you doing?"
Miyako smiled at Aqua. "Ruby decided she wants to become an idol after all."
"You do? What about becoming a doctor?" As a doctor in his previous life, the days Ruby spent claiming she knew what it took to become a doctor better than him were the highlights of his days.
"I changed my mind." She smiled. "I can still be a doctor though!"
"Weren't you the one that said you couldn't be an idol and a doctor at the same time?"
"Huh? I never said that. And even if I did, they wouldn't be at the same time. I'll just be studying in between practices and stuff."
Remembering Ai, Aqua smiled. "It's almost like what Mama said, wasn't it? How she thought I would be an actor and you would be an idol..."
Miyako sighed. "But unlike Ai...Ruby wants to be a solo idol."
"I have a good reason!" interrupted Ruby before Aqua could say anything. "Because being a solo idol means that all the attention will be on me, I'll be the one calling the big shots—"
"That's not how that works," mumbled Miyako.
"—and I'll be the only one who gets the money!"
There were undoubtedly more complications, but Aqua's smile grew wider. "It's great seeing your childhood dream spark again! What made you change your mind?"
Ruby shrugged. "Miyaemoon, when can I start?"
"How about we start thinking about that tomorrow, okay? Aqua, do you need help with those bags?"
"I'm okay. These are all for Ruby."
He let Ruby take the bags from him and looked through all of them, her eyes brightening with each bag. Seeing her happier calmed him down as well, but only enough for the worry to not show on his face. Questions he hadn't thought of before flooded his mind as he looked at his sister. How well was his acting for her to get triggered? Did he have to lower his acting abilities? How much skill did he require to be a good actor? How much skill was too much skill? He never asked himself those questions before, but now that he saw what his acting could do, he was starting to worry.
. . .
ᴀQᴜᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋᴀɴᴀ went to the Sweet Today wrap party together. He was worried he might have worn the wrong outfit in his suit, but seeing Kana in her dress relaxed him, knowing he wasn't the only one dressed formally. Occasionally, he would catch her looking at him from the corner of his eyes, yet when he turned his head to look at her, she would quickly turn away.
The other people at the party were dressed just as formally. Looking at how many people there were around him reminded him of how many people were truly involved. Though, it wasn't as though he could focus on that. His mind was focused on how he was at a party when he should be by Ruby's side, comforting her. She told him it was fine and that he could go, but he still thought he should be there.
Catching his gaze on the crowd around them, Kana said, "There are a lot of people whose jobs depend on how well we perform. That's why we always have to deliver and, of course, avoid scandals at all costs."
He hummed in response.
"By the way, you and Ruby left quickly after your scene." Kana frowned. "Was everything okay?"
"They should be. Ruby says she's okay, but I'm not sure..."
"Oh. What happened?"
Aqua shrugged, not sure if he should tell her. She already told him a lot, but Ruby getting triggered felt more of a private matter.
In a beat of silence, she said, "So... You wouldn't happen to have a girlfriend, by any chance?"
He shook his head. "Why do you ask?"
She avoided his gaze. "No reason."
Aqua spotted the original author of Sweet Today, Yoriko Kichijouji, walking towards them—or, more specifically, towards Kana. He nudged her to get her attention and pointed her out. Kana straightened herself, smoothening her skirt. He left her and bumped into Masaya.
"Hey," Masaya said. "The final episode was received well."
Aqua smiled. "A manga like Sweet Today should have the recognition it deserves."
"That is true, but the whole idea of this is to showcase talent like yours as a stepping stone to future opportunities. I wonder if we succeeded."
"I think you did. Actors like Melt and I now have more experience."
"That indeed." Masaya glanced at his drink. "Is your sister, Ruby, okay after what happened?"
Aqua thought about it before nodding. "She says she is. I'm still worried about her..."
"I don't think you have to. I would say someone is well enough if they willingly agree to be a part of a reality TV show."
Aqua snapped his head towards him. "What?"
Masaya frowned. "Has Ruby not told you? I asked her to be part of the new season of my reality TV show, The Beginning of an Idol, and she said yes."
His head swarmed with questions, yet the only word he managed to say was, "Why?"
"Well" —Masaya looked away— "she wanted something to do to keep her mind off of what happened, and I told her about the new season of Idol's Beginning being in the making. I wondered if she wanted to be a part of it, and she said yes. However, one of the requirements was that she had to be well-known since the show has well-known teenagers, and she said she would do it."
That explained why she wanted to be an idol. Ai wasn't on her mind at all when she made her decision. It was that fact that hurt him the most.
"Since we're on the subject," Masaya continued, "what is she planning to do to become well-known?"
"She's becoming an idol," Aqua answered, trying to keep his millions of questions from pouring out of his mouth.
"An idol?" Masaya inspected his face. "Both your and your sister's faces remind me of Ai."
Aqua resisted the urge to look away. "Really? Then I feel honoured that I remind you of someone as pretty as she was."
Masaya spotted someone in the crowd. Before he left, he nodded to Aqua and said, "Tell Ruby I wish her good luck, okay? I'll see you around, Aqua."
Aqua nodded his goodbye too, but one thought lingered uncomfortably in his mind. He wasn't able to identify what it was until the Sweet Today wrap party ended and Kana brought him home.
Masaya had asked Ruby to become well-known when she didn't want to be well-known in the first place and Aqua himself was only several feet away—not to mention the fact she agreed.
Aqua didn't know what to think of that. Ruby, of all people, most likely had good reasons for agreeing, but the thought still wouldn't leave his mind. Yet, he acted like nothing was bothering him. Ruby and Miyako didn't need to know if anything was wrong, because there wasn't anything wrong. He was thinking too much on the topic, and he should simply let and help Ruby become well-known enough to be on The Beginning of an Idol.